Steven Spielberg is and always will be one of my favorite filmmakers. As a child he guided me through the treacheries that is every day life with film such as: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, and (dare I say) Hook. From 1997 to 2005, Spielberg hit a creative peak and began to dive into darker and more adult themed material starting with Amistad and ending beautifully with Munich. The double feature I will be recommending is two of his best works in his dark run, the extremely underrated sci fi duo, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Minority Report.

Steven Spielberg took a three year break after Saving Private Ryan before returning to the screen in 2001 with his passion project A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Though A.I. is based on a short story by Brian Aldiss entitled “Supertoys Last All Summer Long”, it is truthfully the brain child of the late Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick’s final vision is still intact as well, because his plan was to always have Spielberg direct and have him serve as producer. Spielberg has often stated in interviews that critics and audiences both are wrong about the overtly sentimental touches in an otherwise dark film. Many people pointed fingers and began shouting “Spielbergisms”! He states that in fact the light hopeful aspects are all Kubrick’s ideas while the darker violent aspects are his creation. Told you he was in a dark phase.

The plot is about a robot boy named David (Haley Joel Osment) who is rejected by his owner and goes on a quest to become a real boy in order to regain her love. Osment is fantastic and in my opinion this film showcases Jude Law in his finest performance as David’s traveling companion, Gigolo Joe. It is a haunting film and it explores some truly great themes, such as: the nature of our existence, our capacity for good and evil, and our responsibility for the technology we create. It is extremely dense and there is no way for me to do this expertly crafted film justice, so I will just say if you haven’t seen this film… see it. If you have seen it… see it again.

A year later Spielberg dove right back into the sci fi genre, this time with mega star Tom Cruise, and gave the world Minority Report. Minority Report is based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick and is scripted to perfection by Scott Frank (The Lookout).

Set in the year 2054, murders can be prevented before they are even committed. The film kicks into high gear when the chief of Precrime, John Anderton (Tom Cruise) goes on the run for a murder that has not yet taken place. Spielberg does a fantastic job of weaving big ideas and intense action set pieces together to give a thrill ride with pathos. Tom Cruise does a great job of dropping his “Cruise mode” and becoming a tortured soul who has nothing to live for but his work. This is a sci fi action film that is a work of art and I feel it showcases a side of Spielberg that we rarely get to see.

Both films are gems of the past decade and deserve to be spoken of in higher acclaim. They show that cinema can still thrill and excite us while also asking us to use our minds and search our souls.

Enjoy this double feature.