THE TERMINAL(2004) - mediocre would-be situational romantic comedy, without any interesting literal narrative to which to fly beyond the decent premise. What if a foreigner's country is wiped off the map, and he's stuck indefinate limbo at La Guadia at NYC? The problem is, Spielberg never answers it in an intriging, substantial fashion. Film Rating - **
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002) - If the remarkable true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. didn't happen, someone would have created it. Spielberg again partakes in his psychodrama babble about divorce, but for the most part it allows him to tackle two things that fascinated him and the numerous directors attached for years to the project. One, the 1960's jet-set culture of America(and like TEMPLE OF DOOM, Spielberg plays his James Bond geek-fetish), and two, that this very entertaining cat and mouse pop-drama does play into a key American ideological belief, that in re-invention of the invidiual's self. Lukewarm ending aside, its a film that doesn't fade with frequent viewings. Film Rating - ***1/2
MINORITY REPORT & WAR OF THE WORLDS (2002;2005) - Its fustrating when watching these films. There are science fiction details in the schematics that I fucking dig. Yet while at times Spielberg appears to be bold in an autuer statesman sort of way, he folds back with the essential need for a nicely-wrapped up happy ending of a commercial package. MINORITY REPORT itself appeared to be setup for a BRAZIL-esque ending. Instead, we get a TOTAL RECALL-tyle clear-cut, resolution that is absolutely unneeded by the material. As for WAR OF THE WORLDS, the 9/11, Holocaust, and WW2 allusions forces investment in many viewers, but most will wonder by the final credits with a nagging question that distracts from the rest of the film: "Ok, the Army gets flattened into pancakes, but a smartass kid charges against them, and somehow lives?" Final Ratings for Both - ***
A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001) - An underrated, odyssey of a fairy set in a future when robots built in the image of man become more human than their creators. I was, and still certain, Stanley Kubrick's film would have been great back in 1999 when the master died. I was just pleased that Spielberg was able to deliver a very satisfying film on an artistic and intellectual fashion. Unlike the rest of the movies listed in this posting, A.I.'s ending is appropriate, and well-earned. The WWE-esque flesh farm sequence doesn't quite compute. Film Rating - ****
