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Streets of Fire (1984)
A triumph on aesthetic alone
So I just watched this film today, been meaning to watch it for a while, and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but man it was very enjoyable.
I will say, plotwise it's very thin, the overall plotline moves very fast, but the main thing that makes this film really work is its aesthetic, it's a film all about neon lights, striking compositions, fast editing, the 80s/50s rock soundtrack, how cool the hardboiled dialogue sounds, how cool Michael Pare and Willem Dafoe look, the cars and motorcycles, the explosions and bursts of fire, the guns, all the character actors like Bill Paxton and EG Daily showing up, it's all just some of the most base pleasures of cinema combined together into a hyperkinetic, hyperstylized action romance. It's very 80s, and I really vibe with it, highly recommended if you're looking for something very stylish and if you want some pure cinema where the appeal is entirely in how the story is told, not in the story itself or the depth of the characters or anything like that.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Flawed, but very fascinating
So I literally just finished watching this film for the first time, and I will say right now, it's got flaws, there are things about it I didn't like, but it is very, very fascinating. Like the concepts the film looks at are very interesting, the tone is VERY complex and constantly shifting, the effects, for the most part, still hold up really well today, a good chunk of the performances are good, and the dialogue, while a bit awkward and obviously symbolic at times, has a fair few memorable lines, but I will admit, there's some stuff in here that comes dangerously close to ruining the movie, in various ways, but somehow none of it ever actually ruins the movie, even the infamous ending, there's part of it that I did not like, and I think if part of it was cut, people'd be praising this film FAR more, because part of it just feels like it comes out of nowhere, but overall, I think what we got was a very interesting piece of cinema well worth the watch.
It's not perfect, it's flawed, but it's immensely fascinating, full of indelible ideas and imagery, and I very much recommend it, you might not like it, you might hate it, you might think it's a great film, but however you feel, it's worth at least giving it a watch to see how exactly you do feel.