'A.I.' — Spielberg's Strange Love

A.I. could be seen as a work of artificial emotions and genuine cinematic intelligence. It is more than that because Spielberg laid the burden of the film on Osment like a backpack, and the young trouper carries it. A meticulous actor, Osment made sure that "whenever [David] turns a corner, he turns it the same number of steps every time, the same movements. And the eyes were important. Turn the eyes first, then the head. Don't blink."

You won't blink watching Osment. He has a, well, sixth sense for the hint of ecstasy or despair in a glance. Inhabiting such a character, letting humanity seep into him: that's not artifice. It's a fine actor's art, and enough to make any mother love him. Not to mention his two fathers, Spielberg and Kubrick.

— Reported By Jess Cagle/Los Angeles