With a sumptuous production and Spielberg at the helm, this movie can be anything but not hard on the eye, and the eye is the only part of the body that can get some satisfaction watching the carefully crafted scenes, the perfect costumes and the impeccable 50's settings.

However, movies are not only supposed to look good, but to have a compelling plot and as much as Spielberg might have an interesting childhood, this plot is anything but compelling. The actors are also sort of blah.

Most miscast is Michelle Williams, who I always liked, but who's totally overacting in this, like a frustrated pianist turned housewife on speed. Paul Dano is OK as the father but hasn't much to do. The kids playing the two versions of Spielberg are suitable, but not memorable. Perhaps the best scene is the one at the beginning with the train crash from another movie, but then everything moves downhill very slowly from there.

We get it that the kid loves movies but why do we have to see each and every scene of his first movie? And the lovable eccentric uncle is a bit overplayed, too, not to mention the "big secret" about daddy's colleague that's crystal clear from the first scene.

Beautiful, but kind of soulless and instantly forgettable. One star exactly because it looks so good.