Westside Steve Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Life Of Pi Fox 2000 PG 127 min So let me say at the outset, possibly just a repetition of my prejudices, but I don't get the wonder of Ang Lee. I don't mean to sound harsh but I've yet to see anything deserving of the fawning of the Academy. Yes, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was a very good film but it's probably the subject matter that gained it the most attention. CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON was much worse. The special effects weren’t nearly stunning enough to keep me from being bored to death. Still the guy is not without talent and the Life of Pi is a new challenge. Personally I had never read, nor am familiar with, the novel The very first thing I noticed was that this is not necessarily a visual extravaganza as I think we've been led to believe. Oh it looks nice but compared to the state of the art these days it's nothing but average. I'll admit to being annoyed by finding that the showing I attended was 3D. Not only was it 3 more blocks, but the 3 D was mediocre. The story itself is something of an allegory, or a fairytale told as a recollection. Pi, the main character and storyteller, is and Indian boy who has lived through a fantastic and unbelievable journey. The story begins as he describes how he can believe in many religions at once and more importantly why he believes in God. The tale begins as his family, who own a zoo in India, decides to emigrate to Canada. On the way tragedy strikes as the ship sinks leaving only four survivors: Pi, a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and of course a Bengal tiger. Soon the survivor list is down to two, Pi and the tiger. From here it's a long and rather tedious story of survival and bonding between the boy and the jungle cat. Those he tells this story too, including the audience, will question whether it's the truth or mere symbolism. I'll leave that to you. Personally I found the story to be somewhat intriguing but much too slow. Apparently members of the Academy had a different opinion. C+ WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I thought calling the tiger Richard parker was quite clever. According to lore and history Richard parker was the name of several noteworthy shipwreck victims and survivors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I thought calling the tiger Richard parker was quite clever. According to lore and history Richard parker was the name of several noteworthy shipwreck victims and survivors I thought that was very clever too, and I had no idea about the shipwreck survivors named that. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPPT1974 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yeah as Life of Pi sounds really good. But also they did give that Brokeback Mountain an award due to the subject matter and groundbreaking as well. To say the least! As Academy members seem to like slow films rather than blockbusters that the public likes. Life of Pi though as much as it sounds like a great storytelling film, Only has a tiger and a boy as the two leads that have to carry the film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Saw this at home on my 60 inch last night. Never did make the 3d showing at the theater but I had read the book before. Personally I thought it was a visual masterpiece. Better even than avatar as the visuals are rooted on earth. Pi and Richard Parkers relationship was fascinating. The failing is the anticlimactic telling of the human story at the end. It feels too abrupt for the rest of the movie, although that may have been the point. In any case it asks which you prefer and I sided with the Japanese officials in preferring the animal story. Not as good a shipwreck survival story as castaway nor as heartwarming but much better looking. After re-reading your critique of the 3d I'm glad I saw it in plain old 2d because I wouldn't have wanted lackluster 3d to ruin the magnificent visuals. B+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miktoxic Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Saw this at home on my 60 inch last night. Never did make the 3d showing at the theater but I had read the book before. Personally I thought it was a visual masterpiece. Better even than avatar as the visuals are rooted on earth. Pi and Richard Parkers relationship was fascinating. The failing is the anticlimactic telling of the human story at the end. It feels too abrupt for the rest of the movie, although that may have been the point. In any case it asks which you prefer and I sided with the Japanese officials in preferring the animal story. Not as good a shipwreck survival story as castaway nor as heartwarming but much better looking. After re-reading your critique of the 3d I'm glad I saw it in plain old 2d because I wouldn't have wanted lackluster 3d to ruin the magnificent visuals. B+ visual masterpiece, i agree. was watching this after hearing and reading and knowing of the awards so i took it all in with the knowledge that anything ang lee would be spectacular either cinematography-wise or cgi-wise or a mixture of both. i don't think there is anyone else out there that can pull off a fade out of a human character live shot and go to graphics and animation better than lee. we've all seen it tried in the past and it always looks cheesy. raiders of the lost ark for example when they show the map of him travelling etc. the beginning title intro was amazing with all the animals and the backgrounds so colorfully done. my girlfriend and i are both animal lovers so when it came time for the boat scene where obviously only the strong survived, it was like a riot from across the room. but yet when richard parker and pi fought through things and ultimately parted ways she was balling like a circus clown. that's where they should have left it (not knowing the book). it seems to me today that every screenplay wants the audience to be left with a question like WTF? did this really happen or was it his imagination. am i really here right now or am i drunk and talking shit? is there anybody out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalabazooka Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Here's a great article with fascinating pan-Asiatic analysis of the movie's themes and symbols: http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/china/story/meerkats-and-maggots-chinese-netizens-dissect-life-pi-20121212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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