"Life of PI" review!!

[madmac]

Ok folks........ this is easily one of the best films I've seen in the last few years!. Beautiful score and cinematography. Actually, some of the most stunning cinematography I've seen to date!. Please !!??.....HtGuide friends.......rent or buy this on BD disc for the love of God!!. I watched this on dvd and I can only imagine what it would look like on Blu Ray!!.

This film sadly and remotely reminded me of the movie "Cast away", but without the 2 hour Fedex commercial. Speaking of Cast away, that is one of the worst examples of corporate commercial movie infiltration I have ever witnessed put to film!!. It was Sad!!.

Now, as for this film, It is a wonderful journey of a man sadly named 'Pisine' (aka...Pi) and follows him into a journey of survival, where man and beast must become friends to survive. I initially looked at this movie from a 'western' perspective upon first view (and had some issues with certain events!) but only after the credits rolled, did I begin to understand the 'India' perspective mentality of it. Once that happened, it all came together and was wonderful!. :T

Highly recommended !!

[Chris D]

Dan, I've heard people argue that about Castaway, (which is one of my favorites) that it's a big FedEx commercial. The company brand was definitely present. But I actually wonder if it is, because if I were FedEx, I would be TOTALLY scared off from creating a movie where one of my planes crashed.

[Dmantis]

I've been trying to find some time to watch this , Thanks for the review.

[George Bellefontaine]

I enjoyed the movie but the visuals were absolutely stunning.

[aud19]

As I wrote in the Lincoln thread...

While I I enjoyed the movie I thought it was more "merely good" rather than "very good". Fantastic visuals and sound but the actual story itself I found only moderately entertaining. And without giving too much away I got the sense that the "twist" thought it was more clever than it actually was.

A good rental and certainly worth a viewing but can't say I'd buy it.

[Chris D]

My own opinion on this one lines up with Jason. As far as a comparison with Castaway, Pi definitely has the more beautiful visuals. But I'd argue that Castaway is the stronger movie. In today's culture, I don't think it's appreciated, but Hanks' performance was almost entirely silent, and was a masterful performance using non-verbals, lining up with someone in a solitary situation. In Pi, they still relied upon the main character talking even during the "solitary" scenes, and used narrative voice-overs as well. Not to say that Pi was bad, but I think Castaway was stronger for the very reason that today's over-stimulated ADD society thought the silent scenes were boring.

[madmac]

Sorry.....but I could not get past the Fedex plugs in 'Castaway'. It ruined it for me. Kinda' like how commercials ruin TV viewing. It's just not worth it!!. 'Life of PI' did not have that. But, I did love the 'concept' of the movie Castaway. It just got ruined is all. Even the end, when Hanks finally delivers the Fedex package.........totally commercial drivel !!!.

[wkhanna]

To me & The Wife both, a wonderful film.
One of the few that kept her attentive & quite, since the superficial plot was quite simple & engaging. You can guess which version of Pi's story she preferred to believe as the "real" one.

The CGA, the concept, the visual impact.........all very well executed.
The underlying theme of how terrible memories can be suppressed or altered as means for dealing with them & how one's religious belief system affects one’s ability to reason the unreasonable was intriguing, if not fresh.

Remembering Slumdog Millionaire, & more recently, Marigold Hotel, I think it shows how influential India is becoming in the international film industry, where it is Huge.

Not a 'Great' movie, but truly entertaining on many levels.
And these days, with so much crap & trash being released, what more can you ask for?

As sad commentary on the mainstream industry I suppose........
....Maybe I am just a curmudgeon, but were so many bad films made between the 40' & 90's as are being made today?

[Ovation]

There are hundreds of EXCELLENT movies between the 40s and 90s. They are, of course, outnumbered by the dreck from the same period--but the same can be said about the 1900-40 and 2000-today spans as well.

Citizen Kane (40s)
Vertigo (50s)
Lawrence of Arabia (60s)
The Godfather (70s)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (80s)
Unforgiven (90s)

Each of the above is but one example from each decade--there were many, many other wonderful films made in each of those decades. (too many for me to type here)

Oops. Just realized you were not complaining about 40s-90s. My mistake.

2000s films that are worth watching is also a lengthy list. Here are a few I consider worth viewing:

Children of Men
No Country for Old Men
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Enigma
The Dark Knight
Lost in Translation
Stardust
Sideways

I could go on and on.

[wkhanna]

.........2000s films that are worth watching is also a lengthy list. Here are a few I consider worth viewing:

Children of Men
No Country for Old Men
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Enigma
The Dark Knight
Lost in Translation
Stardust
Sideways

I could go on and on.

I agree wholeheartedly with each & every example.
It just seems to me the ratio of bad films vs good films has gone up over past two or three decades. It is most likely just the curmudgeon in me, & of course, I speaking specifically to Hollywood.

[Ovation]

Well, I also think we tend to remember the dreck that is recent as it is fresh in our memory, whereas the dreck of the past is largely forgotten as it recedes from memory, leaving the better works of each decade to be remembered. For every Lawrence of Arabia or Citizen Kane, there are dozens of movies that were horrible, failed at the box office and disappeared after a few weeks--never to be heard from again. In 50 years, no one will remember Ecks vs. Severs.

[Chris D]

Never heard of it.

No... seriously.... never heard of it.

[bigburner]

I watched Life of Pi with my 20 year old daughter last night and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an engaging fable with stunning visual effects.

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

Never heard of it.

No... seriously.... never heard of it.

me either.... & no wonder.... IMDB Link


Nigel,
Happy to hear you also enjoyed it.

[Ovation]

Never heard of it.

No... seriously.... never heard of it.

me either.... & no wonder.... IMDB Link


Nigel,
Happy to hear you also enjoyed it.

Consider yourselves very fortunate. Second worst movie I've ever watched. The worst is something that will likely be remembered a bit longer, though, so I didn't use it to make my point.

[aud19]

Never heard of it.

No... seriously.... never heard of it.

Same :lol:

[George Bellefontaine]

A horrible movie. I wanted to sue the studio for wasting my time.

[madmac]

A horrible movie. I wanted to sue the studio for wasting my time.

Horrible???? Horrible??!!!........really?. Oh my!!. George, what exactly did you not like about it?.

[Ovation]

I think he means Ecks vs. Severs, not Life of Pi.

[George Bellefontaine]

I think he means Ecks vs. Severs, not Life of Pi.

Yeah. I forgot for a moment this thread was about Life of Pi. I posted my thoughts on Pi earlier in this thread.