Life of Pi 3D

A Boy and his Tiger

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of 5 buckets | Friday and DVD

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Rated: PG - Some scary action, emotional thematic content and peril

Release Date: November 21, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes

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Director: Ang Lee
Writers: David Magee, based on the book by Yann Martel
Cast:  Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Adil Hussain, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gerard Depardieu

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SYNOPSIS: When a family needs to sell off their collection of zoo animals, they set sail from India to Canada. When the ship sinks, only son Pi is left on a lifeboat with a ferocious Bengal Tiger.

REVIEW: Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director Ang Lee is known as one of the finest contemporary filmmakers, making visually astounding and emotionally endearing cinematic spectacles. From a script by Finding Neverland's David Magee, from the novel by Yann Martel, Lee must create a world of intrigue and feeling on the pacific ocean with a young man, a lifeboat, and a tiger. 

A writer (Rafe Spall, Prometheus) is directed to a middle-aged Indian man named Pi Patel (Irrfan Khan, The Amazing Spider-Man) with the promise of a story that will make the writer believe in God. Pi treats the writer to a meal and the story of his young life as a boy with the name of a Paris swimming club bestowed upon him by his swimmer and businessman father Santosh (Adil Hussain, The Reluctant Fundamentalist). During Pi's youth his father, along with his botanist wife Gita (Tabu, Khuda Kasam) decides to unite the Indian and French quarters of Pondicherry by using the town's botanical gardens as a zoo. Pi becomes intrigued by a Bengal tiger name Richard Parker who his father forbids his son to interact with. When the economy starts to turn downward and it becomes uncertain whether the town will continue to support the gardens, Santosh and Gita decide to dismantle the zoo and take their sons to Canada to sell the animals and take up other jobs. On the trip, the vessel starts to sink, and only Pi, a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and the Bengal Tiger Richard Parker survive on a lifeboat. Soon, their survival is questioned as the ability for the predators and prey to co-exist becomes untenable. One by one, the quest to survive becomes stronger than the quest to coexist, leaving only Pi and Richard Parker to battle for survival.

The story of the Life of Pi is not just an elaborate visual spectacle centered on the waves of the Pacific Ocean with a lifeboat, a tiger, and a boy. The story starts with Pi as a middle-aged man with the unnamed writer asking for a tale to be told. We get to experience Pi's life from an early age, walking the same roads as he does as he looks to find the meaning of religion, spiritualism, an the meaning of life. By the time the actual sinking of the cargo ship occurs, the audience is already heavily and gladly invested in the discoveries and experiences of the young man Pi. What happens from that point takes on so much meaning for both Pi and the audience.

No stranger to visually stunning and visual effect heavy cinema, Ang Lee does not disappoint with Life of Pi. From the creation of all of the animals in the zoo, on the cargo vessel, and on the life boat, every creature is painstakingly rendered. The Bengal Tiger Richard Parker, both an antagonist and a protagonist, is at times fearsome and scary, as well as sympathetic and endearing. Without a well made Richard Parker, Life of Pi would only be half complete. Add in the gorgeous visual effects of the ship's sinking, the crushing Pacific waves, the beautiful mirrored glass of a calm ocean, the clouds in the day and the stars at night, and the iridescent life that exists outside the safety of the lifeboat - and you have a film that is astounding to watch even when no words are spoken.

What should we take away from this film? The story that Pi describes to the writer borders on the unbelievable. But as a tale of survival and personal growth, it is so relatable and real. What would any of us do in the same situation? A vegetarian boy versus a meat-eating tiger. The conflict is so resolute that there seems to be no way that the two of them could possibly coexist at all, for any length of time.

The 3D effects are sensational, used for perfect moments of wonder or shock. At all other times, it is used to provide that sense of depth that makes the film both surreal and real. I would recommend spending the extra few dollars just for the experience. Word of advice, Life of Pi is not for a younger audience. There are scenes of animal on animal violence that may make youngsters cry. Be sure to use your discretion when deciding to bring any boy or girl under 10 years of age.

Life of Pi is a beautiful visual experience coupled with the heart of an excellent story of survival, redemption, and regret. At the end of the film you will be asked which version of the story you believe. I like the story of a boy and a Bengal tiger better.

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Prometheus IMAX 3D

Faith and Exploration

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Rated: R  Brief language, sci-fi violence and some intense images
Release Date: June 8, 2012
Runtime:  2 hrs 3 mins

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Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damo Lindelof
Cast:  Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idriz Elba, Guy Pearce, Rafe Spall

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SYNOPSIS: A team of scientists, thinking they have discovered a common link across several non-overlapping civilizations, travel to the farthest reaches of the universe to find its source, only to discover that what they find might be the end of mankind instead of its beginnings.

REVIEW: Visionary director Ridley Scott, who brought us Harrison Ford's Blade Runner, Russell Crowe's Gladiator, and Josh Hartnett's Black Hawk Down, returns to his sci-fi roots with a new entry in the Alien universe. The Darkest Hour scribe Jon Spaihts co-writes the film with Lost and Cowboys and Aliens writer Damon Lindelof. Both are familiar with aliens to some extent, but can their work compare to the mythos that Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Ridley Scott created in the 1979 sci-fi masterpiece?

In 2078 Scotland, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green, Devil) discover indisputable proof that separate non-overlapping civilizations throughout history share similar glyphs that point to a M-class planet in a star system too far away to have been known. Years later, Shaw and Holloway are funded by the limitless wealth of Peter Weyland to travel for two years in cryo-sleep to reach the planet they consider to be where alien architects created humanity. Aboard the scientific vessel Prometheus, Weyland Industries created android David (Michael Fassbender, Haywire) watches over the statis-induced scientists and crew until their arrival to the planet. Company representative Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman) runs the operation for the scientific team with Captain Janek (Idris Elba, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) helming the ship. Once awake and briefed, they discover man-made structures that warrant investigation. A scout team including Shaw, Holloway, the android David, medical officer Ford (Kate Dickie, Game of Thrones), geologist Fifield (Sean Harris, A Lonely Place to Die), and biologist Millburn (Rafe Spall, Anonymous) venture inside the mound. Finding a labyrinth of tunnels, strange chambers with stranger pedestals, and 2,000 year dead giant aliens. Soon, scientific fervor, blind faith and hidden corporate agendas look to change their fortunate discovery of the possible genesis of mankind into a countdown to the end of humanity as they know it.

True to the franchise he created and that spawned three sequels, Ridley Scott directs a sci-fi film that slowly builds in story and intense suspense. Striking the line between unwavering faith and scientific curiosity, the obvious question must be asked. If these aliens visited earth several times during several ancient civilizations, did they span humanity as a species? If they indeed engineer mankind, why hadn't modern society witnessed first-hand evidence of their existence? Shaw searches for the truth using both her faith and her science. Holloway, who loves Shaw, lacks the religious faith but compensates with the obsession of asking the 'gods' of the reasons why they created humanity, and why they eventually abandoned humanity. Bank-rolling the expedition, Weyland Industries led by the late Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce, Lockout) and the on-site Vickers are really just looking to find something to profit from.

There is much speculation crashing through the surfs of the internet whether this Ridley Scott film is truly a prequel to the Alien anthology or just another film in the same universe. And based on other electronic reports, even Joss Whedon's Firefly-class Serenity and her crew led by Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds seem to exist in the same universe as the Company eventually revealed as Weyland. Based on Whedon's pilot, Firefly exists in the year 2517 where Weyland Industries has become Weyland-Yutani Corporation. So much speculation breeds so much doubt. In the Prometheus trailers, it seems too similar to the original Alien film that the alien trying to launch the crescent-shaped spacecraft  in Prometheus is one and the same as the one found by the scout crew of the Nostromo. Other than that, I cannot say without spoiling the film in the affirmative or the negative.

What is also similar to the Alien anthology is the presence of a strong female character. In Prometheus, we are graced by two woman with the strength of their convictions. Noomi Rapace of the original version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo shows that she has both gentle faith and raw determination as Shaw. Countering Rapace is Charlize Theron and her secretive and iron-fisted Vickers who proves she is as determined as Shaw, but for different reasons. With respect to the resident android Ash played by Ion Holms in the original film, Michael Fassbender echoes a beautiful stoic performance as the robotic son the late Peter Weyland always wanted. He embodies both the best parts of Ash and Lance Henriksen's Bishop. The rest of the cast follows the concise formula of characterization that Ridley Scott is known for, although I am still partial to the performances of Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto, but the always enjoyable Idris Elba comes close.

Prometheus is a perfect addition to an already richly storied film series. Ridley Scott, inspired by H.R. Giger's intense designs, created an alien mythos in his 1979 science fiction classic. James Cameron came along in 1986 and flipped the script by reinventing the series with an expanded Ripley character, more aliens, and a cargo hold full of firepower. Fight Club's David Fincher turned the tables yet again by stripping away most of the baggage of the previous film, adding a prison and introducing more understanding of the symbiotic alterations that the geno-morphing alien undergoes. Jean-Pierre Jeunet tried to recapture some of the Cameron and Fincher magic with a resurrected Ripley, a claustrophobic space station, and freaky sideshow of genetic manipulation, but ended up with a weaker version of any of what came before. Now, with Prometheus, Scott ensures that what he created will continue to have a life of its own. Coming in at two hours and three minutes, Ridley takes his time building to a hell of a climatic conclusion. Gorgeously rendered environments and new evidence of a unknown species makes this trip to space worthwhile.

Prometheus is a sci-fi film filled with story, intensity and suspense. Scott creates a new world in his same Alien universe, embarking on a new adventure of science, faith, religion and questions of the genesis of our existence and origins. If we were created by an alien race, what does that say about us and our beliefs? And if aliens created us, who created them?


NOTE: Stay to the end for a poster by Weyland Industries, or just go to http://www.weylandindustries.com/timeline.

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WORTH: Matinee and BluRay

Anonymous

A Triumph In Tragedies

Director: Roland Emmerich

Writers: John Orloff
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Xavier Samuel, Sam Reid, David Thewlis

SYNOPSIS: Set during the reign and eventual succession of Queen Elizabeth I, it is postulated that Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford actually penned all of the plays that William Shakespeare is noted for writing.

REVIEW: Roland Emmerich, notable director of such disaster movies as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and the 1998 version of Godzilla, takes a break from the science fact/fiction of the end of the world in favor of the heavier drama of 16th Century England and the works of William Shakespeare. Led by a script by Band of Brothers and The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole writer John Orloff, Anonymous proposes a new version of history with William Shakespeare as a fraud.

During the 16th Century and the England and Ireland rule under Queen Elizabeth I (Vanessa Redgrave), known as the Elizabethan Era, the kingdom is fighting invaders and campaigns on many fronts. From the Netherlands to Spain, England has spread out its forces to defend its interests. During her reign, English drama flourished. In Anonymous, the plays of one William Shakespeare have come into question. Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans - Pirate Radio, young Edward played by Jamie Campbell Bower)) grew into nobility after the death of his parents, taken in and tutored in the was of state, policy, language and philosophy by one of the royal's ministers, William Cecil (David Thewlis - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2). Growing up in a Protestant house, drama, theater and poetry are considered sacrilege. As a young man, Edward becomes a lover of the not-as-young Queen Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), taken by his musings and poet's heart. In later life, knowing that a nobleman would be branded and ostracized if it were known that he had written plays for the theater, Edward approaches Ben Johnson (Sebastian Armesto - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) to take his plays and manuscripts under the Johnson pen name and publish and produce his works for him. Concerns about his own work, Johnson balks at stepping forward as the play write. And when the play is received to thunderous applause and Johnson did not step forward, actor Will Shakespeare (Rafe Spall - Hot Fuzz) announces that the play is his work - propelling him into the spotlight for money and notoriety.

There is so much more that could be revealed, but at what cost? A political suspense thriller, the validity of William Shakespeare's work in only part of the story. The lifelong relationship of Edward with Queen Elizabeth holds the heart and center of the film, setting off numerous chains of events that affect both the stability of the Tudor monarchy and the kingdom of England. Back stabbing, stolen work, blackmail, assassination attempts, forbidden love, supposed heirs to the throne, and plots to overthrow a nation all play their part in this classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy.

Rhys Ifans Edward performance is tortured and deep, all the while trying to purge the demons of the words in his mind by inking them to parchment. Jamie Campbell Bower portrayal of the young Earl of Oxford adds lightness and the eventual weight that his later version carries. And what of a queen, played expertly by Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson, whose entire life was shaped by attempts of overthrows to her throne and her crown?

Anonymous is a brilliant work, carrying all of the earmarks of what makes a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy so classic and enduring. Every performance is superb, every actor and actress engrossing. If all the world is a stage, and if period quasi-historical films are your genre of choice, Anonymous should not remain unknown to you.

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

One Day

Quiet Romance

Director: Lone Scherfig
Writers: David Nicholls
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Rafe Spall


SYNOPSIS: In One Day, we follow Emma and Dexter as they graduate on July 15th, 1988 from University and spend the night together. On the same date each year, we catch a glimpse of their lives as they grow together and apart.

REVIEW: Lone Scherfig, director of An Education, brings her mastery of subtle characterization and effortless evolving plot lines to the quiet romance of One Day. Using a screenplay by David Nicholls from his book, Scherfig focuses her energy and talents on bringing Emma and Dexter to life - for the same date of the year over a span of years starting from the night of and morning after their graduation from University.

Rich kid Dexter, played by Jim Sturgess of Across the Universe and 21, parties the night away with his University mates after graduation, eager to travel the world on his parents' dime. Along for the night's festivities is Emma, a poetry writing, book wormy girl with dreams of making her impression on the world. After a night spent together, Emma and Dexter decide to remain friends. A year passes and on the same date, July 15th, Emma and Dexter are together again. This time, Dexter is trying to catch a plane out of the country but helps Emma move into a rundown flat. Emma still has innocent high hopes for impressing upon the world and Dexter is anxious to embark across it. Every year passes and a new vignette opens before us, showing Emma, Dexter, and the course of their lives at that moment. Over the years, Dexter thrives as a television host while Emma flounders as a waitress. One pines for the other, knowing that the love will be unrequited. To say any more would be to give too much away.

Lone Scherfig, with her flare for understated realistic characters and gentle natural story development, is the perfect fit for Nicholls story. Anne Hathaway portrays Emma with quiet and sweet resolution and determination. Jim Sturgess embodies the excess that comes with privilege and the heights that one can fall from. The entire cast including Patricia Clarkson as Dexter's mother Alison lend themselves to superb performances and a surprisingly superior story. Every scene resonates with a faint regret or resolution we have all felt once or more in our lives.

A serious drama with lighthearted and tender moments, you will be moved by the heartache both Emma and Dexter in their lives and with each other. A slow, steady story that steadily builds and culminates in a satisfying, bittersweet conclusion, One Day may not be a huge success, but it is a successful film.

WORTH: Matinee or Rental