Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi'

[dark_b]

how dare you watch this movie in november? i have to whait until december.

 

[matrix_ghost]

I think James Cameron's company, Pace Group

Cameron's Pace Group develops 3-d cameras.. Not CGI.

http://www.cinefex.com/upcomingfilms/upcoming.php?id=196
Check out the link above.
These are the companies which have worked on the CGI shots.

 

[acedrake]

When I saw the film I was floored, the film to me is nearly perfect. Surprised is not doing better business at the box office and with critics. Nevertheless it deserves best picture nom.

 

[Ultimatehero]

When I saw the film I was floored, the film to me is nearly perfect. Surprised is not doing better business at the box office and with critics. Nevertheless it deserves best picture nom.

It's a hard sell. It might be too religious for teenagers. It's too scary for younger children and reports are of children old enough to not be terrified are getting bored because of the pacing. Leaving really college students and older. It's basically not really the kind of film to bring in tons of money due to a narrowed demographic range. For some reason I see it possibly having a similar box office to Brokeback Mountain. Taboo film matter (gay interest film vs religious interest film) and plays better with a more mature audience despite the PG rating.

 

[piccolo]

This was one of the best movies ive ever seen. If it doesnt get srs consideration for best picture, the whole system should be scrapped. Not to mention best actor and best director, cinematography, and score. This film should be sweeping the oscars. Watching this was a surreal, emotional experience that i'll never forget.

Thank you to everyone involved in producing this and bringing it to film.

 

[Mogwai]

Great film!

 

[Pink Ranger]

From what I've seen, Life of Pi is doing well financially, for the kind of film it is. It's likely going to be benchmarked as a limited release film that's going to do a slow burn into awards season.

 

[dark_b]

this is interesting
http://www.jpjeunet.com/GB/life-of-pi/

before you start complaining that he directed alien4 look up what he directed before alien 4 and after.

 

[John Locke]

I'm sorry but I hated this movie. The whole point of the movie was spirituality and that everything happens for a reason and that just depressed me. I know it's meant to do the opposite but still.

 

[jacobed]

It's definitely a theme that some will not agree and I can definitely understand that. I personally loved it.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

Easily the most visually beautiful movie I've ever seen. True art on screen.

 

[Asr]

The trailers for the movie were totally misleading - I was expecting this to be a quasi-fantasy movie based on them, so I was surprised when the movie turned out to be a lot more grounded in reality than I thought. In fact, there was really no fantasy at all in the movie - just about everything in it was set in the real world. It was also a lot more melodramatic than the trailers made it look, and very religious in nature, which the trailers also completely skipped. Not that I minded any of that, it's just that the trailers had me expecting a completely different type of movie.

Without giving anything away, I'd describe the movie as a philosophically religious, autobiographical melodrama, which makes it sound more pretentious than it was. It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster ride as well. This quote from Rotten Tomatoes sums it up pretty well too: "A mash up of fable, religious allegory, visual 3D feast, Animal Planet special, drama and comedy."

That said, this movie was pure art - in the visuals, the sound & music, the directing, the storytelling & pacing, etc. The night-time scenes especially were some of the best visual stuff, holy crap! I recommend seeing this movie on a screen as large as possible, like IMAX, just for them!

This movie made me fear and fall in love with the ocean at the same time, at how powerful the waves could be, yet serene at other times.

Something else about the trailers I have to mention, is that they made the tiger look like it was just part of one scene, when it actually had an extremely large role in the movie, on the level of a pivotal character. And in that aspect, I thought the tiger did extremely well as an "animal actor" - it was the best use and display of an animal yet in any kind of movie. Speaking of which, I loved how this movie played up the world of the animal kingdom, from typical zoo animals to sharks & dolphins and other things from much deeper in the ocean. That stuff was brilliantly awesome and the way that Ang Lee manipulated the audience into feeling awe, fear, or curiosity of animals was amazing!

I feel like I could dissect this movie in all sorts of ways like that. From the way it used the animals, to the visuals, to the theological & philosophical questions it posed, everything was just multi-layered. This definitely deserves at least a Best Pic nom if not the win, and I'm not just saying that lightly. This film transcended multiple levels and hit me on both emotional and intellectual wavelengths, which most films rarely do for me (it's usually one or the other, not both). I have to hand it to Ang Lee, he did something fantastic here that I'm guessing most people probably won't realize until later on.

I rate this film 11/10!

Btw, as a frame of reference, I'm 29 and would affiliate myself as "religious", so I guess I was in the film's demographic.

 

[Poeman]

My mom thought the animals were real...

CGI of the year

 

[Octoberist]

I have to agree that the visual effects here are incredible. Just incredible. I swear I forget that half of the time the animals were CGed. Some shots are obvious but it's forgivable.

Also the cinematography is just beautiful, especially when we get to the boat. My only beef is - while the imagery is surreal and picturesque - the cinematographer has hiccups with the more 'ordinary' scenes because it shows the limitations of digital cameras. Sometimes the footage looks too videoy and i'm sure that was not the intention but not knowing how adapt to digital.

I say that because the Arri Alexa can totally look like film; look at Drive or Hugo.

PS: One of the Japanese actors in the film looks like Chris Cooper.

 

[aNarcHy2day]

Is Richard Parker eligible for a Best Actor Oscar?



Honestly though, the movie was freaking gorgeous.

And speaking as an Indian, Irrfan Khan is easily the best Khan in Bollywood!

 

[Kane52630]

And speaking as an Indian, Irrfan Khan is easily the best Khan in Bollywood!

I wouldn't go that far, Shahrukh Khan is still my boy. Then it's Irrfan.

 

[aNarcHy2day]

I wouldn't go that far, Shahrukh Khan is still my boy.

Personally, I do think he's past it. He once was my favourite but now it seems like that was in another era altogether!

 

[Poeman]

I wouldn't go that far, Shahrukh Khan is still my boy. Then it's Irrfan.

Eh you are mistaken...The best bollywood actor is Aamir Khan

 

[aNarcHy2day]

^^ Shouldn't we have a thread for this?

Poor Ang Lee!

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

First thoughts:

Amazingly beautiful movie.
Just as great as the book.
Ang Lee finally made something I enjoy.

 

[Fenrir]

As explained in more detail over here, yes, I believe it is safe to say that I liked this film.

 

[Micromind]

Great movie, one of this year's best. Ang Lee took it to another level. Newcomer Suraj Sharma was good as young Pi.

And AFI has included Life of Pi in the top movies list of 2012.

http://www.afi.com/afiawards/default.aspx

 

[Pink Ranger]

I hope this movie gets to be like Hurt Locker; not a lot of people will see, but the critics and industry types will like it enough that it wins awards. It deserves it, definitely.

 

[Kane52630]

It definitely deserves it, last year I was hoping for The Artist to get best Picture and best Actor and it did. Hopefully my predictions are right again.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Second thoughts:

A near perfect adaptation of the novel. Very accurate.
Great acting, cinematography, special effects, etc. Even the 3D was fun.
One of the best films of the year. A new favorite.
I need to see it again!