Critically acclaimed director Ang Lee, (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) gathers together a relatively unknown cast of actors for the film adaption of the book "Life of Pi". This book had previously been dubbed as the "impossible" novel to film, but was Ang Lee able to prove that assumption wrong? Plot: Pi Patel, a young boy who survives a disaster at sea, is forced to survive in a small boat with the only company being a hungry, wild bengal tiger. My Thoughts: I'm going to try to be systematic in this review, with each paragraph covering a major area of filmmaking and how well it was done in Life of Pi. First and foremost is the script/story. The Life of Pi is a fictional tale, but it doesn't feel like one at all. The story is gripping, and plot holes are non-existent. I couldn't help but wish for a little more action whilst Pi Patel was on the lifeboat, but the energy between Pi and the tiger was plenty enough to keep the story afloat, (<--see what I did there:) And just a side-note, there is a lovely plot twist at the end that will have you and your friends debating the ending for quite some time. Acting was great with previously unknown lead actor Suraj Sharma dominating most of the screen time alongside the bengal tiger (named Richard Parker). Sharma was no Tom Hanks from Cast Away, but he definitely held his own in a promising debut performance. Irrfan Khan, playing the adult Pi Patel, was my favorite performance of the movie. He has an absolutely incredible one-liner near the end of the film that has to be my favorite line I've heard in 2012, (barely taking the title away from the the "limitless ocean" line in Cloud Atlas, spoken by Jim Sturgess.) Khan's one-liner pertained to the main theme of the story, religion. What was interesting about the Life of Pi story was that instead of debating the overdone Hollywood theme of, "Is there a God?", it simply accepted that there was a God, and then asked the question, "which story of God is the real one?" I really, really enjoyed the uniqueness of this theme, and I thought it was incredibly well done. However, Pi falters when it dabbles in other themes that were obvious to a survival story, such as the power of starvation and relationships. It was a little unnecessary, and I would much rather have them focus in on just that one theme of religion. All the same, I was overall satisfied with the way they handled the themes in the film. I don't think I need to say anything about the cinematic experience, but gosh I can't help myself. Wow, was it spectacular. It's the reason this film was made, it's the focus, and its beautiful. It's not even, how you say "Artsy." It's not just the cinema geeks that can appreciate it; everyone can love the beauty of this film. It shows you earth at it's most magnificent, and I can almost hear Ang Lee saying through the cinema, "Look at what you're missing when you busily go through your lives. Look at the beauty this world has to offer." It's so mesmerizing, and totally worth the theater ticket just for the cinematic experience. One shot, when Pi is under water watching a boat sink to the depths, brought tears to my eyes. Life of Pi is a fantastic film. There was no one area where it failed to inspire. I had a few minor issues with the film in different aspects; with the two biggest being the lack of engaging action while on the lifeboat, and the choice to not focus on just the religion theme. There are many stories that can pull off multiple themes, but for Life of Pi, which is very linear, is stretches the story a bit thin. However, the minor details do not diminish from the story too much, and once again, the focus here is not the story; it is the beautiful world in which the story is told.
Honest Abe is on the big screen twice this year, but this time around he's not slaying any vampires. Instead, he is played by one of the most infamous actors in hollywood today, the glorified Daniel Day Lewis. With a host of other superb actors all under the direction of Steven Spielberg, can this movie possibly go wrong? Plot: Set during the the last few months of Abraham Lincoln's life as president of the United States, the story follows Lincoln's incredible struggle to free American slaves through passing the 13th amendment while trying to end a civil war. My Thoughts: Until this movie, I have never had the chance to see Daniel Day Lewis act on the big screen. Now that I have, it's truly unforgettable. Lewis is one of, if not the most dedicated actor in hollywood; totally obsessed with his roles in film. He is nothing short of captivating; so (seemingly) effortlessly becoming the 16th President of the United States, embodying all of his strengths, weaknesses, struggles, joys, and trials. It is a masterpiece, as is Tommy Lee Jones performance as Thaddeus Stevens. Jones was almost as equally moving, and it was a shame the two characters only shared one scene, (but what a great scene it was.) Acting across the board was easily the best part of this movie. I'll go ahead and list a few names: Sally Field, David Strathairn, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Lee Pace, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Hawkes all were incredible. I really believe that casting is Spielberg's greatest ability in filmmaking. I can't think of anyone else that can cast actors for their roles better then he can. The next best aspect of Lincoln was cinematography. The director of cinematography was Janusz Kaminski, who is quite literally the best. He did Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, etc, but even with all those under his belt, I dare say Lincoln was possibly his best work. One shot in particular, in which President Lincoln walks away after dictating a letter to two young scribes, had me tearing up. This was definitely my favorite scene in the whole movie. So, why didn't I love the movie? That's right, I sure didn't. I liked the film, but I didn't love it. After all, all the "technical" stuff was flawless; perfect acting, beautiful cinematography, no plot holes, (It's history so, that's pretty easy), and great music. So what was the problem? Direction. The overall direction of the film just did not grip me. Lots, lots, lots of monologues that, while fun explorations of Daniel Day Lewis's acting talents, bored the progression. Too much political bickering that, while gripping during the House of Representative debates, was pretty boring. And that's at least 95% of the film: talking. Not just talking, but talking about the exact same problem; how to end the war and slavery at the same time. Watch the first half of the trailer below; the dialogue you hear there is all you'll hear for about two hours. So in conclusion, you're left with a film that has incredible actors saying the same thing and talking about the same thing...it needed to go somewhere. But instead, scriptwriter Tony Kushner filled the time with political arguments between political figures, saying the same quotes akin to, "Focus on ending the war, not slaves!", "You can't have it both ways!", "Slaves don't deserve to be free!" etc, etc. However, when the movie shined was when Tommy Lee Jones or Daniel Day Lewis were in the center of the screen, completely captivating the audience with their passionate performances.
