LIFE OF PI

CAROLINE: Here’s what Ang Lee is serving up for Thanksgiving: his new movie, Life of Pi, which stars an unknown Indian guy and a tiger.

RYAN: Mr. Lee won the Oscar for directing Brokeback Mountain, and he’s known for lush cinematography and gorgeous visuals, and he manages to top himself with this movie. It’s so beautiful. 

CAROLINE: This movie has Oscar written all over it.  It’s stunning to look at from the epic scale of the story to the amazing effects and the gorgeous scenery.  It’s like Cast Away meets We Bought a Zoo.

RYAN: [laughs’ The animals in this movie… wow. Even the opening title sequence alone has to be worth the price of admission. 

CAROLINE: Totally.  It’s worth seeing in 3D just for the opening credits. 

RYAN: The rest of the film is such a big adventure and story of survival that it’s awe-inspiring.

CAROLINE: I have not read the book this movie is based on, but I read that many people thought it couldn’t translate to film because of its scale.  A few people tried to adapt it and failed, and then along came Ang Lee, who made it happen.

RYAN: It’s quite an ambitious movie and thematically very deep.  It’s spiritual and really profound.

CAROLINE: This wasn’t necessarily a movie I was dying to see for the fall, but I’m so glad I did.  It’s such an accomplishment in film-making.  It’s truly amazing and keeps you invested from start to finish.  I’m sure everyone knows it from the ads as the movie with the boy and the tiger, which definitely takes up most of the film.  But it’s never dull.

RYAN: One of the most enticing factors of film-going is usually the cast; but this movie is a prime example of when a story is great and a movie is executed well, cast doesn’t matter.

CAROLINE: Aside from a brief glimpse of a chunky Gérard Depardieu, I didn’t recognize anyone in the cast other than the guy who plays Pi as an adult.  He was in The Namesake and Slumdog Millionaire. 

RYAN: This is definitely a movie to see with friends because many of the scenes are so good to talk about and dissect afterward.  I didn’t realize how much spirituality was involved.

CAROLINE: I’m really excited for this movie to come out and hear how people react. Like I said, this wasn’t my most anticipated movie of the fall, but it’s so amazing and so well done that I can’t wait to hear what other people think.  It will surely rack up many an Oscar nod.

RYAN: The effects are incredible, and a lot of the tiger scenes were surely CGI. 

CAROLINE: Yeah, I have no idea how they shot all the stuff with the tiger and made it look so real, but there were seriously only one or two scenes where I could tell he was fake.  It’s such an achievement in filmmaking.  And the 3D only enhanced it. 

RYAN: There’s one scene that literally almost gave me whiplash the 3D was so intense.

— BOTTOM LINE — 

CAROLINE: This is a visually stunning movie that will have a big presence at the Oscars this year.  See it for the effects and the amazing story.  The lead guy doesn’t have any prior acting experience, but he was fantastic. It’s great from start to finish.

RYAN: Everything about this movie is big and worth seeing in the theater.  The visuals, the story, the concepts, the themes; it’s what big, epic movie-making is all about.  Don’t miss this one! 

— RATING —