Life of Pi

Life of Pi
Jay's Rating: 8 out of 10
Wow! I have never seen such amazing special effects that were so realistic. That’s the Life of Pi. Uses a great true story, and adds an amazing 3D experience to it. This movie is about a boy and his family, who own a zoo, traveling to Canada, but their ship sinks, and all the animals and Pi’s family go down with it. Pi is then stranding on a life raft with little supplies, and a bengal tiger who survived. The movie shows Pi surviving with the bengal tiger, who is sometimes trying to kill him, but ends up making friends with him. The special effects are amazing! They include lots of mystical lights, and strange creatures and plants. The movie is also sad, though, like when the ship sinks and all the animals drown, but the saddest part was when Pi and the tiger were in a storm, and Pi was screaming at the sky, thunder booming and lightning flashing, screaming to God, asking him whether it was his time or not. That part was a little confusing. I think this movie is ok for kids 8 and up. If you ever get a chance to see this movie in 3D, definitely do it; you won’t be disappointed!

Mom’s Rating: 6

This film was a visual and technical miracle and I am glad I saw it on the big screen, but I didn’t really feel it added up to much.  Actually I felt the same way about the book- beautifully written but a lot of vague, content-free spirituality. You have to give Ang Lee props- everyone thought it was an unfilmable book and he pulled it off- this is 100% a director’s movie and I wouldn’t complain if he won (although it really should have been Afleck). He took CGI and 3D and used them with real artistic purpose, in the service of the story.  People in charge of the new Star Wars movies- take note!  These are technical tools, not ends in themselves.  That said, I’m still didn’t feel this movie had much weight or meaning to it.