Film: Life of Pi

GENRE: Adventure/Drama

RATING: PG for some war violence and brief strong language

RUNTIME: 2 hours and 7 minutes

STARRING: Suraj Sharma (newcomer)

Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire, The Amazing Spiderman)

DIRECTOR: Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon))

WRITER: David Magee (Finding Neverland)

PLOT: A young man learns more about himself while stranded at sea with a hungry Bengal tiger.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 What a gripping story. I never read the book so all of this was new to me. This is a wonderful tale of survival. It reminded me of Castaway, except it’s on water and this ‘Wilson’ wants to eat you.

2 While newcomer Sharma does an amazing job as Pi, it’s really the Bengal tiger, Richard Parker that steals the show. It looks so incredibly life-like. The CG folks deserve a standing ovation.

3 The visuals in this film are stunning. Lee makes the abandonment at sea a beautiful experience. I’m glad I didn’t risk the potential blurriness of seeing it in 3D. I’m sure it will look cool to 3D viewers as well.

4 The hyena is a real jerk.

5 One of the opening shots is of a sloth. I love sloths.

RECOMMENDATION: Beautifully shot, 3D unnecessary

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Hobbit, Hitchcock

Film: Lincoln

GENRE: Biopic/Drama

RATING: PG-13for some war violence and brief strong language

RUNTIME: 2 hours and 30 minutes

STARRING: Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York, My Left Foot)

Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), Sally Field (Forrest Gump)

DIRECTOR: Steven Speilberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan)

WRITER: Tony Kushner (Munich, Angels in America)

PLOT: In his final few months, Lincoln fights to free the slaves with the passing of his amendment, while finding peace to the Civil War.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Daniel Day-Lewis is mesmerizing as Abraham Lincoln. Of course, this should not shock anyone. He is simply riveting in every scene he is in. He doesn’t need even need the loud bravado that usually accompanies his roles. His silent reflections and fun stories are just as spell-binding. Give this guy another Oscar.

2 This government wheeling and dealing to get enough votes to pass Lincoln’s amendment plays out like a very long West Wing episode, without the walk & talk of course. Running at 2½ hours, they probably could have cut out 30 minutes though.

3 Tommy Lee Jones is looking old. What a craggy face he has! He does some mighty fine work as Thaddeus Stevens though. He’ll probably get a supporting actor nod for his work.

4 This film is jam packed with great actors. It’s like everyone wanted to get in on the action. I wish I saw this film earlier so I could have copied a style or two for Movember. Such crazy facial hair back in the day!

5 I enjoyed the use of Morse code in the film; talk about old-school tweeting.

RECOMMENDATION: Long for theatres, but great acting all around

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Life of Pi, The Hobbit

Film: Silver Linings Playbook

GENRE: Drama/Comedy

RATING: R for language & some sexual content

RUNTIME: 2 hours and 2 minutes

STARRING: Bradley Cooper (Hangover, Limitless, Alias)

Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games), Robert DeNiro (Godfather II)

DIRECTOR: David O Russell (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees)

WRITER: David O Russell (I Heart Huckabees,Three Kings)

PLOT: A bi-polar man is released from a mental institution and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife by helping a woman with issues of her own.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 I have enjoyed watching Bradley Cooper since his second season on Alias. It shouldn’t be a shock that he can do some great dramatic work; he’s not limited by his Hangover role. He does an outstanding job in this film and deserves the inevitable Oscar nomination.  Jennifer Lawrence also does formidable work in this film. They are great to watch both on their own and together. Awesome.

2 It was nice to see Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) again. He hasn’t been on screen for the past 5 years. Playing a minor character who doesn’t talk as fast or as nasally is a great way for him to get back into the business.  

3 I really liked the dialogue throughout the film and I found some genuine surprises in the story. However, I think this film is a little long at times causing it to drag a bit. But this a minor fault.

4 Russell uses a lot of extreme close-ups in this film. Understandably, it is used to make the viewer a bit uncomfortable being that close to the actor’s face but it mostly works. Luckily the stars are pretty.

5 Great job casting Julia Stiles (Bourne Ultimatum) as Lawrence’s sister. It was totally believable. I also hope they aged Stiles, otherwise the last two years since Dexter has not been very kind to her.

RECOMMENDATION: Watch for Oscar contention reasons

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Lincoln, Life of Pi

Film: Skyfall

GENRE: Action/Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for action violence, some sexuality & language

RUNTIME: 2 hours and 23 minutes

STARRING: Daniel Craig (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Munich)

Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Naomie Harris (28 Days Later)

DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition)

WRITERS: Neil Purvis (Casino Royale), Robert Wade (Johnny English)

John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator, Hugo)

PLOT: MI6 is targeted so Bond must protect M at all costs.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 This is another great chapter in the Bond series, and not only because Quantum of Solace was not that great. I still like Casino Royale better though. There’s something about that poker game. I am sad that Bond didn’t have time to play some cards this time around.

2 Love watching Judi Dench on screen. I was happy to see M getting a larger role. She works great with Craig.

3 I enjoyed Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) as the new Q. I like that he was a younger tech nerd.

4 Even though I haven’t seen all the James Bond films, I still enjoyed the callbacks to previous films. This film contained both recalls and reboots. Well done writers!

5 I understand that 00 agents need to stay classy, but when you’re fighting on a speeding train, you can probably lose the flapping jacket that’s getting in your way. The shirt and tie should be good enough. Just sayin’.

RECOMMENDATION: Great Bond for the theatre

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook

Film: Wreck-It Ralph

GENRE: Animation

RATING: PG for some rude humor & action violence

RUNTIME: 1 hour and 48 minutes

STARRING: John C Reilly (Step Brothers, Chicago)

Sarah Silverman (School of Rock), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)

DIRECTOR: Rich Moore (Futurama, The Simpsons)

WRITERS: Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids), Jennifer Lee (newcomer)

PLOT: A video game villain want to be the hero for once but ends up ruining other arcade games in the process.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 What a fun and clever film! Not only does this fun tale pay homage to both retro and current video games but it also brilliantly creates a behind-the-scenes world with cross-game interaction at powerhubs and arcade bars.

2 The kid voice that Silverman brings to outcast Vanellope von Schweetz is simply adorable and snarky at the same time. She is so fun to listen to.

3 McBrayer’s Fix-It Felix is so close to Kenneth the Page on 30 Rock that it looks like he may be typecast for the rest of his career.

4 I wish there were more references to the classic games. I was hoping for some Frogger and Space Invader dudes. Maybe they are in the background and I’ll have to watch the movie again to spot them.

5 I loved the set design for the game Sugar Rush. Talk about eye candy.

RECOMMENDATION: Fun in theatres, but fine for home too

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Skyfall, Flight, Lincoln