LIFE OF PI
I've never had the pleasure of reading Yann Martel's highly acclaimed novel, but if it's anything remotely as revelatory and moving as Ang Lee's adaptation, I shall have to look into rectifying that immediately. Life of Pi never aspires to be anything less than one of the most beautiful films ever made and it succeeds. Following the story of Pi (Suraj Sharma), an open minded young man who's a self-proclaimed Catholic Buddhist as well as a Muslim. His father owns a zoo in India and is highly cynical towards religion. Naturally, his son's fascination with all facets of the subject frustrates him to no end. Pi's father decides to move the family zoo to Canada and, during their journey, a massive thunderstorm hits, sinking the boat and leaving only Pi and a few of the zoo's inhabitants, including a vicious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, as its survivors. And so we pay witness to an incredible tale of survival, courage, and friendship all wrapped up in a universal question: "Does God truly exist?" And if this film is the best argument that one can muster for proof of the existence of God, then God must be rather pleased.
From beginning to end, Ang Lee's adaptation is a visual masterpiece with a profound soul. Its beauty knows no bounds and presents images so stunning that your jaw grow weary of hitting the theater floor. The cinematography by Claudio Miranda is nothing short of majestic. I had the pleasure of catching the film in both 2D and 3D and this is one of the few times I will recommend seeing the 3D version over the 2D. Like Avatar and Hugo it was clearly designed to be viewed in this way.
Performance-wise, everyone is strong across the board - Especially Suraj Sharma as our hero Pi. He practically carries the entire picture on his shoulders as most of the picture involves him acting opposite animals. Speaking of which, I'm not sure which animals were digital as opposed to real-life; the visual effects are easily the best of the year (Eat your heart out, Hobbit) and some of the best I have ever seen.
The effects may make it a front-runner for the Oscar come awards season, but its heart and soul are what make it a transcendent, meaningful work of art and one of the finest pictures of 2012.
FINAL RATING: 4.5/5
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Peter Jackson's first installment of his new money-grubbing Hobbit trilogy. Based on Tolkien's fun, flimsy novel, An Unexpected Journey is certainly flimsy, but not much fun. The Hobbit is a short, simple narrative, but Jackson has seen fit to stretch it out over the course of three films, the first of which is nearly three hours long. Jackson adds additional subplots that may or may not be in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings (I haven't bothered to check), but none of them enrich the story. With the addition of many superfluous storylines, the tale loses its sense of innocence and simple fun and adventure.
That's not to say the movie is a complete failure - It most certainly isn't dreadful. It's just that for every strong moment (Usually taken directly from the source material) there are two to three moments serving as attempts to pad out the mind numbing running length and only serve to weigh the whole thing down. These additional fun-spoiling moments are not actually taken from the book on which the film is based. This is one case where sticking to the simpler source material may have resulted in a more enjoyable film.
Thankfully, Martin Freeman provides some joy and levity with his excellent performance as Bilbo Baggins. This performance is mostly lost amidst the extraneous plotlines and boring supporting characters. Maybe I'm stretching a bit to suggest that a movie entitled The Hobbit should have focused on its title character a bit more? Other performances fall into their regular paces including a welcome return for Ian McKellen as Gandalf. However, due to the massive amounts of characters and dull plotlines, there's not much to invest in emotionally. As a result, the stakes don't ever rise to be much more complex than your average video game - Though, truthfully, video games these days are actually more thoughtful and entertaining than this lameness. It's a bit insulting that New Line/Warner Bros/MGM want us to dish out the $$$ for three separate tickets to a trilogy of films that could easily have been one.
It's disheartening to think that the same minds who created the cinematic masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings went into creating this drivel. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey may not the most disappointing film of the year (Hello, The Dark Knight Rises), but for the first time in my life, the prospect of returning to Middle-Earth is not something I'm anticipating with much excitement.
FINAL RATING: 3/5
Silver Linings Playbook is this year's The Descendants. For many, that may be enough cause for celebration. For me, it means I must be submitted to another sitcom episode that fancies itself to be a whole lot deeper and more meaningful than it actually is. In my review for the 2011 film directed by Alexander Payne and starring George Clooney, I wrote, "I went into [The Descendants] with high expectations, considering all the acclaim it had been receiving and its best picture nod, but what I witnessed was a cliche-ridden story so full of contrivances and obvious story beats that I couldn't help but be deeply disturbed at all the high praise it's been receiving." The same thing, sadly enough, applies to Silver Linings Playbook, which, while it hasn't officially been nominated for Best Picture, is certainly one of the front runners for a nod.
Performances are strong from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, but the screenplay by David O. Russell is a shallow jumble of one predictable moment after another. My eyes rolled so much that if the only way they could have gotten more of a workout would have been if the film had been in 3D. Thank God it isn't; Russell's direction is headache inducing enough as it is. Every character introduction is graced with a dramatic push-in to close up and the chaotic editing is so confounding that I found myself wishing I was watching Quantum of Solace. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But only a bit. This might actually be the worst directed film I've seen all year and this is a big shame since I've been a fan of Russell's other works, especially The Fighter and I Heart Huckabees.
The whole second act is a dreadful bore, but things wrap up nicely for a wonderfully contrived dance competition, which results in every character getting exactly what they want to the point where I was half expecting to hear an audience laugh/applause track. On second thought, a laugh track might have made the movie more entertaining. At the very least, it would have easily drowned out the sound of my annoyed sighs and groans.
FINAL RATING: 2.5/5
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