Movie Info
Director Ang Lee creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with another survivor...a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Once again the adverts pre-film suggest that all the action happens in the foyer, and never a truer word said. First off a wonderful act of human kindness as a lady approached me with a spare ticket for the Life of Pi explaining that one of her party didn't turn up. So I accepted gratefully and with my cineworld membership, all I had to pay for was the popcorn. However my luck was about to turn as once in the packed theatre, I soon realized the film was showing in 3D. So I abandoned my 6 year old niece and went on a quest for some 3D glasses. I argued with the till girl that I should get them for free as I was Cineworld royalty with my black membership card but she refused to budge. I told her it would have been an idea to tell me the film was in 3D before going in, to which she raised a solitary eyebrow. I returned to the theatre and was relieved to find that my niece had not been captured by some opportunist film buff peado. I gave her the glasses which enveloped her entire face.
So you may have heard some rave reviews about this flick, I had not heard anything, but after sitting through the Parent Trap for the second time, 101 & 102 Dalmations, I would be buggered alive before sitting through Nativity 2. I had pleaded with my sister that Skyfall was still showing and that my niece would need to be introduced to the franchise at some point, but she flattly refused and so, Life of Pi was the compromising middle ground.
Let me start with saying how incredible this film looks. I mean just beautifully shot. I'm not sure how much of the Bengal Tiger scenes was CGI, probably all of it, but those scenes are masterfully choreographed. At two and a bit hours my niece sat patiently through, though I would say there could be at least 10 minutes shaved off without missing a beat. The end had an extra 5 minutes of unnecessary fluff and that created a slight anti-climax. Also there is a lot of GOD reference. Which again is not a criticism but could turn a few people off, especially in the first 20 minutes.
I think I'd need to read the book to get a definitive answer to the writers intentions for that. Which I am not going to do. Also I will say that this film lays down a marker for all CGI animals now. The Grey had pretty average effects for its wolfs, as did the entire Twilight saga, going by the trailers. You only have to look back at films like The Ghost and The Darkness to see how far technology has come, and I don't expect to settle for anything less than this standard from now on.
Tomato Meter - 89% (critics)
Tomato Meter - 90% (audience)
Peter Meter - 90%
Last night I grabbed a couple of bottles of Crabbies and went over to my mates flat in the sticks to watch Berberian Sound Studio.
Movie Info
In the 1970s, a British sound technician is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a gruesome horror film. His nightmarish task slowly takes over his psyche, driving him to confront his own past. Berberian Sound Studio is many things: an anti-horror film, a stylistic tour de force, and a dream of cinema. As such, it offers a kind of pleasure that is rare in films, while recreating in a highly original way the pleasures of Italian horror cinema.
This film is probably aimed at geeks like me. I have a unnatural obsession when it comes to sound effects in cinema ever since I heard that Jaws disappearing into the water is actually the sound of a can of coke being poured over a concrete floor. So the homage part to old 70's films was actually quite interesting. Really interesting actually. The film itself looks stylish and has some good ideas. The main fault is that demands a lot of your patience as it is incredibly slow paced throughout, but your patience is never rewarded because it goes nowhere. It really goes fucking nowhere.
Tomato Meter - 70% (critics)
Tomato Meter - 54% (audience)
Peter Meter - 42%
I also caught up on a Roy Orbison documentary which can be found on the iPlayer, as well as the John Barry documentary, both were excellent. I managed to squeeze in 2 Bond flicks, Dr No and Casino Royale but as this will be the last blog of the year, my top 3 films have to be:
1# The Master
2# Skyfall
3# Life of Pi
Yes that means Killer Joe is not in the top 3 this year unfortunately. So watch The Master and NOT Life of Pi, or Berberian Sound Studio.
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