CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
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DISCLAIMERS:
ï ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
ï This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Have you ever wondered what lessons you'd learn from being trapped on a lifeboat with limited emergency rations and a hungry Bengal tiger? Other than the lesson that a hungry Bengal tiger doesn't really want to become domesticated?
Other than the wordless, visually stunning trailer for Life of Pi, I had no idea what to expect from this film. Having not read the book it's based on, and having a general aversion to hype*1 anyway, all I could do was keep an open mind and wait to be impressed.
It didn't take long. A beautifully shot (if slightly ponderous) title sequence sets the tone for the following two hours as the middle-aged Pi recounts the story of his shipwreck, survival and ultimate rescue to a blocked author. The film is a combination of parable, metaphor and good old fashioned adventure, and the script itself is eager to remind you of this, blurring the lines between fantasy and memory, and reinforcing the point that all that matters is the tale.
And ultimately, that's where Life of Pi comes slightly unstuck. As a spectacle, it's positively jaw-dropping, but narratively it does start to sag a little towards the end. There are only so many fantastical set-pieces that can be laid out in a sequence before they escalate to the point where you realise this may not have actually happened. On top of that, the fact that Pi himself is narrating the plot dictates the main outcome. And if the story isn't about the plot, what's left? Spectacle and metaphor.
Not to put the words down too much, but I can't say enough how gorgeous this film looks, comparatively. The cinematography and visual effects combine to create a sense of delirium that will be imitated for years to come. Yet despite what I've just mentioned, that delirium could only come from this story. With the possible exception of Gerard Depardieu's cartoon-like cameo, all of the cast are convincing, engaging and throughly likeable. The only thing which threatened to pull me out was that strange transitioning between scenes, where the backdrop fades leaving a character superimposed over a scene. Very odd. If you're going to see this, I definitely recommend a cinema for best effect, although I noticed the 3D (although well rendered for live-action) darkens the film horrendously in places. For what's on offer, it'll probably look better in two dimensions.
Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed Life of Pi, I just wished it had left me with more, somehow. There's a little too much self-analysis and shrugging of shoulders for my liking, although that probably says more about me than the film itself. In the words of the eponymous hero: "It happened. Why should it have to mean anything?"
Or, to quote from another movie, "…What's in there?" "Only what you take with you."
*1 By which I mean the hype that surrounds worthy films, novels, plays etc. You know the kind of thing I mean. I have no problem with hype when it comes to zombies, robots or spaceships.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Wow, I should have enjoyed this film more than I did. Really. It's not that I disliked it as such, but there are plenty of things to dislike about it. We spend an inordinate amount of time with Matthias Schoenaerts' Ali, a character so relentlessly unlikeable that I actually didn't want him to be redeemed, and when it did happen, I found it to be unbelievable anyway. I get that he's meant to be emotionally stunted (and in fairness, Matthias acts that aspect well), but the kickboxing*1 is meant to be his unlocking, the window that allows him to release his aggression and be himself. In those fight scenes, however, he seemed as lifeless as in the rest of the film.
Marion Cottilard's Stéphanie on the other hand develops more evenly, learning to cope with a massive physical trauma and re-evaulating the things that are important to her. Notwithstanding the fact that her character is more engaging and likeable, her story-arc is more interesting as the audience have a greater chance of relating to it on some level. She makes far greater strides*2 than Ali, yet seems to get less screen-time (or certainly has less interaction with others, anyway). By the time Ali's story reaches its peak, it all seems tacked on, particularly as we cut straight to a 'and everything was alright the end' scene in which the plot is wrapped up with no further explanation. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that Stéphanie is going to be okay long before that point, and I'd already spent twenty minutes or so idly wondering how they were going to wrap up the meandering non-storyline of her boyfriend.
The annoying thing is, I buy Matthias and Stéphanie as characters, but not their relationship. And that is the central hinge of the film.
Beautifully photographed, full of tension and with the most outstanding special effects work I've seen in recent times, I really wanted to like Rust and Bone more, but ultimately found it a bit directionless. Then again, I'm a heathen.
*1 Well, I say 'kickboxing', only because they say 'kickboxing', but it's just brawling and grappling in a farmyard.
*2 No pun intended. Okay, a little bit.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
'TIS THE SEASON! Let the Christmas movies commence! You're allowed to watch as many as you like, as often as you like, all December!
I was under the impression that Holiday movies were supposed to be exciting and/or warm and/or touching and/or… interesting? Apparently not, if this 97-minute animation demo is anything to go by. If there was ever a film that was ideal for depositing the kids at on a Saturday while you get some shopping done: this is it. They'll be distracted by the bright colours and flying things, and you won't have to sit and weep over how much you've paid to sit and be sedated in three dimensions.
Visually speaking, Guardians is an impressive, if odd, affair. Some of the characters are hugely stylised, some of them less so, leading to several detours down the uncanny valley (main culprit: Jack Frost's freaky-deaky hands). The animation itself; the textures, effects, backgrounds, is nothing short of beautiful, but in a way that completely fails to excuse the uninteresting story and characters. I almost fell asleep at one point, I kid you not. The last twenty minutes pick things up a bit, but it's really too little too late. The 3D work is nicely applied, but it's a CGI film so it's supposed to be ;)
RotG's story seems implausible even within its own confines (although bonus points for fashioning a hero from an amnesiac ghost with no regard for health and safety). There are some chucklesome moments, largely from one-liners and visual slapstick, but nowhere near enough to justify the run-time. The voice-acting's largely passable, but with a story this incoherent you probably won't notice either way. Oh, and it's nice to see that a) DreamWorks have gone with the hollywood tradition of The Bad Guy Must Have A British Accent™, and b) Jude Law has been paid to turn up and make no attempt to disguise his voice from Sounding Exactly Like Jude Law™.
I'm intrigued to know what the younger generation will make of this movie. They are, after all, usually way more discerning than the grown-ups (if the box-office for Taken 2 is anything to go by).
It's as if an animation showreel that was intended for the investors made it through the production process untouched. Technically impressive, but monumentally dull to the point of offensiveness.
Oh, and yes. 'The Easter Bunny is a bit gruff!' We get it. It wasn't funny at the start of the film, and it wasn't funny by the end. Poor, poor Jackman…
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
