Life of Pi

I'm doing this backwards as I've seen the movie and I'm still reading the book.  The story: a boy, a zoo, a horrific storm in the Pacific which leaves the boy stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan.  Ang Lee has captured the very essence of this award-winning book, deserving of its Oscar nominations and introducing us to a character and an actor who endures one of the most difficult journeys, whether fictional or not, Suraj Sharma, as Piscine Molitor Patel.  Although, you basically know the outcome of the story, you're drawn into it like a moth to a flame.  It's gorgeous, mesmerizing, terrifying, and mysterious.  Rating:  4 stars

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Our main focus for this independent film is the life of Hushpuppy and her daddy, Wink.  They, along with others, live on a delta island known as “The Bathtub” off the coast of Louisiana.  Hushpuppy is six years old and basically raising herself, learning survival skills meant for much older people.    She has a vivid imagination and a strong sense of loyalty to her daddy, her community, and a link to the universe as seen by her very young and impressionable eyes.  We all know about the results of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, but nobody, until now, has dealt with what it was like for those living on the other side of the levee.  It’s eye-opening and makes issues of poverty, independence, living life on your own terms, crystal clear.  I think they should start producing those Survivor shows in the United States in areas like the Bayou, the Appalachians, the Rain Forest, the Dakotas, or Alaska with nothing more than basics.  Very well done with unknown talent; has a sort of gritty, sooty, greasy, muddy feel to it, but that’s okay.  Rating:  3.75 stars

Les Miserables

I’ll just say it, “I love musicals”.  The backlash from those artists who aren’t thrilled to death with the performances of the actors as singers (Adam Lambert), I say, pish tosh.  Yes, he’s been on the stage and he’s very good at what he does, but I didn’t see him cast in this film or any others for that matter, so, his opinion, is just that.  I was surprised by the performances, not only due to the amount of skill by the leads, actually everyone in the film sang…it was a literal translation of the stage production and it was done well.  Eddie Redmayne. I think, was the one that surprised me the most.  I only recall seeing him in My Week With Marilyn before and he was a formidable Marius.  

Paris, post French Revolution, is not the prettiest City you’ve ever seen, at least the parts that we’re taken to.  There are truly disgusting bits and pieces throughout the film and if you are in the least bit squeamish about muck and what it’s like in the sewers of a place and time where everything flows into the nearest waterway, then consider this your heads up.  

Gloom, despair, agony, defeat, getting ready to call it quits, it truly was a miserable existence.  Despite the strum and drang theme of Victor Hugo’s book and the relentless pursuit of a man whose only crime was stealing a loaf of bread, there is a bit of humor in the bleakness provided by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, as the Thenardiers who “care” for young Cosette (newcomer, Isabelle Allen).  Both are perfectly cast and do a precisely choreographed reaming of their victims, er, guests.  Which brings us to Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, and Samantha Barks (Eponine)---stunning portrays by all of the above.  Had this been a stage production, I couldn’t have imagined a better cast.  Bravo…Rating 4 stars 

The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey

Martin Freeman steps into, hairy topped super-sized feet and all, the role of the “young” Bilbo Baggins.  It’s the beginning of a new trilogy, this time a prequel to the Lord of the Rings.  I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I don’t recall ever reading the Hobbit or L.O.T.R., so my sole exposure to these terribly tall tales comes from the animated film of the same name in the 70’s (Rankin Bass produced The Hobbit in 1977, and Ralph Baskhi did L.O.T.R. in 1972 along with a very, shall we say frisky, The Nine Lives of Fritz The Cat).  There was also a popular song about Bilbo that most of the members of the audience under 40 would have a difficult time recalling.  

Hobbits, it seems, have a penchant for potatoes, pumpkins, fish, and alcohol – wine or ale, doesn’t really matter.  They’re light on their feet, incredibly nice, unless, of course, you stumble upon enchanted rings and turn into bug-eyed anorexic looking snaggle-toothed schizophrenic creatures like Gollum.  For anyone who has seen the L.O.T.R., you know exactly what I’m talking about.  For those of you who don’t, well, it might be worth your while to spend a bit of time watching this 9 hour epic to “catch-up” on the history of Hobbits, Gandalf the Grey, Sauroman the White, Radagast the Brown, the thirteen dwarves who are on a quest to gain back their home, and learn a bit of the Elvish language so you don’t have to read the subtitles.  Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and a new Elf King, Lee Pace, stir the pot a bit and we learn how the famous fellowship came into being and spawned a new adventure.

Peter Jackson has the done a crack-up job with both pieces of classic literature, beautifully filmed and expertly delivered to us.  Time flies when you're having fun and this is fun.  Quick, can you name the 7 dwarves from Snow White?  I can, but I'm not even going to attempt this list.  For those of you who want to relive vertigo, it's available in 3-D and IMAX....I don't want to go there, so watching it as a regular movie is just fine, thanks.  Rating - 4 Stars

BRAVE

Pixar has done it again…made a classic that will generate/has generated a princess line of a different sort.  Set in the times of William Wallace and the Highlands of Scotland, there’s a mystic connection to magic and legend as a young woman tries to alter her destiny.  The dilemma…how does she change her fate without mucking up the lives of everyone she knows.

Merida, our heroine, is of an age, I’d say mid-teens, fiercely independent, is an exceptionally talented archer, and definitely a “Daddy’s Girl”. She has triplet younger brothers (a handful for anyone, animated or not) and a Queen Mother, whose job is to make sure her “tomboy” grows up to be a lady and a suitable future queen.  Of course, when you’re dealing with a teenager, you’re not going to see eye-to-eye, especially in a mother/daughter relationship…it’s part of growing up.

This is a beautifully presented film, start to finish, cartoonish, but then again, almost real in the way the background is designed.   The voice actors include Emma Thompson, Kelly McDonald, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, and Craig Ferguson, only to name a few.  There’s action and adventure, tenderness and comedy, however, there’s a portion of the story that will frighten very young children, and I would recommend that you hold off taking any of the more impressionable children under the age of 6 or 7 to see the film, unless you really like halting your personal life to deal with nightmares in regard to large bears.  I tried to get a Scottish Gaelic translation for “Go see this movie”, but I can’t tell if I did it correctly.  Cha d’fhuaireadh am facal Beurla   Rating:  4 dead-on target arrows

Prometheus

Prometheus, Prometheus, where for art thou, Prometheus?  So many questions and so few answers, but that being said, Ridley Scott's prequel to the Alien quartet is by far one of the best sci-fi films I've seen in years.  Why, you may ask.  Well, ever since I saw the first, Alien, and screamed my bloody head off as one-by-one the crew of the Nostromo is picked off by acid dripping double metal-jawed giant metallic pecan-headed "bugs", I've wondered about those eggs and the space ship that they stumble across.  Yes, for the scientific community, you have to disregard logic, but for thrill-seekers and those who don't give a hoot about whether or not this is/could be real, it's great.  A ton of tension, wonderful special effects, set-design is pretty spectacular, sound and cinematography are all top notch.  Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and an almost unrecognizable, Guy Pearce, are an ensemble which, like their followers in this case, lay the groundwork for a cinematic classic 30 years it's senior.  Rating:  3.25 stars and for Pete's sake quit touching stuff, you have no idea where it's been or is going to be.

Rock of Ages

Saw a free preview of this the other night. I was surprised by the musical talents of all the main players. Cruise can carry a tune, who knew. Cheesy, but yes, the 80's were. Spectacular and the mixes of the songs, inspired...like an R-rated version of Glee on steroids with a heavy dose of metal and a baboon. Believe it or not, I get that, the baboon, I mean. Classically campy and will be a favorite at outdoor cinemas everywhere...insert dialogue here. The crowd was mixed and a lot of them didn't get the fact that it was a musical and people will spontaneously break into a song. They laughed until they figured out that the first part of the song was the words that they couldn't hear in so many other instances. The worst was a dance number in a church, but the songs were great and handled correctly. It was actually very well done. Cruise did his best rendition of Axl Rose, less skinny, and his voice isn't as high, but it's up there and does have an edge to it. He really was well cast. I think a lot of people missed his performance in Magnolia. Weird as that film is and disgusting as his character is, he nailed it and he pretty much does it here, too. Survey sez...grab a can of hairspray and Ratt your bangs up high. You'll be glad you did. 3.5 stars