Director Ang Lee has made a wide range of films from American family drama, "The Ice Storm" to a lyrical martial arts saga, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to comic book blockbuster "Hulk" to a controversial romance in "Brokeback Mountain." Now he does what Martin Scorsese did last year and enters the world of 3-D (3D) filmmaking with the cinematic version of Yann Martel's novel, The Life of Pi.
The film, The Life of Pi, is exactly that. It's about Pi Patel, how he got his name, his boyhood life in India, and his family's zoo business. The boy Pi has sincere interest in all religions whether they be Islam, Hinduism or Catholicism. When Pi becomes a teenager, (Suraj Sharma) his family decides to move to Canada, taking with them their zoo animals. The ship on which they are traveling runs into a storm and sinks. Pi survives by boarding a lifeboat. Also on the boat are some of the zoo animals. They are a zebra, orangutan and hyena. Unfortunately, the zoo's tiger, Richard Parker, is also on board. The bulk of the movie is about the journey of Pi as he tries to survive with a carnivorous tiger.
The remarkable thing about The Life of Pi is that the filmgoer knows how Pi's perilous sea journey ends at the beginning of the movie. So how do director Lee and screenwriter David Magee keep the interest? They do so by having healthy doses of humor, and balancing the philosophical ideas and the drama of survival. From the start, when a character says that one will believe in God when you hear the tale of Pi, Lee mates this idea with Pi's struggle to keep the tiger from eating him. It's done as Pi narrates his story. It's also done with Lee's visual style.
And what visual style! Lee's film is beautiful to look at. There's a surreal feel to many of the scenes. The CGI that can hinder a movie's realism, works well here. Scenes look like paintings. Yet the CGI did wonders with some of the tiger's scenes. But it's the surreal scenes of the ocean, the skies and an island that will rivet a filmgoer. And the 3D is the best use of it in a fictional film since Scorsese's Hugo. (2011) First, it helps that the movie was filmed in 3-D. Lee doesn't ignore 3D. He uses it. Many times I believed I was in the movie. Lee does this by emphasizing the depth. The result for this movie is that it made me think about the ideas in the movie. See this movie in 3D.
The Life of Pi is a stunning achievement. It's cinematic entertainment that crosses into the area of high art. It does so by asking the audience to think while immersing them with beautiful and surreal images. It asks questions. How does one deal with tragedy? What is the nature of religion? And yes, Pi's story did make me believe in God. The grade is A +.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Susan Lucci makes an appearance on the Colbert Report
You knew Stephen Colbert would do a piece on the General Petraeus Affair. Well, he got soap opera star Susan Lucci to do guest spot. Check out the funny video below.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Jon Stewart skewers Bill O'Reilly
Leave it to Bill O'Reilly of Fox News to bemoan President Obama's victory coalition of women, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics as the end of "traditional America" as reflected by the fifties sitcom "Leave It To Beaver." I'm not kidding. "Leave It To Beaver" was a show about a family, a lily white family. Yeah, O'Reilly could have used the Cosbys but he didn't. So, you get what he is crying about. It's about the loss of the domination of whites.
Anyway, thank goodness for Jon Stewart and the Daily Show to do a cogent piece on O'Reilly's fears. Stewart likes O'Reilly and won't call him out but I will. Bill O'Reilly, you are a racist. Here's Stewart's video.
Anyway, thank goodness for Jon Stewart and the Daily Show to do a cogent piece on O'Reilly's fears. Stewart likes O'Reilly and won't call him out but I will. Bill O'Reilly, you are a racist. Here's Stewart's video.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Bengals chew up Chiefs
The Cincinnati Bengals dominated the Kansas City Chiefs and beat them 28-6. There's not much to say. The Bengals were aggressive and took chances against the hapless Chiefs who are now 1-9. Cincinnati used a fake punt which led to a touchdown and went for it on a couple of fourth downs. The Chiefs resorted to using Brady Quinn at quarterback. Yikes.
Still too early to think of playoffs. Talk to me when the Bengals win ten games. Yet, the team must win games against opponents like these. Here's the story with video highlights.
Still too early to think of playoffs. Talk to me when the Bengals win ten games. Yet, the team must win games against opponents like these. Here's the story with video highlights.
Lincoln Review
Maturation might seem like a bad word in Hollywood's obsession for the teenage audience. But when it comes to filmmaker Stephen Spielberg, it's a term that can define the master director's works since the nineties. If you start with his European art film like Schindler's List (1993) to this year's Lincoln, you get a filmmaker who's interested in making serious movies. Yes, you get an occasional foray into the commercial like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) but Speilberg's career will be highlighted by his last twenty years of making movies with something serious to say. And with Lincoln, Speilberg has created another masterpiece.
The film Lincoln is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It covers the final four months of President Abraham Lincoln's (Daniel Day-Lewis) life. Specifically, the film is about Lincoln's urgent mission to get the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolishes slavery passed through Congress. The problems facing Lincoln is a House of Representatives in which he does not have the votes. Lincoln must muster his political resources while trying to end the Civil War. He must also reign in the more radical abolitionists Congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones)
A good film starts with a good screenplay. A great film starts with a great screenplay. Tony Kushner (Angels in America) has created a great screenplay that highlights the struggle to get the votes for the Thirteenth Amendment's passage. And he doesn't sugarcoat it. There's near bribery and arm twisting by Lincoln. Yes, it was probably impossible to say anything negative about Lincoln, the screenplay does reflect the great difficulties, personal problems from his wife's neurosis and professional ones dealing with the Civil War. Yet for all it's seriousness, the film depicts nice touches of humor especially when President Lincoln wants to tell a funny story.
As Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis is astounding. He gives his Lincoln, a tenor's timbre which some say is historically accurate. He is a man who has seen too much bloodshed and injustice. He'll end the war on his terms but he is also a forgiving man. James Spader
adds some comic relief as William Bilbo, Lincoln's lobbyist. It's one of the few times that a lobbyist is depicted in a positive light. Frankly, all the roles are performed well. But it's Tommy Lee Jones' Congressman Stevens that nearly steals the show and will likely get him an Oscar nomination. Jones' facial moods range from rage to passion to disappointment to love.
As far as Spielberg's direction, many filmmakers could learn much from him. There are very few hand-held camera shots that would distract from the drama. Camera movements are slow but dramatic. Some wide shots feature Lincoln walking away from the conversation as if to depict his loneliness. And while Speilberg gets the right emotions from his actors, he knows when to get out of the way. These instincts are what make a great filmmaker.
Lincoln is one of the finest films of the year. It raises important issues about humanity; issues about race and prejudice. The grade is A +.
The film Lincoln is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It covers the final four months of President Abraham Lincoln's (Daniel Day-Lewis) life. Specifically, the film is about Lincoln's urgent mission to get the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolishes slavery passed through Congress. The problems facing Lincoln is a House of Representatives in which he does not have the votes. Lincoln must muster his political resources while trying to end the Civil War. He must also reign in the more radical abolitionists Congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones)
A good film starts with a good screenplay. A great film starts with a great screenplay. Tony Kushner (Angels in America) has created a great screenplay that highlights the struggle to get the votes for the Thirteenth Amendment's passage. And he doesn't sugarcoat it. There's near bribery and arm twisting by Lincoln. Yes, it was probably impossible to say anything negative about Lincoln, the screenplay does reflect the great difficulties, personal problems from his wife's neurosis and professional ones dealing with the Civil War. Yet for all it's seriousness, the film depicts nice touches of humor especially when President Lincoln wants to tell a funny story.
As Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis is astounding. He gives his Lincoln, a tenor's timbre which some say is historically accurate. He is a man who has seen too much bloodshed and injustice. He'll end the war on his terms but he is also a forgiving man. James Spader
adds some comic relief as William Bilbo, Lincoln's lobbyist. It's one of the few times that a lobbyist is depicted in a positive light. Frankly, all the roles are performed well. But it's Tommy Lee Jones' Congressman Stevens that nearly steals the show and will likely get him an Oscar nomination. Jones' facial moods range from rage to passion to disappointment to love.
As far as Spielberg's direction, many filmmakers could learn much from him. There are very few hand-held camera shots that would distract from the drama. Camera movements are slow but dramatic. Some wide shots feature Lincoln walking away from the conversation as if to depict his loneliness. And while Speilberg gets the right emotions from his actors, he knows when to get out of the way. These instincts are what make a great filmmaker.
Lincoln is one of the finest films of the year. It raises important issues about humanity; issues about race and prejudice. The grade is A +.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Friday, November 16, 2012
Despicable Mitt
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney really is a conservative and a "severely" conservative one as Mitt likes to call himself. So if you right-wingers so the election was lost because Romney wasn't conservative enough, you're wrong. And Mitt just proved it.
In comments before top donors, Romney said President Barack Obama won by bestowing "gifts" to various groups of people. If this sounds like his 47 percent remarks, it is. To get African American and Hispanic voters, Obama gave them health care. Even more gifts were granted to Hispanics in Obama's support for the Dream Act. Young people were given the benefit of staying under their parents health care and forgiveness of interest of student loans. Women were granted the gift of contraceptives or more specifically coverage by Obamacare. Not only does this sound like 47 percent remark, it's almost exactly like Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's comment that Obama voters got "things." O'Reilly bemoaned the end of the white establishment. It's kind of racist.
Well, I've had drinks with angry white conservatives. And Romney and O'Reilly's comments are no different from their hatred. It's one thing to support a laissez-faire government over a more activist one but it's quite another to argue that more than half of the electorate were bought. It's simply an insult to more than half of the people to say that they voted because they were bribed. How about the idea, that a majority of people supported President Obama's ideas over yours? Regardless, shame on you Mitt Romney for arguing that people of color are a bunch of parasites.
I admit that I'm a racial minority. Yes, Bill O'Reilly, I'm not part of the white establishment. I voted for Obama because I agreed with many of his ideas. If government's job is to make the lives of the people better than call me a taker. But I believe the right-wing in its Ayn Rand philosophy miss out on the true nature of Obama. It's about justice. Social and economic justice. Freedom. And freedom that means more than just guns and taxes. It's about freedom for a woman to control her body and get government out of it. It's about the right to vote, free from Republican attempts to suppress it.
Meanwhile, I wait for my gift from Santa Barack. I wanted an iPhone. Still waiting. Hey, Mitt and Bill, do you think I'll get it?
In comments before top donors, Romney said President Barack Obama won by bestowing "gifts" to various groups of people. If this sounds like his 47 percent remarks, it is. To get African American and Hispanic voters, Obama gave them health care. Even more gifts were granted to Hispanics in Obama's support for the Dream Act. Young people were given the benefit of staying under their parents health care and forgiveness of interest of student loans. Women were granted the gift of contraceptives or more specifically coverage by Obamacare. Not only does this sound like 47 percent remark, it's almost exactly like Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's comment that Obama voters got "things." O'Reilly bemoaned the end of the white establishment. It's kind of racist.
Well, I've had drinks with angry white conservatives. And Romney and O'Reilly's comments are no different from their hatred. It's one thing to support a laissez-faire government over a more activist one but it's quite another to argue that more than half of the electorate were bought. It's simply an insult to more than half of the people to say that they voted because they were bribed. How about the idea, that a majority of people supported President Obama's ideas over yours? Regardless, shame on you Mitt Romney for arguing that people of color are a bunch of parasites.
I admit that I'm a racial minority. Yes, Bill O'Reilly, I'm not part of the white establishment. I voted for Obama because I agreed with many of his ideas. If government's job is to make the lives of the people better than call me a taker. But I believe the right-wing in its Ayn Rand philosophy miss out on the true nature of Obama. It's about justice. Social and economic justice. Freedom. And freedom that means more than just guns and taxes. It's about freedom for a woman to control her body and get government out of it. It's about the right to vote, free from Republican attempts to suppress it.
Meanwhile, I wait for my gift from Santa Barack. I wanted an iPhone. Still waiting. Hey, Mitt and Bill, do you think I'll get it?
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Petraeus Affair
Confused about the General Petraeus affair? Need a scorecard? Okay, yesterday Chris Matthews, much to his chagrin, did a piece on it for Hardball. Oh, lighten up Chris. It's something out of a "Real Housewives..." episode. Look for the humor. Then Jon Stewart did a piece on it for The Daily Show. Chris, it's funny.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
