Life of Pi Movie Review – Just Seen It
November 20th, 2012 by David Freedman
Guest reviewer Kevin Taft joins Rachel and Aaron to review this new adventure drama from director Ang Lee. Starring Kevin Taft, Rachel Appelbaum and Aaron Fink. Directed by Sean Wright.
Synopsis: PI is stranded at sea after the ship he is on sinks in a storm. But he finds himself adrift, and at odds, with a Bengal tiger. Together, they form a bond to survive.
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Every year since 2008 fans have been treated to a movie from the Twilight series of books written by Stephenie Meyers. As I have watched these movies throughout the years I have discovered that this series isn’t just for teenage girls. I have seen Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Fathers, Mothers, and yes young girls fall in love with the story of Bella and Edward. Now that the final movie of the Twilight Saga is out, where do we go from here? I know I am going to miss Edward and Bella and the rest of the Cullen family… 
Silver Linings Playbook is a film by writer/director David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter), which is much better than one would believe it to be. From the outside, it looks like a story of good-looking people with problems, who may inevitably end up together. In lesser hands, this material could seem trite, but the script for the film is incredibly sharp, getting around its formulaic aspects to prove itself as a frequently funny, well-acted, and emotional film about two people rebuilding their lives. It works as a modern-day screwball comedy that has a sense of reality, as its characters deal with the issues that make them different, making it a film that I will not be surprised to see embraced by audiences all over. 
Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy-winning director Rich Moore (TV’s “The Simpsons,” “Futurama”) take moviegoers on a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping journey in “Wreck-It Ralph.” Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Step Brothers”) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (voice of Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock”), the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he’s tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch, TV’s “Glee”) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty. But it’s the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman, “The Sarah Silverman Program”) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it’s too late? “Wreck-It Ralph” crashes onto the big screen on November 2, 2012, in Disney Digital 3D in select theaters.
Lincoln is a film that has been a long time coming. I remember hearing about early stories of director Steven Spielberg working on getting a movie made about Abraham Lincoln, with Tom Hanks being rumored for the role. Then things became more official, as Liam Neeson was said to be attached. The time passed, Neeson bowed out, only to have Daniel Day-Lewis jump in, bringing his intense, method actor ways to Spielberg’s period drama. This worked out for the better, I suppose, as Day-Lewis appears to be embodying the Great Emancipator, but in less an overpowering way, as past portrayals have implied, but in an authoritative, yet kind manner. Similarly, Lincoln, as a whole, is not an overpowering biopic, but a drama focused on a very specific period in the 16th President’s life. The results are quite good, as everyone involved has worked to achieve an incredibly cinematic, well-acted, drama that respects the material, if just a bit too much. 
Please except my sincerest apologies for the delay in getting this online review out to you today. You see, I had a completely different review that I’d already written in advance and it was going to serve as a lead in here, but I immediately discarded it after my press screening this past Wednesday evening. It kind of sounds like I’m getting ready to go into full bashing mode, doesn’t it? Well that maybe so, but don’t worry. I will always explain the way I feel like I do and feel free to take advantage of the section below that many of our founding fathers died fighting for…the freedom of speech (aka the comments section). Hold on tight. This is going to be one bumpy ride. And remember…I’m the minority here. 
James Bond returns in this 23rd entry in a series that is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The enduring character has gone through a lot, from secret volcano lairs, to undersea hideouts, to up into outer space. Since Daniel Craig has taken on the role of Bond, the character has since become grounded in a somewhat more plausible reality than some of the more outlandish entries (very similar to Dalton’s days, actually). Unfortunately, following the superb Casino Royale, my hopes were incredibly dashed by Quantum of Solace, which I considered the biggest disappointment of 2008 and one of the lesser entries in the Bond series as a whole. Moving up to present day, it was my great pleasure to not only have my anticipation for Skyfall reignited by the fact that it looked to be great, but to now have seen the film and acknowledge it as a wonderfully entertaining, strongly acted, and beautiful-looking entry in the series. The best part is that this presentation of Bond feels like a Bond movie. 
There is a solid 30 minutes of Flight that makes for one really compelling drama. It involves a sequence that will terrify anyone that was already a nervous flier and sets up possible stakes for the rest of the film. Unfortunately, that was merely the film that was being advertised, not the one that we see in Flight, the return to live-action filmmaking for director Robert Zemeckis. The rest of this film is generally well-acted all around, but also very heavy-handed, as we watch Denzel Washington’s character deal with the effects of alcoholism from an internal level, as the film does not give him much of a life to see self-destruct elsewhere. As a result, this is a film that is admirable for existing as an adult character study, but is also overlong and uneven, hwile cruising at a safe altitude. 
The Man with the Iron Fists is the movie that The RZA (pronounced Rih-Zah) has always wanted to make and a film that people would likely expect from him. It is a martial arts epic infused with hip-hop that pays loving tribute to the Shaw Brothers era of Kung Fu movies, with a mix of modern day sensibilities. I have been guilty in the past of not appreciating similar and recent films like Ninja Assassin and The Warrior’s Way, but The Man with the Iron Fists just hit me the write way I guess. The film is incredibly silly from its plot to its casting, but it has the kind of energy that I was able to get into and fits into this grindhouse mold that Quentin Tarantino (presenter of the film) and Eli Roth (co-writer and producer) have been trying to popularize as of late. It also has an expected, awesome soundtrack and score. 
So here is another 2012 movie that seems to be tailored for me to really enjoy it. As ParaNorman delivered a fun zombie movie in a stop-motion world (with dramatic arcs and solid messages as a bonus) and Seven Psychopaths delivered on my love for darkly humorous hit man comedies (with dramatic arcs and a humorously meta touch as a bonus), Wreck-It Ralph is an ode to video gaming (with dramatic arcs and tons of geeky references as a bonus). The film does not necessarily break away from the classic Disney formula and the humor may not necessarily be so much timeless as it is very deliberately skewed towards people that grew up with various types of video games, but it is incredibly entertaining on multiple levels and another great-looking feature from Disney’s animation studio. 
