Life of Pi ~ Movie Review

by: Uel Ceballos 

No film has ever awed me like the “Life of Pi” did. This is certainly one of the most beautiful and enthralling films I’ve ever seen in my years of being a film enthusiast. Director Ang Lee never fails to deliver film with a poetic beauty on such finest and most enthralling spectacles.

The film is based from a novel of the same title written by Yann Martel, focusing to Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel whose faith is challenged by adversity and catastrophic event that have nearly thrown him into lethargic solitary if Richard Parker hadn’t made it to the lifeboat when the Japanese freighter Tsimsum met its doom. Only that Richard Parker is the last companion that you would ever pray to have whether in an island or in a lifeboat that measured only for 30 headcounts of survivors. This is all for the reason that Richard Parker is not like anyone of us, he’s a fierce and strong 450-pound Bengal tiger who consumed ten pounds of meat a day. Imagine being with him for 227 days in the midst of Pacific just like Pi had experienced when the shipwreck happened.

The book itself is already an astounding masterpiece that it interested producers to adopt Life of Pi for a motion picture. One would be curious to think on where side of the Earth did Yann Martel inspired this story just like where hole did Tolkien dug the Hobbit and where island did Suzanne Collins find the Panem for her Hunger Games. The book was written in a manner that will set you grasping the elements of religion and spirituality for the sake of getting educated by it if not submitting to it. It’s a beautiful story that in one way or another you would hope it were all true not because you’d revel for such tragedy but because the whole event, unforgiving and calamitous on its being, carries with it a message that no one would acquire with totality otherwise experienced first-hand.

Meticulously weaving the fiction elements and sequences is one thing, rendering it into film is another story. No wonder that the project had gone through series of events before the concept was concluded and the people to work behind it were finalized. The film was made to be a 3D live action computer-animated adventure that thanks to the deity of visual effects, Life of Pi mesmerized us with its aesthetic cinematography. It would never come into your mind that Richard Parker wasn’t a real tiger at all and the place they were set into wasn’t the vast and enigmatic Pacific Ocean as you thought it was. Even the earlier parts of the movie which told Pi’s life back in Pondicherry granted us with genial sights of India in its peaceful and vibrant uniqueness of culture and tradition. Watching Life of Pi will fill your eyes with the loveliness yet ferocious temper of nature. You’ll get reminded that ocean, island, wild flora and fauna alike all share magnificent beauties along with savage attributes of which once provoked will get you near zero percent of chance to survive.

Though we viewers haven’t witnessed how everything was made in this another 3D phenomenon success after the movie Avatar, it’s needless to justify now that all was created out of scrupulous effort and years of expertise in 3D visual effect and artistic film treatment. Magic was figuratively done when the leading visual effect company Rhythm and Hues had turned the giant wave tank into Pacific Ocean and created the character of Richard Parker the tiger. One of my favourite sights in the movie is that shot of Pi standing on the boat with the water on still and reflecting the magnificent sky with hues of enticing blue and sun-orange.  The scene is too powerful that dialogues are unnecessary because that few seconds of the silent view can already speak for itself – such profound, deeply moving beauty is both communicative and prevailing, the kind of artistic approach that Ang Lee is well adept at.

Not only that Life of Pi was able to intrigue us with its promising technological prowess but it did set us all curious of the leading cast Suraj Sharma who is fresh and inexperienced in acting but did a knockout performance in his role of Pi. Ang Lee has given the film an interesting appeal when he chose international casts for the movie, cutting off from the potential list those who appeared to be inharmoniously recognizable among the others.

For those who haven’t watched this movie yet, go and find time to see. This will surely worth your time and will touch your soul.

I’ll cheer on it with 10 Espresso Shots and I hope to see more movies as splendid like this one!

THE STRUGGLE TO KEEP THE FLAME BURNING. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire review.

by Love Esios

"Sometimes, you just have to lower your expectations to avoid unnecessary disappointments." -- This quote was the first thing that came to my mind after watching the most anticipated movie of the year and the second installment of The Hunger Games trilogy --- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Oh don't get me wrong... I love the book. I adore The Hunger Games trilogy. Most of what you've heard about the movie, if you haven't watched it yet, were true. The movie did its best to show a faithful motion picture of the book. I just felt that the movie didn't set me ablaze until the end.

Clearly, the story was fast-tracked and I completely understand why. But sometimes, choosing a short cut will just make you miss the most important details in the story. I just felt that some of the most important scenes in the movie were not thoroughly established such as The Victors (Katniss and Peeta) adjusting to their new life in the Victors' Village, the reconciliation and eventually developing attraction of Katniss to Peeta (which she's not completely aware of), the consequent confusion that will follow because she thought she also had feelings for Gale (which should be felt like a cockfight in her head), the feistiness and the intensity of the clock-inspired arena in the Quarter Quell and the brewing revolution in the less-fortunate districts in Panem ignited by the courageous "berry act" of Katniss in the first movie. And how are they going to show the resurgence of District 13 in the next film if they haven't even given the audience an idea that there was a District 13 and they're very much alive? Unless they are planning to write the screenplay in a different light which I think is not a good idea. (For those who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, especially about District 13, you can ask my friend Google for a summary of the book so that you'll understand). And to top it all, I was not very happy about the beach scene of Katniss and Peeta which is one of my favorite scenes in the book. I was like, "Okay, that's it?" right after.

Despite the apparent discontent I felt for not seeing (and feeling) the scenes I'm expecting in the movie, there were some highlights that I loved about the film. I adored the characterization of Finnick Odair (portrayed by Sam Claflin) and Johanna Mason (portrayed by Jena Malone) in the movie. They provided the much needed wit and spunk in the story. I just felt that the "sugar cube" scene of Finnick and Katniss should've been more sexy than wholesome. Hahaha! :D If my interpretation is right, Finnick was trying to play Katniss in the book to the point of seducing her with a sugar cube. I also have to give it to the brilliant performance of Donald Sutherland as the cruel and manipulative President Snow. I can feel the antagonistic and evil atmosphere in Panem every time I see him on screen.

The fans might strangle me for speaking my mind but I just felt that the movie was not given enough justice. Catching Fire is supposed to establish the background and the beginning of the revolution and the situation of the events that are going to happen in the next movie but it wasn't like that in the film. I'm now wondering how they're going to stitch the story of the next movie and inject District 13 since it's a significant element in Mockingjay.

Nevertheless, if this is any consolation, I have to say that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is better and more alive than its predecessor. Maybe there wasn't just enough fuel to keep the fire burning. I'd give 7/10 espresso shots for this film.

A WORLD WHERE CHOOSING IS MIGHT. A review about the book Divergent.

By Love Esios

Oh yeah, I just can't get enough of dystopian novels. Right after I finished the highly-recommended The Hunger Games, I started reading another young adult novel. And yes, it's the first book from Veronica Roth's first ever series, Divergent.

Photo from http://www.beyondhollywood.com

The story shows a dystopian Chicago whose society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), and Dauntless (the brave). Teenagers living in this society should choose which faction they want to belong with by the time they reach the age of sixteen, and that's the dilemma Beatrice Prior, the main protagonist, has to face.

I like the concept of the novel. The idea of dividing the people into faction and forcing the teenagers to make their own decisions have caught my attention. Teens are free to choose whatever faction they like to belong to but their choices are very limited. I think Ms. Roth has clearly established the division among people; which is highly ironic if their main reason for creating factions is to maintain peace and harmony among the people.

I am not really knowledgeable in the technicalities of writing a novel but I feel that there were some scenes in this book that were not properly established. It's like it came out of the blue. As the story progressed, it just focused on the training Beatrice has to complete as a member of her chosen faction but apart from that, the highlight of the story which her being Divergent was not really explained clearly. I have expected intense fighting, more conflicts but then the author dwelled more on conversations and emotions rather than action-pack scenes.

Anyway, despite this, I still love some lines like what Four said to Beatrice in one scene: "But becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how you control your fear, and how to be free from it, that's the point."

Dystopian lovers, I will just give 6 cups of latte out of 10 for this book but this is still an entertaining book to read. As a matter of fact, I have also read the second book, Insurgent and I'm preparing to read the third and last book Allegiant. So go ahead and release the Divergent in you!