Now Playing: Life of Pi

Watched Life of Pi as part of a double-feature this weekend. [It’s hard trying to use up what was supposed to be two years’ worth of tickets in four months. You get very unlikely pairings when this happens] I had read the novel years ago, when I was still ensconced in the tiny room of my parents’ abode. I loved the novel, staying up late into the night to finish chapters despite having 6am shifts at work. Needless to say, I had high hopes for the movie.

Pi? It’s really really good. The acting is pretty amazing: Suraj Sharma spent so much of his screen time alone, it must have been really daunting to react only to a green screen (or did they use real animals? If they…double wow). It is unabashedly Canadian (set in Montreal, about an Indian family bound for Winnipeg) – so, perhaps that turned some American audiences off. And the effects … oh the effects! They are so good, I was slightly uncomfortable is some parts (read: any part where they were underwater – agoraphobia really acted up). If nothing else, Pi is a really beautiful movie adaptation of an equally gorgeous book.

taking credit

You know, I give LilBro a hard time. I can’t help it – I’m older, wiser, and (sometimes) smarter. I take pride in my sense of responsibility; equally, I loathe that same sense because I feel it is sometimes to my disadvantage. I’m getting more and more cynical as I age, though still lagging far behind my compatriots. Anyway, this is all to say that I’m often dismissive of the talents, skills, and genuine good-naturedness of my sibling. And I shouldn’t be.

Where I may be smarter, he’s certainly more clever and witty. He’s open to new ideas and discussions of big and little things alike. He has opinions – strong ones – but that doesn’t mean he’s closed-minded. He can be convinced with logic and rationale. This is a quality that is rare. It takes a lot to make a stand and then to admit that you may have been wrong. Where I may be wiser, he still carries some of that audacity of youth that I have long since lost. I have wisdom at the expense of courage. I know how to make, spend, and save money. He knows how to make, spend, and save creativity. Which of us is wiser?

I may be older…well, I am older. Nothing is changing that. I have become less pliant, more brittle, easily hurt. I don’t twist an ankle, I tear three tendons; I don’t have a sore muscles, I have chest pains and nausea; I don’t have heartbreak, I have a permanently broken heart. What I do with it is useless: I bury it, stomp on it, forget where I put it and let it go. He fuels it into music and song, takes something painful and makes something beautiful.

Now Playing: Wreck-It Ralph

In a fun bit of nostalgia, we took in Wreck-It Ralph this weekend. I was totally sold by the trailer and couldn’t think of better people to watch it with than fellow old-school gamers (LilBro and Jadek). It was a lovely bit of fluff, complete with wisecracks and morals. Voice acting talents were good; especially loved Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope von Schweets. I watched it in 3D – you don’t need to, it rarely used any of the mind trickery to make it worth and extra three bucks. Animation was up to the usual Disney snuff – no complaints there. Scripting was equally clever, with tonnes of references, self-deprecating humour, and great kid/adult humour.

I don’t know if they were setting up for a sequel (or franchise, even), but there were SO many arcade references that were missed (e.g., Area 51, street fighter, frogger…) and the ones they did have were almost half-done (Bowser, but no Mario?). The other thing was the disguising of actual games – the titular game is clearly a riff off Donkey Kong and Sugar Rush stood in for Mario Kart (complete with rainbow road!)…why? And they’ll need to make a PC/console version, because I really missed Wolfenstein, Duck Hunt, and Contra.

If you have fond memories of “Nintendo thumb”, this is definitely worth a rental. 3 out of 5 stars.

Now Playing: Skyfall

The third Bond movie helmed by Daniel Craig, Skyfall, sees our favourite British spy getting back to basics. The gadgets are pretty low-tech (radio!) and car is vintage, so if you’re expecting a showcase of techno wizardry, you’ll be disappointed. The cast is good, with standout performances from Javier Bardem and the indomitable Dame Judi Dench. Also, if you’re expecting super-suave and almost-perfection in Bond, look elsewhere. In what seems to be the trend for superheroes (thank you, Mr. Nolan), Bond is much more realistic. He gets injured, he looks dissipated, … I mean, if that’s your bag, you’re going to love this movie.

In terms of plot and pacing, it was well done. Great story, good character development, surprise twists – all there. Sometimes I wish they would divorce Bond from the franchise, and just let a new double-O (with a new back story and personality) take over every 4-5 movies. Anyway, a good time: 3 out of 5 stars.

Addendum:

Now Playing: Cloud Atlas

Caught Cloud Atlas on Sunday, the Wachowskis latest offering.  It took in a dismal $9.4-million (and cost over $100M to make), and I'm not quite sure why.  Perhaps Hurricane Sandy kept people in, perhaps the publicity campaign fell short, perhaps people are easily confused by the trailer.  As always, I'll share my bias up front: I love the Wachowskis.  Their multi-part storytelling style, the way they work gender roles, their entire movie aesthetics, and, well, their fight scenes... I think they're amazing.  I pretty much went in with high expectations but without any real idea as to the plot.  Perhaps this was the best way to go about it.

Cloud Atlas was amazing.  No, really.

The cast - which was huge and very talented - really gave it their all.  The actors are asked to play multiple parts - in different times and in different genders - and to do so in an authentic way.  Boy, did they deliver.  Sometimes recognisable, sometimes completely obscured, they put on a tour de force.  It goes without saying that the make-up and special effects stepped up too.  Some critics are saying that the plot is too complicated for the average moviegoer; I didn't think so, and in fact thought that considering there were 6 different plot-lines being interwoven, it was quite easy to follow along.  (Have people gotten that dumb?  I really hope not.)

Now Playing: End of Watch

Despite me catching a cold (from staying indoors, mind you), Jadek took me to the movies on Saturday.  It was a treat to be picked up, fed buttery popcorn, and dropped home. 

Decided on watching End of Watch, a copper flick I had never heard of but which starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.   I generally like these guys,  Turns out, the cast was much deeper than that.  Later found out it was written by the same guy who wrote Training Day, which makes sense. 

The movie is good: suspenseful, realistic, well-paced.  The interspersing of work and life was a nice touch, allowing us (as viewers) to get cozy with Brian and Mike quickly.  I enjoyed that these characters were believable: they weren't white knights or wolves-in-sheep's-clothing; they were cops trying to be be good at their job without completely burning out.  If i had to complain about anything, I'd say it was the fact that these guys didn't pick up a single "normal" call - all their cases were big deals.  I guess that's easier to believe in South-Central Los Angeles, but still.  Surely sometimes there's just an old lady who's dead?

Other than that minor thing, it was very good.  With slim pickings at the theatre before we rev up to full speed starting next week, this was a nice distraction.  4 out of 5 stars.

triple scotch

Assignment #7:  “Hey, wanna hear a story?”

(I'll admit, this one wasn't hard to write, but really tough to reread.  And, even now, I post with trepidation.  But, I made a long-ago promise to wear my heart on my cybersleeve, so here it is.)

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