The Life of Pi

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is based off the novel, with the same title, written by Yann Martel's. Piscine "Pi" Patel is a young man from Pondicherry, India is forced to move to Canada with his family. His ship sinks into the depths of the ocean forcing him to fight for his survival. He is surprised to find that he is not alone in this fight.

This film was directed by Ang Lee. I was unable to view this film in 3-D, but it would be worth it to see in 3-D. I can't say how true this remains to the novel. This film plays a lot with visual graphics and styles. It brings poetry onto the big screen. The story for this film is great. It brings to light a different perspective of the world, and the people, around us. It does remain focused on a highly religious ideal. However, this film does not corner itself into a single religion. It follows Hinduism, Christianity, and Muslim. The ending leaves you with questions that you don't think about while watching the film. It makes you choose which tale you believe-a kind of looking at yourself type of deal. It does remain heavy on a philosophical level as well. This film also brings to life a culture that has not been seen in recent films. The use of animals was brilliant in this film. They added a different texture to the film. It was also great to see the animals represented as neither good or evil. Rather they are beings trying to survive like humans. There are moments that you can see the computer animation, but its easy to ignore.

The cast worked great together. No matter how small the role was, the actors and the story, made each person feel relevant. Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Ayush Tandon, and Gautam Belur worked together to create the character Piscine "Pi" Patel. Irrfan Khan, who plays the adult version of "Pi", is great. He delivers terrific monologues during the course of the film. Suraj Sharma is great making the character's tale wholly believable. Adil Hussain and Tabu played the roles of Santosh Patel and Gita Patel. They helped to create the world's philosophical perspective. Rafe Spall played the role of the Writer. He was great in his small role.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is a great visual masterpiece, and has a great philosophical story to match. It might not be the non-stop action that most audiences have become accustomed to, but it is worth it to watch once.

Answer to last blog: Actors Leonard Nimoy and Phil Morris, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, worked together in the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Que: What other film has director Ang Lee directed?

Snow Falling on Cedars
The Incredible Hulk
Curse of the Golden Flower
Ride with the Devil

Made it to cardiff!

Ok. All month its been christmas music on the radios. Now that its christmas eve-almost no christmas music.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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Milo Thatch is pulled into an adventure to discover the lost city of Atlantis. He follows a team of unlikely explorers deep underground to finish what his grandfather had begun.

This film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. This film was a highly unique animation to come from the Disney company. This film was made to appeal to older audiences by cutting out musical sequences and creating a more action paced animation. This was a genre that Disney was new to, and needed some practice with. This film has a fast paced action story. The film also has an amazing animated ending fight sequence. It does lack in creating emotionally deep characters and the story isn't highly gripping to its audiences. The plot is very basic, and the film does not bother to explain any of the small details. It makes the history and the future of Atlantis appear mysterious and confusing. The backdrop animation is amazing to watch, but some of the character animations are awkward to watch. The visual styles were reminiscent of comic books making it unique within the animation world.

The cast worked great together. Many of the characters were kept flat, but entertaining. It would have been nice to see more the characters in the film. Michael J. Fox voiced the role of Milo Thatch. He was good in his role. He created a character that develops by discovering what to fight for. Cree Summer voiced the role of Princess "Kida" Kidagakash. She was good in her role. Most of her character is kept in mystery. She managed to keep the character relatable and kindhearted. Claudia Christian voiced the role of Helga Katrina Sinclair. She was good in her. Unfortunately, her character leaves more of an impression than the real villain does. James Garner voiced the role of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke. He was good in his role. It would have been nice to build som kind of connection to him-bad or good. Don Novello voiced the role of Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini. He was good in his role. He offered some comedic relief to the film. Corey Burton voiced the role of Gaetan "The Mole" Moliere. He was good being pure comic relief for the film. Phil Morris voiced the role of Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet. He was good in his small role, even though he spoke a mile a minute. Jacqueline Obradors voiced the role of Audrey Rocio Ramirez. She was good in her role. She gave the film some innocence. Leonard Nimoy voiced the role of King Kashekim Nedakh. He was good in his small role, but it would have been nice to see more of this character.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It is a well drawn animated film, but it fails to provide a gripping story with heartfelt characters.

Answer to last blog: The dwarf character Gimli is the son of Gloin, a dwarf from the Hobbit.

Que: Which film stared actors Leonard Nimoy and Phil Morris?

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is based off the popular novel, The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. This film, the first of a trilogy, is a prequel story to The Lord of the Rings franchise. Bilbo Baggins receives strange visitors one night after an unusual encounter with Gandalf the Grey. He is persuaded by a group of dwarves to go on an adventure, and help the dwarves reclaim their lost homeland.

This film was directed by Peter Jackson. It follows the Hobbit novel fairly well, but it adds more to the story. It is unusual in that this film is designed as a prequel, so much backstory has to be added to make it feel like a prequel. Some of it kind of feels forced, but still purposeful  There is a return of some familiar old characters from the LOTR's trilogy. It was good to see that no computer animation was added to the actor's face's to make them appear younger. Even though its awkward seeing a familiar character look older in a prequel. What little computer animation that was used is barely noticeable in the film. However, while feeling more realistic there is still an unearthly feel to it. Now, this film is not meant to be the LOTR's. It's a prequel series. It does not live up to the quality of the LOTR's, because there is a happier more whimsical tone to this film. Since this is the case, the emotional segments have less impact on its audiences. It does not, however, lose any of its visual grandeur. This film, as a beginning, feels more focused on traveling. There are moments for the story to pick-up though. Those moments are greatly done to give the characters strength. This film also gives a new face to orcs and trolls. The orcs actually have dialogue, a history, and a culture! It is great seeing more of the stories history (such as why dwarves and elves do not get along). There are several great battle sequences through-out the film. It was great to watch the fighting done with the backdrops and in different environments with different villains. It is cool to see some familiar locations with some new one areas. The computer animated monsters looked great in this film. The computer animation was well done. This film also includes some great songs. The songs are folk tales and it adds some emotion and historical depth to the film. Okay, this film has a 48fps frame rate. It did create some controversy before its release. It is now being received with minor praise and acceptance.

The cast worked great together, and it was great to see the old cast returning for this prequel. It is great to see new light to familiar characters. However, there are a lot of the dwarves company that feel unimportant. They offer little to the story making impossible to remember names. It is so bad, that some of them do not even have any spoken dialogue. Martin Freeman played the role of (young) Bilbo Baggins. He is a great actor in this film. It is unusual seeing Baggins behaving overly cowardly and proper. Comparing Freeman with Ian Holm is like night and day. Ian McKellen played the role of Gandalf the Grey. He was great in his returning role. He kept his familiar powerful fatherly aspect. He did appear slightly more naive and childish in this film, but it worked perfectly for a prequel. Richard Armitage played the role of Thorin Oakenshield.  He was good in his role. It is interesting that his character feels like a leader, but not a king. He is kind of reminiscent of Aragorn.  Ken Stott played the role of Balin. He was good in his small supporting role. Andy Serkis played the role of Gollum. William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O'Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam Brown played the roles of Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, and Ori (the remaining dwarves company).

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! This film is great to watch as an fairytale. It carries on a great legacy for the holidays.

Answer to last blog: Actor Johnny Galecki, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Winter Holiday), stars as the character Leonard Hofstadter in the Big Bang Theory.

Que: Which dwarf is the father of Gimli from The Lord of the Rings? (To test your nerdy skills, and how well you remember the Fellowship of the Ring.)

Balin
Gloin
Dawlin
Thorin Oakenshield

P.S. Watching this film brought back some memories from when I acted in the stageplay some years ago!

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Winter Holiday)

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is the third sequel the Lampoon's Vacation series, and is based off a John Hughes short story. Clark Griswold plans to have a big old fashioned family Christmas with his family. However, as Christmas draws closer the more disastrous it becomes. 

This film was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, and was written by John Hughes. This film has become a modern Christmas classic. It is a great light hearted comedy that families can enjoy. Although, there is some foul language and hints of sex in it. This film has more physical comedy instead of the recent play on words. The story satirizes the family gathering and all the dilemma's with having a traditional Christmas in modern times. It is great to watch events add up to a hilarious climax. It isn't commonly seen most modern films. The cinematography adds to the physical of the film. The snowy backdrops and cheerful house makes for the ultimate Christmas feel.  

The cast worked great together. Chevy Chase played the role of Clark Griswold. He was great in his role. He gave the film perfect physical comedy and was able to maintain a likable insanity. Beverly D'Angelo played the role of Ellen Griswold. She was good in her role. She created the general role of the mother fighting to keep everything together. Juliette Lewis played the role of Audrey Griswold. She was good in her role. She didn't have much opportunity to expand on her character. Johnny Galecki played the role of Rusty Griswold. He was good in his role. He did add some small humor to the film. Randy Quaid played the role of Eddie. He was great in his role. He created a characters as iconic as the film series.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is a great lighthearted comedy for the holiday seasons.

Answer to last blog: Director Peter Ramsey, Rise of the Guardians, directed the film Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space.

Question: What character does actor Johnny Galecki portray in the modern comedy Big Bang Theory?

Howard Wolowitz
Raj Koothrappali
Leonard Hofstadter
Sheldon Cooper

Rise of the Guardians

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is based off William Joyce's book series The Guardians of Childhood. Jack Frost, the spirit of winter, is called by the Man in the Moon to become one of the guardians who protect the children of the world. The Sandman, North/Santa Clause, the E.Aster Bunny/Bunny, and the Tooth/Tooth Fairy are called together to fight the nightmares from Pitch (the Boogeyman).  Pitch threatens to destroy everything they have worked to achieve and protect.

This film was directed by Peter Ramsey. The second film to be directed by Peter Ramsey. This film is a perfect children's fairy tale for seasonal holiday. It has the familiarity of a children's fairy tale causing it to be predictable. There are moments when the story moves slow paced, but it is very touching. It would have been nice to see a twist in the end of the film. Give the audience something unexpected. Even if the film is meant to be about all the characters, it generally focuses is on Christmas magic. Which is interesting for it taking place a few days before Easter. The film has terrific use of elemental movements (such as ice, sand, and snow), and great backdrops. Although the Bunny's home felt lacking in splendor. The use of computer animation was well done. Unfortunately  I didn't get to see this film in 3D. The film is an adventure that has something for everyone. It has several adorable moments for girls, and plenty of adventure for boys.

The cast worked great together. It is unfortunate that the secondary characters didn't have as much of a backstory. Pitch's wasn't even fully developed cinematically. This caused some of the characters to fell flat. Chris Pine performed the voice for Jack Frost. He was great in his role. He created the carefree spirit of Jack Frost. He gave the character a face and personality. Alec Baldwin performed the voice of North/Santa Clause. He was good in his role. It was strange to have a russian Santa Clause, but it worked. He was the popularized version of Clause in every since of the word. Isla Fisher performed the voice of Tooth/Tooth Fairy. She was good in her role. She gave the tooth fairy a slightly new look. She looked more like a humming bird than the tradition fairy, but it makes sense. Hugh Jackman performed the voice of the Bunny/E.Aster Bunny. He was great in his role. He gave the Easter Bunny a very new style. Jude Law performed the voice of Pitch. He was amazing in his role. He created a sneaky villain that was completely opposite to Jack Frost.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It is a great family holiday film, but it does feel like there is a lot missing in the story.

Answer to last blog: Sylvester Stallone was the writer for the Expendables 2 film.

Que: What other film has directer Peter Ramsey directed?

The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer
Merry Madagascar
B.O.B.'s Big Break
Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space