Movie Review: Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI - 9 Stars!

What a visually stunning, stunning movie. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, by all means get out and enjoy this masterpiece by director Ang Lee. And I mean Oscar worthy masterpiece. Lee hits on all the high points and seldom do you think that what you are watching is not an eye full of cinematic love for the audience.

I will say that at times the story was kind of slow in building up but when the moment hits and Pi's life is turned upside down - what a visual treat.

I want to talk about the 3D right away here. Amazingly well done. Ang Lee utilized native 3D through the rigs and services of the Cameron | Pace Group and you can tell that there just aren't many - if any - technical errors with the stereoscopic 3D. Some very cool and seldom used effects too - I won't go into details here as it may spoil your experience, but we can freely talk about them in the comments if you wish.

I'm so anxious to compare this cutting edge example of modern native S3D (through Cameron | Pace) to the upcoming sure to be masterpiece THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY because this project was shot using CPG's native 3D rigs and services competitor 3ality Technica and what we've all seen so far of that production has been jaw dropping too. Who will have delivered the top 3D goods?

Claudio Miranda's cinematography in LIFE OF PI is absolutely remarkable. Some shots are so intricate and well thought out that you just want to grab a screen cap of it and stare at it. So many scenes are desktop wallpaper worthy and that's no exaggeration.

So what was not so good about the movie? Well a few things. I thought the story was paced slowly at times in the beginning - still a visual marvel out of the blocks - but slow. So drink in the visuals while you wait for the action to pick up and then relax and immerse yourself. I am not a fan of character development accomplished through flashbacks (and I know there is not much choice here), thus the lower score (81 is still very good!).

Here's the storyline for the movie:

A man named Pi tells a story that occurred when he was 16. When his family decides to move their zoo from India to Canada, Pi winds up as the only human survivor of the tragic sinking of a cargo ship. On the sea in a lifeboat, he's accompanied by the other survivors—a zebra, a hyena, a female orangutan and a 450-pound aggressive Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

I did like the twist at the end of the movie. Even coming from a guy who considers himself much more aligned to science than religion, I found it to be moving enough to smile. That's an accomplishment in my books. I can imagine the impact on a more religious person.

So definitely a must see in my opinion and a must see in 3D. If you see it in 2D you are not enjoying the movie as the director Ang Lee intended you to see it and you will be missing out, I guarantee it.

9 out of 10 Stars.

Special thanks to Empire Theatres for the screening in RealD 3D. The screen was crisp and well lit as well as a perfect sound level! Outstanding customer service too.

James Cameron And Vince Pace On Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI **AND** The Visual Effects Behind The Tiger!

You can just tell this movie is going to spellbound us. Look at the talent associated with the 3D alone: director Ang Lee, Vince Pace and James Cameron - the latter two provided the 3D camera rigs and services through their Cameron | Pace Group.

Here's what Cameron had to say about it:
"The 3D is an integrated part of the art form, and I feel like the technology that we've created has contributed to a masterpiece."

Not small words coming from him. Sure he's a bit biased with his company working on this project, but he wouldn't put his name on it in this fashion if it weren't a special movie. We're in for a treat with this one folks.

Hit the jump to view the clips...





Here's the Cameron | Pace video clip:




And here's the Tiger Featurette:

WOW. MUST WATCH: New International Trailer For Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI

What a week for gorgeous trailers! First THE HOBBIT and now LIFE OF PI! After seeing the second trailer for Peter Jackson's re-visitation to Middle-earth I was suitably impressed. One of the best trailers I have ever seen. Then comes along this beast of a trailer! WOW.

Which do you think is better? Tough, tough choice and certainly they are totally different movies but the imagery in both astound.

Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI has done nothing but impress me from the start of their marketing push. Each successive drop of visual splendor has been better than the last and this tells me we are in for a treat opening night. Same for THE HOBBIT. It's hard not to compare these trailers.

And the comparisons don't stop at just the trailers. The 3D is going to look amazing and we have some bragging rights at stake here too: THE HOBBIT is being shot using 3ality Technica rigs and LIFE OF PI is utilizing Cameron | Pace Group rigs! Clearly both productions are going to have cutting edge, best of the best native 3D - combine that with the content we have seen thus far in these trailers and then throw it up on the largest 3D screen available and... sheer movie immersion.

Here's the storyline for LIFE OF PI:
Director Ang Lee (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a tragic disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While marooned on a lifeboat, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with the ship’s only other survivor — a fearsome Bengal tiger.

What do you think of the trailer? I can't stop watching it. Both of these trailers this week in fact. I must have watched them both a dozen times and I still feel as though I've missed something and want to revisit them.

LIFE OF PI hits theaters on November 21.

Stunning New Images From Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI

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Wow. Gorgeous new shots from Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI continue to floor me with their visuals. The color palette that Lee is using is stunning!

Here's the storyline from the book:
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional – but is it more true?

LIFE OF PI has also been honored with the opening of the NYFF. For all of our coverage of LIFE OF PI, click here. The movie opens on November 21.
 

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Source: Indiewire

50th NYFF Opens With 3D For First Time: Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI

The New York Film Festival (NYFF, running Sep 28 to Oct 14) is celebrating 50 years in the business this year and to top that off they are opening the show with a 3D movie for the first time ever. Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI gets the nod as the intensely artistic project nears its release date of November 21 in North America.

If you have seen the trailer for the movie, then you are beginning to get an idea of what to expect from it.

Here's the storyline from the book:
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional – but is it more true?

I'll have more about the movie and its reception at the NYFF as it happens.

Must See: New Posters For DREDD And CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WORLD'S AWAY

Couple of new posters for you from promising and upcoming 3D movies - DREDD and CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WORLD'S AWAY.

First up is the graffiti style poster for Karl Urban's DREDD. Reminiscent of how Sony tackled some of the viral marketing for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Lionsgate is now leveraging the maneuver and I think for the most part it works. The symbolism is clearly targeted at Dredd's helmet and the 'X' design where his eyebrows would be underneath.

DREDD opens on September 21.

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WORLD'S AWAY is a completely different genre movie altogether! While DREDD is a solid 'R' for a rating, WORLD'S AWAY will focus on a family experience. The poster offers a cinematic take on what will surely be sensory overload for the eyes.

The athletes of the Cirque are one of kind. This movie should also be one of a kind, and if you haven't seen the trailer yet, you can click over right here.

Produced by none other than James Cameron, we should be taken on quite a visionary journey to the world of Cirque du Soleil. Have you seen any of their work? If so, you can imagine what this will be like - all shot in native 3D using the equipment and expertise of the Cameron | Pace Group.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WORLD'S AWAY opens on December 21.

Cameron Pace Group Celebrates New 3D Tech And Services Deal With Chinese Companies -- Co-Production Options Exist For AVATAR Sequels

In what appears to be a landmark collaboration, the Cameron | Pace Group (CPG) have signed on with two Chinese companies, providing them with stereoscopic 3D technology and services. The two companies are Tianjin North Film Group, a movie and television production company, and Tianjing Binhai Hi-Tech Development Group, who operate a tech park in Tianjin, situated east of Beijing where the venture will be based.

China Central Television (CCTV) is also in talks with CPG's China Division for a potential third deal for the Vince Pace, James Cameron led company in the world's most populous country.

Says veteran stereographer Vince Pace: "We play a support role. We're there to help the expression of creativity and artistry."

Expands director James Cameron: "We're not going to tell Chinese film makers how to make movies. We are going to help them make a transition to 3D production technology as cost effectively as possible, and in a way that doesn't inhibit creativity."

It is apparently a great win-win scenario here. The Chinese companies clearly get top 3D industry expertise in technology and services, while CPG gains that business - a toehold in that exploding new Chinese 3D market. Further, some research, development and manufacturing of CPG's equipment will take place now in China.

Here's Cameron on the topic: "This is a huge investment for us, as much in sweat equity ... as it is financially."

"We expect (CCTV if they adopt 3D) to expand very rapidly, from initially maybe a handful of productions a year to, two or three years from now, we could be talking about thousands of hours of TV production. That's our goal, in any case."

"This is an enormous untapped market that is right on the verge of the transition from 2D to 3D," said Cameron. "This is the best place for us to create a kind of second home."

CPG is not the only Hollywood company seeking business ventures in the country. Dreamworks Animation will be opening a $3 billion theme park in Shanghai by 2016 and will also make at least part of KUNG FU PANDA 3 in China. Further, the IRON MAN 3 will be co-produced with a Chinese partner according to Disney.

With AVATAR 2 and it's potential release year of 2015 approaching, will CPG look into using the Chinese connection to help make the sequels? Potentially yes. Says Cameron: "There have been some very preliminary discussions about co-production potential here in China." Realistically though, I'm thinking that there may some scenes shot in the country, but at least for AVATAR 2 much of decisions may have been made. If you take a look at Cameron's recent activity in New Zealand, it seems that country will benefit the most from the upcoming blockbusters.

China for it's part has announced (March 2012) it will let an additional 14 foreign films into their country on the condition that they are made in 3D or IMAX. They have also raised the foreign share of allowable ticket sales to 25 percent. China's ticket sales continue to rise - up by a third last year alone ($2 billion).

In a potential film market such as China, these trailblazing deals have the silver lining to be very large down the road too. The Cameron | Pace Group earned $58 million last year from providing 3D services and equipment and it certainly seems that the future is continually growing for CPG with deals like this in the hopper.

Is there a danger of losing the technology to poor imitations in China like other industries have seen happen? Yes, but Cameron downplayed it: "That's certainly a danger. We are going to look very carefully at how we protect our core technology. But frankly... it is changing so rapidly that you can clone what we are putting in the field now, but we'll be coming out with something new in 18 months, anyway."

So congratulations to everyone on the Cameron | Pace Group team! Well deserved piece of business there and future success!

Sources: The Gazette | NYPost | SkyNews | Bloomberg

Ok It's Here! Check Out The First Trailer For Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI

We've seen some impressive imagery from Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI already but will the first trailer hold up to the intense expectations being set upon the movie?

YES. It does. Amazing so in fact. It reminds me a bit of how Tarsem Singh might have handled the movie - incredibly visual, surreal and yet intensely alive. I love it.

I won't go on too much about it until you've seen the trailer and have had a chance to absorb it perhaps with multiple viewings. Imagine this is 3D! And it's a native 3D production to boot shot with Cameron | Pace Groups 3D rigs.

Here's the storyline from the book:
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional – but is it more true?

Here's the trailer! Enjoy...




LIFE OF PI opens on November 21.

Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI Looking Gorgeous! Check Out Four New Banners And A Movie Clip!

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WOW! I might appreciate art a bit more then others who don't have a mother who's an artist, but this work is clearly appreciable to all in my mind. All the material in this post is from the official site of LIFE OF PI.

The banners are amazing and utilize a watercolor effect to accomplish a wonderful dreamlike state and a testament to the care and attention that LIFE OF PI is getting from all connected with it. Just look at the detail in the boat alone! 

Ang Lee is raising filmmaking to the art it should be and I am thrilled to see it come together like this.

Ang Lee is shooting in native 3D with Cameron | Pace Group's 3D rigs and cameras. Clearly the visuals will be outstanding!

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There is no official storyline for the movie as of yet, so here is the book's description from Amazon:
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional–but is it more true?

LIFE OF PI opens on November 21.