Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This may be the hardest movie review I've ever written, somehow words don't express it quite right ... To begin, I saw Life of Pi in 3-D. A week later I went back and saw it again, because I don't foresee having another chance. I expect the color and detail will remain gorgeous in 2-D, and I definitely intend to buy the disc. However the 3-D in this movie is spectacular. The tiger, Richard Parker, is at the top of the list, but in fact the entire movie benefits tremendously from 3-D. If you liked Avatar, you probably liked the marvelous animals. And I'm sure in some scenes, Richard Parker is CGI'd to some extent. But Life of Pi has a real earthly animal to work with, and you can argue there is no animal on earth more beautiful or fierce than a tiger. That's part of the genius of this movie, and I'm sure one reason James Cameron liked it so much. That brings me to another point about this movie, its suitability for kids. Hopefully by now you understand the tiger is not a cuddly pet. Its very much a wild animal, just like you can see in nature videos. Except in this movie the tiger is a lot closer. He wants to eat Pi. Pi can't always see the tiger. The audience knows the tiger is going to try something, but that just makes it all the more nerve-wracking. Or exciting, depending on the person watching. This movie made me jump several times, and I was often clutching the arms of my chair. Its pretty intense in places. More so the second time I saw it. I kid you not. "Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the darkness of the night" - William Blake "Tell me what you see" - Pi Regarding the story, I will say the movie starts out to establish what kind of a kid Pi was when he was growing up in India. This helps us know Pi as a multi-dimensional character. But the beauty of this part of the movie is the kind you can see every day, not the visionary beauty that comes later. Maybe it takes more effort to see it, because its a little too much like our own lives when we were kids. Growing up can seem mundane. But sometimes it can also be dangerous. Or heartbreaking. Once the movie shifts to the ocean, its very easy to believe that now we have our arms around the story. But Life of Pi is one of those movies where we don't really know the story at all, until the last word of dialog has been spoken. There's more than one story here, and most of what makes you think, after its over, comes at the very end. You have to pay attention to pick it all up. On disc, you may want to re-play a few seconds at the end of the movie. Its worth it. If you like to think about a movie, if you have a vivid memory for beauty, then Life of Pi is one of the easiest movies to recommend. Its the second masterpiece of 2012.