Basically, Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” is a brilliantly directed and incredibly beautiful film, with amazing special effects and just breathtaking visuals. It is also a tedious sermon wrapped up in an agnostic package that will leave viewers clinging to whatever they want to believe. When it comes to confronting the themes of faith and religion, “Life of Pi” seems bold in explaining that they’re all just basically good for the soul and rejuvenating, but in the end the film seems to stick to the notion that there is only one real God and that’s the Catholic/Christian one.
Tag Archives: Adventure
The Longest Daycare (2012)
Basically, “The Longest Daycare” is a much more advanced and intricate sequel to Maggie Simpson’s adventures in daycare that pays homage to Looney Tunes while also giving the character Maggie some depth. We only saw a portion of it in the episode “A Streetcar Named Marge,” where Maggie united her fellow babies to reclaim her pacifier in the spirit of “The Great Escape.”
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991)
After the massive success of “Home Alone” in 1990, every studio was searching for their own twist on the formula. “Don’t Tell Mom…” has the privilege of being held down mainly by its ridiculous title, and by the fact that it’s not really a “Home Alone” clone when all is said and done. Sure, the movie is about a group of suburban kids left to their own devices, and yes it shows kids wreaking havoc in their house, but it’s not really a clone of the Chris Columbus film. It’s nowhere near as funny or interesting, either. But you can sense the studio working for their own franchise.
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
Normally I love Aardman’s output. I think Wallace and Gromit are fantastic and I even enjoyed “Flushed Away” on some levels. “The Pirates!” is a kids film that doesn’t entirely play the film to their standards. Aardman has a talent for appealing to children without talking down to them, offering them the likes of Wallace and his put upon sidekick dog, but “The Pirates!” is so incredibly convoluted that it fails to deliver any essence of entertainment. The animation from Aardman is up to their usual quality with some wonderful stop motion scapes and hilarious characters, it just falls flat in terms of story.
Star Studded Dramas – 8 Engaging Films (DVD)
For movie fans looking for some dramatic features, Mill Creek is more than happy to provide an eight film boxed set of some varied dramas that will surely attract any audience in the mood for soapy, entertaining, or who just want to kill some time. The “Star Studded Dramas” are worthy of the watches, if only for their varying degrees of tone since neither title is very similar to the other.
2000’s Billy Bob Thorton directed “All the Pretty Horses” finds Matt Damon as a cowboy who falls in love with the local rancher’s daughter, who so happens to be Penelope Cruz. Filled with sudsy direction and a great cast, this is one of Matt Damon’s most unique films. 2004’s “A Love Song for Bobby Long” stars an interesting cast including John Travolta as an alcoholic and Scarlett Johannson as the woman who befriends him in the somewhat bleak drama about characters colliding in the middle of tragedy and soon they begin to learn about one another in ways they never imagined.
Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft (2013)
Booboo and Fivel Stewart together at last! I’m glad they waited for that right cinematic project to get together and reveal their inner strength as an on-screen duo. Granted, Fivel Stewart is adorable, but “Warriors of Witchcraft” is one of the most uneventful knock offs of 2013. Especially for a movie with such a low budget, and the casting of Eric Roberts as a the school’s overly eager headmaster. The titular characters Jonah and Ella attend after Jonah is kicked out of his old school for fighting. Feeling the need to look after him, Ella follows Jonah to his new school, and before long discovers that this posh mostly bland private school is being run by witches.
TekWar: The Movie (1994)
Boy can your memories lie to you. I fondly remember watching “Tekwar” back in 1994 when I’d watch literally anything that was on TV. The station WPIX in New York launched a slew of television movies that were destined to become television shows in the immediate future, and “Tekwar” was one of them. Based on the novels by William Shatner, “Tekwar” began as a series of television movies, then it became a comic book series (I was never that desperate for comics), and inevitably became a television series. Since watching it twice in 1994, I only fondly remember the robotic hockey player who, at one point, has to battle Greg Evigan’s shady police officer character in a hockey rink.