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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Life Of Pi (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
When I heard that one of my favorite books was being converted into a movie, I was a little skeptical. Add one of my favorite directors, Ang Lee, and my skepticism started to recede. As many know, Lee is renowned for his artistic vision and cinematography. I fell in love with his vision of “Sense and Sensibility,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and “Brokeback Mountain.” To me, if there was a director who could capture the beauty and imagery of this book, it was Lee.
The movie and the book are great parallels of one another. The story revolves around a young Indian boy named Piscine (“Pool” in French) who spent much of his youth in Pondicherry, a French colony of India. Much of the book, and movie, include flash-backs of Pi’s life in India – the ridicule of his name, his father’s ownership of a zoo, etc. When Pi and his family decide to move to Canada due to political concerns (the book covers much more of this, including Pi’s exploration of various spiritualties/religions), they are chartered on a ship. En route, they encounter a fierce storm which capsizes their vessel, leaving Pi on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an injured zebra, and an orangutan.
Being the only human on board with said animals, Pi naturally fears for his welfare. He observes the hyena killing the injured zebra and then turning on the orangutan. The orangutan, as one should note, cares for Pi in a very motherly fashion (remember that Pi’s whole family had drowned in the ship), and her death was very difficult for Pi to endure. Eventually, the hyena succumbs to death by the tiger. As further explained in the movie and novel, Pi names the tiger “Richard Parker” and the two of them set out to endure their lives aboard the ship in some strange sort of symbiotic relationship.
Lee’s vision transforms this novel into a brilliant masterpiece. Like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” you will be awed by the cinematography and artistic interpretation he presents. The young actors employed for the role of Pi (Gautam Belur, Ayush Tandon, Suraj Sharma & Irrfan Khan) are downright perfect and I particularly enjoyed Gerard Depardieu as the grizzled and difficult French cook (not a difficult stretch for him as one can imagine). Overall, as an avid lover of Yann Martel’s novel and Ang Lee’s work, I can say this is a beautiful movie and one many will enjoy (even if you haven’t read the novel – which you MUST do).
My only complaint is that while it is a beautiful representation of CGI technology, sometimes it looked a bit too manufactured and fantastical. Their work on the tiger, however, was downright genius (and I personally hate when they create CGI animals instead of working with the real thing – but in this instance it worked very well). The ending and symbolism of this work is what makes it truly a piece of art. If you’re a fan of “Inception” and “The Sixth Sense,” you will enjoy the twist at the end.
Overall, I think this is a lovely representation of the novel and a great movie all around. I highly suggest checking it out.
The movie and the book are great parallels of one another. The story revolves around a young Indian boy named Piscine (“Pool” in French) who spent much of his youth in Pondicherry, a French colony of India. Much of the book, and movie, include flash-backs of Pi’s life in India – the ridicule of his name, his father’s ownership of a zoo, etc. When Pi and his family decide to move to Canada due to political concerns (the book covers much more of this, including Pi’s exploration of various spiritualties/religions), they are chartered on a ship. En route, they encounter a fierce storm which capsizes their vessel, leaving Pi on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an injured zebra, and an orangutan.
Being the only human on board with said animals, Pi naturally fears for his welfare. He observes the hyena killing the injured zebra and then turning on the orangutan. The orangutan, as one should note, cares for Pi in a very motherly fashion (remember that Pi’s whole family had drowned in the ship), and her death was very difficult for Pi to endure. Eventually, the hyena succumbs to death by the tiger. As further explained in the movie and novel, Pi names the tiger “Richard Parker” and the two of them set out to endure their lives aboard the ship in some strange sort of symbiotic relationship.
Lee’s vision transforms this novel into a brilliant masterpiece. Like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” you will be awed by the cinematography and artistic interpretation he presents. The young actors employed for the role of Pi (Gautam Belur, Ayush Tandon, Suraj Sharma & Irrfan Khan) are downright perfect and I particularly enjoyed Gerard Depardieu as the grizzled and difficult French cook (not a difficult stretch for him as one can imagine). Overall, as an avid lover of Yann Martel’s novel and Ang Lee’s work, I can say this is a beautiful movie and one many will enjoy (even if you haven’t read the novel – which you MUST do).
My only complaint is that while it is a beautiful representation of CGI technology, sometimes it looked a bit too manufactured and fantastical. Their work on the tiger, however, was downright genius (and I personally hate when they create CGI animals instead of working with the real thing – but in this instance it worked very well). The ending and symbolism of this work is what makes it truly a piece of art. If you’re a fan of “Inception” and “The Sixth Sense,” you will enjoy the twist at the end.
Overall, I think this is a lovely representation of the novel and a great movie all around. I highly suggest checking it out.
Mobo Hide and Seek
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It’s always a good time to nurture your child's curiosity. The perfect game for young explorers....
Last Day on Earth: Survival
Games
8.5
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Last Day on Earth is a zombie survival game, where all survivors are driven by one goal: stay alive...
Zombies
Deer Hunter: African Safari
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NOW WITH GAME CENTER LEADERBOARDS & RETINA DISPLAY support!!! The most realistic hunting franchise...
Tatiana Temple (3 KP) rated Find Me in Books
Jan 3, 2018
Kept me wondering
Contains spoilers, click to show
Find Me is about a young man named Jar who is convinced that his girlfriend, Rosa, who allegedly committed suicide five years earlier is alive. Throughout the novel you wonder if maybe she really is alive, if he has had a psychotic break and is imagining it all, or if you are missing something. This novel kept me on the edge of my seat, even with the last few sentences.
Towards the end of the novel you discover that Rosa is in fact alive but not in the capacity that you expect her to be. She is being held captive by her Uncle Martin. When Jar rescues her you get a sense of relief only to have a question raised in the last 3 pages of the book that still has me wondering if Rosa's abduction was in fact government sanctioned.
The only reason why I didn't give this a 10/10 is because towards the middle-end of the book you start reading in her Uncle Martin's POV who is a complete psycopath. Some of his thoughts are rather disturbing and some were hard for me to get through as I have a deep love for animals.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I definitely would recommend it to anyone looking for something that will keep your brain active throughout.
Towards the end of the novel you discover that Rosa is in fact alive but not in the capacity that you expect her to be. She is being held captive by her Uncle Martin. When Jar rescues her you get a sense of relief only to have a question raised in the last 3 pages of the book that still has me wondering if Rosa's abduction was in fact government sanctioned.
The only reason why I didn't give this a 10/10 is because towards the middle-end of the book you start reading in her Uncle Martin's POV who is a complete psycopath. Some of his thoughts are rather disturbing and some were hard for me to get through as I have a deep love for animals.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I definitely would recommend it to anyone looking for something that will keep your brain active throughout.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Carlos the Chameleon: A Story to Help Empower Children to Be Themselves in Books
Jun 14, 2018
Children being children
Contains spoilers, click to show
Carlos the Chameleon A Story to Help Empower Children to Be Themselves by Alice Reeves is part of the Truth and Tales series whose goal is to eradicate prejudices and encourage acceptance of others. Carlos is a beautiful emerald green chameleon and can magically turn different colours depending on his surroundings and who he is with. He has a variety of friends which constantly challenges his transformations. When he is with them he turns exactly the same colour to blend into their group.
Carlos is very insecure about himself and his self-worth is very low. He's afraid if he is not like his peers they will reject him and not be his friend any more. He turns hot pink when he's with the flamingos, bright blue with his frog buddies, and orange with black spots when it's playtime with the jaguar pack. He yearns so much to fit in and be just like them. He thinks being the same is key to making their friendships work.
One day the animals discover his real color, which is a lovely emerald green. Since they are his true friends they assure him that he is gorgeous. Carlos is relieved to learn that it's not about his outward appearance at all, but about his loving warm heart inside of him.
This book has extra notes and resources for teachers and parents to utilize. This is a very important message that will teach kids that they are unique and can celebrate exactly who they were created to be.
Carlos is very insecure about himself and his self-worth is very low. He's afraid if he is not like his peers they will reject him and not be his friend any more. He turns hot pink when he's with the flamingos, bright blue with his frog buddies, and orange with black spots when it's playtime with the jaguar pack. He yearns so much to fit in and be just like them. He thinks being the same is key to making their friendships work.
One day the animals discover his real color, which is a lovely emerald green. Since they are his true friends they assure him that he is gorgeous. Carlos is relieved to learn that it's not about his outward appearance at all, but about his loving warm heart inside of him.
This book has extra notes and resources for teachers and parents to utilize. This is a very important message that will teach kids that they are unique and can celebrate exactly who they were created to be.
Apollo (2 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 27, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
So I'm gonna start this off at the very beginning. The fact that they used the original opening singing to circle of life made my day. Its iconic and you cant replace it. The CGI throughout the entire movie was extremely well done and detailed which doesn't surprise me from Disney but as someone who studies animals I was extremely pleased with the inaccuracies of all the native species spotted into the movie (especially ones not seen in the original such as aardvarks, bat eared foxes and elephant shrews). The storyline did not stray from the original and I was still a blubbing mess when Mufasa died *insert quiet sobbing here*. The new voices for timon and pumba made this movie for me. I could not stop laughing whenever they were on and the improvisation was amazing.
The only downside for me was the new takes on songs whenever Beyonce sang. I'm a huge fan of her music but in the end when I was listening to her sing 'Can you feel the love tonight' all I could hear was Beyonce and not Nala. She made the song very 'poppy' and ruined the disney vibe for me. After that it was hard to listen to Nala's character. In my personal opinion I feel like she was brought in as she was a big name and not because she was necessarily right for the role of Nala.
However, would gladly watch again for all the moments I did enjoy.
The only downside for me was the new takes on songs whenever Beyonce sang. I'm a huge fan of her music but in the end when I was listening to her sing 'Can you feel the love tonight' all I could hear was Beyonce and not Nala. She made the song very 'poppy' and ruined the disney vibe for me. After that it was hard to listen to Nala's character. In my personal opinion I feel like she was brought in as she was a big name and not because she was necessarily right for the role of Nala.
However, would gladly watch again for all the moments I did enjoy.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Peter Rabbit (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
Had they not attempt to make a movie based off a beloved children’s book
classic by Beatrix Potter, this film would be exceptional. Unfortunately,
they chose to deviate from the innocent storytelling and put a slapstick
comical spin on it. Peter Rabbit (James Corden) and his sisters, Flopsy,
Mopsy, Cottontail, and their cousin Benjamin are constantly trying to steal
vegetables from the unpleasant and always grumpy Mr. MacGregor’s garden.
Fortunately, the rabbits have one human on their side, MacGregor’s
neighbor, Bea (Rose Byrne), who reminds MacGregor, the animals were on the
land first and everyone should share.
One morning Mr. MacGregor (SamNeill) keels over after trying to save his garden from those pesky
rabbits. His straight-laced city boy grandnephew Thomas MacGregor (Dohmnall
Gleason) inherits the property and is left with trying to maintain the
“rodent” problem. An all-out war ensues between Peter and Thomas!
What made Beatrix Potter’s books so appealing, was her ability to show a
vulnerability to where the reader could sympathize with such
mischievous rabbits.
This film was chalked full of naughty behavior, jealousy, and entitlement
within the story line characters. As a film, it’s hilarious—Home Alone
type shenanigans with a little Dennis the Menace antics peppered in. Live
action mixed in with CGI effects is quite impressive—too good, you almost
think the rabbits were real. If you can deviate from the stories we’ve all
grown to love, this film is excellent, entertaining, and for the intended
audience-kids under the age of 10……… which all thought it was
“totally awesome!”
classic by Beatrix Potter, this film would be exceptional. Unfortunately,
they chose to deviate from the innocent storytelling and put a slapstick
comical spin on it. Peter Rabbit (James Corden) and his sisters, Flopsy,
Mopsy, Cottontail, and their cousin Benjamin are constantly trying to steal
vegetables from the unpleasant and always grumpy Mr. MacGregor’s garden.
Fortunately, the rabbits have one human on their side, MacGregor’s
neighbor, Bea (Rose Byrne), who reminds MacGregor, the animals were on the
land first and everyone should share.
One morning Mr. MacGregor (SamNeill) keels over after trying to save his garden from those pesky
rabbits. His straight-laced city boy grandnephew Thomas MacGregor (Dohmnall
Gleason) inherits the property and is left with trying to maintain the
“rodent” problem. An all-out war ensues between Peter and Thomas!
What made Beatrix Potter’s books so appealing, was her ability to show a
vulnerability to where the reader could sympathize with such
mischievous rabbits.
This film was chalked full of naughty behavior, jealousy, and entitlement
within the story line characters. As a film, it’s hilarious—Home Alone
type shenanigans with a little Dennis the Menace antics peppered in. Live
action mixed in with CGI effects is quite impressive—too good, you almost
think the rabbits were real. If you can deviate from the stories we’ve all
grown to love, this film is excellent, entertaining, and for the intended
audience-kids under the age of 10……… which all thought it was
“totally awesome!”
Learn English: Vocabulary - Practicing with games and vocabulary lists to learn words
Education and Games
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Want to improve and learn English vocabulary? This is your application for learning languages. If...
Kangaroo Dundee
Book
Brolga (aka Chris Barns) is the 6ft 7in strong but sensitive Aussie star of the extraordinary BBC...