Life of Pi (2012) - There's a Tiger in my Lifeboat! There's a Jungle Cat in the Lifeboat!

Rating: 10/10 (8 December 2012)

Known as the one man who will take various risks of making a movie out of almost every single film genre imaginable, Ang Lee, of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Brokeback Mountain" fame, directs his latest hit, "Life of Pi", based on the popular novel of the same name. It's that rare movie that will transport audiences into a world unlike no other, succeeding to entertain in both visual style and story. This is one of the most memorable, and one of the very best films of the whole year. "Life of Pi" tells the brave story of a young teen nicknamed "Pi", whom ends up on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, accompanied by a ferocious Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker (I know, it's weird). But I know what you're wondering, "How did these two unfortunate souls ended up in this mess in the first place?". Well, without spoiling anything, it's told through the point of view of older Pi, played by Irrfan Khan, as he tells a writer his entire life story, from his experiences at his family zoo, to a massive shipwreck during a journey to Canada for Pi and his family to start a new life, and how it lead to a situation considered impossible where Pi, as a teenager, got stuck on a lifeboat for weeks, with a tiger! Filmed in gorgeously breathtaking 3-D technology, "Life of Pi" is one absolute visual marvel. Director Ang Lee has thrown in some of the most beautiful images ever seen on the silver screen, and uses these images as his own unique way to tell the story. I recommend that everybody should see this movie in the theater, in the 3-D format, on the largest screen possible. It's a better way to experience this visual spectacle with such a massive scope. From a technical standpoint, "Life of Pi" succeeds in the use of cinematography, editing, and visual effects. But from a performance standpoint, while Irffan Khan does one of his best performances as older Pi, the scene-stealing breakthrough performance comes from Suraj Sharma, who does a rather brilliant job in capturing the heroism of young Pi, while at the same time, trying to communicate with a computer-generated tiger. It's a performance that I hope will score him his first ever Best Actor nomination. His relationship with this tiger is something to enjoy to watch unfold on screen. Their various face-offs with each other show the accurate profession of animals between humans. Although sharing complete loath between each other in the beginning, we find a strange friendship somewhere, as well. This movie delivers every human emotion to the audience, whether making you laugh, cry, or giving you a strange feeling of hope. At a well-paced 127-minute running time, "Life of Pi" is one of the best movie-going experiences I've ever had. From start to finish, Ang Lee has brought me on board for an incredible ride, while finishing off with an ending that will definitely leave a smile on your face. The incredible visuals, the spell-binding cinematography and editing, the stand-out performance from Suraj Sharma, Ang Lee's masterful directing, and the movie itself, are all worthy of Oscar consideration. "Life of Pi", in my review, "visually enhancing, a masterful journey".