Drama

Life of Pi

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Life of Pi
  • IMDB: link

life-of-pi-posterBased on the bestselling novel by Yann Martel, Life of Pi is the tale of an impossible adventure of a young man named after a swimming pool who rebrands himself on the mathematical constant Pi (Suraj Sharma) and his journey of survival after a shipwreck and 227 days alone on a life boat with a Bengal tiger as his only companion.

Much like the book, the movie hinges on the audience being able to accept the tale of the unreliable narrator, an older Pi (Irrfan Khan) recounting his adventure years later, despite all logic that tells us the young man’s journey would be impossible.

The film is beautiful to behold, and with only a few exceptions (most notably the odd depiction of Pi’s uncle) the CGI elegantly renders the animals and stark environment the young zoo keeper’s son finds himself. After a brief introduction, and discounting the later events of the older Pi sharing his story to a struggling writer (Rafe Spall), nearly the entire movie takes place on the small lifeboat in the middle of an empty ocean.

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A Royal Affair

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: En kongelig affære
  • IMDB: link

a-royal-affair-posterSet in the last half of the 18th Century, during the Age of the Enlightenment, A Royal Affair examines the reign of the mentally unstable King Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) from the perspective of his queen (Alicia Vikander) and most trusted advisor, German doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) whose wide sweeping reforms (the abolishment of censorship, torture, the slave trade, and an increase on taxes of the aristocracy for the good of the people) and affair with the queen, albeit briefly, changed the course of Denmark’s history.

Unable to acquire the rights to Stuensee’s story, director Nikolaj Arcel choose instead to adapt a Danish romantic novel of Bodil Steensen-Leth. Because of the source material, far more emphasis is put on the relationships the Queen has with both her husband and Struensee, and the behind-the-scenes palace politics and court intrigue, than the reforms themselves or their effect on the Danish people. The story also never questions the doctor’s noble purpose or motives for grabbing so much power (including so thoroughly dismantling the King’s government) that, along with his affair with the Queen, ultimately led to his downfall.

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Lincoln

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Lincoln
  • IMDb: link

lincoln-poster

Director Steven Spielberg‘s follow-up to last year’s disappointing War Horse is a far more personal character study of a single man during one of the most tumultuous times in America’s history. Adapted from Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, rather than give us a Hollywood version of “This is Your Life,” Lincoln chooses to focus on the final four months of Abraham Lincoln‘s presidency and the end of both the Civil War and slavery.

Daniel Day-Lewis carries the movie with yet another strong performance as our title character, and Sally Field is surprisingly terrific in the role of Mary Todd Lincoln. Although there is more going on, much like Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, Spielberg’s movie can really be boiled down to two performances that elevate the story around them.

Tony Kushner‘s script focuses on the law, backdoor politics, and Lincoln’s struggle to reunite the Union and abolish slavery rather than the Civil War, which is only used as a backdrop to the events occurring in Washington D.C.

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The Sessions

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Sessions
  • IMDB: link

the-sessions-posterSex is a mysterious, terrifying, and wondrous thing, especially for someone like Marc O’Brien (John Hawkes) who has lived nearly his entire life unable to move a single muscle below his neck. After contracting Polio at the age of six, Marc has spent most of his life in an iron lung or strapped to a gurney. At the age of 38, inspired while writing an article about the sex lives of people with physical disabilities, he decides it’s about time he lost his virginity.

After getting the consent of his priest, Father Brendan (William H. Macy, in another terrific supporting performance), Marc engages the services of Cheryl (Helen Hunt), a sex surrogate. Marc’s journey is far from an easy one, with both sad and humorous obstacles to be overcome.

Based on the true experiences of Marc O’Brien, adapted and directed by Ben Lewin, this little film about sex turns out to be a funny and sweet character study of a man and his relationships with the three most important women in his life (Hunt, Moon Bloodgood, and Annika Marks).

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Chasing Mavericks

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Chasing Mavericks
  • IMDB: link

chasing-mavericks-posterEven though the film was directed by the combination of Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) and Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist, Coal Miner’s Daughter), I was still surprised by how much I enjoyed Chasing Mavericks. The film is based on the real life of surfer Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston, who reminds me more than a little of Christopher Atkins in The Pirate Movie) who grew up chasing giant waves most believed were myths in a small cove in Northern California in the mid-1990’s.

Although the surfing footage is some of the best ever captured for a feature film, the screenplay is just as focused on Jay’s life outside the water when he’s not obsessed with his dream of surfing Mavericks. The fatherless young man whose alcoholic mother (Elisabeth Shue) is less than dependable latches on at a young age to a surfing neighbor (Gerard Butler) who, despite having enough trouble figuring out how to be a father to his own daughter (Maya Raines), finds himself cast into the role of a surrogate father to the talented young surfer whether he likes it or not.

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