Life of Pi

This movie was great! I, unlike my mom and sister, have not read the book.
The concept is simple. Pi (played for the majority of the film by Suraj Sharma) is alone on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker. His family, who owned a zoo in French India, but decided to sell the land and move to Canada. However, along the way a bad storm comes upon them, which causes the ship to become a perilous situation. Pi, venturing out to see the storm, notices tons of water coming on the ship. He falls into a lifeboat and a zebra joins him. Eventually, a wild hyena and orangutan and tiger also joins him. However, the hyena kills both the zebra and orangutan before being killed by the tiger. Pi is also risking his life every time he ventures on board the tiny lifeboat as he spends the majority of his time on a raft he made for himself.
Life is utterly awful for him, with little water and only crackers to eat. He learns how to catch fish for Richard Parker but he does not eat them himself until a whale comes along and he looses all his crackers, because Pi is a vegetarian. Soon, Richard Parker and Pi learn how to coexist but nothing more.
Just as Pi finally gives up on life, he arrives on an island filled with meerkats. But, for some reason, the island becomes toxic at night, so he loads up on food and continues his journey, eventually arriving at Mexico, where the tiger just disappears, leaving Pi alone and devastated.
The story does have a happy ending, as the main story is framed by adult Pi (The Amazing Spiderman's Irrfan Khan) is telling his childhood and his craziest adventure to an unnamed author (Rafe Spall). He is married and has two children, so everything there works out.
The main part of the story that leaves you wondering is whether the story with the tiger is right or whether the even more tragic one he told to the Japanese authorities doing an investigation about the ship's sinking. I decide to believe the one with the tiger, but we will never know.
Though the plot is vital to every film, this film relies more on the acting, which is great, especially from the newcomer Suraj Sharma. But the cinematography (by Claudio Miranda) is amazing, certainly some of the best I've ever seen. The CGI are also fantastic as the tigers and animals seemed as real as possible.
This film may not have completely moved me, but it is certainly one of the best I've seen so far this year, not as good as Argo, but a great film nevertheless, and this is one that the whole family can watch. Grade: A

Glee: Dynamic Duets

This episode was interesting, but certainly one of the better ones so far this season, and there was a plot twist and everything, it was great!
First off, the Nationals trophy was stolen by the Warblers and Blaine, seriously missing Kurt, went to retrieve it. Surprise, it wasn't stolen by Sebastian, but by the new captain. He is holding the trophy hostage until Blaine rejoins the Warblers, and he almost does, as Kurt was the main reason he transferred. But luckily, Sam shows him the way and what is so great about being at McKinley and he decides to stay put. Crisis avoided.
Which leads us to the other main plot and the one I found much more interesting. Finn, struggling to find his way, decides that duets will get the enemies to form bonds and become closer. At first this doesn't work, at least with Ryder and Jake. Finn forces them to reveal their weaknesses to each other. Jake first tells (and that's important) Ryder that he never fits in anywhere as he is half white, half black and half Jewish, so everyone picks on him for some reason or another. Ryder, then, decides not to tell him his and Jake gets mad. Ryder says, "I made you tell me because I couldn't read it." At first I thought it was because Jake's handwriting was so bad but then I realized something deeper. Ryder couldn't read. I was quite surprised.
Jake tells Finn who gets Jake to see a specialist who diagnoses Ryder as (both my sister and I guessed and bet) dyslexic. Ryder, who is mad at first, is glad that Finn told someone. He can finally get the help he needs. Yey.
Also, Marley has two guys fighting over her, though her self-esteem needs some work. Kitty, still being mean, pretends to join forces with her, sneaking in cruel remarks whenever she can. In the end, Marley becomes upset when Ryder can't hang out with her because he has to meet with a specialist, but she stands up to Kitty and decides to hang out with Jake instead. Jake has won this round, so now the game is even. Ryder may have gotten the first kiss but Jake has the first date.
As for everything else, the songs (three of the five) were quite good and there was nothing from New York, which is perfectly fine with me. And I didn't even miss Mr. Schuster, though Finn is starting to look a lot like him, wearing the same clothes and everything. It's weird, but it works. Grade: A-

The Middle: Thanksgiving IV

Though this TV show has been on the air for four years now, I only just started watching it last month, but I have been missing out. I also started watching Modern Family (which has now won three Emmys for Best Comedy) and Suburgatory. However, this is the best show of the three I feel. (I refuse to watch The Neighbors.)
The show is simple and the situations are real. So far this season, Frankie (Patricia Heaton) lost her job in car sales and decided to return to school to become a dental assistant, only to have a strict and awful teacher who uses Frankie as the living example for the rest of the class. Axl (Charlie McDermott) is the king of the school, as this is his senior year, only to have everything be tossed away when his younger sister, Sue (a great Eden Sher) ran over his foot while trying to drive. Brick, the younger of the Heck clan (Atticus Shaffer) ate too much Halloween candy and turned normal for a brief period of time. Mike (Neil Flynn) hasn't done that much, but his mere presence is enough.
Though the latest episode was supposed to be about Thanksgiving, it came across as more of a Valentine's Day episode. Here Frankie decides to invite some marines over for the big holiday, which Mike doesn't like, though he is also less than thrilled that her parents (Marsha Mason and Jerry Van Dyke) are coming to visit. Sue is devastated over her mascot chicken head being stolen by the other team. Brick is, as per usual, buried in a book, in this case the real story of the book Love Story became a movie. When his grandmother asks if he wants to watch it with her, he glances up from his book, "Now why we would do that?" because he is all about the books and nothing else even matters. Axl is dealing with a huge crush on his tutor, Cassidy (Galadrial Stineman), who claims to have a boyfriend in college (I doubt this ). I doubt this because she left the room immediately when Axl impulsively kissed her and smiled secretly to herself and she flirted with him when he criticized her handwriting, stating that she needed a handwriting tutor. But she shows no interest in him, especially after his broken foot (thanks to Sue running over it) heals and he can play football again.
The show plays out quickly, as they only have twenty-two minutes and tons of plot to cram in. The Thanksgiving dinner with the marines goes horribly, as Frankie's parents are fighting over everything, as her father is convinced that food is poison because of the refined sugar and insists on telling the marines his stories of Korea. She ends up telling everyone the story of her parent's first date, screaming at how wonderful everything turned out, causing the marines to become uncomfortable and leave.
Though Sue is unable to find her chicken head and has to settle for a bear head, she is the one who tells Axl not to think about football, just play the game which works. That scholarship offer is back on the table. And Cassidy broke up with her (supposed) college boyfriend and now she and Axl are together. Even Frankie's parents make up. All is right in the Heck's world.
Modern Family may scope up all the Emmys, but this show is funnier and packed with talent. Eden Sher shines as Sue, who is the constant butt of her older brother's jokes and never seems to catch a break when it comes to anything. Patricia Heaton is still the underappreciated housewife, just as she was in Everybody Loves Raymond, another great show, but now she is more likeable and Mike is not an idiot so we don't have to wonder why she decided to marry him.
The Heck family is just like any other, struggling to make ends meet, doing the best they can with the typical situations and the results are hilarious, at least to the outside observer. Grade: A-

Lincoln

This film finally came to theaters! And I got to see it with tons of other people.
The Civil War has been going on for nearly four years, many families have lost their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers. Naturally, the president, Abraham Lincoln (the magnificent Daniel Day-Lewis) wants the war to end, but he also wants to abolish slavery and will go to almost any length to get the necessary votes so the amendment can pass before the war ends. He enlists the help of Biblo (James Spader), whose name fits his character well, Latham (John Hawkes) and Schell (Tim Blake Nelson, finally in movies again). These men go around to all the democrats who will be out of a job in a few months and tell them that if they support the bill, then they will be given a job. Many fall into this trap, though others need more convincing. And the New York representative, Fernando Wood (Lee Pace), is completely against the whole thing. On the other side, occasionally belittling and making fun of his fellow representatives, while other times, brewing in his own thoughts, is Thaddeus Stevens, representing my home state of Pennsylvania (Tommy Lee Jones). Later, Jones provides one of the few surprises in the film. It certainly shocked me, but you learn why he truly supported freeing the slaves.
On the home front, things are probably even more interesting. Mary "Molly" Todd Lincoln (a brilliant Sally Field) is a bundle of nerves, still devastated over her son Willy's death. She also has a fantastic breakdown scene where she yells at her husband for not locking her up in the mental hospital when he had the chance. There is also their youngest son, Tad (Gulliver McGarth) who constantly demands and receives his father's attention. Lincoln is quite devoted to his youngest son. The same cannot really be said for his eldest, Robert Todd Lincoln (the underused Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Upon Robert's arrival for a party, his father is busy secretly meeting with Preston Blair (Hal Holbrook), who will meet with some southern officers and try and work on negotiating for peace. Though Lincoln shakes hands with Robert, he almost scolds him and tells him that he will talk to him later. I guess family doesn't come first. Later, in another extremely powerful scene, Robert tells his father that no matter how many hospitals he visits, he must serve in the army. There is no reason why he should be exempt from fighting just because his father is the president. He even talks back to his father, saying the only reason he is not fighting is because Abraham won't stand up to his wife. Robert receives a smack as a reward. However, Robert does join the army, but as Lincoln explains to his wife that he will never see combat, working as a messenger under Grant (Jared Harris).
The plot plays out, ending as everyone expects, with the amendment passing, the war ending and tragically, Lincoln being assassinated. There are some interesting moments along the way, with one representive suggesting that after blacks get the right to vote, what would be the next step? Women being allowed to vote? Ironically, women would get the right to vote, before the southern African Americans truly would.
The performances are what make the film. Daniel Day-Lewis will deservingly receive another Oscar nomination for embodying the 16th president. He physically looks like him and creates a voice all his own. He also walks with a permanent crease in his back. When he gives his son, Tad, a piggy bank ride, I was worried that his back wouldn't be able to support the weight. But it did. He also is most happy when he is telling stories of times long ago, including his one case of an old lady accused of murdering her husband. His stories are just fascinating. Sally Field is a bundle of nerves as the fragile first lady, sometimes literally shaking as she listens to her husband's dreams. I'm glad Sally Field fought for the role as much as she did. David Strathairn, as the secretary William Seward, is also quite good, though not as good as Tommy Lee Jones, who loves being cruel to the other representatives. It is the only fun thing he gets to do in the day. James Spader adds some necessary comic relief as Biblo. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also brilliant as the eldest son, determined to show the world that he is not a coward. He deserves more credit than he has been receiving for this role.
Overall, the film is long and confusing, with tons of characters, who often don't receive an introduction, but the cast is packed with talent, every inch of it. The cinematography is also great, with minimal lighting, just as it would have been, with only candles for light. This film is definitely one of the year's bests, though I liked Argo more. Grade: A

Glee: Glease

Tonight, okay last night, Glee performed Grease, to interesting results.
First off, we returned to New York where Rachel is preparing for her first Off-Broadway audition, an avant-garde production of The Glass Menagerie. Cassandra advises her against it, though Rachel doesn't listen. Instead, she encourages Cassandra to audition for the role of Amanda, the southern belle mother. Cassandra rightly took this as an insult. Thus, she strongly encouraged Kurt and Rachel to return for the opening night of Grease, which they did. Cassandra had her own agenda, asking Brody to be her TA. While Brody is helping her choreograph something and they kiss. Really, Brody? I thought you were better than that, but obviously not.
Back in McKinley, Mr. Schuster announces that he is leaving and the club takes the news hard and they are also not pleased that Finn is now in charge. Sue is even more upset and does everything in her power to ruin the club and the musical. She calls Unique's parents to inform them that their son was bullied. His parents then encouraged him to drop out of the musical and wear boy clothes at school. Poor Wade. However, Finn and Artie had the perfect Rizzo up their sleeves: Santana, who can just come back for the musical. She, after all, had the part memorized since she was one. And she did well, though part of me felt that Tina (who needs more attention, as she has been forgotten since season one) would have done just as well. Oh, and by the way, she and Mike are working things out. At least one couple can be mature about it.
Kurt refused to listen to anything Blaine (the perfect teen angel) had to say. Rachel and Finn also have a nice talk, but that's because Rachel goes crazy and sees herself as Sandy for the finale of Grease with Finn as Danny. When she calls Brody, Cassandra picks up the phone, so the audience assumes that the two probably slept with each other. Did they? I hope not, but I would put nothing past Cassandra. Finn decides, after a sweet conversation, proving that they both can act, that they must avoid each other. We'll see if that works out.
As for Sandy, Kitty (that nasty witch) in an effort to get her revenge, takes Marley's Sandy costume and sews it tighter every night, causing Marley to think that she's gained weight. Kitty then tells Marley to force herself to throw up to lose the weight. Marley seriously considers this, but lucky Ryder comes in to save the day and the show. Though I do like Marley, you would think she would figure out that something is up because none of her other clothes are getting tight, but whatever, that issue was unresolved.
Now, though the performance of Grease received a good review from the hard to please sophomore critic, I would have loved to see more of it, and not had Rachel's crazy hallucination imagining her and Finn and Kurt in the musical, because the finale was really, really good.
Ultimately, I didn't like this episode much. I wish they would focus more on the actual members of the Glee club and more on the musical itself. Still, this episode could have been much worse. Grade: B

The Campaign

I saw this movie purely because they showed it at my college. It wasn't the worst way to spend a Saturday night. There were some laughs, coming at the expense of others but some of them were quite disgusting and disturbing.
Here Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is a Democratic Congressman who is also a horn dog. His pretty blonde, but shallow wife, Rose (Katherine LaNasa) is only with him because he keeps winning. However, two brothers, Wade and Glenn Motch (Dan Akyroyd and John Lithgow), who are pure evil and care only about money, decide that they need a candidate who would support their interests, which are buying the free space in the district, selling it to China so their company could build factories there. Then Chinese workers would be imported, still paid cheaply to make the goods and then the goods would be shipped to the American consumers. It would save them a fortune on shipping fees. (Sarcasm here people.) They choice the tour guide giving, pug loving Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), and he decides to run because it will make his never happy father happy with him for once.
Though Brady has been untouchable, thanks to a disturbing message meant for his mistress, but was left on someone else's answering machine, which was one of the many disturbing scenes of the movie. 
The movie plays out; they candidates spend tons of time trash talking each other and once Marty's campaign manager comes along, things start to go in his favor. Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott) arrives and rearranges Marty's house and gets rid of his Chinese pugs to be replaced by the All-American retrievers. However, the campaign is quite demanding and Marty is abandoning his wife, Mitzi (Sarah Baker). This drives her to have an affair with Brady, in a disturbing scene.
Eventually, Marty realizes that he is nothing more than a pawn in a bigger game than he could have ever imagined and announces that he won't follow their plan as he loves this country. So the Motch Brothers join the Brady bandwagon in an interesting plot twist.
The film ends with the guy you want in office in office, though in a way I would have never expected. The film was definitely entertaining, and the performances were pretty good, with flawless, unwavering accents from the characters. Marty's father's maid (Karen Maruyama) was especially hilarious as she was paid extra to put on an accent so it would remind his father of the good ole days. Despite all of this, I really don't care if I never see the film again, give me Elf any day. Grade: B

Glee: The Role You Were Born to Play

Well, after a five week hiatus, Glee finally made its return and it was a pretty good episode.
This episode was what I hoped the entire season would be like as everything took place in the world of McKinley High.
Auditions for Grease were upon the Glee Club and Artie managed to convince Finn to co-direct with him and Finn agrees, somewhat reluctantly.
Blaine sings "Hopelessly Devoted to You" for his audition, which is odd as he cheated on Kurt, but whatever, and then tells Artie and Finn that he doesn't have it in him to play a romantic lead. He is later cast as the Teen Angel.
However, this means that Grease won't have a Danny so Finn sets out to find one. He discovers Ryder Lynn, an underachieving dancing football player, played by the Glee Project winner, Blake Jenner. Finn tells Ryder that he used to be just like him, but joining Glee club helped him pick up his grades, surprise, surprise. Thus after tons of encouraging, Ryder auditions and discovers Marley whom he likes. However, Jake doesn't like that someone is flirting with Marley, so he decides to audition and Kitty comes with him and they dance their way to a callback, though Kitty is determined to destroy Marley.
Also, Unique longs to be Rizzo, the role he feels that he was born to play. Artie doesn't agree with that but he's glad that Finn believes in something. Sue, however, has a major problem with Unique playing a role that normally a girl would get. Finn stands up for Unique by bashing Sue, but in the process, he calls her baby retarded, enough to cause me to be shocked and gasp loudly, as that was truly uncalled for and cruel. Sue will punish him in someway and, quite frankly, he deserves it. In the end, Unique gets the part.
The only other area of interest was Will's upcoming trip to Washington, which Emma reluctantly agreed to go on and finally, at the end of the episode changes her mind and though Will doesn't want to be apart but he doesn't want her to be unhappy so he will go by himself, but they will trade off weekends, which sounds fair to me.
As for the parts, Ryder will be Danny and Marley, yey, though Artie doesn't like that she's not a blonde, gets Sandy. Next episode will be interesting.
The only part I had a problem with was Artie calling in Mike and Mercedes for creative input for the musical. Seriously, these guys are in college now, they can't just come back whenever you want and Mike and Tina (still grossly underused) didn't even get any closure in their relationship, which would have been nice. Still, overall it was pretty good and the songs were enjoyable and well-done. Hopefully next week wil lalso be good. Grade: B+