Ang Lee's new epic

Life of Pi:

In the mid-50's or 60's, a teenage Indian boy Pi is moving on a giant ship to Canada from India with his family and the animals from his father's zoo. The ship is sunk by a freak storm, killing everyone on board except for Pi, and four animals: a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, and a tiger named Richard Parker. Eventually, only he and the tiger are left, and he must survive at sea with the tiger, who, he forms a strange bond with. This movie could have been boring as all hell or could have been extremely interesting. Fortunately, it was the latter. Irrfan Khan plays Pi as an adult, and gives a strong emotional performance. Suraj Sharma plays Pi as a teen, and has proven himself a talented young actor, hopefully he makes it into another big movie. From what I've heard, the 2001 novel the film is based on is fantastic, so I had high expectations for this film. The film reached them. This is a far better film than Avatar, which the film is being compared to. The visuals are just incredible. Even the credits are cleverly shot and set-up. Ang Lee brings his distinct visual style to this film. Lee is a great director who can really hop from genre to genre. (Martial-arts films, romances, dramas, action films.) Giving the tiger a name gives him even more of a character. Richard Parker never speaks a word, but you can look into his eyes and just see a rich character behind them. The film is genuinely tense at times, but it never loses it's charm and beauty. The film also has a very subtle sense of humor. It's a pretty dark film for a PG, and I think young kids won't think it's all that good, so take them to see a more kid-oriented Thanksgiving movie. This film is slow-paced, but it pays off, with amazing special effects, with an extremely realistic-looking CG tiger. The film presents a truly compelling emotional adventure-drama. There are moments where Pi believes he and his friend Richard Parker will die, and it gets some tears building up. Life of Pi is one of the most remarkable and emotionally gratifying films of the year. It's a visual feast for the eyes, and I recommend it for anyone, even children, who probably won't appreciate the film until they're older. 5/5 stars.