I went and saw Ang Lee's new movie, Life of Pi, tonight and was just blown away by it. One of the most visually stunning movies I've EVER seen, and with a surprise ending that inspires lots of discussion. I give this one two BIG thumb's up. Best movie I've seen in a number of years.
And boy, it would be a major injustice if the animators who did the tiger don't win an Oscar. Really incredible work.
Only knock I'd put on it is, like Brokeback Mountain, it can be a little slow. But believe me, it is well worth the wait.
Recently saw a French-produced foreign film ("The Other Son") that may not be widely distributed, but is Oscar quality in every respect. It's the story of two sons of parents in the Middle East who are switched at birth. One set of parents is Israeli and the other set Palastinian. The Palastinian mother had been in Isreal visiting a relative when the child was born early. The hospital in Israel was evacuated because of bomb threats 18 yrs ago, so the sons are 18 when the movie takes place. As the Isreali boy is enlisting in the army he is required to have a blood test. His blood type comes back as an impossible type, assuming that he had been born to the two parents he has grown up with. Further investigation determines that the unfortunate switch was made and the rest of the story revolves around how these people negotiate talking to each other and finally understanding their whole situation which, of course, paralells the dilemma which separates their peoples. I predict some Academy Awards will be bestowed on this film. Not the type of film for those who like easy entertainment though; language is a barrier and captioning is throughout most of the film although they sometimes talk in English of French too.