First Impressions: "Life of Pi" + "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012)

   I went to the cinema yesterday, and saw two movies back-to-back.

   The first was Life of Pi.
   The fact that it won so many Oscars got me curious. And, on my first take at any rate, it's a good movie, but it's not a great movie.
   From the premise, I thought it sounded kind of silly. I mean, it's a guy stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger! But it turned out to be a surprisingly thought-provoking and profound spiritual journey. You find yourself going through the same thought process as the main character, and wonder how long you'd last in that situation.
   The visual effects are really distracting, though. To its credit, I can see why the special effects Oscar went to this movie – the way they capture animal movements is pretty stunning – but I was still constantly aware that I was looking at CGI. Never once did the animals actually look real.
   The shipwreck scene really stands out, though. I mean, good God! Even without 3D, you really feel like you're going through the experience yourself!
   Overall, it's a life-affirming and surprisingly cerebral movie that I wouldn't mind experiencing again.
   My rating: 75%.

   And the second was Wreck-It Ralph.
   This one was pretty much what I expected. I knew going in that I wasn't going to see that many famous video game characters, that it's much more Ralph's story. And it's a familiar but still engaging story, with an obvious but still relevant moral about accepting your station in life. You never know when your talents might come in handy.
   Some people feel that, once the Vanellope character enters the picture, the movie goes downhill. So I was surprised to find her actually kind of endearing! True, you have to sit through some very immature humour at times, but that just made her seem more like a real child to me. So I don't know how big this crowd is, but I really bought into her and Ralph's relationship.
   The only thing I didn't like was the villain. It's something of a twist, and even though it's well set up, it still just came off to me as really weak.
   The animation really impressed me, especially the jerky movements for the old-school game characters.
   Overall, this is a very entertaining film, and one of very few video game movies that really works.
   My rating: 75%.