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Customer Reviews of Pi

PI
When a movie producer in 1998 foregoes available spectrum of colors and technology opting to feed his audience grain-black, white and jittery gray, the result had better be good. That fraction of members of the technicolor-drunk general viewing audience who will even stipulate to watch such a thing do so at decided perils of time and money, push Play alongside Mr. Benefit-Of-A-Doubt and strain to see if it works. Thus begins the argument of effect and more specifically, that of color. The problem with a black and white movie is that very few movies that resort to that, despite some grand intention, DO NOT WORK, or, in the alternative, DO NOT WORK AS WELL. Citing two examples - SIN CITY which is near-tolerable acting paired with an absurd choice of black and white, tantamount to robbery, and GOOD NIGHT AMERICA which is all and about the same. The dilemma with black and white productions is that regardless of how well it comes together, there seems always a thread of an argument in the back of one's mind that if one must resort to black and white to make one's point, one might be better served as a charcoal artist. Color is the medium of life. From a budgetary perspective, black and white films save money as the 'challenges' of color, which, in a good feature, can be excessive, are thus eliminated. Yet complications arise - for instance - I wasn't sure if that was blood or motor oil dripping from that guy's hand. Similarly, the entire cast in SIN CITY could have been wearing hot pink, in shades of course, and we would never know. Yet of course this is no excuse to dislike a movie - or is it? One wonders, however, that, if PI production would have had more money, would they have opted for color? Moot point. It's done. <
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>Notwithstanding the obvious that I don't prefer black and white movies and incidentally don't know lots of people who do, PI, although a courageous artistic attempt with significant merits ranging from creative camera work, clever symbolism and high-octane guts, seems to lanquish for other reasons. Despite PI's visceral intensity which is delibertaely hot-wired throughout, spinning out scenes that sizzle the nerves, after Max's third or fourth headache it gives up the ghost. As as result, the movie stays earthbound, weighted down by a mediocre revolving-door plotline (obsessing man chases number grail looking for key to life while beset by outside forces including the recycling feeds of his own troubled mind), unremarkable narrative with a gem here and there, failing repetitive effect and thin, uninspiring 2-D support cast, leaving the movie wanting for depth and intelligent character interplay. Unresolved imagery and scenes lent the impression that this creative endeavor was a bit out of control and ad-hoc which is no fatal flaw in and of itself but in this case was signficantly detractive. Despite a reasonably decent stockpile of cinematic victories the battle wasn't won. The themes inspiring PI have excellent potential however this movie trafficked the runway like an antiquated flying machine - airborne one second, belly down the next. As a fine creative exercise, the creators are praised for their effort and bravery - PI is as bodacious as a skunk engaging rush-hour traffic and commands the watcher's attention until that undefined moment when boredom sets in. Contains subterranean theme seedlings which likely served as brain fertilizer for the subsequent more advanced spin-off - "A Beautiful Mind".

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It almost goes the whole way to perfect...
This movie was really on track to be an earth shattering experience for us sci-fi geeks. Here's why: <
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>*creeped out techno music. not creepy and etherel in itself...but creeped out in the sense that everything is angled and black and white in contrast to the driving beat. it's incessant, and a great effect. Max's voice-overs add to the overall creepiness. <
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>*fantastic concept. brilliant, really. every pattern can be graphed. What if you could graph the pattern of nature and discover a secret "formula" to life? Max is in it to win it for the sake of knowledge...not $$$. Great stuff. <
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>*tons-o-suspense. the movie really builds up well. almost too well, as my one negative comment will show. you will get a really strong sense that SOMETHING of major importance is going to be revealed if you keep watching. <
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>*tripped out lead character...complete with hallucinations, quirkiness and the obligatory disdain for normal human contact. we're talking visions of brains that shriek and vibrating walls. The lead character is great...if not a little contrived at times by the actor. I mean, he's getting revelations to the meaning of life, the universe and everything by the swirling eddies in his coffee! YES! <
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>But, i only gave PI 4 stars for a reason: <
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>*the letdown. i mentioned that this movie makes you feel like it's building up to something so grand that it may even aid you in your own life. I mean, i was right there...hook line and sinker. But i was left on the line at the end. The ending isn't bad...but it seems like a cop-out. Max solves the problem by drilling a hole in his skull. No more special gift...no more math at the speed of thought...no more secret formula or mystery. <
>Dang, i was disapointed. <
>I tried really hard not to be, because the movie had me so enthralled...but I didn't get the "wham-bam" experience i was hoping for at the end. <
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>HOWEVER! I would HIGHLY recomend you checking it out for yourself. I've spoken with a lot of folks who totally disagree with me and dig the ending. <
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>Great addition to your underground sci-fi. Pick it up! <
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>stem

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"Or Maybe It's Genius."
The main character is a paranoid, out of order, lock in, mathamatician that never stops calculating. But hold on, there's more to the story. This guy is also an envelope pusher. When the movie starts, we realize that his character is not all together there. He has frequent headaches and nightmares. Could be due to his condition: when he was a little boy he stared up into the sun for a dangerous amount of time. the doctors say that his pupils dialated to the size of pin holes. But that's not what the story is about. The story is really about a set of numbers. No one really knows what it is. <
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>One says it's random computer junk. <
>Another thinks it's part of a code. <
>One thinks it could help figure out the stock market. <
>A group of people think that it is a code for the actual name of God. <
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>The real insanity comes from just knowing that the code exsists. That's what the character goes through. If it is not a numerial code for good . . .could it be a numerial code for evil? <
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>Full of intrigue, suspense, and an interest in math. <
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>the movie is in full black and white. <
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>Really wierd camera angles as well as some messed up scenes. Soundtrack is also weird, like from the twighlight zone. Rent it, if anything else. <
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>Enjoy!