Pi

Rating:
Summary: Mathematics collides with Religion in Medium
Review: From the trailers I knew this film had something that no other 'alternative' film had, namely: a complete vision. Not one of just a good story, cool ideas, nice visuals, but was well aware of the music and 'colors' and symmetry. Darren Aronofsky's debut film 'Pi,' based on the Greek letter and mathematical formula is a superb look into a genius' nightmare. Can we really call him genius? Perhaps, perhaps not, but he was teetering on insanity. If one is insane, I would hesitate to label genius on that person (more pressure). Although it looked at the religious aspect of numbers, it more specifically was about the Kabbalah in which, like the Greek letter system, the letters pertained to numbers. The Rabbis were, here, attempting to translate the Torah into numbers to attain the "true knowledge", and then chasing our wizard around town. Likewise a powerful corporation is chasing him around with superduper high speed chips for his (commodore 64?) computer to punch out numbers faster in return of his work. Although I found the math part exciting, from Pythagoras to Archimedes and so on, they were small integrals to move the drama forward. What mattered mostly was the internal world of our friendly genius. A unique resolution to low budget film making it as stated "When I was 6 years old, my mother told me not to look into the sun." He did! Everything went black, then white, then he regained his vision. But he could only see the world in black and white!! This is the key element in why he enjoys numbers because there are no grey areas (and!!) that the film is shown through his eyes, in black and white. Wonderful!!! What more can a film have? I regard this film as influential with a highly electrical soundtrack that pulsates with every frame that is (almost)rythmically matched to the intensity your heart will race as things rush on. Marvelously composed, this film is like a math formula that wants to be deciphered and is fun figuring it out. Highly reccomended!!

Rating:
Summary: Falls to Pi-eces!
Review: It's good for the first 20 minutes but it then falls apart, and the movie has another hour to go! The idea is simple enough: a mathematician trying to find the formula to explain the pattern of life. Certain groups are after him but that's all of the story that makes sense. The last half has the guy poking imaginary brains, and he discovers he's got something in his own head. An alien implant perhaps? This script should have gone through the printer a couple of more times before it was made into this failure. Too bad, it had potential.

Rating:
Summary: 3.1415926535897932384626433832795
Review: Pi (1998) is a disturbing little movie that I found entirely annoying but at the same time interesting. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the hyper-kinetic pacing and surreal black and white imagery forced their way off the screen and into my mind. While some may call this an 'artsy' film, others may be intrigued and drawn into this interesting, yet slightly flawed, film.

The story centers around Max Cohen (Sean Gullette), a reclusive mathematician who sees the world mainly as numbers, and who has one of the creepier apartments I've ever seen. Everything can be broken down into mathematic formulas and equations to be deciphered and understood. His work up until this point has been to try and discern the pattern within the stock market, to determine order within the structured chaos of the financial world. As he gets closer to the ultimate answer, outside forces that want to use his knowledge for their own purposes close in and try to persuade him to their will. Internal forces also come into play, as the closer Max gets to the answer, them more he finds a sort of madness setting in...does he crack the code? What answers lie behind the numbers everyone wants?

Here is a very intriguing film that may not be for everyone. The black and white imagery is fast paced, and the music almost a constant throbbing in your ear, providing the viewer a mere glimpse of the madness that begins to envelope the main character. Some of the scenes reminded me much of David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977), which may still be available on DVD at Lynch's website, but this film did not rely on the viewer to wallow around in the mire of artistic ambiguity to try and decode what was happening on the screen. Some of the scenes harsh, but the representation was pretty clear, although hard to take at times as the symbolism was laid on a bit thick at times. A certain amount was left to the viewers' own interpretation, but I think that ultimately fell within the scope of the story.

There are quite a bit of special features including commentary tracks that may help to shed light on some of the more curious aspects of the film, lost scenes (aren't they really deleted scenes? I mean 'lost' means not found, and yet, here they are), production notes, cast and crew information, a music video, and some trailers.

Cookieman108

Rating:
Summary: for indy enthusiasts only.
Review: Because I dont think anyone else will honestly enjoy this droning math "thriller". I think some people (reviewers perhaps) have a need to see indy films in an unnaturally good light just because they are indies, and out of the elitist disdain for mainstream hollywood fare. Liking "Pi" makes them feel suave and sophisticated. I agree about most mainstream hollywood fare being worthless (anyone else just see Hellboy? hell is sitting and watching that for 2 hours) but that doesnt make awful indie films better. It turns out that both high and low budget movies can completely suck and Pi is all the proof you need.

Rating:
Summary: I highly recommend this film.
Review: Pi is probably the best film I've seen in the last year. It's truly unfortunate that this film couldn't be enjoyed by the mainstream "beavis and butthead" America. This movie shows just how good independant films can be. This movie probably cost less than a single day of catering at most hollywood productions. The character of Max Cohen is quite believable in his schitzophrenic tendencies. Some say that he's not likeable, but really he isn't supposed to be. In general, all the actors do a fine job. A few times in the story, I felt a little lost, but was able to figure out exacting what what happening. Not once in the film did I get bored by what was happening, which is surprising since this film deals with mathematics. I watched the film yesterday, and it's still stuck in my head. I will probably be thinking about it for a while longer. I'm looking forward to purchasing the DVD, just so I can get the few extra scenes. For anyone who wants to see good film making, and can stand a little thinking, I recommend this film.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, Disturbing, and Intriguing
Review: While this movie is not for everyone, it is an interesting viewing experience. The mood of the movie is haunting, mysterious, claustrophic, and dark, further emphasized by the stark use of black and white cinematography. Ultimately, this movie is a thought provoking examination on one man's obsession with mathematics (specifically, the numbers of pi) and its connections to randomness and to patterns.

Max Cohen (played by Sean Gullette) is a math genius who is deeply uncomfortable with the outside world. He holes himself up with his supercomputer in a tiny apartment venturing out seemly only to eat and to meet with his eccentric mentor (played by Mark Margolis). Although he avoids the outside world, his genius is not unnoticed by a few people. The most innocent interactions are with a little girl who plays math games with him and his next door neighbor, an attractive Indian woman who seems concerned about his wellbeing. The more sinister and threatening interactions are with an invasive stock broker, who is trying to break the seemingly random code of the stock market, and a group of Kaballah students who are trying to find the hidden name of G-d by using the Gematria (mystical numerology in Judaism). (By the way, don't worry about the esoteric ideas presented in the movie - they are explained well enough to grasp the significance.) Both are desperate to use Max's genius (and he is desperate enough to use them for his own purposes) and both contribute to Max's already spiraling decent into insanity, which culimates in a quite grotesque act. Throughout the movie, Max presents his own thoughts and mounting frustrations about the chaos of the endless string of numbers in pi. The frequent migrines he experiences and the medication he takes contribute to his slipping grasp on reality as he experiences bizarre, nightmarish hallucinations (the brain poking scene is truly strange).

Several scenes are difficult to understand and watch. Some of the motivations for a few characters are a bit unclear and several scenes seemed to be underdeveloped. There's a lot of symbolism (mathematical and otherwise), which the movie tends to get a little lost in. It's quite a challenging movie, but one that can be rewarding if you are interested in the philosophy that mathematics can look beyond just numbers. The DVD contains a lot of extras, such as commentaries, a short article about pi, and a music video, all of which may help in understanding the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Bad movie
Review: I bought this as part of a two pack w/ requiem for a dream, otherwise i would have never known it existed. Trying to save money, HA! This is probably the worst movie I've seen. It's rare that I don't at least like something about a movie. This is bad. I watched it a few months ago, so I don't really remember the details, but I remember the agony of watching it. Like someone else said, RENT it, don't buy it! It seems to be a well-liked movie judging by the reviews, so maybe it was just over my head or something. Oh well, I'm not watching it again to see if i can "get it".

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood would ruin this incredible story
Review: Thank God for the rabid indie film movement! If by a sick miracle some slick, mulitimillion dollar studio would have made this film, the idiots in the 3 piece suits would have changed this journey of obsession into some Bruce Willis centerpiece of quasi intelligent psuedo science fiction mishmash, chock full-o-guns, KGB agents, and ridiculous dialog. "The Old Testament has a hidden code? How's bout I put this Glock 9 up against yer skull til' you give it to me??!!"

This movie stirred me to my soul, my psyche, MY GOD, what a film! The beginning, and interspersed narration, so richly and freneticly detailed, sucked me right into Cohen's mind. I really WANTED to believe what he did! This sad little man evolves into some type of schizophrenic anti-hero, who, due to the films' exquisite pacing, seems to be racing against some unseen clock, edging ever closer to THE ANSWER. WHAT A MOVIE! WOW!

The truly great stories are interspersed with just the right amount of fact to give it credibility. And this film is loaded with them. Pythagoras, Judaism, Mathematics, the Stock Market... THIS FILM IS A WORK OF GENIUS.

Rating:
Summary: Cinema Perfection!
Review: I was amazed when I saw this movie. But I wasn't amazed at special effects, nor was I amazed at an all-star cast. This movie didn't need any of that. This movie is, in short, awesome.

Throughout the movie you enter the chaotic world that is the mind of Max Cohen. The chaos grows increasingly intense both visually and mentally. The many metaphors allow the movie to play with your brain, and tell a story at the same time. If the thought of a movie made about a mathematician walking the line between sanity and insanity searching for an answer to a seemingly unsolvable problem doesn't interest you, maybe the genius ending will. I beg of you to go see this movie today. You'll thank yourself.

Rating:
Summary: feel the pain
Review: I wanted to spend some time with my son,and he suggested Pi,which had been sitting on the shelf for a few months,as it was part of a two-pack with Requiem for a Dream{a very good film}.Big Mistake!Grainy black and white with annoying soundtrack,the high point being an orbital tune{the girl with the sun in her head,i believe}.The most offensive sounds were when Max,the protagonist,was having his many migraines,which increase in intensity.The plot concerns Max's search for meaning through numbers.He becomes obsessed and his life becomes a downward spiral of pain and paranoia to the final,drill-induced resolution.If this sounds like your cup of misery,enjoy,and don't forget the advil.