Rating: Summary: Awesome Sound, Awesome Visual, Plot get's 3 stars though Review: This movie is a visual and audio orgasm. If you liked the Nine Inch Nails video for "Closer," You'd probably like this movie. A must for all techno-geeks or "heads".
Rating: Summary: Fun Review: Okay - so the math wasn't exactly as significant as it might have seemed to nonmathematicians. But it was still a fun theme, and the path of "one mad theory to explain the universe" hasn't exactly been unheard of among math's best and brightest (e.g., Pascal). The filming was interesting, the soundtrack jarringly exhilirating. A very interesting idea for a movie with an innovative presentation. Enjoyable if you like offbeat flicks.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Film Review: A truly unique, brilliant effort. Beats the heck out of other films with budgets in the tens of millions of dollars, and this one only cost $60K!Recommended for math / science / engineering type intellects.
Rating: Summary: Science once again proves mysticism Review: A Wonderful movie which illustrates that which usually occurs . This movie shows how science can and does prove what mysticism, in this case Kabbalah has said for 2000 years. although this is a fictional account of this phenomenon, there are many cases where this has happened. There is much wonderful Kabbalistic symbolism in this movie and it is cleverly done
Rating: Summary: Watch your step Mathematicians Review: I loved this movie, but I saw it with some fellow mathematicians who were disappointed that the mathematics featured in this movie tended to be trivial... This movie is not about mathematics; it is about obsession
Rating: Summary: Outstanding Review: WOW what a trip! This is more than just a statement of the intra_relations of inner self and life, but a summary of our trip to the Final Destination. This should be a mandatory film for earfth_teaching those that haven't touched the perimeter. __out
Rating: Summary: think for yourself Review: I saw a review of this here that said a prerequisite in high math is essential for viewing this film..nothing could be farther from the truth.The fact that the math here is presented in such a way that it doesn't lose you was the main point of attraction for me.It's artistic, thought provoking, clever, suspenseful and is accompanied by a very fine soundtrack with Clint Mansell, Massive Attack, Orbital all helping you relive what it must have been like to be Max.A complete late 90's CLASSIC.Watch it twice to get the full effect and don't let the mathematic concept scare you away..you have to be a frigging moron to not grasp the essential basis for the film.The true name of GOD.Oh yeah.Dig it.
Rating: Summary: Very worthwhile, but there are drawbacks Review: Pi is, quite simply, a very good psych-movie, and not a great science fiction movie. The reasons for this primarily lie in the fact that Pi, while suspenseful, tense, underscored by an excellent soundtrack, and (somewhat) realistic in its depiction of paranoid schizophrenia, sometimes sets goals higher than it has any remote chance of reaching. For example: a lot of the mathematical pontification going on in the film occurs only at a very superficial level. In the context of Pi, the mathematics often seems like only so many props. The connections between patterns occur at such a quasi-mystical level (recalls Umberto Eco) that the actual science behind the movie ends up lacking much credibility. The back story is often sketchy and even outright ambigious, and the characters are difficult to understand sometimes - however, Pi manages to pull all of this off so effortlessly that it appears to be done for effect. To conclude: if you even remotely have a soft-spot for art-flicks or psycho-dramas, this is not a movie to be missed. If you are a HardSci-grognard or a pompous lowbrow, I'd steer pretty clear.
Rating: Summary: Pseudo-intellectual nonsense Review: Let me preface this by saying I Like Pi. I think it was an entertaining movie. Now I can go on. I agree with "Fez Monkey". When I initially saw this movie I was overwhelmed with a sense that this was just a self-indulgent effort from a guy who watched Eraserhead way too many times. Recently, I was forced to sit through this again by a pretentious acquaintance who found this film deep. The fact that they found it deep was less a reflection of the quality of the film, and more on the lack of their substance, and confirmed my initial suspicion about the movie. Other reviews here have praised the "originality" and "power" of Pi. Who are these people? It's a shame that they don't get out much. The only original component of the film was the premise of a unifying mystico-scientific power that can explain life, the universe and everything, and is centered around the number 216. But, where the film fell apart (I'll go slowly here so everyone can understand), is that IT NEVER DELVED INTO THIS IDEA AT ANYTHING MORE THAN A SUPERFICIAL LEVEL. All it did was play with lighting, camera angles, and a quirky character. That is not original or powerful -- that is average wanna-be-art moviemaking. It amazes me how the cult of pseudo-intelligence, and baseless mental elitism has surrounded this movie. Frustrated poets and art-house poseurs fall all over themselves to worship this thing. The funniest thing I read here was how someone knew it was a good movie because they were "in the business". Now that is funny. They went on to defend their opinion by offering references to some new age, quasi scientific, mysticism as more evidence of how great this film was! All that did was confirm the old saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. However, the "biz" insider never tried to argue that the film delved into either the story or character in a satisfactory or original manner. You want to know why? BECAUSE IT DIDN'T! Oh, by the way, I'm in the business too.
Rating: Summary: Strange but fascinating! Review: "Pi" is one of the most unique, original, bizarre films to come around in a long while. It's a wakeup call for people like me, who are sick and tired of the same old recycled Hollywood flicks that desperately attempt to make money with big stars and special effects, and no plot. I liked it for that reason. The other reason is that with each viewing of it, something new is uncovered. It's really well wrought. The grainy, 16mm camerawork gives it an eerie, paranoid feel to it. I also think it gives the film it's artistic qualities. There are still scenes in this film that totally leave me stuck, although I was able to comprehend some of the more bizarre hallucinatory sequences after watching them more than once. As for this DVD, it's very nice. I don't think that the picture quality will look much different from the tape, except in sharpness and an absence of tape wrinkles. Also, I hate to say, that the DVD format is the only place that "Pi" is available for purchase. The tape is over $100, and the chances of getting it on laserdisc are unlikely. This DVD has a nice array of extras, including trailers, two audio commentaries, deleted scenes(which are not hard to see why they were cut out), and a music video. I feel I should warn you, that "Pi" is not for all tastes. If you've seen the hyperkinetic style that NIN(Nine Inch Nails) music videos are shot and edited, then you'll have an idea of what "Pi" will look like. Even if you do like that stuff, the film is still very bizarre and hard to understand. However, if you want an excitingly original movie that you have to dig at and figure out like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, then "Pi" is an absolute must!
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