Pi

Rating:
Summary: paranoia and math a winning combination? ....who knew
Review: This movie is excellent. The direction is phenomenal. In all honesty this movie actually has the ability to drive a sane person out of their mind. It's creative and takes math to a whole new level...and i hate math, but i did love this movie, mainly because i like chaos theory and other interesting philosophical viewpoints. It's always interesting to explore these ideas. I watched this movie once, and then watched it close to three more times before i finally understood everything that was going on, but honestly i think it was well worth it. The acting is top notch, and on top of all that, the direction is superb. Incredible film, but not everyone's cup of tea. If this review has sparked your interest...don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Get a Piece
Review: This film has been compared to Lynch's Eraserhead, but it's not a good comparison (beyond the fact that both are excellent small budget B&W movies with dream sequences). This film is far more cohesive and straightforward and grounded in reality, although the main character apparently becomes increasingly neurotic as the film progresses.

Basically it is about a respected young mathematician with the social skills of your average hermit trying to develope a method of predicting the stock market on his homemade computer. Meanwhile an evil group (brokerage company, CIA, whatever ... their identity is not really revealed) keeps him under surveillance and tries to get him to make a Faustian deal to reveal any formula he developes to them. Eventually he reaches a breakthrough when he becomes interested in the mystical Jewish philosophy of Kabbalah and finds parallels between it and mathematical theory. As a result his understanding of math becomes increasingly philosophical, and he begins to note patterns in everything, learns how to predict the market and winds up being pursued by the unidentified group as well as zealous Kabbalists who all want to use him. He also, perhaps, winds up learning to communicate with God (or else he goes insane)(or both). This last bit of confusion is not because the movie is confusing, but because it cleverly leaves some events open to several equally supportable interpretations.

Don't worry if you're not really into math or the Kabbalah, Pi is still very entertaining. It has excellent acting and great photography (despite the obviously low budget). But if you are into such things, the movie also does manage to make excellent parallels between theoretical mathematics and Kabbalah (however you want to spell it) while presenting both accurately, and is mind expanding and thought provoking. Pi reflects an increasingly strong trend amongst theorists of finding parallels between pure science and mysticism (e.g. quantum physics and zen buddhism) whatever significance you might want to read into that. My only problem with the movie is its title: the concept of Pi is not actually discussed! (At least not directly.)

Rating:
Summary: This is review #216
Review: This movie is darkly brilliant - the B&W, grainy camerawork really adds to the atmosphere.

The story of obsession is one we can all relate to, and Max's descent into madness is brilliantly filmed and acted. Although the cults and corporations trying to steal Max's information are an interesting part of the story, it is the protagonist's internal conflicts that are the center of the film.

The R rating is well deserved though, as the hallucination scenes are quite disturbing, and the images of a disembodied brain are positively creepy.

I would suggest this one to people who can deal with a movie that is slow-paced in its storytelling, but fast-paced in the way it is shot. The plot is gripping, and the films dark tone will freak you out (esp. if you're on drugs, hint hint..)

The extras are great, too...a music video, two trailers, two commentaries, some behind-the scenes footage, and some other stuff.

If you've been raised on "Die Hard" and "Twister," this movie's not for you, however, if you're a fan of cerebral thrillers or the indie scene, it will knock you out.

11:15 - restate my assumptions...

Rating:
Summary: No man's Pi is freed from his ambitious finger*
Review: "Pi" is a tough film to pin down. Some people go in looking for a complex dissertation on number theory, an explanation of the magic code that will explain the universe, and the true name of God. I think this tact is a mistake. Sure, all of these elements and questions are here, but they're not meant to be taken seriously. Director/writer Darren Aronofsky and writer/star Sean Gullette have distracted their audience with a nifty little McGuffin (Hitchcock's term for a device or plot element that drives the movie forward, but is inconsequential enough to be discarded after it's done its job). The movie is not about the 216-digit number that Max accidentally stumbles across, and is nearly killed for. What we're really watching is a portrayal of obsession. What happens when one man puts on his blinders, plunges forth into the abyss, and nearly destroys himself in the process?

I'm not going to tell you what happens, but I will tell you this: it ain't pretty. Much of the stuff here is pretty gruesome. Gullette looks every bit the tortured math genius: wild hair, constant 5 o'clock shadow, empty eyes, hunched posture, pale skin, bony fingers. He begins the film as a tortured loner, and proceeds to descend from there into a state of self-imposed madness. It is gradual, but palpable. Gullette does a fine job detailing Max, showing his angst and torment quite clearly. I would have liked, however, if he gave Max some humanity by also giving him some humour. Thankfully there is some humour injected into this otherwise dark tale in other places. Max is repeatedly confronted by what can only be described as a hip-hop Kabalist. The character of Lenny Meyer adds some much-needed levity to the film. He torments Max in coffee shops and on the street with his motormouth ramblings about how number theory intersects with the Kaballah. Max, for his part, looks on with bemused frustration, further portraying his difficulty when dealing with actual people.

Aronofsky, who is a proficient visual stylist, gets his first chance to shine here. Techniques that he would later expand and abuse in the engrossing but ponderous "Requiem for a Dream" make their first appearances in this lower budget effort. One particularly stylish device uses manic quick cuts to portray the rhythm and the ritual of Max taking his headache medicine. It was overbearing when used in "Requiem", but fits in nicely here. It is repeated over and over, a technique Aronofsky also likes to employ with his dialogue. There is one story that opens the film, about how when Max was a little boy he forced himself to stare into the sun, which pops up from time to time. We don't understand the implications of this story right away (apparently it is the cause of Max's migraines), but after hearing it several times, and living with Max in his own personal hell, it becomes more potent.

I usually not go for movies that double as surrealistic mood pieces, and judging from the other reviews here I wouldn't enjoy David Lynch's "Eraserhead". But "Pi" has a couple of my favourite cinema motifs: obsession, loneliness, and genius. Throw in a healthy dose of mathematical theory (but not too much) and the remnants of a thriller plot and you've got a movie that dares to engage both your mind and your senses.

[*Shakespeare's "Henry VIII", 1.1.62-3]

Rating:
Summary: +5
Review: I liked this movie a lot (as you can tell from my rating.) I rented it not knowing what to expect. I had no idea of even the summary. I plopped the DVD into my laptop and was fixed onto the screen.

This film is in B&W and you'll see why once you watch it. It just wouldn't be right to use color for such a film as this one.

Maybe it's just my personal obsession with all things madmen and genius. The main character is crazed... I think like my mother said, "Very smart people usually go insane." I like that. It fascinates me!

**I'd like to purchase this film now after watching it**
But I'd recommend renting it first... unless you have cash to blow!

Rating:
Summary: True sucessor to Eraserhead and The Trial
Review: Darren Aronofsky could be called a film genius. Requiem for a Dream is considered to be one of the best movies of recent memory (and, from what I saw of it, I can agree), and has many of the same techniques as his previous film, Pi. Pi is one of those movies that you need to see many times in order to have everything sink in, but you don't really want to see it again. The images stick in your head, and it's a subconsciously terrifying experience.

Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) is a mathematical genius. He analyzes numbers, and soon recognizes a pattern in the stock market. But that doesn't satisfy him. He keeps on going, as people want to use his mathematical abilities for their own selfish reasons. Max struggles with his various mental and physiological problems as he's working with this-so much that if you watch it once you can't distinguish between reality and Max's mind.

Aronofsky makes this movie on parking meter money (less than $10,000), yet it's one of the most stylish movies of recent memory. Shot in black/white (there is barely any grey) with a type of vision that leaves edges to the imagination, Pi works in its own little world. With a short runtime that's shorter than Dennis Miller on one of his longwinded analogies, it works. The theories that the movie puts in your head are complete bull-honky, but they're presented in a way that you can't help believing.

Well acted all around, especially by Guellette, Pi is not for everyone. There's many disturbing moments, involving brains and power tools. The second-to-last scene, just so you know, was actually done, no special effects. Overall, Pi is a very good, trippy movie that's not for everyone. But if you're game, go for it!


Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was looking forward to seeing Pi after experiencing Requiem for a Dream, one of the best movies I have ever seen. However, it was quickly apparent that Pi just isn't in the same league. Although the cinematography was beautiful, the plot was pathetic. What a shame.


Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: What do I know about higher math? Admittedly, next to nothing, but I have looked at the significance of numbers in Judaism, and have an abiding fascination for the Fibonacci Series. I know of Pythagoras' concept of "all is number", and do believe numerical concepts illustrate natural harmonies of the universe. The Golden Rectangle is art history/architecture 101, absolutely necessary for understanding proportion and geometry; it really is amazing to see the spiral repeated throughout nature.

Perhaps it is because of my ignorance that I am prey to movies such as this: the idea of mysticism, science, and reason coming together is one that fascinates me. I simply cannot argue how correct, how factual, the math might be. Mathematics and philosophy are not as distant as one might believe -- note Bertrand Russell's career and Einstein as mystic. In "Pi", the disturbed hero (by the way, this is a remarkable depiction of descent into mental illness hell; great symbolism throughout)is chased by the (antithetical) forces of material and spiritual gain for THE number. Both forces are so extreme, they become embodiments of pure evil. Knowledge without wisdom, tools for personal gain; the Hidden Name of G-d, the key to ruling the world. Being pulled in two directions, no wonder the chap fell apart.

I doubt this movie is entirely about mathematics. I perceived it as moral, cautionary tale: why else does his retired professor call our hero Icarus? We must not fly too close to the sun; and if we do, we must pay the penalty -- death. Humility for the individual and for the species. Critics who disliked this movie, who stated the mathematics was flawed, even impossible, might not have delved deep enough to uncover its true message.

I enjoyed this movie: I thought the grainy, black and white images, the insect symbolism (related to the Jewish idea that G-d is too vast, too unknowable, too infinite to perceive from our lowly mortal position), the pulsating soundtrack (not unlike the 'music of the spheres'), all contributed to a sense of mounting claustrophobic madness and the push of the unknown.

Certainly not for all tastes -- a wildly eccentric ride through theories and infinity. Weird and unforgettable.



Rating:
Summary: Vivid depiction of insanity.
Review: I got this movie a while ago and never got around to really watching it. So I turn it on to hear some very dark sounding technoish music. Then, in your face, the pi symbol. Numbers go flying by in an amazing opening scene not drawn out but will give you a good feel of whats ahead.

The movie takes you through a short period of life of a paranoid genius on the edge of complete insanity. Contantly needing pills to control himself, he ends up going on odd trips that you don't know if they are real, or in his head. He has spent years looking for patterns in the stock market, hoping to find a pattern that will help him unlock the key to the world. Others want what is in his head just as much as he does, money hungry stock brokers and a group of Jewish mathmaticians.

This entire film is in black and white, and grainy black and white. You can't always tell what is going on but it really adds to the movie as a whole. The camera works is amazingly creative. The angles and shots used are phenominal and make you feel like you are inside his mind.

Bottom line, great movie. Not reccomended for those who are easily disturbed as this movie can get disturbing as his insanity progresses.

Rating:
Summary: demanding, but worth the effort
Review: Certainly much more original and engaging than Aranofsky's subsequent "Requiem for a Dream."

Max Cohen is probably a totally made-up character (I haven't bothered to Google him yet) but the skill and power of this film is evidenced by the fact that I would actually want to check up on him before saying whether he is or is not fictional.

Aranofsky's camera and visual style is ideal for the subject matter at hand: he takes us inside the mind and daily experience of an isolated, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, borderline schizoid, physically and mentally unwell mathematical prodigy who is consumed by his quest to find The Ultimate (Mathematical) Formula Behind All Existence. A sort of Holy Grail if you wish, only derived by indecipherable walls of numbers and equations flashing through Max's head and his computer which he has relentlessly crunching numbers 24/7.

Unlike "Requiem For A Dream," this is pretty original stuff and Aranofsky manages to pull off a resolution which is sufficiently ambiguous to avoid being glib or trite but still fairly satisfying for the viewer.

Worth several watches, maybe with a fair amount of slow-mo to capture much of the light-speed imagery and jump cuts.