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    A vision of 3D grandeur

    Versatile Ang Lee directs a feast for the eyes and soul with Life of Pi

    Alex Bentley
    Nov 21, 2012 | 10:00 am
    Versatile Ang Lee directs a feast for the eyes and soul with Life of Pi
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    Ang Lee is a difficult man to pin down. You’d be hard-pressed to put all the films the Taiwanese director has done in one particular box. His credits include Chinese dramas; Jane Austen adaptations; and films involving martial arts, superheroes and gay cowboys.

    Not all have succeeded, but the film world has been enriched because Lee was willing to lend his unique perspective to a wide variety of subjects.

    His latest, Life of Pi, is yet another step out of the box for the unconventional filmmaker. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name, it follows an Indian boy named Piscine Patel – Pi for short – whose road to spiritual discovery has two distinct phases.

     

      The film world has been enriched because Ang Lee was willing to lend his unique perspective to a wide variety of subjects.

    As a boy, Pi, a Hindu by birth, explores many different religions as part of his naturally curious personality. But his faith in all religions is put to the test when, following a shipwreck involving his whole family, he’s forced to try and survive on a lifeboat.

    That the lifeboat also contains a zebra, orangutan, hyena and Bengal tiger, which were part of a zoo Pi and his family were transporting from India to Canada, makes that survival even harder.

    The film contains three elements — children, animals and water — that are said to be the downfall of many a film because they are so difficult to work with. Lee tackles all of them head on, and he adds an extra degree of difficulty by choosing to film in 3D, something he’d never done before.

    3D would not normally be a good choice for a relatively small, character-driven film such as this, but the fantastical nature of the second half of the film proves Lee right. His impressive use of 3D and advanced computer graphics, another element Lee had not employed much in his career, make Pi’s time at sea a wonder to behold.

    Animals that normally couldn’t be trained for scenes with humans are believably displayed. Water scenes that should be impossible are rendered without anyone being put at risk.

     

    Lee’s impressive use of 3D and advanced computer graphics make Pi’s time at sea a wonder to behold.

    Most notable, however, are breaks from reality that Lee includes during Pi’s extended stay on the lifeboat.

    Pi’s imaginings of an impossibly calm ocean surface that mirrors the night sky or of a sea of glowing jellyfish are eye-popping, especially in 3D.

    Even without having to deal with an increasingly agitated tiger, Pi’s tale would be harrowing.

    As it is, though, the second half of the film is an almost constant nail-biter, as their circumstances become more and more desperate. But because it’s balanced out by the quieter first half, the film as a whole is a hopeful story that exudes the virtues of patience, faith and learning from one’s elders.

    Newcomer Suraj Sharma is fantastic as the Pi seen throughout most of the film. (Irrfan Khan and Ayush Tandon play the character at older and younger ages, respectively.) Because he’s usually acting opposite nonexistent animals or water, his compelling performance is remarkable.

    Ang Lee has taken on another challenge with Life of Pi, and he met it. There aren’t many films that absolutely have to be seen in 3D, but this is one of them. Give yourself an early Christmas present and go see the intellectual and visual treat that is Life of Pi.

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    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Brooklyn-based Italian ice shop debuts in Dallas and more top stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 12, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Uncle Louie G's
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    Uncle Louie G's

    Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week is brimming with restaurant openings, from ice cream to Tex-Mex to burgers and more. Get the scoop on our five most popular stories below, then head to our event planner to find the best things to do this weekend.

    1. Brooklyn Italian ice & ice cream shop makes Texas debut in North Dallas. A small, artisan frozen dessert shop from Brooklyn has made its Texas debut. Called Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice & Ice Cream, it's now open at 7522 Campbell Rd. #115 in Dallas, where it's scooping up Italian ice, ice cream, and related frozen desserts with a real authentic East Coast vibe.

    2. New Dallas Tex-Mex Texano Cocina opens in former El Fenix space. The name may change but the Tex-Mex goes on. A new concept called Texano Cocina has opened at 5622 Lemmon Ave., taking over the space that was most famously El Fenix, but has seen a series of Tex-Mex concepts open and close in recent years.

    3. Buzzy burger joint with Michelin ties to open in Uptown Dallas. An ultra-buzzy burger joint is opening in Uptown Dallas. Called NADC Burger, it's a chef-driven cheeseburger concept serving Wagyu burgers that will open at 2908 McKinney Ave., in the former Playground Bar, which closed in 2024.

     NADC Burger NADC Burger is coming to Uptown.  Courtesy of NADC Burger  

    4. Italian restaurant Sicilian Butcher preps meatballs for North Dallas. The meatballs are about to land. The Sicilian Butcher, the modern-casual restaurant known for meatballs, house-made pastas, and butchery-inspired Italian fare, has circled a date for the opening of its Addison-adjacent location.

    5. Dudley's Sports Grill to open on Dallas' hot-hot Henderson Avenue. A new sports bar is joining the mix on Dallas' hot-hot Henderson Avenue. Called Dudley’s Sports Grill, it'll open at 2927 N. Henderson Ave., in the space previously occupied by Smithy, a gastropub that closed in June after seven years.

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    Buzzy burger joint with Michelin ties to open in Uptown Dallas

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