Me & 3 Animal Movies

I love animals and there have been some great movies about animals. Some of those movies make that animal look bad, like “Jaws” or “King Kong”. Although I love those films, I chose movies which make the animals the stars of the show. Two movies, one documentary.

Life of Pi
Genre: Drama/ Fantasy/ Adventure
Year: 2012
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Rafe Spall, Irffan Khan
Description: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Opinion: I fell in love with the book, so I was very curious how Ang Lee was going to make this into a movie. it visually looks amazing, great film. I love the scenes between Pi and Richard Parker.
Favorite character: Pi Patel
Most memorable quote: “I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.”. – Adult Pi Patel –
Best scene: Pi tells Richard Parker that they’re dying. He lays the tigers head in his lap.

Whale Rider
Genre: Drama
Year: 2002
Director: Niki Caro
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Cliff Curtis, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Grant Roa
Description: A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Opinion: This movie is so magical without being spectacular. What I mean is that not a lot of spectacular happens, but it keeps your attention at all times. It’s truly magnificent.
Favorite character: Paikea
Most memorable quote: “A long time ago, my ancestor Paikea came to this place on the back of a whale. Since then, in every generation of my family, the first born son has carried his name and became the leader of our tribe… until now.” – Paikea - Best scene: Paikea rides the whale.

De Nieuwe Wildernis
Genre: Documentary
Year: 2013
Director: Ruben Smit, Mark Verkerk
Cast: Harry Piekema (narrator)
Description: The Oostvaardersplassen, a nature reserve of high standard in the Netherlands. The reserve has been developed in a location that 40 years ago was under sea level in one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Nowadays, its the stage for a unique nature show: the nature determines the rhythm.
Opinion: You see so many great animal and nature documentaries about Africa, North America, Australia, you name it. But this film shows that a beautiful place shouldn’t have to be far away. It was filmed in my country, the Netherlands. I never say I'm proud of being Dutch, but this documentary shows us the parts we should be very proud of. Beautifully filmed, bombastic music.
Favorite character: -
Most memorable quote: “This is our country, like you’ve never seen it before” – Narrator -
Best scene: A young horse befriends a robin. When he dies, the little bird pays a final visit those his friend.

Favorite of the 3: Whale Rider

Top 5 Thursday: Movies from 2002

I’ve done top fives for movies in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but I’m going to the 2000’s this time. 2002 to be exact. I don’t know why I choose this year, I just picked one and went with it. It turned out 2002 had some memorable movies.

5. Signs
I know the ending is a bit weird, but this is a great movie. I remember seeing it in theatres and that one scene, where Joaquin Phoenix is watching TV where you first see the alien. It freaked me out! It still excited me.

4. Orange County
Such a sucker for this movie. It’s easy on the eyes, really light for any time of the day. I really wished we could see more of Colin Hanks, because he’s great (like his dad). And off course Jack Black as Lance, scene stealer!

3. Equilibrium
Call me a fool, but I’m probably the only person that thinks this is better than “The Matrix”. I don’t know why they compare them actually, because in “Equilibrium” things make more sense… I always liked this film.

2. Whale Rider
This is one of those movies someone recommended me and I didn’t know what to expect. It totally blew me away, what an amazing performance by the young Keisha Castle-Hughes.

1. Catch Me If You Can
I love this film, it’s a real treat for me. Off course because it stars Tom Hanks, but also the great performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, the amazing and unbelievable true story and Steven Spielberg directing it. It’s phenomenal.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Phone Booth, The Bourne Identity, John Q, Gangs of New York, 25th Hour

DVD Collection Update (5)

I bought five new movies. And I decided to b a little but more creative with the pictures.

I wanted this one for a very long time. I owned the first, second and fourth already, but "Die Hard with a Vengeance" has actually always been my favorite in the series.

With adding the third movie, I just went all the way and completed the collection. I know a lot of people say that "A Good Day to Die Hard" isn't that good, I only bought it too have the entire "Die Hard" series. That's also why I bought that last "Indiana Jones" film.

When I was rewatching "Drive" not so long ago, I realized there are so many great Ryan Gosling movies I still need to see. "Half Nelson" is one of them. The synopsis sounds great and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role.

"Whale Rider" is a movie that I saw once, but it left a very deep impression on me. It's a fantastic film, gorgeous, breathtaking. And a young girl like Keisha Castl-Hughes captivated me completely.

I heard so many great things about this movie. One tip was to keep tissues ready. It's a true story about the editor of the French Elle who, after a stroke, is fully paralized. He doesn't give up and tries to make something of his life. Can't wait t finally see this.

Movie Tip #45 - Whale Rider

Director: Niki Caro

Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Cliff Curtis

Description: On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Review: It starts of as a simple story, as a young girl goes about trying to convince her grandfather that she is to lead the village. She is tougher than any of the boys, but her grandfather won't see it. Like I said, it's a simple story but very well told. "Whale Rider" is a incredibly touching and deeply moving story. And what a wonderfull acting performance by Keisha Castle-Hughes. She has such a strong magnetism while on camera, it's easy to forget the people around her. The end of the film is simply beautiful and breath-taking. Wonderfull film!