I thought the first two-thirds was excellent, but the end was tedious. I lost interest in the explanations and moralizing and felt like it betrayed the promise of its premise.

Which bummed me out because I really liked the beginning.

I loved the book and loved the movie. Ang Lee has a gift for bringing literature to the screen. The book is, btw, about the same question as Turn of the Screw -- can we believe our narrator?

This is a visually stunning movie, too. And a fun aspect is that Gerard Depardieu makes a big impact with virtually no screen time.

Liked the book, didn't see the movie.

Liked, not loved, the book. Went into the movie aware of the book's (for me) flaws and sat back prepared to enjoy the visuals and that's exactly what happened. Ang Lee is great.

Not enough pi.

Didn't care for the book but had to watch the film for part of my pathworking. Didn't really care for it--thought it was too heavyhanded.

The only Ang Lee movie I've ever really loved is The Ice Storm, which is great. He's done a few others I like. I can't figure out what it is that motivates him as a director.

I haven't read the book but the movie was enh.

My pick for best picture is a tossup between Argo and Lincoln.

If we are voting best picture I am 100% for Lincolnn. This is a strong year for movies, though, and Pi is a worthy entry.

My brief movie viewing notes:
I haven't seen Life of Pi.
I did see Lincoln though. But I came to the conclusion that as a Dutchman I'm apparently not that interested in american history. Too much inside baseball. So to me it's certainly not the best movie of the year.
I thought The Master was wondrously beautiful as a film. Photography and acting are great. Although in the end it was for me too long and didn't lead anywhere.
I loved Amour. My parents are of the age where that's the next life event heading their way. So that gave it a special poignancy for me. And for them of course.
I liked the movie Hitchcock a lot.

Of the Best Picture nominees, I've only seen Life of Pi, and surely there's a better one out there to win. I'm assuming it will go to Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty or Argo, just because of subject matter.

I've seen all the nominees but Amour, which is apparently great but I fear it will make me wretchedly sad so I'm waiting for a day when I have the emotional fortitude it seems to require.

Argo is great, it's pretty much a perfect movie, the pacing, dialog, casting, everything fit together just right. In my opinion it's better than any of the other nominees I've seen. It's just tremendous.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is great and quite moving, a real window on a world, and the little girl should win Best Actress, she's that good. I like movies with non-actors because they don't do that strange facial control thing where all tics are subsumed and every expression is calculated, which is basic to the actor's craft but somewhat inhuman. To me, humans are more interesting than roles.

Django Unchained was awesome, I loved every minute of it, but even though it's Tarantino, which gives it the gloss and imprimatur of big Hollywood, it's still essentially a high-quality exploitation flick, Roger Corman by way of Sergio Leone. Exploitation flicks only win via Academy politics.

Les Miz was marvelous but it's a musical, and, well, I'm generally unenthusiastic about musicals, even though this was a rare good one.

I had problems with Life of Pi, as I mentioned above, though I love Ang Lee and will watch anything he makes, this film sagged too much to win.

Lincoln was problematic. The first scene was so corny, fake, and offputting, I wondered if it was written by George Lucas. I thought Sally Field was miscast, but Daniel Day Lewis' Lincoln was great and believable and the scenes where he's telling a story are pure gold. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins Best Actor. The guy who plays Seward, David Strathairn, is problematic as a movie actor; he brings TV acting to the big screen. I liked James Spader and several of the smaller roles were great, but, typical of Spielberg's histories, it was full of clumsy moralizing and wasted possibilities.

Silver Linings Playbook was affecting but I wondered throughout if it was one of those Scientology movies, emphasizing a medication-free path to recovery from serious mental illness. I thought it made unsympathetic characters, sympathetic, and it was moving, though manipulative.

Zero Dark Thirty was suspenseful and exciting but it has such a truth problem that I dearly hope it doesn't win. You can't start a movie with a "This is a true story" card and then go and make explicitly clear that the intelligence which led to the OBL hit was gathered via torture. It wasn't, and the backpedaling of the filmmakers ("It's a movie! Of course it isn't entirely true") has been a poor show indeed. An Oscar for this would be an embarrassment for the Academy.

It's not a Best Picture nominee, but jouke, I watched The Master yesterday, and thought it was quite well done. Phil Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix were both great, and the camera eye was in love with their faces throughout. In parts the cinematography called to mind Sven Nyqvist. Also, the score was tremendous, beautiful and exciting.

I liked the book, possibly because I expected not to. And I didn't think it was really so much about whether to believe the narrator. Didn't see the movie because its appeal, for me, was more literary.

I'm a sucker for the unreliable narrator, so yeah. Good.

Visually stunning. The rising horror at the end, when you hear the second version of the trip in the boat, was perfectly focused. The difference between what you are seeing on the screen and what your mind is beginning to realize is simply ripping.

The movie did justice to the book.

(best picture? I dunno)

I'm sitting here laughing because I have not seen a single one of these movies, including Life of Pi. This is normal for me, but apparently for nobody else on the entire planet outside of rural Albania and the Shaolin monastery. You kids and your moving pictures!

Well I don't live in either Albania or a monastery and I've never seen any of these movies either. Probably never will.

Huh. I guess there's no accounting for taste.
Where HJ calls 'Zero Dark Thirty' exciting I'd venture revolting. As in: I couldn't stand watching the torture and the portrayal of heroism.
And 'Django Unchained' made me realise I'm done with Tarantino and his revenge porn.
Ah well.