Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2012)

8.5/10
I've never read Yann Martel's source novel so I can't draw any comparisons, but as a stand-alone flick, Ang Lee's Life of Pi is quite impressive. Any "stranded" films inevitably fall into a lull at a certain point (although the stakes are upped with the presence of the tiger) - something a writer can work his way around by describing the characters thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. Those things are much harder for a filmmaker to convey, so Lee goes full-bore with mindblowing visuals, making exemplary use of 3D. It may be something of a cheap shortcut if you're a cynic, but it's impossible to deny its effectiveness. The film is absolutely gorgeous and does, in the end, work on an emotional level. I have a friend who wants to see it when it hits full release and I'm looking very much forward to seeing it again.

Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)

8/10
This came out just before or around the time I was seriously getting interested in movies, so I'd never seen it until now. It's quite good, buoyed by three great performances (Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Williams), the beautiful cinematography and direction, and a great soundtrack. It loses some points for the editing which felt a little ham-fisted but I guess that's what happens when you're trying to cram the life stories of two people into two hours.

Taking Woodstock (Ang Lee, 2009)

5/10
It was...ehhh..just kind of there. The story was good sometimes, less interesting at other turns. I don't know, it must be some kind of feat to base an entire movie around something as daunting and monumental as organizing freaking Woodstock and still have it come off as milquetoast and generally forgettable. Demitri Martin is wholly uninteresting as any kind of main character, and the soundtrack was like bland white noise - this, in a movie about Woodstock. I'm not sure exactly what Ang Lee was really going for here but I can't help but thinking he missed it.