NOVEMBER 21

Life of Pi Yann Martel’s out-of-nowhere 2000 bestseller about a boy, a lifeboat, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker wouldn’t seem to be a natural for the movies, but Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) obviously isn’t one to shrink from a challenge. There may be a surprising amount of realism — and maybe a few Oscars — in this offbeat inspirational fable.