Movie Review: Ratatouille

Ratatouille

rated G

directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles)

Film making: 5 out of 5 stars

Moral rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall: 6 out of 5 stars

Okay, does anyone else find it amusing that the best movie of the summer so far is about a rat?

...that is a chef?

That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but trust me, Ratatouille, the latest movie from Diseny/Pixar animation is no joke! This movie featured the voices of Oswald Patton as Remy, the main rat, Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, the critic; and Ian Holm as Skinner the chef.

Ratatouille is the story of how Remy, a rat with an amazing gift for cooking, and Linguini, a skinny garbage boy, team up to show Paris who is the boss when it comes to cooking. Basically a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, Ratatouille was funny, smart, original and captivating.

Once Remy and Linguini team up, they find out how much they actually need each other.....Remy shows his human pal that the greatest people can come from the lowest places, and vice versa. Meanwhile, Skinner the chef strongly suspects something...and investigates.

Along the way, the two main characters deal with trust and loyalty issues, and Remy has to deal with balancing the tradition of being in a rat colony, and spreading his wings and soaring to a new height. I won't spoil the ending for you though!

Morally speaking, the only thing objectionable in this film was one use of the word Hell, paired with some slight thematic elements (one of the main characters is an illegitimate son).

Film making wise, this is the best Pixar film yet. Everything looked so photo realistic I could not believe my eyes!

Overall, I believe that Ratatouille is one of Pixar's best movies ever. It was smart and witty, and didnt use crude humor to make people laugh. It had a very involved plot, and lovable characters.

Brad Bird is definitely making a name for himself as director!

My verdict? Go see it....and be sure to catch the Pixar short before the movie.....

The Blogger Returns! Special Double feature review Post

After a long hiatus, I am back! Sorry folks, but teacher training for my upcoming job has been kind of hectic.
This week I am reviewing two movies, and two video games.
Now, to get down to movie business...............................

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

rated PG for action violence, mild language, and innuendo

Film making: 3 out of 5 stars

Moral rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Well, where to begin? This sequel is quite simple to review..simply because it was one fun movie! If there was any film that deserved the award "Best Popcorn movie" it would be FF2. Why? For the simple reason that director Tim Story kept the story neat and simple. The story begins with Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Played by Ioan Gruffud) about to tie the knot with Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (played by the beautiful Jessica Alba). Unfortunately, the arrival of intergalactic cool guy Silver Surfer (voiced by The Matrix's Lawrence Fishburne) to prepare Earth for destruction by the planet eating Galactus sort of ruins things.

That is where the story picks up. Along with Ben Grimm/Thing and Johnny Storm/Human Torch, the Fantastic Four aid the US army in finding and capturing the Silver Surfer. Of course, Dr. Doom is back from the dead. (played by an unconvincing Julian McMahon). So of course, the fab four have to figure out who is really the good guy and who is really the bad guy.

Special effects were fantastic! (no pun intended) and the acting was pretty good. The humor got a bit cheesy at times, but like I said, this is a great popcorn film!

Morally speaking, this is a bit dirty. About a dozen curses and several sexual innuendoes were thrown into the conversation.

Overall, I think that this is the most enjoyable film so far this summer, simply because it is that: simple.

Ocean's Thirteen
rated PG-13 for brief sensuality

Film making: A perfect 5 stars

Moral rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

What is it about the Ocean's films? First we had a highly enjoyable film called Ocean's Eleven, then a flop of a film called Ocean's Twelve. Add another person, and we get a hugely enjoyable fun film called Ocean's Thirteen.
Is it that Danny Ocean (George Clooney) does a better job at his heists when there are an odd number of crooks in on it? Or is it the fact that the crew returned to Las Vegas for their third heist.
Whatever it is , this movie, starring Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, and George Clooney was a film as good if not better than the first.

Ellen Bergen as Al Pacino's right hand, um, man was a scene stealer. Especially when she is tricked by Matt Damon's character Linus.

Morally, this film is far from clean. A smattering of language (primarily the s word) and some uncomfortable sensual content mess up the movie a bit, but overall it is cleaner than the first two.
As for a plot.......It is about 13 guys who get revenge........okay.

My verdict......If you like the first, go see it.

Coming Attractions

Hello all!

I just returned from my Atlanta trip, and was it fun!

The art exhibit from the Louvre was astounding, featuring some amazing paintings, sculptures, and furniture from Versaille. Sadly, no pictures since we were not allowed cameras in there.

Our day at Six Flags was incredible. The best two roller coasters where there--Goliath and Superman: Ultimate Flight. The former is one monster steel coaster that is just the biggest hills you can dream of. The latter actually tilts you face down so you feel like you are flying.

Coming up soon we will have movie reviews of Ocean's 13 and Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. My brother saw Surf's Up and said it was fantastic. There won't be a review of that, but take his word on it and go see it. :-)

Anyway, that is about all for today!
Signing out, the Buckland Fiddler.

Joker picture a hoax

Sorry folks!
It turns out that the new Joker picture of Heath Ledger was an elaborate hoax.
Sorry for the false information.
I will post a picture as soon as an OFFICIAL picture goes online.

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence, and some frightening images

Filmmaking: Excellent
Moral: Better than Average
Overall: 31/2 out of 4 stars

In the latest adventure in the popular Disney Pirates series, The crew is back with the help of the newly resurrected Barbossa, trying to fetch back "Witty Jack and him Precious Pearl".
Meanwhile, Lord Beckett is trying to destroy the Pirates once and for all. We also see Davy Jones Locker, Sao Feng a Chinese Pirate lord, Calypso the sea goddess, plenty of pirates, Jack attack, a curse lifted, and a cameo from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Phew....I just confused myself. Yes, this film is BUSY and so I cannot at all attempt an overview, just go see it.
Gore Verbinski did a phenomenal job directing and managed to make a third film every bit as good as the original. I was a bit skeptical of this one, as I thought that Dead Man's Chest was not anywhere up to par with the original.
The acting was good.
The effects were good.
The music was good.
It was a very entertaining film. It actually felt like you were in the midst of the action.

Morally this is a Pirate film and so you can expect a fare share of rum, women ogling and violence. What is added is a somewhat twisted view of the afterlife, which even though it is presented as fiction, could still confuse younger viewers. There was only one curse word in the film.
Overall, I though At World's End ended the Pirates trilogy with a BANG! At times it was confusing, but this one was very well crafted and the director's view clearly showed through. The film is showing at all major theaters and is almost 3 hours in length.
Signing out, the Buckland Fiddler

Heath Ledger Joker finally revealed

Finally, Batman fans, the wait is over!

Comicbookmovie.com has just posted this picture of the Heath Ledger version of the Joker to be seen in the upcoming "The Dark Knight" film. It definitly looks to be a very dark version of the comic book villain.

The film is slated for release on July 18, 2008.

Movie Review: Shrek the Third

Shrek the Third

rated PG for crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action

Starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, John Cleese, and Eric Idle.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

It seems that Dreamworks animation is now running out of good ideas. Either that, or Andrew Adamson is the reason why the first two Shreks were so good. I guess it doesn't matter, because both are missing from the latest tale in the Ogre saga. In this round, Shrek Donkey and Puss leave Far, far, away to fetch back Artie, (voiced by J. Timberlake), to take the throne, since Fiona's father has now died. Meanwhile, Prince Charming is back with all of his baddies, trying to kill Shrek and take over Far far away for himself. That is pretty much the extent of the story.

Laughs. This is by far the weakest Shrek movie for jokes. For the most part they weren't that funny or used in the previous two films or both. However, there were some really funny scenes involving Pinnochio, Merlin the magician (brilliantly voiced by Monty Python's Eric Idle), and the fairy tale princesses. Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are probably this films strongest additions, all voiced by SNL alumni. I also laughed at the frog-king death scene. I know that sounds bad but it was terribly funny!

Overall, I think the real problem with this film was that it had way too much Shrek and not enough Donkey and Puss, the true stars of this series. If Andrew Adamson had directed, undoubtedly he would have focused more on these hilarious characters.

Moral. Okay, this is a Shrek movie. There was no language, but expect plenty of innuendoes, vague references to adult matter, and drug content. Other than that, the only potentially offensive thing in this were the gender-bending ugly stepsisters, voiced by Regis Philbin and Larry King.

Overall, I think this is a fun movie, but it lacks something the other two had-originality and cleverness. Hopefully the movie studio can turn this around before Shrek 4 and the upcoming Christmas special. (Yes, both are confirmed, as is a Broadway play).