Ratatouille
So last night I headed down the street (maybe a mile) to my local multimegaplex to see this here Pixar film. I decided to walk there for at 10PM showing to get some exercise. On the way there I noticed how I'm not used to the 'friendly' pedestrian situation. So much different than NYC. Cars actually slow down here for people in crosswalks! And people don't cross when it says Don't Walk no matter what. Like on the way home it was like midnight or whatever and people just stood at the 'Don't Walk' sign when there wasn't a moving car in sight. That whole thing is just weird to me. In New York people just go. But I waited with em on the corner because I didn't want to be the special privilege New Yorker dick who doesn't play by the local rules. All tough guy marching across the crosswalk would make me look like some sort of vagabool! (That's an Italian word I just made up that roughly translates to 'rude dog'.)
Anyway, when I first saw the previews for this movie my dumb head was telling me that it just seemed like an 'off' movie. It didn't seem appealing to the kid in me. Cooking? France? Rat? Why? But within two minutes it gave me a goofball smile that stayed on my face pretty much throughout. For whatever reason, while watching Pixar movies I find myself just getting slightly teary at random moments. Not necessarily an emotional scene. Just a visual. Like, there's one scene where 'the Chef' is pouring some wine. And I watched the wine. How it poured. How it looked like wine. How it swirled in the glass. How it took the light. And I was like, 'Jeez louise... this animation company is ridiculously awesome.' Because you could see that somewhere back there someone obviously put real genuine love into making that wine...
Sometimes when I tell people that I'm going to see a 'cartoon' movie by myself they look at me like I'm a dope. Like I'm telling them I'm going to see friggin 'Under Dog' by myself or something. But with this flick in particular if you're a grownup, who loves Paris, and enjoys cooking on any level. Even if you like neither. You should suck it up and buy a ticket. This is the best movie I've seen this year. I could probably watch it with the sound off. Even the humans looked great. Particularly the Burton-y critic.
Yeah, I had some issues here and there. At first, the redhead kid stuck me as too goofball and wacked. And at one point I did notice the plot sort of snapped and then seemed to be taped back together quickly. But I had no real problems with this flick. I still think Nemo is the champ but I'd say this flick is the runner-up to best Pixar movie. So seriously. I'm know I sound like salesy or whatever. But if you're a grownup And you're looking through the paper saying, 'There's nothing to see...' See this flick. You'll dig it. Promise. If you don't dig it. Write me an email after you see it, tell me why, and if you're sincere-- and I'll send you some free oregano.
Three Good Things About this Movie
- It just looked awesome. The level of detail in everything made my head
spin.
- I laughed out loud alot. Even at the goofy physical comedy.
- The introduction of the kitchen staff. The respect for art. And the critic's
first bite.
Three Bad Things About this Movie
- I thought the action music sounded like stock movie music.
- Around the 3/4 mark the ride did get plot bumpy. Like it drove into the
emergency lane on the highway and there was gravel. You could hear it and feel
it.
- The redhead kid didn't ever really crossover to 'hero' status on a gut level.
All in all, there it is. Stop being cartoon snobby! It definitely must friggin punch Harry Potter in the face quality-wise! It deserves a Best Picture nomination and it will get one-- so you might as well check it out now if you're an Oscar fan. I really went in thinking that I was just going to stare at this thing half-bored and wonder why they decided to go with a 'cooking with rats' movie. Rats are too creepy! Meanwhile on the walk home if I saw a rat on the street, I probably would have nodded my head at it-- out of respect for the inspiration.