Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2007 10:32:39 GMT -5
Its that time of the year again folks, Pixar's latest hits theaters in general release, and I'd best offer my customary two cents. Before I get into the film itself, let me say that I was privileged enough the second time I saw it to sit in the SAME theater as Mr. Jim Mason, the father of the animator Steve Mason whom I know at Pixar. There was this large bloc of the theater that was reserved and we were speculating as to it. I didn't initially catch it but I knew Mr. Mason had his family in my area and when I found out well I could hardly believe we had gotten the same theater together.
So now on to the review. A film critic said of the premiere that it was possibly the "best movie of the year." Not best ANIMATED film....but best MOVIE of the year....period. As of right now from the rest of the movies I've seen this year, this movie is UNBELIEVABLE and INCREDIBLE. It really made everything else look so...well unremarkable and distant. Now I thought Cars last year could possibly be Pixar's best, but even Cars did not receive standing ovations in any one of the 6 different times I saw it in theaters. Ratatouille not only received plaudits, it received them BOTH times I went yesterday, and yes, nearly EVERYONE in the theater was standing.
Ratatouille delivers this fresh, new type of film that lacks the standard Pixar formula so you may be thinking "wait a minute....how do they get away with that?" Well, they do. They tried something completely new and totally different with their formula, a new sort of "concoction" if you will and fellow Boggs Board members, it came out quite fresh. The beginning is a little slow I'll be honest with the opening, it gives you the whole "been here and done this before" feeling, but don't be fooled for long. It quickly picks up and just rockets off on this delightful journey with a near perfect blend of humor, endearing characters, memorable plot (and sub-plots), and dare I say....a spattering of darkness added in? Yes that's right, Pixar ACTUALLY has a few dark scenes in this film that I thought were done just right, not over the top, and yet still conveyed a strong message that impacted your brain and got you thinking.
In conclusion, Ratatouille is by far I think, Pixar's best film to date. They struck out on sort of a different path for this one, and it really gave the movie a sense of newness, fun, and excitement that is really a bit more of a roller coaster ride in terms of development and conveying than a lot of their other films, which typically have a set formula that's followed in general with just different settings and blends of characters which still give their movies uniqueness, but which REALLY sets this one above the crowd. I recommend it for nearly everyone here, and am giving them a definite A+ on this one.
Side note: I'd just like to say that Mr. Peter O'Toole did a MARVELOUS job with his character in the movie, and I do believe its even Oscar worthy (as we all know the poor fellow has been nominated 8 times in his rather long career but has as of yet to actually receive the award), and so my hat is off to him for his absolutely brilliant performance as Anton Ego.
So now on to the review. A film critic said of the premiere that it was possibly the "best movie of the year." Not best ANIMATED film....but best MOVIE of the year....period. As of right now from the rest of the movies I've seen this year, this movie is UNBELIEVABLE and INCREDIBLE. It really made everything else look so...well unremarkable and distant. Now I thought Cars last year could possibly be Pixar's best, but even Cars did not receive standing ovations in any one of the 6 different times I saw it in theaters. Ratatouille not only received plaudits, it received them BOTH times I went yesterday, and yes, nearly EVERYONE in the theater was standing.
Ratatouille delivers this fresh, new type of film that lacks the standard Pixar formula so you may be thinking "wait a minute....how do they get away with that?" Well, they do. They tried something completely new and totally different with their formula, a new sort of "concoction" if you will and fellow Boggs Board members, it came out quite fresh. The beginning is a little slow I'll be honest with the opening, it gives you the whole "been here and done this before" feeling, but don't be fooled for long. It quickly picks up and just rockets off on this delightful journey with a near perfect blend of humor, endearing characters, memorable plot (and sub-plots), and dare I say....a spattering of darkness added in? Yes that's right, Pixar ACTUALLY has a few dark scenes in this film that I thought were done just right, not over the top, and yet still conveyed a strong message that impacted your brain and got you thinking.
In conclusion, Ratatouille is by far I think, Pixar's best film to date. They struck out on sort of a different path for this one, and it really gave the movie a sense of newness, fun, and excitement that is really a bit more of a roller coaster ride in terms of development and conveying than a lot of their other films, which typically have a set formula that's followed in general with just different settings and blends of characters which still give their movies uniqueness, but which REALLY sets this one above the crowd. I recommend it for nearly everyone here, and am giving them a definite A+ on this one.
Side note: I'd just like to say that Mr. Peter O'Toole did a MARVELOUS job with his character in the movie, and I do believe its even Oscar worthy (as we all know the poor fellow has been nominated 8 times in his rather long career but has as of yet to actually receive the award), and so my hat is off to him for his absolutely brilliant performance as Anton Ego.