zrath

Theaterflixing

It's Summer, so that means lots of movies!
In the space of seven days, I saw five movies.
And they were a bit like the members of "Kagaku Sentai Dynaman".
Well, more like the parody version of "Dynaman", really. :D
(Go to YouTube and search under "Dynaman". You won't be sorry! Or maybe you will...)


Ratatouille - The Chef Chief Leader
Oh gawd, another brilliant Pixar movie directed by Brad Bird. It's getting really boring, guys!!
I mean, you keep making some of the other studios look like mostly incompetent fools! Knock it off!! :D
Seriously though, "Ratatouille" is every bit as good as you've heard it is. The whole thing is utterly brilliant.
Also, it is the first film about cooking that really gets it. The ambience and state of mind of a restaurant kitchen,
the quirks of the personnel, the procedures, and all the nitty-gritty little details. The Sibling, who has actually worked
in a great restaurant's kitchen, fully agrees. He especially liked the Horst character, with "The Thumb". :)
The Brother and I saw this at an ASIFA screening at the Writer's Guild that doodlesthegreat invited us to.
It was weird to be sitting in a 'flat' theater, with the screen seemingly so far away, after our regular stadium theater.
We had a great time and we thank Doodles for taking us.
There are some people who don't like this film. I have a hard time wrapping my head around this concept.
I mean, it's SO GOOD and SO WELL DONE. I can understand being freaked by the rats, but not liking the film at all?
Inconceivable! The vast majority of people will like it though. And every chef will buy the DVD.
This is definitely Pixar's best film EVAR, so far.
DO NOT MISS IT!!
Or the Kzin will come to your house and fill the doorway. >:D

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - The Able-To-Leap-Tall-Trees Guy
One critic was quoted as saying it was a "fun family-friendly ride" or something like that, and I tend to agree.
The Fours are the old bickering disfunctional family of the Marvel Universe and that comes across pretty well here.
It's not the intense angst of X-Men, it's more family friendly. And Ben "The Thing" Grimm is friend to all children! :D
The movie overall is not bad, certainly a lot better than the first one. The Fantasticar is pretty nice. Doctor Doom is
simply not quite menacing enough, though he is ruthless. The Silver Surfer was well-done. The big disappointment for me:
Galactus. I wanted the giant man with the cool Kirby Hat. What I got was totally not that. Blargh.
So, worth a matinée if you have kids who like this stuff. Otherwise, rental.

Transformers - The Slow-Thinking Weapons Expert
Okay, so, the Transformers, what are they? They're very sophisticated sentient alien robots who shapeshift to blend in.
In the cartoon, they were simple, blocky designs based on the toys. It's now 2007 and you're making a live-action film.
What do you do? Do you make crude, blocky robots that look like the old toys? No, because that would look stupid.
You make intricate highly-detailed robots that look like they can shapeshift into anything.
And that's we have here. The living machines are simply astounding. Think of exacting modern clockwork on a grand scale.
The film itself is a lot of fun. There's plenty of stuff blowing up and enough robot mayhem to satisfy any Godzilla fan.
The military hardware fan in me was delighted to see not only F-22 Raptors in action, but also A-10 Warthogs,
and one aircraft you just don't see on film very often: the heavy-pounding death-from-above Spectre Gunship.
There's some amusingly embarassing teenage moments with the young turk du moment, the hilariously-mispelled Shia LaBeouf.
(It should be "LeBoeuf" and it means "The Beef")
Some of these moments are orchestrated by Bumblebee, who exhibits a somewhat playful nature. The film is actually pretty
funny in places and a tad ridiculous in other places, but that's totally appropriate considering the subject matter.
And there's lots of fun little touches here and there. One of my favorites is the writing on the side of the Decepticon
police Mustang. Instead of the usual "to protect and serve", it reads "to punish and enslave". :D
There's a certain amount of shaky-cam, yes, but it's used to pull you into the action, so it's not so bad.
I liked it, a lot. I'd like to see it again, actually.
So, big summer rock'em-sock'em robot action! W00T!!!

Surf's Up - The Human Outboard Motor
OH NOEZ! PENGUINS! Yeah, yeah, I know, but it's really more of a surfing film, and it's a lot of fun. I'm a sucker for
the whole surfer/island/tiki thing, and the trailers made this look interesting, so I was looking forward to it.
And I wasn't disappointed. The film is shot like a documentary, so you have the fictitious film crew chasing Cody Maverick,
our penguin protagonist, around with some really nifty effects. It also changes the tone of the film, with characters
interacting with the crew. Hilarity ensues!! For example, at the start of the film, the crew is setting up in Cody's home
in Antarctica to interview him with his mom and older brother. Said older brother glances at the camera and says
"Hey, you guys doing a movie about Cody? Can you tell me when it's coming out so I can go NOT see it? Har har..."
Ah yeah, older brothers, they're all the same. :\
This is a film NOT built around its celebrity voices. It's all about the characters themselves. The voice actors and
actresses do a good job of disappearing into their respective parts.
"Happy Feet" was interesting but weird and preachy. "Surf's Up" is just plain fun.
Take the kids, especially if they like the beach.
I like this one almost as much as I like "Over The Hedge", and I like "Over The Hedge" A LOT.
Worth matinée price for sure (I always get matinée prices anyway).

Ocean's Thirteen - Their Main Squeeze
We wanted to see "Live Free Or Die Hard" but the theater was full, so we saw this.
I like "Eleven" a lot. "Twelve" was okay, but not all that hot. "Thirteen" is pretty good, but really complicated.
Music is by David Holmes again, and it's definitely one of the things I really enjoy about these films.
Holmes has a knack for making funky hip lounge Rat Pack tunes that make me snap my fingers.
One of the other reasons I like these films is because I always enjoy a good caper flick.
The gang is reunited after a particularly unscrupulous Vegas entrepreneur (Al Pacino) swindles our friend Reuben out
of his share of the new hotel-casino they built together. This is such a shock to him that he is left bed-ridden and
comatose, and the gang begins to plan a suitable revenge. New to the cast is Ellen Barkin (whom I can only see as
Penny Priddy from "Buckaroo Banzai"), Eddie izzard (always fun to have onboard) and, of course, Al Pacino. Returning
from "Eleven" and "Twelve" is Andy Garcia. Also back is French action dude Vincent Cassel, who was in "Twelve" only.
This is about the craziest caper that the gang has pulled so far, and so complicated and involving so many factors
that my brother declared "Transformers" more realistic that "Ocean's Thirteen". Make of that what you will. :)
For fans of the franchise, obviously. Otherwise, rental.