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Ratatouille, the latest from the animation wizards at Pixar, is quite the mixed bag. That’s not to say the film is a bad movie; rather, it gives the viewer an overall impression of “meh”. The movie was questionable from the beginning, with an out-of-the-ordinary premise and a relatively unknown director. These two variables gave the film relatively wobbly legs to stand on right out of the gate.

While it can be arguably said that since Finding Nemo, Pixar has been going down on a winding road, failing to match or surpass it’s previous record setting success, it is still churning out hits. The Incredibles was a different tone for the studio, while Cars became John Lasseter’s second “Bug’s Life“. However, both of these films were still winners in their own right, with the same heart and soul one has come to expect from Pixar.

After we heard that Jan Pikava, the director and screenwriter of Ratatouille, had been removed from the project, one could instantly assume something wasn’t quite right. Although a similar situation happened with Toy Story, which turned out fantastically, so fans were still prepared to keep an open mind. Brad Bird was brought in to tweak the film, but it turns out that he may not have had enough time to fix it. While Meet the Robinsons succesfully gapped it’s holes and reigned in it’s wacky storyline with a resounding heartfelt theme, Ratatouille did not achieve the same result.

Don’t get me wrong. The animation is superb - no question. The problem lies with the story and theme. The film never really connects with the audience, leaving us at the ending with the weak lesson that “Everyone can cook, but only some should.” The plot also taps into minor love and family stories, without fully fleshing them out. With Ratatouille, Pixar could’ve easily pulled off the “follow your dreams” theme, but even that one is hidden deep under the covers of a cooking rat and his skinny teenage puppet.

The connection between Remy (the rat) and Linguini (the teen), arguably the most important in the film, is just barely touched on near the culmination, making me feel Linguini cared for more about his girlfriend Colette then his “little chef”.

In the end, Ratatouille fails to grab onto any one theme. Such an act, unfortunately, has the audience wondering what, if any, purpose there was to watch the film. Without a strong plot to stand on, nor any of the attention grabbers other studios like to use, Ratatouille left little aftertaste; good or bad. The film was a resounding “meh”.

I would certainly place the movie at the bottom of Pixar’s barrel, akin to Sleeping Beauty or The Sword in the Stone, both from Disney’s second Golden Age. That said, the studio looks more than ready to repair their reputation with next summer’s Wall-E, the fantastic trailer of which was recently released. It just goes to show that even Pixar is not able to “do no wrong”. Streaks are difficult to pull off, and while Ratatouille isn’t a train wreck, the movie just is not what the world has come to expect from the studio that brought us Toy Story, Monster’s Inc., and Finding Nemo.

After watching the rather disappointing Shrek 3, I was pleasantly surprised at how well Bruckheimer and Disney pulled of the third sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean. While you can’t quite compare all three of the films, the third is much better than Dead Man’s Chest.

The storyline is quite strong, despite having unnecessary plot twists (such as the “Being Jack Sparrow” moments) and complications (Calypso and Davy Jones’ death). I didn’t quite “feel” the whole love story this time between Will and Elizabeth, nor the two sideline scenes with Keith Richards. Also, the story seemed to move quite slowly. I would’ve preferred to have the plot tightened up and made a shorter movie (almost 3 hours!). That said, the flow was much better than Spider-Man 3.

The acting was top notch, with another superb run by both Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. Orlando was in and out of the film, while Kiera had a boosted role, which I thought was another stupid plot twist.

As for CGI, Davy Jones and his crew, feeling quite realistic to me, were probably the weakest effects in the film, which says a lot I think. Whereas I felt that LOTR:ROTK fell apart with a lot of rushed and weak effects during the big battle with the elephantes and ghosts, the fighting scenes here were top notch.

In any case, Pirates 3 is so far the best summer blockbuster out there. Shrek 3 basically sucked, and while Spider-Man 3 is more comparable to Pirates, I think Pirates just pulls off their formula slightly stronger than Raimi did with Spidey. I highly recommend seeing it if you have a chance; just don’t arrive too late and get stuck in the first few rows like I did (I still have a sore neck!).

“Hot Rod“, starring Andy Samberg, was shot last summer a block away from my house. I got to meet Andy and Jorma Taccone, which was quite the rush (pictures here). They also rented our boat for a few scenes. From early reviews, it seems like it’ll be a good movie, although it requires a certain taste of humour. You can view the trailer below. It’s set for release August 3rd.

I saw Meet the Robinsons the other night. Went in with low expectations, along with meager understanding of the plot, and came out inspired more than ever. The film was handled tremendously well, even considering the bouncy plot, and ended up extremely well done. It didn’t really feel too Pixar, Disney, or Dreamworks; it was kinda a nice mix of them all.

This was the first film under the watch of John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. They even apparently made some quick changes near the end of production, pushing the film from Holiday ‘06 to March ‘07. But boy, do they sure know how to make a story work. Not only was there an overall theme of the importance of family and friends, but we even got a life motto, with a tie to Uncle Walt, in the form of “Keep Moving Forward”.

I loved how they threw in a Mickey Mouse cartoon before the film. People didn’t really react at all to the short, just like I assumed they wouldn’t (we’re a different generation), but it was kinda cool for nostalgia. The new logo roll for Walt Disney Pictures is terrific, although I wish I could say the same for the new “Steamboat Willie” logo for Walt Disney Animation Studios, which seemed rushed and cheap.

Given that this is the first film from under Lasseter and Catmull’s control, I can’t wait to see what Disney has coming next. Meet the Robinsons is a fantastic addition to the Animated Classics, unlike more recent efforts,  and I can’t wait to add it to my shelf. It certainly has flown under the radar, but it Disney pushes it enough, this one could be around for a while, and really make some dough for the company. That is how good it is. Now go see it already!!

The raving TWiTs were right: Idiocracy is one heck of a movie. The premise, that the future is doomed due to stupid people reproducing more than smart ones, sets the stage for great comedy and even makes you take a serious look at where the world is headed. There’s some great jokes about today’s society, plus some excellent CG and surprisingly good acting throughout. While I may have my suspicions why Fox didn’t widely release the film, it’s great to know that it was made and is available for people to see. That said, I highly suggest you either rent it, buy it, or pirate it, because it really is destined to become a cult classic. Mike Judge has crafted a very entertaining movie that will make you take a second look at the world. So go see it!