"Ratatouille"

My wife and I attended a "sneak peek" of the new Pixar animated film "Ratatouille" this weekend.

A direct cut to the chase: it's one of the two best movies I've seen this year. My other nomination for "best," to date, is 300.

My list of "good" movies this year include: Breach, Zodiac, and The Last King of Scotland.

List of considerably monumental turds:

Spider Man III;

Pirates III;

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The above three movies were overblown, over-long, poorly scripted (if at all) and, in the case of Pirates, barely comprehensible. Quite frankly, there was little character development, slapdash plotting and the heaviest possible reliance on CGI. Not to mention that all three were plainly stupid.

I'll put it this way: in the packed theatre for the showing of Ratatouille I attended, the place was rife with kids, adults with infants and teens. There was no talking, no yelling and, at the end, the audience spontaneously broke out in applause. They had been, in fact, caught up in the movie.

Why? Because the movie had a plot and the viewer cared about the characters.

At a time when plot and character development are minimal at best, and computer imaging overshadows all (to the point where audiences are simply jaded anymore), Ratatouille was a burst of cool, fresh air in an oppressive, lackluster, oven-toasted summer movie season.

I won't spoil the plot (which it definitely has), but I will tell you the animation is absolutely incredible. Ratatouille is appropriate for both kids and adults. Just go see it. It's great fun.

BZ