Remy and Linguini in "Ratatouille"
courtesy of Disney Home Entertainment
"Rats In the Kitchen"

The ability to create real looking animals and actions in animated film projects has reached an all time high. That works for and against the new Pixar animated film "Ratatouille." This is the story of a Parisian rat with a talent for cooking. This film has the brilliant look of all the other Pixar movies but it doesn't have the fun or the heart. Plus its story takes too long to get started and too long to tell. Plus when all is said and done, this is the story of a rat - in a kitchen. Mark this one down as an okay movie but not up to Pixar standards. 

Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is a common, ordinary household rat. He lives out in the countryside of France with his father, brother and their entire clan of rats. His fixation is food. He loves its scents and aromas, its textures and tastes. It is the one thing that makes him extraordinary.

Eventually he ends up in Paris and finds himself drawn to the restaurant called "Gusteau's." This restaurant was founded by the great chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett) now deceased. His spirit speaks to Remy and inspires him to become a chef himself. Being a rat Remy can't make himself known in the kitchen so he decides to use the garbage boy, Linguini (Lou Romano), as his arms and legs as he makes his recipes come to life.

This storyline is pretty complicated for a movie aimed at kids. Plus it moves slooooowly. There are no songs to break the monotony and the rats in this film are not warm and cuddly. They look like rats and slither and slink around the streets and floors of buildings. In one traumatic scene they invade the kitchen at "Gusteau's" and it is not a pretty sight.

The Pixar look is amazing, but we have seen it all before. No longer can we be entertained just by the look of the film. To entertain us, Pixar has to have a fascinating story told with warmth and wit. Both are lacking in "Ratatouille." 

Disney has used mice before to much success - Mickey as in Mouse, and those cute mice from "Cinderella." But this is the first time rats have taken center stage as the stars. If they had looked more cartoonish it might have helped. Maybe if they had worn little outfits to show they weren't real. But no these rats look like real rats and that is off-putting.

"Ratatouille" is not a bad movie but it is not a great one either. With all the hype that preceded it, it is a major letdown. I feel like "Scrooge" but I have to say my reaction is "Phooey on Ratatouille."

And then there is "In the Land of Women" which is directed by Jonathan Kasdan. Kasdan is the son of Lawrence Kasdan who directed such hits as "The Bog Chill" and "The Accidental Tourist." Jonathan's movie has a similar feel to it as his dad's did. This movie too is about relationships but where his dad's movies felt fully fleshed out "In the Land of Women" is only partially explored.

The film focuses on Carter Webb (Adam Brody), a screenwriter living in LA. He is involved with a model named Sofia (Elena Anaya) but at the start of the film she drops him. Broken hearted he decides to go visit his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) who has been having bouts of depression and disorientation.

While staying with his grandmother he meets her neighbor Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan). He also meets Sarah's two daughters, Paige (Mackenzie Vega) and Lucy (Kristin Stewart). Somehow Carter manages to get tangled up in the lives of all three of the Hardwicke women.

Supposedly Carter has something in his nature that draws women to him, with the elusive Sofia being the exception. However what that "something" is never reveals itself in the movie. Carter has Sarah and Lucy romantically attracted to him but other then being a nice guy he is not someone who would seemingly attract this kind of attention.

Nothing really happens in the movie. There is illness and death but those events occur with very little impact. Carter ends up being the same person at the end of the movie as he is at the start. Sarah and Lucy have grown up a little but not much. End of story.

The main fault of the film is the screenplay that moves from point A to point B without much impact. The second weak link is Brody. The movie says Carter is twenty-six but Brody looks and acts sixteen. Nothing is done to make him look or act older than that.

Ryan looks beautiful in the film. This is actually her best role in ages and she gives it her all. Too bad the film is not worth her effort. Stewart, Dukakis and the irrepressible Vega are all assets to the movie. 

"In the Land of Women:"" is one of those movies that screams importance and then doesn't deliver. It seems to be saying something significant but when the movie ends you find that it all didn't mean much. A better script and a more appropriate leading man might have saved the day.

The second season of "October Road" starts in just a few days. Before it does you need to watch "October Road: The Complete First Season DVD" in order to refresh your memory or to make the acquaintance of this show that earned its popularity.

Bryan Greenberg and Laura Prepon play the star crossed lovers who were once an item before Greenberg's character left his hometown and her. Now Nick (Greenberg) is back and the sparks between him and Hannah (Prepon) are still smoldering.

In addition to watching the first season's shows you can also gaze at a blooper reel, deleted scenes and other extras. This is a fully packed DVD.

With the writers' strike gathering steam this may or may not be the last season for "Scrubs". If all the planned episodes get shown, well that will be it. But if only a few episodes get shown then the others might get held over till next year. In either case you will want to get "Scrubs: The Complete Sixth Season On DVD".

This is the season that featured the "musical" episode and that alone is worth the price of the DVD. But there is much more on the DVD such as a selection of extras that are guaranteed to entertain. These "extras" include commentaries, deleted scenes, alternate lines and so much more.

So catch up with the characters played by Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Judy Reyes, John C McGinley and others. Their talent is boundless and the entertainment is there for the3 taking.

Interested in a DVD about surfing then pick up "The Forgotten Coast." This movie tells the story of seven surfers who travel to Indonesia to experience the great waves. All however is not surfing thrills. They also get involved in a lack of food as well as some potential deadly injuries.

A cast of unknowns leads the film. They are Travis Potter, Brian Conley, Brett Schwartz and other luminaries. But in this movie it is the surf and the sights that make the movie what it is. And it is "The Forgotten Coast."

In keeping with the recent spate of horror releases - "Hostel 1 and 2," "Gag" and others - now we get "Captivity." This is a DVD about a beautiful young woman (Elisha Cuthbert) who is stalked, kidnapped and held captive. This is another movie about violence towards women and is chilling in its depictions.

Cuthbert is best known for playing Jack Bauer's daughter on "24" but this time around Jack won't ride in for the rescue. This film is much more serious and deadly. Rent it at your own risk.

Finally there is "Wildfire 2" the popular series which is seen on the ABC Family Channel. The gorgeous Genevieve Cortese stars as Kris Furillo, a headstrong young woman who is caught up in a love triangle. Season two was full of surprises so get the DVD and get caught up.
 

 

 

 

 

©2007 Jackie K. Cooper

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