![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
After a long hiatus from the dark den of over salted popcorn, we've seen two movies in nearly as many days.
The first is Pixar's new Ratatouille, the tale of a rat with impossible dreams of being a chef in Paris. It's what you'd expect from Brad Bird, writer and director of The Incredibles and The Iron Giant; it's exceptional. Visually engaging, funny, playful, enjoyable across demographics. The acid test, the mob of screaming brats next to us sat entranced and silent when the lights dimmed. The preceding short animation is also wonderful. No one could possibly be disappointed with this movie.
Writers rarely get their due in tinsel town. Scripts are often reworked on the day of shooting. Actors and directors reinterpret. A well written script can be destroyed and a poorly written one can be transcended in the production process. Animation is where a writer's vision can come through clearest. And Ratatouille, beyond all else that recommends it, is an unusually adept bit of storytelling.
It's dense with detail. While the archetypes and overall collection of elements are familiar, they are strung together with skill. There are no meaningless scenes, no filler. No element is allowed to overpower the complete work and run on its own, though many elements are strong enough to do so. Some elements exists for mere moments of time, while never feeling forced or superfluous. This, on its own, is a feat to be admired. A true rarity in popular summer cinema.
The antithesis of this type of writing is common enough in theaters, almost the norm for summer. Examples of big rambling productions where a clear story seems lost on the cutting room floor are Legion. Well, on to the next film.
Transformers! This is also what you'd expect given it's pedigree. There's action, effects, pithy one liners, and an army of two dimensional characters. It's fine for what it is. Such summer fare suffers little in the absence of logic or any plot to speak of. This is Michael Bay, who brought you Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. It's a big, sweeping, epic, surround sound panoramic ride.
It should be seen on the big screen. The action scenes are often pretty frenetic and hard enough to follow in theater sized dimensions. Trapped in the box a home, this movie will suffer. I rather like the way the giant robots move about. There is a lot of rolling and tumbling, at times looking reminiscent of capoeira. While not exceptional, this movie is an amusing enough way to kill a couple of hours. Also, surprisingly blood free, appeared kid safe overall. Indeed, it seemed primarily written for fifth graders.
Both these movies are good, light, summer fare. The animated rat has more humor and heart, the bots have more action, techno dazzle, and nice explosions.
The first is Pixar's new Ratatouille, the tale of a rat with impossible dreams of being a chef in Paris. It's what you'd expect from Brad Bird, writer and director of The Incredibles and The Iron Giant; it's exceptional. Visually engaging, funny, playful, enjoyable across demographics. The acid test, the mob of screaming brats next to us sat entranced and silent when the lights dimmed. The preceding short animation is also wonderful. No one could possibly be disappointed with this movie.
Writers rarely get their due in tinsel town. Scripts are often reworked on the day of shooting. Actors and directors reinterpret. A well written script can be destroyed and a poorly written one can be transcended in the production process. Animation is where a writer's vision can come through clearest. And Ratatouille, beyond all else that recommends it, is an unusually adept bit of storytelling.
It's dense with detail. While the archetypes and overall collection of elements are familiar, they are strung together with skill. There are no meaningless scenes, no filler. No element is allowed to overpower the complete work and run on its own, though many elements are strong enough to do so. Some elements exists for mere moments of time, while never feeling forced or superfluous. This, on its own, is a feat to be admired. A true rarity in popular summer cinema.
The antithesis of this type of writing is common enough in theaters, almost the norm for summer. Examples of big rambling productions where a clear story seems lost on the cutting room floor are Legion. Well, on to the next film.
Transformers! This is also what you'd expect given it's pedigree. There's action, effects, pithy one liners, and an army of two dimensional characters. It's fine for what it is. Such summer fare suffers little in the absence of logic or any plot to speak of. This is Michael Bay, who brought you Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. It's a big, sweeping, epic, surround sound panoramic ride.
It should be seen on the big screen. The action scenes are often pretty frenetic and hard enough to follow in theater sized dimensions. Trapped in the box a home, this movie will suffer. I rather like the way the giant robots move about. There is a lot of rolling and tumbling, at times looking reminiscent of capoeira. While not exceptional, this movie is an amusing enough way to kill a couple of hours. Also, surprisingly blood free, appeared kid safe overall. Indeed, it seemed primarily written for fifth graders.
Both these movies are good, light, summer fare. The animated rat has more humor and heart, the bots have more action, techno dazzle, and nice explosions.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
Yeah, this is on the to buy when released list.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Maybe I'll look that one up. Thanks.