Ratatouille

It’s pretty easy to make little rodents charming and fun characters (just ask Disney himself, to a clichéd extent), but it’s even harder to make them work in such a way that’s original and exciting as comedy in conventional ways for today’s audiences. I remember the first time I ever saw a teaser for this movie. I thought it looked silly and I had to wonder just what Pixar and Disney were thinking. A rat wanting to get fancy Frency food. Please.But Brad Bird shouldn’t be lumped into the group of today’s CGI animators.Brad Bird’s “Ratatouille” is a rich, textured film that explores several important themes while sustaining a strong moral core

To Put the story in brief, Ratatouille follows Remy (Patton Oswalt), a rat who wants to become a good cook instead of a good food thief (like his father and co.) and will attempt to do so with his special smelling abilities. After a mishap where he lives, he winds up underneath Paris, close to the restaurant of his mentor, the recently deceased Gusteau (Brad Garrett). Using the garbage boy of the ex-5-star restaurant Linguini (Lou Romano), he attempts to spread his talent of cooking. Conflicts arise when the head chef Skinner (Ian Holm) suspects the sudden rise of fame in Linguini’s cooking and realizes his true worth. More conflicts arise when the only female chef becomes romantically involved with Linguini; Remy is having trouble returning to the lifestyle of a rat, and a well-known yet stern critic Ego (Peter O’Toole) decides to make a return into the spotlight.

All the actors are in fine form for their voice parts.But it is the reliable Peter O’Toole who really enjoys the part as the dark, brooding critic,and does the best voice work of all, outdoing all the rats.

The animation, is brilliant. There is no other word to describe it. Just the one scene where Remy realizes that he is in Paris, and overlooks the entire Parisian skyline, is enough reason to see the film. It looks fantastic in every scene, and never does the beautifully rendered scenery or characters look any less amazing than they did in the scene before. Pixar has really fine-tuned their style over the years, and it shows in how astonishing these characters look, even down to the minuscule little details like a few stubbly hairs on Linguini’s chin. It just looks that realistic

Bottom Line: You can only raise the bar higher so many times before not even yourself can reach it. This is what happened with Cars and Monster’s Inc., and movies like Ratatouille are the reasons why. While the pacing and running time may be a turnoff for some, the excellent visuals and flawless storytelling more than make up for it. Like a full course meal, Ratatouille has a little bit of everything and much more. In a summer of pretty sad sequels, a charming story about a rat with a crazy dream rises to the top of the quality heap.

The Legend of the Leprechauns

What a cute movie! Last week I saw a preview of this on tv so I decided to TiVo it for the family. I have to say I like some kid movies, but not all. This had just enough content to keep me interested, as well as the kids. I have yet to see the ending as the kids had to go to sleep, but I paused it at a part I can’t wait to finish tomorrow.

The movie has Whoopie Goldberg in it, but not a very big part. I thought I would tell you that since that seems to impress people. Anyway, the plot takes place in Ireland where a businessman stays at a quaint home for awhile to rejuvinate. Turns out he lives with leprechauns! And crazy enough, not everyone can see them, or should I say are allowed to.

The fairies and the leprechauns are always battling one another. Whoopie, the Siren tries to get them to stop, but it is no use. The main character does a better job when a fairy and a leprechaun fall in love. Aww! If you have DirecTv and have kids, TiVo it and I think you’ll enjoy it

Gone with the wind

Gone with the wind is a classic movie that came out in 1939. I remember, when I was a kid in elementary school, we took a field trip to see the movie. I didn’t realize how popular it was at the time, but today, do remember the experience of going to see the movie and what it was about.
I was not aware that it came from a book that was written in 1936 by an author named Margaret Mitchell.
When I saw the movie, that was the first I heard of Clark Gable ( I heard of him several times afterwards). The movie starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland and it is a story about the Civil War.
This movie is considered an all time movie blockbuster and it received 10 Academy Awards.
I recommend that everyone see this movie if they haven’t already and I just asked my two daughters if they’ve seen it and they told me no. I will rent the movie for them to see this great movie!

Lifetime Movie Network

All weekend I was sick. So that meant endless hours on the couch, under a fuzzy blanket, remote in hand. I came across the Lifetime Movie Network which I never even knew existed. I watched one movie after the next full of suspense, murder and deception. Most of the movies weren’t made recently which made it kind of odd to see high bangs and clunky cell phones. The plotlines still kept me intrigued. It was also interesting to see faces of actors and actresses who are now more famous but probably just a newbie in the acting world when making those made-for-tv movies.

One of the ones I watched was called something like You Belong To Me Forever which involved a lawyer escaping with a young girl she was representing in taking her far away from her molesting father. It makes me sad to think men like him really exist in this world and I rooted 100% for the well-being of the girl, the lawyer and the cute sheriff that helped her escape. In the end, the father was attacked by a cougar. I personally think he deserved life in prision amongst all the scary 300lb men that know he is a child molester. Anyway, I think it may have been based off a true story, as many of those LMN movies are.

Another one I begun to see, before TiVo erased the rest was something like “My Secret Life” about a wife who found out her husband who was supposedly dead for 10 years actually left her, stole millions from his company and faked his own death. I wish I could have seen the ending of it.

A really crazy one I saw was a woman totally obsessed with her son. She was so attached to him and didn’t want to share him with anyone in this world. She did coniving things to manipulate his life so that he was only dedicated to her. No, she wasn’t in love with him in that way, he was just the one constant and good man in her life. She had been abused by men in her past, including her own father. This is based on a true story by the way. Well, she secretely got her son’s marriage annulled, then went so far as to hire someone to kill his pregnant wife and unborn child. He believed her lies all these years and during the courtroom, he began to see her for who she really is. He was shocked and angry and hurt, but still loved his mother. Poor guy! Well, it was a really sad story. She was the last woman to be executed by gas chamber and because of her crime, they passed a new law in which killing a pregnant woman means also killing a child. Being Pro-Life I was excited by that. Anyway, I wish I knew the name of the movie to tell you, but I can tell you it was well played by… her name escapes me at the moment! The woman that was on Who’s the Boss and now is on Ugly Betty. Anyway, I thought it was a good movie.

Each Lifetime movie lasts several hours which makes you get even more into it. By the way, the Lifetime Movie Network is a seperate channel than the Lifetime channel.

Prince Caspian

Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian is the III sequel to the Chronicles of narnia series. Narnia is conquered by enemies and the Narnians call for the 4 kings, who are our 4 heroes. All the time ,prince caspian, the son of the king who captured Narnia, escapes from his castle. His uncle had murdered his father and claimed the throne. When a child was born to them, Caspian had no choice but to flee. Prince Caspian joins the 4 heroes in a forest. They make plans together. So many magical creatures like dwarfs, centoars,minatoars and giant birds rally for recapturing Narnia. And Prince Caspian, who was considered as the Narnian’s sworn enemy, now leads them against the evil king. The Narnians try to capture the castle by an infiltration during night. But Caspian’s thirst for revenge spoils the plan. Peter and Caspian starts fblaming each other, and lucy goes into the forest to request help from Aslam. The exhausted Narnians had to face the entire enemy army in a couple of days. Peter defeats Caspian’s uncle in a one on one duel. But the treacherous opposition breks the agreement and attac the narnian base. Here, king Aslam comes to the resque. After the figh, Prince Caspian is heralded as the fifth king of narnia!

The Duchess from Saul Dibb

The duchess is the new movie from the director Saul Dibb () with Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling.
End of the XVIIIe century in England, like Lady Diana on which she is the ancestor, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire is a beautiful woman, also charismatic and loved by the population. Married to the wealthy Duc, she has no choice but to accept a ménage à trois with his woman lover Bess who is also the best friend of Georgiana… Not sastify about her life, Georgiana starts a campaign for the right of the women and by this way, she will meet and fall in love with the future prime minister Charles Grey…
The movie is based on the book and real life of Georgiana Spencer written by Amanda Foreman who did a lot for the woman condition on this time. If you want to watch what happened to this woman, check out your favorite theater !!!

Saw 5 from David Hackl

Saw 5 is the new movie from the director David Hackl with Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor.
One of the most famous killer in the movie is coming back with this new episode. It will be the sequel of the adventure of Jigsaw, the puzzle killer. Jigsaw is not a normal serial killer because he choose his victim following their sin and when he catchs him or her, he build a special playing mortal place where the victim has only few hours to find the solution before to be killed by the device he created !!!
It will be the first movie directed by David Hackl but it doesnt mean that he has no experience, moreover when it is about Saw. Indeed, he worked since Saw 2 like decorator and now for Saw 5 he will manage cameras.

Chuck, Heroes hit ratings lows

Once-promising Monday lineup of Chuck, Heroes getting pummeled in the ratings department; critics slam Heroes.

Remember last year when NBC touted Monday nights as “Bionic Mondays”? The network had a can’t-miss evening of entertainment–at least according to the advertising–anchored by new series Chuck, the sophomore season of the smash hit Heroes, and the super revved-up Bionic Woman remake. It was the night that would help bring NBC back up from the bottom of the pile, regain some swagger, and usher in a new era.

Well, maybe not so much.

Bionic Woman was canceled after tanking with viewers and critics, Heroes redefined “sophomore slump” and then some, and Chuck, as lovable as he is, was hit hard by the writers strike. Flashing forward to this season, things don’t appear to be much better for NBC’s Mondays.

Heroes and Chuck hit all-time lows for ratings this past Monday (8.2 million, 4.0/9 for Heroes and 5.8 million, 2.3/8 for Chuck), according to The Hollywood Reporter, which should be a red flag for NBC. (Heroes averaged more than 11 million last season.) And before you point out that both Monday Night Football and Major League Baseball playoff games were also on that evening, it should be noted that CBS’ comedy block of Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory were all up over the previous week and all outperformed Heroes.

The real shocker of NBC’s Monday nights is the continuing slide of Heroes. This past Monday’s episode seems to have been the last straw for many critics, who are jumping ship as if the superhero drama has “Titanic” written on its side. Says The Chicago Tribune: “That’s it, Heroes, I’m done” (and that’s just the headline). The New York Post: “I fear that Heroes has traveled beyond the point of redemption.” And Time: “I may be on the verge of giving up on Heroes, if I haven’t already given up on it somewhere deep inside.”

It appears as if many Heroes faithful are doing the same. Heroes is consistently one of TV.com’s top shows (it’s number one again today), but seeing this precipitous drop-off for what was supposed to be the drama’s rejuvenating season can’t really be blamed on digital video recorders, live sports broadcasts, or a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top.

We desperately want Heroes to find its way back to season-one quality, but we’re getting a bit frustrated, too. That scene where future Sylar’s son dies is the most unintentionally funny bit of television in recent memory (oh little boy, we hardly knew ye). Cheese factor 10, captain. And don’t get us started on Maya, the new Mohinder, and Matt Parkman’s spirit trip. Where are you guys in your Heroes watching?

Source : tv.com

New Star trek sequel

The new star trek film is said to have a time-traveling Spock. The new Trek film will soon be released. Not retaining their original team, only Leonard Nimoy(as spock) will make an appearance and the remaining cast will include young actors to play the younger version of the original crew. The old Spock is said to travel in time to warn their past of a threat from the past’s future (old Spock’s present).

William Shatner, the director of the fifth star trek film was disappointed on not being part of the new sequel and has also come to realize that his version of the movie could have been better.
Even before the new Star trek movie has hit the screens, a new sequel has been planned and it is said that the studios were hiring writers to prepare a script for the sequel. The forthcoming sequel is expected to gross huge at the box-office.

Twilight the movie

The fabulous book series Twilight is releasing as a movie in November. While this book series did not have the following of Harry Potter, or even Eragon, it is picking up steam. I am actually pleased that I did not come across the book series until the fourth book was being released because I was able to go directly from book to book without that horrible wait that comes when you begin a series when it first releases.

Not only did I not have to wait to finish the series, I also do not have to wait long to see the release of the first movie! The first book in the Twilight series follows the story of a young girl named Bella who moves to a small town to live with her father and ends up meeting, and falling for, a vampire.

Not only does this small town have a coven of vampires, they also have a pack of werewolves as protection. The story is unique and well done so my hope is that the feelings these books give off translates into an excellent movie on par with Harry Potter and not as dissapointing as Eragon.

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