The movie journalist is always caught up in scandal, gossip and invasions of privacy. Though plenty of movies have been made about authors, poets, and other writers, the physical act of writing and editing rarely makes it into Hollywood journalism. Thankfully, the more sensational aspects of media have made for scathing satire and commentary, loathsome …
Good things might happen to those who wait, but the Disney/Pixar masterpiece Ratatouille tells us great things only happen to those who act fearlessly. “Anyone can cook,” is the quote most viewers leave the film with, and director Brad Bird lets the themes represented by this philosophy—nothing is impossible, anyone and everyone is capable of …
One of the most exciting, complex, and fully realized animated films of the last 20 years is Ratatouille, Pixar’s creative champion to date. The film presents its audience with a patently insane concept—a rat who wants to cook, and become a master of haute cuisine in Paris—and manages to ground every action, every reaction, and every consequence in reality. Not just the reality of the movie, but the reality of the world; when the kitchen staff at Gusteau’s is shown that the gawky young man who took their restaurant by storm is actually controlled, like a marionette, by this sharp, intelligent rat, all but one quit, because what other action would be appropriate?
It’s 2013, and in the world of pop culture, most of us comfortably take Pixar for granted. Here is a studio that, from 1995 to 2010, churned out financially successful films that were also unique, exciting, fresh, and captivating in ways other movie studios could only dream of. The relatively dark days arrived with Cars 2, a sequel to a movie that wasn’t as well-liked (rightly so) as Pixar’s other work.
It’s no secret that sitting down and watching something with young children can be very hard. Children can get really scared easily. You have to be careful what you show to a child if you don’t want his or her crying to wake you up in the middle of the night. And what may be …
One Magic Christmas Directed by Phillip Borsos Written by Phillip Borsos, Barry Healey, Thomas Meehan Starring Mary Steenburgen, Harry Dean Stanton, Elisabeth Harnois, Gary Basaraba I suppose it’s perfectly fitting that religion became a topic of discussion on our most recent episode, seeing as the movie we were discussing was set at Christmas, one of …
There’s no better proof of Disney’s unparalleled dedication to giving you your money’s worth with their home media than two new releases, Brave and the Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 2 (though more the former than the latter). Both Blu-rays come out today, and if you’re a Pixar completist, you’ll want to either get them …
Ratatouille Written and directed by Brad Bird Genius is a blessing and a curse. Who doesn’t have that moment where they wished they knew the answer to a question, whether it’s to sound important, put someone else in their place, or just show off? But being a genius has one obvious pitfall: once you prove …
What kind of ingredients does it take to make a great podcast episode? For starters, make sure you have a great topic. This week’s episode of Mousterpiece Cinema has just the movie to create a great episode: 2007’s Ratatouille from Pixar Animation Studios. Next, put in two dashes of honesty, a pinch of analysis, and …
90- Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) Directed by Mike Leigh Genre: Comedy / Drama In a shift away from his usual exploration of the dark and dreary, director Mike Leigh takes a lighter look at life with Happy-Go-Lucky. Sally Hawkins is a comic revelation as the lead character Poppy, delivering a nervy, utterly captivating tour de force performance. …
59- Capturing the Friedmans (2003) Directed by Andrew Jarecki Genre: Documentary On the surface, the Friedmans were a typical 1980s American family until on one Thanksgiving Day, when that happy façade came to a crashing halt. After the local police discovered the dad had engaged in the buying and selling of child pornography, they questioned …
Back in 1995 John Ratzenberger became a part of history as one of the voices in the first animated feature done entirely by computer. That film was Pixar’s Toy Story and ever since, Ratzenberger has made a small cameo in every single one of Pixar’s 13 feature films. Abominable Snowman – Monsters Inc. Toy Story …