Expectation is the mother of disappointment.
I tried really hard not to inflate my expectations. It's Pixar, it's Brad Bird, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are two of my favorite films of all time...but I was trying to stay grounded, "remember Cars" I said to myself, "remember A Bug's Life."
The ads and the trailers were awkward, like they didn't know how to pitch it. That's the sign of a great film isn't it? Great films usually stump the advertising departments.
Well there is greatness in Ratatouille, but sadly, it is not a great film. I was really rooting for it to be, but it isn't. Spoilers ahead.
Things start off clunky with unnecessary narration and a "how did I get here?" freeze frame. But then immediately it's followed by a bit of brilliance with a stylized rat, eyes glowing in the dusk light. I guess that sums up the movie. Hit and miss. The narration probably bothered me the most in the film. Cut that out and the film would have taken a great leap forward. It feels like it was either a remnant of an older version of the film or a last minute addition tacked on in fear that there would be too many confused kids in the audience without someone to help them along. Scenes that would have played out as beautiful moody montages instead have Remy telling us EXACTLY what's happening AS it's happening.
After the clunky start and flirtations with brilliance the movie builds. It continually improves with every scene and by the time we get to the final act I was really swept up in it, even as the film repeatedly tried to kick me out with it's grating narration.
But even as it got better and better there were still too many disjointed scenes and leaps in the story to really hold the film up. It's often the films that are so close to greatness that bother me the most. I know this film has a history with a previous filmmaker and even a version of the film that was thrown out when Brad Bird came on board. But that's no excuse cause they proved throughout the movie they could reach those high points, they just kept slipping.
Then, as the movie has me all sorts of torn, really excited by the last act, really bothered by the narration, the credits start...and suddenly it happened. A great film. A brilliant film. A film that does not exist. It's rare that a credit sequence is better than the movie itself. It happened in
Lemony Snicket and it ALMOST happened in Ratatouille. The only reason I say almost is because the Lemony Snicket end credit actually told a story, where as the Ratatouille end credit was just a series of playful gags. The end credit is 2d (or 3d using 2d shading?) in the
"Art Of Ratatouille" 50's modern style.
It was so so beautiful. And so so frustrating. I'm used to seeing concept art that blows away the finished product, but it's not often you see it so fully realized. It's like they were mocking me "yeah, we could have made a beautiful, groundbreaking 2d film, but we didn't."
*sigh*
The other major missed opportunity in the film was the hints of Fantasia-esque color/music sequences as they show visually what "taste" is like. That cried out for a full blown jazz routine, and I thought it would happen in the end with the critic, but instead they opted for the flashback, which while it made me giddy I think they could have done both.
I'm not very good at structured reviews but I enjoy lists. So here's what I liked:
-The moments of "evil" glowing rat eyes.
-Rat poison smell tester.
-The musical "taste" sequences.
-The roof collapse.
-Alone in the sewer.
-The couple with the gun.
-"Hell"
-The puppet master animations.
-The rat corpse scene.
-Colette.
-Drunkenness.
-The walk out.
-Anton Ego.
-The rats running the kitchen. I was waiting the WHOLE movie for this scene.
-The flashback.
-The closing montage.
-The end credits.
-The overall classic/older feel of the film. Removed from pop culture and songs and parody.
The other side of the coin:
-The narration.
-The false start freeze frame.
-Slow first act.
-Clunky pacing.
-A kitchen full of rich character designs and archetypes...wasted?
-Underdeveloped romance.
-The movie mostly runs on light conflict, where's the heavy, story driving conflict?
-Dropped/fumbled plot elements, the ominous rat corpse scene set up...nothing?
-Confusion as to who the protagonist is? Remy or Linquini?
-Remy's story arch was unfulfilling? There was almost a connection between him and Anton Ego...but it could have been built up more? Even so, their quiet moment between creator and critic was ruined by narration.
-Having the ending TOLD to me, when it could have easily been SHOWN.
-"Our Quality Assurance Guaratee: 100% Genuine Animation! No motion capture or any other performance shortcuts were used in the production of this film." I guess it was meant to be lighthearted, but it makes Pixar sound like a bunch of dicks. Did they forget the "shortcuts" they used in The Incredibles? Live action water splashes and what not? Or the rich history of rotoscope animation used since the beginning of film?
From the reviews I've seen, it looks like most people are loving Ratatouille. Yes it's probably the best American animated film this year, yes it's better than Cars. But it didn't reach it's full potential.
Labels: critiqua, listy
These pretty pretty pictures come from Brazil. They were intended to be mocking as part of an ad campaign for low fat yogurt. "Forget about it, men's preferences will never change." was the slogan. It seems somewhere down the line though, signals got crossed and they ended up with these striking, classic photos that will probably be used in feminist media classes for years to come.
If anyone in Brazil is thinking "would Matt like me to mail him a magazine with these ads in them?" the answer is yes. Yes I would.
These will go on the inspiration wall of every casting director I work with.
I don't know what blog/news outlet to credit for these, but
Judgement Of Paris first brought them to my attention and the
Dimensions forum mentioned the slogan.
Labels: inspirado
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army Sadly this is the first Spree album that didn't sweep me off my feet. Which is a shame cause I love the theme. Their new uniforms and the Army Of Love concept. There's something really epic in that, like their history as a band is a story and this is the dark chapter. It reminds me of wrathfulness in Buddhism (not anger like we know it, but a virtuous anger powered by love that Buddhas use to battle negative delusions). When I saw them live this winter, they played the show in their uniforms and during the encore returned in their classic robes to a chorus of "love, love, love..." Even then I didn't quite click with the songs, but the theatrics and the energy in the room made it work. Part of what tripped me up on the new album is the eight minute long mash-up preview the Spree released a few months ago. Thirty seconds of every track woven together so seamlessly that it successfully stands as it's own song that I still listen to. What got lost from mash-up to final album is a major quality I look for in a Spree album: operatic structure. I'm a huge fan of songs that weave multiple melodies, choruses, bridges, breaks, and segues into a single song. The Fragile Army's strongest track is it's self titled track "Section 24" for that very reason, it sounds like five songs, each with their own strong hook. Every song mixes it up a bit, and every song has at least one passage that's really catchy and in some cases, Younger Yesterday, euphoric. But only a few songs hold that magic from beginning to end. I'm also not entirely sold on the track order either. Their previous albums toy with standing as one hour long song where the Army feels more seperated. The album's still growing on me. For the very reason that there's something to be found in every song. It's just a shame that there's so many great snippets but very few great songs.
Shortbus Soundtrack I recently fell in love with the movie and randomly decided to see if that love would carry over to the soundtrack. And it did. It's a little hammy in parts, a little melodramatic in others, but the melodies are simple and poppy and waltzy and make me sway and bounce like a Muppet, which is the highest praise I can give songs, "it's gotta Muppet beat." Yo La Tengo was credited in the movie for their contributions, but Scott Matthew does the heavy lifting on the album with his folky ukulele plucking and raspy Bowie vocals. The album breaks up Scott's tracks between lighter faster songs to keep things afloat. My only reservation with the album is that sometimes the sappiness overwhelms, like it wants you to cry along. And maybe you're not in the mood to cry right then.
Kanye West - Late Registration One of my "years after the fact" purchases. Great cause I can listen to the music separate from the hype or the constant movie trailer use, but it doesn't leave me with much to say cause everyone already praised all the praise for this album years ago. Sadly I own very little rap, something I hope to remedy. I picked this one up partly due to my Jon Brion obsession and a few tracks I'd heard with his rich toy piano productions. It's just a solid, end-to-end album. Unlike Army and Shortbus I haven't really picked out individual Registration tracks. When I put it on, it's to listen to the entire thing. I even love the skits, which I know people tend to skip or turn off in their iTunes. I do have to fix my track names though, as the auto-namer in iTunes mixed things up. Looking at the back of the CD it seems there's 5 more tracks than there should be?
I've been in sort of a music-buying-lull lately. I'd been looking forward to the Spree for months. The preview clips of the new White Stripes haven't really won me over and I'm not even sure what's next on the horizon. I know Nellie McKay has a new album due in September, but there must be something before that right?
Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua
I've almost got everything exactly where I want it.
But soon I want to paint.
Then I have to start all over again.
Labels: comical
A bit of concept art for an animated music video I want to make for my friend
Suzanna's song "The Race." This first image is sort of lyrically literal, but the rest of the video won't be as much.
Will I ever have the time or ability to animate a 4 minute song? Possibly!
Labels: sketchy
Here's my color plan for the new apartment:
That's the main room. The door to the left is the kitchen and the door to the right is the bathroom. The couch at the bottom opens up for my bed. When I'm more settled I'll have before and after pictures.
Labels: comical
Slow week at work so I decided to have some fun with animation.
The background elements are on 4 frame loops, the walk is an 8 frame loop.
Labels: sketchy
6.03.2007 ::
I've got eggs I need to use.
Looking back, this week's comic is really similar to last week's. But it was a recurring theme in our relationship.
As for the milkshake, sometimes I use Cookies & Cream instead of French Vanilla and creme de menthe liquor also finds its way in sometimes.
Labels: comical
For months I've been brainstorming things to do with my new apartment, paint colors, sleeping solutions, storage tricks, etc.
Today I found a bit of inspiration for what to do with my fridge:
It reminds me of an old idea I had involving M&M bags. I have a jar at work that I fill with candy and for some reason I decided instead of throwing away the bags, that I would save them in my desk drawer. Now I have years of candy bags but no clue what I'm going to do with them. M&M bags are a little more garish than gourmet chocolate wrappers though, so I don't think I can use them for this.
Labels: inspirado
