For all the big summer blockbusters coming out - I figure it's high time for a little movie review. Last Saturday I saw Ratatouille in Spokane with Stacey.

Animation: 4 out of 5
Stunning. I was blown out of the water with Cars, which represented a huge leap forward in Pixar's abilities to me. So, to get a full 5 this film would have to push the envelope even further. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Unlike Cars, this movie doesnt' have a lot of opportunities to show off its awesome visual stunnery. However - to the film's credit, the blend of stylism and realism is very well done. Villans look like villans and heroes look like heroes; and the surface shading is great. Don't get me wrong - Disney would be sunk in the animation department were it not for these people. I just feel like the next Pexar film had better make that "jump" again.

Plot: 5 out of 5
Cute. Cute cute cute. Honestly, I wasn't suspecting a love interest in this film; but it turned out to be well-woven into the main plot and tastefully done (unlike other Disney movies where the love interest IS the plot). I'd like to tell you that this film was totally original and so craftily written that you have no idea what lies around the next bend; but the truth is that I was too swept up in enjoying myself to try to think ahead. This movie has all your standard Disney themes: importance of family, respecting your friends, and rising to conquer a great challenge. Thankfully, in this film you don't feel like it's a morality tale; you just kind of realize, five minutes from the end what you've been watching.

Voice Acting: 4 out of 5
Peter O'toole, Jeneane Garofolo, and Patton Oswalt all give honest and stunning performances in this movie. O'toole does such a good job at being a villan that I didn't even recognize his voice until I heard him being kind and gentle in the end. He was so grand and moving I was conjuring up mental images of the Lion in Winter. Garofolo does a great french accent, plus she's both cynical and sensitive enough at the same time for the part. Oswalt's timing is good, it's just no different from his regular voice; just listen to any stand-up special of his and the intonations are the same. It's not bad - I just wasn't surprised.

Humor/Embellishments: 5 out of 5
Let's be honest - the real reason it's a joy to watch modern Pixar films is the fact that an army of writers and animators work really hard for years and years to make the final product. The only possible result after so much effort is a rich and lusutrous setting and ambiance for the film. The use of humor is sometimes subtle and somewhat overt.
EX1: In the middle of a press conference, the lead and his gal exit early :"I'm sorry to be
rude....but we're French".
EX2: After the antagonist finally figures out that rats are running the kitchen, they gag ang hog-tie him. Also they throw him in the meat locker.

So overall, I give it 4.5 out of 5. We both had to leave at least once during the film to use the facilities; but that was from drinking earlier. If I could have held it, I know I would have. It was very pleasant, and I'll be looking for it on DVD when it comes out.

Wow. I've been finding it exceptionally difficult to get motivated about anything lately. I have successfully switched from PM workouts to AM workouts; that's cool because I don't feel pressured to do anything important when I get home from work (even when I actually do..). I've been spending the day with DVDs playing the background while I continue to settle in... handing picture frames and stuff, slowly putting everything away. Man I have way too much crap. I've been making a box of stuff to give to Goodwill, but I'm still having a hard time letting go of all my useless stuff.

The clock project is starting to look more difficult than I thought; I'm going to need a drill press, and a lot of time. A TON of the pieces are uncut, so the most important first step is to make many copies of the plans so that when I screw up the first few times - I still have one or two leftover to get it right. But the instructions are easy to follow, and it looks like about the simplest clock one could have - so I think it'll be a cool project. The apartment is starting to look like home; cross your fingers and I might actually finish tonight.

Work is going better and better; I'm slowly getting a grasp on what the job is all about. This should be a nice easy week. Firstly, I get Wednesday off for Independence Day, and I'll be taking Friday off to get to Spokane on time. Unfortunately - I need to make up the 8 hours this week in 3 days. That means a long haul for the few days I'll be there this week. Good news: I'm finally getting paid at the end of this week. First paycheck, here I come :) Also, Sage Francis is playing Tuesday night in Columbia, MO. It's a ways away - so I may or may not go. We'll see.