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Home (Re)Viewing: Rats, Beatles and … oh, rats
{Apologies for the late arrival of this post. I worked a later shift for Election Day.)
The holiday shopping season must be ramping up already, because here’s another very good week for DVDs.
Ratatouille: Only Pixar can say, “What if a rat wanted to be a great chef?” and make it work beautifully, producing one of their most astonishing movies, narratively and visually. Writer-director Brad Bird is nothing less than a genius. GRADE: A+ for the movie, although those who like fully-loaded DVDs may want to wait before buying.
Also of interest to Pixar fans: The Blu-Ray edition of Cars is out, as is the Pixar Short Films Collection Vol. 1, which gathers the little gems that played before the movies, or that Pixar made before they released Toy Story.
Help!: Many critics and The Beatles themselves often disparaged this film, saying it’s not as good as A Hard Day’s Night. It’s not (no rock musical film is), but it’s still a great deal of fun, and director Richard Lester’s madcap style makes the film snap with energy. For the first time, the movie comes with solid bonus features. Oh, and the music’s not bad either. GRADE: A
Sicko: Michael Moore takes on America’s convoluted health care system, wisely staying mostly off camera this time and letting the health insurance horror stories speak for themselves. GRADE: A- (In a canny move, the anti-Moore film Manufacturing Dissent also comes out today, sometimes displayed on shore shelves right next to Sicko.)
Also out today
Deck the Halls: I do believe an “r” is missing from the first word in the title. Looks like a loud and obvious Christmas “comedy” with Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick in a contest to see who can be more annoying. By all accounts, the audience loses.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: Adam Sandler and Kevin James try to pass themselves off as gay men while recoiling in horror at the very idea. I now pronounce myself uninterested.
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By SRCputt
November 7, 2007 10:53 AM | Link to this
“recoiling in horror at the very idea”: that would be my response to watching a Sandler film