Movie Review: the creative genius and simplicity of Ratatouille

Director: Brad Bird

Remy advicing his brother Emile on the joy of tasting food

Brad Bird and Pixar animation have more than a knack for animation. Bird showed us in The Iron Gaint (1999) and the delightful The Incredibles (2004).
Here he picks up a seemingly strage story of a rat named Remy who has a sensitive nose for food and its ingredients and loves to cook. During a sneak meal, Remy gets separated from his family and ends up in a restuarant of the late chef Gusteau, whose book Remy had been reading from a sleepy old lady's home. Gusteau had a motto-anyone can cook.

From left, Skinner- the main chef at Gusteau's, Linguini- the garbage boy turned chef, who is helped by Remy, and Colette- the only woman cook at Gusteau's.


Remy and Linguini meet each other for the first time

How the rest of the story unfolds is creatively beautiful and hilarious. An unbelieavable plot line is made credible and beautiful by animation. The characters are brought to life with amazing clarity, we believe in them instantly.
It may also change the way you eat food. Do not gobble the edible things on your plate. Close your eyes, take a small bite and experience the taste.
Do not miss the Pixar short film- Lifted, that plays before the movie, a humourous take on aliens capturing humans. Watch it in theaters, for the most wonderful two hours of imagination and hmm..taste!

Movie Review: Transformers: Tried and tested drabness

Director: Michael Bay 

Megan Fox plays the usual unbelievably attractive Hollywood college girl of the disaster movies 

Alien attack! Not again. You know what to expect and you have seen it all before. The attack is on an US army camp as usual. This time they are robots from the planet of Cybertron. The good ones are Autobots led by Optimus Prime, the bad ones are the Decepticons led by Megatron. Both are looking for the cube -the source of great power, hidden somewhere on the earth. Somehow, the cube's location is embedded on the spectacles of a teenager's grandfather.

Autobots do not want to harm humans, the evil robots want it for more power and what else - destroy humanity (yawn). The Hollywood formula is played along, clueless teenagers, beautiful college girl, beautiful geniuses, black geniuses, US saving the world.

The action scenes remind you of all the routine Hollywood war and disaster movies you have seen. Apart from brief moments of imagination, the action is chaotic and loud, before one figures out who is killing whom, good has won over evil, yet again.

Optimus Prime is the autobot leader

No surprises here, no great story, pedestrian humour, yawn-inducing ending. As for the robots, they indulge us briefly with their view on humans, nothing more. An average movie, held up by expensive special effects.

Why didn't Steven Spielberg- the executive producer, direct the film. Not challenging enough for him?

Megatron leads the evil decepticons