June 28, 2007

``Ratatouille'' (G, 1 hr., 50 min.)

This groundbreakingly gorgeous computer-animated film by ``The Incredibles'' (PG, 2004) writer/director Brad Bird spins a terrific yarn about a French rat named Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt) who follows his bliss and becomes a gourmet chef. One hopes film and food lovers everywhere will discover ``Ratatouille,'' though it is probably too long and involved a story on too rarefied a subject for kids under 10. It is a classy, fun film, from its ravishing three-dimensional renderings of Paris to its jazzy score and vivid characters.
Even so, ``Ratatouille'' will not appeal to the rodent-phobic, though its rats have cute pink bulbous noses. (The humans all look vaguely like Charles de Gaulle or French film actors of yore.) When Remy nearly gets trampled on the street or in the kitchen, or when people with guns and meat cleavers chase him and his fellows (seen from the rats' low-down point of view), it can be intense. A store selling rat poison has dead rats in its window. And of course, characters drink zee wine.

A young country rat, Remy has a supersensitive nose and a genius for combining foods to enhance their flavors. Unlike his garbage-guzzling family, he likes subtle tastes. He also reads and walks on two legs, and tries to convince them that humans aren't all bad. Remy gets separated from his family when they barely escape a lady with a shotgun. He lands solo in the sewers of Paris with his cookbook. Suddenly the deceased author, Chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), starts talking to him from the illustrations. Urged on by his hallucination and his nose, Remy finds Gusteau's old restaurant. He bonds with the gawky dishwasher, Linguini (Lou Romano), and turns him into a master chef by hiding under his toque and pulling on his hair like a puppeteer to guide his hands. The head chef (Ian Holm) is a nasty little dictator. The only female assistant chef (Janeane Garofalo) befriends Linguini, while ignorant of the rat in the hat.

``Ratatouille'' is preceded by ``Lifted,'' a funny animated short about space aliens in a UFO trying to abduct a sleeping man from his bed, except they're having trouble operating the spaceship. We get a view of the man's partially bare behind as they try to pull him out of a window.

P.S. FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER: Movies about people (or computer-animated rats!) who pursue what makes them happy (apart from love) are inspiring and fun to watch. It's exciting to see someone discover his or her own gift for something and then pursue it against all odds. One fun live-action movie about such a character was a hit with your parents' generation. It was about a kid in Indiana who dreamed of bicycle-racing with the top Italian team. ``Breaking Away'' (PG, 1979) was a simple story about a teen who followed his dream.

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``Live Free or Die Hard'' (PG-13, 2 hrs., 10 min.)

This is the first ``Die Hard'' film rated PG-13, though that probably says more about the coarsening of PG-13 standards than any major softening of the ``Die Hard'' brand. Twelve years after ``Die Hard: With A Vengeance'' (R, 1995) and nearly 20 years after the original film (``Die Hard,'' R, 1988; followed by first sequel ``Die Hard 2: Die Harder,'' R, 1990), Bruce Willis is back as tough-guy New York cop John McClane. He and director Len Wiseman have opted for a ``Die Hard'' that is louder, higher, faster, but not nastier. This time, McClane saves the U.S. from a computer genius (Timothy Olyphant) who aims to shut the country down network-by-network, creating chaos and death with ``virtual terrorism.'' As an often jingoistic be-afraid flick, ``Live Free or Die Hard'' steps back from the worst kind of xenophobia by having a homegrown, non-jihadist villain.

Teens unfazed by over-the-top screen mayhem -- some may find it too intense -- will have a good time at this roller-coaster flick, with its smart-aleck dialogue and acrobatic stunts. The film contains point-blank gunplay, which hovers near R territory even with understated gore, along with head-banging fights, a harrowing struggle between McClane and a villainess (Maggie Q) as they dangle in an elevator shaft, and huge explosions. But the real adrenalin-pumpers are the property-destroying, citizen-endangering stunts -- car versus helicopter, 18-wheeler versus Harrier jet, always with McClane at the epicenter. The film has more than its PG-13 share of profanity (McClane likes to call people ``jerk-off''), and there are cheesy, racially insensitive remarks. Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), his estranged daughter, rejects a guy who tries to grope her.

The film's central relationship, though, is between McClane and Matt (likable actor-dude Justin Long), the young hacker he's sent to arrest as a suspect when the nationwide cyber meltdown begins. The rumpled, ultra-hip Matt proves a fine foil for the 50-ish, computer-challenged cop.

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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME

--OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

``Surf's Up'' PG (Funnier, less pretentious, more carefree computer-animated penguin saga should delight all age levels; cleverly set up as a ``reality TV'' show about a surfing-obsessed Rockhopper penguin, Cody Maverick (voice of Shia LaBeouf), who leaves his Antarctican isle to compete in a tropical surf-off; he befriends a spacey surfing rooster (Jon Heder), a lovely penguin lifeguard (Zooey Deschanel) and her shy, hippie-ish uncle (Jeff Bridges) who teaches him the Zen of surfing; Tank (Diedrich Bader), a bullying surfer champ, harasses Cody. Toilet humor; occasional crude language (``crap,'' ``pecker face''); subtle comic reference to masturbation will be caught by adults, older teens; Cody and others are nearly drowned in briefly scary wipeouts; sub-theme about losing a parent -- ``photo'' of Cody's dad as a whale is about to swallow him.)

-- FINE FOR 8 AND OLDER:

``Evan Almighty'' PG (Milder sequel to ``Bruce Almighty'' (PG-13, 2003) is corny, preachy and subtle as a freight train in updating the Noah story, but its droll use of adults acting silly and wild animals acting tame will tickle kids; Steve Carell plays new Congressman Evan Baxter (the TV anchorman forced to spout jibberish by Jim Carrey in the first film) who moves his family to a McMansion near Washington; a big-shot congressman (John Goodman) pressures him to back a dubious land bill; he starts to get odd deliveries of tools and wood; then God (Morgan Freeman) appears and tells Evan to build an ark and warn people of the coming flood; Evan's beard grows inexorably and animals flock to him in pairs; film's mix of ``green'' and biblical themes will put off some on political and/or theological grounds. Bird doo gags; rare, mildly off-color references; kid describes a duck's penis; drug reference; implied nudity; scene of houses swept away flood recalls Hurricane Katrina; mild, partly muffled profanity.)

``Nancy Drew'' PG (Emma Roberts (Julia's niece) as prim, perky (to the point of parody) teen sleuth Nancy Drew, sporting chic retro duds; she seems younger, more goody-goody than in the books, and too middle-schoolish to drive; in Los Angeles while her lawyer dad (Tate Donovan) argues a case, she pursues a mystery about the dead actress (Laura Harring) who owned the mansion they rent; girls at Hollywood High diss Nancy, but a pudgy 12-year-old (Josh Flitter) worships her; her sort-of boyfriend Ned (Max Thieriot) gets jealous. Rare semi-crude words; mystery involves mild talk of unwed motherhood, suicide, murder; under-8s may flinch when Nancy explores a hidden passage or when she's abducted (she escapes, natch). Girls 8 to 13 will be mainly charmed, despite film's plain vanilla flavor.)

``Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' PG (Harmless but dull sequel to ``Fantastic Four'' (PG-13, 2005), based on Marvel Comics characters, has been tamed to a PG to grab kids not ready for PG-13 intensity, but is pallid as a 1950s Saturday-morning serial, with lame repartee and fake-looking effects; Fantastic Four boss, scientist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), aka stretchy Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), aka force-field emitting Invisible Woman, stone man Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), aka The Thing, and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), aka the Human Torch, face down speed-of-light traveling humanoid, Silver Surfer (voice of Laurence Fishburne), advance man for planet killer Galactus. Rare crass language; mild sexual innuendo; beer; implied nudity; bloodless violence; under-8s may quail at cloud-like Galactus engulfing Earth.)

-- MORE ACCESSIBLE TO 10 AND OLER:

``Ratatouille'' G (NEW) (Gorgeously executed, well-spun computer-animated yarn about following your bliss from ``The Incredibles'' (PG, 2004) writer/director Brad Bird; young country-French rat Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt) has a genius for smells and cooking and rejects his family's love of garbage and hatred of humans; through accident and fate, he lands in Paris led to the restaurant founded by the late chef he idolizes (Brad Garrett) and whose spirit seems to guide him; Remy bonds with the gawky dishwasher (Lou Romano) and turns him into a master chef by hiding in his chef's hat and pulling the fellow's hair to guide his hands. 'Toon will not appeal to the rodent-phobic, though its many rats have cute noses and winning ways; intense scenes when Remy nearly gets trampled or when people with guns and meat cleavers chase him -- seen from his low-down point of view; store selling rat poison has dead rats in window; wine-drinking; ``Ratatouille'' preceded by ``Lifted,'' a droll animated short about space aliens trying to abduct a sleeping man; his partly bare behind appears as they try to spirit him tush-first out a window. )

-- PG -13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

``Live Free or Die Hard'' (NEW) (Bruce Willis returns after a 12-year break as tough New York cop John McClane, drolly paired with a young computer hacker (Justin Long) to save America from a cyber villain (Timothy Olyphant) who plans to destroy all computer networks, creating nationwide chaos; smart-aleck dialogue and spectacular stunts help dilute film's simplistic jingoism. PG-13 rating (previous ``Die Hard'' films were Rs) reflects more about coarsening of PG-13's than softening of ``Die Hard'' brand. Deafening gunplay approaches R range despite muted gore; head-banging fights; explosions; property-destroying, citizen-endangering car, truck, helicopter, and fighter jet stunts; profanity goes beyond PG-13 level (McClane calls people ``jerk-off''); racially insensitive remarks; McClane's grown daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) rebuffs a date who tries to grope her. OK for most teens unfazed by over-the-top screen mayhem.)

``Sicko'' (NEW) (Michael Moore's highly galvanizing, often moving, sometimes funny, proudly one-sided polemic about the state of American health care entertains as it crystallizes the issues; as usual, Moore is not super careful with his facts and figures, singing the praises and ignoring the negatives of government-run health care in Canada, France, the U.K. and Cuba (where he takes 9/11 first-responders with lung problems for treatment); yet on the bigger question of why the U.S. doesn't provide free health care for its citizens and allows a broken for-profit system to continue, he hits a philosophical bull's-eye that demands debate. Someone's bare derriere gets an injection; rare profanity; sad stories of unnecessary deaths due to rejected claims. More for adults familiar with the issues and perhaps teens into current events.)

``Evening'' (NEW) (Star-studded but interminable, tiresome soaper feels like a Lifetime TV miniseries; based on, but also changing Susan Minot's novel, film loops between the 1950s and the present; saga of romance, tragedy and disappointment, with museum-perfect '50s clothes and cars may entrance mature teens; Claire Danes as young Ann, a 1950s bridesmaid at her aristocratic pal Lila's (Mamie Gummer) Newport, R.I., wedding; Ann has a fling with Lila's family friend (Patrick Wilson), whom Lila secretly loves, and disappoints Lila's hard-drinking brother (Hugh Dancy); in the present, Vanessa Redgrave as the elderly, dying Ann, mumbles about a lost love; Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson (Redgrave's daughter) as her daughters; Meryl Streep visits as the old Lila (Streep is Gummer's mom). Muted start of a sexual situation; heavy drinking; smoking; profanity; out-of-wedlock pregnancy; sexual orientation subtext; back view nudity; hit-and-run accident. Mature teens.)

``1408'' (John Cusack easily carries this nifty, low-tech spook-fest (based on a Stephen King tale) on his Everyman shoulders as a melancholy writer who debunks ghost stories; a tip about room 1408 in a Manhattan hotel draws him in; the grim manager (Samuel L. Jackson) warns him, to no avail; as soon as he checks into 1408, weird happenings start, the horror eventually focusing on his grief over a dead child; nightmare images include flashbacks to her illness, meeting her in the afterlife, her body crumbling to ash, suicide spirits jumping out windows; murderous figures lunging at him; nongraphic but bloody photos of past victims of 1408; scenes of room breaking up, bursting into flame; strongish profanity; drinking; rare smoking; strong suicide theme. May upset some middle-schoolers; not really for preteens.)

``Ocean's Thirteen'' (Low-key caper comedy (sequel to ``Ocean's Eleven,'' 2001, ``Ocean's Twelve,'' 2004, also PG-13s) is too long and heavy on convoluted set-up scenes, but hits jackpot with male star power and banter; Danny Ocean (George Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and their fellow con men (Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner) return to Las Vegas to avenge their mentor, Reuben (Elliott Gould), after a casino magnate (Al Pacino) cheats him. Occasional mild profanity; nongraphic heart attack; steamy near-seduction never goes beyond shedding of outer garments; sumo wrestlers' behinds; drinking. Younger teens may fidget through talky detours.)

``Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (Chaotic, interminable sequel with incomprehensible plot-o'-nine-tales is a drag, except for bits when stars do their pirate/villain thing to extra-droll effect; wily Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and callow lovers Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) rescue rascally Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, caricaturing his caricature) from the limbo of Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy with the squid face) Locker to fight Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander). Stylized mayhem pushes PG-13 limit with harrowing, graphic image of mass hangings -- including a boy; characters run through with swords, shot; frostbitten toe snapped off; glass eye licked clean, popped back into socket; fish-headed zombies; mild sexual innuendo, profanity; drinking; death, betrayal themes. Iffy for sensitive 'tweens, younger teens.)

-- AN R:

``A Mighty Heart'' (NEW) (Highly involving, cinema verite-style dramatization of the ordeal of Mariane Pearl, widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was abducted and murdered by radical Islamist jihadists in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002; based on Mariane's memoir and shot in Pakistan, India and France, the film recounts how the pregnant Mariane (Angelina Jolie, in a fine, humble, ensemble-focused turn), a journalist herself, worked with colleagues and U.S. embassy people to aid Pakistani officials in rescuing Danny (Dan Futterman). Intense scene of implied torture during Pakistani interrogation -- a man hanging by his arms, torture not graphically shown; gunplay; police breaking into homes; characters react to video of Pearl's beheading, but it is NOT shown; drinking; smoking. Mature high-schoolers.)