dr_phil_physics | Two For The Price Of One

The Bourne Ultimatum [PG-13]
Studio 28 Theatre 7 - Digital Light Projection

Neither I nor Mrs. Dr. Phil have read any of the Jason Bourne novels. My mother claims that The Bourne Supremacy movie takes serious liberties with the plot of the novel and so my parents aren't so interested in seeing this third movie / second sequel in the Bourne series. But without such worries and restrictions, we just had to go see it on opening night. You know, this has been a damned decent year for third movies -- Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: The End of the World and Shrek the Third -- and The Bourne Ultimatum can easily stand tall in this category, too.

There are battles between Jason Bourne and other converted operatives in the Treadstone/Black Briar line. There are disastrous car chase scenes. Hint: If you need to avail yourself of the Jason Bourne School of Driving, you are in serious deep trouble. I'm told that in one of the big chase scenes, it goes on for fifteen minutes without any dialogue. And while the mind tires eventually of one thing happening after another, the scene in the London train station where we see Jason Bourne operating in full-on problem solving / staying alive mode is great gobs of fun, even if it all eventually goes sour. (grin)

The bad guys are bad -- evil even. But there's more going on in CIA-land than just a few run of the mill secrets. And Julia Stiles has been haunting in the background for three movies, and now we know there's some more backstory. Except they never get to finish the one crucial conversation -- did she know Jason Bourne before his conversion? Or did they actually have a relationship? Shame that Chris Cooper was offed in the first film, as he might be the only person around to speak bluntly to Jason (and us) and reveal the truth.

And about that rating -- quite surprised to see it's not rated "R". I am told that despite some graphic violence, that the absence of cursing in the movie allowed it to squeak by with a "PG-13" this time. Huh.

Very enjoyable. Recommnded.

Ratatouille [G]
Celebration Rivertown Theatre 19 - Digital Light Projection

Let me state the obvious: the boys and girls at Pixar not only have figured out how to play nice together, but they consistently have the bestest, classiest animated movies around. Period. Plus they love movies enough to put cute little shorts before their big new features. Yay.

My father says he refuses to see this movie. Has a deep hatred for all things rat, including cute little furry animated rats. This is a shame, because Ratatouille is a great film. And if you hate ratlike rats, there are two scenes where you need to close your eyes -- one where a nest of rats is "exposed" in an old farm house and one where a store has a display of rats in rat traps and brands of rat poison. Other than that, not so much ratlike. (grin)

We tried not to see it. Didn't want to be sucked into spending out money on a big screen animated movie. But the trailers looked good, the reviews were all solid and we both really like food and cooking shows. Many many great voices in the cast. And what the hell, Janeane Garofalo voices Collette, the female chef -- and is suitable wonderful. Double-Yay. So when company came into town with a second-grader, the choice was clear. What? You thought we'd go take any sentient being to see Bratz? Puh-lease!

There is story here. There is setup. There is discussion of Right and Wrong, Family Obligations versus Pursuing One's Dream. And none of this is preachy heavy-handed stuff. The film simply won't go in the direction you think it will. Period. One particular detail to note: even though our hero rat, Remy, can read cookbooks and understand what the humans say, the rat can't speak in human tongue. So communication is by nods and shakes and pantomime -- and is really special and affecting. And SO much better than if the rat could "talk". This is where Pixar manages to beat everyone else hands down -- the details.

And food is something that the producers of Ratatouille have clearly thought about. There are extensive credits for restaurants which helped out -- including Tour d'Argent -- and chefs -- including the irrepressible Anthony Bourdain from Travel Channel. We ate before we saw the movie -- this was a seriously good move on our parts as it meant we didn't have to gnaw like a rat on the upholstery in the theatre. We went on to our friends' cottage and then ate again. Yum.

This is one fun movie. Highly Recommended.

Dr. Phil