comment #1

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Not to be argumentative, but according to Variety's Crix Picks, Ratatouille was not the best reviewed film of the year. As official compiler of said chart, which sadly is not available online, it shows that only one film received 18 for 18 PROS for LA, NY and Chicago. Of course, some perfectly reviewed films in LA and NY were not listed on the Chicago chart, so they could only be 15 for 15, and also, not all critics see every movie, but still, only one film went 18-18 and I bet you'll never guess what it is. And for the record, just to be that guy, I was MIXED on the film, because I think the title character is too cold and bland and the entire (hint) trilogy as an overall story is not particularly impressive despite boasting some seriously kickass action sequences...

comment #2

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Then again, I'm not sure how much the film has grossed worldwide and I'm too lazy to look it up, but I was just very surprised when I did the tally the other day, mainly because I can't believe there wasn't one major critic who felt the same way I did. C'mon, those flashbacks... who's with me?

comment #3

Gordie Lachance says ...

I swear to holy god in heaven, I don't get all this pansy talk.

Did people act like this back in the 1970's? Did people exit theaters after seeing films like Taxi Driver, Clockwork Orange, Cuckoos Nest, Godfather 2 saying things like "Oh my, that was a downer... I need a hug... Does anyone have a Prozac?.... I feel icky."

comment #4

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Jeff, I'll join your Zodiac-for-Best Picture Army. See for yourself. Updated chart at www.theinsneider.blogspot.com

comment #5

J. Huff says ...

So...no There Will Be Blood? Hmm...

comment #6

romeoisbleeding says ...

I have been a member of the army for Zodiac for best picture since day one. I seem to remember it got a lot of great reviews by the big name critics. So is there some hope it could get nominated?

comment #7

MattM says ...

Worldwide, said movie has grossed just north of $400 (well behind "Ratatouille"). Unless "Gangster" or "Charlie Wilson's War" is a big commercial hit, it seems like they'll need to fill that "well liked big commercial hit" slot with something.

comment #8

BNick says ...

Forget the reviews, forget the box office.

Is Ratatouille one of the five best films of the year? I still have around a dozen possible contenders to see before the end of the year, but my answer, for what it's worth, is yes. So why not talk about it?

comment #9

PerfectTommy says ...

One of the reasons the Academy came up with the Best Animated catagory was "Beauty and the Beast"'s nomination for Best Picture. The biggest voting block is actors who do not want animated films nominated for Best Picture. It's not going to happen.

comment #10

thorsen1nk says ...

Zodiac and ze Rat both deserve noms--two fantastic pieces of cinema

comment #11

Mgmax says ...

MiraJeff, he said the best-reviewed film TO HAVE GROSSED $500 MILLION.

Considering the others-- Spiderman 3? Transformers?-- not exactly the highest bar to have cleared.

I was actually kind of lukewarm on Ratatouille-- it reminded me of the Newsweek comment on Gay Purr-ee many years ago, "aimed at a hitherto unnoticed market segment, the fey four-year-old of recherche tastes"-- but when you consider how perfectly its message (everyone can aspire to, and reach, greatness, no matter how humble a cog in the big machine) is attuned to the masses of Hollywood, I think it could be surprisingly strong.

comment #12

MarkVH says ...

I could have sworn that people were having this same conversation three years ago about The Incredibles. So positive and well-reviewed that it may be impossible to ignore at Oscar time, blah blah blah. And you know what? They ignored it.

Animated films have their own category now, so Academy voters can feel even less need to put the films in the Best Pic category, reviews be damned. I loved Ratatouille, but the notion that it'll even be considered as a candidate is about as hilarious as Poland's continued assertion that Hairspray will make the top five. Academy voters are boring. End of story.

comment #13

cjKennedy says ...

I liked Ratatouille alot, but not so much after rewatching The Incredibles. It's still great, but it seems calculated to appeal to people who don't generally go for animation or something.

comment #14

Aguirre says ...

in an ideal world (which this is certainly not) in which the academy adhered strictly to qualify (which it certainly does not), ratatouille would be nominated as it - along with no country - is one of the TWO best films of the year. maybe secret sunshine vies for that position as well, but i'll take those three over the rest of the pack any day. as for american gangster's agonizingly mediocre 150 minutes and lumet's 2/3 of a decent film... not among the best 20 films of the year. imho, of course... though I feel as if the critical community, despite not always being the strongest indicator of true quality, will reflect my opinion re: those last two.

comment #15

scooterzz says ...

monday night, disney threw a big launch party for the 'ratatouille' dvd release....after an intro by a bvhv honcho, hammond was called out to intro and interview john lassiter....it wouldn't surprise me to learn hammond was paid for this gig just as it doesn't surprise me that now he thinks the film deserves a 'best picture' nom....

comment #16

frankbooth says ...

"Did people exit theaters after seeing films like Taxi Driver, Clockwork Orange, Cuckoos Nest, Godfather 2 saying things like "Oh my, that was a downer... I need a hug..."

Quite a few of them did, actually. Members of the previous generation missed happy endings and the clear definition between good guys and bad guys. My parents would come home from a movie like Cuckoo's Nest looking glum. They missed Yul Brynner singing and John Wayne punching dudes.

A fella named George Lucas guessed that audiences were largely sick of anti-heroes and moral ambiguity and gambled on an alternative. He was right...and thirty years later we get Spiderman 3, Pirates 3 and Transformers.

There's a been a slight return to complex, adult storytelling in the last few years as the generation of directors who were raised on those Seventies films has come of age and into power, but considering how many of them fail at the box-office (and how many of their directors immediately get recruited to make a superhero or action flick) this may be just a blip. And then the Eighties generation will take over, and we'll get remakes of Teen Wolf and Footloose. Sitcom sensibility, musical montages and lots of dry ice (only this time it will be digital dry ice.)

Back to the O-word: I suppose Jesse James was such a flop that's it's silly to even bring it up in this context? Well, at least it got made. They can't take it away from us, right?

comment #17

John Y says ...

"Ratatouille" is the BEST-REVIEWED movie of the year. By far. It's at 96 on Metacritic. The next best-reviewed film there is "No End in Sight" at 89.

And "Ratatouille" has grossed $553 million worldwide, and growing.

It's going to be quite sad when the Academy doesn't nominate a film that has had so much success merely because it's animated.

comment #18

arch451 says ...

Ratatouille has a convoluted third act and is no better than Cars.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is probably the best film that won't be nominated.

comment #19

DavidF says ...

Frankbooth:
I don't know if you were joking or just prescient but they ARE making a Footloose remake:
http://tinyurl.com/35w5m6
No word on Teen Wolf yet but, damn, imagine what they could do, what with the improvements to special effects...

As for Ratatouille - I agree it won't get nominated for BP but I don't see why the "best animated" provides an out. Didn't we have LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA and BABEL nominated for Best Picture last year?

The Academy needs to take a step back and need to figure out how to manage these categories because if something IS that good, there is no reason it should be excluded from Best Picture whether its animated, foreign or (God help us) even a documentary. It won't happen...but it should.

comment #20

Spicer says ...

My dad won't see animated films because he thinks they are for kids. It's really sad because there is a lot of great stuff that he misses due to his absurd bias.

That said, I hate the idea of giving animated films their own catagory. It marginalizes them as just "cartoons." Same for foreign language films and documentaries. The Academy sends the message that nothng but dramatic films are important or significant. Could a comedy like "Annie Hall" win a best picture Oscar today? The five best picture nominees should be the five best films of the year.

I really think serious consideration should be given to Brad Bird for best director. "Ratatouille" was as beautiful to look at as any film this year. I'm sure he is probably a lock to be nominated in the original screenplay category, like he was with "The Incredibles."

comment #21

Spicer says ...

I'd see the "Footloose" remake if Kevin Bacon plays the minister.

comment #22

frankbooth says ...

DavidF,

Unfortunately, you don't have to be a psychic to see this stuff coming.

We should have a betting pool on what gets remade when. "If" is not even in question.

comment #23

a1 says ...

I agree 100% with Spicer about the Animated Film ghetto. It's even lamer with animated films, though, because usually the Academy can't find 5 worthy entries for the category in the first place!
Just how impressive is it, say, that "The Incredibles" was picked over a *whole two other movies* (one of which was "Shark Tale")? Is that really an achievement anyone can claim to be proud of?

Why doesn't the Academy just go all out, and nominate "Zodiac" for "Best Serial Killer Movie" and "American Gangster" for "Best Gangster Movie (American)"?

comment #24

bmcintire says ...

Speaking of animation, is anyone else bothered/distracted by the animated devil's tale Jeffrey is sporting on the banner ad for BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD? It's sent that logo treatment from being merely (and inappropriately) cute to cloying, like some fucking eCard from Hallmark.com.

comment #25

MilkMan says ...

Zodiac - at least until I see No Country for Old Men, I'm Not There, and There Will Be Blood - is the best American movie of the year, and, I think, when all is said and done, will be seen as one of the great movies of the decade. It's Fincher's masterpiece and makes up for Fight Club and Panic Room.

Yes, Fight Club is vastly overrated. The only other movie I can think of that is as overrated as Fight Club is Donnie Darko.

Richard Kelly is a wanker. Anybody catch his dumb-ass interview on 103.1 this morning? Dickweed wrote a remake of Vanishing Point for Tony Scott. What, is it 1996?

comment #26

cjKennedy says ...

"Dickweed wrote a remake of Vanishing Point for Tony Scott. What, is it 1996?"
Come on. You're just fucking with me now, right?

I'd agree Fight Club is overrated, but so are blow jobs. They're great, but they get a lot more attention than they deserve. Fight Club was fine. It was amusing and stylish and tapped into a certain empty rage I once felt in my life. I wouldn't get carried away with praise for it though. I'd rather have a blow job.

Animation Category. I agree it ghettoizes animation...but is that worse than having it be overlooked altogether?

comment #27

dixiedugan says ...

I'm way late to the party on this one...but down to the nitty gritty on this - what does box office have to do with the quality of a picture?

I guess I have to watch Zodiac now.

comment #28

cjKennedy says ...

I guess I passed out behind the couch after one too many Manhattans 'cause I'm still at the party.

What does Box Office mean? Well I guess it means something to people who predict Oscars. And it means something to the studios. And it means something to people who demand a concrete measure of success. To me? It means nothing, though it's nice when a movie I like is rewarded.

comment #29

Stormbringer says ...

I'm late, but I want to thank Jeff for expressing so clearly something I've felt but could never explain to my fellow movie-goers: when dark & depressing are great, they don't get you down, quite the contrary! Hammond's (and many people's) thinking is simply besides the point: when a movie is great, it energizes you, it makes you happy...no matter whether it is a comedy or a drama. I felt elated after seeing "Mysterious Skin" and "Requiem for a dream", because although they were real downers, the talent with which they had been made restored my faith in humanity.