Dinner Night at the Movies

Hi there. . . I know that you're probably thinking, "Where the heck have you been?!"

Well. . .
1. There was that week-long vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada.
2. Work has been overwhelming.
3. Although I said I wasn't going to watch anymore NBA games, I ended up tuning in for "brief," one hour portions of each game in the Finals.
4. I'm intimidated by the growing "To Post" folder filling with food images and I haven't yet had the time to set aside to write anything that is not a rambling mess. (But I promise that once I get my act together, I have several restaurant review posts and recipe posts in the pipeline!) Until then, I am just going to post some random, non-post related food pictures of a soupy, watered-down version of red braised pork butt.
5. I discovered social networking sites, and I end up surfing those sites until my pupils are dilated and my eyes are so dry, they can't even be restored with Visine.

But, I am going to pull myself away from those unimportant parts of my life and dedicate some quality "me with food" time with my food blogging friends!

But, I am not going to talk about eating or cooking food. I want to use this opportunity to encourage you to go and see Pixar's latest animated film, Ratatouille. One of my friends is an animator at Pixar, and he actually worked on this film. Although he finished work on the film a few years ago (when it was still in the "animating stage"), both he and I are understandably excited about its impending release.

This past weekend, my animator friend and I had an opportunity to talk to me about the recent New York Times article about the movie, and he gave me the low-down. (By the way, the article was in the food section of the newspaper, and not the entertainment section, and the article indicated that the movie earned Thomas Keller's unequivocal endorsement and approval.)

In our conversation, my animator friend told me that food is one of the most difficult subjects to animate, because it must not only look realistic, but it must also look appetizing. And, as the article indicates, the human mind is hard-wired to immediately recognize real food. That makes sense if you think about it, because our great-great ancestors survived by distinguishing between the edible berries and the poisonous or rotten berries. But, getting back to the movie: I've heard that this movie is so well-animated, that you'll be amazed at the uncanny detail, from the individual grains of risotto, to the discrete, golden-brown flakes of buttery croissant. Furthermore, my friend told me that after watching the film, your hunger pangs will be at full throttle. In other words, if you are even on this site, that means you'll enjoy the movie! My friend also informed me that although the film had a distinctly bourgeois and metropolitan flair (as opposed to the previous Pixar film, Cars), it would appeal to a wide audience, which means you, me, her, and him!

The beau used to work in the film industry, so I know how important it to spread the word to promote movies. I hope my spiel was convincing enough to pique your interest in the film. And if it wasn't, I hope that the random pictures of a poor man's red braised pork soup somehow did the convincing on my behalf. Let me know if you watch the movie! I'd love to hear what you think!