Wednesday, June 20, 2007

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!

20 comments:

  1. I am convinced! I will let you know when it comes over to UK if I enjoyed it. I love taking my friends children out to the movies.

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  2. oooh thanks for all the insider pixar scoop, i love it! can't wait to see the movie either. i always cant wait for pixas movies to come out but i didnt like cars so much for some reason.

    this one looks awesime though. my husband worked in an animation studio when we 1st moved to LA (digital domain) i think it was when they were making Stealth, hahaha!

    ps, mmmm pork is making me hungry!

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  3. Oh no, social networking sites are the devil! Unfortunately, I have been known to spend some time on them, but hopefully not too much. Don't let them suck you in... too much :)

    Thanks for the heads up on the Pixar movie. I will definitely make sure to see this!

    Looking forward to the recipes and restaurant reviews that are currently "in the pipeline."

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  4. Hey PE - Okay, you've got me convinced..... thanks for providing some "us" time!!!!

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  5. I'll go! Maybe tomorrow? Take my son to the movies and have a GIANT bucket of greasy popcorn!

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  6. My bf and I are so excited for this movie. He even signed up in some local sweepstakes for free tickets even though we both know we'd never win. lol

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  7. I am a die-hard Pixar fan (Brad Bird is a gifted director). So much so that I did a whole competitive analysis on them for one of my MBA classes.

    So it should come as no surprise that Ratatouille is THE ONLY movie I'm looking forward to seeing this summer.

    It combines three loves of mine.

    PIXAR + FOOD + MOVIE = AWESOME!

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  8. When it reaches the tropic, I'm so there! LOL

    Enid

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  9. I definitely want to see it - I love Pixar, and I have heard that this one was done by the same director (or was it writer?) as the Incredibles, which was one of my faves. I am now ever more excited, because I can't wait to see all those details you described come to life :)

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  10. I was looking out for the red braised pork recipe but could not find it :O
    Looking forward to Ratatouille but not anytime soon, I think.

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  11. Also, I wanted to let you know that I tagged you on a fun meme. Hope you don't mind. Play along if you have time! :)

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  12. I have heard a lot of good things about this movie and I can go see it if I can get over the idea of rats and food in the same movie!

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  13. I know what you mean about work taking up so much time and about feeling intimidated by a growing list of "to posts." I'm glad you're back though (I was also MIA for a while) and am SO excited about the Pixar movie. We're trying to convince our boss at work to make it a staff outing, lol.


    Ari (Baking and Books)

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  14. I'm waiting for it to be shown here in France.

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  15. i can't wait to see ratatouille!!

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  16. After a short 30 sec. clip on TV, I'm sold..look at all the food, I'm definitely watching Ratatouille soon, thx :)
    P/S: I still want the braised pork rib recipe ? :P

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  17. I'm having my son's birthday party at the movie theatre this weekend! It was either Ratatouille or Transformers. :D

    We also just dined at TFL, so I'm excited about all this TK stuff going on in our lives (like he's coming over for dinner or something!)

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  18. I'm so glad that you all are interested in watching the movie! I am going to watch it on opening night, and I'll get back to you friends and let you know how it was!

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  19. Oh, and Tigerfish and Melting Wok, I'll give you the recipe when I get the "right" one from my mom. Although these pictures look decent (not terrible), the pork didn't taste authentic!

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  20. hi pe! i love how you throw in non-sequiter images while you discuss ratatouille. j wants to see the movie so we're probably going to go soon. got your email and very excited for your new venture. =b

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