How I Love Digital Projection and Kiosks

The two greatest occurrences of the early 21st Century would have to be digital projection and self-service kiosks. I love being able to buy movie tickets without having to talk to a person. And I love walking into the movie, knowing that when the familiar green band of the previews begins the image will turn on, freeze without the jumps and skips of celluloid film, then disappear in a display of the flawless imagery that is digital projection.

Today Honor, Andrew, Braden, Chase, Delainey and I went to go see Ratatouille at the Tysons Theatres. This was the third time I've seen a movie in digital projection, the previous two were Cars and Shrek 3. It's always an amazing experience.

Ratatouille deserves every column-inch of good press it has received. The movie is witty, brilliant, and filled with treasures for both the child and adult audiences. (Think the love/hate couple and the shape of Anton Ego's office.) The visuals were incredible. First to mention are the advances in representing humans in computer animation. Ratatouille is a far cry from the pseudo stick figures of the Toy Story movies. Additionally, watching Remy, the lead rat, you alternately love this goofy character trying to figure out who he is and are repulsed by his mannerisms, that remind you that this is a rat (glowing eyes and creepy movements). The graphics were top-rate, with heart-stopping water sequences. Having taking a computer animation class, I know how hard it is to model dynamic objects. The water was absolutely incredible. I think I squealed in delight at one point.

Brad Bird, who directed the Incredibles, also directed Ratatouille. One of the things I loved most about The Incredibles was the 50s/60s/70s style of the movie, and how perfectly they kept to the style throughout the movie. (I wanted to eat dinner in the island's lava dining room.) Similarly in Ratatouille, you are introduced to a version of Paris that is simultaneously retro and current-day. This results in a film that feels classic and timeless all in the same breath. The rich color palate looks as breath-taking in stills as they do in the movie.

The movie was a hit with all involved. Afterwards we braved the crowds at the Apple Store to check out the iPhone. I held one. It is a thing of beauty. I'm sure I'll blog more about it later.