A round-up of the top films and tunes heading your way this month
Ratatouille Director Brad Bird Voices Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano
Here’s something you don’t see too often: a Pixar movie under pressure to perform. Last summer’s Cars was the first time the CGI pioneer, creator of such classics as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, really disappointed, but fans will be thankful to learn that Ratatouille sees Pixar bounce back in style.
Set in a Paris breathtakingly rendered in gorgeous computer colours, the film follows our hero, Remy, as he dreams of becoming a top chef. Being a rat, however, is no mean obstacle to overcome. But, aided by an unlikely friendship with dozy kitchen hand Linguini, Remy sets about conquering the city of fine dining.
A slight criticism of the film has to be that it doesn’t quite have the spark of genius present in Pixar’s best work, perhaps because the concept simply isn’t quite as magical as a family of superheroes or a world of monsters under the bed.
However, with Brad Bird (director of The Incredibles) at the helm, Ratatouille is a furiously paced ride with just enough great set pieces (especially when Remy and his crew escape from a shotgun-wielding granny) and big laughs to keep everyone entertained.
Andrea Bocelli
Once Upon A Time: Greatest Hits
The blind Italian tenor has hit many highs in his career (singing for the pope, duetting with Elmo from Sesame Street) and the occasional low (working with Celine Dion), so it’s about time he collected all the memories together in a retrospective record. That album is Once Upon A Time: Greatest Hits, which gathers the very best tracks from his 55 milion-album-selling career to celebrate his unique voice.
There are too many classics to name here, but really all you need to do is put Time To Say Goodbye on repeat for ever and you’ll be in music heaven.
Mariah Carey
Illusions: The
Butterfly Within
Mega rich, mega mental and a megastar – there’s simply no one else in music quite like Mariah ‘Mimi’ Carey. Illusions: The Butterfly Within is her 11th studio album, produced – so the rumours go – from the bowels of a giant villa on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. The songs have been kept closely under wraps, but Mariah’s production partners are a Who’s Who of hot and happening music maestros from Scott Storch to (allegedly) Akon. Expect less of the power ballads that made her famous and more of the sexy, slinky tracks that made her infamous. Sounds great.
In the news
Winter film
preview
No sooner have the summer blockbusters been and gone than the winter big hitters start lining up. Must see films this Christmas include an animated Beowulf adaptation with Angelina Jolie in late November; the €100 million adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass in December and in the New Year, Will Smith in I Am Legend. Indie fans are well served by Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited and the return of Francis Ford Coppola with Youth Without Youth (pictured). For the kids, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Bee Movie, starring Jerry Seinfeld, are perfect holiday fare.
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