Film reviews dropped off last year due to time constraints, but I hope to rectify that with at least some of the back catalogue to coincide with DVD releases. The first of these is Ratatouille, with Pixar’s lovable rodent gastronome. Its polish is undeniable and it looks stunning, but somehow I felt it lacked a certain Pixar magic. It still comes highly recommended as a fantastic family film. I am also bemused by the fact that for Americans they needed to spell it phonetically below the title…

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullA teaser trailer is now out for the upcoming Indiana Jones film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, revealing the first footage from Indie’s first outing in almost 20 years. In fact this one has been knocking around for the better part of a decade before getting under way. Harrison Ford has not been getting any younger during those delays but it is comforting to see some self-awareness in the trailer, showing that they recognise this is an older Indie and the action, while still present, is not going to become a joke. I was initially a little disappointed to see them move away from the Excalibur plot that was in discussion several years ago, since I’ve always had a soft spot for the Arthurian legend. On the other hand perhaps it is for the best since Indie’s biggest modern rival is Lara Croft and her most recent adventure, Tomb Raider Legend, covered that very angle. I cannot help but wonder if George Lucas had a strong hand in the trailer since the entire first half is wasted in an unnecessarily long montage from the old films, a technique used in the first trailer for Star Wars Episode III.

Meanwhile law school exams start tomorrow so I had better get back to something vaguely resembling work…