a yummy forecast (link)
09.18.09 - the ny times - by daniel m. gold

holy crap. did you hear what the weather's supposed to be like this weekend? the summer's not even officially over yet, but the forecast is calling for cloudy with a chance of meatballs. meatballs! i knew that global warming & el nino were on a rampage, but can you believe that crap? since i'm pretty sure that he predicted that this time was nigh, i feel like it's high time that i check out that al gore movie & see what the deal is. i've heard of it raining cats & dogs, but nothing like this...scary.

speaking of movies that predicted this weather anomaly, the folks at sony pictures released cloudy with a chance of meatballs today. coincidence? i think not. the times' daniel m gold checked out the the animated flick, which is based on the beloved 1978 children's book. the story follows flint lockwood, an inventor who lives in a town called chewandswallow. one day, he invents a machine that "converts water into menu items." it helps him score with a babe, but like with most stories involving inventions, things get crazy when "the technology runs amok, and a perfect storm of the four food groups threatens his town and beyond."  

overall, gold seems to like the film, but notes that in a world dominated by films like up!, it's tough to compete. still, for phil lord & christopher miller (the creators of the film), it's a good first animated film. they may not save the world with their film adaptation, but "if the filmmakers opt to make only light statements about junk food, obesity and solid waste, they at least leave the audience sated on a single serving of inspired lunacy." puntastic, mr gold. puntastic.