RipIt gets your movies off the disc and onto your Mac, where it's easier to find, organize and play 'em. I ripped a DVD of The Spirit in about 23 minutes (whether that's a movie that deserves 4.35GB of your hard drive space is another story).
Ripping a DVD to watch, has several advantages. If you're watching a movie on a laptop, a "ripped" version conserves battery space over playing the DVD because extra juice is required to spin a disc. You can use Spotlight in Mac OS X to find a movie in your collection. Movies stored in your computer can't get lost, scratched or broken. Plus, you don't have to carry about the DVD discs themselves with your laptop.
RipIt, which requires Mac 10.5 or later, couldn't be easier to use. Start the app and it asks you to insert a DVD. Do so, and it quickly rips it to your hard drive, saving it in your Movies folder.
On the downside, it doesn't put ripped movies into iTunes. So if you need it there -- to, for example, watch it on your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Apple TV -- you'll have to use an addition app.
However, if you don't mind that -- or only plan to watch ripped movies on your Mac -- RipIt is a gloriously simply app to use.

Macsimum rating: 8 out of 10
If you want an app with more bells and whistles, and a slightly higher learning curve, you might try the free Handbrake. If you want a app with lots more bells and whistles, and a gorgeous interface, try the underestimated Drive-In.
