The Adventures of Tintin-I went into this film without a clue of what it was, but a dedication to see it because of my love for Peter Jackson, Stephen Moffet, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Andy Serkis. I had a preconception that this was going to be a CG flick of something akin to an Indiana Jones movie, but what I got was so much better than a derivative adventure film.
Easily my all-time top pick for the best use of CG, motion capture, voice acting, and 3D in a film (yes, even more than Avatar), Tintin is a fantastic film that harkens back to the older pulp adventure serials that Indiana Jones was also trying to recreate. The result is a fantastic and exciting adventure filled with funny and likeable characters brought to life through some of the best voice acting in history (with a special standout performance by Andy Serkis). What makes this film stand out from the competition is the expert pacing, as the action set pieces masterfully outdo each set piece before and every twenty minutes is even more exciting than the previous twenty minutes. All the tension builds to a frantic climax centering around a motorcycle chase scene that easily competes for my favorite moment in film for 2011. Following this is a genuine and powerful moment of expository and character driven dialogue that’s so well written and quotable that it proves once again why Andy Serkis is at the top of his class.
My biggest regret with the film is that it just sort of ends, but I don’t mean that in the anti-climactic, sudden endings that I’ve been complaining about recently. It just feels like there could have been a lot more resolution for these characters after we have grown to like them so much, even though I know they were just trying to set up the sequel. At times it also feels like it was slightly pandering to a younger audience, which is a shame because the film is at its’ best when it’s trying to be a family film and not a children’s film.
All in all though I liked The Adventures of Tintin a lot while I was watching it, but it wasn’t until after the credits rolled that I realized just how much I wanted to watch it all over again from the beginning. A real treat.
8.5 out of 10
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-There’s never been a doubt in my mind that David Fincher is one of the best directors in Hollywood, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo once again shows just how talented and original this director is. Taking what was deemed an impossible project (the original film came out just over two years ago), David Fincher has created a tense and psychological noir thriller worthy of his other entries.
Fincher has a real love for two things; detective work and sociopathy, and he seems to demonstrate this in many of his films (Se7en, Zodiac, The Game). His newest work once again combines both of those elements into a film that always has you guessing what’s coming next, even going so far as to continue the story in an unexpected fourth act. His use of lighting, scene construction, music (done once again by the outstanding Trent Reznor), and most of all, ambiance creates a film that is perpetually suspenseful, even in the relaxed moments of the film. Now I have to confess, I never saw the original film or read the bestselling book, but if they have half of the magic of this film then they are alright in my book.
Fincher’s love and understanding of detective work has always been one of his greatest strengths, but also his greatest weakness as demonstrated in the film Zodiac. In my mind this was probably the greatest detective story ever told, but it turned a lot of people off with its’ long running time and somewhat slow build up of tension (just like real police work!). Fincher seems to have learned from this experience however, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo mixes the slow build up of an investigative story with an exciting story of Lizbeth Slander and interesting character development between the two leads.
SPOILERS
Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the rape scene, as it’s been getting a lot of people up in arms, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Almost every rape scene in film is added for shock value, but in this movie it seems like a necessary evil to show the scene so we could understand the horrible life this girl has and why she responds the way she does. Believe me, I’d be the first to cry foul if I didn’t think something this serious wasn’t handled properly, but Fincher is a responsible enough director to know how to create this scene respectfully and delicately.
END SPOILERS
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn’t as exciting or accessible as most of Fincher’s other films, and at times it feels like a film he was pressured into making and not his own pet project, but overall it’s a fantastic first entry into this new and exciting trilogy property.
9 out of 10
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows-A lot of people don’t know this, but Professor James Moriarty is the first “arch-enemy” ever found in literary history, laying the groundwork for what a great overarching villain should be. This is important because I read these books growing up and going into this movie the one thing that kept running through my head was “Jared Harris better knock this out of the park”.
I have been a huge fan of Harris since his run as antagonist Robert Jones in season one of Fringe, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of legendary screen and stage actor Richard Harris, but none of that changed the fact that this film was going to literally rise or sink from his portrayal of this classic Doyle “Napoleon of Crime”. I’m happy to report that he pulls the role off magnificently, adding a crucial piece to the puzzle of why this film worked for me. Between Harris and the addition of a great cast of new characters to the franchise (including the always brilliant Stephen Fry in a standout performance as Holmes’ brother Mycroft), the smooth camerawork, the original use of effects, and stellar work from the returning cast, this film came together into a solid sequel to one of the most original films in the last ten years.
Now a lot of people are complaining that this film isn’t as “slick” or as “cool” as the original, but people who say that just aren’t looking in the right places. Guy Ritchie has always been praised as an actor’s director and a talented cinematographer, but just because we don’t see as many action sequences as the previous film doesn’t at all mean that he hasn’t focused the same magic as before. If anything this film shows a forward progression in his styles, oftentimes trading in cheap and easy “slick” shots for more complicated and effective “style” shots, and when we see these shots in motion they come across as interesting, original, and very, very stylish. The scenes between Holmes and Moriarty for example convey a sense of uneasiness, tension, and dread despite the pleasant tones and smiles between the two men.
Another one of my favorite cases of these shots was a scene where the sniper is chasing after the heroes in a forest while being bombarded with artillery, but during the chaos and hell surrounding him the camera focuses on his face and allows it to remain almost steady as he hurtles through the trees. It’s a tough shot to describe, but it conveys the idea that this man is focused on one thing despite the chaos surrounding him, establishing him as a child of the battlefield without saying a single work of dialogue.
A lot of people are saying that the ending is a cop-out as well, but faithful readers of Sherlock Holmes will know that this is exactly how the book Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem ended. As soon as I saw that waterfall I knew what was coming, so you can’t possibly fault a director for wanting to (GOD FORBID!) convey the authors’ intentions. As for the plot, anyone with a seventh grade education can figure it out, but I did feel a little disappointment at the lack of Holmes’ signature “exposition” that always signaled the impending end of his books and stories.
All in all I found this movie to be a satisfying follow-up to the original. It may not have had quite the same “original” feel of the first film, but it was just as thoroughly engaging, delightfully witty, and universally appealing as its’ predecessor.
8 out of 10
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