The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (Spielberg, 2011)

[shariqq]

TINTIN is a lovely and pure "Spielberg film": a rip-roaring fun ride and story-driven adventure rooted in traditional values (alcohol is bad; to succeed you must rise in the face of adversity...and father issues are an indelible part of adult life!). For an animated movie, it's lovingly crafted and true to the spirit of the timeless character created by Herge.

Three action sequences are particularly memorable: flight through a thundercloud, Sir Francis' pirate ship battle and the entire car chase in Morocco. Spielberg is so masterful with his camera, which moves intuitively based on what the character is doing in the frame, that you would be forgiven for thinking this ability is a gift from God.

TINTIN is hugely enjoyable and a reminder that movies are escapism!

Haha! Loved that you loved it too! The fact that it works on a technical level (the camera-work you mention) so well that it lets you enjoy the movie even with your film-making knowledge means it must be a real marvel.

It's a little sad that it didn't get enough box office at the US, even though it made bucket loads worldwide. Releasing it with MI4 and Sherlock Holmes was such a bad plan.

[X.]

When it comes to blocking and camera movement, fewer directors are as good as Spielberg -- that is something I will always give him despite my issues with his cotton-candy style filmmaking! Scorcese is another director heralded for his camera flourishes, but I've found that Spielberg's expertise is more intuitive and "organic" to the rhythm of the actors' physical performance in frame.

(Sorry if this seems like a facile discussion; it's perhaps something that only fires up filmmaker conversations!).

P.S. A real modern-day master of blocking (though he uses handheld instead of classic dolly/jib-arm moves) is Alejandro González Inarritu. He's got a natural talent for blocking. Everyone would think PT Anderson should get this vote, but Inarritu is the real McCoy.

P.P.S. I guess the fact that I'm mostly harping on about Spielberg's directorial style in what is essentially an *animated movie* goes to show, in my mind at least, how he has blurred/erased the boundary between expectations from a "movie" and a "cartoon."

[animatedude]

Omg I'm really shocked you guys liked it I thought it was the biggest meh movie of the year and I expected everyone here to hate it..

[X.]

Well, so far, only Shariq and I like it -- you might still get your wish!

[ayaa1977]

I did like it too. It has an old-fashion Spielbergian sensibility, and it was unapologeticly wall-to-wall action. It was like a heir to Indiana Jones but was not as iconic. That being said, the plot is fairly forgettable and Tintin himself was so bland as  a protagonist. Snowy and Captin Hadook on the other hand are the reason this film is so charming. I would like to see Peter Jackson's sequel, hopefully he will infuse some life into Tintin himself and make him more interesting.
My Rating 3.5/5

[animatedude]

I did like it too. It has an old-fashion Spielbergian sensibility, and it was unapologeticly wall-to-wall action. It was like a heir to Indiana Jones but was not as iconic. That being said, the plot is fairly forgettable and Tintin himself was so bland as  a protagonist. Snowy and Captin Hadook on the other hand are the reason this film is so charming. I would like to see Peter Jackson's sequel, hopefully he will infuse some life into Tintin himself and make him more interesting.
My Rating 3.5/5

you mean recycled junk we've seen it all before? the fact that i always defend Spielberg over here and now it's the exact opposite is kinda funny and not expected lol

come on you guys the movie was rubbish, they made Tinin as a character so bland and boring and the story if there was one was just recycled bits and pieces from older movies like Indiana Jones.

you would think a Peter Jackson/Spielberg Combo will be at least special but no..not even close.I'm definitely looking forward the sequel and i'm sure it will be at least better than this one.

[ayaa1977]

When did bullying work to change anyone's POV here? And why do you want to change our opinions so desperately? So you hated the film for its flaws and we liked it despite them, please accept that. I don't think you know something we don't know here, and I don't think we saw two different films. I have read and heard opinions that hated the film for the exact reasons you mentioned, and I have heard the opposite. It is just a matter of taste in the end.

[shariqq]

I know Fizz saw it and he liked it. Kaytee/Madali have you seen this?

[animatedude]

and Fizz too? lol that's so unexpected..

[fizz]

I'm generally very enthusiastic about anything Spielberg has to offer (I actually liked Indy 4) so I don't know why you are so surprised. The film is exhilarating in its pacing and displays technical expertise by a man who knows what he wants out of the film. Some of the scenes are absolutely majestic in their execution (the pirate sections at sea especially), but I had trouble with the third act where it seemed to get a bit over the top. It's a shame the film isn't getting any more attention stateside - with the studio saying that was expected since the character isn't as  well known there as he is overseas, which is just ridiculous!

[animatedude]

I'm generally very enthusiastic about anything Spielberg has to offer (I actually liked Indy 4) so I don't know why you are so surprised. The film is exhilarating in its pacing and displays technical expertise by a man who knows what he wants out of the film. Some of the scenes are absolutely majestic in their execution (the pirate sections at sea especially), but I had trouble with the third act where it seemed to get a bit over the top. It's a shame the film isn't getting any more attention stateside - with the studio saying that was expected since the character isn't as  well known there as he is overseas, which is just ridiculous!

i know this is what the studio said but i don't think this is the reason.

This is a family film which has Spielberg AND Jackson behind it....it opened with only $9 million for the weekend which is very bad even in a busy week but it could've opened with over $40 million easily.

The characters in Kung Fu Panda are not well known but the movie made hundreds of millions, so i don't think that's the reason.

i think the reason might be the kids didn't care for it because Tintin is just not a character kids would like or be interested in....and Adults think he is a wimp.

[kaytee]

I did see this and felt that Spielberg was playing with the idea of a Jr. Indiana Jones and not Tintin a young adventurous spy. Almost all of the action sequences were far fetched especially the one in Morocco. People say it is technical brilliance but you have to realize that it is animation and it did not need massive sets and stunt men to perform that scene. I did enjoy it but not with the same furor that others did on this forum.

[ayaa1977]

Because Xmas came on Sunday in 2011, weekend box-office results across the board were subpar, even for MI4. But if you follow the daily box-office results, you would have noticed that all these films had a healthy mid week numbers, followed by a very good weekend results for this new year's weekend, where all top 10 films did better on this weekend than the weekend before. Tintin for instance made 12 m vs. 9 m last weekend, with more 47 m total so far. Granted these are still weak numbers, but films open in Xmas time tend to have better legs in theatres vs. summer films which need the big opening. So don't be surprise if this film reaches 100 m in the US or came close. It already made 283 m worldwide so a sequel is inevitable whether it did well or not in the US.