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

When Tintin buys a toy ship (The Unicorn) at a market, he soon discovers that he has stumbled into a mystery that traces back hundreds of years. The original Unicorn was deliberately destroyed by its captain, rather than let pirates capture the extraordinary amount of gold that he was transporting. The pirate captain was known as Red Rackham, and now his descendant, Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig), is trying to solve the riddle of the Unicorn to finally recover the lost treasure. However, Tintin (Jamie Bell), and his faithful dog Snowy, become acquainted with Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), who just happens to the last descendant Sir Francis Haddock, captain of the Unicorn, and together try to stop Sakharine from recovering the lost treasure.

I have never read any of the Tintin stories before, but that didn’t stop me absolutely loving the film. I thought that it was pure Spielberg, and put me very much in mind of Raiders. Perhaps the plot wasn’t as crazy as Indy, but some of the action sequences, particularly that involving a motorbike, a tank and a falcon were absolutely outrageous; and I just sat that with a big grin on my face, loving every minute of it!

Of course essentially being a cartoon, there were several editing devices that were possible that wouldn’t be in live action (yet - based on this I’ll be interested to see how PJ interprets The Hobbit), including several inspired transitions between scenes/flashbacks etc. Of course great animation doesn’t make a good film, but it was phenomenal; lip syncing, and details around the eyes and hands was all tremendous. What does make a good film is a plot with excitement and intrigue, but without being completely ridiculous, and great characters. Clearly we should thank Hergé for the great characters, and the story; but the combined efforts of Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Steven Moffat should not be forgotten. I had feared that too many great cooks may spoil the broth, but that fear was unfounded; the scenes progressed naturally and nothing seemed contrived; well perhaps except for the mention of the Sumatran rat (monkey), which PJ manages to shoehorn in whenever he can. The voice cast are all perfect too; Jamie Bell as Tintin works really well, Daniel Craig is spot on as the smooth Sakharine, and of course only Andy Serkis could be the inebriated and enthusiastic Captain Haddock. A supporting cast featuring Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, all add to the scope of the film. Oh, and the 3D was fine, though I’d be interested to see it in 2D to see how much it really mattered.

Great adventure, amazing graphics, interesting story, the whole thing can really be summed up in two words: pure Spielberg! Now why wouldn’t you want to see that!

Jurassic Park (1993)

Hold on to your Butts!

Jurassic Park really doesn’t need any introduction. An absolutely fantastic adventure that blew me away when I saw it back in ‘93, and still looked amazing this year when it was re-released for a short time. I’d forgotten how amazing the initial T-Rex attack is! Every bit as breathtaking as the train crash in Super 8 or the train/robot shootout in Sucker Punch. The cast is completely superb, Spielberg really knows how to direct this kind of action, and John William’s score is so evocative (I still got goosebumps as the music swelled while the helicopter first lands on the island).

Of course an important part of the film are the dinosaurs; and ILM’s groundbreaking (in ‘93) CG blend seamlessly with Stan Winston’s incredible animatronic creatures. However, the amazing thing I noticed this time was actually there is not that much dinosaur action in the film! Sounds crazy huh? Well it just so happens that the excellent cast infer as many terrible lizards as we see. It has been said that 80% of acting is reacting (I just made that figure up, but you know what I mean), and Jurassic Park really demonstrates this. None more so than Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern):

The Shiznit does it best: http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/jurassic-park-week-the-many-faces-of-dr-ellie-sattler.php

Laura isn’t the only one to get her dino-reaction on though:

and the fabulous Nedry (Wayne Knight):

In fact, other than the dinosaurs I think Nedry might be my favourite thing; he’s just so brilliantly nervous, not really wanting to get into any kind of trouble, yet absolutely loving the espionage gizmos! Though actually Jeff Goldblum is typically brilliant; and Richard Attenborough is great; and John Williams’ score is amazing; and that T-Rex scene is truly outstanding! Dammit! It’s all fantastic. I want to see it again, now!

Super 8 (2011)

As the basis for one of 2011s big blockbusters, J. J. Abrams has taken us back to 1979 in an attempt to recapture some of the spirit of adventure in films such as ET, Stand by Me or The Goonies. A group of young friends are hell-bent on making their own zombie movie with their Super 8 camera for a local competition . When filming one night at a railway station they witness a spectacular train crash. Soon after, the small town of Lillian, Ohio, starts to experience some strange goings-on (people disappearing, all the dogs running away from town, microwaves being stolen etc), which are compounded by the Air Force arriving to “tidy up” the wreckage of the train crash. It seems that something was being transported in the train that crashed, something that the friends caught on camera while they were filming.

Essentially a creature-feature, Super 8 was tremendous fun. The main characters were the kids, with the story being told through the eyes of Joe Lamb, brilliantly realised by Joel Courtney. His best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) is the driving force behind the zombie movie, along with Cary, who loves to blow stuff up, and Martin who is constantly terrified. Elle Fanning is Alice, a girl who the guys are seemingly in awe of at the beginning of the film, but who is brought in to be in the zombie film (initially only because she can drive). However, her presence soon threatens Joe and Charles’ friendship. All of the characters are very believable and all of the performances are spot on. There is enough back-story and emotional exposition so that we care about these characters; a crucial point as their friendship is the focus of the film. I also thought that Kyle Chandler was very good as Joe’s Dad; he is the deputy sheriff, thrust into the fore both as a father (his wife died in an industrial accident), and as a deputy, as the Sheriff disappears early on in the curious happenings.

An atmosphere of mystery runs throughout the film. There is a great deal of tension as the audience has as little idea about what is happening as the characters in the story. I say that this is essentially a creature-feature, but we do not really see the creature for a long time, the reveal possibly being only 20 minutes from the end. In my opinion this is great, it is all part of the mystery; revelation too early on would have ruined any emotional investment in the film. When we finally do see it, the alien isn’t really scary (that’s not the point), but still somehow slightly underwhelming; I was reminded a lot of General Grievous actually. A lot of the great atmosphere can probably be attributed to the wonderful cinematography by Zack Snyder favourite: Larry Fong.

Any criticisms I have of the film are really only superficial. The ending is really quite cheesy, and after all the compact storytelling leading up to this point, seems strangely bolted-on, like it doesn’t really belong there. There are also several unexplained mysteries that remain, well, unexplained by the end of the movie: disappearing microwaves, or car engines? The truck that causes the train crash at the beginning should have been absolutely mangled, with nothing left of it, certainly no-one left alive in it. In fact, given the enormous size of the train, and the relatively small size of the truck, there shouldn’t have been a crash at all; the train should have just ploughed straight through the pick-up! I also found some of the famous J.J. Abrams lens-flare distracting sometimes, especially when there wasn’t even an obvious light source to cause it, and yet there was flare all over the screen.

But these are only insignificant complaints. The film was great fun, very entertaining, featuring some amazing action sequences, not least the initial train crash (which was LOUD!). I though that the cast were great, and the story that revolved around the kids was very believable, aliens not withstanding!

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the kind of film that is absolutely ludicrous, but is absolutely brilliant. On paper, the idea of trying to locate the Ark of the Covenant and rescue it from Nazis really shouldn’t work; but if you get Steven Spielberg to direct it, George Lucas to produce it (and to help with the writing), get a great cast, and it all works perfectly! So perfectly that “Raiders” is one of the most entertaining films ever made; even George Lucas admitted that it was the most fun he had making a film! Just to convince you of its greatness, here’s 5 things you probably already knew.

Harrison Ford
In 1981 Harrison Ford had made his mark as Han Solo and worn some excellent glasses in Apocalypse Now; but he was yet to solidify his position in film history. Between Indy and Decker he was assured of it. Indy is very similar to Han, only this time he is the main character. Some of the sex appeal that Han had is written into the character, and some of the cockiness removed, throw into the mix some archaeo-sleuthing skills and we have cinematic gold.

Steven Spielberg
Always a proponent of the “More is More” school of thought; Spielberg doesn’t hold back in Raiders; and we all reap the rewards. After the initial exposition, the action is almost non-stop, over-the-top, and often ludicrous; but always brilliant. Spielberg’s inspired, outlandish set-pieces are perhaps typified by the opening scenes: the bag-of-sand-idol swap and the boulder escape are so iconic that there few action scenes before or since are so memorable.

Supporting Cast
Inspired. John Rhys-Davies is wonderful as Sallah “Asps! Very Dangerous. You go first!” Karen Allen is a great love-interest/companion; girly enough to squeal when thrown into Indy’s adventures, but ballsy enough to take on the Nepalese at drinking games and stand up to the Nazis (to an extent). Paul Freeman is intense and condescending as Belloq; Ronald Lacey is perfect as the weird, sinister Toht; and a very young Alfred Molina is cool as the tarantula-covered soon-to-be-spike-impaled Satipo.

Shadow Acting
As if to prove that he is not just about fighting, explosions, and elaborate action sequences, Spielberg gets very creative in Raiders. There are many bits of scenes shot with shadow. Not least the first few minutes of the film where we only see the silhouette of Indy; probably the most iconic silhouette in history (not just in cinema!). There are also several shots of other characters talking towards the camera and Indy’s shadow behind them, far more dramatic than just filming two people talking. Also neat how some of the shadows in the Egyptian tombs seem to reflect the two-dimensional carvings on the walls. All very cool, and all serve to make a hugely enjoyable film even more fantastic.

                         

                         

Melting Nazis
It’s always good to see the bad guys get their comeuppance, and even better when they melt! Having made a cast of Ronald Lacey’s head, the sfx guys coated the inside of the mask with various layers of wax; the effect was then achieved by melting the face plus hat plus glasses with a hairdryer! Fairly low-tech, and quite laborious when it requires more than one take, but it still looks pretty great 30 years later! Of course if it was done now it would be all done in a computer, and doubtless wouldn’t look half as good. I’ve argued this before, but when effects are done “in the flesh” they always looks better and more convincing than “pretty” effects done in a computer.

So there we go, 5 reasons to love one of the best action adventure films ever made. Of course there are countless more reasons why Raiders is so good, but then this post would go on for ever! Indy shooting the big guy with swords because he had the runs; the cheesy maps with dotted lines showing where Indy is travelling to; the girl’s eyelids with “I love you” written on them; storing the Ark of the Covenant in a huge warehouse; Toht looking like he’s getting an implement of torture out but it’s actually a coat hanger; and... and...

What are you looking at Butthead?!

Often when someone remembers a great film from their childhood, and makes you watch it for the first time as an adult, you hate the film. I've made people watch The Lost Boys & Star Wars, and at best received a shrugging of the shoulders in return. The only film I can think I've been exposed to like this is Dirty Dancing, which being more of a chick-flick isn't a fair comparison I guess. But when I watched Back to the Future in its entirety just a couple of months ago (Yes I've never seen it all before, I've seen bits over the years), I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. Maybe this should be the hallmark for a great film; if you can watch it for the first time 25 years after it was first released and still think it's great, it must be good!


Therefore, as it has just been re-released for its 25 year anniversary, I saw it for the second time. Disappointing that there was only 8 people at the Belmont cinema to see it though! That's only 2 more people than there was when I went to see AVP in Berlin!!
As far as the film goes, was there anything that could go wrong? There's humour, romance, fast cars, time travel, extremely quotable lines, The Power of Love, and executively produced by Steven Spielberg. I guess MJF could have turned out to be a total bust, but even he's great. It's hard to think of many other films that are as pure entertainment as Back to the Future, apart from Indy films (Oh, Spielberg again), and perhaps Transformers! (sorry, but I was always going to love Transformers since I was a HUGE Transformers addict when I was a kid; Oh and look, Spielberg again!). So maybe I should redefine my great film criteria to one where Steven Spielberg is a producer! Erm checking IMDB I quickly retract that, I'd forgotten about Revenge of the Fallen, Jurassic Park 3, and some other clangers!


Lost the plot a bit there! Back to the Future. Great film, even 25 years on, doesn't look too dated. Cool enough to inspire not one but two Last Exit to Nowhere shirts! Go and see it if you haven't already!

“Doc, are you telling me that it’s 8.25?!” “Precisely” “Dammit, I’m late for school!”