Adventures of Tin-Tin, The
01-18-2012 - Ryan Colucci
Seeing The Adventures of Tin-Tin just a few days after Rango, I couldn’t help but be excited for the future of cinema. The things filmmakers are able to accomplish visually through technically and craftsmanship is astounding. Although I think Verbinski left more of a personal stamp on his film, Steven Spielberg is no slouch and this thing is jaw-dropping at a visual level. I listened to an interview with Spielberg and fellow producer Peter Jackson, who both made it clear that the most important thing to them in the animation process were the eyes. And that giving the eyes life was the difference between being creeped out and a fulfilling experience. I have to say – they nailed it. There were some shots of this movie where I could have sworn I was watching a live action film. It was just gorgeous and so incredibly real.
If there was one downfall it was in the story; it just wasn’t that exciting. Spielberg isn’t just a master craftsman, he is the master craftsman. So all of the action, settings and characters are top notch. There were some nice character moments and I particularly liked Captain Haddock, but the whole time watching this I felt like I was watching Indiana Jones-light. Tin-Tin was never in much danger and the stakes never seemed to be all that high.
I don’t believe this film would offer much on a repeat viewing and in a few years when the rest of the world catches up to masters like Spielberg and Jackson, this film may look pedestrian. However, right now, it is breathtaking and well worth seeing in theaters at least once.
Another Earth
01-17-2012 - Ryan Colucci
Mike Cahill’s first feature Another Earth is rivaled this year only by Sean Durkin’s first feature Martha Marcy May Marlene. Although very different, they both deal with complicated young women and are made with a sure, competent hand. Like MMMM, Another Earth features a brave performance by a young actress with a lot of promise, Britt Marling. Marling is also a producer and co-writer here. I recognized her immediately from her one episode of Community.…
Rango
01-14-2012 - Ryan Colucci
It was with a lot of trepidation that I sat down to watch Rango. I am trying to catch up on all the films from 2011 that I haven't seen and sat through a few bad ones that got good reviews. And this may have been the most liked film, on average, from the critics I actually listen to. It's not the top film on their year end awards, not sure why, but when it…
