Animation Nation

Well, hey, if Martin Scorcese can make an excellent family film on his first go around, who's to say that Steven Spielberg can't make an equally great animated film in his first attempt? December has proven to be a big name for the iconic director, whose live-action War Horse has already been nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Picture and will surely be have been considered when the Academy Award nominations roll around. Beyond that, he released his first animated film (alongside another epic filmmaker, Peter Jackson) The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, which has received a Best Animated Film nomination and will likely be the pick for what has become the Academy's annual nomination of an animated feature to the Best Picture category. Based on the classic comic book series by Belgian artist George Remi (or as he's more popularly known, Herge), Spielberg has owned the rights to make Tintin since shortly after Remi's death in 1983. For one reason or another - whether due to unacceptable scripts or other responsibilities - Tintin did not make it to the big screen, and we would never see a live-action version of this international sensation in movie theaters. Enter Peter Jackson, who had used motion capture technology in creating amazingly lifelike nonhuman characters for films King Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Suggesting that Tintin could be made into an animated film using motion capture equipment, he and Spielberg set out to do something never before accomplished, and for the most part they got it right.

A Library? Don't you know all good adventures start in a tavern??

When renowned Belgian reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) purchases a beautiful three-masted ship model at an outdoor market, he doesn't think anything of it. He doesn't know that simply purchasing  the ship may present him with the story of a lifetime. He certainly doesn't expect that it will set him on a globetrotting mission to uncover the secrets of a lost treasure, restore the legacy of a cursed family tree, and suffer through disasters on land, sea, and air to survive by the skin of his teeth every time. Escorted and aided everywhere by his white fox terrier Snowy and new friend Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis), Tintin is in a race against time to find a sunken treasure before criminal mastermind Ivan Sakharine (Daniel Craig) can steal it to fund his nefarious deeds.

Yes! Saved from a life of glorious adventure!

The stills I've compiled don't do enough to show how brilliantly animated this film is. The Adventures of Tintin possesses the most realistic depictions of human characters I've ever seen in a non-live action film, and anyone who's seen what bad human characters look like know how big a deal that is. Never has Uncanny Valley been so conspicuously absent, and several scenes are so realistic they look as if they were shot with live actors instead of their digital counterparts. This is especially true of the main character, whose likeness to actor Jaime Bell helps connect him to the viewers, but who also must be believable in every scene. And since he's in just about EVERY scene there is... well, what's important is that the animation not only doesn't detract from the adventurous aspect of the film, it actually assists in making it more engaging to the audience. In fact, I'd say that should Spielberg become interested in doing a line of films in this vein, it would make for a natural progression of the Indiana Jones series, which shares many similarities with his variation of Tintin. After all, there's nothing that could cleanse the palette of Crystal Skull better than to reboot the franchise with computer animation, in my opinion.

No, really! I always do the crossword in the blood of my enemies!

Another step in the right direction is the breadth of characters made open to us, thanks especially to Spielberg's faithfulness to the source material. Though we learn little about Tintin himself (a byproduct of Herge, who developed all his secondary characters more than he did his hero), his visual demeanor and Jamie Bell's reading of the role make him instantly likable, as Bell gives Tintin a youthful exuberance in which you can't help but get caught. Also a lot of fun is Andy Serkis as Tintin's friend Haddock, an alcoholic and self-proclaimed failure who rediscovers his sense of adventure and self-respect of the course of the film. Playing the role of crowd favorite, it's the most fun I've had seeing a Serkis performance since he played Gollum in Lord of the Rings and even that thirty seconds of awesome that was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Daniel Craig rises above his so-so no-Bond 2011 with his best performance of the year, and that's mainly because it's the only one in which you're not sure it's him until the final credits. As the film's main villain, Craig comes off as devious, cruel and completely lacking in compassion, which is exactly what was needed. A nice addition to the cast are the comedic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson (yes, two different spellings) as identical policemen who are allies with Tintin. While not deeply ingrained to the main story, their sporadic appearances do provide quite a bit of levity to the story, which occasionally needs it when gunfire is present at regular intervals. Finally, one of the film's better roles might be for a non-speaking part, as Spielberg takes his love of furry animals to the ultimate level with the rendering of Snowy, who is as fleshed out a character as can be, despite the dubious distinction of walking on four feet.

Aye, he's an angry Scotsman

If there's one problem with Tintin, it's that it's directed by, well, Steven Spielberg. Don't get me wrong; in his early years, Spielberg was a genius director for whom the sky was the limit. However, he hit that sky more than a decade ago, and these days seems to settle his business quickly and efficiently, resulting in some underwhelming and overrated titles that survive mainly due to his name and the talent he attracts to his side. One major problem with his work is that the message of the film or even a single scene is placed out there in the open, and he can't help but constantly point to it and figuratively say "See? See? Aren't I clever?" It's less present in Tintin, but still present a bit too often; Spielberg must have heard the moviemaking manta "show, don't tell", but if he has it has no presence in his work, with characters espousing plot devices and any important information instead of letting us work it out for ourselves. That's what makes him such a mediocre (and ironically, popular) director; his films these days rarely make you actually think, allowing you to turn off your brain and not ponder what you see or hear. Most people like that, but as a regular film-goer, I prefer subtlety and intelligence to rule the day.

Hey, don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop??

Despite this, The Adventures of Tintin is an exciting, fun film for the whole family that is a modern miracle in human engineering. I was not bored one moment throughout the film, and while some quiet moments would have been welcomed, I can't help but feel this is a more trivial quibble than a real critique. Some moments, such as an amazing chase through the streets of Bagghar, Morocco, count among the greatest feats of cinema in 2011, and it's that visual spectacle alongside some real human heart that rates this title so highly in my eyes. It's no Arthur Christmas in terms of overall film quality, but Tintin is still one of the best animated films I've seen recent years, and it's lack of inclusion in the Top 10 is by no means meant as a snub. A very good film that you should see in the theater, this is by far my favorite Spielberg film this decade. With an attempt to try something different on your part, it could be yours too.

E.T. Phone tha Hood

It isn't too often I come across a legitimate limited release film by myself. Usually I need to be told these films are in theaters, or risk missing them completely. Often I learn of them by virtue of award nominations (Rabbit Hole and Barney's Version come to mind), but when the commendations aren't flying a lot of luck is usually involved in me learning of a minor release. Fortunately, I live near an independent cinema that loves showing such movies, and even the multiplex I frequent has one or two "lesser" films sandwiched in between the IMAX screens for people who want to try something different. In that case I'll probably come across these titles when their trailers appear on the big screen, and that's how I've come to know of a few you might have missed (like Win Win). Still, that encompasses some luck as well, and I'm looking in other avenues for news. That's how I came across Attack the Block, the film debut of comedian Joe Cornish about an alien invasion of the slums of South London, and a gang of street rats who go up against them. As many of you know, I do use Twitter, and who should I end up following but Shaun of the Dead and Paul star Nick Frost, who dropped this little birdie into my lap... and that of over three hundred thousand other followers, but they're not nearly as important. The concept behind Attack the Block definitely seemed a good one; I simply had to see it to believe that there was much different between this and a random SyFy original movie.

Them versus blood-sucking aliens? Still not sure where to place my bets...

While people are out on Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Day in England) celebrating by drinking and launching fireworks, a gang of inner city teens is up their usual tricks, mugging pedestrians on the street and breaking into cars for valuables. This night turns far from usual however, as by chance they are present when what seems to be a meteor lands nearby, attracting their attention. To their surprise, an alien creature emerges from the wreckage, attacking the group's leader Moses (John Boyega), resulting in the gang chasing down the creature and ultimately killing it. Realizing that they were dealing with something not of this world, the group takes the carcass back to their block tenement where they hope to reap some benefit from this event. What they fail to realize is that this small creature is the opening act of an alien invasion, and only they and their most recent mugging victim (Jodie Whittaker) are able and willing to fight back against the alien's much larger and more dangerous cousins..

Sorry, no Simon Pegg this time around

As you can expect, this is mostly a "defeat the monster" film, with no room for much extra. Attack the Block does make some minor statements on societal class, but don't expect anything rivaling that of the HBO series The Wire, as only the criminal hierarchy of the block tenement where the film's stars reside is really present in comparison. The film is pretty much all about the alien invasion, with some comedic elements thrown in for a break in the tension. Honestly, I didn't think it was the best mix; not that suspense and humor can't coexist but just in this case the humor should have been worked in a little more evenly. A bit more with Nick Frost would have helped, as Frost is almost wasted in his role as drug dealer Ron, whose "weed room" is considered the film's last holding ground (much like the Winchester Pub in Shaun of the Dead). Ron and his pothead customer Brewis (Luke Treadaway) are presented as the film's main comic foils, though only Brewis is actually important to the story, with Ron being as expendable as your average Red Shirt. He has his moments, but overall he has less than that of two small boys (Sammy Williams and Michael Ajao) who steal the show with their attempts being toughs like the gang.

Yeah, I'll let the guy with the sword go first

As for the monster movie aspect, the effects are actually quite realistic for a small budget title. Without giving too much away, the creatures are simply designed enough so that it doesn't take a lot of effort to realistically show them to the audience. It's true that you don't see too much of the aliens at first, as they are relegated to the shadows, but this is more for creating suspense than having to make up for creation deficiencies. The way they interact with the live characters is also frighteningly realistic, and seeing them tear a head or face off a major character is always a shock. This was somewhat of a surprise, as I fully expected that the weak point would be special effects unable to capture the imagination of the filmmakers and the audience. The amount of violence present was also unexpected, but to be fair if I ever get used to seeing teenagers get torn apart, you might want to get me committed.

Express elevator, going... oh, you're leaving

Unfortunately, the film's cast of characters are mostly forgettable, samey types that won't be remembered in six months time. Most of the street toughs are little more than annoying stereotypes of ghetto caricatures. The main exception is Boyega; as the young actor makes his cinema debut here and really surprises you with his ability to attract your attention and sustain it over the course of a film. I have no idea if this level will be consistent with his future acting career, but he certainly seems to have the brightest future among the young actors present. Whittaker is also solid, though understandably her performance pales in comparison to that of Boyega. As a recent mugging victim, she makes an uneasy ally to the boys, but the characters really get a feeling of eachother by the film's conclusion, and she does a good job as the voice of the audience who wouldn't trust these boys watching their backs. The other standout is Jumayn Hunter as local gangster Hi-Hatz, Ron's boss and ruler of the criminal element in the block. As a secondary villain, Hi-Hatz might not always be rational or even very smart, but it's his tenacity and remarkable habit for self-preservation that make him stand out, and Hunter fills those qualities impeccably.

Apparently bicycles are "street" now

Ultimately, it's the subtle charm of the story and Joe Cornish's natural direction that help win the day when it comes to Attack the Block. It is a surprisingly smart, clever film full of surprises and just enough humor to wash the blood out, and while it may not be the perfect iteration of its genre, it does enough things right for the audience to come out feeling mostly entertained. It could have been funnier and scarier, and a little more Nick Frost might have gone a long way, but in the end those aren't serious complaints. If you can still find it in a theater near you, I heartily recommend it as an alternative to recent horror releases that you're stuck on whether to go and see. I guarantee you'll have more fun seeing this film than you would Apollo 18 or Shark Night 3D.

My Friend Paul

I think I realize now why I didn't love Shaun of the Dead when I first saw it. When the zombie-comedy film, co-starring English comedians Simon Pegg and Nick Frost first reached our shores back in 2004, I wasn't in the theaters to see it. I honestly don't remember what I was up to about that time, but despite so many around me raging about how great it was, I safely managed to completely avoid the film release. A year or so later, I finally rented the DVD and despite (or perhaps because of) the tons of positive hype I'd received from friends and acquaintances that this was one of the funniest movies they'd ever seen, I found myself unenthused by some of the obscure jokes and inane plot threads. That's not to say I didn't LIKE Shaun; not at all, I liked it very much. I just didn't LOVE it like so many around me seemed to. So underwhelmed was I by this that I skipped the duo's next collaboration, 2007's Hot Fuzz, altogether, and only in 2009's Star Trek reboot did I see either of the actors (Pegg) perform in another film. So it wasn't with a ton of excitement that led me to seeing science fiction comedy Paul last night. Instead, I decided that the trailers looked good enough, the buzz was big enough, and enough time had passed that I would be willing to give another Pegg/Frost film a shot, even knowing the lackluster Seth Rogen had a role to play. My low expectations then made it that much sweeter when the film proved to be much more than I could have imagined.

The Battle of Helm's Deep re-enactment hit a few snags: nerds

Starting at the last place you would ever expect a film to begin (San Diego's famous Comic-Con), we meet Graeme and Clive (Pegg and Frost), a writer/illustrator duo enamored with all things science fiction. Visiting the United States for the first time, the duo follow up the San Diego stint with a road trip of the US's most famous UFO sites, including Area 51 and the Black Mailbox. They expected to have a fun time. What they DIDN'T expect was to accidentally meet Paul (voice of Rogen), a big-headed "gray" alien who need their help. Paul just escaped from Area 51's lock-down facility in which he'd been held for decades, and must escape to a rendezvous point before the government agents led by Special Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman) can catch up with him and bring the little guy back for dissection.

Headlamps for under $10? I've got to call this in!

The film does a lot of stuff right, and the main reason for that can be attributed to the amazing script written by the film's stars. While the film drags a little bit in the opening, it does make for a nice enough opener and allows those who might not be familiar with the Comic-Con experience to catch a glimpse of what they're missing. Once the duo get on the road and meet their extraterrestrial wingman, however, the film manages to take off and the excitement is perfectly paced throughout. The film doesn't fall in the trap of being too serious, however, as the comedy is solid throughout, with only repeated jokes as to the duo's questioned sexuality failing to inspire much mirth. Director Greg Mottola did his share of work, and while his penchant for potty humor and sight gags is still here, so is his ability to make fun characters connect a-la Superbad. In all, he makes the perfect companion to Pegg and Frost, with all three seemingly on the same page for most of the film.

Obviously though the sign said "No PANTS, No Shoes, No Service"

The best however is the film's unabashed nerdism. There are obvious scenes that are easy to pick out, from Steven Spielberg's cameo and a redneck bar whose band is playing the famous "Cantina Theme" from Star Wars, but the film truly draws from the lesser-known geekery every chance it gets. When you see Graeme wearing a tee-shirt with the comic character Invincible on it or when Clive mutters in his sleep "Boomer, it's forbidden," the true comic and sci-fi nerd can't help but smile at the references. The film doesn't treat these fans as jokes, either; fans of sci-fi and fantasy comics, shows and films have never been shown so much respect from a big-budget Hollywood film, at least not since 1999's Galaxy Quest. Pegg and Frost are as large fans as could be conceived, but neither are portrayed as simple or one-note characters. They're complex creatures with wants, needs and flaws, as far from comic nerd cliches as you can get.

Things were so simple on Arrested Development...

Speaking of Pegg and Frost, their hard work and respect for the subject matter really shows in their performances here. Pegg's acting isn't notably special, but he comes off believably as an artistic nerd who finds himself in a situation he would have thought impossible only days ago. Frost I had expected to dislike, as his sluggish character in Shaun was one of the main reasons I didn't come away a believer. However, he's much more sympathetic here, and in fact manages to steal the spotlight on several occasions. He's simply more fleshed out (no pun intended) and more likely someone you'd want to hang out with. The fraternity between the two stars is obvious, and they work together so charmingly that I'm not sure I want to see them in anything else if the other wasn't present. Some of the film's best bits can safely be attributed to the arrival of Kristen Wiig on the scene as a long-suffering creationist Christian who's mind is blown upon meeting the little grey man. Wiig might be close to graduating from the house at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to become a legitimate Hollywood star, and she's got the comedic timing and talent to make it work. I was worried Bateman would play the straight guy too well, but he puts in a solid performance as Agent Zoil, strong and unpredictable to the end. The weakest parts of the cast were probably the film's sub-villains, most notable Bill Heder and Joe Lo Trugilo as Zoil's subordinates, who don't even come off as half-competent as government agents. Blythe Danner and Jane Lynch even make for nice scenes as colorful characters on the path the film takes. But it's Seth Rogen as the titular hero who's the true surprise. Rogen, who I pretty much dislike in everything I've seen, manages to be the PERFECT voice for the foul-mouthed alien, and I was genuinely pleased with the character's range and Rogen's ability to carry the load.

E.T. phone HOME! Big time.

The reason I didn't love Shaun of the Dead became clear to me as I watched Paul's closing credits: for all the good Shaun presented, I just wasn't really a fan of zombie movies at the time, and so much of of what was so innovative about the film went over my head. With Paul's much more appealing medium, I now realize that Pegg and Frost are, like me and so many others, just fans who make films about what they love. While I didn't connect with Shaun's zombie comedy (and with my respect for Zombieland, I wonder if that would change should I try again?), Paul's love letter to fandom was much better received.. With the slow opening going against it's otherwise perfect narrative, it comes in trailing only The Adjustment Bureau at #2 for 2011. A well-written, funny as hell celebration of Sci-fi and fantasy, I would recommend it to anyone out there, though it'll be the real, unashamed nerds who get the best experience out of it.