The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo

Along with Tintin, I also had the pleasure of seeing one of the greatest movies I have ever seen this week. This movie had style, humor, mystery, and even some other dark elements that will take you by surprise. The movie, of course, was the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, based off the acclaimed books by Stieg Larsson. The movie had me hooked on the mystery that was involved, and had me guessing until the final clue was revealed.

The story followed Michael Blomkvist, a journalist who recently got busted for libel against Wennerström, a wealthy business man. However he then gets hired by Henrik Vanger, a wealthy man who hires Blomkvist to do his memoirs, though the ultimate task is to try and figure out the forty year old mystery of who killed his niece, Harriet Vanger. Along the line of solving this mystery, Blomkvist encounters the punk hacker, Elisabeth Salander. Together, they solve the mystery of who murdered Vanger's beloved niece.

As the original novel and story was set in Sweden, I am pleased to say that the American movie adaptation was also set in Sweden, which I'll give them credit for not trying to Americanize it. They also kept to Elisabeth's punk appearance, and some of her outfits were nothing short of amazing.

In the begining of the movie, the story seems to be split in two parts: Michael's story and his struggle of trying to get reliability back, and Elisabeth, or Lisabeth trying to make ends meet financially. Blomkvist's part of the story might seem boring at first, such as him just wandering around Sweden Some parts with Lisabeth made me highly uncomfortable, such as her doing sexual favors for the person that she was getting money from, and her revenge on the guy was making her do such favors was a bit cringe worthy, even among the guys in the audience.

The one thing that made this film highly enjoyable, and probably one of the best films I have ever watched, was  the fact even though the beginning was slow, it had an an excellent pace, humor at just the right places, and the serious parts where they counted. The msytery had me gripped, my mind frantically working out the case before the cast did, and it turned out, at every twist and turn, there was something new to consider. Overall, the atmosphere was amazing, and well planned out.

The acting was superb in the anime. First, you have one of my all time favorite actors, Daniel Craig, playing Michael Blomkvist. Mara Roony was Lisabth Salander, and she did an excellent job portraying the character of a top notch hacker, and the rest of the supporting cast did well. The only complaint I honest have with the cast is that the Vangers seemed to blend together, and everyone else seemed not important or got caught up in the mix.

If you're looking for a mystery, with some romance, and even some some humor here and there, then I say go see this movie. The movie will keep you on the edge of your seats, and leave you wanting more of the characters. 

The Adventures of Tintin

We have all wanted to go on a grand a grand adventure in our lives, whether it be to the jungle, or perhaps a trip on the high seas. Sometimes, we take these trips willingly, with lots and lots of planning, or we take them as due to circumstances. Tintin, a boy and grad adventurer embarks on a journey, a journey of epic proportions.

Tintin is a reporter in Great Britain, and his dog Snowy, embark on a grand adventure after Tintin buys a model boat of the Unicorn, a legendary ship that sunk mysteriously. After he buys it, people are drawn to the ship, offering him double what he paid for originally or naming his own price. He refuses offer takes home, and while Snowy was chasing a stray cat, the ship topples over, breaking the middle mast. After he and Snowy return from another errand, the ship goes missing. Snowy points out a silver tube that had fallen behind the dresser when the ship broke, and in the tube was a piece of paper. A little while later, he goes to see the old abandoned manor, where he sees the ship that had broken, though this ship seemed to be in one piece. It is deduced that the Captain Francis Haddock, the original captain of the ship made three copies of the ship. In his quest to find the treasure rumored to be with the ship, he recruits the help of Captain Francis Haddock's descendant, Captain Haddock,in order to solve the mystery behind the ships and to find the treasure!

The first thing I must say about this movie is that you must go see it in Imax 3D. I had the pleasure of doing so, and the effects in the movie were amazing. At some points, I felt as though I was there, even though it was an animated movie. the dust particles moving around in front of me, the waves almost being able to reach me, and the sand could have been played in if i took a few steps towards the screen, were all thrills of the movie. The layer sof the scenes was also very well done, like Tintin was distinct from the surroundings, and everything was layered properly. Although usually I do not watch 3D, this movie was well worth it to go see it in 3D.

The story of Tintin in my mind could be divided into two parts: The main course which was Tintin and Haddock's adventure for the ships, but also about the local pickpocket. The main story was interesting, due to the fact that they keep going after these clues to the treasure. It had wit, action,and even a few jokes and sayings, such as "It only took a day in the Sahara to make you sober," or "I'm not optimist, I'm a realist," made me laugh and realize that the latter was an application to some of my views in life. The second, and perhaps sort of side story, was the two policemen, Thomson and Thompson, trying to catch a local pickpocket, who had been stealing everyone's wallets. The two police men are actually the source of comic relief in the movie when Captain Haddock's drinking problem fails.

The voice acting was superb in the movie. Captain Haddock's voice fit his character very well, as well as Tintin's. Their adversary, Sakharine, was voiced by the one and only James Bond,Daniel Craig, though I had a hard time recognizing the voice at first. But for the other characters, the voice acting was also superb.

As for the art of the movie, sometimes I started to question if was animated or not. The eyes for the characters were very well detailed, and the people looked natural, save for the noses. Those noses were unnatural, and kind of hideous if you ask me. But the sceneries and the effects in the animation was superb, especially in 3D as I have said before.

The movie was an excellent watch, and well worth the money to see in Imax 3D. If you can and are able to watch 3D, I recommend it highly, and it is a good family film.