Frankenweenie (2012, Tim Burton)

In 1984, Tim Burton directed Frankenweenie, a black and white short film. Twenty eight years later, he perfected it. Frankenweenie is now an animated movie which last one hour and a half, still black and white but more ‘burtonesque’ than the original.

Tim Burton at the Frankenweenie Premiere Hollywood

IT'S ALIVE

Hence, this is not a remake. If both films tell the story of a boy who used his scienctific knowledge to bring his dog Sparky back to life, the following events have been altered.  Frankenweenie 2012 is dark, yet funny and witty. Burton gives here tributes to classic horror films with his special touch, reminiscent of The Nightmare from Christmas or the Corpse Bride. Who said Tim was dead?

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

When Tintin bought a small boat in a flea market, someone else tried to steal it from him. Actually, it contained a paper leading him to a treasure hidden in a sunken boat. There began the big adventure where Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock set off in search of the famous treasure and defeat the evil thief Sakharine.

Finally, the cinematographic adaptation of Hergé’s comics comes out. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s hard work to bring the Belgian reporter to life has paid off for Tintin is going to be a worldwide phenomenon alongside the Harry Potter franchise. Making Tintin was a huge challenge and the filmmakers took the right decision to resort to motion capture for the entire movie to stay close to the comics. For once, the 3D was good and gave highlights to both the characters and the settings. 

Tintin and Haddock in the Adventures of Tintin

Souvenirs souvenirs

Being used to the french cartoons, I did not like the opening credits nor the music and I had to wait about twenty minutes to get into the Tintin atmosphere. But I have found the characters the way I knew them before like Haddock (for once, Andy Serkis is human), Snowy and Thomson and Thompson (Dupont/Dupond) as bumbling as ever. Most of the scenes are based on the Secrets of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure and The Crab with the Golden Claws, the episode where Tintin and Haddock meet for the first time. Hence, they also feature less major characters like Allan or Omar Ben Salaad.

Indeed, some alterations are expected like Tintin using a gun, some Indiana Jones-like pursuit scenes, reference to FBI/Interpol, etc. and some people won’t like it. Moreover, the combination of the three episodes has changed the plot points but it does not affect the quality of the storyline. After all, the point was not to reproduce shot by shot or frame by frame. Through this movie, Spielberg introduces Tintin (taintain in French) to the world especially non-french speaking people.    

Be that as it may, I was glad to see Tintin again and I look forward to seeing the rest of the trilogy. For now, I will go back to my old cartoons and reminisce about the good old days.

Memorable quotes

Thomson (to Sakharine) : You’re under arrest

Thompson: To be more precise…you’re under arrest

Rango (2011, Gore Verbinski)

Rango, a lonely and ordinary chameleon suddenly becomes a hero when he accidentally caused the death of a bird in the town of Dirt. But now that he is the new sheriff, Rango has another challenge to take up: he is the only one who could save the population from drought, water shortage and terror. 

(The Spirit of the West scene)

Well, well, well, I'm not a big fan of computer animated films but seeing Johnny Depp as a sheriff in the trailer made me want to watch it. Johnny, once again delivers an outstanding performance as the chameleon. I'm not a professional but from my point of view, Rango is one of the best animated movies so far along Toy Story and Up: the visuals are terrific, the dialogue simple but brilliant. One of my favorite scenes is when Rango finally meets the Spirit of the West, the reference to Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone's "The man with no name" was priceless. My only regret about the movie was that I forgot to check out the cast list before watching it so I didn't recognize the actors' voices (except Timothy Olyphant for The Spirit of the West of course). I regret missing Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina and ESPECIALLY Billy Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake…Too bad!!!  

Clint Eastwood

 Memorable quote 
Rattlesnake Jake (to Rango): I tip my hat to you...one legend to another