Movie Review: The Adventures of Tin Tin – Tip top 3D action that perhaps falls a little flat in the end.

Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson have both teamed up on this one to produce a visual melting pot.  The team producing all these wonderful effects is Weta Digital who were responsible for the Lord of The Rings trilogy & Avatar.

For those who don’t know Tin Tin was a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist Georges Remi . Our story here revolves around Tin Tin (voiced by Jaime Bell) an overly inquisitive young reporter and Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) in their search for the hidden treasure of Haddocks ancestor, and in hot pursuit the evil villain Red Rackham (Daniel Craig). I could waffle on a little more about more story / plot detail but really doesn’t matter, or certainly didn’t matter all that much to me!

The film is action set piece after action set piece, barely taking a moment to breathe before it heads into the next rip roaring sequence. I also saw this in 3D, which was okay I guess. I really don’t think (perhaps apart from Avatar) anyone has really explored 3D as yet.

I also felt like they’d tried to cram too much in here though, there literally doesn’t feel like there’s a break and with three Tin Tin stories all woven into one film here, it’s not difficult to see why. Don’t get me wrong, the action is fantastic and well worth a look. Andy Serkis as the whiskey glugging Captain Haddock keeps you chuckling along for most of the way and Daniel Craig does a nice creepy vocal job as the baddy Rackham.

I certainly think the younger crowd will lap this one up. It’s good fun and will do well I’m sure, but for me it was all a bit of a spectacle in the end and with it crying out for a sequel at its closure I have no doubt that Tin Tin will be gracing our screens once again!

6 Northern Thumbs out of 10.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz3j8gKRUTg

Movie Review: Mission Impossible 4 – Tiny Tom treats us to some to some tantalising action set from the world’s largest cinema screen!

So the fourth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise is upon us, and as luck would have it I got to experience this little feast of action on the world’s largest cinema screen in Sydney ahead of its Dubai premier the following Thursday, with the director and Mr Simon Pegg introducing.

And I have to say - it blew my bollocks off, popped them in a blender then slowly drank them down before my very eyes. It was action - fantastic.

The story / plot are nothing special. The IMF is shut down when implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin which causes Ethan Hunt and his team to go out on their own to clear the agencies name. America is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia (due to this little misunderstanding) and it’s down to Hunt and the guys to prevent it from all going pear shaped.

Their journey takes them to Russia, Dubai and India where they battle, fondle, destroy & dress up for everything in sight. The stunts (as you would expect to see from a film such as this) are sensational, throwing Ethan and his team all over the shop. The scenes in the Dubai skyscraper are eye popping (certainly while being watched on such a bloody large screen), while Ethan runs around outside, falling in and out of the damn thing and back in again. Tom maybe short, but he's got great big solid balls doing that sort of thing.

The director Brad Bird comes from an animation background, having done The Incredibles & Ratatouille before this, but he seems to handle the transition pretty well. Simon Pegg supports and gives some nice comedic moments, that although funny I’m not sure whether that act is beginning to wear a little thin on me. Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker) always gives a pretty solid performance, with ‘hot to trot’ Paula Patton popping on some nice outfits to gawk at.

If you are going to see this I would totally recommend seeing it at the IMAX, I was blown away by not only the shire size of the screen and the incredible sound. But also where this film takes most effect is getting to experience all these large action set pieces on such a massive scale!

7 northern thumbs out of 10.

Opens in Oz 15^th December.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g

Clips:

I’ll Catch You

Link- https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1295805342/5dcb077ba723fff0b48880a2c9fcdace

Fan Jump  

Link- https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1292515340/1bdc41d5a60d9965233f7fce8d19df18

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol Premiere Clip:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1305804692/07787db7c8b10fdabc0de6b0ea18449d

  

Movie Review: The Iron Lady – Meryl smashes this Maggie Thatcher role into next week in this entertaining biopic.

A film based on the life and times of Margaret Thatcher was always going to be a little controversial. I’m originally from the northern city of Leeds and she was about as popular back then (and I’m pretty sure even now) as a rather large piece of flying dog shit.

During her reign she increased taxes during the recession in the early 1980’s, her policies led to the eventual closures of many mines, mainly in the northern England, destroying whole communities. She also led Britain to war in the Falkland’s where over 200 British servicemen and women lost their lives, these just some of many unpopular policies she implemented.

On the flip side though, the policy of privatisation was called the main ‘highlight’ which fuelled economic growth in the country and eventually got the country back on its feet also encouraging  growth within the finance & service sectors.

As we kick things off Maggie is old and decrepit (so kind of now) and is still mourning the death of her husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) while on the verge of dementia. From here on in we’re catapulted back and forth  in time, showing us Maggie growing up as a daughter of a grocery shop owner in Grantham, her eventual interest in politics, a stint at Oxford, then onto becoming a Conservative candidate in Dartford where she meets her larger than life husband, Denis.

Where this film really becomes punchy though is when we eventually arrive at Maggie’s leading of the Conservative party into victory at the 1979 election. We are taken through her battles with the unions, the Falkland’s war, Northern Ireland, as well as many, many more political tussles! The movie combines actual footage from the time which really creates a big impact on how fragile and tense feelings were in Britain during this time.

The film is (surprise, surprise) rather sympathetic to Maggie, showing us her love for her husband, family & desire to ‘do good’ for the country. There are a few moments where she comes across as a bit of bully, certainly towards her cabinet in an attempt to balance things. But whatever your feelings towards this lady you cannot deny what she achieved and that she will always remain a prominent figure within British politics.

Overall I felt this was really well made and had me captivated from start to finish. The director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia) presents this material in an engaging way with Streeps portrayal of Maggie being wonderful to watch on screen. And with some solid support from Broadbent and a few other familiar British faces, this should keep most pretty satisfyed!

8 northern thumbs out of 10.

Released in Oz on Boxing Day.

Teaser Trailer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/jul/07/iron-lady-margaret-thatcher-trailer