We Need to Talk about Real Tin

..tin. Yes, today I have been attempting to justify the expense of an unlimited card by what is known as a cinebinge. This is one better than a double bill, which after all is just what we used to expect at every cinema visit.

Today's films were: (The adventures of) Tintin, Real Steel and We Need to Talk about Kevin.

As it turned out, this was a corking day's entertainment, but there couldn't be much more contrast than that between the first and last of the programme.

Spielberg seems to be intent on reviving old style entertainment at the moment and making films of which one might say "they don't make 'em like that anymore". His take on Tintin, while clearly a loving homage, is not in Hergé's famous ligne-claire style though and in fact is a kind of live action cartoon using the now quite familiar "mocap" technique whereby actual actors' movements are "motion captured" and digitised. Rather a modern version of "rotoscoping" which uncle Walt was already using way back in the thirties.

He chose an interesting group of writers, currently at the top of their game: Edgar "Hot Fuzz" Wright, Steven "Dr Who" Moffat and Joe "Attack the Block" Cornish.

The actors are pretty unrecognisable in their cartoon guise but this will be familiar territory for Andy Serkis who plays the irascible Captain Haddock. The Captain likes a drink and has a nice line in oaths and as anyone who has read the books must agree, is an absolutely necessary foil to the rather po-faced boy reporter and is what makes the tales a lasting joy.

I have read them all at one time or another either in English, French or both and I suppose I should be unhappy with what has been done to George Remi's work (he took the sound of his initials and reversed it to make his famous pen-name). Actually though, I found it a joyful adventure and, though the faces are rather grotesque, the action and all the references to spot, make it engrossing fun. Milou/Snowy, along with Idéefix/Dogmatix, probably the most famous cartoon dog in the world has been well recreated too.

Clearly Spielberg is hoping it will do well enough to justify a sequel because the ending certainly appears to be a new beginning just as in the books Red Rackham's Treasure continued the story of the Secret of the Unicorn.
 Image via Wikipedia
If I have any criticism I think it would be that Frost and Pegg are rather thrown away as the Thomson/Thompson twins. I saw the 2d version so I can't comment on whether 3d added anything. It doesn't seem a very natural thing to do to an old comic book but I suppose that's not a very logical way of thinking in the face of all the live action versions of the Marvel and DC comics.

By the way, if anybody thinks that they really don't write (or draw) things like this anymore, take a look at "The Rainbow Orchid" by British writer/artist Garan Ewing. It wonderfully evokes the Tintin-esque world of thirties comic adventure and has a gripping plot spanning several episodes.

Image via WikipediaAfter a lunch while poring over the cinema's magazine I returned to see Real Steel. This is basically a corny old boxing picture but in place of men knocking the stuffing out of each other they use giant robots. Yes, it is the film of Robot Wars but the robots are several orders of magnitude more awesome. It would be easy to take the metal mickey out of the film but it was actually fine entertainment. The father/son bonding is predictable and familiar but not boring and is well acted. Hugh Jackman does his hunk with a heart but not using his head thing very well. The kid acts his role nicely. The love interest doesn't try and upstage huge metal men beating seven kinds of sparks out of each other's hydraulics. The important thing is that it is a boxing picture with huge metal men. ...and I'm all for it. How soon can we have the technology to actually do this and stop men having to smash each other up? I've long since stopped watching boxing but I'd happily watch giant robots thumping each other, especially if they did dance routines first. Great fun.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The final film, We Need to Talk about Kevin was a complete contrast to the old-fashioned adventure and morality tale that went before. I overheard a middle-aged couple's response afterwards: Man - Well that was fun (with heavy sarcasm). Woman - What were you expecting? Bambi?
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Indeed I should have known what to expect, given all that I had heard and read about Lionel Shriver's book and reviews of the film (directed by Lynne Ramsay). In the first five minutes I did actually ask myself whether I wanted to stay. Not that I ever walk out on films actually. I always find something interesting. [The only exception was Chesty Morgan's "Deadly Weapons back in the seventies but that's another story]. 

Anyway I'm glad I stayed because, despite the subject matter and the non-linear treatment, it is a fascinating and very well shot and acted film. All the cast are excellent, with a stand out performance by Tilda Swinton and great support from the reliable John C Reilly and a mesmerising turn from the psycopathic Keven played (in his teenage incarnation) by Ezra Miller.

An outstanding, if difficult and harrowing, film. I rather wish the day had finished with the more upbeat  Real Steel but nevertheless a great day at the cinema.