Cinema Films (merlynsprankling)

I quite enjoyed the film. There are lots of hilarious lines in the film, many straight from the books but most just clever new lines the writers came up with.

Andy Serkis' brilliant performance as Captain Haddock is absolutely hilarious. When you're not laughing at what he's doing, you're laughing at his lines, and when you're not laughing at his lines you're probably laughing at his face. He has a Scottish accent in the film. There were times when shots of Haddock and a flashback of Sir Francis alternate with a fluency that could only really be acchieved using motion capture.

Daniel Craig did a splendid job as the villain Sakharine, and it's funny to recognise James Bond playing a villain's part.

Pretty much every frame of the movie is a piece of art. Especially the city of Brussels and the port in Morocco are bright,colorful and incredibly detailed. If you see it in 2D you shouldn't feel like you're missing too much because the 3D is more of a fun added bonus to the movie experience.

This is a movie you can take your kids to, but it's not just a movie for kids. As far as the people go, they look wonderful . They still look like the cartoon characters from the comics, but when you see each individual hair on their heads and the sand and the sweat on their faces as they trod through the desert, you have to remind yourself it isn't real and congratulate Weta for their splendid job.

For Tintin fans, it's just fair to say that the storyline was a familiar one, yet it was good to see some changes to it to make the movie more exciting. Overall, it's the kind of film that reminds us to leave our frankly shallow attempts to appear intellectual at the door and enjoy it for its honest and pure spirit of adventure, the kind of film Spielberg does best.

Excellent performances by the two Dames and Miriam Margolyes was hilarious as always. Every part she plays she seems to fit into perfectly. Anyone who ever had elderly aunts living together would see them reincarnated as Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. The interplay of the sisters' (Dench and Smith) personalities both within their household and with village characters and with their housekeeper was beautifully portrayed. It's true that some events are never explained fully, but I thought there was considerable psychological depth to the film.

'Ladies in Lavender', stars two stalwarts of British stage and screen, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. They play sisters, Janet and Ursula, who live in a house on the cliffs in Cornwall. One night during a storm they discover a young man washed up on the beach below.

Ensconced in their spare room, speaking no English, with a broken ankle he's the most exciting thing to happen in the women's lives in decades and Ursula develops a crush on him.

Andrea who's played by Daniel Bruehl of Goodbye Lenin fame turns out to be a talented musician, stirring the interest of a German artist Olga (Natasha McElhone) who's staying nearby.

The magnificent Cornish scenery should leave no doubt as to why people, artists especially have always been attracted there. The Cornish setting was breathtaking and the music glorious. The acting, the late 30's household setting, the village details, the music make this a superb story. This is not a film for teenagers. The emotional tenor of this film is absolutely haunting and exactly right for anyone of a certain maturity.

It's a movie that explored in a subtle way themes of loss, love, ageing and that portrayed life and community from a bygone era. It's a very poignant and moving film. The flick gives a very lovely and sad insight into one woman's unfullfilled dreams of love and her grief. It was a delicate study about the denial of love which the two dames carried off superbly.

The strength of this film was what was left unsaid -- there was enough given away to make one think about the deep emotions running just below the surface. Albeit the story has some holes in it, and is a bit cheesy at times but what is going on internally for Usrula (Dench) is protrayed subtely yet powerfully enough to carry the film.