Comic book hero Tintin comes to life
“The Adventures of Tintin”: Wow moviemaking, bringing the comic book exploits of Herge’s boy reporter hero and his colorful gang of friends and foes to life with state-of-the-art motion-capture wizardry. The effect is a little trippy, a lot of fun. With the voices, and physical performances, of Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis and more. (1:41, PG for adventure action violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking) • • •
“The Descendants”: George Clooney in one of the most satisfying performances of his career – angry, sad, vulnerable, loving, foolish, comically discombobulated – as a Hawaiian lawyer coping with a family crisis and a daunting inheritance. From Alexander Payne, of “Sideways” and “About Schmidt” fame. Satisfying on every level. (1:55, R for language including some sexual references) • • • •
“Happy Feet Two”: Our tap-dancing penguin hero, Mumble, has fathering problems of his own when it turns out his son Erik can’t dance or sing. But when melting Antarctic ice threatens the safety of their colony, father and son – along with an obstreperous elephant seal and a self-help-spouting seabird named Sven – cross the continent to save their species, learning a few new steps along the way. (1:45, PG for some rude humor and mild peril) • • • 1/2
“Melancholia”: Lars von Trier’s storm-tossed meditation on depression begins with a comically elaborate wedding reception and ends with a newly discovered planet on a collision course for Earth. Kirsten Dunst is simply remarkable, and the great, eccentric cast includes Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard and Kiefer Sutherland. (2:10, R for some graphic nudity, sexual content and language) • • • 1/2
“My Week With Marilyn”: Michelle Williams is immensely touching as Marilyn Monroe in 1956, in England to make “The Prince and the Showgirl” with Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The screenplay, based on a memoir by Colin Clark, the third assistant director, is cardboard, the performances dimensional. (1:36, R for some language) • • 1/2
“Young Adult”: Charlize Theron inhabits every inch of the bitter ex-prom queen who returns home to steal her old high-school beau away from his wife and newborn. Pitch-black comedy, but the script falls apart exactly when it needs to be most taut and true. From the “Juno” team of director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. (1:34, R for language and some sexual content) • • •