MOVIE REVIEW: THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Once you're finished opening presents and become bored with sitting on your couch during this holiday break, here's a suggestion: grab your family/ friend/ neighbor/ whomever and go see The Adventures of Tintin.

Besides the fact that it's Tintin we're talking about (he's amazing enough as it is), Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's big-screen adaptation of the Belgian comic strip from Hergé is sophisticated, stylish, and just plain fun. The story follows the young reporter (played by British actor Jamie Bell) and his puppy Snowy (called Milou in the comics - go figure...) on a wild ride that starts with a wallet thief, weaves in a couple of cryptic notes, and ends with massive hidden treasure.

The film was created entirely with motion capture animation, but this definitely isn't your ordinary cartoon. In addition to the surprisingly realistic aesthetic of it all, watching the movie in 3-D made us feel like we were right there with him chasing down the bad guys (seriously, Toy Story has nothing on this). The major downside is, at about two hours long, the plot seemed to drag on toward the ending. But with a final twist that perfectly sets the scene for a sequel, it looks like this isn't the last we've heard from Tintin.