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Tintin: The Blue Lotus (Review)

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Darren

In the lead-up to the release of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, I’m going to be taking a look at Hergé’s celebrated comic book character, from his humble beginnings through to the incomplete post-modern finale. I hope you enjoy the ride.

The Blue Lotus is regarded as something of a turning point for Hergé’s boy reporter. The cartoonist, apparently urged by those close to him, decided that – rather than basing his depiction of China on a collection of pop culture stereotypes (as he had done in Tintin in America) – he would undertake a considerable amount of research in order to ensure that the story was as respectful and faithful to Chinese culture as might have been possible. Indeed, the Chinese boy who Tintin befriends, Chang Chong-Chen, is named in honour of one of the students who helped him in coming to understand the Far East.

East of Eden...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, blue locust, blue lotus, Chang Chong-Chen, China, Far East, Hergé, japan, opium, peter jackson, political correctness, racism, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, the adventures of tintin: the blue locust, the adventures of tintin: the blue lotus, the blue locust, the blue lotus, tintin and the blue locust, tintin and the blue lotus, Tintin in the Congo, tintin in the far east, tintin: the blue locust, tintin: the blue lotus | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: You Only Live Twice

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Darren

This post is part of James Bond January, being organised by the wonderful Paragraph Films. I will have reviews of all twenty-two official Bond films going on-line over the next month, and a treat or two every once in a while.

You Only Live Twice was my favourite when I was younger. It was energetic, witty, bright, colourful and adventurous. The stakes were ridiculously high – no less than the Third World War. Bond’s trip to Japan painted the country as an exotic wonderland to a mind as young as my own. The script was smart and the action was fast-paced – the movie still breezes along even today. The cost of the speed is that the movie is ultimately fairly light – it doesn’t carry anything particularly heavy or thought-provoking. This means that it ends up feeling relatively light-weight when measured against some of Sean Connery’s earlier outings like From Russia With Love or Goldfinger, which worked at least as much with suspense as with action.