VIDEO: 'Tintin' is a treat
Tintin is the young red-haired journalist who has charmed generations of readers with his mystery-solving exploits since Belgian cartoon artist Herge introduced him in 1929. Sadly, Herge isn't around to see Steven Spielberg's crisp, richly rendered animated adaptation, "The Adventures of Tintin." From the film's opening sequence, every frame is jam-packed with gleaming surfaces and beguiling reflections, with Spielberg deploying 3-D motion-capture technology to create impressively lifelike movement onscreen. No sooner does Tintin barter successfully for a rare model ship than two men try to steal it, those mysterious encounters eventually sending Tintin and his dog Snowy on an adventure that will take them from Europe to the high seas and eventually to North Africa. The DVD (Paramount, $30) includes a making-of featurette, while the Blu-ray ($45-$55) adds nine more. -WASHINGTON POST
Also out on DVD Tuesday
Movies:
- "American Wedding"
- "Bag of Bones"
- "The Descendants"
- "Fresh"
- "Happy Feet Two"
- "Melancholia"
- "My Week With Marilyn"
- "Neverland"
- "Scooby-Doo: Music of the Vampire"
- "The Three Musketeers"
- "Young Adult"
TV:
- "The Guild" (Season 5)
- "The Killing" (Season 1)
- "Superjail" (Season 2)
- "Wallace & Gromit: World of Invention"
Blu-ray debuts:
- "American Pie"
- "American Pie 2"
- "The Last Temptation of Christ"
- "Wizards"
GAMES: 'SimCity' coming back The franchise that laid the foundations of the city building simulation genre is back, empowering players to create the world of their imagination. Electronic Arts has announced that "SimCity" is breaking new ground when it's released for PC in 2013. The game, which is being developed at Maxis in Emeryville, Calif., is a true rebirth of the franchise that brings the depth of simulation that has been the series' hallmark for more than two decades and marries it with next-generation accessibility and a robust multiplayer mode, giving players the power to change a world together. Fans can catch their first glimpse of the rebirth of "SimCity" by viewing the extended trailer at www.simcity.com and can preorder "SimCity" at Origin (store.origin.com) to receive "SimCity Heroes &Villains" content, featuring a battle between Maxis Man and his longtime nemesis, Evil Dr. Vu. -GAMERLIVE
APPS: Siri rival misses A credible Siri competitor on Android, Speaktoit's Assistant has come to the iPhone ($2) to take on Apple's software head-on. Yet while the app works well on Android devices, the early builds for iPhone seem to be plagued with bugs. The app, which has a customizable avatar, is supposed to be able to take notes for you, connect with services such as Twitter, Facebook and Evernote and take dictation for messages. You also can type your questions to the app, if you're somewhere where speaking would be frowned upon. But the early build for the iPhone kept crashing and didn't understand many of the orders -- a disappointment. The app is free on Android, where it works well, but iPhone users should give it a pass. -WASHINGTON POST
