THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES - Javi's Take

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

Director: Peter Jackson.

Writers: Fran Walsh, Philipa Boyens, Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R.Tolkien.

Cast: Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellan, Richard Armitrage, Cate Blanchett, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Hugo Weaving, and Christoper Lee.
Synopsis: In the epic conclusion of the most unnecessary trilogies in recent history, CGI characters clash and fight for 2 hours.

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Review - Travis' Expert Tolkein Nerd Take

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Written by: Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, and Aidan Turner

Synopsis: Picking up right after the events of the first movie, Bilbo and the Dwarves make their way to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim Thorin's throne. 

Consider yourself warned, some spoilers are ahead. Read at your own risk.

Let me introduce myself; my name is Travis, and I’m a Tolkien nerd. With nearly 40 books about/written by/relating to-Tolkien on my bookshelf, I’m that guy who at one point opted to find and learn the differences between Quenya and Sindarin, the two primary Elvish languages created by Tolkien in his Middle Earth. Every year, I read something Tolkien-related, whether it’s my dozenth time through the trilogy or a quick jaunt through the Children of Húrin, so I’ve spent some time geeking out to this man’s creation.

With that being said, my anticipation for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was a killer, rising to near fanboy giddiness a mere hours before. While many people didn’t quite like the first installment, mostly due to the addition of non-Hobbit texts, I absolutely loved it. See, at the end of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien added a number of appendices to help fill out the story so people didn’t have to go back and read a number of other texts. Included is a timeline of major events, including the time Gandalf entirely disappears in The Hobbit. Because that’s what Gandalf does. In the middle of another epic leg of the dwarves’ quest to the Lonely Mountain, Gandalf disappears, and we never know what happens. Peter Jackson still held the rights to use the appendices, so he took it upon himself to mix in some of the missing story lines for The Hobbit. The plus sides? One, more action is included as Gandalf met with the White Council and did some major Sauron butt-kicking in Dol Guldur. And two, Peter Jackson could turn two movies into three.

But let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. The feeling of the movie was outstanding. Ringing in just shy of three hours, I didn’t even feel the need to look at my watch. Jackson keeps everyone entertained with an incredible escape via wine barrels, an eye-catching display of Legolas’ physical ability, and some creeptastic moments in Mirkwood. Smaug the dragon looked so powerful and so real. He was just as witty as in the book and just as evil.

Some of the best scenes foreshadowed Jackson’s previous endeavor, a touching moment in Mirkwood Forest where Bilbo brutally and ungraciously murders an infant spider simply because it was too close to his precious ring. While this was a departure from the book, I felt it adequately conveyed the power the ring holds over its bearer. In the book we never truly know who the necromancer is, however we find out via the appendices and the trilogy that it’s Sauron. Jackson could actually put that moment into this film, and it came across brilliantly as a visually-stunning fight scene between Gandalf and the flaming eye himself. It truly captures the epic-ness of what’s going on in the world.

However, here is where the problem lies. The Hobbit, the book, is not epic. It is a story told by Bilbo the hobbit as he is swept away on an adventure with a bunch of dwarves. They do a lot of talking, walking, singing, and eating. Occasionally there’s a sticky situation they have to remove themselves from, but not like Jackson made them to be. If you reimagine the movie without the band of orcs constantly chasing the group, then

you have a better feel of the book. In fact, I feel Jackson wanted so much more action that he cut out some great set-up scenes that are central and important to the mythology. The scene for Beorn in the movie was a fraction, a shadow, of what the book displayed. All we discover is that Beorn doesn’t like dwarves, but houses them, feeds them, and gives them horses to make it to Mirkwood. That’s it. And speaking of Mirkwood, while we got a wonderfully creepy glimpse of the spiders, Jackson really failed to show Bilbo’s cunningness, not simply physically, but linguistically and psychologically as well. He’s not merely able to outmaneuver the spiders, but also outtalk and outthink them.

Anyone can search for Tauriel in The Hobbit and find enough people who are angry and venting about the inclusion of a female elf in a major role. I didn’t necessarily mind her character, but felt it was trite. Jackson mentioned that the book is very male-centric, which it is, and it was necessary to include a female. I’m fine with this, but Jackson made her nothing more than a catalyst for a love interest. Tolkien included Eowyn in the trilogy not as a love interest, but as a force of feminine nature all herself. In fact, all love scenes are reserved for the appendices, where we discover about Arwen and Aragorn. So sure, there needs to be a female character who isn’t the beautifully frightening Galadriel, but why reduce her to a love interest who can shoot an arrow and heal?

See, the issue here is far more than Jackson’s inclusion of a ridiculous number of orcs- chasing-dwarves scenes or elf maidens good at fighting or an awkward love triangle between Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili. The issue is that Jackson could have included all of these in a way that didn’t change the story, but he didn’t. In fact, Jackson changed a considerable chunk of the story solely to get to the point where Tauriel and Kili have some time together to bond. I don’t want to detail out every little thing that Jackson changed for this to occur, but it ends up splitting the group into pieces. That wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t being chased all of the time. The elves wouldn’t have left Mirkwood if they weren’t being chased. In Jackson’s effort to make The Hobbit a more engaging story that feels like the trilogy, he removed the original feeling and heart of the book to make it more palatable for people who haven’t read it.

Despite my criticisms, the movie was total eye candy. Though there were some totally unnecessary CG mishaps (I’m looking at you, GoPro shots in the rapids), it was a feast to watch. It was equal parts adventure and fun, with engaging performances by the entire troupe. The movie definitely scratches that “I want to see more of Middle Earth” itch. Concessions in the transference of books to movies are a necessity, but this time I feel Peter Jackson went a bit too far. 

PACIFIC RIM Review - Javi's Take

PACIFIC RIM

Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro

Written by: Travis Beacham and Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Ron Perlman

Synopsis: Monsters vs. Mechs. That's all you need to know.

New PACIFIC RIM Trailer Means More Crazy Action

I'll make this short and sweet. The newest PACIFIC RIM trailer's focus seems to be hyping up what look to be astounding action sequences between the Jaegers and the Kaijus. The trailer comes courtesy of Warner Brother's YouTube channel via Badass Digest, check it out below.

PACIFIC RIM WonderCon Trailer is Full of Kaijus and Inspirational Speeches

To say that I want to see PACIFIC RIM yesterday is an understatement. Back in WonderCon, the attendees were treated to a special reel cut made specially for them. Now the footage has been released thanks to Warner Brothers, and director Guillermo Del Toro, who also sent this wonderful massage here: "This was originally intended for only WonderCon, but after listening to so many of you asking for more of the movie online, I think it's time for me to show you more footage. Enjoy, my friends." Check out the trailer below.

New Pacific Rim Trailer from CES has more Jaegers!

So this big techie show is going on right now, CES. I really don't care about most of that stuff they're showing off. The only thing I'm interested about is seeing more alternate footage of the original PACIFIC RIM trailer. This one focuses more on the Jaegers, the robots that the characters pilot. I'm glad to hear that the GLaDOS voice from Portal is still there! Maybe Apperture Science are the ones that built the robots! JK, JK, check out the trailer below.

PACIFIC RIM Trailer Looks Like a Badass Version of my Childhood

Seriously, this is the most anticipated movie of 2013 for me. Not only do we have director Guillermo Del Toro actually making a movie, but it's a freaking robits (robots) and kaiju (think Godzilla type monsters) fighting for the future of mankind. Watch the trailer, which comes courtesy of Apple via Badass Digest, below.

A Couple of PACIFIC RIM Teasers to Get You Ready for Summer 2013

I think I might have a most anticipated movie already for next summer. If the buzz out of Comic Con was any indication, PACIFIC RIM will be THE movie of next summer. I feel almost bad for putting that kind of pressure on the film because like with many summer films in the past, I could be setting myself up for major disappointment.

PACIFIC RIM is Guillermo De Toro's newest directing endeavor. The film features 25-story tall machines (Jaegars) and evil sea monsters (Kaijus). Giant Kaijus have started rising from the sea that begins a war that starts taking millions of lives. Jaegars are created to combat these monsters, which are controlled by two operators. Del Toro said at Comic Con that he as set out not to make a war movie, but to make more of an adventure film.

Check the teasers after the break.

Comic-Con Round Up of All the Movie Madness: Marvel Cinematic Universe, PACIFIC RIM, and THE HOBBIT

Comic-Con 2012 has finally come to a close, and even though not many of us were able to secure any of exclusive Mondo posters (like the one above), we received plenty of movie news that will make the next couple years quite interesting.

Take the First Look at Guillermo Del Toro's Rowbits for his New Movie, PACIFIC RIM!

Javi here. If you don't know, I'm a fan of robots. I'm also a fan of movies. I'm a bigger fan of robots in movies that are not directed by Michael Bay. With that being said, I am so excited for director Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming PACIFIC RIM. This was the project that was started after his previous movie, AT THE MOUNTAIN OF MADNESS, was cancelled. PACIFIC RIM, according to IMDB, is about "When an alien attack threatens the Earth's existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace."

Now, with this poster coming to you thanks to Badass Digest, shows the exact scale of the robots. That is to say, they're freaking huge! This movie is looking to be the culmnation of a lot of good things finally coming together, an actual Guillermo Del Toro movie, guys getting into huge robots and then figting monsters in said huge robots. This is basically a serious look at all of those crazy Super Sentai shows from Japan that inspired the robot/monster parts of the Power Rangers series. Plus, it stars Idris Elba. So what do you guys think? I'm really interested to see how they work on the scale of these machines and the monsters. I want to be in awe of them and I really hope that the movie gets this across. Stay tuned here for more news on the movie as they come to us.

PACIFIC RIM is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, written by Travis Beacham and stars Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, and Charlie Day.


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DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK Review

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

Directed by: Troy Nixey

Written by: Guillermo Del Toro and Matthew Robbins

Starring: Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes, Bailee Jackson

Cool Netflix Instant TV Shows & Movies- Criterion Edition!

I'm gonna get all fancy today. All of these selections are a precious commodity because they are titles from the Criterion Collection. I say that because the entire Criterion Collection will be exclusive to Hulu Plus by the end of the year. So check out these titles while you still can!

The Red Shoes

This is an easy entry into the world of Criterion as it is very similar to last year's ballet horror movie by director Darren Aronofsky, BLACK SWAN. It tells the story of a ballerina who is torn between her love of a laid back composer and her responsibility to her director and company that made her a star. The movie is shot in really beautiful bright colors, and lead actress Moira Shearer dances exquisitely.

8 1/2

This is the movie that was unfortunately adapted and butchered as NINE. The story tells of tired and artistically exhausted director Guido Anselmi (who is a slightly autobiographical character based on Director Federico Fellini himself) as he deals with creative roadblocks and dealing with his past lovers while being pressured to deliver the next big hit movie. Since it is in black and white, I suggest watching it in HD. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating account of the creative process in terms of movie making.

Cronos

One of my all-time favorite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, has a very unique aesthetic and style. Criterion managed to get his first film for which I am so glad that they did. The story shows us aging antique dealer, Jesus, as he uncovers a very precious and mysterious artifact that grants eternal life at a cost. The production values don't match those of Del Toro's later works, such as PAN'S LABYRINTH, but you can see the seeds of themes he will explore later in his career, such as Ron Perlman, lovable monsters, children being made to witness horrible things, death, and damn creepy machinery. One of my favorite movies on Instant right now.

That's it for this week guys! As always comments are welcome. We're excited to help people discover their new favorite movies.

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