Date: December 29, 2013Time: 11:15amLocation: Pocono MovieplexParty: 3 (my mom and aunt)Duration: 144 minutes (+3 trailers)Director: Peter Jackson
Trailers and other Opening Remarks
We were among a dozen or so people in the theater. Most in clusters of two or three, same as we were.
The three trailers were as follows:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Jurassic World
Fast & Furious 7
All were the latest in a franchise. Two of which we already saw...
As cool as it is to see parts of "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park" on the big screen again, it just wasn't as jaw-dropping or exciting as it could have been. And I tend to live for movie trailers.
"Fast and Furious" gave me a few laughs, but I know I'm never going to see it. Hadn't seen a single part of that franchise. At the forefront of my mind the whole time was the fact Paul Walker died making this movie so it's kind of a big deal.
Beginning [Discussion] of the End
We've finally come to the end of an era. The end of the franchise developed in New Zealand by Peter Jackson since the beginning of the 21st century.
[For my thoughts on the previous two installments, follow the links below]
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-hobbit-3d.html
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/12/theatrical-review-hobbit-desolation-of.html
Having never read the books, I didn't know what to expect as far as an ending for this movie. I knew some loose ends would be tied up. I knew there'd be casualties.
And in case anyone is wondering, I posted the "original" title of this movie in the heading out of principle. I realize it was going to be one huge battle scene taking up most of this movie, but did we really need to change the subheading to "Battle of the Five Armies?"
1. Dwaves
2. Elves
3. Men
4. Orcs
5. ?????
I'm still figuring out who the 5th army is [unless of course it's the 2nd horde of orcs, in which case you're just being redundant to screw with us]
Once again, I'll be writing this entry assuming the readers are fans of Middle Earth and know what's going on... some SPOILERS ahead, though
Where we last left off...
Gandalf has been trapped by the Necromancer (i.e. the previous incarnation of Sauron, the evil presence that rules Mordor in the "Lord of the Rings" series).
The dwarves arrived at their treasure horde. Our Hobbit friend, Bilbo Baggins, tried to reason with the dragon Smaug long enough to take back the fabled "Arkenstone" for King Thorin Oakenshield.
But the "Desolation of Smaug" ended with the bloody dragon escaping... maybe the worst cliff-hanger seen in movies since "The Empire Strikes" back.
Now that we're up to speed...
So I find it equally, if not more frustrating, that Smaug is taken out TEN MINUTES into the movie...
Peter Jackson could have ended the previous installment with his death and Laketown being consumed in flames. Absolutely ridiculous we had to wait a year for this to resolve.
Yeah, I realize that if we moved the "dispatching" of Smaug to the previous film, the final movie would be even shorter.
"There and Back Again" is only 144 minutes, probably the shortest of ANY Tolkien film adaptation. On the one hand, it's a relief we won't experience the lengthy "ending a million times" epilogue of the final "Lord of the Rings" film. On the other, I can't help but wonder if some editing could have been done so this trilogy wasn't so... uneven.
The Battles- Part 1- External and Internal conflict
Word spreads quickly that Smaug has been destroyed and the treasure horde in the mountain is ripe for the taking.
The Elven leader is interested in some white jewels.
The men are greedy, but also seeking funds to rebuild their lives after Smaug burned down their home.
The Orcs want to go to battle for world domination, obviously.
Meanwhile, Thorin Oakshield has gone mad with power and desperate to find the Arkenstone. When we finally get around to meeting with our Hobbit friend, we learn he's holding onto it. His concern being that returning the stone would result in endless madness.
One battle, not likely to get a lot of press but steps up the next series, takes place in the mountains where Gandalf is being held. Cate Banchett's Galadriel arrives first, but is unable to stave off the dark forces alone. The ruler of Rivendell, Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and wizard Saruman come moments later to lend a hand.
Eventually it is Galadriel that banishes the Necromancer to the "Far East" region of Middle Earth... otherwise known as Mordor.
But I must say... when Hugo Weaving came out all clad in battle armor, I cheered. I mean, I know that he participated in the "great war" we see in the "Fellowship" exposition, but seeing a familiar face from the other series and seeing him being a bad-ass... I found that exciting!
Too bad there are so many other battles... some on a greater scale... that could potentially lead to this all-star moment being forgotten about.
Minus the first ten minutes with Smaug, this movie could be split in two halves with somewhat of an epilog.
The defining factor of these two halves being Thorin Oakenshield. The first half has him barricading himself and his followers in the mountain.
Bilbo, however small, makes the biggest difference. He escapes the mountain and hands over the Arkenstone to Gandalf and the head elf. When Thorin Oakenshield finds out, he turns against him, a moment that allows his brethren to fully grasp his madness.
Finally, he discovers the error in his ways and resumes being the character he was in the previous two films.
A big moment of relief. I was so afraid he'd gone dark side and doing so would destroy him.
Then we also have the so-called "love triangle" storyline. Tauriel (Evangelline Lily) loves the dwarf Killi (Aidan Turner), but she convinces him to return to the other dwaves. Meanwhile, Legolas (in love with Tauriel) watches this elapse, torn, but says nothing.
What this ultimately leads to is Tauriel's banishment from the Elf kingdom and Legolas betraying his father by accompanying her.
Man, between this and the ending of the "Pirates of the Carribean" series, Orlando Bloom's in-film love life SUCKS.
The four way (Thorin's cousin, who comes in ridding a pot-belly pig, and his army arrive some time after the elves and men) battle transpires in the typical Peter Jackson fashion.
The Battles- Part 2- Individual Melee
Massive battle scene are impressive with all their CGI and such, but once Thorin Oakenshield, Legolas and Tauriel entered the battle and the focus shifts from millions to one-on-one combat, I was really enjoying myself.
Of course I'm thinking the whole time about the number of casualties sure to take place.
[Spoiler Alert]
Only three of the 13 dwarves were killed... Killi, his brother, and [begrudgingly] Thorin Oakenshield.
Based on Gimli's reaction in "Fellowship" when they see all the dwarf corpses in a cavern, I thought we'd be losing ALL of them. Instead, Tauriel loses her love interest and we lose the one dwarf everyone remembered the name of... the leader himself. I don't know what pissed me off more... the fact that he died or the fact his death COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED.
Much of this battle is between him and this orc with a jagged sword for a hand. The climax takes place over ice, so I already see where the Orc will end up. But Thorin just stood there watching him float away while I'm thinking "get on dry land, you idiot!" Because the Orc isn't quite dead, you see.
I'm sure a lot of people would say "it's only right for the leader of the Dwarves and the leader of the Orcs to take each other out to bring an end to the battle"... again, I maintain, his death COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED.
I mean, those freaking eagles showed up to aim in the final moments of the big battle. Surely one of them could have taken a detour to attack the Orc that killed him.
I had my worries about Tauriel. Especially in one scene where it'd be either her or Killi losing to another Orc. The only thing she suffered was a broken heart, unfortunately. They never explained what happened with her character, so I only assume she faded away into a solitary existence. (She was created specifically for this series to have a strong female presence, but I hope Peter Jackson thought of something of an ending for her).
Once again, Legolas showed why he's probably the best duelist in all of Middle Earth. He took refuge on a tower to take out members of the 2nd Orc army who were coming onto the ice to battle Thorin's dwarves with his kick-ass archery skills.
Then he manages to do something Hawkeye couldn't-- maintain his bad-ass fighting skills after running out of arrows.
[They literally made an SNL sketch out of this joke. Jeremy Renner playing his "Avengers" character and proving to be absolutely useless without his arrows]
Legolas had all kinds of tools at his disposal and never missed a beat. Although there was a moment where he was climbing up disintegrating steps in slow motion that had me c'mon'ing on... like I was screaming "oh, come on!" at the screen... it was like watching a freaking video game. But then, we ARE talking about Legolas here. The same elf that take out 100's of orcs singlehandedly in Helm's Deep during the "Two Towers"... but his awesomeness is undeniable.
Once his battle is done, his father suggests he pay a visit to Stryder, a future king and the "son of Arathorn"...
and this whole time, I thought that Slayer of Smaug, Bard (Luke Evans) was Aragon's distant ancestor.
Apparently we're only 20 or so years ahead of where "Fellowship" begins... taking into account the aging of Bilbo and Legolas are, I thought the gap would be larger. But then, much of Bilbo's aging could be accounted for by a little something known as "The Ring of Power."
Bilbo comes through in a lot of crucial moments, the last one being his trek to Thorin Oakenshield to warn him and his comrades about a 2nd army... it's during that last part where we finally see "the ring" being put to use.
Naturally, by the end of it all, Gandalf knows exactly what was going on. He knew Bilbo had this "one ring"... I mean, he's a wizard, he knows pretty much everything.
He claims the ring fell out of his pocket, but we all know he still has it.
While I like how Bilbo was a more active protagonist than Frodo, there's one thing I don't quite get.
How was Frodo so overwhelmed by the ring over those three movies yet Bilbo's dissension into madness didn't start appearing until the final moments of this movie?
For me, I feel like there's a bit of disconnect.
A break for Comic Relief
There was a running gag with one of the men from Laketown. He's a bit of a weasel, Alfrid. We cut to him multiple times causing some sort of ruckus. He even disguises himself as a woman to steal gold and to avoid going to war. The only missing for me was someone squashing him because he really deserved it.
Final Comments
I'll continue the tradition in place and give this final film of the "Hobbit" trilogy:
A-
It might even be the best of the series. Certainly better than "Desolation of Smaug".
I hadn't seen the original movie in its entirety since two years ago when we went to the theater, so I don't remember too much about it.
From an aesthetic point of view, just because there were more connections to the original series, I think I'd still prefer "There and Back Again."
Rumors are abound that an extended edition will come with the Blu-ray/DVD release, which is sure to be interesting.
And now that everything has come to an end, I'm now contemplating at least reading "The Hobbit." I've said before that I haven't had to read a single Tolkien book and still understand the movies perfectly, but perhaps reading the source material will help fill in some of the blanks in my head.
And perhaps if time allows, I might revisit the "Lord of the Rings" film series again and do a series of entries on those....Harry Potter is still king, though, in my eyes
Date: December 29, 2013
Time: 11:15am
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 3 (my mom and aunt)
Duration: 161 minutes (+1 trailer)
Director: Peter Jackson
Trailer:
I believe the name of the movie is "300: Rise of the Empire"... it's the sequel to Zach Snyder's "300" with Xerxes as the returning antagonist and a brand-new protagonist... a female bad-ass, whom my mom and aunt recognized as Circe from the "Game of Thrones" series.
It looks pretty impressive, the scale of it and so on. Here's hoping it got better press than "300" did.
We were among maybe a dozen people in the theater. Then again, it was a rainy day so not a lot of people would be coming out to begin with.
Write-up:
Mind the spoilers... however few there might be.
As was the case with the first film, I won't bother with a lengthy cast list on account of the fact I'm really bad with names in the universe of Middle Earth.
I mentioned that I've yet to read a single book written by Tolkien and I'm probably going to keep it that way. Having said, according to my book-nerd aunt, it didn't really follow the book much anyway.
We begin in flashback at a familiar site. The only familiar site from the original trilogy. The port city just outside of the Shire known as Bree (where Frodo and his fellow Hobbits first met Aragon). Dwarf King Thorin of Oakenshield meets Gandalf there, who urges him to take back his home land or else darkness will overcome Middle Earth.
Fast-forward to a year later:
The hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf the Grey and the legion of Dwarves continue onto their destination: their former mountain home, now under the reign of the Dragon, Smaug.
Along that trek, they encounter more hardships. The theme of the previous film was multiple chase scenes. Here, the reoccurring theme was being captured and imprisoned. First by the Elves and later (although short-lived) by humans in a seaport just outside the mountains.
This time we saw the movie in 2D and certain pieces would have catered well to 3D, particularly when you see small critters like bees and birds flying around. But in some ways, it was a blessing to see it in 2D because it made certain scenes less intense.
When I saw "Chamber of Secrets" in theaters, there were two scenes that I found hard to watch. One featured Aragog and the big spiders in the Dark Forest. The other featured the giant snake known as the Basilisk.
I don't suffer from arachnophobia or fear of snakes, but the spider scene in this movie made that look like child's play. They were freaking huge and freaking scary. In a way, I guess you could say that that meant they were well constructed and the scene was well-written. Per my personal tastes, I couldn't wait for that scene to end.
It was also pretty jerkish that the Elves not only showed up AFTER the fact to help out the dwarves, but they also imprisoned them... for what reason, I really don't know.
They certainly spent a lot of time in this new trilogy emphasizing the dislike between the dwarves and elves. Of course we're seeing this from the POV of the dwarves so the audience is liable to side with them over the elves... even if they are the better looking bunch.
The trailers leading up to this appealed to the masses by showing a lot of scenes with Orlando Bloom (back as Legolas) and Evangeline Lilly (newcomer Tauriel). Legolas's father is king of the Elves and isn't the most likable character in this film.
In a nutshell, his attitude is that the elves should stay out of the worldly affairs and keep to their particular kingdom. He was also the one who refused to help Thorin's grandfather (as seen in the first movie's exposition) because he was blinded by his greed.
I hate to say it, but Legolas wasn't as pleasant to watch this time around. His attitude was severe whereas in the original trilogy, he was just as much a bad-ass in the battle field, but kept a level head while maintaining a good heart. Less snobbish, I guess you could say.
Thankfully, we had Tauriel to save us from hating Elvin kind entirely. She brought great new energy to this series, which was in dire need of some female ass-kicking. That plus the events that followed also allowed for Legolas to change his tune and win back the allegiance of his fan base :-P
There's also a hint of a love triangle where Legolas has feelings for Tauriel, the king tells her this and says not to accept his advances and she starts to develop feelings for one of the younger dwarves (who I didn't really pick up in the first movie, but then again, I only remembered 2-3 of them).
It also seemed like a lame move for Gandalf to leave the Dwarves maybe half an hour into the movie and to wait for him before entering the mountain... he never came back. He was busy heading in another direction, looking to face the Necromancer (who I don't believe we even saw in this movie... despite the fact Benedict Cumberbatch was listed in the cast) and instead gets captured by Sauron (aka: the eye in the tower overlooking Mordor in "Lord of the Rings").
But what was great was how much braver and stronger Bilbo has become as a character. He saved the dwarves from the spiders. He broke the dwarves out of Elvin prison and came up with an escape route for them. And he did his best to distract Smaug while looking the Arkenstone he was "hired' to steal.
Of course, the common thread was the aid of the Ring of Power. Becoming invisible helped a great deal with those situations, but sooner or later, it'll probably be his undoing.
As for Smaug, he was definitely worthy of the subheading in the movie title. Probably the most impressive dragon you'll see in any movie. (Back to Benedict Cumberbatch for a second, IMDB says he does the voice and motion capture for Smaug as well... and the Necromancer IS Sauron). And he got plenty of screen time, more than Gollum got in the previous film :-P
One or two more memorable scenes:
When the Elves "arrest" the dwarves, Legolas looks at the photos one Dwarf was carrying, asking who they were (with a twinge of disgust). One of his wife (reminding me of Gimgli saying how it's hard to tell the difference between dwarf men and women with their beards) and the other was his son... who was, funny enough, Gimgli.
For that reason, I was half expecting to hear a mention of Aragon or his father, Arathorn somewhere... unfortunately we're probably a few decades, if not centuries away from that.
The scene where dwarves are escaping from the Elvin fortress in barrels in the midst of a battle between Elves and Orcs... absolutely crazy, all the acrobatics going on. My mom and aunt were still talking about this scene 10 minutes after we got back home because there came a point when a dwarf-in-a-barrel was rolling down the riverbanks, knocking down Orcs left and right, almost like it was video game.
Ed Sheeran performs "I See Fire," the song in the credits.
The only real negative I can derive is that it ended on a God-awful cliff-hanger.
Granted, we knew this was coming because it's a trilogy originally written as two movies, but still... at least the "Two Towers" had a good place to call it quits. You know, not mid-action. I expected them to at least defeat Smaug... if anything, they worsened the conflict by allowing things to end as they do... or not end.
Comparing the two movies so far, it's a mixed bag. There were good points with both and negatives in both. But I found the original a little more enjoyable personally and despite being 5 minutes shorter, didn't feel as long as its sequel did. Maybe I've just gotten a little tired of the special effects as of late.
My biggest issue, other than the ending, was that it felt too hectic at times, too much going to keep up with... and this was in 2D.
Grade: A-
(92%, whereas the previous film is more like 94%)
I'll try to make this a regular routine and hopefully I'll be able to post sooner. In other words, while the recollection is still fresh in my mind.
But I'll give the following info every time:
Location: Pocono Movieplex
ShowTime: 11:30am
Duration: 166 minutes (+5 for the one trailer)
Party: 3
I'd say the theater had a decent amount of people coming out to this matinee showing. Also it was a Sunday. I think it'd been ages since I'd seen a show this early (most of which have a noon or 1pm showtime), but we had to wait a couple minutes simply because we arrived early.
The place wasn't open just yet.
In the theater itself, I'd say there were a couple dozen people, but it wasn't necessarily a packed theater. And it wasn't so packed where people were readily interacting with the movie. If there were any laughs, it was coming from me or the party I came with.
My mom and my aunt, with whom we'd seen a bunch of movies with, mostly the Twilight series because we're all Twi-Hards who loved the series, both movies and books.
Often time, we show up and the picture doesn't start for a while. We arrived as the place was opening and the previews had already begun. The only one we did catch was "Jack- the Giant Slayer" that featured a couple familiar faces, Ewan McGregor among others.
He alone, with his hot Scottish accent, is enough to entice our intrigue.
But we also saw the two Snow White films (although I came with different people to both) and my mom and I enjoy the "Once Upon a Time" series. So the poetic license they plan to take with that film will be the second reason we'll most likely be checking into it.
...
There is just an example of how much previews can snag one's attention before the movie they actually came out to see begins.
First off, it was in 3D and it was a good thing that our ticket seller remembered to give us the free glasses. I wouldn't want a repeat of what happened when I saw the 3rd Madagascar with my sister, never mind the fact that this movie is going to be LONG.
It took a little getting used to the glasses, but after that, getting used to the overall look of the film took an extra 15-20 minutes. With the characters and the set pieces, I'd compare it to reading a pop-up book with certain things being more pronounced than others.
A lot of reviews have come in and even before seeing the film, I agreed that at 166 minutes, this being the first of a trilogy... Peter Jackson, sir, you need to learn about a little thing known as "editing"
I saw all the Lord of the Rings films in theaters, but had yet to read a single book. Either way, I knew Middle Earth pretty well, although I couldn't tell you which characters are which (forget about the actors that played them, unless you're talking about Bilbo and Gandalf).
It felt like coming back to Hogwarts in each Harry Potter movie. The scenery and the overall look is the same, so you know the ins and outs of it, with a few surprises along the way.
As with the previous films in the series, The Hobbit began with a flashback.
What little I knew of the dwarves came from my knowledge from the previous films. There weren't many left. The dwarves didn't like the Elves. Supposedly the dwarves lived in this mountain where they hoarded all this gold.
Naturally with so much of it, greed was part of their downfall. But a dragon named Smaug broke into the mountain, took it for himself and the dwarves were left without a home. The disdain of the Elves came about because the Elves didn't offer help when they desperately needed it.
And Orcs and trolls were other races that they've had to contend with in an attempt to return to power.
Comparisons were drawn between the dwarf prince and Sean Bean, who played a king in the previous film. But the comparison could have easily have been drawn about his character from the Game of Thrones series (which I'd never seen). Either way, they said the dwarf prince was no Sean Bean.
He wasn't as regal or trustworthy as him or Viggo Mortsenson who played "the king" Aragon as in "The Return of the King," but the actor definitely had a great presence on that screen. Even though it took until the end of the movie for him to accept Bilbo as part of their group, watching him was quite the experience for me personally.
So during the flashback, Bilbo narrates and puts the finishing touches on writing "A Hobbit's Tale" before showing it to Frodo. This connects the film with the beginning of the previous trilogy and seeing Elijah Wood at the Shire again was a nice extra touch.
Martin Freeman (who I'd only previously seen in Love Actually and maybe one other film) played Bilbo through the course of The Hobbit, reminding us why the Hobbits are such a lovable, relatable race. He's the reluctant hero, but has the heart of an adventurer, whether he knows it or not.
Of course Ian McKellan was great as Gandalf. I didn't expect him to be quite as bad-ass in this movie, like the being that had the final say in whether a struggle would amount to anything or not. Translation: he saved our heroes on a number of occasions.
Without Bilbo's knowledge, Gandalf posts an invitation for the dwarves to meet at his hobbit hole. It's hilarious as an outsider to see that entire pantry going bare in record time, all those breakfasts that would have otherwise lasted... phew, I don't even know how long. I don't quite know how much a hobbit eats.
Hilarity ensues, but Bilbo is disoriented, not knowing what the hell is going on other than him being eaten out of hobbit hole and home.
[Admittedly, this was one part of a few that could have been trimmed down by 10 minutes]
It's an open invitation to Bilbo, but after much pondering, he decides to go on this adventure with the dwarves.
One review I read that morning mentioned a character that got a bigger role than he had in the entire book. He happened to be Gandalf's brother, one of 5 wizards of Middle Earth. He's a bit eccentric, communicates with animals and such, but I thought he was great. Very nice of Peter Jackson to give him a bigger role in this movie, if only as a plot device, telling the heroes about this Necromancer that I'm sure will have more of a part in the rest of the Hobbit trilogy.
Two instances, in addition to Gandalf and a handful of other characters, had me feeling right at home in this movie because they were among the details about Middle Earth I somehow managed to remember all these years. (Although to be fair, I rewatched the trilogy just over a year ago).
I remember Rivendell being the name of "the land of the Elves" and of course the characters there, Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett being so beautiful to look at with the make-up, costume and such. The other side of the coin being we see the other wizard played by Christopher Lee, who emerges as a villain in the other trilogy.
Moments of hilarity were scattered throughout, but except for one scene, none of them were cliché. They just amounted to character interactions and clashing personalities.
The dark moments were dark, but the funny moments ranged from a few hearty ha-ha's to side-splitting.
Most of the side-splitting laughs came from none other than Gollum. You have to wait a couple hours, but at least 20 minutes is spent with him and Bilbo running through a series of riddles.
I was quite surprised that Gollum's split personality seemed MORE apparent here, more pronounced than it was in the Two Towers, when I figured it'd be the other way around. Being driven mad by being separated from the ring, not directly possessing it than the actual possession of it.
One great thing about Middle Earth is the unexpected. One such moment involved mountains that came to life and took on one another like rock 'em-sock 'em robots, but with a lot more crumbling.
Other than that, I'd say it's a movie you really have to experience for yourself to appreciate. I don't want to spoil every detail, but those were a few highlights I really liked.
A lot of critics will go on about how it's overlong in places.
My advice: come in with an open mind and just lose yourself in the cinematography of the film. You have a close to 3 hour commitment to make, so you might as well relax and enjoy what it has to offer.
Rating: A-
