The Official "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" movie thread *SPOILERS*

[smc100]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

And there's lots of torrents now

Especially when there is a dvd quality Oscar screener out there. But I do not think that will stop fans from buying the 3d extended edition blu-ray.

 

[The Josh]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Fellowship might be the lowest grossing LOTR film but it was still HUGE in 2001. No one had *ever* seen a fantasy film like that before! People have enjoyed Middle-Earth on DVD/blu-ray for a decade now and a new film isn't as bright and shiny an object as something like The Avengers, no matter how superior it is.

That said I have a feeling that Desolation of Smaug will be huge. No Avengers this year, no Batman, just a handful of wannabe summber event movies and an entire year of people coming around to the fact that An Unexpected Journey was hella good and next time out will feature a fire breathing *dragon.* I think the trilogy is doing just fine.

I do believe The Desolation of Smaug will do even better at the BO. Especially now that people might understand that it's not The Lord of the Rings redux. Though this one should start getting darker and more serious than An Unexpected Journey was.

 

[Frank]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Just saw this and I was relieved to see Jackson bringing the same level of quality to this film that he did with LOTR!

- Bilbo was perfectly cast. Too bad he wasn't a tad more rotund!

- The dwarves were great, but one of them forgot their prosthetic nose .

- I'm loving the build up to Smaug and from what little we've seen he looks fantastic!

- Obviously, the mystery shrouding Gollum in the book is lost on film but Serkis makes up for it with the sheer fanatic energy he's famous for. Awesome to watch every time.

- Sir Ian served as the anchor in this movie for me; he really felt like an old friend I could follow around for a few hours.

- Thorin was a neat surprise and I liked the extra time they took to flesh his character out.

Can't wait to be treated to another 2 films!

I only had a few qualms.

- I could have gone with more understated goblin lairs and dwarven strongholds (less infinite looking).

- The chase scenes were a bit Rube Goldberg at times.

- Radagast was such a caricature that I felt like he clashed with the overall tone. He easily could have exchanged the hippy hoarder aesthetic for something more dignified. Not a huge fan of the bird**** hairstyle or the rabbitsled team.

- The storm giants were closer to rock elemental transformers than an organic interpretation I was expecting.

All told, even the film shortcomings were glossed over by the sheer attention to detail and engaging action sequences.

The version I saw wasn't HD, so I missed out on the new framerate. Guess I'll have to correct that soon!

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I just got back from my first viewing of this movie and I am really on the fence about how to address it.

I loved the movie. And I would have been happy to spend twice the 7.00 that it cost me to see it.

But to be honest, there were very few times that I felt like I was watching J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit".

Throughout the movie, I felt that I was watching a very, very good...no, AWESOME...LOTR ripoff.

When I heard the names of the Dwarves, I was almost surprised to hear the old familiar names because the movie was just that unexpected an interpretation, to me.

I expected some Gimli-esque comic relief from the dwarves. But they brought them off as too stupid for my taste.

After the appearances of Galadriel, Saruman, and the statue on the lonely mountain that looked like Gimli, as well as Legolas coming back, I am expecting to see Boromir, Merry and Pippin before the trilogy ends.

Azog sucked. He was no where near gruesome enough. He was like a pretty-boy orc. And the stone giant battle was just ****ing stupid. As was the Goblin King. I half expected him to break into a rousing chorus of "I wanna be like you" because he riminded me so much of King Luis...and I haven't seen "The Jungle Book" in like...35 years.

The portrayal of Radagast as a drugged up nincom**** was, to me, unfortunate, at best. Saruman talking about him eating too many mushrooms was nearly insulting. And Radagast running around with bird ****-matted hair WAS insulting.

The cinematography was a bit of a disappointment as well. It looked too much like indoor sets and not enough like true outdoors, to me.

However, the depiction of the different places like the Dwarven Kingdom under the mountain was all the way up the the standard set by LOTR.

Now...having vented pretty much all of my dislikes about the movie, I have no doubt that many will wonder how I could have enjoyed the movie. But I can, and I did. Very much so.

In fact, I am certain that with a few more viewings, the areas that I am not thrilled with will grow on me, and I will come to accept it as the difinitive silver screen interpretation of "The Hobbit".


Despite my criticisms...I would lay a solid 9 out of 10 on the film.

 

[pixletwin]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Sounds like you have never read the book and had no idea what the general story was about if you are expecting Biromir, Merry, and Pippin to return.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Sounds like you have never read the book and had no idea what the general story was about if you are expecting Biromir, Merry, and Pippin to return.

That was a sarcasm. I have been reading the books about once per year longer than most of the people on this board have been alive.

 

[The Josh]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Glad you liked it. Can't say I agree with your dislikes but doesn't matter.

 

[Khev]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

As soon as I saw "Azog sucked" when I skimmed the above post I didn't bother reading the rest.

 

[The Josh]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

As soon as I saw "Azog sucked" when I skimmed the above post I didn't bother reading the rest.

I don't have a problem with that. I will say the movie was every it The Hobbit I've read every year. So I'm not sure how you can say you've read the book every year and dislike the lighter nature. To each their own though.


Also the little high point they land on looks like a Bear because its Carrock which is the start of Beorn's territory.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

As soon as I saw "Azog sucked" when I skimmed the above post I didn't bother reading the rest.

Hmm...kind of makes it difficult to derive any relevance from your post then, doesn't it?

 

[Khev]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Hmm...kind of makes it difficult to derive any relevance from your post then, doesn't it?

I bet you hated the little Goblin Scribe too.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I bet you hated the little Goblin Scribe too.

I did figure that there were too many pullies, rope bridges, and mechanisms in the goblin hall. But that was a pretty minor thing. But the general idea of a messenger didn't bother me. He did remind me of Salacious Crumb, though.

 

[EnShinNoi]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I expected some Gimli-esque comic relief from the dwarves. But they brought them off as too stupid for my taste.

I think Jackson wanted to make the point they weren't all hardened warriors. That it was their loyalty driving the quest. The dwarves that needed to be serious were.

After the appearances of Galadriel, Saruman, and the statue on the lonely mountain that looked like Gimli, as well as Legolas coming back, I am expecting to see Boromir, Merry and Pippin before the trilogy ends.

The movie would've had no substance without the white council. It gives reason behind Gandalf's motives. Legolas making a cameo makes perfect sense though as to how far PJ has taken that cameo we shall have to wait and see.

Azog sucked. He was no where near gruesome enough. He was like a pretty-boy orc. And the stone giant battle was just ****ing stupid. As was the Goblin King. I half expected him to break into a rousing chorus of "I wanna be like you" because he riminded me so much of King Luis...and I haven't seen "The Jungle Book" in like...35 years.

I like the Goblin King, no strong feelings either way for the stone giants but Azog was a miss. I understand PJ's decision to make him stand out but I think it was taken too far. Azog definitely needed to spend more time in the design studio. The stand-outishness worked during the flashback scene but it was too much for every other scene.

The portrayal of Radagast as a drugged up nincom**** was, to me, unfortunate, at best. Saruman talking about him eating too many mushrooms was nearly insulting. And Radagast running around with bird ****-matted hair WAS insulting.

It was mainly the bird **** on his face I disliked. Once again a poor design decision that was taken needlessly far.

In fact, I am certain that with a few more viewings, the areas that I am not thrilled with will grow on me, and I will come to accept it as the difinitive silver screen interpretation of "The Hobbit".

I've seen the movie 4 times now and I became more accepting each time but my dislikes for design decisions will always remain.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I don't have a problem with that. I will say the movie was every it The Hobbit I've read every year. So I'm not sure how you can say you've read the book every year and dislike the lighter nature. To each their own though.


Also the little high point they land on looks like a Bear because its Carrock which is the start of Beorn's territory.

I certainly did not say that I have a problem with the more lighthearted nature of The Hobbit. It is old news that The Hobbit was written in a more lighthearted tone than LOTR. That has nothing to do with how stupid they made Radagast look in the movie, and to a lesser degree, the Dwarves. They overdid the lightheartedness of the story in a few places is all. As I said...it'll grow on me.

 

[pixletwin]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

That was a sarcasm. I have been reading the books about once per year longer than most of the people on this board have been alive.

I know you were being sarcastic. But it did make me wonder how many people actually did go into the movie with that kind of mentality.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Oh, yeah...and is it just me or did anyone else get a "they-used-to-ride-the-hobby-horse" vibe from Galadriel and Gandalf's little moment?


Edit - And Galadriel looked freakin' HOT!

 

[The Josh]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I certainly did not say that I have a problem with the more lighthearted nature of The Hobbit. It is old news that The Hobbit was written in a more lighthearted tone than LOTR. That has nothing to do with how stupid they made Radagast look in the movie, and to a lesser degree, the Dwarves. They overdid the lightheartedness of the story in a few places is all. As I said...it'll grow on me.

Well, that's kind if how it came across especially from someone whose read the books. I had an issue with the bird **** but I really liked Radagast and outside the belching/up close beer drink I loved the Dearves. So you get no agreement from me there. I had no issues with the tone of the movie and felt it was exactly what The Hobbit is but to each their own.

 

[The Josh]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I know you were being sarcastic. But it did make me wonder how many people actually did go into the movie with that kind of mentality.

I don't think we have enough fingers and toes on this board.

 

[The Ween]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

Oh, yeah...and is it just me or did anyone else get a "they-used-to-ride-the-hobby-horse" vibe from Galadriel and Gandalf's little moment?


Edit - And Galadriel looked freakin' HOT!

I don't think it ever went that far. She knows that men think she's hot and she plays it up. And I'm sure she has some affection for him.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread *SPOILERS*

I don't think it ever went that far. She knows that men think she's hot and she plays it up. And I'm sure she has some affection for him.

So...you think the were just fwb's, then?