I saw the Hobbit 3 last night, and it turned out pretty much the way I was expecting. Unfortunately, that's not a particularly glowing review.
Unlike Luke, I didn't really like the part where Smaug attacked Laketown. It stood out to me as an obviously CG dragon attacking an obviously CG town with obviously CG fire, and then it ended with an incredibly dumb stunt. The only appreciable part is afterwards when they actually showed all the people who were killed or injured by it, which is something that most movies simply ignore (unless a main character was hurt).
The rest of the movie was just... bland. Bland characters, bland acting (excepting Martin Freeman and Billy Connolly, who stole every scene he was in), and boring dialogue. There was a "slapstick" subplot with the weaselly human character being generically cowardly/evil and getting comeuppance that fell entirely flat, and the shoehorned-in romance from the last book continued in an almost entirely predictable way.
It was on the whole a very pretty movie - I liked that the action scenes were done with steady cameras and wide shots so that you could see the choreography, and New Zealand was typically beautiful. However, many of the stunts were absurd to the point of comedy when they were obviously intended to seem "awesome".
I felt emotions (at least ones other than "this is absurd" and "boredom") maybe twice during that entire movie. It was dull.
1. In Fellowship of the Rings, when the group is trying to cross the mountains in the snow and everyone is sinking into the drifts and struggling, Legolas floated on top of the snow, not sinking in at all. This was a nice and subtle way to show how awesome and magical he was compared to the other characters, but didn't draw attention to itself.
2. In Two Towers, surfing on a shield. Less magical, but silly and fun and cheesy, and a lighthearted break from a grim battle. I'll give it a pass.
3. In Return of the King Legolas runs up an oliphant and takes it down. It works only for the character moment between him and Gimli afterwards: "That still only counts as one!"
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6. Battle of Five Armies... what the hell is this shit? Not subtle, nothing to do with character moments, not a light relief from the main grim battle because now it is an extended sequence in its own right. It looked like fucking video game, but less fun. And somehow he can control ogres by sticking an arrow in them and using it like a joy stick? Please!
Legolas surfing in Two Towers is genius movie making compared to this one.
Just got back from the Hobbit... I know Peter Jackson likes to stray a bit from the source material and while I found the battle enjoyable a purist will likely hate the movie.
Thorin fighting with his inner demon (?) was overplayed. The return of Sauron makes a lot of the scenes in LoTR seem really weird now.
Ugh, I remember hearing about this a few months back when dicking around in the Apple Trailers app. Was very impressed and meant to flag it for potential viewing with the wee one. Promptly forgot it existed. If it is still showing next week, I'll definitely look at making the trip in.
As for opportunities to see it outside of the IFC Center in NYC, there do not seem to be any. Can't find any news on wider release plans, even an extended limited release that might hit one of my local arthouse theaters.
Night at the Musem 3 Watched at the cinemas during the day time due to friends winning tickets to it. It was a terrible experience I forgot how bad cinemas can be. Anyway, definitely not worth watching. The first installment of the movie had some charm and humour to it but this one was utterly lacking. There were a few scenes which made me grin but they were verjy few and far between.
Highlight was honestly watching the advertisements for Inside Out and Home.
We're going to the 10:30AM. Just bought tickets a few min ago. If you pick a brunch spot, it's on.
Right now it's just daddy-daughter day (giving mommy the day off), so I was planning to stick around afterwards anyway and head uptown. The big tree and ice rink would probably blow her little mind, and there is a "meet Mario & Luigi" kids event at the Nintendo store right there starting at 3PM, so why the hell not.
The Hobbit 3 was a lesson of what one should never take Legolas road, it is a road traveled by many men. The Interview was all about the puppy. I need to watch more movies.
I just tried watching Scrooged. I'd never seen it before. It was awful. Hideous movie making. Void of any laughs or even enjoyment of ANY kind for the first 30 minutes. Even if this isn't a straight retelling of Scrooge, Scrooge isn't meant to be a sociopath. He's an old guy who likes money so much he is blind to the suffering he is causing in others. Bill Murray seems to revel in the suffering of others. I didn't want to see him redeemed, I wanted to see him die, so the movie could end. But he didn't die, so I switched off the movie.
I put on Wall-E instead, because why the hell not?
Gattaca is very good. It holds up remarkably well for a 90's science fiction movie. Probably one of my favourite movie dystopias of all time.
When I was single and in college, I used to watch Gattaca with any girl I was starting to get close with. It's very good sci-fi yet very much an emotional movie, and I wound up using it as a barometer. Did you like Gattaca or not?
This is not something I pre-planned. It just sort of happened, but it did lead my roommates to create a crazy folk legend about the guy who got all the girls by watching Gattaca.
The only holiday movie my fiancee and I watched was Muppet Christmas Carol. Immediately after that we made the mistake of watching The Neverending Story. Neither of us had seen it since childhood, and we discovered there was a reason for that.
Comments
Unlike Luke, I didn't really like the part where Smaug attacked Laketown. It stood out to me as an obviously CG dragon attacking an obviously CG town with obviously CG fire, and then it ended with an incredibly dumb stunt. The only appreciable part is afterwards when they actually showed all the people who were killed or injured by it, which is something that most movies simply ignore (unless a main character was hurt).
The rest of the movie was just... bland. Bland characters, bland acting (excepting Martin Freeman and Billy Connolly, who stole every scene he was in), and boring dialogue. There was a "slapstick" subplot with the weaselly human character being generically cowardly/evil and getting comeuppance that fell entirely flat, and the shoehorned-in romance from the last book continued in an almost entirely predictable way.
It was on the whole a very pretty movie - I liked that the action scenes were done with steady cameras and wide shots so that you could see the choreography, and New Zealand was typically beautiful. However, many of the stunts were absurd to the point of comedy when they were obviously intended to seem "awesome".
I felt emotions (at least ones other than "this is absurd" and "boredom") maybe twice during that entire movie. It was dull.
1. In Fellowship of the Rings, when the group is trying to cross the mountains in the snow and everyone is sinking into the drifts and struggling, Legolas floated on top of the snow, not sinking in at all. This was a nice and subtle way to show how awesome and magical he was compared to the other characters, but didn't draw attention to itself.
2. In Two Towers, surfing on a shield. Less magical, but silly and fun and cheesy, and a lighthearted break from a grim battle. I'll give it a pass.
3. In Return of the King Legolas runs up an oliphant and takes it down. It works only for the character moment between him and Gimli afterwards: "That still only counts as one!"
....
....
....
6. Battle of Five Armies... what the hell is this shit? Not subtle, nothing to do with character moments, not a light relief from the main grim battle because now it is an extended sequence in its own right. It looked like fucking video game, but less fun. And somehow he can control ogres by sticking an arrow in them and using it like a joy stick? Please!
Legolas surfing in Two Towers is genius movie making compared to this one.
Thorin fighting with his inner demon (?) was overplayed. The return of Sauron makes a lot of the scenes in LoTR seem really weird now.
GO SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN.
As for opportunities to see it outside of the IFC Center in NYC, there do not seem to be any. Can't find any news on wider release plans, even an extended limited release that might hit one of my local arthouse theaters.
Theater listing via the GKids Facebook page. Film seems to be taking a slow tour across the country. Brief stops at numerous cities throughout the winter.
Watched at the cinemas during the day time due to friends winning tickets to it. It was a terrible experience I forgot how bad cinemas can be.
Anyway, definitely not worth watching. The first installment of the movie had some charm and humour to it but this one was utterly lacking. There were a few scenes which made me grin but they were verjy few and far between.
Highlight was honestly watching the advertisements for Inside Out and Home.
Song of the Sea has far, far surpassed it in every way.
Right now it's just daddy-daughter day (giving mommy the day off), so I was planning to stick around afterwards anyway and head uptown. The big tree and ice rink would probably blow her little mind, and there is a "meet Mario & Luigi" kids event at the Nintendo store right there starting at 3PM, so why the hell not.
Love Actually - very good. All the most romantic and emotional parts from 10 different movies edited into one? I'll take it!
Elf - only saw the second half, but I've seen it before. Fun.
Muppets Christmas Carol - probably my favourite Muppets movie.
This skit was cut from last week's SNL due to time restrictions. Second week in a row where the cut skit was the best.
And yes, Elf is a great movie.
I am now rewatching the movies from 20 years ago and... They have better stories. Better actors too, ninjitsu in a rubber turtle suit?
The Interview was all about the puppy.
I need to watch more movies.
I put on Wall-E instead, because why the hell not?
Tim Burton should've just quit after that one.
This is not something I pre-planned. It just sort of happened, but it did lead my roommates to create a crazy folk legend about the guy who got all the girls by watching Gattaca.