Movies in General

I saw The Desolation of Smaug earlier in the day. Smaug looked great but remember how there was criticism of the Return of the King how it would never end? This one ended abruptly to the point people were laughing at how it ended. Frankly I thought we would see the crux of this movie play out and the next movie would be all about the battle of five armies. I think there should've been a conclusion to this portion of the story. If they wanted a cliffhanger, they certainly got one but I don't know if people will like it. All in all it was fun.

AssassinsMace said:

I saw The Desolation of Smaug earlier in the day. Smaug looked great but remember how there was criticism of the Return of the King how it would never end? This one ended abruptly to the point people were laughing at how it ended. Frankly I thought we would see the crux of this movie play out and the next movie would be all about the battle of five armies. I think there should've been a conclusion to this portion of the story. If they wanted a cliffhanger, they certainly got one but I don't know if people will like it. All in all it was fun.

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Thanks. I intend to see it tomorrow.

Having read all of Tolkien's books on numerous occasions, I will probably be okay wherever it ends. I liked the first one...including the length.

I just hope this one remains fairly true to the story and continues doing a decent job with the characterization and presentation.

Jeff Head said:

Thanks. I intend to see it tomorrow.

Having read all of Tolkien's books on numerous occasions, I will probably be okay wherever it ends. I liked the first one...including the length.

I just hope this one remains fairly true to the story and continues doing a decent job with the characterization and presentation.

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Because I did not read the Hobbit I would not have realised that Jackson introduced a whole new character that was only mentioned in the appendix. See if you can pick the character Jeff.

I have to agree with A.M. Smaug is terrific but I wonder if it came at the expense of what I thought was substandard CG work in other scenes. For example the CG work with the falling drapes and molten gold near the end. Its still enjoyable though with a lot more action.

B.I.B. said:

Because I did not read the Hobbit I would not have realised that Jackson introduced a whole new character that was only mentioned in the appendix. See if you can pick the character Jeff.

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If I remembered correctly there are no female characters in the book so any female characters in this movie would've been all newly introduced. I haven't seen the movie but in the previews I thought I saw a female elf that plays a major role in the movie. there may be others.

I remember there was controversy over adding Arwen to the Fellowship just to appeal to little girls but then she wasn't really a part of the Fellowship in the movies. I'm not sure how Eowynn was portrayed in the books but I didn't like her in the movies. She seemed like she was conflicted. I liked the Eowynn depicted in the cartoon version of the Return of the King. She was much more self-assured.

AssassinsMace said:

I saw The Desolation of Smaug earlier in the day. Smaug looked great but remember how there was criticism of the Return of the King how it would never end? This one ended abruptly to the point people were laughing at how it ended. Frankly I thought we would see the crux of this movie play out and the next movie would be all about the battle of five armies. I think there should've been a conclusion to this portion of the story. If they wanted a cliffhanger, they certainly got one but I don't know if people will like it. All in all it was fun.

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No one laughed in my viewing. They all kinda went, "Awwwww..." instead.


(Minor spoilers

Agreed that the CGI for the gold was probably the worst of the bunch. Other scenes looked great, but played out in such a way that stretched my suspension of disbelief to the absolute maximum, to the point where I almost felt like I was watching a video game. Some examples are their escape from the orcs and elves in murkwood, and the later parts of their escape from smaug, where thorin was dropping down that mineshaft.

Anyone else feel like some of the first person shots in the river barrel-ride scene looked like an amateur's go-pro camera footage?

Saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug today. OUTSTANDING! If you are a Tolkien fan...a Hobbit fan...a Lord of the Rings fan...see this! Forget any negatives from any of the critics. It was great. Very well done!

B.I.B. said:

Because I did not read the Hobbit I would not have realised that Jackson introduced a whole new character that was only mentioned in the appendix. See if you can pick the character Jeff.

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There are several characters brought into the Hobbit that are cannon and not really a part of the Hobbit story...who were background information, mentioned in passing.

I do not mind it...I find bringing some of the Appendix to life a very good thing.

Azog the Defiler (also called "the Pale Orc," in the movie, but that is pure Jackson and not anywhere at all in the Tolkien story) is one. He played no part in the actual Hobbit. Radagast The Brown is another. I think they have kind of combined Azog from the story who killed Thor, and Golg (who is Azog's son). It is actually Bolg who leads the Orcs in the Battle of the Five Armies (which will be shown in the 3rd film).

Anyhow...despite some of these departures (and others that are completely new additions and not from the appendix or the Silmarillion, the Hobbit or the trilogy at all...like Tauriel, the Female Elf Captain of the Guard from Mirkwood), I really like what they have put together.

Jeff Head said:

Anyhow...despite some of these departures (and others that are completely new additions and not from the appendix or the Silmarillion, the Hobbit or the trilogy at all...like Tauriel, the Female Elf Captain of the Guard from Mirkwood), I really like what they have put together.

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I wonder if the studio bosses will contemplate making a prequel to The Unexpected Journey and LOR from the storyline in the Silmarillion?

I finally got the chance to see "GRAVITY" last night and I got to say it's one of the best modern space movies today (by that I mean not sci-fi but real existing stuff). I love the cinematic, sound effects, and story as well. I like how Sandra Bullock character uses all three major space players to get her back to Earth. First she George Clooney character uses what's left on his spacesuit tank for a last ditch effort to get to the ISS. Second she uses the Russian Soyuz (as well as the Russian space suit) to get to Tiangong 1(I can only assume it is because it's abandoned) Chinese space station. Once aboard she races towards the Shenzhou capsule to re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere. Once the capsule safely entering the atmosphere the chute opens and just before it touches the surface of the water the bottom rocket kicks in to slow down the impact. My favorite funny part in the movie is when Sandra's character was inside the Shenzhou capsule she couldn't understand the computer voice that was in Chinese and she says...."No hablo Chino" as she frantically tries to figure out what buttons to push. I think she might be up for an academy award nominee at least. I watched it on 3D therefore makes it even more fun.