Category Archives: Movies

Hobbit Christmas

An Unexpected Journey The trailer of the decade has been released! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey maintains everything that is perfection within our existing Middle Earth minds while adding new friends (and foes) to the mix.

It is after viewing the trailer no less than 20 times that I realize that we aren’t even to the Smaug parts yet! The components of the trailer that really stand out the most to me are: The epic score by Howard Shore, Martin Freeman as Bilbo is my wildest dream come true (I am not disappointed, and I had really high expectations), seeing Galadriel (TWICE!), Kili (of course), Gandalf as playful and mysterious as he was (not to mention powerful!), the beauty of The Shire, and The Misty Mountain song (as sung by the Dwarf Company).

Though it’s still nearly a year away, I imagine I will be re-watching this trailer throughout the year and getting the same chills each time I do.

HP and I’m Glad It’s Over

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 probably disappointed only a few people. I’m less disappointed than I thought I would be, but I wasn’t at all satisfied with the conclusion of the story.

Had I not read the books, I might have thought the movie was awesome and kickass and all the other words that one would use to describe an action flick. Harry Potter, however, is not an action movie. It’s a children’s story, albeit a very rich children’s story with more character development than most adult readings, but a children’s story nonetheless.

The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort was unrecognizable from the book. Harry’s victory was not in physical battle, it was in a simplicity that Voldemort could never grasp. With all the survivors looking on, Harry employed one simple spell that did little, but accomplished what even the killing curse could not. Not so in the overblown fight sequence in the movie. Chase scenes, flying off the castle, one-on-one duel with no one around, little explanation, etc. were added for “Oooh” effect and the story suffered as a result.

The movie wasn’t without its merits, and I’m sure that over time I’ll be able to think of a few more than just McGonagall, Neville, and, um, uh, yeah, that’s all I’ve got right now.

In the end, I’m not sorry I saw the films, but I’m glad they’re over. I look forward to never speaking of them again.

I’ve Been Entertained By This?

Every year, we get list after list around this time.

This is my commentary on Entertainment Weekly’s 2010 Entertainers of the Year article. Keep in mind, that I offer only my opinion, and it is as true as I can possibly be.

[The auto-link for Affleck is for another, and better, Ben.]

1. Taylor Swift– Who?
2. Jon Hamm– Meh, ok.
3. Kanye West– Never.
4. Christopher Nolan–Tries too hard. Pass.
5. Kids of Modern Family— For about 22 seconds. Last year.
6. The Cast of The Social Network— A movie for and about people who think Facebook makes them relevant. NEWSFLASH! It doesn’t.
7. Lady Gaga– 24 years old? Reverse that, and I may believe it. Hag.
8. James Franco– Meh, maybe.
9. Katy Perry– Why does this person even exist. No.
10. Steig Larson–Author, apparently. Tagline in article reads, “Do you know anyone who hasn’t read the Millennium Trilogy?” My hand goes up.
11. Team Glee– For three episodes. Last year.
12. Ben Affleck– OK. My only positive response so far.
13. Suzanne Collins–Author. My other hand goes up.
14. The Men of The Good Wife— I’ll ask my great aunt; she’s the only person I know who would watch this.
15. Jaden and Willow Smith– CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION NOW.

Hopefully 2011 will have much more to offer.

Go, Joe!

I want to see G.I. Joe. In no way did I ever think I would say, “I want to see G.I. Joe.” When I was little, my uncle had a few of the action figures, but I always thought they were enormous and too cumbersome to be played with properly; I much preferred my Star Wars figures.

When I heard there was going to be a G.I. Joe movie, I shrugged it off. “Oh, another war move, who cares?” I figured that at best, it would be some Jarhead type thing. A few castings later, I was interested, and a few trailers later, I was looking forward to it.

Anyone who knows me will be able to look at the movie poster and identify the two main reasons I want to see this movie. Oh, and if they had somehow worked Sean Bean into the movie, it may have just been my favorite movie of all time (even if it sucks). Ha! Regardless, I seriously may drag myself to see this sometime this weekend.