Welcome to the first post on Pam’s Movie Review Blog! I’ve received such wonderful feedback
from so many people about my posts on Facebook, I thought I’d expand a bit in a
blog format. I look forward to
comments, contradictions, additional facts and anything else you might have to
offer!
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
I went to see “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” for the
second time last night. First time
through I saw it as a “regular” movie.
This time I wanted to experience the fast-film format and 3D effects.
I’m not totally sold on the fast-film effects. It wasn’t bad, it just looked like they
used videotape. I prefer the
richness and deeper colors of film.
I didn’t experience any of the “feeling dizzy” effects some movie
patrons have complained of.
However, I REALLY liked the 3D! “Lord of the Rings” was not filmed in 3D—aspects were added
in postproduction and not done well.
The “The Hobbit” was treated phenomenally! At one point a character stands up in the “front” of the
movie screen; I actually thought the gentleman sitting in front of me had
stood—that’s how good the 3D effects are!
And there’s a scene where a cave floor gives way and the dwarves fall
and fall and fall in a hectic whirly-twirly stretch that 3D was made for. Loved it!
TRIVIA
Peter Jackson wanted Martin Freeman (who plays Bilbo Baggins
in “The Hobbit”) so much that he put the entire Hobbit project on hold for
two-and-a-half months so that Freeman could fulfill his shooting schedule on
BBC’s “Sherlock” (Freeman plays Watson on that series.)
Ian McKellen almost didn’t return as the role of Gandalf
because he learned he had prostate cancer. But doctors discovered the cancer wasn’t aggressive, and
McKellen didn’t want anyone else in the part, so he stepped back into the role.
SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!
(very minor)
“The Hobbit” takes place 70 years before Lord of the Rings. Ian Holm returns as the “older” Bilbo
at the very start of the movie, and he really does look younger! Either he got great Botox or his skin was
smoothed with CGI.
Another cameo is Elijah Wood as Frodo. The boy still looks good! And before Bilbo truly begins to tell
this hobbit tale, Frodo is tearing down the lane to meet Gandalf before Bilbo’s
big birthday bash (which is the opening scene of “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship
of the Rings.” Nicely done, Peter
Jackson! Nicely done.
All the beautifully detailed swords in the movie are all
CGI. Actors carried thin “light
sabers” when they were filming.
All scenes between dwarves and Gandalf (or other “taller”
characters) were filmed simultaneously on twin sets—with 2 cameras locked to
shoot exactly the same angles. The
actors looked at tennis balls of other actors’ faces so they’d know where to make
“eye contact,” and they had “ear bugs” to hear the dialogue in “real time” from
opposing stages. This enabled the
CGI team to immediately composite all actors into the same scene in one push of
the button!
LIKES AND DISLIKES
Things I didn’t care so much for:
I could not understand Golom/Smeagle. I’ve seen the movie twice now. Smeagle and Bilbo have a riddle
contest. I still cannot tell you the
answers to Smeagle’s riddles. I
could barely understand most of his dialogue without really concentrating. So sad, because the improved CGI make
him even more endearing (and menacing).
There were also several key scenes that were nearly
identical to those we saw before in Lord of the Rings. I don’t want to give away
spoilers—you’ll know them when you see them.
Things I liked:
The hairstyles/beards for each of the dwarves are marvelous! Braids, spikes, ornaments and hats all
let you instantly recognized each of the 13 dwarves in this traveling company!
The beauty of the scene design is breathtaking! And the animals (again, all CGI) in the
forest are just adorable (and
alternately terrifying).
The movie has lots of violence but very little gore. Even swords pulled from hacking
monsters come out bloodless. It
made things seem more “fantastical” than overwhelmingly dark.
“The Hobbit” is two hours and fifty minutes long. Even seeing it the second time, the
movie flew by. I’ve read other
reviews saying there isn’t enough “action” in this film. Did we see the same movie??!
There is, however, a lot of character and background
building in this first film. In an
interview with the cast, one of them said, “[The Hobbit] is a three-course dinner—it is not a fast food
movie.”
It is, indeed, a sumptuous feast, and I recommend you go
back for seconds and thirds!
