tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post5124133950915674460..comments2024-03-03T22:40:39.761-05:00Comments on How To Watch A Movie: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-70623468940431705092015-03-23T11:44:51.980-04:002015-03-23T11:44:51.980-04:00Hehe, thank you Arwen! Fortunately, Legolas doesn&...Hehe, thank you Arwen! Fortunately, Legolas doesn't let pesky things bother him easily. :P<br /><br />That part was good. Because I was kinda disappointed at that point that my prediction didn't turn out, the emotions of that scene didn't get to me as much as they could have. I need to see it again now that I'm resigned to the manner of Smaug's death, cause Bard and his son are just great! <br /><br />Thanks a bunch! :)Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-31293360458683573142015-03-22T09:18:16.795-04:002015-03-22T09:18:16.795-04:00Haha! I loved that, "those pesky laws of phy...Haha! I loved that, "those pesky laws of physics." That was my family's and my reaction, too!;)<br /><br />Ahh, great review! I agree, the acting was all pretty terrific...is it just me, or did anyone else get, surprisingly, a little teary-eyed in the Smaug-death scene, when Bard is firing the arrow and he tells his little boy, "No, son--you look at me"? Ahem.<br /><br />Again, great review!:)Oliviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546655886492251059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-15420662287974693462015-03-01T21:25:24.322-05:002015-03-01T21:25:24.322-05:00Yeah, it is nice how Alfrid's horrible charact...Yeah, it is nice how Alfrid's horrible character is a contrast for Bard, but yes, he could have done that just as well with half as much screen time! Bleh.<br /><br />Yeah, that scene in the book is a has always been my favorite because of it's simplistic beauty, and the David and Goliath sense it gives. The scene in the movie is good granted, and I can see how if it were translated exactly it might have just been boring, but I'll still always love the book's version of it more. And yeah, after he is shot it is beautiful.<br /><br />They set up the potential for lots of character development for all the dwarves, but it never really panned out, (except with Thorin) and that was too bad, especially with how shallow the book characters are we can't even fill in the gaps with that. :P Martin Freeman is just the best though, isn't he? <br /><br />I'm glad you liked the White Council bits. It's not that I really disliked it all or anything, but all the characters there were already satisfactorily developed in LotR, so I just felt like they were cheating development and screen time out of the other characters who wouldn't get another chance to be developed.<br /><br />Me too -- Bard Bilbo and Thorin for me. :) And me too, that made me very happy. That's true -- I can't wait for this one to be released on DVD so I can watch them all one after the other! <br /><br />When he's pretending to be dead and Thorin decides to go stand directly above him? Yeah, that was too much.<br /><br />OH, I know. It's so perfect. <br /><br />Thanks Sarah! :) Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-53881334413477094572015-03-01T02:59:46.172-05:002015-03-01T02:59:46.172-05:00Took me a while, but I'm back. ;) The only thi...Took me a while, but I'm back. ;) The only thing that really bugged me about BOFA was how much screen time Alfrid has. After watching it all together my family was talking about it and we were all rather annoyed with Alfrid, but then my mom said something about him being there to sort of showcase Bard's character, which makes sense, so I'm not so annoyed with him anymore, just wish he didn't have so much screen time.<br />I never thought about the arrow being just a normal arrow before, or that scene from the book the way you described it. Thanks for putting that in, I like that. :) The picture of powerful Smaug being shot down because of his vanity with one simple arrow is brilliant. I liked Smaug's death scene, it was probably one of my favorite scenes - I liked how simple it was (after he's been shot and he just falls back) and the imagery. And I liked that he got some more good dialog, as you said, he can have all the dialogue he wants. ;) <br />My favorite part of the Hobbit trilogy is the characters, so I agree with you about wishing some of the fighting scenes could have been used for more character development. Martin Freeman really was perfect as Bilbo, he just embodied him so well, and the expressions and everything. :) <br />I can't remember how much the plot line of Gandalf and the Necromancer ties in with LOTR, but however much it did I loved Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond and the White Lady all working together - it was such a cool setup of characters and relationships. <br />Bard is definitely one of my favorite characters from the Hobbit movies - he and Gandalf and Bilbo - so I was glad he got such a large role in this last. I think overall this was my favorite of the three, but as they go together so closely that doesn't really matter. <br />Oh, the other thing that bugged me was when Thorin and Azog are fighting and Azog gets 'stuck' under the ice....<br />I love the Last Goodbye, those lyrics are so beautiful. <br /><br />It was fun reading your review. :)<br /><br />xxSW https://www.blogger.com/profile/14687537232841591331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-89248979350628452202015-02-02T13:58:07.936-05:002015-02-02T13:58:07.936-05:00Major Spoilers!
That's alright; I do understa...Major Spoilers!<br /><br />That's alright; I do understand what you mean. I find at the same time though, if you're already invested in a story you can be quicker to forgive differences for the sake being able to love the story in all its forms. I do have a tendency to put unrealistic expectations on film adaptations of stories I love -- however, usually, no matter how many of my favorite parts were adapted in a way I didn't like, I can appreciate the film quality separately, as in this case. And in this case, I actually liked some changes when I'd usually only tolerate them. There weren't many changes because of how short the book was, but there were a lot of additions. Some of them were good, most were not. <br /><br />This is where I disagree about the quality of the film. I'd still say it's a high quality film, but obviously not as high as you say. I agree about everything that was good, but I put after that a much bigger "but." I really didn't like all the silly, physically impossible things -- Bard riding the wagon down the hill, Legolas jumping off falling bricks, and riding giant bats -- plus the giant bats themselves didn't make sense, or the giant worms that ate tunnels for the goblins. These things I still wouldn't like if I hadn't read the book. Remember the rock giant battle in AUJ? That was in the book, and I wish they had left it out because it was silly too. I know those kinds of things were insignificant to you but they did bother me, and added together degraded the film.<br /><br />Actually, I was surprised at the amount of shock and suspense I felt around the time of the deaths. It was different for us obviously, but for me, knowing they were supposed to die, and feeling it coming with dread, halfway wishing they wouldn't even if it did mean a huge change from the book, is one of my most vividly memorable experiences in a theater. And I didn't know when or how it would happen. I didn't know about Bucky not actually dying, but that scene was nothing compared to these.<br /><br />Fili's death was shocking, but it was also a throwaway death and in the book it was a heroic one. Kili's was heroic, but I liked it least because the Tauriel/Kili stuff was just plain not compelling anymore, and they were trying to force it. Thorin's was great besides one thing -- Azog floating under the ice was too much and made Thorin seem like an idiot for just standing there watching. They sacrificed part of Thorin's character for the "cool" effect.<br /><br />I don't think there is one huge flaw, and why would there be if the film is based on a book whose plot and themes have withstood the test of time? Since you see the flaws as minor, I think you're right about the movie for yourself; you're not missing anything. Most of them like Alfrid and the trolls and other silly things are just silly, (and I thought annoying) but it's the time they take away from the rest of the movie that makes an even bigger problem for me. Character development was left hanging, and that afterthought rushed ending for Bilbo. I also thought the film was too long for the little amount of content in it, and this one's format and focus suffered for being split three ways. Like Smaug's death, being tacked on so anti-climatically to the beginning. I agree they did a lot of things right, and some of it was fantastic, but I also saw a lot of things wrong, and not all of it was minor to me. <br /><br />Thanks for taking the time to respond James. I respect your opinion as well, and I think I understand better where you're coming from now, and I hope this helps you understand me. It's impossible for us to know exactly what it's like to see this movie, having read the book, (in your case) or not having read it (in mine), but certainly neither is the wrong way. :) Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-48390592085816618392015-02-01T11:46:01.823-05:002015-02-01T11:46:01.823-05:00*MASSIVE SPOILERS*
Sorry if I sounded too accusat...*MASSIVE SPOILERS*<br /><br />Sorry if I sounded too accusatory. I just meant that with any adaptation that differs from the source material the viewer is more likely to dislike it since it is different than how the viewer pictures the source material. I have had the same problem with several different films. However, there also plenty of movies that drastically different from the source material, but I liked the direction they went. For example, the Avengers film is better than just about any Avengers comic that I have ever read even though it was drastically different.<br /><br />As for the Hobbit 3, in my opinion it is a high quality film. It had characters that I genuinely cared about, heart wrenching deaths, and stunning direction and cinematography. It had a few minor issues like Alfrid's overuse and the conclusion could have been slightly longer, but as whole it met my definition of a great film.<br /><br />Also, to me, if a movie can truly surprise me, that is saying something. Of course you read the book so you knew who was going to die, so there was no suspense or shock for you. I entirely expected that Thorin and Kili would survive, therefore their deaths added to the success of the film. It is the same way for me with Bucky's "death" in the first Captain America. I knew he wasn't dead, therefore it was not all that important of a scene, and the same goes for Loki being turning into a villain. I still enjoyed both of those films, but I was not surprised by what happened. <br /><br />Anyway, what I am trying to say is that the movie was an excellent film that did a lot of things right throughout. Of course, everyone has an opinion and mine is in the minority. It had those few minor problems with the funny looking trolls and those other small things. However, I still haven't seen anyone note a flaw in the film that I see as anything more than a minor issue. Regardless, everyone has a different opinion and I respect your opinion of the film.<br /><br />One last thing. I don't know how this film differs from the last Harry Potter film. *Harry Potter SPOILERS* Everyone loved HP8, but it had the same structure, just with less suspense and less character development since everyone knows Harry and friends can't die. <br /><br />btw, sorry for any spelling mistakes.<br /><br />-James<br /><br /><br />James the Reviewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00165238905288033483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-32389334125288217052015-01-29T12:00:56.993-05:002015-01-29T12:00:56.993-05:00Oh yeah... I guess you're right. I wrote that ...Oh yeah... I guess you're right. I wrote that it a fit of annoyance at PJ for putting so much less effort into these movies than LOTR, but I do agree, there's much more talent here. Except I wouldn't say the writing is "great," but it is better than the SW prequels! <br /><br />Honestly man, that might be true -- I might, as a fan of Middle-Earth, be biased against these movies. I tried to imagine a world where I'd never read The Hobbit, or LOTR, or seen the LOTR trilogy (only in that world would I be totally unbiased) and it's impossible. The LOTR trilogy shaped my opinions on what makes a good movie. Without it, I might be a raving fan of the Transformer franchise! Or not care about movies at all. <br /><br />I thought seriously about it though, and if I separate myself from everything Tolkien and look at this movie completely objectively, I come back with the same answer every time, still agreeing with my review. With this movie especially, I think I WAS able to enjoy it as objectively as possible. I went in expecting changes and determined to enjoy it as best as I could anyway, no matter what. You may see that as preexisting negativity, (expecting changes I'd likely not like) but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it's the opposite. Because I love Tolkien's world and books, and PJ's film adaptations, then of course I want to love these too! That's why a fangirled over casting decisions and trailers, and went to see the films as early as I could -- in the hope of seeing something else in that world I could fall in love with. I cared so much and I wanted to love them so bad, but I can't change my opinions on what a good movie is. And yes, in my disappointment I harp a lot on the things this film let me down on, and maybe after another viewing or two I'll be over it, and will be able to talk about what I loved and ignore the rest, and maybe if I re-wrote this review in a year it would sound very different. But the rating would be the same. It was objective. And, it was positive. 3.5 out of 5 isn't bad -- I really, truly did like, and enjoy this movie. There were some problems -- changes and silly additions I didn't like, (and imagine I still wouldn't like if I were ignorant of their being changes and additions, too) but there were also plenty of changes and additions I liked! For example, I like that they made Bard start out a bargeman instead of leader of the Lake-Town archers, because it gave his character room to develop, from lowly bargeman to leader. Also, I didn't mind the addition of Legolas, or Tauriel, until her existence detracted from Kili's development and relationship with Thorin which I found more interesting.<br /><br />All that to say, I think if I have a preexisting tendency to anything, it's to try and love these movies, but sadly I can't love a movie unconditionally just because I want to.<br /><br />Sorry for going off on a tangent on you, but what you said really made me think. So thanks for that, and thanks for your understanding, and thanks for commenting! :)Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-24926384625841694652015-01-28T09:03:33.742-05:002015-01-28T09:03:33.742-05:00Actually, I would say that there is a huge differe...Actually, I would say that there is a huge difference between the Star Wars prequels and the Hobbit trilogy. A lot of it is the talent behind the Hobbit. The Hobbit has great writing, acting, and direction. Anyway.....<br /><br />Alfird’s abundance of screentime was my only real issue with the film. His scenes could have been saved for the Extended Edition. Otherwise I was impressed. But then again, I don’t have any preexisting negativity against the film for changing the source material. Having not read the book definitely gave me a different experience than others because I am able to see it as a film first, not an adaptation. However, I know how it feels to have source material changed. <br /><br />-JamesJames the Reviewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00165238905288033483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-2345331372080846572014-12-23T23:35:33.415-05:002014-12-23T23:35:33.415-05:00Haha, that's probably a good idea... I'll ...Haha, that's probably a good idea... I'll look forward to it, and to your review! :DSarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-88158800498088067812014-12-23T23:34:47.317-05:002014-12-23T23:34:47.317-05:00Aw, sorry! Hopefully you'll get to see it soon...Aw, sorry! Hopefully you'll get to see it soon (maybe you have by now!)<br /><br />That's true. If anyone can get away with it, it's Legolas. His stunts in LotR are pretty crazy too, but I actually think these ones topped them!<br /><br />Well, I hope you like they way they make that scene in the movie then, but I must say the reason I liked that part of the book so much was because of how simple it was. :)<br /><br />I agree it just distracts from the main plot, which is better and more interesting anyway!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901639281043602191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-51339659452314027032014-12-21T19:09:43.015-05:002014-12-21T19:09:43.015-05:00So I went to read this and immediately saw Major s...So I went to read this and immediately saw <em>Major spoilers throughout!</em>, went <em>ahhh</em> and decided to leave this comment saying I'll be back when I've seen it. :D<br /><br />xxSW https://www.blogger.com/profile/14687537232841591331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076471470585210140.post-5481146874483462052014-12-21T15:57:00.552-05:002014-12-21T15:57:00.552-05:00AArgh!! I so want to go watch this movie but I got...AArgh!! I so want to go watch this movie but I got exams :O<br />Laws of Physics are for us mortals not for Legolas have you seen his stunts in LOTR they're even funnier? :P XD (but Orlando Bloom is brilliant as legolas in all the movies)<br />Martin Freeman rocks! and I think Ian McKellen might be Gandalf in real life as well :P<br />Smaug's death was rather disappointing in book I think because he just dies in it..I think I'd like a little complications like they've done in the movie.<br />Tauriel's love story was added for no reason as if there was less stuff going on...I wish they hadn't added that in the movies it totally ruins the campaign of Thorin.<br />Wow 3.5 stars :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600818185663028305noreply@blogger.com