Tag Archives: The hobbit: an unexpected journey

Light-hearted Company

Peter Jackson has faced a reasonable amount of criticism recently for shooting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in brand new 48 frames per second technology.  Critics of the newstuff got a ten minute sneak peek of the film at this years CinemaCon, and essentially claimed that the films aesthetics looked “TOO GOOD”:

Quote1.pngWhile 48fps may create a more realistic, “you are there” picture quality, it actually works against The Hobbit from the 10 minutes of footage we saw. This undeniable “reality” kept pulling me out of the movie rather than immersing me fully into its world as the Lord of the Rings films did; the very fantasy element, the artifice of it all (whether it’s the wigs, fake beards or CG monsters) was plainly, at times painfully, evident.Quote2.png

Now I’m not a rocket scientist or anything but I’d say that twice the quality of video is a step FORWARD for the movie industry and is a GOOD thing.

Peter Jackson responded to the skepticism by saying that people will simply have to deal with his movie looking “too good”:

Quote1.pngAt first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film; not by any stretch, after 10 minutes or so,” said Jackson. “That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.Quote2.png

Ya.  You idiots.  Oh.  Did I just say that out loud?  Can Peter Jackson yet again bring us a dope sauce rendition of J.R.R. Tolkein’s absolutely delight-filled and charming classic fantasy novel The Hobbit?  If I was a bettin’ man.  I’d say yes.  Because The Hobbit is literally, figuratively, and arguably one of the best fictional novels of all time.  Ever.  Don’t hold me to that one that though.  As there are some pretty solid stories in book form in the world as we know it.  Like this top 10:

Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Grapes of Wrath, Hamlet, War and Peace, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Fountainhead

(Post your personal top 10 below!)

WHAT TRULY MAKES a vivid, illustrious, and captivating fictional tale you ask?  Well.  Some would say that it starts with a dense and meaningful relationship between the main characters.  Like for instance the somewhat strained but still very dear friendship between Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey.  Who?  You ask?  Well.  Let’s take a look.

Rationals and Guardians can indeed make for powerhouse dynamic duo’s, as both of them seem to share an inherent fondness for the structures within societyRationals seek desperately to improve it, while Guardians work tirelessly to preserve it.  Indeed a Rational’s pragmatic, skeptical, and relativistic mindset match up quite well with a Guardians stoical, pessimistic, and fatalistic viewpoint.  The two however do have a bright side, and can sometimes take break’s from their work to sit back and enjoy one anothers company.

Quote1.pngGood morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it.  The sun was shining, and the grass was very green.

But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out farther than the brim of his shady hat.

What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

“All of them at once,Quote2.png said Bilbo.

— The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

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Lighthearted Company

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey now has a full trailer and it looks like Peter Jackson still doesn’t suck at making movies so that’s definitely good news.

Being the iconic film-maker that he is; Peter Jackson is starting to document his film making via blogging and so far it looks like he is doing a real bang-up job on such a nostalgic tale so hat’s off to him.  For those of you unfortunate folk who do not know The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is one of two films currently being shot  that is based off of J.R.R. Tolkein‘s world renowned novel entitled The Hobbit which takes place in the same world (Middle-Earth) as the academy award winning Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  The film will star titular character Bilbo Baggins played by Martin Freeman, Gandalf the Grey played by Sir Ian Mckellen and a small but very cheerful company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakensheild played by Richard Armitage.  Given the delight-filled spirit of this whole thing lets take a look at incorrigible combo Bilbo Baggins and his dear and old friend Gandalf the Grey.

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Brutal Tacticians

The Dark Knight Rises wrapped principal photography in New York last week and in a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Christopher Nolan discussed his final Batman film.  Nolan revealed that the films’ events will be taking place 8 years after the events of the previous film, during a time when Bruce Wayne is “not in a great state”.  He also talked about choosing Bane as the primary villain, saying that the goal was to test Batman both physically AND mentally.  Since Bruce went and got everyone excited by going to ninja school in Batman Begins, some critics were largely disappointed with the lack of martial arts in The Dark Knight, which evidently will not be a problem in this film:

“He [Bane] is brutal. Brutal. He’s a big dude who’s incredibly clinical, in the fact that he has a result-based and oriented fighting style. It’s not about fighting. It’s about carnage. The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it’s nasty. Anything from small-joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. He is a terrorist in mentality as well as brutal action.” — Christopher Nolan

Well that sounds pretty dope Mr. Nolan.  Thankyou for that.  I think we’re all glad to see that this Batman franchise is finally headed in the right direction.  The direction of ripping out peoples’ spinal cords.  Regardless of whether that ends up in the movie or not lets take a look at Batman and his new nemesis Bane.

Bruce Thomas Wayne had the unfortunate luck of witnessing his parents murder when he was a child, an event that birthed his life goal of ridding Gotham City of evil.  Bruce has since evolved into an arrogant billionaire industrialist and notorious playboy by day, and a ruthless masked vigilante by night.  Characterized by his physical prowess and technical ingenuityBatman ‘strikes terror into the hearts of criminals everywhere’.  Indeed Bruce Wayne is a martial arts ‘prodigy’ and excels specifically in japanese jujitsuninjitsuKeysi, and Aikido.  Bold, daring, and audacious with a strict adherence to utility The Caped Crusader is undoubtedly a Promoter Artisan.  Indeed Batman has a thick skin and is a hard-nosed utilitarian, doing whatever it takes to get the job done.  The Dark Knight however knows all too well as most Promoters do, that “he who travels fast, travels alone”.  Until Bane shows up.

Bane spent his childhood and early adult-life in prison, serving a sentence for his fathers crimes.  Bane’s ‘natural abilities’ allowed him to develop ‘extraordinary skills’ within the prison walls including a plethora of brutal martial arts.  Bane has since evolved into a ‘super intelligent world-class fighter’ and a ‘tactical genius’.  Bane is most known for causing a prison break to overwhelm Batman, and then breaking his back while he is weak and tired.  Impulsivefearless, and ridden with brute strengthBane is undoubtedly a Crafter Artisan.  Certainly, Bane like all Crafters communicates primarily through his actions.  Bringing his prison mentality to Gotham City, Bane decided to go after the man that everyone fearedBatman.  Indeed a physical specimen, actor Tom Hardy packed on 30 pounds of muscle to play the role.  Like his fellow Crafters, Bane is ‘fascinated by weapons of all kinds’ and wields them with ‘lethal virtuosity’, taking ‘pride’ in his ‘prowess’.  In other words if I saw this dude on the street, I probably wouldn’t talk sh*t.

Warner Bros. recently announced that fresh new trailers for both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Dark Knight Rises will be attached to their big holiday release Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opening December 16th.

Quote1.png Everything’s impossible until somebody does it. Quote2.png

Bruce Wayne (New Earth)