Holly: DISCLAIMER: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS. WE DO NOT WANT TO RUIN THE MOVIE FOR YOU! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Sorry...typing this in between segments and commercials of Return of the King. Bear with me.
Like Kelly mentioned, we viewed The Hobbit for the second time today. The old cliche really is true: stuff is better the second time around. In its second week I was still surprised to see a decent amount of people in the theater. Then again, perhaps not. In an earlier post of ours we mentioned that we completely missed the LoTR theater fandemonium, so we didn't really know what to expect. I will say that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, moreso the second time. So...
WHAT I LIKED/LOVED:
*The pace/overall feel. Yes, it is long (almost 3 hours), but for me it goes quickly but doesn't feel rushed. It's much lighter than LoTR; I laughed so much in this movie! I'm still exhilarated and excited, thrilled, given chills, the entire time. It's absolutely beautiful. The scenery/imagery is breathtaking as well; literally there are moments where I hold my breath. It's just beautifully shot. I don't know how they do it.
*The "Princess Bride"-esque bookend of older Bilbo and Frodo telling the story in the beginning. I LOVE that. LOVE it. I think I loved it more than the average person. When I read that Elijah Wood and Ian Holm were reprising their roles for the movie I was hoping they would be woven in like that.
*The casting of Martin Freeman as Bilbo. OH MY GOD. OH. MY. GOD. Seriously!!!! You know how everyone fell in love with Elijah Wood as Frodo?! Yeah...I foresee these movies going a lot like that. Now, perhaps I am a bit biased because I have seen the majority of his works and find him a really good actor, but I think that he makes the PERFECT Bilbo! I mean, Peter Jackson halted production for HIM just so he could have him as Bilbo; that's how bad he wanted him. I honestly think it's one of the best decisions Peter Jackson made for this movie. Martin's performance is spectacular; it delights me to no end. It's wonderful...truly wonderful. I hope to meet him someday and tell him myself.
*The individuality of the dwarves. MAJOR, MAJOR kudos to the production team. I've seen a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and they did not have an easy task: creating 13 individual, unique dwarves. But each one is portrayed perfectly. Bofur and Balin are my favorites. :)
MEH/DIDN'T FLY WITH ME TOO WELL (but still not enough to ruin the movie for me):
*The introduction is a bit long-winded. But I do love the story.
*The storyline of Azog the pale orc versus Thorin thing. I don't think Azog needs to be in the film; I think he's in it just so there's a "bad guy". But oh well. Bilbo does kick some serious tail in the end there.
*There was mention of Beorn/the barrel scene in the trailers but not in the movie. That kind of frustrated me! Guess we'll just have to wait until Smaug, I reckon.
Bottom line: If you are a die-hard Tolkiener that takes the books as gospel, proceed with caution. Otherwise, it really does live up to the hype. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Fans of the LoTR movies and Peter Jackson will not be disappointed. Go see it. As soon as possible! :)
Kelly: Hey, Return of the King is on! Pippin is about to sing his beloved song.
This afternoon, Holly and I watched the first installment of The Hobbit movies for a second time. We first laid our eyes on it last week in Lexington for the midnight premiere. We were seated in front of our theater for over an hour waiting for it to open, but not before enjoying some Denny's and feasting on some milkshakes from The Hobbit menu. The theater was PACKED!!! Such a wonderful experience though and one I will surely not forget anytime soon. Today's experience was much different. We were in a smaller theater and it was just the two of us who went and saw it; post-coffee and chatting came afterwards as we met up with a good friend we have known since high school. Twas a lovely afternoon. I will now get onto the good and the bad, in my opinion:
THE GOOD:
* Martin Freeman's breakthrough role. Seriously. I have seen a lot of his work and his role as Bilbo Baggins is on the top of my list! These performances in the next three installments are going to make his career HUGE!!!!
* The Christian themes that are intertwined into the film. Love, grace, discipleship and compassion are a few that I observed many times. Especially loving your enemies; Bilbo spares Gollum's life as he is over run with compassion for the pitiful creature. It is a lovely reminder of how we should treat those who wrong us, and again, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis both perform so well!
* Unlikely friends joining together for a common theme. A rag-tag of 13 dwarves, a wizard and a hobbit, all on a quest to seek the lost kingdom of Erebor. Not a likely company by any means, but it works well. Quite well actually; though there is doubt and uncertainty in the beginning, it disappears as many of the characters deem themselves worthy companions for the company.
* The humor. Though it is a very action-filled movie for the most part, the humor that is involved really lightens the rather gruesome fights that are involved in different parts of the movie. In the Lord of the Rings franchise, the humor comes from Merry and Pippin. In The Hobbit, it's a bit of everyone.
*There are many more good qualities that I enjoy and I overall enjoyed the movie quite well. I cannot wait to see it again!
THE BAD:
* The beginning sequence seemed a bit dragged on to me. Part of me enjoyed it, but part of me was wondering "ok....just get on with it." Ian Holm's soliloquy explaining it though was good, just a bit long in my opinion.
* I hate to play annoying Tolkien lover, but man I really wish the elements in the movie were somewhat linear with the book. Riddles in the Dark is the 5th chapter in the book but doesn't appear till near the end of the movie. Hey, I'm not a director by any means but it works out. I just wonder what it would have been like if it was like that. More linear with the book. Ok I'm done now. There you have it; my novice review of the movie. My opinion now? Go see it!!!
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