"The Hobbit"

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Couldn't stand it, not saying I don't get the appeal but I hated it.

Legolas and Tauriel leaping around and fighting with Spider-Man powers while Sleepy/Droopy accidentally takes out two dozen orcs in his bouncing barrel - a matter of preference but expected given how PJ has been filming these things.

intermixing the regular high quality film shots with footage from a GoPro that's got water splashing on the lens, as if one of the dwarves was wearing it - what???

[nik-]

I thought that whole scene looked bad. Regardless of whether it was over the top cheesy or not, the CG just was poor. It really stood out to me when it showed the orcs running alongside the river ... jarring almost. Not sure how the movies they made 12 years ago looked better. But CG's limitation has always been light and shadow looking natural, especially when it's mixed with an actual shot.

[trackercowe]

Yep, much of the two movies looked absolutely terrible. Maybe Jackson's people don't know how to create CGI that are as effective as many of the practical effects that were in LotR. I'm honestly surprised believe it was nominated for best visual effects at the Oscars.

[RyZ]

I have just seen parts 1&2 over the past week and loved them both. I cant wait for part 3 next Christmas. Not quite as good As the LOTR movies, but still better and more fun than 99% of movies coming out.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by nik-

I thought that whole scene looked bad. Regardless of whether it was over the top cheesy or not, the CG just was poor. It really stood out to me when it showed the orcs running alongside the river ... jarring almost. Not sure how the movies they made 12 years ago looked better. But CG's limitation has always been light and shadow looking natural, especially when it's mixed with an actual shot.

Oh man, right. Those mixed in shots of actual water splashing was brutal, took me right out of the movie.

Lord of the Rings had big huge sprawling actual sets and locations. The Hobbit seems to be mostly a George Lucas cgi extravaganza.

[Icon]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Oh man, right. Those mixed in shots of actual water splashing was brutal, took me right out of the movie.

I thought the scene was fun to watch. But this was definitely distracting.

[octothorp]

I enjoyed most of the barrel scene, and Bombur's barrel roll may go down as one of the best comedy moments in the whole hobbit trilogy (and comedy is important given the tone of the original book, but because much of the humour in the original wouldn't translate to the film, they needed to come up with new comedy elements). But it certainly didn't need to be followed up with the Legolas jumping-on-heads sequence, which did have me rolling my eyes.

One thing I appreciate that Jackson has added is a very unique style to the way that the dwarves fight: a seemingly impossible level of synchronization and coordination in their actions as a group. It's a consistent approach that first appeared during the plate throwing at Bag End, and then in the goblin tunnels, the barrel escape, and the forges at the end of DoS. In some ways it sort of makes up for not being able to really develop each dwarf individually, to have this fascinating style of action and combat to the whole group.

[Icon]

I kind of view LotR as an epic story... and the Hobbit as a fun ride with prequel-like hints at the LotR epic.

[troutman]

I was thinking about how The Hobbit (one book) was stretched over three movies. Bilbo's journey was actually longer than Frodo's - 14 months. April 27, 2941 - June 22, 2942.

http://middle-earthencyclopedia.weeb...o-baggins.html

http://lotrproject.com/thehobbit/map

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...6233355AAwqHw7

According to the Atlas of Middle-Earth, Frodo left Bag-End on Sept 23, 3018 Third Age, and the Ring was destroyed on March 25, 3019 Third Age, so seven months, give or take a few days. After the end of the War, the remaining Fellowship spent some time in Gondor, not leaving until July 19, and the hobbits arrived in the Shire on Nov.3, 3019. The departure from the Grey Havens did not occur until Sept. 21, year 1 of the Fourth Age. (3021 by Third Age reckoning)


Obviously, LOTR has way more threads in it, but Bilbo's trip took longer.

[octothorp]

I'm rewatching LotR this week, and I really, really like the way the first two hobbit movies work with the LotR. Watching all six in sequence will be an incredible experience, once we have full, extended editions of the hobbit movies. They've done a great job highlighting a lot of the thematic strains from LotR.

There's one thing I'm really excited for in the last film: the fate of Thrain II, and in particular his ring. One of the 7 rings given to the dwarves by Sauron. In the extended edition of the An Unexpected Journey, this ring is referenced as being missing when Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond are talking. There's a shot in the trailer for Desolation of Smaug that I don't think made it into the movie, of a very wild-looking man leaping onto Gandalf, which I think is a Thrain II encounter we'll see in the extended version of DoS. A conclusion in There and Back Again could tie together Thrain II, Thorin, Bilbo seeing the consequences of corruption in another ring-bearer, and the history of the rings and the risks of them, which would then be a perfect lead in to Galadriel's voiceover at the beginning of LotR. In the appendices, there's also mention of Sauron's envoy going to Dain II and offering him three remaining Dwarven rings, which Dain declines.

[MissTeeks]

I really like this poster:

[Coach]

I thought it was supposed to be "There and Back Again"

[nik-]

Have they found a way to stretch this into 4 movies yet?

[Nyah]

Bard is so badass.

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by nik-

Have they found a way to stretch this into 4 movies yet?

They can always do a Hobbit musical, since the one they had in the first movie was so awesome

[GreenLantern]

I really didn't like the actor they cast for Bard in the last movie... but the character itself is bad ass.

I try so hard to love these movies, but I just feel like they are cashing in on the lore at this point.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I really didn't like the actor they cast for Bard in the last movie... but the character itself is bad ass.

I try so hard to love these movies, but I just feel like they are cashing in on the lore at this point.

Yeah. It was kind of a nice departure from the "Trilogy" necessity when they said it was going to be 2 movies. It also made more sense given the length of the book. Not a fan of the money grabbing.

That said, a Samarillion (sp?) movie/series would probably be really cool.

[Nyah]

I tried reading The Silmarillion two different times when I was younger and gave up trying both times. A couple of years ago I tried again, succeeded in reading it and still have no idea what was going on in it.

[Ashartus]

Think how many movies Jackson could milk out of the Silmarillion - it's practically a different story in each chapter! Maybe that's why the Tolkien estate won't sell the rights.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Nyah

I tried reading The Silmarillion two different times when I was younger and gave up trying both times. A couple of years ago I tried again, succeeded in reading it and still have no idea what was going on in it.

That's why we need a movie!