A "The Hobbit" Movie Review

On Sunday December 23rd, I got to see the new movie "The Hobbit" by Peter Jackson at the Arundel Mills Mall Cinemax Theater. I'd been looking forward for some time to this movie. I expected it to be excellent and, it was. The movie is taken from the book "The Hobbit" written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1938 though the movie does have some changes from the book.

For starters, the character of Thorin Oakenshield is developed far more. We see him as a brave and inspirational leader determined to reclaim his lost home. Also, we learn more about the Necromancer who turns out to be Sauron who hides in the fortress of Dol Guldur. Another change is the introduction of Radagast the Brown who is living what would become Mirkwood. It's Radagast that discovers the Necromancer and informs Gandalf of it. Another change is the orc Azog. Azog was the orc chieftain living in Moria who started the Dwarf-Orc war that culminated in the battle of Azanulbizar. We see the battle in the movie BUT, the battle takes a different turn from what Tolkien told. Tolkien has Azog killed in the battle by a young (32 years old) Dain Ironfoot. In the movie, Jackson has Thorin cut off part of Azog's arm and, Thorin assumes he dies of his wounds. Azog doesn't and hunts down Thorin and his company with the intent of killing Thorin.

None of these changes hurt the movie and may enhance it. I suspect we'll end up caring more for the character Thorin and his death scene with Bilbo in the 3rd movie will be far more poignant. Also, the movie helps tie in some of what we see in Lord of the Rings. We see where Gandalf got the Elven blade Glamdring and the petrified trolls we see briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Concerning the 3D technology, I saw the movie in XD 3D. I didn't feel any nausea. I did notice that the images were sharper and, I think the colors were brighter. Those helped make the breathtaking outdoors scenes even more stunning. There are scenes that will knock your socks off in that way.

The movie itself is nearly 3 hours long but, it never drags. At the end, I found it hard to believe I had sat for nearly 3 hours in the theater. It didn't feel that long. There is lots of action with some humor thrown in to keep the movie from being too dark. We start to see Bilbo develop discover things about himself he doesn't know are there though I think Gandalf can see them. The movie ends at a good point with the band looking across Mirkwood to the far distant Lonely Mountain which is their ultimate objective. Jackson pans into the mountain and gives us a look inside where we see a huge eye open in a tantalizing glimpse of Smaug.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this movie. Any fan of Middle Earth should be delighted with it. It is so believable and well done. Howard Shore does another fine job score wise with the movie which helps create the appropriate moods. New Zealand itself shows its best in the movie and will tempt lots of people to visit this stunning country. Hopefully, by now, the theaters won't be so jam packed though the movie still pulled in over $35 million this past weekend. It wasn't when I saw the movie though I attended the 11:35 a.m. showing. Folks may be even tempted to see it a 2nd time as I am because, there is a LOT to take in. Happy viewing all!

John Howe Autographed Books

Yesterday, I received my latest order from WETA, the folks that create the sets for the Hobbit movies as well as the costumes, swords, armor and special effects. WETA does some incredible stuff. My order consisted of 3 books of maps that John Howe illustrated - The Road Goes Ever On and On which contains the map of Tolkien's Middle Earth, West of The Mountains East of the Sea which contains a map of Tolkien's Beleriand (a land that existed in Middle Earth's 1st Age) and There and Back Again which contains the map for Tolkien's The Hobbit. All 3 books were autographed by John Howe. Howe and Alan Lee are the 2 artists that have really defined how people envision Tolkien's Middle Earth. When Peter Jackson decided to do the Lord of the Rings movies, he hired these 2 artists to help him show what Middle Earth looked like. I think you can say that Jackson's vision of Middle Earth really is what Howe and Lee imagined it as. Howe is the artist who created the image of Bilbo Baggin's home at Bag End. The rooms that viewers saw of it in the Lord of the Rings movies and will see in The Hobbit movies were created by Howe. His vision of Middle Earth is beautiful and stunning. I wish I could afford to buy a work of his of Middle Earth. I remember seeing one at the Lord of the Rings film exhibition in Indianapolis, Indiana many years ago. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, it had an $800 plus price tag with it which terrified my wallet. For now, I'll content myself with these 3 neat books. FYI, WETA sells the 3 book set for approximately $84 U.S. Shipping from their New Zealand warehouse was an additional $17.88 U.S. You'll earn 8 WETA dollars with your purchase. The WETA dollars are a nice bonus from shopping at WETA. They can save you real money. I used 32 of mine which knocked the price down to approximately $51 U.S. Remember too, if you spend $500 in 1 year at WETA, they upgrade you to Gold level which gets you an extra 10% more WETA dollars getting you an even better deal. Happy reading all!

New Peter Jackson Production Video Out

If you haven't heard already, Peter Jackson released production video number 7 for his Hobbit movies. You can find it on Facebook. This video is interesting in that it takes you all over the Stone Street Studios where so much of the movies are shot on set. You'll see the costumes department, scripts department, the trailers where the actors and actresses live in during the shooting, prosthetics, where Alan Lee and John Howe work, the sound studio and the behind scene folks that are so crucial to making the movies happen. They are the unsung heroes who might get a mention in the film credits at the end of the movie that no one watches. The video is an absolute delight as all the previous ones have been. Also, it has a very nice surprise for Orlando Bloom fans at the end. Definitely check out this video if you haven't seen it already. Here's the link to the Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151028043926807&utm_source=Weta+News&utm_campaign=bef38f7cc8-8_June_2012&utm_medium=email

I hope the link works. Happy viewing all!

The Hobbit Update

I haven't posted an update on here about The Hobbit movie in a long while so I thought I'd post a few comments about it. The movie is apparently progressing well. On December 24th, Peter Jackson released the 5th production video that shows them leaving for their first outside shoot outside Mata Mata where the Bag End set is located. Elijah Wood speaks on the video about his feelings about coming back to the set. It's been 11 years since he went to New Zealand to shoot the Lord of the Rings movies. Jackson himself remarks how unreal it was for him to see the set he never expected to see again. One interesting difference this time is that once shooting is finished on the Bag End set, all the buildings will remain so people can visit for many years to come. I for one would love to see this extraordinarily beautiful set and feel like I visited Hobbiton and Bag End.

Another noteworthy event concerning The Hobbit movie was the release of the first movie trailer on December 21st. The trailer was fascinating and enticing. We got to see a number of the actors playing their Dwarven characters including the one playing Thorin Oakenshield (looks awesome). At the end, we see a familiar creature whose meeting with Bilbo Baggins at an underground lake would have consequences that would change Middle Earth forever.

My only disappointment is that I'll have to wait almost an entire year (the first movie comes out December 13th, 2012) before I get to see the movie. This is one movie I will be very excited about. If you wish to see the production video and trailer I mentioned, you can find them at: http://www.wetanz.com/the-hobbit-movies-latest-updates/ Also, Facebook is a good place to follow the latest news on the movies. Peter Jackson has been awesome about posting updates there. Cheers.

Hobbit Update

If you haven't heard already, Guillermo del Toro was officially signed to direct The Hobbit and the link movie between it and The Lord of the Rings. Here is the press report on the news: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4496833a1870.html. Peter Jackson will be producing both movies. As Jackson used multiple directors during the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I suspect he'll still have a big part in the films so they should have the same realism and magic that was seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. Also, WETA will be responsible for all the special effects and costumes so there'll be continuity there. Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis have signed up to do their parts in the movies again. (Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4501827a1870.html) McKellen was an awesome Gandalf and it'll be great to see him play the role again. My only complaint about this news is how long I'm going to have to wait for the movies to come out. I believe The Hobbit will come out in 2011 and the follow-on movie in 2012. That's a LONG time. Sigh. Oh well, at least it'll happen. I can't wait to experience the magic of Middle-Earth again.

Hobbit Update

If you haven't heard already, Guillermo del Toro was officially signed to direct the movie version (there was a cartoon version) of The Hobbit and a movie that will link it to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here is the link to the press article about it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4496833a1870.html. Peter Jackson will still produce the two movies. Considering that Jackson used multiple directors when he made the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think the two movies will still have Jackson's imprint on them. Also, Jackson will be very involved in the two scripts I suspect. WETA will be doing the special effects for the movies so there'll be continuity there as well. My only complaint about this news is how LONG I'll have to wait to see the movies. I suspect The Hobbit won't be released until 2011. That's a long time. Still, it'll be awesome to get to experience the magic of Middle-Earth again. I continue to marvel over the Lord of the Rings films. They were so well made. The Hobbit should be equally great.

Hobbit Update

This is a little old but, I thought I'd post something on it anyway. The Tolkien Estate is suing New Line Cinema for its share of the Lord of the Rings movies. The estate reportedly received just $62,500 as an "upfront payment" before production began (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_en_mo/tolkien_lawsuit). The estate was supposed to receive "7.5 percent of the gross receipts." (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_en_mo/tolkien_lawsuit) The estate is suing New Line for more than $150 million. They are also seeking to prevent New Line from making any movies based on other Tolkien works.

Personal Observations: Considering the complaints Peter Jackson and actors/actresses who had parts in the movies about not getting their share of the profits, I can believe New Line was tightwadish enough not to pay these guys. I don't know how they thought they could get away with it. The estate probably isn't hurting for money so they would be able to get the best legal help out there and force New Line to pay them their share. Unless New Line quickly settles with the estate, this will hold up "The Hobbit" and its follow-on for another couple years at least. The good thing about that is that New Line Cinema will lose the rights to "The Hobbit." MGM will most likely buy the rights from Saul Zaentz (who owns them). Also, by the time this lawsuit is settled, Peter Jackson's schedule will be more open and he may be able to direct the two movies himself. Right now, current speculation says Guillermo Del Toro will get to direct the movies though I haven't heard of him signing any contract to do so. As far as I know, his agents are still in talks which may have been put on hold because of this lawsuit. The obvious bad point of this lawsuit is that "The Hobbit" will be held up for a couple more years (groan). One hoped for good point is that the egotistical Bob Shaye, Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of New Line Cinema will be given the boot by the studios parent company Time Warner after this latest fiasco. The tightwad certainly deserves it. Stay tuned for further updates.

Hobbit Update

This is a bit late but, I figured I'd post it any way. If you haven't heard, Peter Jackson settled his lawsuite with New Line Films out of court. He also signed a deal with New Line and MGM to produce "The Hobbit" and a film linking it to the Lord of the Rings films. Folks from New Line have stated that it is Jackson's project. One big question a number of people are asking is who is going to direct "The Hobbit." Jackson's schedule is very full right now. He finished shooting the movie "Lovely Bones" and he committed to making the first Tintin movie. MGM announced a release date for "The Hobbit" of Christmas 2010 with the follow-up movie coming out a year later. Jackson reportedly plans to shoot both movies in sequence one after another.

One potential big problem for "The Hobbit" is the screenwriter's strike. This needs to be resolved so that they can come up with a script for "The Hobbit." Another question is where are they going to shoot it. Supposedly, this is up in the air too though I can't imagine them shooting it any where else but New Zealand. One advantage they'll have if they shoot it in New Zealand is they'll be able to re-use the area outside Mata Mata where they shot the Hobbiton scenes. While they removed a lot the sets from this location, the Hobbit holes are still there. It shouldn't take them that long to make them usable again. Also, they could re-use the sets they had for Bilbo's home at Bag End.

I'm delighted that Jackson will be producing and hopefully directing "The Hobbit." It'll be awesome to return to Middle-Earth again. I still watch parts of the Lord of the Rings films and marvel at what Jackson did. They are film making at its best. Bring on Christmas of 2010. I definitely have a present to look forward to that year. Cheers all!

The Hobbit

Entertainment Weekly within the past week rehashed a lot of information on what has been going on between Peter Jackson and Bob Shaye, the CEO of New Line Films. The two of them have been having a battle over New Line's books. Jackson claims he found discrepancies in the books from the film The Fellowship of the Ring and wants to see the books for the other movies. Shaye has refused. The bad feelings got so bad that Shaye said Jackson would never work for New Line again and was off The Hobbit. Now, things may be changing. Jackson's lawsuit in finally making progress in court. New Line was fine $125,000 for failing to comply with orders by the judge. New Line could've appealed the ruling. Surprisingly, New Line has said it will accept the ruling. This is one of the indications that something of a thaw is happening and there may be hope for a Jackson version of The Hobbit.

Entertainment Weekly has a webpage where readers of the article could voice their opinions on whether Jackson should make The Hobbit or not. Based on what fans have been saying, there is overwhelming desire for a Peter Jackson version of The Hobbit. I have to concur with them. Jackson's vision of Middle-Earth is stunning. I very much want to see him make the movie. If anyone else makes the film, people are going to have a hard time with that director's vision of Middle-Earth. There won't be the continuity and it's doubtful that WETA Workshop and WETA FX would do all the props, costumes and special effects. WETA did an absolutely phenomenal job with all of those. I've bought a number of the Lord of the Rings swords and their designs are stunning. Any other shop would be very hard pressed to equal their work. Considering the guaranteed blockbuster that New Line would have on its hands, it would behoove New Line to settle with Jackson so they can finally The Hobbit and fulfill the wishes of fans all over the world.

New Line's Greed Strikes Again

New Line Films, the folks who produced the Lord of the Rings films, has struck again. A number of lesser known actors and actresses who had minor roles in the Lord of the Rings movies are suing them over royalty issues. It seems that New Line has made a good bit of money on lunch boxes, posters, toys, etc. but claims that after all the various charges are made, they don't owe the actors and actresses anything. In one case, New Line reportedly took in over $9,000,000 from the marketing of the Gil-Galad character alone but, after all the various charges were taken out, it supposedly posted a $400,000 loss! Something doesn't sound right here. Plus, with the way they've treated Peter Jackson, New Line is showing itself to be one of the greediest film companies out there. I definitely don't plan to see any of their movies. Also, I hope they lose the film rights to The Hobbit. If they do, and Jackson finally makes the film, they'll have mud on their face for their greed as the film will be a monster hit. Bob Shaye, the CEO of New Line, has shown himself to be a conceited jerk. Best of luck to the actors and actresses in their lawsuit with New Line.

Source of information: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10443373&ref=emailfriend

The Hobbit Update

I saw on http://www.rottentomatoes.com the latest comments made by director Sam Raimi about making The Hobbit. Raimi has been rumored to New Line Films choice to direct the movie since their falling out with Peter Jackson. According to the Rotten Tomatoes site, Raimi said in an upcoming interview in Entertainment Weekly that if Jackson didn't want to do the film and Bob Shaye (CEO of New Line Films) did and both men gave him their blessing, he'd be happy to make the film. Considering that these two men can't agree on any thing now a days, Raimi would do well to work on other potential projects in my opinion.

Honestly, I don't think The Hobbit will be made until New Line Films loses the rights to it. Saul Zaentz owns the rights permenently from what I understand. He sold them for a set time to New Line. New Line must make The Hobbit in that set time frame. If New Line fails to make the film in that time frame, poo on them. Once that time frame is up, the rights revert back to Zaentz. Zaentz has supposedly shown sympathy to Jackson's beef with New Line and it sounds like he'd be willing to do a deal with Jackson. For your information, Jackson claims there were accounting irregularities with the Lord of the Rings and he wants an independent audit of the movies. New Line has refused to do this and accused Jackson of being greedy i.e. we paid you a quarter of a billion dollars and now you want more. Bob Shaye has said for effective purposes that he has blacklisted Jackson from making The Hobbit. This is where Raimi comes in. It has been rumored that Raimi was approached by New Line about making the film. Considering the enormous differences between Shaye and Jackson, it is extremely unlikely Jackson will make The Hobbit for New Line Films. I've heard the rights will go back to Zaentz sometime in 2009. New Line must start production on the film before then. I haven't heard any word that New Line even has a completed script for the film. If they haven't, the chances of them making the film are very remote.

It is annoying that I'll have to wait till probably 2010 or later to see The Hobbit made by Peter Jackson. Hopefully, Sir Ian McKellen will still be alive then to play the role of Gandalf then. Also, I hope Hugo Weaving will be able to play Elrond. Barring that, none of the other actors actresses will need to return. You can point out there is Sir Ian Holm who played Bilbo but, in my opinion, he'll be way to old to play Bilbo. I think they'll have to get someone else for the part.

If you need a Tolkien fix, there is some good news. Christopher Tolkien finished putting together what will be the last work ever done by J. R. R. Tolkien. Over the years, Tolkien wrote a number of stories about the First Age. The First Age was age when the elves first appeared and created a number of kingdoms. It is also the age when one of the Gods of Middle-Earth rebelled against the supreme God Iluvatar and carved out his own kingdom in Middle-Earth. The novel "Children of Hurin" tells of one man who fought against the dark God and a terrible curse the God laid on him. By all accounts, it isn't a very cheery story. Still, it is previously unpublished Tolkien. The novel also has some outstanding illustrations by Alan Lee who worked on the Lord of the Rings movies and has a number of outstanding illustrations for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. It's in book stores now if you're interested. Cheers all!

Update on The Hobbit

According to the official Peter Jackson fanclub website (http://tbhl.theonering.net/index.shtml), MGM officially released the list of movies they hope to make and The Hobbit was on it. When Peter Jackson was asked about that, he replied that it was the first he'd heard of it. Jackson said that he'd be very interested in making the movie even though he has a number of projects planned or in various stages of development. I hope the fact that MGM hasn't approached Jackson isn't a sign that they plan to go with someone else. Jackson has the vision and so much of the development work for the project would already be done if they went with him. Interestingly, MGM reportedly plans to make The Hobbit into two movies. I wonder if they're trying to milk the novel for all its worth by doing that. Whatever, it would be awesome just to see the novel made into a real action movie vice the very well done cartoon movie that was made back in the late 70's (see my previous post for my comments on that movie). We'll see if anything turns out from this latest bit of titillating information.