The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review (Major Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters, Ultimate Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Hannibal.
Upcoming reviews include Men In Black, Men In Black II, Men In Black 3, Dark Shadows (2012), He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (2002): The Complete Series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 2, Iron Man: Rise Of Technovore, K-9: The Complete Series, Fringe: Season 5, Lego Batman: The Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite, and Taz-Mania: Taz On The Loose.
Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters "Prey"
I am NOT happy about the fact that it looks like they will be killing off Optimus after all. I am actually rather p***ed off about it, to tell you the truth. The Transformers movie was one of the biggest steaming piles of cr*p to come out of a decade FILLED with steaming piles of cr*p. If this show is looking to that turd for inspiration it is in trouble. Seriously. I am annoyed.
Oh yeah, Micheal Ironside makes a fine Ultra Magnus. But I am going to lose it if they kill off Optimus and make Smokescreen a Prime. If they DO kill him off they better have a "Return of Optimus Prime" in mind for the end of the season. Because I will never forgive this show if they don't. **1/2.
Ultimate Spider-Man "House Arrest"
This SUCKED. It is nearly impossible to put into words how bad this was. I don't think I've ever seen a less likely premise from even Teen Titans (although I could be wrong about that). The entire thing was completely stupid with an outrageously terrible ending. Do I have to consider this canon? Or can I do what the producers of Star Trek: Voyager said about "Threshold" and completely ignore it? Because I'm not okay with watching a show where an extra house can be dropped down at any time from the sky and Aunt May can't tell the difference between it and the original. Not to mention her not ever setting off the traps on a routine basis that we've never even seen or heard of before either.
You know, I cr*p on Spectacular Spider-Man a lot because of it's hackneyed soap-opera and obnoxious emo characters but it would NEVER do something like this. Ever. And it was produced by a guy who created a show about castles on top of skyscrapers. It just wouldn't be done by someone other than a complete hack writer.
I don't know how this episode actually made it past the writer's table. Someone somewhere should have said "Are you SURE this is how we want the show to present itself?" It could have saved everyone a TON of aggravation.
Worst episode ever. 0.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Enemy Of My Enemy"
Leo betraying Karai like that was the height of stupidity. Aside from it being unbecoming of a supposed honorable warrior it didn't even work! What, the Turtles thought they'd just kill Shredder and it would be over? The stupidity of the plan may have been enough for Raph but I expect more from Leo.
I was mad by the end of this. Except for the last 30 seconds with Shredder and Karai. That was hilarious and chilling at the same time. Three stars just for that. ***.
Community "Intro To Felt Surrogacy"
Considering the premise this could have been MUCH better. The puppets were cute but this was territory already covered by Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas. That said, the episode looks like the kind of gimmick episode that could draw an audience of casual viewers to sample the show more often and not drive them off. So, I'm totally okay with them doing more stunt episodes like this for that reason.
The cold opening was one of the most creative ones the show ever did. Not a word was said and I STILL wanted to know what happened next.
I knew what Jeff's solution to Shirley's dilemna would be immediately but instead of merely making the episode feel predictable, it made me realize how much my opinion of Jeff has grown over the seasons. I'm not sure I could see or even buy the Jeff from the first half of season one coming up with that idea (especially considering what Jeff's secret actually WAS).
The Professor Duncan call-out was hilarious and VERY self-referential. Why YES, Community, we HAVE noticed the absence of John Oliver.
Jeff is the most diplomatic person in the world for being able to spin Britta's revelation as anything but disgusting. It says something that it didn't change ANYONE'S opinion of her because they were already that rock-bottom low.
Why didn't the Dean ask for more details after Troy confessed to setting a huge campus fire? Or was the joke that he loves the group so much that he is willing to let one of them burning down a building slide?
I laughed at the berry hallucinations. It too was predictable but seeing it happen to puppets was the thing that made it funny.
I liked the episode but I didn't love it. It should have been better. ***1/2.
Parks And Recreation "Animal Control"
I am furious with Ben. He just made my poop list. How freaking DARE he make Andy apologize to that buttwipe? Andy was the only honest broker in that room and he simply said what NEEDED to be said and what Ben and Tom didn't have the courage to. I'm a little mad at Tom too because this is the type of person he looks up to. That's sick. Pawnee is pretty much filled with terrible people.
Ron's solution of how to eat a banana was genius. His expressions in the last thirty seconds as he tried to eat one MADE the episode. I also love Ann being shocked that his cholesterol is so low. Life is REALLY unfair.
The doctor blowing sawdust out of Ron's ear was a great sight gag. This show isn't well-known for doing those but that was some hilarious imagery right there.
Chris was cracking me up this episode too. Loved his getting his foot caught in an animal trap and Leslie suggesting they break his other foot as a distraction. Ever the positive person, Ben DOES note how it would make his feet symmetrical! Hee!
Why was Jerry turned down for the position anyways? He seemed perfectly qualified and had been in the post before.
Those stoners made me laugh especially when April scared them off with talk of cops.
Speaking of April, I LOVE the fact that she said she wanted Leslie to divorce Ben because he's wrong for her. Why? I don't even agree with her! I just love the fact that Ben seems to be someone she gets along with relatively well, at least compared to say, Ann or Jerry. And she STILL talks that way about someone the audience thinks she likes! April is NOT a very nice person and I like that the show isn't forgetting that or softening her edge too much.
Pretty good but Ben made me angry. ***1/2.
The Office "Stairmageddon"
Passable but not that great. I am REALLY getting angry at Jim. Pam is the best wife ever and he is totally taking her for granted. He better wise up by the series finale.
Clark has slowly been turning into an MVP on this show. I never really started to like him until a couple of weeks ago. I love how uncomfortable he was with Dwight using animal terms to describe Stanley. Frankly, I found Dwight doing that a bit racist. I'm surprised the writers didn't notice that.
Best line in the episode was from one of the reporters at the press conference: "Question for the Senator's beard..."
I cannot believe Oscar was surprised that the Senator was two-timing him too. And Kevin was right a few weeks ago. The Senator IS a horrible person. Listen how he described Angela. What. An. ASS.
I'm surprised Stanley didn't attack Dwight at the end after all that. Dwight is a psychopath. Full stop. Stanley has always threatened a lawsuit at Dunder Miflin and now he has a slam-dunk case. He'd be an idiot not to try to squeeze David Wallace after this.
Greg Daniels continues his quest to make Andy the new Micheal. Andy was NEVER this stupid in any of the preceding seasons except the first one. That really bugs me.
Eh. **1/2.
Hannibal "Amuse-Bouche"
Surprisingly better than the pilot which is REALLY rare for a second episode. I am still skeptical about this being a procedural show with a serial killer a week (how many serial killers that actually get caught are there?) but it worked for Millennium, so it could work for this show.
I just don't think I like the actor they got to play Hannibal Lecter. Lecter sounds ALL wrong with a French accent and the actor seems too normal. I don't think I'll ever get used to him.
The show just got better. ***1/2.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I knew going in the tone would be very different from Lord of the Rings so I am truly confused what the critics of the movie are complaining about. No, it's not as epic as Lord of the Rings. But it's not meant to be. Frankly I think it WAS actually more epic than the source material deserved (quite a bit of padding going on) so I don't get what the complaints are.
It's also very funny, especially considering how serious the Lord of the Rings movies were by comparison. Martin Freeman make a GREAT Bilbo Baggins and I think Richard Armitage was an inspired choice to play a surprisingly hunky Thorin Oakenshield. I also loved seeing Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor) playing Radagast the Brown who wasn't in the actual book (although he was described by Tolkien).
I love Thorin because he is the ONLY person in the Tolkienverse I have EVER seen stand up to Gandalf. Gandalf still always wins but he is the ONLY person in the films (besides Saruman who doesn't count because he's a villian) who has been brave enough to do that.
I also loved all of the cameos for actors from the original trilogy. Besides Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis we got roles for Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, and Hugo Weaving. And none of those characters besides Elrond were in the actual book!
If this is a more joyous moment in the film than Bilbo running downhill through the Shire and excitedly declaring "I'm going on an adventure!" I can't think of it.
Kudos to the movie for finding a place to put the joke about the invention of golf. That was the best gag in the book.
There is a major flaw in the movie and it's a big one: it doesn't do the Riddling Contest between Bilbo and Gollum justice. That was the awesomest part of the book and frankly the awesomeness thing J.R.R. Tolkien ever wrote. Without a narrator to describe both the rules of riddling and what was going on in Bilbo's head it feels like something is missing. Having Bilbo figure out the "Time" riddle was also a disappointment because in the book he answers it correctly purely by accident and the narrator seems as delighted by that fact as the reader is. We needed some Ian Holm narration for this.
Other than that I had a blast. No, it's not as good as either Fellowship of the Rings or Return Of The King. But I think it is about the same quality as The Two Towers and in some respects better (there was some boredom for me in Two Towers that was absent here). I also think adding stuff from the appendices from Return of the King padded the movie a bit. But the movie was still really great. It boggles my mind that it didn't get an Oscar nomination. Awesome film. ****1/2.
New Zealand: Home Of Middle-Earth:
One of the actors (I forget who, I can never keep the Dwarves straight) said it best that New Zealand doesn't look "real". The entire country doesn't seem like it could possibly exist in today's world and that all of the vistas in the movie were CGI rather than simply pans over the countryside as they actually were. I'm also glad that when making this movie they took steps to make Hobbiton more permanent and turned it into a place for tourists. I think Peter Jackson always regretted that the old Hobbiton set (which he couldn't bring himself to tear down) wore down over time. ****.
Video Blogs:
Video Blog #1 - Start Of Production: April 14, 2011: Those sets are beautiful. Peter Jackson has lost some weight and looks great. Good for him! ****.
Video Blog #2 - Location Scouting: July 9, 2011: Sylvester McCoy mentions going to a Doctor Who convention! Yay! This blog was filmed when the trilogy was originally going to be only two movies. ****.
Video Blog #3 - Shooting Block One: July 21, 2011: Of course Ian McKellen is the only member of the cast and crew who can remember the names of all 13 Dwarves. Dude knows how to prepare for a role. Loved Christopher Lee's cameo at the end. ****1/2.
Video Blog #4 - Filming In 3D: November 4, 2011: Elijah Wood gets the silliest and most lacking of self-awareness comment ever by saying that the 3D was like you were actually in the movie. Um, Frodo? You WERE actually in the movie. We get our first tantalizing glimpses of Mirkwood here too. ****.
Video Blog #5 - Locations Part 1: December 24, 2011: I was a little bored with this although the Hobbiton vistas still amaze. ***.
Video Blog #6 - Locations Part 2: March 2, 2012: I can't wait to see the scene of the Dwarves in the barrels. ****.
Video Blog #7 - Stone St. Studio Tour: June 6, 2012: The end reveal of Orlando Bloom was awesome and the skit at the end of the little person playing Legolas was hysterical. I am also looking forward to seeing Billy Connolly in one of the upcoming films. ****1/2.
Video Blog #8 - Wrap Of Principle Photography: July 24, 2012: The Hobbit at Comic Con! Loved seeing Sylvester McCoy playing the spoons. He's quite talented. I can't wait to see Beorn's house on-screen. We were robbed of Tom Bombadil in Rings and I'm glad Beorn is getting his due. ****.
Video Blog #9 - Post-Production Overview: November 24, 2012: I laughed at the The Shining reference. ****.
Video Blog #10 - Wellington World Premiere: December 14, 2012: Boy, they went all out on this. My favorite part was seeing the little girl Hobbit from The Fellowship of the Ring all grown up. Cute! ****1/2.
Theatrical Trailers:
These pale in comparison to the Lord Of The Rings trailers. Even if I don't agree with the criticism of the film, I now DO see why people were so worried about it to begin with. These trailers don't do the excellent movie justice. Overall: ***1/2.
Trailer 1: I noticed some brief glimpses of scenes not in the movie. Can't wait until the Extended Edition. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Dwarves: This teases the Riddle contest which is of course irresistable. ****.
Trailer 3 - Letter Opener: Hey, don't talk smack about Sting! ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Bilbo Contract: Funny scene. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Gandalf Wagers: Ditto. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Gollum Path: The least funny of the Gollum scenes in the trailers. ***.
Game Trailers:
Videogame trailers. The first two suck but the one for the Lego game MORE than makes up for them. Overall: ****.
The Hobbit: Kingdoms Of Middle-Earth: Not much gameplay is shown here. It's mostly clips from the film. **1/2.
Guardians Of Middle-Earth: I've seen better graphics and more interesting looking games. **.
Lego The Lord Of The Rings: Am I the only one who now wants to see an animated Lego Lord of the Rings cartoon? It worked for Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman. *****.
Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu / DVD Menu: A bit of a disappointment after the gorgeous Lord of the Rings menus. MUCH more standard than I am used to. ***.
Disc 2 Blu-Ray Menu: The Special Features menu is a dud. After those beautiful New Line Menus for Rings, having to be stuck with typical Warner Home Video menus annoys me. *1/2.
Upcoming reviews include Men In Black, Men In Black II, Men In Black 3, Dark Shadows (2012), He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (2002): The Complete Series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 2, Iron Man: Rise Of Technovore, K-9: The Complete Series, Fringe: Season 5, Lego Batman: The Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite, and Taz-Mania: Taz On The Loose.
Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters "Prey"
I am NOT happy about the fact that it looks like they will be killing off Optimus after all. I am actually rather p***ed off about it, to tell you the truth. The Transformers movie was one of the biggest steaming piles of cr*p to come out of a decade FILLED with steaming piles of cr*p. If this show is looking to that turd for inspiration it is in trouble. Seriously. I am annoyed.
Oh yeah, Micheal Ironside makes a fine Ultra Magnus. But I am going to lose it if they kill off Optimus and make Smokescreen a Prime. If they DO kill him off they better have a "Return of Optimus Prime" in mind for the end of the season. Because I will never forgive this show if they don't. **1/2.
Ultimate Spider-Man "House Arrest"
This SUCKED. It is nearly impossible to put into words how bad this was. I don't think I've ever seen a less likely premise from even Teen Titans (although I could be wrong about that). The entire thing was completely stupid with an outrageously terrible ending. Do I have to consider this canon? Or can I do what the producers of Star Trek: Voyager said about "Threshold" and completely ignore it? Because I'm not okay with watching a show where an extra house can be dropped down at any time from the sky and Aunt May can't tell the difference between it and the original. Not to mention her not ever setting off the traps on a routine basis that we've never even seen or heard of before either.
You know, I cr*p on Spectacular Spider-Man a lot because of it's hackneyed soap-opera and obnoxious emo characters but it would NEVER do something like this. Ever. And it was produced by a guy who created a show about castles on top of skyscrapers. It just wouldn't be done by someone other than a complete hack writer.
I don't know how this episode actually made it past the writer's table. Someone somewhere should have said "Are you SURE this is how we want the show to present itself?" It could have saved everyone a TON of aggravation.
Worst episode ever. 0.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Enemy Of My Enemy"
Leo betraying Karai like that was the height of stupidity. Aside from it being unbecoming of a supposed honorable warrior it didn't even work! What, the Turtles thought they'd just kill Shredder and it would be over? The stupidity of the plan may have been enough for Raph but I expect more from Leo.
I was mad by the end of this. Except for the last 30 seconds with Shredder and Karai. That was hilarious and chilling at the same time. Three stars just for that. ***.
Community "Intro To Felt Surrogacy"
Considering the premise this could have been MUCH better. The puppets were cute but this was territory already covered by Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas. That said, the episode looks like the kind of gimmick episode that could draw an audience of casual viewers to sample the show more often and not drive them off. So, I'm totally okay with them doing more stunt episodes like this for that reason.
The cold opening was one of the most creative ones the show ever did. Not a word was said and I STILL wanted to know what happened next.
I knew what Jeff's solution to Shirley's dilemna would be immediately but instead of merely making the episode feel predictable, it made me realize how much my opinion of Jeff has grown over the seasons. I'm not sure I could see or even buy the Jeff from the first half of season one coming up with that idea (especially considering what Jeff's secret actually WAS).
The Professor Duncan call-out was hilarious and VERY self-referential. Why YES, Community, we HAVE noticed the absence of John Oliver.
Jeff is the most diplomatic person in the world for being able to spin Britta's revelation as anything but disgusting. It says something that it didn't change ANYONE'S opinion of her because they were already that rock-bottom low.
Why didn't the Dean ask for more details after Troy confessed to setting a huge campus fire? Or was the joke that he loves the group so much that he is willing to let one of them burning down a building slide?
I laughed at the berry hallucinations. It too was predictable but seeing it happen to puppets was the thing that made it funny.
I liked the episode but I didn't love it. It should have been better. ***1/2.
Parks And Recreation "Animal Control"
I am furious with Ben. He just made my poop list. How freaking DARE he make Andy apologize to that buttwipe? Andy was the only honest broker in that room and he simply said what NEEDED to be said and what Ben and Tom didn't have the courage to. I'm a little mad at Tom too because this is the type of person he looks up to. That's sick. Pawnee is pretty much filled with terrible people.
Ron's solution of how to eat a banana was genius. His expressions in the last thirty seconds as he tried to eat one MADE the episode. I also love Ann being shocked that his cholesterol is so low. Life is REALLY unfair.
The doctor blowing sawdust out of Ron's ear was a great sight gag. This show isn't well-known for doing those but that was some hilarious imagery right there.
Chris was cracking me up this episode too. Loved his getting his foot caught in an animal trap and Leslie suggesting they break his other foot as a distraction. Ever the positive person, Ben DOES note how it would make his feet symmetrical! Hee!
Why was Jerry turned down for the position anyways? He seemed perfectly qualified and had been in the post before.
Those stoners made me laugh especially when April scared them off with talk of cops.
Speaking of April, I LOVE the fact that she said she wanted Leslie to divorce Ben because he's wrong for her. Why? I don't even agree with her! I just love the fact that Ben seems to be someone she gets along with relatively well, at least compared to say, Ann or Jerry. And she STILL talks that way about someone the audience thinks she likes! April is NOT a very nice person and I like that the show isn't forgetting that or softening her edge too much.
Pretty good but Ben made me angry. ***1/2.
The Office "Stairmageddon"
Passable but not that great. I am REALLY getting angry at Jim. Pam is the best wife ever and he is totally taking her for granted. He better wise up by the series finale.
Clark has slowly been turning into an MVP on this show. I never really started to like him until a couple of weeks ago. I love how uncomfortable he was with Dwight using animal terms to describe Stanley. Frankly, I found Dwight doing that a bit racist. I'm surprised the writers didn't notice that.
Best line in the episode was from one of the reporters at the press conference: "Question for the Senator's beard..."
I cannot believe Oscar was surprised that the Senator was two-timing him too. And Kevin was right a few weeks ago. The Senator IS a horrible person. Listen how he described Angela. What. An. ASS.
I'm surprised Stanley didn't attack Dwight at the end after all that. Dwight is a psychopath. Full stop. Stanley has always threatened a lawsuit at Dunder Miflin and now he has a slam-dunk case. He'd be an idiot not to try to squeeze David Wallace after this.
Greg Daniels continues his quest to make Andy the new Micheal. Andy was NEVER this stupid in any of the preceding seasons except the first one. That really bugs me.
Eh. **1/2.
Hannibal "Amuse-Bouche"
Surprisingly better than the pilot which is REALLY rare for a second episode. I am still skeptical about this being a procedural show with a serial killer a week (how many serial killers that actually get caught are there?) but it worked for Millennium, so it could work for this show.
I just don't think I like the actor they got to play Hannibal Lecter. Lecter sounds ALL wrong with a French accent and the actor seems too normal. I don't think I'll ever get used to him.
The show just got better. ***1/2.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I knew going in the tone would be very different from Lord of the Rings so I am truly confused what the critics of the movie are complaining about. No, it's not as epic as Lord of the Rings. But it's not meant to be. Frankly I think it WAS actually more epic than the source material deserved (quite a bit of padding going on) so I don't get what the complaints are.
It's also very funny, especially considering how serious the Lord of the Rings movies were by comparison. Martin Freeman make a GREAT Bilbo Baggins and I think Richard Armitage was an inspired choice to play a surprisingly hunky Thorin Oakenshield. I also loved seeing Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor) playing Radagast the Brown who wasn't in the actual book (although he was described by Tolkien).
I love Thorin because he is the ONLY person in the Tolkienverse I have EVER seen stand up to Gandalf. Gandalf still always wins but he is the ONLY person in the films (besides Saruman who doesn't count because he's a villian) who has been brave enough to do that.
I also loved all of the cameos for actors from the original trilogy. Besides Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis we got roles for Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, and Hugo Weaving. And none of those characters besides Elrond were in the actual book!
If this is a more joyous moment in the film than Bilbo running downhill through the Shire and excitedly declaring "I'm going on an adventure!" I can't think of it.
Kudos to the movie for finding a place to put the joke about the invention of golf. That was the best gag in the book.
There is a major flaw in the movie and it's a big one: it doesn't do the Riddling Contest between Bilbo and Gollum justice. That was the awesomest part of the book and frankly the awesomeness thing J.R.R. Tolkien ever wrote. Without a narrator to describe both the rules of riddling and what was going on in Bilbo's head it feels like something is missing. Having Bilbo figure out the "Time" riddle was also a disappointment because in the book he answers it correctly purely by accident and the narrator seems as delighted by that fact as the reader is. We needed some Ian Holm narration for this.
Other than that I had a blast. No, it's not as good as either Fellowship of the Rings or Return Of The King. But I think it is about the same quality as The Two Towers and in some respects better (there was some boredom for me in Two Towers that was absent here). I also think adding stuff from the appendices from Return of the King padded the movie a bit. But the movie was still really great. It boggles my mind that it didn't get an Oscar nomination. Awesome film. ****1/2.
New Zealand: Home Of Middle-Earth:
One of the actors (I forget who, I can never keep the Dwarves straight) said it best that New Zealand doesn't look "real". The entire country doesn't seem like it could possibly exist in today's world and that all of the vistas in the movie were CGI rather than simply pans over the countryside as they actually were. I'm also glad that when making this movie they took steps to make Hobbiton more permanent and turned it into a place for tourists. I think Peter Jackson always regretted that the old Hobbiton set (which he couldn't bring himself to tear down) wore down over time. ****.
Video Blogs:
Video Blog #1 - Start Of Production: April 14, 2011: Those sets are beautiful. Peter Jackson has lost some weight and looks great. Good for him! ****.
Video Blog #2 - Location Scouting: July 9, 2011: Sylvester McCoy mentions going to a Doctor Who convention! Yay! This blog was filmed when the trilogy was originally going to be only two movies. ****.
Video Blog #3 - Shooting Block One: July 21, 2011: Of course Ian McKellen is the only member of the cast and crew who can remember the names of all 13 Dwarves. Dude knows how to prepare for a role. Loved Christopher Lee's cameo at the end. ****1/2.
Video Blog #4 - Filming In 3D: November 4, 2011: Elijah Wood gets the silliest and most lacking of self-awareness comment ever by saying that the 3D was like you were actually in the movie. Um, Frodo? You WERE actually in the movie. We get our first tantalizing glimpses of Mirkwood here too. ****.
Video Blog #5 - Locations Part 1: December 24, 2011: I was a little bored with this although the Hobbiton vistas still amaze. ***.
Video Blog #6 - Locations Part 2: March 2, 2012: I can't wait to see the scene of the Dwarves in the barrels. ****.
Video Blog #7 - Stone St. Studio Tour: June 6, 2012: The end reveal of Orlando Bloom was awesome and the skit at the end of the little person playing Legolas was hysterical. I am also looking forward to seeing Billy Connolly in one of the upcoming films. ****1/2.
Video Blog #8 - Wrap Of Principle Photography: July 24, 2012: The Hobbit at Comic Con! Loved seeing Sylvester McCoy playing the spoons. He's quite talented. I can't wait to see Beorn's house on-screen. We were robbed of Tom Bombadil in Rings and I'm glad Beorn is getting his due. ****.
Video Blog #9 - Post-Production Overview: November 24, 2012: I laughed at the The Shining reference. ****.
Video Blog #10 - Wellington World Premiere: December 14, 2012: Boy, they went all out on this. My favorite part was seeing the little girl Hobbit from The Fellowship of the Ring all grown up. Cute! ****1/2.
Theatrical Trailers:
These pale in comparison to the Lord Of The Rings trailers. Even if I don't agree with the criticism of the film, I now DO see why people were so worried about it to begin with. These trailers don't do the excellent movie justice. Overall: ***1/2.
Trailer 1: I noticed some brief glimpses of scenes not in the movie. Can't wait until the Extended Edition. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Dwarves: This teases the Riddle contest which is of course irresistable. ****.
Trailer 3 - Letter Opener: Hey, don't talk smack about Sting! ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Bilbo Contract: Funny scene. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Gandalf Wagers: Ditto. ***1/2.
Trailer 3 - Gollum Path: The least funny of the Gollum scenes in the trailers. ***.
Game Trailers:
Videogame trailers. The first two suck but the one for the Lego game MORE than makes up for them. Overall: ****.
The Hobbit: Kingdoms Of Middle-Earth: Not much gameplay is shown here. It's mostly clips from the film. **1/2.
Guardians Of Middle-Earth: I've seen better graphics and more interesting looking games. **.
Lego The Lord Of The Rings: Am I the only one who now wants to see an animated Lego Lord of the Rings cartoon? It worked for Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman. *****.
Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu / DVD Menu: A bit of a disappointment after the gorgeous Lord of the Rings menus. MUCH more standard than I am used to. ***.
Disc 2 Blu-Ray Menu: The Special Features menu is a dud. After those beautiful New Line Menus for Rings, having to be stuck with typical Warner Home Video menus annoys me. *1/2.