The Hobbit
My thoughts on The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey:
* When is the whole 3D fad going to end already? We didn't even see the 3D version, but the filming style with all those swooping shots still made me ill. Within the first 20 minutes, I was wondering whether or not I'd make it through the whole thing without needing to leave the theater.
* Gandalf's symbol on the door was wrong.
* Why did they get rid of the part where Bilbo had invited Gandalf to tea?
* At first, I liked that they had the old Bilbo from the first movies, but the whole scene with Bilbo and Frodo discussing the party was so clearly pointless filler...
* I liked the part with Radagast because I always liked him, though I don't remember there ever being much about him in the books.
* I also liked the conversation with Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman. I especially like the ambiguity of Saruman; you don't know whether he's just blind to what he doesn't want to see, or whether he's already started to turn...
* The whole Azog thing, though? Super annoying. The only reason they needed a Big Bad is because they stretched the story out so much to make three movies that Smaug was only just barely in it and was therefore not a satisfying villain.
* I liked the scene with Gollum very much, although I wish they hadn't changed it so Gollum accidentally gave Bilbo the answer to the time riddle; I prefer what happened in the book where a desperate Bilbo cries out for time and accidentally solves the riddle himself.
* I expected Thorin to be older, but it doesn't bother me that he wasn't.
* Kind of funny that the Warg battle in this movie was clearly filmed in the same location as the one from The Two Towers, even though it's supposed to be a very different part of Middle Earth.
* The rock giant scene? WTF?
* The scene in the Goblin's lair was pretty cool. Suitably creepy, kind of like an evil Ewok village, and I like that they finally differentiated between goblins and orcs.
* The last half-hour was mostly lost on me because I got a migraine and could barely look at the screen. It receded by the very end, but still made it tough, and I don't remember much of what happened except the very end bit with Smaug.
* If Thorin was younger, though, why did Azog hand his ass to him so easily? That kind of annoyed me.
* And Bilbo jumping in front of the executioner orc? I get that they were trying to forge a strong bond between Thorin and Bilbo, but it seemed pretty out of character to me, especially since Bilbo was able to hold him off, where Thorin wasn't. Seriously?
All in all, I think they could have made one excellent movie, or even two really good ones, but three? Absurd and seriously diminished the quality.
* When is the whole 3D fad going to end already? We didn't even see the 3D version, but the filming style with all those swooping shots still made me ill. Within the first 20 minutes, I was wondering whether or not I'd make it through the whole thing without needing to leave the theater.
* Gandalf's symbol on the door was wrong.
* Why did they get rid of the part where Bilbo had invited Gandalf to tea?
* At first, I liked that they had the old Bilbo from the first movies, but the whole scene with Bilbo and Frodo discussing the party was so clearly pointless filler...
* I liked the part with Radagast because I always liked him, though I don't remember there ever being much about him in the books.
* I also liked the conversation with Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman. I especially like the ambiguity of Saruman; you don't know whether he's just blind to what he doesn't want to see, or whether he's already started to turn...
* The whole Azog thing, though? Super annoying. The only reason they needed a Big Bad is because they stretched the story out so much to make three movies that Smaug was only just barely in it and was therefore not a satisfying villain.
* I liked the scene with Gollum very much, although I wish they hadn't changed it so Gollum accidentally gave Bilbo the answer to the time riddle; I prefer what happened in the book where a desperate Bilbo cries out for time and accidentally solves the riddle himself.
* I expected Thorin to be older, but it doesn't bother me that he wasn't.
* Kind of funny that the Warg battle in this movie was clearly filmed in the same location as the one from The Two Towers, even though it's supposed to be a very different part of Middle Earth.
* The rock giant scene? WTF?
* The scene in the Goblin's lair was pretty cool. Suitably creepy, kind of like an evil Ewok village, and I like that they finally differentiated between goblins and orcs.
* The last half-hour was mostly lost on me because I got a migraine and could barely look at the screen. It receded by the very end, but still made it tough, and I don't remember much of what happened except the very end bit with Smaug.
* If Thorin was younger, though, why did Azog hand his ass to him so easily? That kind of annoyed me.
* And Bilbo jumping in front of the executioner orc? I get that they were trying to forge a strong bond between Thorin and Bilbo, but it seemed pretty out of character to me, especially since Bilbo was able to hold him off, where Thorin wasn't. Seriously?
All in all, I think they could have made one excellent movie, or even two really good ones, but three? Absurd and seriously diminished the quality.