The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review

Dragons can be be pretty damn greedy sometimes. How about some gold for the rest of us Smaug?

About a year ago, the much anticipated film, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released. Although I vastly enjoyed the first installment in the Hobbit movies, it was met with fairly mixed critical reception. That was quite a surprise considering the massive critical praise (and numerous awards) for Jackson's Lord of the Ring's movies. Just reminding you, I had very little problems with the first Hobbit movie. It wasn't up to par with the Lord of the Ring's films, but it was pretty good. With the newest Hobbit movie, I think it's safe to say Peter Jackson is back on his A game. Sure, it may not be Return of the King, but it's still pretty awesome. This time around, Bilbo Baggins and The Dwarves (Is that a band name?) continue their unexpected journey of trying to reclaim The Lonely Mountain where the dwarves once resided until it was taken over by Smaug the dragon. Meanwhile, Gandalf the Grey goes off to find out more about the mysteriously evil being called The Necromancer. First off let me say, this is a much more exciting and well done film than the first. That's coming from a guy who liked the first. Pretty much everything about it is better. I saw this in 3D. I've only seen a few movies in my lifetime, like Gravity and Avatar, that have been worth seeing in 3D. The Desolation of Smaug is one of those movies. The big sweeping shots of these beautifully CGI-ed fantasy landscapes really pop with the 3D. It makes the whole thing seem so real and exciting. That's another great thing about the film everything seems very wonderful and fantasy-like, yet I was so drawn into the story and visuals that I didn't notice the preposterously fantastical element of it all. I was there with Bilbo, trying to run away from Smaug. I was with Gandalf and Radagast, climbing up and old enchanted fortress. It all is so enthralling. Not to say the movie doesn't have it's problems. I thought the CGI in the beginning was a little shoddy and strange looking, but it only increased in quality after that. A whole lot of people were complaining about the film's three hour running time. First of all, it's only about two hours and forty minutes. Second, with the fast moving and exciting plot plus Jackson's nice direction, i barely noticed the time pass. Some movies, I'll use Lincoln as an example, make their running time feel stretched out ten fold. It feels like you can barely sit through it! The Hobbit make it's running time feel necessary. I don't think this movie'd be the same if it was shorter. I think the three hours are all used to their full extent. The actors aren't really the showcase here, but they do a good job. Martin Freeman, (coming off a nice turn in The World's End) plays his courageous and small hobbit quite well and Ian McKellen is good as always as the wise wizard, Gandalf the Grey. Benedict Cumberbatch does some deliciously evil voice over work for both Smaug and The Necromancer. Luke Evans shows up for a bit as some guy named Bard. He really didn't do anything that he hasn't done in any of those crappy period flicks he's been in recently (The Raven? Ugh.). Orlando Bloom comes back as the very awesome Legolas. I know Bloom can act, but he doesn't really show it here. He's not bad, but he's not great either. He does kick some serious Orc ass though. Most middle-of-the-trilogy films almost always falter and almost never live up to the first one. The second installment in The Hobbit trilogy completely the first in so many ways. Overall, The Desolation of Smaug is an exciting and entertaining film that I can definitely recommend. In a season of movies trying too hard for Oscars, it's good to have a well made blockbuster like this to break everything up. I give The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4.1 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing! As always, you can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies. 

#tbt Shaun of the Dead review

Why can't The Walking Dead be more like this?

The Cornetto Trilogy are a series of three comedy films by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. They are all equally funny, entertaining, and to a certain extent, heartfelt. About two months ago the conclusion to the trilogy, The World's End, came out. It was a very good end to the series. But it all started back in 2004 with the "zom-com", Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead is about a man named Shaun (Simon Pegg) who takes his slacker roommate (Nick Frost), his ex-girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), her friends (Dylan Moran and Lucy Davis), and his mom (Penelope Wilton) and tries to survive the reanimation of the dead. With hilarious results. I have never seen anything like Shaun of the Dead. There's never been a better zombie movie. Shaun of the Dead is so much more than just a zombie movie, if you've seen it you'd know. This is the kind of movie you need to watch more than once. On first viewing it's a pretty funny zombie flick. After multiple viewings, you get some more of the jokes and you get a fuller appreciation of the film as a whole. You begin to see Edgar Wright's wonderful way of cutting scenes (which he re-used in Hot Fuzz, but less so in The World's End) and just how damn funny the movie is. I just saw it for my fourth time and don't regret a single viewing. It's actually an incredibly rich film, a lot of people haven't analyzed it as much as they should. Definitely the smartest horror movie ever made. The obvious strength of Shaun of the Dead is its humor. For some reason, Brits always seem a hell of a lot funnier than Americans. Maybe it's their accents. Maybe the British are just a more talented group of people. I don't know. What I do know, is that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright wrote a very, very funny script for the move that's jam packed with lot's winks, nods, and references to other movies. There are certain movies, like The Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction, that I can rewatch and rewatch without getting tired of them. This is one of those movies. After every viewing of Shaun of the Dead I get something new out of it. In fact, the last time I watched it was the best, simply because I got so many of the jokes and references and because I understood it so much more. There are some subtle gags that only a handful of people would get, and much broader and funnier stuff like Shaun and the gang beating up a zombie to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. It's ludicrously funny stuff. Yet, as good as the script is, it'd all be for naught if not for some great comedic acting. Luckily, this movie has a fantastic ensemble of great British comedy actors. Nick Frost has appeared in all of the Cornetto films. He is most certainly hilarious here. Frost delivers some of the best lines in the movie. Simon Pegg of course is great as the title character. There's a reason he's gone on to so many movies after this like Mission Impossible and Star Trek. He's just really, really fun to watch. The rest of the cast is good too. Especially Bill Nighy in a small , but pivotal, role as Shaun's step dad. This movie is like a nice puzzle. Every aspect of it is a piece that without, would make it an unfinished puzzle, but with the pieces in their places: It's an undisputed masterpiece. Shaun of the Dead was the launching pad for this cast to move on to more things. Simon Pegg is a pretty big star now. Edgar Wright , along with directing the Cornetto trilogy, did Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and other projects. Nick Frost has more acting work now, He was in Snow White and the Huntsman, crappy as that was. Shaun of the Dead is an overall terrific film in many ways. If you haven't seen it, I advise you to do so. as you may have noticed, I'm doing a theme of horror movie Throwback Thursday reviews in spirit of Halloween. Last week I did The Evil Dead and next week I'm planning on doing The Cabin in the Woods. If you have any particular preferences, follow and message me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies. Thanks. Happy Viewing!