Desolation of Smaug

First off, Happy 2014!

I saw the second instalment of The Hobbit trilogy just before Christmas break and I was beyond excited to finally see it! As a movie-goer I thoroughly enjoyed the film and having read the book (not religiously) I was satisfied with the story. Peter Jackson, once again, nailed the cast as he did with Lord of the Rings, and Benedict Cumberbatch voicing Smaug couldn't have been a better match. I have a high respect for Mr. Cumberbatch as he seems to take his rolls very seriously and carries out a strong performance every time; he is enjoyable to watch and really draws me in to the character he's playing, I hope to see him in projects in the near future.
Finally getting to see the dragon on film was an epic reveal! I mean we're talking about the most iconic dragon in history here and getting to see him come to life was terrifying brilliant. This is the dragon that lives up to his villainous name, in my opinion there is no comparison.

I was, however, surprised to hear several people disliked the film. Some were disappointed with the way it ended, and I personally disagree. Being a fan of cliffhangers and seeing as there is still one last instalment of the trilogy the ending just made me that much more anxious to see what happens, I feel they were fair and smart in ending it where they did (story wise) now it's up to Peter Jackson to accept the challenge of meeting everyone's high expectations for what will go on in the last film.
Others found the movie to be more like "Lord of the Rings" rather than "The Hobbit" I'm still a little frazzled by this so if anyone can shed some light I'm all ears!
And then there's the few who felt they left stuff out. Again I disagree. I felt all the important facts were there and yes the cast had said there were some scenes they were disappointed didn't make it into the film, but then you have them to look forward to in the extended edition on DVD. The movie is 3 hours long so if there were anything remotely important that needed to be cut, it would have been the barrel scene. (Stated in an interview w/ Peter Jackson)

Now if there is one complaint I have with the film it would be the amount of CGI that was used. I had just recently re-watched the LOTR films and notices the amount of CGI used in those films were slim to none and when used, it was appropriate. The reliance of CGI now a days is tremendously upsetting. Don't get me wrong, I respect the artists involved in CGI, they are amazingly talented individuals and they've definitely taken visual story telling to a whole new level, but for movies such as this, it kind of takes away from the "fantasy" aspect of it all.
For example, take the LOTR movies. More than half of the film's sets, FX and characters are all done during production. The Orcs? All people in makeup. The Orcs in the Hobbit? CGI. I could go on and on comparing but see for yourself. There's something about taking that extra step to making the story that much more believable and using CGI to enhance the believability not to cover it up completely. Yes there are so many things one can do with CGI that is hard if not impossible to do on set, but to me, it's a sign of laziness and for that I was disappointed.

All in all, that is my personal review of the film and I enjoyed it non the less. I'm looking forward to "There and Back Again" and what other tricks Peter Jackson still has up his sleeves.

Tuesday = Foo's Day!

Some classic Foo Fighters to help get through the rest of the week!

I found this video extremely reassuring. If you're an independent filmmaker looking for some wisdom and good words of advice, give this a look-see!

Get Busy Livin'

Last night I sat down and watched Shawshank Redemption. If you haven't seen the movie before I highly suggest you give it a look-see! It's based on a Stephen King novel so you know it's a great one!
I won't review it today, but I did find something in watching it that got me thinking.

There's a quote in the movie that is said by Red (Morgan Freeman's character):

           "Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'"

And it got me thinking, as cliche as it might sound, it's absolutely true!
Now what I am about to say may sound a little strange to some, but I speak for anybody who may be able to relate in some way.

Having been out of college for 8 months now as a freelance filmmaker in a city where jobs are scarce it's hard to keep busy and it's hard to stay motivated to do things. You work only so many days a week, you're home all day by yourself and sometimes you just don't want to go out and do things, even with friends. So when you're pacing around your house all day it can, in a way, feel like a prison. All your doing is waiting for Mr. Opportunity to come a knockin' and set you free. That right there, friend, is us dying.
But what if Mr. Opportunity was sitting beside us all along and we just didn't notice? He's been flailing his arms to get our attention all we have to do is turn our heads and look for him! He's right there!! Can't you see him?? Go get him!!!! Well that there, is us living!

There's another quote I heard recently that said:

"You only get out of life, what you put in to it."

So then, if your going to do nothing with your life, you'll get nothing out of it. How you like them apples?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is if there is anyone out there, whether your my age, younger or older and you feel all your doing is laps around a barbed wire fence and singing the chain gang song, I would like for you to join me, Mr. Opportunity, and Andy Dufresne and break free! 

I'll be honest it's not going to happen over night and yes we may end up having to crawl through some 500 yards of crap (not literally) but once we reach the other side, and feel that cool rain wash over our faces and we tear away our metaphorical prison clothes, you'll know that it was all worth it!

So what do you think? Can't you just hear Morgan Freeman's voice in your head right now telling you to get busy livin' or get busy dying?

Which one will you choose?

Catching Fire

Last Thursday I went and saw the second instalment of The Hunger Games trilogy; Catching Fire and I, along with many many MANY others, absolutely loved it!

Two words: Caesar's Laugh!

Fangirl-ing aside, I thought the sequel took a major step up in the content and over-all mood compared to the first one. I was able to get in to the story on a more mature level and less on "oh this is just another teen romance type movie" like I did going in to the first one. But just to clarify, both films are great. There were some great intense scenes in Catching Fire, the high stakes were what kept me intrigued and Jennifer Lawrence is amazing as always!

Now I'm not much of a reader so I only made it halfway through the first book and gave up, mainly because I was extremely pre-occupied with school at the time, but I also find I take forever to read a book and more times than none, lose interest. Sorry. But luckily I have a wonderful group of friends who do read religiously and I get my sources of information from them. Thank you lovely ladies! You know who you are.

So I'm sure, for those of you who have read the series, some may or may not have a few bones to pick as to what they left out of the films and what not... but I gotta say, based on my sources, they did what they had to do and still stayed true to the books and that's what I like to see **cough cough** Immortal Instruments **cough cough**.

All in all, I didn't think this would be a trilogy that I would enjoy as much as I do, and I was gladly surprised when I saw the first film. I can't wait to watch the third instalment when it comes out as I have heard good things!