December 2012

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, Journey

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • IMDB: link

“I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.”

hobbit-unexpected-journey-posterAfter several delays, including the director and the Tolkien estate both separately suing New Line Cinema and a brief flirtation with Guillermo del Toro taking over the project, Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth for J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit. Roughly one-third of the 300-page children’s fantasy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey feels far too familiar, somewhat less magical, and far more expected, than the title would indicate.

Our story, oddly, begins on the same day as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) beginning to chronicle his adventures for his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood), while waiting for Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to arrive to celebrate the Hobbit’s 111th birthday. After this somewhat awkward (not to mention completely unnecessary) sequence, our story finally beings in earnest as the younger Bilbo (Martin Freeman) meets Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves for an impromptu dinner which will forever change his life.

…

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, JourneyRead More »

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, Journey Read More »

The Return of the King

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • IMDB: link

lotr-return-of-the-king-posterAlthough the final entry in director Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the one which took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, I’ve always felt The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the most problematic of all three films (and not only because of the 18 or so separate endings).

We begin with the film shoehorning a big section of The Two Towers into this film (while ignoring more than half Tolkien’s final novel) by including an extended sequence of Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), and Gollum‘s (Andy Serkis) journey along Cirith Ungol before even reaching the giant spider Shelob‘s lair (all of which actually takes place in The Two Towers), and finally to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.

The rest of the film focuses on Gandalf‘s (Ian McKellen) return to Minas Tirith to unsuccessfully rally the Steward of Gondor (John Noble), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) finally accepting his destiny and journeying through the Paths of the Dead, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields between Mordor and the combined forces of Rohan and Gondor.

…

The Return of the KingRead More »

The Return of the King Read More »

Coming Soon

/ / Film News & Trailers
  • Title: G.I. Joe: Retaliation
  • IMDB: link

There’s a new trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation which, despite recasting almost all of the roles from the previous film, continues the storyline of Cobra taking control of the White House and U.S. Military. Dwayne “It’s Okay To Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Ray Stevenson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Arnold Vosloo, and Byung-hun Lee star. Originally planned to hit theaters this past summer, the film will finally open on March 29th.

Coming Soon Read More »

Arrow – Year’s End

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Green Arrow – Year’s End
  • tv.com: link

arrow-years-end

Before breaking for a Winter hiatus Arrow delivers its first Christmas episode when Oliver (Stephen Amell) decides to throw a big party after learning Moira (Susanna Thompson) and Thea (Willa Holland) stopped celebrating the holiday when he and his father went missing five years ago. Meanwhile Green Arrow has his hands full with a copycat archer who has begun killing off members of the list. Despite realizing the recent murders aren’t the work of Green Arrow, Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) is ordered by his superior (Brian Markinson) to hide the fact that there is a second archer on the loose.

…

Arrow – Year’s EndRead More »

Arrow – Year’s End Read More »

The Lone Ranger #11

/ / Comics

the-lone-ranger-vol-2-11-coverAfter spending several issues exploring Tonto‘s past before he met the Masked Man, The Lone Ranger #11 returns to the “present” to focus on the Lone Ranger‘s struggle to get his wounded friend the medical attention he so desperately needs.

The warriors of the Ute tribe would prefer to kill the Ranger, and the elders seem perfectly willing to turn him away, but the Masked Man argues persuasively for the life of his friend. However, to save Tonto he’ll have to work with the braves to save the Ute medicine woman from local Mormons.

What should be a relatively simple mission is complicated by the braves’ double-cross and a second twist involving the identity of the doctor the Ranger doesn’t see coming.

I was hoping the flashbacks would take us up to the first meeting of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but with only one issue left in the arc we may not get to see writer Ande Parks’ take on the famous scene following the death of all but one Ranger at the hands of Butch Cavendish. For fans.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

The Lone Ranger #11 Read More »