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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph One Thread To Rule Them All: The Rings of Power + The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings Trilogies

Discussion in 'Community' started by -Courtney-, Nov 25, 2006.

  1. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    The place that Azog is at in the movie when we see the Orc report to him, was that Weathor Top?
     
  2. Bacon164

    Bacon164 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    It did at mine as well. And thank you for the correction. =P
     
  3. melkor834

    melkor834 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 24, 2009
    Saw it last night. I have to say it blew my expectation away! Loved the sheer amount of references to other parts of the lore even if Jackson and co changed them up for plot purposes.

    No, it was Weathertop. ;)
     
  4. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    same thing ;)
     
  5. AaylaSecurOWNED

    AaylaSecurOWNED Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2005
    I just got back from watching it!

    The pacing of this movie 100% reminded me of PJ's King Kong. It was an hour too long and most of the unnecessary hour was weird actiony CGI stuff in the middle. As I was watching Radagast and the Dying Hedgehog I was thinking to myself "WHY AM I BEING SUBJECTED TO THIS." Same for most of the troll scene, the clinging to the side of the anamorphic mountain scene, the escape from the orcs into Rivendell scene, and a lot of the goblin scene. Also I went to see it in 3D 24fps and wish I had just gone to 2D. I'm completely fascinated with the cluster**** of 48fps reactions.

    BUT, terrible pacing and unnecessary actiony inclusions and 3D issues aside, I really enjoyed it! I thought Martin Freeman was top notch as Bilbo and in particular the Bilbo & Gollum scene was great. Aesthetically the movie was awesome, and it was nice both to return to the familiar old LOTR aesthetics and to see them updated. It had a nice familiar feel to it and was entertaining in stretches. I'd really like to see someone do a really tight, snappy edit of it, because I would probably watch that movie all the time.
     
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  6. Bacon164

    Bacon164 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Certainly, there is a shoot-from-the-hip charm to FotR (just as there is to Star Wars, I would add), but I think that film trumps AUJ primarily because of such restraint, the fact that it isn't so self-indulgent, which is probably a result of Jackson's budget and lack of control over the final cut (that he was limited to three hours or so and that he couldn't split FotR into three films is principally what I mean). The film is lean, disciplined, and focused, a remarkable feat considering what little actually happens plot-wise.

    On another level, I believe the pathos of FotR are high and above anything AUJ has to offer. As an aside, the latter film's insertion of the music that accompanies Frodo and Sam's embrace above Rauros as Gandalf speaks about the wonder of hobbits was painful, forced, and more or less ruined the moment for me, as well as cheapened the original scene. This film heavily relies on audience familiarity with the LotR trilogy, and that's another knock against it.

    I'm also not too sure how I feel about how "technically" well-made this film is, but since I've yet to see it in its intended HFR 3D format, I'll refrain from outright condemning it. Suffice it to say in the screening I saw, there was a lot of seriously bad lighting at work, resulting in some nasty cinematography. This film looks its best in the dark, be it the evening fires of Bag End or the dark depths of Gollum's cave.



    But I don't want to be too hard on what I saw, because I actually really enjoyed it. The prologue with Ian Holm, despite my worries, was quite lovely, if a bit long, and the fanboy in me loved how it ties into the opening scenes of FotR. And Holm's recitations of the opening lines of the book was fabulous. Ian McKellen was a revelation as Gandalf the Grey, if that's even possible at this point. He adds so much dimension to the character, while beautifully elaborating on the role he plays as an underdog in his relationship with Saruman (though I have to say Saruman's scene was dreadful; try as I might, I couldn't not focus on the sloppy deaging effects done on Christopher Lee), which I'm sure will make his rebirth as the White all the more interesting. And his scarf was beautiful! There's not much to say about Martin Freeman that hasn't already been said. As Ian Holm is Bilbo, so too is Martin Freeman.

    I have to say I really loved the tone of the film, though I do think there is something of a problem with it: Jackson doesn't quite know whether he's delivering a fantasy film for children (golf story as relayed by Gandalf) or a gruesome monster movie for adults (Azog holding up the head of Thror/Azog's bleeding limbs). Obviously these films must be meant for older fans of the book, and as such I personally enjoyed that strange contradiction.

    All in all, the film was much as I expected. Meandering and indulgent, for better or for worse, with excellent performances, a swashbuckling hummable Score score, and unfortunately not very well shot. I'm not convinced at this point that RED and fantasy are a good mix.

    Believe me, I'll be on that in about two years.
     
  7. drg4

    drg4 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2005
    Just saw it. The critics are right: butter scraped over too much bread.

    Folks, I can't do it anymore. I was raised on the likes of Jaws and Star Wars and The Terminator and Back to the Future and Batman. Genre films helmed by men who had a keen understanding of narrative drive and compression of theme.

    I'm done. Between this and Nolan's horrific, soul-crushing Dark Knight Rises, I've lost all tolerance for bloated popcorn pictures. If I'm going to sit in a theater for three bloody hours, the movie in question had damn well better contain the words "Godfather" or "Lawrence" and "Arabia" in the title.

    A favor: In the future, would someone please point me to a two hour "Expunged Edition" of this movie?
     
  8. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    lol, the movie wasn't 3 hours, it was only 2 hours and 45 minutes
     
  9. Bacon164

    Bacon164 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Thanks for informing him. I'm sure he wasn't aware.
     
  10. AAAAAH

    AAAAAH Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2012
    i just got back from this! it blew off all my pectations! when bilbo fell into the hole and he was screaming and the spiders went in his mouth, that was amazing! i also liked the part where gandalf went in an ambulance to the hospital, and the ambulance was driven by seth rogus! what is he doing in this movie?! everyone was in an uproar! the only thing that was bad was the part when i was walking home after the movie and i got hit by a car! my back hurts so much!!!
     
  11. drg4

    drg4 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2005
    Apologies. It only felt like three hours.

    In any case, The Hobbit: A Long and Unexpected Ordeal should have been a two-hour movie, period. Just like that giant ape remake from seven years back.
     
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  12. AAAAAH

    AAAAAH Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2012
    that's right it wasn't three hours, it was fifteen minutes less than three hours! owwww my back!!!
     
  13. Adam of Nuchtern

    Adam of Nuchtern Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    If it's over 160 minutes, then it's going to feel like three hours.
     
  14. AaylaSecurOWNED

    AaylaSecurOWNED Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2005
    It felt like a week.

    Agreed. I don't think this is a question of Jackson "honing his craft." He, like most creative professionals, is at his best when edited. I liked the movie overall and there were great things in it, but it's hardly an example of a finely-honed or finely-crafted film, it suffered from too much unrestrained Peter Jackson. Directors who get famous enough to finally do whatever they want without anyone to rein them in inevitably end up trampling all over the genius of their previous work and making Attack of the Clones and Avatar.
     
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  15. Merlin_Ambrosius69

    Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2008
    I happen to love unabashedly AOTC, Avatar, and The Hobbit: The Unexpurgated Ordeal. [face_batting]
     
  16. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    It does feel like 3 hours but i loved the movie that i didn't pay attention to how long it was, i just wanted the movie to keep going
     
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  17. AaylaSecurOWNED

    AaylaSecurOWNED Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2005
    I love Hannah Montana. Different strokes, I guess.
     
  18. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2004
    [​IMG]
     
  19. AAAAAH

    AAAAAH Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2012
    long, self-indulgent films are sometimes my cup of tea! gaaaaaaahhhh! ouch back steakhouse!
     
  20. Merlin_Ambrosius69

    Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2008
    I was confessedly grateful when it ended, as my bladder could not take another two minutes.

    I look forward to the 16-hour Extended Edition.
     
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  21. drg4

    drg4 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2005
    For what it's worth, I actually enjoyed the Radagast material. I don't know if it's because Sylvester McCoy has an uncanny resemblance to Michael Palin, or because I like tree hugging hippies who ride rabbit-driven sleighs.

    Maybe it would have been preferable if Jackson released The Hobbit: Parts I and II and followed it up with a direct-to-DVD movie called The Necromancer.
     
  22. Merlin_Ambrosius69

    Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2008
    If only he had released the movie in twenty-minute installments, all factions would have been satisfied and the movie(s) would be haled as briskly-paced works of unmitigated genius.
     
  23. DT421

    DT421 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2003
    Just got back from seeing it and I loved the parts that the critics were having issues with (As I pretty much expected I would)... especially the long (As they put it) introduction in Hobbiton. I really enjoyed this movie and can't wait to see the EE of it.
     
  24. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 27, 2000
    Oh yeah, I loved McCoy as Radagast. Loved.
     
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  25. poor yorick

    poor yorick Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 25, 2002
    I loved the hedgehog scenes, but then, I would. :p
     
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