I didn’t know much about this film going in other than it stared Hawkeye(Avengers), Io (Clash of the Titans), and Jean Grey (X-Men). The premise is simple Hansel and his sister Gretel having killed the witch by roasting her in her own oven made it their personal mission to exterminate every witch they came across as badass bounty hunters. The opening credits are some of the best uses of 3-D in opening credits I’ve ever seen. The action is fast paced and nearly constant. The “R” rating was well deserved with lots of gore, violence, language and one brief nude scene. I was entertained the whole time and loved this film. So, if you loved Van Helsing staring Hugh Jackman you’ll love this one too.
A grand story like this starts where any story should at the beginning, at two beginnings for that matter. The film starts off as Bilbo is receiving RSVP’s to his one hundred and eleventh birthday party, the one we witness at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings. You see the Bilbo we know from The Fellowship of the Rings played by Ian Holm and Elijah Wood as Frodo going about Hobbiton sorting through the mail. We see Bilbo sit down at his desk and begin to write his book “There and Back Again” a book of his adventures for Frodo. The writers even include Bilbo penning those famous words written by Tolkien on the back of one of his student’s papers, “In a hole in the ground lived a Hobbit…” (the entomology of the name hobbit comes from the word homebody).
The film then transitions to 60 years earlier when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes place. A younger Bilbo now played by Martin Freeman (Dr. John Watson of Sherlock and if you haven’t seen this amazing BBC series you need to drop everything and do it now) sitting on the bench in front of his hole smoking his pipe.
Now, that is enough of the plot it’s time for the review. The acting by the cast is excellent, but what else would you expect with a cast that includes Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast passed action. I will admit the introduction to the Dwarfs seems a bit silly and got on my nerves but that was a brief moment. Once the adventure began the pace really picked up for a really fun romp.
You may have heard how the high frame rate of 48 fps makes the film look to sharp to the point of losing the beauty of film. I watched the film in 3-D IMAX and didn’t have anything to complain about. I did see a scene or to where the FX were a bit obvious but no more so than in any other film. So if you are worried about the High Frame Rate don’t, you just can’t please some people especially critics.
The story told on film is good, but isn’t exactly true to the book. The director Peter Jackson, you may remember him as the brains behind the first three films, and writing staff that included Guillermo del Toro and assistant director Andy Serkis pulled in many elements from other Tolkien tales and appendices to make a richer deeper world than The Hobbit would be on its own. I am recommending this fantasy adventure to children and adults and am eagerly expecting the next journey to middle earth.
If you are looking for a real middle earth experience checkout this sunday’s blog post from No Kids, Will Travel that highlights Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tours in New Zealand.
A video commentary on the bad move by the network to cancel Attack of the Show.
Save G4
I am truly disappointed by the choice of G4 or its parent company to reformat G4 and eliminate its two best programs. I also think it is a mistake. G4 and AOTS and X-Play provide information and entertainment you can’t get anywhere else. G4 also is one of the most inclusive networks when it comes to women and let’s remembers women control a lot of purchasing power. Women spending counted for more that 45% of the consumer electronics purchased. Female gamers today are also representing a greater percentage of the game playing population than boys 17 or younger according to the Entertainment Software Association they make up more than 47 percent of the overall market and will be abandoning by the changes to G4. The promoting of women in gaming and technology is one of the best parts of G4 and should not fall by the way side. The use of female hosts like Candice Bailey and Sara Underwood talking confidently about geek culture and technology and looking fabulous while doing it have been great role models for young women interested in science and science fiction who may be afraid of the “nerd” stigma. I think both hosts do a lot in the eyes of young women to say that you don’t have to look and act like a dork to want to read a comic book or play “Call of Duty”. The 2012 Comic-Con attendance was 40% women and continues to grow each year. The mother of all Comic Conventions even had several female focused forums such as “Oh You Sexy Geek, No Damsels in Distress Here, and Girls Gone Genre”. I think the big point is girls and women need more role models in the land of nerd not fewer. The network is not only providing a safe place for young women to be exposed to science fiction and fantasy, and these young women interested in science fiction are more often interested in science fact and work in technology fields and earn more and spend more on tech and entertainment. So the change in G4 will leave a powerful consumer block out in the cold with no one to help direct their spending.
And now for the boys,
The G4 demographic geeks who have grown up and are now professionals, the average gamer is 30 years old, have plenty of money to spend on computers, technology and entertainment and will now no longer have a community on network television to direct their spending. We like G4 the way it is. I think the only think we’d like more about it is if there was more original programming not less. A whole show on comic books for example. The safe place you created for the women goes for us guys too. We have a place to let our geek flag fly, a place where the host can make a Star Trek joke and we’ll laugh, a place where we can go each day and get turned on by being introduced to the latest and greatest movies and technology.
I know this email will do nothing to change the minds of those who call the shots but I thought it would be a good reminder of what is being lost with the demise of G4 and its wonderfully unique programming.
I would hope someone would take the concept of AOTS and X-Play to the web where we can watch it free of network advertising.
We are slowing down with age, its inevitable, even for a planet. You see the earth isn’t as spry as it used to be. It had breathing problems caused by pollution, has put on some weight due to human population, and tends to feel hot all the time. So its spin doesn’t have the same zip as it used too. It’s just not spinning as fast. We as humans who value time and its orderly delineation need to find a way to compensate for that so we will add a second, just once, but we will make the last-minute of June 30 take 61 seconds. The addition of this second will compensate for the slowing for the earths rotation this happens every few years. How do we know this? atomic clocks. The atomic clock doesn’t slow down. If you want to read more detailed sciency stuff on this check out this series of article from io9
Finally! Someone got monsters from Greek mythology right!
I’ve studied Greek myths most of my life and watched every good (and bad) film depicting them I could get my hands on. I have to say the Ray Harryhausen stop motion such as “Clash of the Titans” and “Jason and the Argonauts” are some of my favorites. The monstrous Titans were diverse in scale and power just like in the original stories. The Gods were well crafted too; they showed their mortal failings. Zeus also threw lightning bolts, unlike in another recent film depicting the gods, “Immortals”.
The visual effects in “Wrath” were better than 2010’s “Clash of the Titans”. The story was a little better, too. The writers did change the myth a bit, but that’s to be expected. It was a fast-paced action-filled spectacular that is sure to grab your attention.
(Possible Spoilers)
On a more personal note, I want to see more Gods. I have favorites and I seldom see them in film.
Artemis and Athena are two I’d love to see explored on film. Athena was depicted in “Immortals”, but she wasn’t the Athena of myth. They chose not to depict the masterful, powerful, wise goddess – the goddess you want in command of your army. Instead, she was written as an obedient daughter. Hot, but submissive.
The film also has a lot of battles, but they never depict the goddess of the hunt. Artemis is a capable warrior, but absent from all of these films.
I would just love to see all of the gods done justice in the same film. Perhaps it’s a tall order, I’m not saying it would be easy to write all of those characters (and do it well), but it would be worth the effort.
Meet John Carter is a wonderful modern science fiction adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs novel Princess of Mars the first of the John Carter books. The scope was big and sweeping and in 3D it simply transported you to the surface of Barsoom (Mars). I did at first think that it seemed a bit melodramatic and had some tired out conventions. I then realized something very, very important it was Edgar Rice Burroughs that created many of those conventions. His books were considered pulp science fiction when they were published. The film even for all its amazing special effects still brought me back to watching the old Flash Gordon serials (no I’m not that old I have them on DVD).
I don’t know whether it was the nostalgia or the sheer fun of the film, but I totally enjoyed it and hope to see another in the near future.
I have recently come across a great comic series Grimm Fairy Tales by Zenescope. I know that it has been around for years but its new to me. I will admit right off the bat the Zenescope artist depiction of characters like Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella as vixens and temptresses was a great hook. The story is very complex and hard to follow for someone new to the tales. I cI have recently come across a great comic series Grimm Fairy Tales by Zenescope. I know that it has been around for years but its new to me. I will admit right off the bat the Zenescope artist depiction of characters like Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella as vixens and temptresses was a great hook. The story is very complex and hard to follow for someone new to the tales. I can discern from where I came in there are two or three realms or dimensions earth, fairytale world, and darker one. There is of course an ongoing battle of good versus evil too. The hero’s and anti-hero’s are all “highborn”, I’m not sure what that means other than they are not human but look it… and are incredibly hot. The art work is amazing though. I found even if the story didn’t make sense because of being a late comer you could tell it was a rich, deep, well written plot with many variables. The art work alone is wonderful. The characters are really interesting takes on classic heroines. The Cinderella in this universe is a sociopath working for the big bad, who wheedles a sword and likes the dried blood on her skimpy outfit. I do have to say I’m partial to the interpretation of Red Riding Hood as a psychologist, with her own problems and that was before she was dragged into the world of the supernatural. I really like this series and once I get caught up I think I might love it. an discern from where I came in there are two or three realms or dimensions earth, fairytale world, and darker one. There is of course an ongoing battle of good versus evil too. The hero’s and anti-hero’s are all “highborn”, I’m not sure what that means other than they are not human but look it… and are incredibly hot. The art work is amazing though. I found even if the story didn’t make sense because of being a late comer you could tell it was a rich, deep, well written plot with many variables. The art work alone is wonderful. The characters are really interesting takes on classic heroines. The Cinderella in this universe is a sociopath working for the big bad, who wheedles a sword and likes the dried blood on her skimpy outfit. I do have to say I’m partial to the interpretation of Red Riding Hood as a psychologist, with her own problems and that was before she was dragged into the world of the supernatural. I really like this series and once I get caught up I think I might love it.
