Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - - - - Part 13

[Octoberist]

I think HFR is something where a director has to totally reverse-engineer the way they make movies. Meaning in the shots, the cinematography, and the effects.

That way, HFR can create a new cinematic experience that won't' be jarring to the eyes, and won't cheapen the film itself. My probable with HFR with The Hobbit isn't the potential in the tech; it's the fact that it made the first film look really cheap looking. The beauty got lessen.

 

[TonySoprano]

Just listened to the soundtrack.

First impressions:

- It is very strange that the Misty Mountains theme (that's the main heroic theme from Unexpected Journey) doesn't appear AT ALL. A rather bizarre choice.

That theme was not composed by Howard Shore but by the band Plan 9 from New Zealand, even the tracks on the score featuring it were not by Shore.

I guess either Shore does not want to use it, or the studios don't want to pay extra money for reusing it.

 

[Marvolo]

I think that review sapped the last bit of interest I had in seeing this film. Everything that reviewer saw as a positive I saw as a negative.

Oh come on where's you sense of fun? I like the line. Theyre dwarves. Theyre wild and rambunctious, and a young dwarf like kili wouldn't be beyond a little flirting.

 

[Marvolo]

That theme was not composed by Howard Shore but by the band Plan 9 from New Zealand, even the tracks on the score featuring it were not by Shore.

I guess either Shore does not want to use it, or the studios don't want to pay extra money for reusing it.

You sure about that?

 

[craigdbfan]

Times Review of The Desolation of Smaug:

Tolkien is rolling in his grave.

 

[TonySoprano]

You sure about that?

http://www.plan9music.co.nz/news.html

AFAIK the studios weren't too happy with Shore's score, that's why there's so much old material from the original trilogy played throughout the movie (Thorin's fight with Azog features the Nazgul-theme).

 

[Marvolo]

http://www.plan9music.co.nz/news.html

AFAIK the studios weren't too happy with Shore's score, that's why there's so much old material from the original trilogy played throughout the movie (Thorin's fight with Azog features the Nazgul-theme).

I mean I knew about that, but taht Plan 9 composed the misty mountain theme I hadn't heard. If its true then I'm even more disappointed cause I loved that theme and they are fools to not carry it over to the other films.

 

[Drz]

This was an incredly disapppointing sequel, and they ruined Smaug. Cumberbatch's voice is magnificent, but they made Smaug into an moron.

 

[craigdbfan]

Ouch.

I'm still super excited for this film but some of the stuff I'm hearing...

 

[Marvolo]

This was an incredly disapppointing sequel, and they ruined Smaug. Cumberbatch's voice is magnificent, but they made Smaug into an moron.

I really doubt the validity of this statement given everything I've read in reviews so far. Youre gonna have to be specific about smaug and what disappointed you cause this post reads like someone who hasn't actually seen it.

 

[regwec]

I'm toying with not seeing the thing. My 12 year old self would hate me now.

 

[craigdbfan]

Come on man. Don't you want to at least rock out to Beorn's sick tunes?

 

[regwec]

That and the dwarf dick innuendo may just be too much for this starchy old bore.

 

[Drz]

I really doubt the validity of this statement given everything I've read in reviews so far. Youre gonna have to be specific about smaug and what disappointed you cause this post reads like someone who hasn't actually seen it.

Sure.

Act 3 spoilers:

Spoiler

Bilbo, Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Nori and i believe Ori are fightning Smaug, they first decide to escape by running to this armory forge area, to ensure survival they split into 4 groups, i'm sure there we're more dwarves with them, but really most of them are stock characters so i can't remember them at all.

So you have 4 different groups running the same direciton, but from different ways. Smaug attacks the 1st group, but then the 2nd group taunt him, so Smaug immediately moves to the 2nd group, then the 3rd group taunt Smaug AND again Smaug like a wild dog just starts chasing them.

Also Smaug brags about how he can smell and hear the characters, yet this gets completely forgotten as the heroes just start mass evading him and so on and so on, now my complaiment is drifting to that whole pointless scene itself, which had THORIN SURFBOARD ON HOT MELTED GOLD FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Caps are emphasis for showing how stupid that is.

Also Smaug simply gets bored of chasing the Dwarves, and then decides to attack Laketown, but again, because Smaug has a short attention spam, the Dwarves just taunt the guy again, beat his ass, then Smaug runs away from them to get his revenge on Laketown.

I could defeat Smaug easily, Atleast Jackson's Smaug. I would tell Smaug to have a competition of who keeps their breath still longer, i'd use my nose, but Smaug would die, because he's a moron.

 

[The Lizard]

Act 3 spoilers:

Spoiler

Bilbo, Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Nori and i believe Ori are fightning Smaug, they first decide to escape by running to this armory forge area, to ensure survival they split into 4 groups, i'm sure there we're more dwarves with them, but really most of them are stock characters so i can't remember them at all.

So you have 4 different groups running the same direciton, but from different ways. Smaug attacks the 1st group, but then the 2nd group taunt him, so Smaug immediately moves to the 2nd group, then the 3rd group taunt Smaug AND again Smaug like a wild dog just starts chasing them.

Also Smaug brags about how he can smell and hear the characters, yet this gets completely forgotten as the heroes just start mass evading him and so on and so on, now my complaiment is drifting to that whole pointless scene itself, which had THORIN SURFBOARD ON HOT MELTED GOLD FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Caps are emphasis for showing how stupid that is.

Also Smaug simply gets bored of chasing the Dwarves, and then decides to attack Laketown, but again, because Smaug has a short attention spam, the Dwarves just taunt the guy again, beat his ass, then Smaug runs away from them to get his revenge on Laketown.

Yep, I can vouch for all of that. And I agree about Smaug becoming something of a joke towards the end.

At the beginning of Bilbo's conversation with Smaug, it's pretty awesome and you do get the sense of Smaug's size and power (once you get past the fact that Smaug is indeed a two-legged, bat-winged wyvern type dragon). But then...

Spoiler

Bilbo decides to take off the ring for some reason (because Smaug says he can smell Bilbo? Because Smaug makes mention of detecting the power of the ring? Still not a very logical move.) and continues the conversation face-to-face. Smaug proceeds to name-drop Thorin and tries to convince Bilbo that he's just being used as a tool to get the Arkenstone back (why Smaug should care about any certain dwarf or dwarf politics is a puzzle to me, but whatever). Eventually, after a much too informal discussion, Smaug decides to fry Bilbo, who runs away, then encounters the dwarves, who have decided to enter the mountain and save him.

Thorin sees Smaug and decides it's time for some payback, which launches us into the running, chute-sliding, chain-swinging, molten gold-surfing, Smaug-taunting scenes described by Drz above.

Basically, it's a big, loud, action movie about dwarves learning valuable lessons, elven crushes, orcs attacking everybody everywhere, Sauron totally tipping his hand way too early, Bard's family drama, and oh yeah - this little Hobbit dude that pops up every now and then.

 

[terry78]

I did want to ask how do the scenes with Smaug talking look? Does it actually look decent or kind of cartoony? Basically did Dragonheart do it better?

 

[The Lizard]

I did want to ask how do the scenes with Smaug talking look? Does it actually look decent or kind of cartoony? Basically did Dragonheart do it better?

I think this movie does it better, if only for the advances in CGI that have happened since Dragonheart. Also, Smaug's voice is much more impressive due to the deep, booming effects that have been added. The Dragonheart dragon just sounded like Sean Connery chatting a lot of the time.

The lip-synch when Smaug talks is fine. It's not too accentuated, but you do get the sense that he is actually forming the words.

 

[Victarion]

Wow, I kind of wish

Spoiler

Jackson would build on Smaug's interest in the Arkenstone and dwarven politics. That's a change I wouldn't mind.

How was the Dol Guldur sublot, Lizard?

 

[The Lizard]

Wow, I kind of wish

Spoiler

Jackson would build on Smaug's interest in the Arkenstone and dwarven politics. That's a change I wouldn't mind.

How was the Dol Guldur sublot, Lizard?

As yet another thing that distracted your attention from Bilbo's personal experiences, it was fine. The showdown between the orcs and Gandalf was well-realized. You do get to see

Spoiler

The spirit of Sauron (wearing the armor from the LOTR:FOTR prologue) become the flaming eye in front of Gandalf

, which seemed a bit heavy-handed to me since all this was supposed to take place before Sauron's influence was so obviously in swing. But we have to make things obvious and familar for all the movie goers who are expecting another LOTR, right?

 

[Victarion]

Hmmm

Spoiler

The eye just appearing like that sounds bad, reading it here. I would've kept it to that suit of armor.

 

[The Lizard]

Hmmm

Spoiler

The eye just appearing like that sounds bad, reading it here. I would've kept it to that suit of armor.

I would have just kept showing the "Necromancer" as a shadowy figure like in the first Hobbit movie, myself. But of course that's not obvious or over the top enough for PJ.

Spoiler

Gandalf is getting the best of the orcs, of course when the black shadow of the Necromancer shows up, trades some light vs darkness magic attacks, then pins Gandalf against a wall. A flaming ball appears in the shadow, and the outline of armored Sauron appears from the flames. Sauron becomes a dark silhouette in front of the flaming ball and his body narrows out until it forms the pupil. Very weird.

 

[ThePhantasm]

All this just confirms my suspicions that this is "the Hobbit-lite for Twilight fans."

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Times Review of The Desolation of Smaug:

Tolkien is rolling in his grave.

She is being rather dismissive. Dwarves are by nature small but have immense girth, which is more practical anyhow.

 

[Drz]

I think the funniest thing about the romance was this:

Spoiler

Tauriel has a crush on Kili, she sees Kili get shot in the leg by an arrow, when Thranduil & Legolas are interrogating an Orc, Tauriel is present and they learn the arrow was poisoned and that the dwarf Kili would die.

Tauriel thus decides to catch up the Dwarves, so she buckles herself with armor and weapons and thus her quest begins.

When she reaches to Laketown, she sees Bombimfur with the flowers that provide the cure, her expression is like "OH!" like, she realizes what the flowers are for, but it begs the question: Why on earth didn't she have any potions or flowers from the bloody Elvenlands?!

Note: the complaiment is on the "DOIH" expression the actress provides, not on the script, storytelling, simply her expression, it's priceless.

 

[Leenie]

I mean it happened with Lord of the Rings too man. Tons of stuff was shot that never made it into the movie.

Also keep in mind, the extended cuts all together are about 11+ hours of content.

They shot a lot of alternate story footage that never made it into the films.

The Lord of the Rings movies were indeed very long films, but they needed to be long, in my opinion. Lord of the Rings is THE fantasy epic ... Whereas The Hobbit is a (much shorter) story intended for younger readers. I feel like The Hobbit "Trilogy" is doing a disservice to the tone of the original book by trying to be an epic.

I loved all of the Extended Editions of the LOTR films, because I feel like those additional scenes had a purpose in the movie, and they stayed mostly accurate to the books.

And Peter Jackson did know when to edit himself with LOTR to some extent. The lack of Tom Bombadil is proof of that.