I finally saw the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. And while I mostly enjoyed my viewing experience, I have been uncertain as to how to review this film because of two really big bones I have to pick at this movie. So finally I’ve decided to just go ahead and rant…
Rant #1: The Barrel Escape Scene
This is literally the worst scene I have seen in a movie in I don’t know how long, and I don’t mean the content of it, I mean the production of it. First off, there was some pretty lousy CGI in the movie (alongside some pretty decent CGI, like Smaug, for instance, looked good), and the crappiest of it was in this scene. Whether it was the orcs or the way the dwarves were flying down the river in the barrels, it was painfully obvious at times that these things were computer generated. And considering that I have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Hobbit movie without ever feeling this way, I was stunned by this.
Secondly, apparently they decided to incorporate what were probably GoPro cameras on the actors or barrels or stunt doubles or fill-in props or whatever, to get these water shots that were designed to make you feel as if you were in the water. But these weren’t the high-quality shots you see in the rest of the movie; they looked more like a home movie or a documentary. That’s fine for certain movies, but for for this movie, that particular style was so inconsistent with what is in the rest of the movie it completely took me out of it. Pick a style and stick with it, Peter Jackson.
Rant #2: There is no Act 3
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the three act structure, but in case you aren’t, here’s a reference:
The Desolation of Smaug ends at the crisis point, right before the climax. THERE IS NO CLIMAX IN THIS 2 HOUR AND 41 MINUTE MOVIE. That’s a serious problem. It’s also called the DESOLATION of Smaug. Desolation means “complete destruction.” At the end of the movie Smuag is FLYING AWAY. HE IS NOT DESOLATED IN THE SLIGHTEST. At the end of the movie I felt completely duped. What was the point of everything I just saw? To wait another 11 months for the third movie for Smaug to actually be desolated before they start the next part of the story (because there’s more to be told after Smaug, so it’s not like that had to be dragged out)? Seriously?!
Now that I’ve ranted, what did I like about the movie? It took itself more seriously than the first one I thought, my two rants aside. I appreciated that, and I think it will hold my attention better for a second viewing than the first Hobbit movie did when I watched it a second time. I liked the addition of Tauriel, though her main purpose seemed to be to insert estrogen in the movie and create an unnecessary love triangle (between a dwarf and Legolas, the latter who was a bit shoehorned into the story). She’s like an elf version of Katniss.
I continued to like Kili, though again, there was some added story line there for drama, and I liked Bard quite a bit. I’ll be interested in seeing what he does in the third movie (since I’ve forgotten from the book, not that following the book is exactly Peter Jackson’s forte). And of course, Benedict Cumberbatch as a sinister dragon was great. Overall, the movie was entertaining but my two rants really drag the overall score of the movie down for me. I give it 3.5 stars, though I feel like I’m being a little nice to be giving it that.
What are your thoughts on The Desolation of Smaug? Did you feel duped too?
At the shocking revelation that I only saw 10 2013 movie releases in 2013, I have stepped it up in 2014 by watching two more: Despicable Me 2 and The Great Gatsby. These are two extremely different movies that have the misfortune of being paired together for a post of mini-reviews, and oddly enough, receive the same rating from me.
Despicable Me 2
Despicable Me 2, thankfully, did not fall into the trap of feeling like a forced sequel. It is just as fun as the first and features fresh, new jokes, while still featuring what was enjoyable about the first film, like the minions and Gru’s relationship with the girls. This story was more focused on Gru and Lucy, the latter who recruits Gru into the Anti-Villain League, rather than Gru and the girls. There’s a theme of the girls wanting a mom and other people thinking Gru needs to find a lady friend, so it’s clear from the start that things between him and Lucy will take a romantic turn. The Despicable Me franchise is not among my favorite animated films, but I find them enjoyable enough for a watch.
The Great Gatsby
I kept insisting I would read the book first, but when a co-worker loaned me the movie and I knew I wasn’t reading the book anytime soon, I decided to just dive in. So my thoughts on this movie are from someone who is not familiar with the novel. This was also my first experience with a Baz Luhrmann film, though I was somewhat familiar with his style.
I thought this was a well-done movie, and certainly visually stunning. The pacing felt a little odd to me, but that could have had more to do with my unfamiliarity with the original material than anything. I am always impressed with Leonardo diCaprio, I thought Carey Mulligan did well, and Tobey Macguire did better than I was anticipating. After seeing the previews I really wanted to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role, and there were times in the movie where I certainly could picture him in it, but Nick is supposed to be a little more on the outside of things, not as smooth of a socialite, so Tobey was a good pick in that aspect.
The story is pretty depressing, but it really speaks on the human condition, which I appreciate. And while I couldn’t connect with the rich debutante Daisy or the outlandish Gatsby, I felt I could connect with Nick somewhat, as someone on the outside looking in.
I thought the use of modern music (along with period-style music) actually blended in pretty well with the 1930s atmosphere, and certainly did fit the overall feel of the film. I was not wild about the editing style, but I prefer an extremely simplistic and clean editing style, and that is obviously not the style of this film. I also liked that the framework for the movie was Nick sharing the story with a psychiatrist and then writing the story.
I give both movies a 3.5 stars. They were enjoyable and well-done, but I’m not in a big hurry to see them again.
Have you see Despicable Me 2 and/or The Great Gatsby? What are your thoughts?
I LOVED AND ADORED Across a Star-Swept Sea, even more than For Darkness Shows the Stars! Basically, it had everything Amy looks for in a book. Adventure + genetic engineering + fascinating world building + strong heroine + smart hero + love story + pretty dresses + the sea + description that is so delicious I want to eat it like ice cream = perfect Amy book!
Across a Star-Swept Sea is a companion novel to For Darkness Shows the Stars, taking place in the same universe. I have to admit, at first I was confused by this, because while there were similarities between the two books, there were also enough differences in terms that were being used and in the names of the places that were supposedly the only places left on the world, that I was wondering how it all fit together. Thankfully, when you keep reading it does eventually make sense. So while I was confused sometimes, it did not overshadow how I was instantly transported into and captivated by Persis’ secret life as a spy. In this retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel, we see that by day, Lady Persis Blake plays a silly aristo who cares about nothing but her appearance. But secretly she is playing the role of the famous spy, The Wild Poppy, trying to change the way of the revolution. As someone who was not familiar with The Scarlet Pimpernel, I had no problem getting into the story. In fact, I think it was easier for me to get into this book than FDSTS, as I was not trying to get caught up into the minutia of which character is representative of which character from the original story (which for FDSTS was Persuasion).
The secondary main character, Justen Helo, meets Persis early on and is forced to pose as her love interest when he seeks asylum from Princess Isla. I really loved Persis, who was brave and smart and cunning, and I loved Justen just as much! He was also extremely smart, very focused and ambitious. He holds on to regrets from his past and his family’s past and uses them as the driving force for his work. He slowly recognizes over time that Persis is much more than a pretty face, and the way these two thought about each other, interacted with each other, and misunderstood each other could be so frustrating, but it was in all the right ways. It was never a frustration that made me want to throw my book across the room, but I was definitely close to shouting at the characters: “Justen, Persis is the Wild Poppy! Persis! Just tell Justen who you are!”
The plotting and pacing were perfect, except maybe at the very end, when things seemed to wrap up a little too quickly. I was always intrigued and loved so many of the characters (and hated some as well, as you’re supposed to!). And I absolutely loved hearing about the world of New Pacifica, which sounds completely gorgeous and heavenly (I want to vacation there now please!) and about Persis’ wardrobe, because I’m a sucker for pretty dresses. There were so many detailed elements that Diana Peterfreund included that just made everything feel so real.
I also felt the romance more this time than I had in FDSTS, and it was such a nice slow burn, which I’m also a big fan of.
We do get some cameo appearances from Elliot, Kai, and some of the others from FDSTS. It was sort of weird to see them through Persis and Justen’s eyes, because they viewed them differently than I did. But of course, to them they came from this strange land and they didn’t know anything of their back story. It was almost a little sad to see Elliot and Kai again but not get their perspective, but I was glad to see them, and Ro. But not Andromeda. Bleh.
All in all though, I pretty much loved everything about this book! If you love intriguing world building, have an interest in genetic engineering, and just love a good story, you have to check out these books! And does anyone know if another one is coming out? Because I need one now.
Content Advisory: This one is really clean. Language, sexual content, and violence are all either mild or nonexistent in this book.
Have you read Across a Star-Swept Sea? Did you love it as much as I did?!
I can’t believe it’s over. That I finished Fringe and have seen all that there is to be seen of the dynamic team of Olivia, Peter, and Walter. I’ll admit, I was slugging through this last season, only 13 episodes long. Maybe because it was accepting the end, maybe it was because I was watching TV shows live again (mostly that), but there was also the fact that for quite a while, I wasn’t motivated to watch season 5 because I felt sort of meh about it. Thankfully, the last few episodes and the finale finally delivered. WARNING: Don’t read further if you haven’t watched the series. THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW!
So this is how season four ended…
I knew that the season 4 episode “Letters of Transit” was a glimpse into the future world that we would be visiting for season 5, so September’s words were certainly ominous. The Observers were coming, but why were they going to be so evil? September seems pretty nice! I was curious to find out, but cautiously optimistic. The world portrayed in “Letters of Transit” was quite grim, after all. And that definitely did not stop once season 5 got kicked off. The Fringe team, having been trapped in amber for 20 years, is reunited thanks to Etta, Peter and Olivia’s now grown daughter who they lost the day the Observers invaded.
Rant #1: Peter and Olivia spend a lot of time asking each other, “What happened to Etta that day? Where did she go?” BUT THEY NEVER ASK HER! At least, not on-screen, and they should have, because I wanted to know too! Obviously someone raised her, and she was raised as such that she came to hate the Observers/Invaders and joined the Resistance. But we NEVER find out what happened to her!
Walter hid tapes in the ambered Harvard Lab that would reveal the details of the plan to defeat the Observers. The Fringe team must retrieve, watch, and follow these tapes to the letter. So for several episodes, they are basically on a scavenger hunt with a vague objective in mind, meanwhile Peter and Olivia struggle with their relationship and with how to relate to the daughter they barely knew.
I never felt the connection to Etta that I wanted. When she died, I was sad, but I wasn’t devastated, and in fact, I felt that the story really picked up after she died. I guess her death was motivation to help the Fringe team stop their lollygagging around, but still, I think I was supposed to be more emotionally connected. I mean, there were definitely some nice moments between Olivia and Etta, but there could have been more, or at least stronger, moments. Though the running theme with the bullet was poignant.
Rant #2: For a 13 episode season that was described by the show’s producers as being essentially “one long movie,” it has terrible pacing.
The first episode that I think REALLY piqued my interest a lot was episode 6, “Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There,” the episode where we learn that the boy from the season one episode “Inner Child” is an important part of the plan and the Fringe team travels to a “pocket universe” to retrieve him, but instead end up with a radio. Then I felt the story lagged for another couple of episodes (though there are some nice moments in “The Human Kind”) where we have to deal with
Rant #3: the Peter-becoming-an-Observer-and-it-is-really-dangerous-and-scary-but-the-only-after-effects-from-it-are-a-couple-bad-headaches subplot,
until “Black Blotter.” That’s when, despite Walter’s LSD trip induced state of mind that provided some unnecessary weirdness (along with a very necessary emotional check-up of Walter’s subconscious), we finally seemed to move forward with the story. They get the boy! They call him Michael! He’s an Observer anomaly who was never fully matured and was set to be destroyed! They find Donald! AND DONALD, AKA SEPTEMBER WHO IS UNOBSERVERFIED AND HAS HAIR NOW, IS HIS FATHER!
Feels…Michael, I am your father…
Needless to say, “Black Blotter” through the end of the season easily get 4.99 stars for me for being so awesome and emotionally satisfying.
Speaking of emotionally satisfying, “Liberty” brought the Redverse back briefly (which I hated so freaking much in season 3 but thanks to season 4 did not hate anymore…) and just look how cute Fauxlivia and Lincoln are!
I’m so glad I got to see Lincoln Lee one more time.
So the finale. It tied up all the loose-ends from season 5 (except I’m dying to know what happened to William Bell. Was he left in amber without a hand? Or did the Observers get him out when they got Simon? If so, what happened? Was he interrogated? Is he running around ready to cause havoc to the timeline all over again?). It did not tie up all the storylines and questions from throughout the series though, which I sensed would be the case basically from the first episode of season 5, when the focus was clearly not on the past. So while I’m disappointed I will never fully understand the deal with ZFT, The First People, Sam Weiss (though I was glad he was at least alluded to this season), John Scott, Olivia’s stepfather, and more, it wasn’t disappointing enough to say that the finale wasn’t the right ending for the series, because it was.
My first reaction to the timeline reset: I wasn’t surprised. I had expected as much, especially thanks to The Fringe Podcast I listened to along the way where they theorized this frequently. But I kept thinking that a reset in the park didn’t make sense if the Observers ceased to exist, and that the timeline change for our Fringe team members would have to start in 1985 with September not showing up in the lab to distract Walternate. And then that would change EVERYTHING and invalidate THE ENTIRE SERIES (of course, only the fourth season really means anything now, though I am SO GLAD that Walter got the memories Peter and Olivia have of seasons 1-3, even if it all still seems convoluted to me). But also thanks to The Fringe Podcast, I heard some different ideas of how this might work and some explanations of time paradoxes and such, but it’s all too much for my brain to truly comprehend.
But there the very final moment made it all worth it for me.
“White Tulip” is easily one of my favorite episodes of all of Fringe, and how the writers used the symbol throughout the show and then tied it all back in the end was just WOW. It was the most fitting, perfect, beautiful ending Fringe could have given me.
Random Star Trek: Enterprise Rant: Brannon and Braga and Rick Berman: I hope you watched Fringe and took notes.
Season 5 was not perfect. It needed more Astrid. It needed better pacing. It needed more answers about Etta. But the finale did deliver and while it did not do everything I wanted for the series, I think it probably did everything I needed, and I can’t really imagine it being any other way.
Though I can’t deny I was hoping for a little bit more with Gene…
What were your thoughts on Season 5 of Fringe? Also, I’ll be doing a recap post of the entire series sometime in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned, Fringies!
Catching Fire was one of my anticipated movies of 2013. And it really delivered for me. Before I fangirl on (and give just a few small complaints) let me warn that this review is filled with spoilers for the book and for the differences between the book and the movie.
Overall, I felt that Catching Fire was a better adaptation in being true to the book, and just a better movie overall than The Hunger Games. I think what director Francis Lawrence and the screenwriters, Simon Beaufoy Michael Arndt, who were all new to the franchise, did with the material in Catching Fire was truly highlight its best elements and magnified them in this visual adaptation of the story. And if nothing else, the recasting of Buttercup was spot on…
I kid… sort of… kind of… not really. Come on Gary Ross, you couldn’t find an orange cat?!
But I digress…
The story starts off much like the book, with Katniss before the start of the Victory tour, though in order to help consolidate the storyline, they also make this the time that Gale kisses Katniss saying that he had to do “at least once.” Somehow President Snow knows about the kiss approximately 5-10 minutes later, but I guess we has spies and cameras everywhere so I am willing to let it go. Katniss and Peeta are cold towards each other but when the cameras turn on, they turn on the charm. Like the book, Peeta does slip on the ice and Katniss tumbles over him and kisses him. Peeta says Katniss does a good job faking it… that it almost felt like a real kiss. Which leads me to…
I forgot how frustrating this was in the book! Instantly I want to yell at Katniss, “Just love him! He’s the sweetest person you’ll ever know! LOVE HIM!!!!!” Which leads me to my biggest pet peeve of the movie…
GALE.
First off, let me say that Liam Hemsworth did like 10,000 times better as Gale in this movie, meaning that he actually came off as likable instead of dopey. I credit this to Hemsworth, the writers, and the director. THANK YOU ALL.
Hunger Games Gale = lame Gale.
Second off, it’s not really Gale I have a problem with, it’s Katniss AND Gale. For some reason, they decided to make Katniss like Gale as more than a friend instead of being truly confused about it all.
Catching Fire Gale = better Gale. But back off of Katniss!
Book quote:
His voice drops to a whisper. “I love you.”
…I never see these things coming. They happen too fast. One second you’re proposing an escape plan and the next… you’re expected to deal with something like this. I come up with must be the worst possible response. “I know.”
Movie quote:
“Do you love me?”
“Gale, you know how I feel about you.”
No Katniss, he doesn’t, neither do we, neither do you! I was almost willing to accept this, but then they decided to add an extra scene where right before the reaping, Katniss kisses Gale just because. Not because he kissed her first, and not because he just got whipped nearly to death, the two kisses that happened in the book and I completely accept, but an extra one where she acts like it’s because they’re dating.
NO. NO. NO.
WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.
Save those dang kisses for Mockinjay where they belong. But thankfully, the kissing with Peeta in this movie was also WAY better in this movie than in The Hunger Games.
I promise I care about more than the kissing and will move on in a minute…
Catching Fire is a critical point in the Peeta and Katniss’ love story. In all the time they spend together and Peeta is nothing but genuine and loving towards Katniss, she starts to feel a little something. And when she thinks she’s lost him forever in the arena, Jennifer did such a great job portraying how much Katniss suddenly cared in that moment. And then when they’re on the beach, and she tells him she needs him, and kisses him for real. That was great. I wish we could have gotten just a little more of them before they went back to the arena (like my fave scene in the book – the rooftop!), but still, it was all still way better in this movie than the cave stuff in the last one.
Something else I loved in this movie: Johanna Mason.
As far as I’m concerned, when it came to the other tributes, Jena Malone as Johanna stole the show. She was angry, she was vengeful, but she also stuck with the plan. The way she cursed President Snow, her sly looks as took off her outfit in the elevator (Jennifer Lawrence deserves an Oscar just for her face in that scene – priceless!), and her whole attitude was spot-on for me. I wanted more of her. I can’t wait to see more of her!
And then there was Finnick…
My one complaint with Finnick is that in the book, he comes off way creepy and I had to warm up to him like Katniss had to. But just the same, I enjoyed him in the movie and how Sam Clafin portrayed him.
Other minor characters who I felt really shone: Caesar of course (Stanley Tucci does him so perfectly – I just love it!), Effie, and Haymitch. All fabulous and even better in this movie than the last (and they were all great in the last one too)! You can see how much Haymitch and especially Effie have grown since the last movie. And President Snow was as chilling as ever.
But let’s talk about Plutarch. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a great actor who can be way creepy (see: Mission Impossible 3), and I felt like he was extremely under-utilized in this movie. One detail from the book that I wish they would have left in the movie (and that literally would have taken five seconds) was Plutarch showing Katniss his Mockingjay watch. As it was, his conversation with her at the Capitol party felt so flat and no where near as impactful as it was in the book, which just seemed crazy with Phillip and Jennifer both being so talented. I blame the writing, which again, was usually spot on, but something about that moment in that scene just didn’t do a lot for the story to me. Though I will say Plutarch’s interactions with Snow were pretty good, even more dynamic than the interactions between Seneca and Snow in the last movie.
Beetee… jury’s still out. I like Jeffrey Wright in Source Code, and I thought he did fine here. I guess I wanted more but at the same time, the arena stuff in the movie couldn’t play out as much as it did in the book, and he didn’t have a lot to do anyway. Hopefully we’ll see really good things from him in the Mockingjay movies.
And Cinna? There wasn’t enough! And then when they beat him…
*cries*
Let’s move on…
More things I love: Prim’s go-get-em attitude, Peeta telling everyone about “the baby” (and Haymitch’s reaction, amazing, but sad they left out Finnick’s line about hormones!), did I mention Effie and Caesar?, and the AMAZING wedding dress turned Mockingjay dress…
Overall, Catching Fire delivered all the feelings I wanted and expected. It delivered a lot more lines from the book. It delivered all the tension and danger of the forthcoming revolution (District 11 scene *cries*). It delivered Katniss’ struggle with PTSD and resistance to being a symbol. It was filled with amazing moments that left satisfied and ready for Mockinjay! Though Mockingjay was my least favorite book of the trilogy I believe that if we have the same team working on it as Catching Fire, those two movies can really be powerful and awesome. For being quite possibly my favorite 2013 release, and for being an amazing adaptation, but with points knocked off for the extra Gale kiss (boo) and a couple of other nitpicky things, Catching Fire gets 4.5 stars from me.
This is literally the worst scene I have seen in a movie in I don’t know how long, and I don’t mean the content of it, I mean the production of it. First off, there was some pretty lousy CGI in the movie (alongside some pretty decent CGI, like Smaug, for instance, looked good), and the crappiest of it was in this scene. Whether it was the orcs or the way the dwarves were flying down the river in the barrels, it was painfully obvious at times that these things were computer generated. And considering that I have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Hobbit movie without ever feeling this way, I was stunned by this.
I continued to like Kili, though again, there was some added story line there for drama, and I liked Bard quite a bit. I’ll be interested in seeing what he does in the third movie (since I’ve forgotten from the book, not that following the book is exactly Peter Jackson’s forte). And of course, Benedict Cumberbatch as a sinister dragon was great. Overall, the movie was entertaining but my two rants really drag the overall score of the movie down for me. I give it 3.5 stars, though I feel like I’m being a little nice to be giving it that.
What are your thoughts on The Desolation of Smaug? Did you feel duped too?
Despicable Me 2
