The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit is quite simply brilliant. Nothing more needs to be said. I highly recommend it and give it four big buckets of Killer Korn.



The Hobbit is quite simply, one amazing roller coaster ride. When the last Lord of the Rings movie hit the theaters there was talk about The Hobbit and who would direct it. The studio claimed it did NOT want Peter Jackson at the helm at ALL. Peter's fight was for what I think was money, I'm not quite sure, you can look that up but basically the two sides were at war with one another. It was all folly because who was the studio going to get to direct The Hobbit other than the mad New Zealander who brought the fantastic LOTR trilogy to the screen? NO one. Sure, there was talk of Guillermo Del Toro, the very talented director who gave us Hell Boy I and II, Pans Labyrinth, and the soon to be released sci-fi epic Pacific Rim but it would have paled in comparison to Jackson's movie. I'm certain of it, though in all fairness Guillermo does get a writers credit on The Hobbit so he was in some way responsible for what's seen on the screen. And what's seen on the screen will literally take your breath away.

The movie starts off right where the first LOTR movie starts and yes there is a cameo of Elijah Wood reprising his role as Frodo. It starts off with Frodo wanting to meet Gandalf, played again by Ian McKellen, as he approaches the shire with his wagon of fireworks for Bilbo's Party. Then the movie transports you 60 years into the past and we see a young Bilbo, played charmingly by Martin Freeman smoking his pipe as Gandalf appears. He wants Bilbo to join him on an adventure and of course the comfortable and frightened of his own shadow Bilbo declines. Gandalf seems to leave him alone until the dwarfs come knocking and once they are in Bilbo's house, all hell breaks loose. These dwarfs aren't you ordinary dwarfs however, one of them happens to be heir to the throne of Erebor, the great dwarf kingdom the resided in the lonely mountain, that was until the all powerful dragon Smaug took the kingdom and all it's gold for himself. That heir is Thorin, played with such passion and conviction by Richard Armitage that it seems like he could convince you to pick up arms and fight with him.

The other 13 dwarfs are for too numerous to name but they are quite the lot and they will follow their rightful King anywhere. Gandalf was tasked to find the 14th member of their group and he's chosen Bilbo. At first his reasoning is because hobbits have the ability to go unseen if they choose and the group needs a burglar but later on it's revealed why Gandalf really chose Bilbo and it's a heartfelt moment between him and Cate Blanchett who reprises her role as Galadriel from the LOTR trilogy. The dwarfs, Bilbo, and Gandalf set out to recapture Erebor from Smog and return Thorin to the throne as King but before they can do that, they must do battle with armies of Orcs, trolls, their own insecurities, and Bilbo's self doubt which is pretty significant. It's not until Bilbo finds something that allows his confidence to grow and allows him to truly become part of the team...and I think you know what that thing is.

The Hobbit is a visual spectacle and the software created by Peter Jackson's Weta Digital put in some serious overtime. The visual effects were dizzying, the 3D was amazing, and the shots of New Zealand that once again play the part of Middle Earth were breathtaking. I beg of you, if you are going to see this movie, do your best to see it in IMAX 3D and if you can't, at least see it in 3D, you will NOT be sorry. The wonderful thing about this film though as opposed to a few prior "visual feasts for the eyes"films I've blogged about, this one brings you that emotional impact those others lacked. You feel for Thorin and his band and when he stands up and walks towards his nemesis in slow motion, it's a thing of emotional beauty. And the wondrous score by the award winning Howard Shore also helps with that. Howard's score is perfect, simply pitch perfect in every way. If you were waiting for a 3D movie that is well worth the price of admission then this is it. I can't wait for part two, I wish it came out tomorrow. Get a ticket, get in line, and you just might see me on that line and if not, I'll definitely see you at the theater.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina, the new film from Joe Wright, the director of Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, and the god awful The Soloist is an absolute amazing film...to watch. If you are seeking something new and inventive storyline wise, save your money or read Tolstoy's novel of the same name. The movie is long and pretentious and it will bore you after awhile. Not worth the price of admission in my opinion and I give it one bucket of Killer Korn.




I saw this film based on the Joe Wrights previously amazing film Atonement, a movie I did not like after my initial watching of it. In fact, I hate Atonement when I first saw it and thought it was rubbish, well upon further review I have come to absolutely love that film. It is an amazing thing to watch and I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. It was Atonement that had me buy a ticket to see Anna Karenina, hoping to see something akin to the brilliance of Joe's Atonement. I knew it wouldn't, couldn't be another Atonement but I was hoping for something close. This was a massive swing and a miss by Joe Wright. He is a very competent and talented director and though he has that Martin Scorsese affliction of using the same people in all of his films, you can overlook that by what he puts on the screen, usually.

This time out he uses the talents of Keira Knightley to play Anna, she was in both Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. There's also hold over Matthew Mcfadyen who plays her brother, Jude Law who plays her husband Karenin, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson who was in Savages as the wife stealing Vronsky. The rest of the cast is comprised of other character actors who you may or may not recognize from other movies, they are just satellite characters in this movie. As for the performances of the actors, there's a lot of standing around and posing,  it was hard to see any real "acting" going on but they were all dressed exquisitely. If you are no fan of Kiera Knightley then pass this movie right on by because she is practically in every scene. Her shooting schedule must have looked ridiculous. If you are a fan and find her fetching then you may want to see this movie twice (and buy the DVD when it becomes available).

Now when I said this movie was amazing to watch, I meant it and this is where Joe Wright gets major credit. The majority of the movie is filmed in a theater, which can lend to that feeling of claustrophobia but was expertly done. One second the actor is in an office and, with some deft camera work is in a restaurant the next. Your eyes continue to be played with throughout this film until you're almost dizzy but I suppose it was all done out of necessity since they story line has been told a million times before. Wife of a boring husband falls in love with an exciting and younger good looking man and falls in love. Woman is then ostracized from her friends and the circles in which she previously ran in with ease. She's degraded, called names, embarrassed, and ashamed to the point that she cannot take it anymore and does the unthinkable. Yawn...

This movie is obvious award bait and it reeked of pretension. The costumes were amazing though and costume designer Jacqueline Durran should be up for an award or two for her work as well as Sarah Greenwood for her production design. It wouldn't surprise me if cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, who has worked on previous Wright films and is doing the cinematography on the Godzilla reboot isn't up for some award himself. As will another holdover from the Joe Wright collection, composer and Oscar award winner Dario Marianelli. His score is lush, powerful, mournful, and moving. It rivals his award winning score to Atonement in my opinion though should it be nominated, I doubt it would win but it is masterful. Once you get past the costumes, the scenery, and the music though there really isn't much to this movie so like I stated earlier, unless you're a Keira Knightley fan, see something else and I'll see you at the theater.

Dragon

I just caught Dragon hoping to see a good kung fu movie. It had been awhile since I saw one and I was hoping this would sate me. After seeing this movie, I don't know what to make of it. It's a martial arts film sorta, a criminal investigation movie kinda, and a police procedural all in one. It's like CSI meets Law and Order meets Shoa-Lin Temple. It's an interesting mash up of genres but I am still trying to figure out of it's a good one. I give it a one and a half buckets of Killer Korn.




There's really not much to say about Dragon. It's a story that has been told before a million times over. You know the one, where a drifter comes across a town where no one knows about him or his checkered past. Where he meets a town girl, marries her, settles down and becomes a valued member of the community only to eventually and inevitably have his past catch up to him after he does a good deed. Yep, that's the story here except it takes place in this movie in 1917 China (you can see that same story played out in today's world in A History of Violence with Viggo Mortenson). Basically two big bad guys come into a butchers shop where the paper mill guy is repairing the paper coverings on the windows. The bad guys demand money from the elderly shop keeper and proceed to beat him silly. When the paper mill guy (who is cowering in a darkened corner by the way) can't take it anymore, he jumps in and seemingly gets his butt kicked. At least it appears that way at first.

He gets flung around the shop while hanging on for dear life to the main bad guys waist and refuses to let go. The fight, if you can call it that rages on and you feel bad for this paper mill guy after awhile. The second bad guy takes himself out and a lucky punch by the paper mill guy takes out the main bad guy. This man is lauded as a hero by the towns folk and he and his family are given great honors. It all begins to fall apart slowly though when the a cop comes to investigate the death of two men (this is the CSI part). He re-enacts the fight in his head and where you saw a bumbling man in over his head, the cop sees a martial arts master who easily dispatched the two bad guys with simple ease.

As the movie gets further along you come to find out that the cop was right, this paper mill guy IS a master and was at one time second in command to the most ruthless gang in China, the 72 Demons. He was running from the gang and it's leader when he happened to stumble onto that small village, met the towns girl, married her and had a kid. Breaking away from the gang wasn't easy, especially when the paper mill guys father was the leader of the 72 Demons. Needless to say father and son go at it in the end as they deal with some serious family issues. Papermill guy is played by Donnie Yen, his father is played menacingly by Yu Wang, the damaged wife is played by Tang Wei, and the detective is played by the talented Takeshi Kaneshiro. The performances were great and the story telling was inventive but when it was all said and done it's a story you've seen a million times before. And before you go in expecting this to be one of those Saturday afternoon king fu movies, STOP! There really isn't that much martial arts in this film. Three fight scenes, that's all you get so make em count!

The movies seemed choppy at times and wanted to take itself too seriously most of the time. It should have embraced the wackiness of the characters but it didn't. That would have made for a much more interesting film. I would skip it and wait for the DVD but if you do decide to see the movie then I'll see you at the theater!

Silver Linings Playbook

Quick Read: Silver Linings Playbook, the latest movie from director David O. Russell is a peculiar but entertaining story. It will definitely make you laugh and make you think. Something a good movie should make you do. Is it a must see? No, not really. Will you be upset if you missed this movie? Probably not but if you have some time on your hands and you want to see an entertaining movie, give Silver Linings Playbook a look see. I give it two and a half buckets of Killer Korn.




If you aren't a fan of Bradley Cooper then skip this movie because his face is all over this puppy. Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley who plays Pat who suffers with bi-polar. He had a serious incident which landed him in an mental institution in Baltimore. He is a manic man who seems to be unwilling to deal with the break up of his marriage. There's an orders of protection out for Pat who lives with his parents Robert DeNiro who plays Pat Sr. and Jacki Weaver who plays Dolores. Pat so desperately wants to get his life back together and have things go back to the way they were before his "episode" that he is willing to do practically anything. He really wants to reconnect with his estranged wife Nikki played by Brea Bee, who has that orders of protection out against Pat. The other is a restraining order for the school Pat used to work at as a high school history teacher. His encounter with a member of the faculty is hilarious.

The rest of the talented cast includes Chris Tucker (who is finally in a movie without Jackie Chan) who plays Pat's good friend from the mental institution named Danny, Julia Stiles playing Veronica, John Ortiz who plays Ronnie, and the lovely Jennifer Lawrence (who I may now have a small crush on) as Tiffany. Ronnie and Veronica are unhappily married and Tiffany is Veronica's sister who is either sanely crazy or crazily sane, I'm still not sure. She does though have some of the best lines and moments in this movie and it shows her abilities as an actor in a way The Hunger Games has failed to, so far. Most of the lines are in the trailer but she has a few other great ones that make Pat rethink things. She opens up a door Pat has padlocked since his episode. Especially when she agrees to break the law for Pat.

Tiffany agrees to help Pat do something he shouldn't do but she wants something in return, she wants him to dance with her. She wants to dance in a dance competition and her deceased husband never would when he was alive. The deal is struck and Pat and Tiffany begin to practice and throughout their practicing does Pat finally see the bigger picture about him and his life. This movie to me, while choppy and hard to follow at times is all about love. The love of family, friends, and the Philadelphia Eagles (which as a Cowboys fan offends me to my core but whatever). It's about the sacrifices you make for those you love and how they sacrifice for you no matter what.

If you don't mind a movie that deals with mental illness at its forefront, a movie that kind of indicates that maybe those with mental illnesses actually live better lives than those without, because they live life without hiding behind walls then see Playbook. There is no visual feast for the eyes (again unless you like Bradley Cooper) but the performances are top notch. And while it's given a lukewarm score by Danny Elfman, one you will definitely forget, there are songs that you will remember and want on your ipod. Silver Linings Playbook is worth the money and be careful because it just may make you look at life (and the mentally ill) in a completely different way. I'll see you at the theater!   

Life of Pi

Okay, I went into this film thinking it was going to be great, amazing even. Life of Pi falls sadly way short of those marks. It's a good film, heavy on great visual effects, really light on story. If story doesn't mean all that much to you then you should enjoy this film. If story is all that matters, skip Life of Pi. I give it one bucket of Killer Korn.




Up front I want to say, I think Ang Lee is an amazing director at times. There are also times when you wonder if the man has any idea what he is doing. His Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Eat Drink Man Woman, and one of my personal favorites Ride With the Devil are all phenomenal. His Incredible Hulk and The Ice Storm, not so much. In my opinion, Life of Pi fits squarely in-between those two extremes. If you want a movie that is a visual feast for the eyes then Life of Pi better be the next film you go to see. The 3D is so amazing it's sometimes hard to believe your eyes and you really can only tell one time throughout the film where the real Bengal tiger ends and where the CG tiger begins. Amazing!!! Sadly though, where the movie excels in visual goodies, it severely lacks in any real emotional depth. It doesn't build those emotional bridges I thought were necessary to make this film one for the ages.

Starring Suraj Sharma as the younger Piscine Molitor Patel, Pi for short, it's a movie based on his time at sea on a lifeboat with a ferocious Bengal tiger. It's a tale told to an author who has just scuttled his second novel played by Rafe Spall. He was told to go visit Pi by Pi's uncle if the author wanted to hear the greatest tale ever told and the author does. The author goes to visit adult Pi played by the very talented Irrfan Khan. Adult Pi told the author that through his story, he found God which is what the author is hoping to find himself. Adult Pi begins to tell the author where his name comes from, The Piscine Molitor Hotel's swimming pool that Pi's uncle absolutely loved. His uncle loved it so much that Pi's father chose to name his youngest son after said pool. That's when I started scratching my head.

The scratching went on when before the coming shipwreck, Pi seems to have no loving, profound moments with his mother, father, or brother. Younger Pi falls in love with a dancer but there's nothing about their romance at all except how adult Pi remembers how he never said goodbye. So when his family perishes in the shipwreck, there are no pulling at the heart strings at ALL! I wouldn't say I didn't care that they passed but I can't say that I was all that broken up about it either. What goes on in the lifeboat however is thrilling stuff thanks to a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, a drugged up hyena, and a even more drugged up tiger. Sadly though the movie descends into Cast Away mode. Think Tom Hanks on the open sea but instead of talking to a volleyball, he has a Bengal tiger to keep him company. And while out there on the open sea, Pi barely sheds a tear for his dead family and instead does all he can to keep the tiger alive. As you can guess, there was more scratching of the head going on.

Like I said, visually the movie was amazing and if it should be ignored come the movie award season, that would be a crime. I'm sure the movie looked breathtaking not in 3D but in 3D it was jaw dropping. Scored with heartbreaking fragility by the incredible Mychael Danna, the score is often the only thing that has any emotion during the movie. Now if I've made Pi out to sound like a movie not worth seeing, my apologies. You may see it and get a completely different feel from the movie that I did and you may actually find it at the very least redeeming if don't actually find God. If you see it, I hope you enjoy it more than I did...and I'll see you at the theater.

Red Dawn

Red Dawn (the remake) wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Pulled from the dirt heap of old movies begging for a new life, Red Dawn surprisingly still has legs. This is one 80's movie that while being iconic, the remake doesn't diminish its original predecessor. If you're looking for an escape and you want to cheer that good old American "fight to the death" spirit, then check out Dawn. I give it two buckets of killer korn.





Going in, I honestly thought this movie was going to suck. Why is that, you ask? Two reasons in particular. One, if you remember back, the original 1984 movie really wasn't all that good. Yeah I know, we THOUGHT it was but truth be told, it was borderline bad, even with Patrick Swayze. The premise was sooo far out there, Russians landing troops in your backyard, that it almost made you scratch your head. But in the time of Reagan and Mother Russia being the big evil of the day, why not capitalize on that fear for a few dollars. Number two, this remake was pulled together by first time director Dan Bradley. Usually the words "first time director" makes me save my money or see something else. Dan, in his previous career was nothing more than a stunt man, and at one point in his career played Jason Vorhees for a day while shooting Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI back in 86. Basically, he spent all his time in front of the camera being pulled, pushed, and landing on matts with fake glass flying all around him, which if you see Red Dawn, is pretty much all that's on the screen. Dan spent no time behind the camera but he didn't do such a bad job.

Red Dawn deals with some serious sibling rivalry between Chris Hemsworth's Jed Eckert and Josh Peck's Matt Eckert. Matt's a cowboy who never thinks about the team, only his own glory and Jed is a Marine whose only concern is for the team and not himself, ever. Their father is the sheriff of Spokane, WA. Tom Eckert played by Brett Cullen and all three men have had to learn to adjust to each other when the matriarch of the family passed away years ago. Matt never forgave Jed for joining the Marines and leaving him when their mother died and Jed never realized how wrong he was for doing so until the North Koreans started dropping troops into tiny, sleepy Spokane. At least you're supposed to believe they're North Koreans (HEY, JUST GO ALONG WITH IT, OKAY?). Jed and Matt race to get out of town and in the process of doing so while dodging troops with automatic weapons, pick up Josh Hutcherson who plays Robert Kitner and Conner Cruise (son of Tom Cruise, yes THAT Tome Cruise) who plays Daryl Jenkins.

The rest of the cast includes Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Edwin Hodge, Alyssa Diaz, Julian Alcaraz, Jeffery Dean Morgan, and the evil Will Yun Lee and Capt. Cho, the North Korean prefect of the greater Spokane area. After watching their father take a bullet in the head, and with a rag tag bunch of teens, Jed decides they need to stay and fight. Seems like a radical idea, especially when NONE of the group has so much as ever touched a gun outside of himself before. All of a sudden though, after a few short training exercises these kids take to combat like fish out of water. They're jumping, shooting, creating diversions, and planting explosives like Black Op soldiers. They call themselves The Wolverines after the towns football team and they don't really have a mission, just maim and kill until the ammo and the C-4 runs out. That is until Jeffery Dean Morgan's character Tanner and his two other "unretired" Marines show up looking for those Wolverines. They are seeking assistance in trying to acquire the North Koreans radio.

More shooting, jumping, and running ensues as The Wolverines and the unretired Marines storm the stronghold of the Koreans. This is where the movie takes a huge leap into WTF Land! But if you can suspend reality and all common sense then you just may enjoy that sequence. Bottom line questions are, is Red Dawn an entertaining film? Yes it is. Did it have potential to be even better? Absolutely. Is it worth the price of admission? That depends. If you are going to see it to watch young white suburban kids kick North Koreans asses then you will get your moneys worth. If you are going for some other reason, like say you liked the original and you wanted to see the updated version, I would wait for DVD. Remember, the original 1986 movie really wasn't all that good, just sayin'. BUT (and that's a big but) if you could see yourself picking up arms and risking life and limb to fight a foreign invader, if that idea excites you and gives you good bumps then Red Dawn is your movie.

The cinematography was amateurish at best. At its best, it looked like it was shot by kids in high school, at its worse it made you want to puke. I am a HUGE fan of the stedi-cam, the handheld camera, not so much. I understand Dan wanted to make you feel like you were right there, in the middle of the mad scramble, right in the middle of all that action but there were moments where I felt like I was going to puke. The handheld thing was truly annoying and was thankfully moved away from as the movie went on. The score by Ramin Djawadi was ignorable. It didn't stand out in ANY way, it didn't deliver any heroic themes and it was only cued up during the time when you aren't looking for any music, during the action sequences. As a stand alone score, it's good but in the movie, you won't remember it. If you do go see Red Dawn remember, I warned you! I'll see you at the the theater!

Lincoln

Lincoln, Steven Spielberg's latest opus is a fascinating movie if you care to learn about how the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. If you don't know what the 13th Amendment is, it's the abolishment of slavery. If you don't really care that much then you might find it boring but Spielberg never makes, okay rarely makes a bad film and Lincoln isn't at all a bad film. That's why it gets three buckets of Killer Korn.



If Abraham Lincoln was anything like Daniel Day-Lweis' portrayal of him, I would have loved to have met him. I have never wanted to meet any president, never cared to meet the figure head of the Republic, the leader of the free world. Just wasn't my thing but that being said, if Lincoln was as graceful, even handed, gracious, magnanimous, and intelligent as he was in this movie, then his hand would have been one I would have liked to shake. I don't know if this will win Day-Lewis another Oscar but I do know it will win him a brand new legion of fans for he is fantastic as the 16th President. Sally Field's portrayal as Lincoln's tortured wife Molly Lincoln was every bit as good as Day-Lewis'. All of the performances were stellar and to me stand out was James Spader.

Yes you read that right, James Spader. He has finally found a roll that he fits into perfectly as W.N. Bilbo, a political operative who was hired by Lincoln and his Secretary of State William Seward played by David Strathairn to get in anyway he and his cohorts could, votes by key Democrats to vote for the 13th Amendment. I have rarely been impressed by anything Spader has done throughout his career, I was impressed by him in Lincoln. This movie also starred Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (what a year this kid is having), Jared Harris (Prof. Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes; Game of Shadows), and Gloria Reuben are just a few of the outstanding actors in this extensive cast. And I'm quite certain whoever Spielberg wanted, he didn't get a "no".

This movie, amazingly is startlingly timed. It coincides almost poignantly with the re-election of the 44th President Barack Obama. It shows just how far we as a people and a nation has come. This movie, like I have indicated is light on Civil War action and very heavy on trying to get the Constitution amended trying to kill slavery. When you walk out of the theater, you live in a world where the President is a Black man. That realization is powerful to me and that's a testament to Spielberg, for creating and crafting a movie that seemingly transports you back in time to that moment when back alley deals are made, backs are stabbed, the votes are counted, and slavery is killed in this country.

Inspired by the book by Dolores Kearns Goodwin entitled Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Spielberg's movie puts you inside the offices and almost inside the heads and the hearts of the Republicans that wanted to abolish slavery and the Democrats that looked to keep it going. The only complaint I have it the ending, I think Speilberg overdid it on the ending and went for the grandiose instead of the more emotional. Outside of that, the sets, the costumes, the makeup were all seemingly perfect. The score, composed by the masterful maestro himself, John Williams was uplifting, poignant, humorous, and solemn when it needed to be. It's a great score to a great movie and one I definitely recommend. It is well worth the price of admission so see it, and I'll see you at the theater.