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Finally went to see the last Hobbit film.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - 3.5/5

Fitting ending to a good trilogy that is plagued by not being nearly as great as the Lord of the Rings trilogy was. This third installment suffers from the same pitfalls as the first two: it’s just plain too long. This trilogy should have been 2 two-hour films instead of 3 3-hour films. I shudder to think what the extended editions will look like (whereas for LotR, the extended editions are imo the definitive versions). Scrap the entire Legolas/Tauriel presence, Azog’s presence, Alfrid’s presence (or replace him by Stephen Fry) cut back on Gandalf’s scenes with the Necromancer, etc. and you’ll have a better, tighter film.
Plus there’d be more room for Martin Freeman in it. I can’t get enough of Martin Freeman as Bilbo. It’s a shame he’s relegated to a secondary character in his own trilogy…
The action sequences could have used more diversity too. There’s fighting going on on three different fronts, yet the film only focuses at one at a time instead of alternating occasionally. Not as good as the Battle at Pelennor Fields in Return of the King. Not as good at all.
Also, Thorin’s gold-fever scene took too long and lessened the impact of the dwarves’ resurgence right after. What should have been a scene that’s as amazing as both of the Rohirrim charges in Two Towers and Return of the King, is now just another run-of-the-mill action scene.
And why did the elves suddenly jump over the dwarves’ barricade to charge their opponents? They lose their archery advantage and the entire point of the barricade. Hollywood tactics…

Also, why was Billy Connolly such a horrible visual effect???

The best scene in the film was (of all things) Gandalf cleaning his pipe. THAT was more in line with the original trilogy!

I so wish we could have seen Del Toro’s take instead of Jackson’s copy/caricature.

This trilogy is still really good (I can’t get enough of New Zealand Middle-Earth), but it could/should have been f@&#ing; spectacular!

Deux Jours, Une Nuit - 3.5/5

A typical Dardennes film: minimalistic (handheld camera, no sound effects, no soundtrack) social drama set in Liège, with a MASSIVE acting performance by the lead. No wonder Marion Cotillard got a (surprise) Oscar nomination!
Deserves to be seen just for her, but the film itself is really good as well.

I need a movie recommendation: What, in your opinion, is the closest thing to Broken Sword (especially Broken Sword 1), and it’s not The Da Vinci Code? (you know, mystery, history, museums, art… I could do without clowns.)

All I can really think of is the first National Treasure movie and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Maybe one of the many King Solomon’s Mine movies. Romancing the Stone might also qualify.

It’s not really a beaten-to-death genre.

Well, I know of a few more, but I don’t think you want to see direct-to-DVD crap like Jack Hunter, The Librarian or Treasure Guards…

You couldn’t do without Tom Hanks and Dan Brown, could you?

Just kidding, it doesn’t look bad. And hey, that The Librarian looks like fun!

I’ve yet to see someone top Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade in this genre. Indiana Jones is the master!

TimovieMan - 05 February 2015 05:12 PM

I’ve yet to see someone top Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade in this genre. Indiana Jones is the master!

Yeah, for example Romancing the Stone is a great movie, but I feel like it’s comedy first, adventure second. It’s a thin line. Nothing bad about that, but if someone asked me to name movie like Monkey Island, I’d say (in a very broad sense) Romancing the Stone, and never Indiana Jones. Vice versa (hey, that’s a cool movie! ), for Broken Sword it’s Indy more than Romancing the Stone.

That’s if globetrotting/adventure is mandatory. Though, when I think of Broken Sword, or even Indy, my first association is “modern day history research and mystery”, so in that sense there’re probably more “simple” movies with all the ingredients, but with less traveling, treasure hunt or exotic locations. (even though to me being able visit to those actual places is almost always a “plus”, and big part of Indy/BS charm). For example, Incognito (1998) is similar to Broken Sword in that sense that it’s about American coming to Paris, having a romantic meeting there, and even though there is travel around Europe, it’s not as accented as the art/Rembrandt/art forgery part.

wilco - 05 February 2015 05:35 PM

No Temple of Doom? Poor Short Round

I like Temple of Doom, but have to admit it’s a significant step down from Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade. Too little exploring and “archeology” and too much silly action, no matter how epic John Williams’ overuse of the Indy theme is…

I think Disney is probably prepping a revival of franchise, thought I have no idea how they can get a new Indy

I’d be happy if they’d retcon Kingdom of the Crystal Skull out of existence.
Maybe even go back to the script Darabont had.

As long as it doesn’t feature Shia LaBoeuf as Indy Jr. I’d prefer Sean Patrick Flanery as the now-old ‘Young’ Indiana Jones, then.
But even he doesn’t have that same charisma and star appeal that Harrison Ford had…

Whoever takes up the whip has some massive boots hat to fill…

Chris Pratt has been linked with playing Indi in the next movie. Guardians of the Galaxy has shot him into contention.