The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Grading & Discussion (Spoilers)

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Professor Zoom wrote:

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...watching some internet twit posting his rant about a movie.

Internet video movie reviews are worth just about the paper they're printed on.

[Robert Maxwell]

JarodRussell wrote:

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Do dwarfs catch sepsis? Did Gandalf use an anti sepsis spell? Does warg saliva have an antiseptic effect?

It just seems to me that there should be consequences of some kind to Thorin's injuries. He did get his ass kicked pretty handily.

"Plot armor" is fine as long as it doesn't make itself too obvious, which it sure did here.

[Professor Zoom]

My Name Is Legion wrote:

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Internet video movie reviews are worth just about the paper they're printed on.

[Robert Maxwell]

My Name Is Legion wrote:

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Internet video movie reviews are worth just about the paper they're printed on.

Thank you.

I've long been of the mind that people who do YouTube videos of themselves ranting at a cheap camera about one silly thing or another are just too lazy to actually write down their thoughts. It's impossible to take seriously.

Some people do make good use of the medium, providing visual aids and maybe some music to flesh out the production, but those are the exception. All too often, it's just someone using volume as a substitute for argument. If you put the same words on paper (or a screen), it tends not to be nearly as convincing.

[Mach5]

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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I've long been of the mind that people who do YouTube videos of themselves ranting at a cheap camera about one silly thing or another are just too lazy to actually write down their thoughts. It's impossible to take seriously.

It's not laziness. They all wanna be Internet celebrities, and getting your face on YouTube is a perfect way to achieve that.

And make no mistake, some of these people have risen to celeb status (like RelLetterMedia, Jeremy Jahns, Confused Matthew etc.).

It's the PEOPLE who are lazy, because most of them would rather watch some random guy on youtube rant, than actually take a minute to read anything longer than 150 words.

[Kegg]

marillion - The film is under three hours, not over it.

Prancer the Sith wrote:

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And make no mistake, some of these people have risen to celeb status (like RelLetterMedia, Jeremy Jahns, Confused Matthew etc.).

They've risen to 'internet celebrity' status, and of the three you mentioned only RLM probably has actual celebrity (in the sense of being signalled out by Ebert and so on). There's nothing wrong with the idea of internet reviews, but it's true there's a reliance on hyperbole (worst/best movies, scenes, etc.) and frankly often facile reasoning (Confused Matthew's reviews often go into petty nitpicking or bizarrely specific complaints).

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

marillion - The film is under three hours, not over it.

Please read the entire post. He was saying that when you add trailers, standing in line, getting popcorn, not to mention getting to the theater, it's a good deal over 3 hours to see this film!

[Kegg]

Flying Spaghetti Monster wrote:

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Please read the entire post.

Why would I want to do that?

And it took me under three hours to see the movie and that was on Thursday. I think the queues to get in and to get food will depend on your venue.

[Skywalker]

Prancer the Sith wrote:

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Strong numbers, but nothing sensational. Now lets see if this movie has legs. My prediction: $400M domestic total, and $1.2B worldwide.

Agreed. I believe the BOM article I linked to mentioned that its overseas numbers were good, but down from ROTK's, and probably slightly less overall than Warner Bros. might have been hoping for. I don't know if it's because it's December or if the hype just wasn't there. Still, it's gonna do fine when it's all said and done.

I agree with everyone else that sometimes the action got a little too cartoony. The Hobbit is a lighter affair than The Lord of the Rings, so it kind of makes sense, but at times it really did go a little too far. Bilbo falling through that crack and who knows how far without sustaining any major injuries was probably the biggest example, as others have pointed out.

[DarthTom]

Hanukkah Solo wrote:

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Bilbo falling through that crack and who knows how far without sustaining any major injuries was probably the biggest example, as others have pointed out.

What about them taking the in air sled ride on a wooden walkway, down the side of the mountain landing vertically upright and no one even scratched?

[sidious618]

I usually hate anything cartoony but oddly enough the cartoon violence didn't irk me at all. I thought it matched the tone of the film.

Then again, I found Radagast to be interesting and I'm in the minority on that one...

[Mr Light]

Thorin was wearing armor so I didn't interpret that he was bitten so much as crushed by the jaws. I certainly didn't see leaking blood or anything.

Of course, when Gandalf slices open the Goblin King's throat there wasn't any blood then, either...

As for Bilbo's fall, he fell on top of the nice soft Orc

[Robert Maxwell]

sidious618 wrote:

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I usually hate anything cartoony but oddly enough the cartoon violence didn't irk me at all. I thought it matched the tone of the film.

Then again, I found Radagast to be interesting and I'm in the minority on that one...

I quite enjoyed Radagast, too. I would've liked to see more of him, although the sledding was completely ridiculous.

[DarthTom]

Hanukkah Solo wrote:

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I agree with everyone else that sometimes the action got a little too cartoony. The Hobbit is a lighter affair than The Lord of the Rings, so it kind of makes sense, but at times it really did go a little too far. Bilbo falling through that crack and who knows how far without sustaining any major injuries was probably the biggest example, as others have pointed out.

I'm curious; do you find LOTR and Hobbit fantasy to be more enjoyable than Harry Potter and wizard fantasy?

Maybe it's a personal preference but I got bored in several scences in The Hobbit whereas in Potter I never did. Also I have a much easier time suspending my disblief with Potter than LOTR.

Also, aren't Dobby in Potter and Gollum in Hobbit and LOTR virtually identical characters??

[Robert Maxwell]

DarthTom wrote:

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Also, aren't Dobby in Potter and Gollum in Hobbit and LOTR virtually identical characters??

Um... no. Apart from being CGI characters and speaking oddly, they aren't alike at all.