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arshapro's stats
- Review count3
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewMay 24, 2009
- Last reviewDecember 15, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
arshapro's Reviews
Overall rating
2
/
5
the importance of dialogue, story and time
PostedDecember 15, 2012
Dialogue
1
/
5
Special Effects
4
/
5
Art Direction
4
/
5
Acting
4
/
5
Story
1
/
5
Camerawork
4
/
5
Wow. I wanted to love this movie. I walked into it so attached to the JR Tolkein world - both from reading and re-reading the books and from watching the movies.
<spoiler alert>
So, I forced myself to sit still through the first hour and a half while Bilbo freaked out that there were guests in his house. Once they finally left Hobbiton, I was hoping but not confident that things would get better. As Bilbo was joining the party of dwarves he freaked out that he'd forgotten a handkerchief. The movie had been so slow up to this point that I actually began to fear we would have a 15 minute scene of Bilbo running back to his house to get a handkerchief and then catching up with the party. Luckily - that didn't happen, but the movie barely picked up pace and I was so worn out and bored from the first hour of the movie, that even the beautiful Rivendell sets and the inspiring shots of the incredible New Zealand landscape failed to kindle any excitement or anticipation for the remainder of the movie. I found myself checking my watch and phone to see how much longer this thing was. When I realized I still had an hour and a half to go I almost got up and left. But still - being the loyal Tolkein fan that I am, I forced myself to stay. And things did pick up a little after that - but I was so disengaged with the movie at this point and had so thoroughly lost any suspension of disbelief that I could not muster the stamina to sit through the remainder. I finally decided to get up and walk out of the theater thinking I may decide to return after going to the bathroom or getting a snack. However, once I had left the screening room, I realized I had no desire to return and so left the entire theater complex.
<end spoiler alert>
This experience left me disappointed with Peter Jackson. The magic of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was entirely absent from The Hobbit. I admired the beautiful sets, acting and landscapes while marveling at how incredibly boring and painful it was to try and get lost in the story.
This experience left me disappointed with Peter Jackson. The magic of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was entirely absent from The Hobbit. I admired the beautiful sets, acting and landscapes while marveling at how incredibly boring and painful it was to try and get lost in the story.
This movie must also be a huge disappointment for New Zealand, which has banked on the success of The Hobbit to boost tourism. Maybe its not a complete loss for New Zealand because the landscape does look beautiful, but The Hobbit doesn't add to the allure of the country, it only depends on it(unsuccessfully) to try and hold our attention.
The Hobbit was a small work compared to the Lord of the Rings. And it's story was not as momentous as the one in the Lord of the Rings. Yet, Jackson has broken up The Hobbit into three parts - and made the first part 2.75 hours. Unfortunately, after seeing the first 2/3 of The Hobbit, I can definitively report that Jackson did not succeed in justifying the 2.75 hour running time of the first movie and I am hopeful but not confident that the second two films(maybe they'll make them one film) will be better.
I feel like I was tricked into spending 14 dollars(13 dollar HFR fee plus 1 dollar movie-tickets-com fee) for a long boring invitation to spend 28 dollars to watch two more long drawn out stories when the remaining 2 parts of The Hobbit trilogy come out. The funny thing is, I love the Tolkein world enough, and I want to see the visual depiction of the imagery in that world enough, that I will probably watch the second two in hopes that they are better - and I will probably rent The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and skip to the last hour or so, to see the interaction with Gollum.
If Jackson had cut this thing to an hour and half, I probably wouldn't have had the reaction I did. It just highlights how important it is for a story teller to respect the time, patience and attention of his audience. It also highlights the power of Tolkein - that even with this long boring movie, I will still probably see the second and third movies. However, Hollywood should take note - if you do this too people too much, people will stop shelling out to see these things in theaters.
Oh, I'd also like to say something about HFR(High Frame Rate). HFR creates a significant change in the movie experience. Everything looks more real - and thus any fanciful embellishments look a little ridiculous and the acting gets a much closer look. The Hobbit just barely made the cut in these two categories. It must have been incredibly difficult to bring such a fantastic world to life. If Jackson hadn't spent as much time and money as he did on the details of the sets and the CGI, HFR would have completely ruined The Hobbit and I would probably have given it a 1 star instead of 2. BUT - I am excited to see how film makers change their stories and techniques to adapt to the new level of realism afforded by the switch from 24 to 48 FPS. Good actors and good stories will benefit from the switch and bad actors and bad stories will suffer. We may see Hollywood rejecting this HFR precisely because of this effect.
Pros nice sets landscape
Cons slow, story does not justify an entire movie, dialogue is boring
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
See it at the IMAX 3-D
PostedNovember 9, 2009
arshapro
from Little Compton, RI
This format is the future of movies. I was really drawn into it. The characters were much more believable than a "normal film movie" because I wasn't thinking about the actors behind them. And the 3-d looks so real.
The movie itself is a perfectly polished 2009 version of christmas carol. Worth seeing. But see it in the IMAX 3-D.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
The Franchise is Still Alive
PostedMay 24, 2009
arshapro
Thought this was a great addition to the Terminator franchise. Sam Worthington's character, Marcus, was much more interesting and well done that Bale's rendition of Conner. I don't understand why they had to kill off Marcus. He would have been an interesting element in future movies.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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