The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I had pretty high expectations for this movie. I was massively disappointed in the first Hobbit film and was definitely concerned that this would end up being a huge mess. Well it sort of was, but in a good way. The beginning of the film felt a little bit like the first and I got scared (I really just don’t care about this orc stuff), but once they got into Mirkwood, it took a turn for the better.
The spider scene was one I wanted to get over with as quickly as possible but that is something that traumatized me when I was a kid so it’s not the movie’s fault. It was great to see the elves back in action again. I always forget how much I adore Legolas until I see him again. And the addition of Tauriel was fantastic! Lee Pace as Thranduil was magical. Just the way he moves, he’s so elegant and menacing. Made me very happy. I could watch an entire film about the elves of Mirkwood.
Laketown! Laketown was so great! One of the problems I had with the pacing of the film near the beginning was the lack of love for scenery. There was a lot of movement and not a lot of time to sit back and enjoy the world. We got a decent amount of that in Mirkwood, but Laketown is where it’s at. Luke Evans as Bard and Stephen Fry as the Master of Laketown made me happy. Good choices casting folk. And I totally loudly said “That’s Stephen Colbert” when he had his little cameo. I bet he was over the moon to be in those 2 seconds 🙂
Smaug. Oh let’s please talk about Smaug. Talk about exceeding my expectations. Smaug was my favorite part of the cartoon when I was a kid and I knew casting Benedict Cumberbatch was the best decision they could have made. Smaug is like a Bond villain, pacing around and talking a lot when he could just be killing folk but that’s okay because he looks and sounds great doing it. I wasn’t happy when I heard they used a modulator to change his voice (it didn’t make any sense because have you heard that man’s voice? It doesn’t need any help) but I needn’t be concerned. The changes felt very minor.
So yes, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It’s not perfect and it’s not The Lord of the Rings, but it was a damn sight better than that first movie.

The Book Thief

Regrettably I have not read this book, but I need to. The narrator is Death but there is a gentleness to his narration that reminds me a bit of Kevin Spacey’s in ‘American Beauty’. The fact that he’s voiced by Roger Allam doesn’t hurt.
Liesel is a young girl who’s mother is a Communist and is sending Liesel and her brother off to new parents (because we all know what happened to Communists in 1930s Germany). Her brother dies along the way and Liesel snatches a book that falls out of one of the gravedigger’s pocket as they are burying her brother. Her new mother, Mama, is the most stereotypical German woman I’ve seen in a film, while her new father, Papa, is a kindred spirit. Liesel can’t read so she and Papa read the book that she stole (The Gravedigger’s Handbook) together and she makes friends with this adorable neighbor boy named Rudy (seriously though, this kid is so cute).
Something I loved about this movie was watching the rise of Nazism through the eyes of children. It was very casual, kids singing Nazi themed songs, propaganda posters on the streets, even the book burning. There was a weird innocence about it because, of course kids wouldn’t see the impact of these things in the way adults would.
Then Kristallnacht happens and shit gets real (but still in a PG-13 kind of way) and we meet Max. Max managed to escape the Nazis and shows up at Liesel’s house. Papa explains to her that he knew Max’s father during the War and had basically sworn to protect the family if it ever came to that. So Max comes to stay with the family (hidden of course) while war slowly breaks out.
Even though he’s in a decent part of the movie, I didn’t find Max to be that interesting of a character. I’m not sure if he’s written that way intentionally or not but I was never terribly interested in most of the scenes he was in.
I think you can take away several messages in this movie (and probably the book as well). What I took away was the idea of making the most of your life, regardless of your circumstances. I think we all have times where something doesn’t go the way we want or plan, but you can find a way to get through it and come out stronger.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I was not a fan of the Hunger Games film, I just didn’t think it was that great of an adaptation of the book. I feel the same about Catching Fire. I am also not a big fan of most of the casting, as they got rid of a lot of the diversity that makes up the books. I think the only thing the first movie did better than the books was increasing Seneca Crane’s role and casting Wes Bentley.
I can’t put my finger on exactly why I don’t like these movies. I love Jennifer Lawrence, but I am completely lukewarm about everything else. I think they made Peeta less likeable in the films. He comes across as sort of a wet noodle, although he was better in Catching Fire. Visually the movies are great, but they just don’t have the heart of the books in my opinion.