The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Directed by Peter Jackson.

Like most fans of Tolkien's legendarium, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of The Hobbit ever since Peter Jackson finished his Lord of the Rings trilogy.



And so I bought my ticket for the midnight release in IMAX 3D the minute they went on sale. My choice to not see it in 48fps was based on the fact that my favorite IMAX theater wasn't showing it in that format. (And though I have seen it a couple more times in the theater, I still haven't seen it in the higher frame rate, so unfortunately I can't discuss that with you all yet.)

So the misses and I arrived at the theater almost three hours early, yet were still 99th in line. We collected our set of five beautiful posters and settled in for a long, exciting wait. The biggest disappointment of the night came for us before the movie began, when we found out that we were at a theater that wasn't showing the Star Trek Into Darkness preview. We got to see the new trailer, but we had been expecting the preview. So thank you, Paramount, for not releasing the list of theaters where the preview would be playing in time for those attending midnight releases to get tickets to showings at those theaters.

Anyway....

I absolutely loved the movie. I can definitely concede the main criticisms of the film (other than the 48fps business), because the film was very long, occasionally slow, and two prefaces may be a little much. However, the acting was phenomenal. The cinematography was amazing. And those mountains take the breath away from the word breathtaking. I would gladly watch a three hour movie made up of solely helicopter shots of New Zealand's landscapes. I would also gladly watch a three hour movie of just the Riddles in the Dark scene. Martin Freeman's Bilbo (which is, dare I say it, even better than Ian Holm's) and Andy Serkis' Gollum are both perfect and a delight to watch interact.

So... Was it perfect? No. Does Jackson have his work cut out for him attendance retention-wise for The Desolation of Smaug? Yes. Will I be in line four hours early for the midnight release on December 13? YES.

Agree? Disagree? Think I'm a load of bunk? Want to prove that someone actually read this? Leave a comment below! :D

4.99 out of 5 Stars
Viewed 12:01 AM December 14, 2012 at Cinemark 17 and IMAX in Dallas, TX.

Prometheus

Prometheus (2012)
Directed by Ridley Scott

Sorry about this being a week late...I would have posted this sooner but I've been a little busy with work and moving into a new apartment (which doesn't have internet yet... )

So eight of my friends and I went to see the midnight release of Prometheus in IMAX 3D.  We arrived at the theater around 10 pm and received our awesome, exclusive, limited edition, 12:01 showing posters.  They are cool.

I've read a few reviews that claim Prometheus didn't live up to the reputation of Alien.  True, it's not as groundbreaking, but to be fair you have to acknowledge that Alien was something that had never been seen before.  All the mysteries and questions of Prometheus are old, but the film still approaches them in a fresh new way.

The film did have some faults though.  I quickly grew tired of the overused helmet cams, especially after witnessing such exquisite cinematography in the prologue.  And while I love Damon Lindelof, a good portion of Noomi's dialogue was too on-the-head.  Rather than using subtext to move the plot, Damon had Dr. Elizabeth Shaw just say exactly what she meant.  Perhaps it was a combination of bad dialogue and a stiff performance.  Maybe Damon was just trying too hard to define Shaw and overdid it.  I don't know what exactly went wrong there.

But I do know that David was perfectly written and performed.

And I do know that majority of the cinematography was absolutely breathtaking (especially in IMAX.)

And I do know that the set pieces and special effects were gorgeous.

And I know that Prometheus was one hell of an enjoyable movie, and if Ridley Scott had kept his mouth shut about it being an Alien-quasi-prequel-sequel-whatever nobody would be complaining about it.

Even though I had to look away during a certain scene, this is definitely my favorite film of the year so far.

The Final Word:  Build a time machine, go back to June 7, 2012, and go to the midnight premier in IMAX 3D. Wash, rinse, repeat.

4.99 out of 5 stars
Viewed 12:01 am June 8, 2012 at Cinemark 17 & IMAX in Dallas, TX