Author Topic: The Hobbit  (Read 15049 times)

Tubbius

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2012, 11:32:10 PM »
Going to see it with a lot of the folks from the local comic shop tomorrow night.  :)  Hope to enjoy it!

And stopping at the eagles makes sense.  The soundtrack cds seem to imply their getting to the edge of the woods where the spiders are.

houtex

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #21 on: December 15, 2012, 01:55:16 AM »
I'm just replyin' to the 'are you gonna go?!' bits. Don't mind me...
 
---
I didn't watch the LOTR series in the movies, as I missed the first one, so I wound up with the Extended Director Cut 4 disc books, of which two discs were the movie.  After I got the first one as a present, I intentionally did NOT go see the other two.  When I had them all Gathered, I watched the 15 hours of LOTR and I tell you, it is the only way to watch them, ya ask me.  They were glorious, and I had an uninterrupted 'view' of the whole thing.

I also somehow didn't get any spoilers for them, and I'm not gonna now, I hope.  I had read The Hobbit, Fellowship, and halfway through the Two Towers.  Never read the Return of the King.  So I was completely unaware how it would go. 

I therefore will abstain from these two in the theatres (and I am completely disinterested in 3D movies) and await both Hobbit EDC4D books, and watch what I'm sure is another 10 hours of win.

/Y'all have fun with watchin' them.  La la la, can't hear you *fingers in ears...*

Samuraiko

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2012, 07:55:20 AM »
Saw it (regular, not 3d, IMAX, or 48fps) and enjoyed it immensely. (Saw it with two other Hobbit/LOTR enthusiasts.)

I suppose it really is a matter of "Your Mileage May Vary", but I didn't have any problems with it. I never felt like it dragged (I can ALWAYS tell when that happens because that is when John, Chris, and I start snarking about the film), and I personally didn't have a problem with what else went in. So far, so good, inasmuch as my opinion counts for anything.

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Kaos Arcanna

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2012, 11:36:37 PM »
I really enjoyed it myself. Did not feel long at all.  ;D

pewlagon

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2012, 01:44:21 AM »
As a huge Tolkein fan I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was pleased I predicted the cutoff point. Now this is coming from someone who also listened to the old KUSC radio dramatization. The movie was great, but I did go to see it with someone who detests the Lord of The Rings and wouldn't shut up. Had him pay for my second viewing it was so bad with him. HINT: Don't be that guy. If you're going in hyper critical based on a rivalry with another franchise then don't go see a movie with those that are excited about it.

Mental Maden

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #25 on: December 17, 2012, 06:53:24 PM »
Saw it (2D) on Friday and enjoyed it.  Probably my 4th favorite of them so far, it very well could end up climbing the list over time. 

I enjoyed the extra bits they threw in.  As a reader of the series (Hobbit and LOTR), I can see where they were going with them.  As a viewer I will admit the beginning did drag a little when it got exposition heavy.  But it was enjoyable enough.

My only real "problem" with it was what I have a problem with a lot of big budget movies (especially sequals, prequals and other follow ups to successful franchises): the desire to go one step bigger.  The movie I saw in my head when reading was so much smaller than the visuals that Jackson put on the screen.  The Goblin King sequence is the prime example.  It was just too over the top.  Too many enemies and some of the weakest CGI (and overly obvious bad physics) in the franchise.  I'm afraid by the end of this trilogy it's going to dwarf (hehe) the action of the LOTR movies and that as a whole will come off odd to me.  I get all the reasons why it is this way, especially given that the LOTR came first in the theaters, I just personally wished Jackson would have pulled back a little.

For those unfamiliar with my personal tastes, this is also my problem with The Dark Knight.  What could have been a fantastic thriller involving the Ledger Joker was ruined (in my opinion) with the need to make the movie "bigger" than Batman Begins.  And so we got Bat Cellphone radar for some "cool" action sequences that took away what made the movie great.  Go to the Dark Knight Rises and you really see what I'm talking about.  One upmanship made an overly bloated movie that didn't work.

Sometimes less really is more.  But it's only a minor nitpick and one of personal preference and probably not possible in the high pressure world of big budget Hollywood.  I enjoyed it, will buy it on DVD and definitely watch it again.

Tenzhi

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #26 on: December 22, 2012, 07:28:55 PM »
Doctor Who in a sled puled by rabbits.  That is all.
When you insult someone by calling them a "pig" or a "dog" you aren't maligning pigs and dogs everywhere.  The same is true of any term used as an insult.

Aggelakis

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #27 on: December 22, 2012, 09:36:08 PM »
Saw it last night at butt o'clock. The previews blew my eardrums out (SO LOUD!!!) so the first ten to fifteen minutes are kind of a blur because I was recovering my hearing. After that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and ended up with a bit of a crush on Thorin. :p
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Hyperstrike

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #28 on: December 23, 2012, 02:42:29 AM »
I'm afraid by the end of this trilogy it's going to dwarf (hehe) the action of the LOTR movies and that as a whole will come off odd to me.

Uhm.  Not to put TOO fine a point on it (since there's technically too), BUUUUT:

Spoiler for Hidden:
Uhm.  BIG FRACKING DRAGON DIES!

Also.

The Battle of FIVE FRACKIN ARMIES!


Mental Maden

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #29 on: December 23, 2012, 07:09:04 AM »
Uhm.  Not to put TOO fine a point on it (since there's technically too), BUUUUT:

Spoiler for Hidden:
Uhm.  BIG FRACKING DRAGON DIES!

Also.

The Battle of FIVE FRACKIN ARMIES!


No no, I understand that.  But LOTR is about a threat to the entire world.  So dragon or not, the Hobbit shouldn't come off "bigger".  That's all I'm saying.

Victoria Victrix

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #30 on: December 23, 2012, 07:34:21 AM »
Well we were very much looking forward to this because Larry (husband) is partly responsible for the Great Eagles.

You see, there are no eagles in New Zealand, not even in zoos.  There are no Golden Eagles in Australia, not even in zoos.  So WETA had no references. 

We found this out when we were the Guests of Honor to the New Zealand national SF Convention when Lord of the Rings was in poss-and-CG mode, and we got a tour of WETA conducted by Richard Taylor himself (which was only supposed to be 30 minutes until he realized how much of this stuff we "got", how much we already knew about effects...and how much we loved old cars).  We got into the CG studio and to the artist responsible for the Great Eagles and Larry asked him what he was using as a reference, and he got this panicked look on his face....whereupon we volunteered that we know a Cherokee Elder who stores her stuffed Golden Eagle (sent to her by the BIA Feather Bank) in Larry's studio, so we had a reference right there. 

Short story and about 40g of hi-res photos later, you had the Great Eagles in LotR.

Fast forward to about a year ago, and Larry gets an email from Gino at WETA.  Seems they had somehow deleted the archive and anyway, they were working in higher res now.  Would he be willing to reshoot?

Not only did we, but we found one of the two falconers in Oklahoma who flies a Golden, and got multi-cam hi res video from multiple angles, but MOSTLY the view you will never get in documentaries of birds of prey--from the talon section looking up.  "Hobbit's and dwarf eye view," so to speak.

So what you will be watching are "Tweetie" (the stuffed bird) and "Mina" (the live one).  We should be getting our crew hats and other swag any day now.
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

Tenzhi

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #31 on: December 23, 2012, 10:19:32 AM »
No no, I understand that.  But LOTR is about a threat to the entire world.  So dragon or not, the Hobbit shouldn't come off "bigger".  That's all I'm saying.

Well, so far it's not really "bigger" (save, perhaps, in overall physical size of enemies encountered).  It has the feel of an adventure rather than an epic.
When you insult someone by calling them a "pig" or a "dog" you aren't maligning pigs and dogs everywhere.  The same is true of any term used as an insult.

Atlantea

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #32 on: December 23, 2012, 11:47:17 AM »
Well we were very much looking forward to this because Larry (husband) is partly responsible for the Great Eagles.

You see, there are no eagles in New Zealand, not even in zoos.  There are no Golden Eagles in Australia, not even in zoos.  So WETA had no references. 

We found this out when we were the Guests of Honor to the New Zealand national SF Convention when Lord of the Rings was in poss-and-CG mode, and we got a tour of WETA conducted by Richard Taylor himself (which was only supposed to be 30 minutes until he realized how much of this stuff we "got", how much we already knew about effects...and how much we loved old cars).  We got into the CG studio and to the artist responsible for the Great Eagles and Larry asked him what he was using as a reference, and he got this panicked look on his face....whereupon we volunteered that we know a Cherokee Elder who stores her stuffed Golden Eagle (sent to her by the BIA Feather Bank) in Larry's studio, so we had a reference right there. 

Short story and about 40g of hi-res photos later, you had the Great Eagles in LotR.

Fast forward to about a year ago, and Larry gets an email from Gino at WETA.  Seems they had somehow deleted the archive and anyway, they were working in higher res now.  Would he be willing to reshoot?

Not only did we, but we found one of the two falconers in Oklahoma who flies a Golden, and got multi-cam hi res video from multiple angles, but MOSTLY the view you will never get in documentaries of birds of prey--from the talon section looking up.  "Hobbit's and dwarf eye view," so to speak.

So what you will be watching are "Tweetie" (the stuffed bird) and "Mina" (the live one).  We should be getting our crew hats and other swag any day now.

WOW!!! AWESOME!


Hyperstrike

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #33 on: December 23, 2012, 09:54:24 PM »
Well we were very much looking forward to this because Larry (husband) is partly responsible for the Great Eagles.

You see, there are no eagles in New Zealand, not even in zoos.  There are no Golden Eagles in Australia, not even in zoos.  So WETA had no references. 

We found this out when we were the Guests of Honor to the New Zealand national SF Convention when Lord of the Rings was in poss-and-CG mode, and we got a tour of WETA conducted by Richard Taylor himself (which was only supposed to be 30 minutes until he realized how much of this stuff we "got", how much we already knew about effects...and how much we loved old cars).  We got into the CG studio and to the artist responsible for the Great Eagles and Larry asked him what he was using as a reference, and he got this panicked look on his face....whereupon we volunteered that we know a Cherokee Elder who stores her stuffed Golden Eagle (sent to her by the BIA Feather Bank) in Larry's studio, so we had a reference right there. 

Short story and about 40g of hi-res photos later, you had the Great Eagles in LotR.

Fast forward to about a year ago, and Larry gets an email from Gino at WETA.  Seems they had somehow deleted the archive and anyway, they were working in higher res now.  Would he be willing to reshoot?

Not only did we, but we found one of the two falconers in Oklahoma who flies a Golden, and got multi-cam hi res video from multiple angles, but MOSTLY the view you will never get in documentaries of birds of prey--from the talon section looking up.  "Hobbit's and dwarf eye view," so to speak.

So what you will be watching are "Tweetie" (the stuffed bird) and "Mina" (the live one).  We should be getting our crew hats and other swag any day now.

Tolkien-nerd Hyper is SO JEALOUS!

Kaos Arcanna

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #34 on: December 23, 2012, 10:33:02 PM »
*is all impressed!* :D :D

Mental Maden

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #35 on: December 23, 2012, 11:41:49 PM »
Well, so far it's not really "bigger" (save, perhaps, in overall physical size of enemies encountered).  It has the feel of an adventure rather than an epic.

Personally I pictured all the stuff shown in the Hobbit so far on a much much smaller scale.  The overly used (and bad) CGI + physics and size of the battle with the Goblin King was too big in my opinion.

Victoria Victrix

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #36 on: December 24, 2012, 01:58:29 AM »
Bear in mind that The Hobbit was written as a children's story--literally by Tolkien for his kids.  LotR was written as serious adult mythic literature, for other literary professionals (his fellow academics and writers, the Inklings).  In order to NOT make a Rankin/Bass children's piece, Jackson has opted to do the adult version of the kid's story.  In doing so, he's going to annoy-to-enrage some people.  Personally, even without the Great Eagle connection, I like it.  There are a lot of callbacks to the first trilogy.  There's a lot of "and this was going on offscreen in the book" stuff that I also like.  I adore seeing more of Radagast the Brown, who is my favorite among the Wizards (and a SERIOUS callback to the "bravery is found more in the small and quiet than the Great and Imposing" theme in the books and the first trilogy).
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

Tenzhi

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #37 on: December 24, 2012, 04:52:49 AM »
Personally I pictured all the stuff shown in the Hobbit so far on a much much smaller scale.  The overly used (and bad) CGI + physics and size of the battle with the Goblin King was too big in my opinion.

I think the Goblin King himself was too big, but the fight itself was okay (and I didn't have a problem with any of the CGI).  It was smaller than the Moria swarm, at least.  My main issue with it - a matter of scale for me, too, which was undoubtedly changed for ease of filming - is that I always pictured it happening in dark claustrophobic tunnels rather than a huge well-lit cavern with catwalks all over.  I enjoyed the sequence of events as presented, though.  And it bothered me less than the elves being at Helm's Deep or the shenanigans with Faramir or those ridiculous stone giants (I think that would have worked better as Fili and Kili having more fun with Bilbo over some falling rocks, but that's just me).
When you insult someone by calling them a "pig" or a "dog" you aren't maligning pigs and dogs everywhere.  The same is true of any term used as an insult.

Mental Maden

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #38 on: December 24, 2012, 06:36:03 AM »
I- is that I always pictured it happening in dark claustrophobic tunnels rather than a huge well-lit cavern with catwalks all over.

Agreed with that.  Exactly what I was getting at.

And don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie.  I'll own it.  I'll watch it many times over the years.  I'm just giving my nitpicks. 

Tenzhi

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #39 on: December 24, 2012, 06:48:18 AM »
And don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie.  I'll own it.  I'll watch it many times over the years.  I'm just giving my nitpicks.

Indeed.  I did the same with the Lord of the Rings movies.  I enjoy them overall (particularly the extended editions), but there are some things in them (or not in them, as the case may be) that bugged me.

Oh, and I gotta say that the 3D seemed slightly wonky to me.  There were several occasions where it seemed out of focus in the parts of the screen I was focused on - particularly with moving/falling shots.  It wasn't extremely bad, but I was left with a slight headache and 3D doesn't usually bother me.
When you insult someone by calling them a "pig" or a "dog" you aren't maligning pigs and dogs everywhere.  The same is true of any term used as an insult.