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Reviews
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
No longer a children's movie...
If you found 'An Unexpected Journey' too childish, you can breathe more easily. 'Desolation' is more serious than its predecessor; gone are the silly songs and even then slapstick jokes have been reduced. Especially the Dol Guldur storyline and Lee Pace's portrayal of Thranduil add to the noticeably darker tone of the movie.
Evangeline Lily does a good job depicting the non-canonical Elf Tauriel, and while the resulting romantic tension might not have been necessary, it's good to see some variation among the Elves apart from the strict Sindar. Stephen Fry cuts a delightfully corrupt Mayor of Laketown and I hope we'll see even more of him in the next movie.
Book-purists might be somewhat miffed that a few plot details were changed, and some scenes were cut short while others, especially towards the end, were padded to ridiculous lengths, but that was to be expected considering the sheer size of the project. Needless to say it will be interesting to see how things play out in the trilogy's conclusion. However, once again it's great to see Dol Guldur, and the inclusion of this story feels natural and integrates well into the rest of the movie.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable movie that is more grown up than 'Journey', with good acting throughout.
Stargate: Atlantis: Vegas (2008)
Showcases the characters that were carefully crafted one last time, from an unusual angle.
Vegas is actually my favourite SGA episode, for many reasons.
First off, AU is a lovely trope that just isn't explored often enough even in sci-fi where it can almost be considered a canon trope. And using it so late in the show's run, when we already know the characters pretty well, makes it all the more powerful.
Second, the production is beautiful. You can tell that every shot has been considered carefully, and it shows because the cinematography - the editing, the colours, everything you never notice when it's there is wonderfully done. Every shot builds on the atmosphere - which is apparently supposed to be CSI Las Vegas meets The X-Files - and the stark contrast to the usual look of SGA delivers an even greater impact. This isn't just a nice, weird niche episode, this is the whole team that works on the show and loves the show going, "see what we can do".
Third, the score is just excellent, not just because after five seasons we finally got a Johnny Cash song and it fit.
Fourth, it works because it's the penultimate episode and as we get to see tiny details to the characters we haven't seen, we're forced to face that fact that this is it. You can let a show run out in the rush of an action-packed three-part finale, or you can take the opportunity to showcase the characters you've crafted one last time, from an unusual angle and without the adrenaline rush and dramatic plot twists.
(Fifth, this is truly John Sheppard's episode, and after five years he kind of deserves it.)
And finally, it's kind of crazy that a story that could very well be used as an introduction to the series is used in the penultimate episode, but it also makes a lot of sense to draw the viewer's attention to the fact that the main story, the story they've been watching for five years, is just one of many. The concept of alternate universes has been thoroughly explored before in the show, so it's a very smart, very meta idea to say "yes, this show is ending, and look, we're even giving you the normal kind of show finale that you expect, but consider what could have been, what could yet be."
The ABCs of Death (2012)
a mixed bag
As it is a compilation movie, some segments stand out as being well-crafted and thought-provoking, and some fall flat.
The tone varies wildly - some segments revel in gore, some in sex; some are darkly funny, some repulsive, and some shockingly sad. Barring one, the Japanese submissions are rather bizarre and fall into the 'bad' category, and the 'POV' pieces don't fare much better.
The earlier segments are generally enjoyable without being outstanding (personally, I found C and D very good, for completely different reasons), but the sequence of good ideas is soon harshly interrupted (F). A mix of unremarkable and bad follows, while L stands out as one of the best segments of the film. It doesn't get much better until Q, which provides a nice break, and from there on the movie seems to deteriorate into either very good or very bad segments. R, V, and X are highlights of the second half of the movie (although V is only really interesting because of the incredibly high production value); U, W, and Z are laughably bad.
Some reviews say that it might be difficult to sit through 2 hours of more or less experimental filmmaking with such highly fluctuating quality, but I found the episodic structure did not allow for boredom. At least those segments that are utterly bad are also mercifully short. Some scenes (L and P for me, especially since P didn't feature the standard disclaimer in the credits) are hard to watch, some will stay with you (I and X).
It's a nice experiment that did pay off on occasion. Not something I'd pay to see in a cinema, but fine if it's on and you have an evening to spare.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Technologically sophisticated and entertaining
This first Hobbit movie follows the plot of the first half of the book more or less faithfully. If you are wondering - as I did - how Jackson is going to make three movies out of one book, it's by including everything: the good as well as the ridiculous, and supplementing it with a back story out of the appendices of the Lord of the Rings.
While the plot seems at times disjointed, and people next to me complained that "nothing much happens for a long time" it is still (not) happening in Middle-Earth and very much worth seeing. The screenplay is at times subtle, at times very in-your-face. Overall, despite containing dark themes and scenes, the movie is much more lighthearted than Lord of the Rings (as the book was), and the scenery is much more epic than the plot itself.
In 3D, the movie suffers from the same weaknesses as other 3D titles, occasional blurring and center brightness. However colors are still vibrant and at 48 frames per second, the movie is extremely immersive.
Final verdict: 7/10 for the movie, 9/10 for the technology.
Into the Wild (2007)
Ultimately pointless
You will see a lot of reviews here of people calling this movie "left wing bullsh!t", and maybe you'll think, "well, I'm left wing, so I'll probably like it". So let me preface this by saying I'm as liberal as they come.
I've seen movies with bad acting, and bad effects, and bad writing, but this movie suffers from a bad underlying message, and there's no way to overlook that.
This is story of a privileged young man, 'Alexander Supertramp' who leaves his family and burns his last bit of cash because he feels that 'people are mean to each other' and he can't live in society anymore. Instead of trying to change society though, he decides to leave it completely - but hold on, not that completely.
You see, while he complains about life being too easy after cashing a cheque for work he did, he's shaved, clean, wearing different clothes that all mysteriously fit into his backpack, with nice sparkling teeth and not even one little cold (until the very end). He's both still buying his way through life and mooching off people who actually need money and goods - for example the residents of Slab City, the Colorado campsite. The girl he meets there is a character I can actually feel sympathy for; she obviously wants to leave and would if she could. Their relationship is a mystery - not because he doesn't want to have sex with her, but because he doesn't even seem to like her.
And finally, I have to agree with many of the other posters here who call Alex's trip to Alaska reckless and stupid. For all his supposed knowledge and ability to learn, he completely failed to prepare for this trip. If the older man he was living with at the end hadn't given him some supplies, and had he not found the bus, he probably would not have lasted two weeks. At one point it becomes obvious that even though he could fish and had a book on local flora, he had never before used it, relying on wildlife he shot.
His final 'wisdom', that happiness is worthless if not shared, is ultimately pointless.
One scene in particular stands out as representative of the whole movie: Alex, apparently on a routine food run and not too close to his camp, sees an adult moose and immediately shoots it. Nevermind that the moose is clearly too much meat even if he manages to preserve it (which he never learned), or to drag back to the camp, or that he does not have his 'how to skin and prepare game' manual with him - he sees the huge moose and shoots it. In the end, he doesn't get one bite of food out of it.
Pete Smalls Is Dead (2010)
a Film Noir à la Big Lebowski
This movie has all the elements of an old Film Noir: a missing person (well, dog), a mysterious woman, a voice-over narration by the main character (nicely played by Peter Dinklage), and a slightly convoluted main plot. The message; whether it is in fact a deeper look at the machinations of Hollywood (and the good and the bad that goes with it) or not, is not as important as the overall atmosphere.
The bits that feel just too far out and too unrealistic are more than made up for by both the excellent cast and the road trip/generally trippy vibe that seems reminiscent of the Big Lebowski.
It's certainly not for everyone; bring some time and willingness to go with the flow. Then it's a gem of a movie that is well worth a watch -and a re-watch.
Inside Job (2010)
Intelligent and dramatic
This is not your usual documentary. And it's far, far away from any Michael Moore film.
It would have been easy to show the effects of the financial crisis by using tear-jerk stories and interviews of distraught homeowners. Instead, the makers chose not to do a single interview with someone affected by the decisions of those on Wall Street; instead the people involved and experts are interviewed. That - and the compelling narration and structure - makes this a clever movie that never devolves into chaos.
Step by step, the main reasons for the financial crisis are uncovered, explained (in simple terms, but comprehensively enough), and the people behind the scenes exposed.
That the movie is able to evoke quite an emotional response despite seeming cold, almost clinical, is a pretty good achievement. That it educates as well makes it brilliant.