Critics review 'An Unexpected Journey'

you didnt miss much. just a load of Barbie and Ken go to Rivendell.

hehe, i imagen

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I think you will like the purist edit Orwell- everything you like still there and the stuff you are trying ignore all gone.

Have you already got The Hobbit on your evil little computer? {{{I have a ill feeling that that's what you emailed? Oh dear! I better have another look at downloading... tricky business though...}}}

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I noticed something whilst editing earlier- in the flashback scene where old Bilbo is talking to Frodo about the party invites Bilbo says of the treasure he brought back -"It was only one small chest. And it stills smells of troll."- this would seem to mean the stop off to pick up the troll hoard on the way back is still in there. So if thats still in then so too presumably will be a stop off at Rivendell- and that got me wondering if thats when the sword that was broken scene will be and if it will introdce a young Aragorn, setting things up for FotR....

Ooh....

Mrs Figg wrote: I will take a pee in Goblin Town.

I don't think I saw any toilets for you to toilette in, Mrs Figg! Privacy may be at a premium!

I shouldn't like to compalin about a movie I liked so much buuuuuuut...

In the ogre scene, why didn't the dwarfs just continue to battle while the ogres were throwing sacks over them? Then Thorin could have poked one in the eye with a flaming torch just as he got a sack thrown over him? I mean, Gandalf pokes the Great Goblin in the eye, so it was surely not impossible to do. Might not even have had to use CGI to do it...

In your edit, Petty, do you have the battle scene, then fade out to reveal them captured? That would work, and remove my pain a little...

Thought the movie was alright, not great. Don't no what it was, but it was missing something. (i expect some smart remarks )

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/01/04/68002-death-of-hobbit-at-boxoffice-greatly-exaggerated/?fb_source=pubv1

Wow, that is a terrible article, even by TORn standards.

The news was horrific. Essentially The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was dead on arrival and if not a box office failure at least a disappointment and this on top of less-than-stellar reviews.

This is still completely true. Only those prone to hyperbole were saying that The Hobbit was a failure, but it is undeniably underperforming expectations and is not doing as well as the LOTR movies, especially if you adjust for inflation and 3D ticket premiums. The Hobbit made up quite a bit of ground over Christmas but that's only encouraging in comparison to the absolutely dismal week before then.

There is another factor, just as important at work here. It was pre-Christmas weekend and movies perform much differently during that season.... The weekend before a Christmas-Eve Monday was way down at the box office for obvious reasons: People were busy getting ready for the holiday. Grocery stores and malls were packed, megaplexes suffered. Again, box office tracking websites should know better.

Of course they know better. Because these people make a career out of box office tracking, they know that cineamas do not, in fact, suffer greatly during the pre-holiday season. Well-received movies with strong word of mouth do great and have light drop-offs, like the LOTR movies. On the other hand, movies with less positive reception tend to have steeper drop-offs. As it happens, The Hobbit's drops were pretty nearly identical to I Am Legend (2007) rather than LOTR. I Am Legend's total gross was very respectable for the kind of film it was, but would be embarassing for a film with the pedigree of The Hobbit. Fortunately (depending on your point of view) The Hobbit does seem on track to do better than that by now.

While I am complaining, writers also should stop calling The Hobbit part of the LOTR series because it isn’t, and as the Tough Hobbit Journey story above wisely pointed out, it should be thought of as its own series. The Hobbit is also not a prequel, invented after-the-fact, to make more story or explain anything. It stands on its own and did so before there was a LOTR and was written first. Preaching to the choir here, I know.

This more than anything shows why fanboy bloggers shouldn't try to comment on topics they are ignorant of anymore than professional film critics should. The Hobbit is part of a movie series, and it is largely made for and marketed people whose only real experience with Middle-earth is PJ's movies. It's at least partially a prequel for box office analysis purposes. Besides, there isn't a single widely-used term for all movies based on Tolkien books, so calling it part of the LOTR series shouldn't be unacceptable unless you're a pedantic fanboy.

So really? It isn’t Return of the King? Rather than report The Hobbit is making serious bank, despite your dire predictions, and it performed well though the holidays, the story is its failure to make $1 billion? And, if that were the point, with “only” $250 million to go to reach that number, when is it no longer “well short” and are we sure that will not happen?

Gee, I dunno. Maybe the story is that The Hobbit is the prequel (come at me bro) to one of the top five most successful movie series of all time, and it's box office run so far has been below even the most pessimistic predictions? While it's still making shitloads of money, you have to keep in mind that The Hobbit was always destined to make money. However, given how successful LOTR was, The Hobbit is still a step down. It's the same reason why people will go crazy when a low-budget R-rated comedy breaks $100 million, but scoff if that's all that a major blockbuster is able to achieve. Some types of movies are just better at making money, and people who follow the box office know this.

Eldorion wrote:Besides, there isn't a single widely-used term for all movies based on Tolkien books, so calling it part of the LOTR series shouldn't be unacceptable unless you're a pedantic fanboy.

Watch it, young hobbit! LotR is part of The Hobbit series, if anything!

That's fair enough, but as far as the movies are concerned, LOTR came first and all the marketing for The Hobbit tried to emphasize that connection. There was a week or two there when I couldn't go more than a few hours without seeing the sentence "From the direction of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy" in an ad, video, or billboard somewhere.

I see it only loosley part of LOTRs, yes, the characters are still floating about but, The Hobbit is a different story in its own right. Its not about The One Ring & how it must be destroyed, theres no fatal threat to ME, theres no gathering of all that is evil,conspiring to take over the world. Its a story, way back, a memory of a character, in his prime, that has reached the age when he feels he should now tell his personal tale. Its about a younger Bilbo, before all the worries of the world he knows now. Its his own personal adventure, a one off, about a wizard he rarely saw but knew of, & a handful of Dwarfs he knew nothing about. Bilbo was tempted to "go on an adventure" as he had a smidgeon of the wild side in him. He never thought about the terror of dragons,what it REALLY meant,he'd heard of them but not confronted one. He knew nothing of the horror of battle or Goblins,Trolls & Orcs, yet he went. He loved his Hobbit Hole & all its comforts & naivly hoped Thorin was only after a "home" of his own & for the Dwarfs. Mind you,the lure of a little bit of treasure must have itched!!! Praps he thought it was money for old rope?, Anyway, The hobbit is a simple story,flows nicely & is a great memory for Bilbo to have & look back on, a personal achievement.
The film I felt was to staggered, it stuttered, then it dragged like soggy porridge,& then it went frantic again. The flow wasnt right & didnt have the authenticity of LOTRs. It was almost as tho PJ tried to cram as much as poss into the 1st film. it was like an hysterical teenager caught by the police,trying to give a garbled explanation.

those were the days.

Nah, I don't agree with nearly everyone (apparently). I liked it. Yes, there was some cause for concern, but from me, overall, it's a big thumbs up! (Even if mainly for the Bag End stuff, which I think a triumph - mainly! )

The out of the f.p. into the f. bit troubled me at first, But now I realize why. I thought that tree was going to topple over and kill half the dwarves in the fall! That means it was good cinema!

{{{Petty, on the subject of falls, in your edit, when the dwarves and B fall through the floor of the goblins' Front Porch, can they just land straight away on the platform where the goblins grab 'em? Also Bilbo's fall fighting the goblin? Also the other great fall through Goblin Town -- can you truncate it so it's not six miles? That I would count as a great courtesy to me! }}}

Oh yes - I've become accustomed to Bilbo. I think him believable. And I like Gandalf too!

I liked Martin Freeman playing Bilbo also, I felt he was the best character actor out of all of them. I liked Ken Stott,(Balin) but then he is a seasoned actor.

yes Bilbo, Balin and Bofur are my faves.

Balin was always just about my favorite character. I like what they are doing with him so far (with only ever so slight misgivings). When these movies are done, I'll watch Fellowship again. I wonder how the Tomb scene will affect me then? I suspect it will be a response!

Bilbo could be almost be 50 years old, which I like.

I really like Bofur and Kili and Fili (together) and Thorin. Bifur is kind of odd. .. he does odd things. Like grilling salad. and eating flowers..

has anyone seen the hobbit yet x

I'm going to see it again tomorrow, along with my brother who hasn't seen it yet.

Yeah I am going again tomorrow on my own this time. probably in the afternoon so its quiet.

Congratulations to Peter Jackson and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!

Kiwi film-goers have voted The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey best picture and Peter Jackson best director in the Flicks.co.nz People’s Choice awards. The film has made nearly $1 billion in box office takings worldwide.

80,000 votes were cast by some 6,000 people to decide the winners in the 16 categories, which include Looper for best sci fi/fantasy and Skyfall for best action movie. The New Zealand Herald has a full list of winners. I can’t help admiring the Kiwis for that last category!

Why is Oin deaf? I dont recall reading that he was ? & didnt Bilbo dash out from Bag End without even a snot rag? so why the coat & satchel ? & wasnt it Gandalf that dragged Bilbo up,telling him to be at The Green Dragon by 11am,to catch up with the Dwarfs, to go on this "great Adventure" ?

And it was Elrond who gave him a hanky, not Bofur . Oh My Petty I might have to view your edit to help me from the misery .

You are more than welcome to Truth.