Re: The Desolation of Smaug pre-release thread [SPOILERS]

[Eldorion]

I'm still holding out hope that DOS and TABA will be entertaining adventure films even if they're nothing like the book, but I wouldn't put much money on that being the case. :PI wouldn't be surprised if LOTR and The Hobbit ends up being looked back on similar to Star Wars and its Prequels, albeit not quite that bad.

I do sometimes wonder how long it will take them to reboot LOTR.  I believe that New Line has to make a new movie every 9-10 years or so or else they loose the license from Saul Zaentz.  It'll be interesting to see if they try to force something out after TABA for that reason.  Maybe a sequel trilogy? I kinda don't think that will happen, though.

[Pettytyrant101]

Actually so far I think they have the potential to be worse. And I hate the SW prequels.

[Eldorion]

I could see them maybe being more disappointing to people who loved the book and/or PJ's earlier films, but worse than Attack of the Clones? Let's not get crazy here.

[Pettytyrant101]

Clones is bad granted- but if we get a zombie Smaug possessed by Sauron and a big fiery eyeball ending it will be worse.
And at least John Williams was still good which is more than can be said for Shore so far.

[Eldorion]

Okay, if Smaug is a possessed Zombie then I agree that would be worse than Clones. Even with my attempts at lowering my expectations, though, I'm not ready to resign myself to that fate.

NB I'm trying to be optimistic about Shore because of the reports that there will be more original musical themes in DOS, but we'll see...

[bungobaggins]

All this talk of Clones reminds me of my favorite segment from all the Plinkett reviews.



The audio is out of sync. Those hack frauds!

I wish Mike would do Plinkett reviews for The Hobbit trilogy, but he's not invested in Tolkien at all.

I'm not holding out any hope for Shore to deliver a great score. I am, however, expecting an overuse or saturation of the "Misty Mountains" theme in the next two films.

[Eldorion]

Speaking of Lucas, how much of the humor in the "If George Lucas made Lord of the Rings" video still seems oh so clever and biting now compared to 2006?

[bungobaggins]

"I don't need locations. I have computers." Peter Jackson George Lucas





















Fuck you, Rick Berman.

[Pettytyrant101]

How depressing!  

[Mrs Figg]

  I know. this isnt progress. what about the artistry and cinematic beauty of a well thought out location? David Lean, Frank Capra, Stanley Kubrick, they didnt have cgi green screens and they seemed to cope just fine.   the human brain instinctively knows when something is placed in the real world, for all the clever computer trickery you know its all fake. PJ used minatures and bigatures in LOTR but they are real objects and even though you know they are models somehow it feels more authentic than greenscreen.

[Norc]

fucking green screen.

[halfwise]

You thought Clones was worse than Phantom Menace? Okay, yeah, the "love scene". And um, the kid logic about Jedi. And...well - I guess it was a mash-up of great scenes and terrible ones. But I found it less disappointing than PM.

[Pettytyrant101]

Great scenes? Where? When? The whole film was like one long game intro for a shit game with about the same standard of dialogue and acting too.

[Sinister71]

Great scenes? Where? When? The whole film was like one long game intro for a shit game with about the same standard of dialogue and acting too.

Are we talking the Hobbit or Star Wars prequels here? Cause I feel the same way about BOTH... But to be fair I grew up seeing the original SW in theaters and loved them as a kid (my mom must have took me to the original SW 20 times cause she got sick of me begging to see it again LOL) my kids however like the SW Prequels and don't see the faults with them I do. They also like the remastered SW with all of Lucas's additions and added CG, they love LOTR and the behind the scenes footage like me and pretty much we share views of the Hobbit films so far. Take that Jackson coming from part of your target audience  They think the trailer for DOS "looks like crap" to quote my oldest son (19)  I would say that's my boy LOL

My son who is 16 thought the Hobbit looked like "a cool video game" but was a "sucky movie", because it looked like a game he didn't like it more because he "couldn't play it, so what's the point" ahhh the logic of a 16 year old  He also thought Azog looked to much like characters from games like God of War. My 19 year old thought the story was crap and hated the film more than me. He has read the Hobbit on his own since he was 5 (he is a very intelligent kid whom has never really talked or acted like a kid, He has always been more of a mini adult) and he just felt Jackson was catering to the mindless who only care about action and spectacle rather than a compelling story. In comparison I'm much easier going on the Hobbit film I'll at least watch parts of it my 19 year old says "Why bother?, its all F'd up anyways" and comments like "What were they thinking?", He got really pissed because Bilbo ran thru the streets of Hobbiton telling EVERYONE he was "going on an adventure"...  The kid makes me look like a typical TORn fan

[Pettytyrant101]

Good on your son Sin he has a good proper crabbit head on his young shoulders- I approve  

[Sinister71]

Good on your son Sin he has a good proper crabbit head on his young shoulders- I approve  

Yeah now if he would use some of that intelligence to do something instead of eat my food and live in my house. I love him to death but he's grown and time for him to move on.   Although I am very proud of him, He stripped a whole engine by himself in his auto shop class and rebuilt it without ever doing anything like that before. We had him tested when he was 9 and he was said to be smarter than 97 percent of people in the country. Not kids his age people in general, very very intelligent kid, he just chooses not to apply himself.      

Yeah he really was displeased he even nit picked stuff like Thorin arriving late, and some details I actually enjoyed. He logs on to my computer occasionally to look at the boards and Hobbit stuff I look at but has been warned if he wants to post a comment make his own profile because I don't feel like getting banned from EVERY Tolkien site that has a hobbit board. He talks like a sailor when he gets mad so there would be alot of censoring him to put it politely  

OHHHH yeah edited to say WTF???!!!??? is up with all the green screen don't they do ANYTHING with practical effects anymore? Come on Jackson get your head out of your ass and come back to reality

[Sinister71]

Speaking of Lucas, how much of the humor in the "If George Lucas made Lord of the Rings" video still seems oh so clever and biting now compared to 2006?

OMFG I love it  I mean LOOOOOVE IT  That is SO Peter Jackson with the Hobbit   

[bungobaggins]

  I know. this isnt progress. what about the artistry and cinematic beauty of a well thought out location? David Lean, Frank Capra, Stanley Kubrick, they didnt have cgi green screens and they seemed to cope just fine.    

Today we still have directors like this. The Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, are the first that come to my mind.  

It's just that Jackson's films are getting more audience attention because:

1. They are "based" on popular source material.
2. At their heart, they are generic action films.
3. He has (quite cleverly) fostered a vehement fan-base ever since LOTR. George Lucas did it through marketing toys, Jackson has done it (I would argue) through social media, connecting with his fans through the vlogs, facebook posts, and such.

This is why, as much as I dislike watching the Oscars, I think they can (but don't always) serve an important role in bringing smaller films and talented directors to the forefront. I think when all is said and done, LOTR will be what Jackson is best known for, and in any film history textbook the Hobbit trilogy will be a footnote.

[Mrs Figg]

but the Coen Brothers dont really do vast sweeping epics like Lawrence of Arabia, where the landscape is the heart and soul of the film, Fargo (love that film) is set in a certain town but its an intimate film. I was more meaning the use of landscape to paint a picture, maybe Terrence Malick is up to the job, his films are beautifully shot.

[bungobaggins]

I thought True Grit had some great landscapes.  

[Pettytyrant101]

Got to agree there- even if True Grit is probably my least favourite Cohen Brothers film.

[Eldorion]

You thought Clones was worse than Phantom Menace?   Okay, yeah, the "love scene".  And um, the kid logic about Jedi.  And...well - I guess it was a mash-up of great scenes and terrible ones.  But I found it less disappointing than PM.

I'm sure that for people who had been waiting for the Star Wars Prequels for years TPM was the most disappointing because of the gap between expectation and reality. By the time AOTC rolled around everyone had adjusted their expectations. But having watched them both at a young age (and neither in theaters), I think Clones is noticeably worse.

[Mrs Figg]

yes True Grit did have great landscapes but its not exactly an epic, anyway the Coen Brothers are cool, I like their films, they do relationships between oddballs very well.

[bungobaggins]

That's true. It isn't the primary focus of their films.

But I feel like they could do a really good job if they tried. -.-

[halfwise]

You thought Clones was worse than Phantom Menace?   Okay, yeah, the "love scene".  And um, the kid logic about Jedi.  And...well - I guess it was a mash-up of great scenes and terrible ones.  But I found it less disappointing than PM.

I'm sure that for people who had been waiting for the Star Wars Prequels for years TPM was the most disappointing because of the gap between expectation and reality.  By the time AOTC rolled around everyone had adjusted their expectations.  But having watched them both at a young age (and neither in theaters), I think Clones is noticeably worse.

I may have to force myself to watch the two of them back to back. Only saw the second one in the theater, and the action was great, even though I wanted to throw shit at the screen every time Hayden Christiansen appeared.