The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies *SPOILERS*

So yesterday my boyfriend and I went to go see the final Hobbit movie. Aside from the row of guys in front of us with a running commentary, I really enjoyed the movie. I know a lot of people complain about it, but I believe that the good outweigh the bad.

One of the biggest complaints I've heard (aside from it being split into three movies), is that it's comical. This is true, I suppose. But the movie is based of a kid's book. The book is comical and childish. Of course, parents these days would say that it's way too graphic for kids, but that's because most parents these days are paranoid idiots that think that any little bit of violence will turn their child into a monster. Furthermore, there is very little violence in the book, not until the spider scene. Even then, the actual battle of the five armies is condensed to a few pages, with very little details except for scenes that are actually away from the battle.

I can see why anyone who has not read the book will think that the movie is comical, especially when compared to The Lord of the Rings movies. But keep in mind that the Lord of the Rings books were written for adults, along with just about all his other work. The Hobbit was meant for kids. But of course, who knew that, right? Most people must have been expecting something more along the lines of Lord of the Rings. And, about it might not seem like it, Peter Jackson gave them so much more than the book does.

First off, There is no Legolas and Tauriel in the book. Their little story wasn't needed in the movie. It was to add a bit of romance, and nothing else. Tolkien had not a bit of romance in The Hobbit, and I actually preferred it that way. I guess Jackson was trying to bring in a greater audience, such as girlfriends and females that would not normally see the movies.

Then there is the whole scene near the end of the movie with Fili, Kili and Thorin. This was perhaps my favorite scene, because it's only briefly skimmed over in the book. (Major spoilers ahead) As I said, in the book the final battle is very short. There's barely any details, and what there is isn't violent. In the movie, Jackson went into detail about the death of Fili and Kili, and how Thorin killed the Orc leader (who's name is slipping my mind right now), then died too. I think this was brilliantly done.

When people complain about it the comedic relief. That is, the three Ogres in the first movie, the barrel escape in the second movie, and Dain and his dwarf army in the third movie. All these are in the book though, and are very important scenes that Jackson could not cut out, and could never be forgiven if he changed them into something more serious. These scenes defined the book as a children's novel, and although the movie is not meant for kids, you cannot just cut out such important scenes.

So I would give the movie a 4/5, I suppose. I still love Lord of the Rings the best, but the Hobbit has more action and more comic relief, which I love. I can look forward to having a Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie marathon soon!

Christmas and Movies and Finals

Wow, times goes fast. I though I had posted something on Tuesday... Apparently not. Anyway, have a Friday post instead!

But hey, twelve more days 'till Christmas! This year I'll be spending Christmas Eve with my boyfriend's family, since my family has decided not to get together this year. It should be fun. I have to work until 6:30, but oh well. I took several days off for Christmas last year, so I guess this makes up for it. And I don't have to work on Christmas day, so that's even better. Then, to top it off, I get paid time and a half on Boxing day. Yay! I'll have some money stashed away before I cut my hours to nearly nothing... I really should have spent less on Christmas presents... Oh well.

In other news, the final Hobbit movie comes out on Wednesday! I'm determined to see it on Thursday.... And maybe again several times after. I'm a little excited.

However, I have one final before I can really get into the Christmas or movie spirit. I should be studying... But it's on Tuesday. I have time...

Best Game Ever?

Sorry for the lack of a post on Thursday last week, but I'll make up for it now! Yesterday (Monday) was my actual birthday, which I didn't celebrate with friends, since it also happened to fall on the Canadian Thanksgiving. I spent it with my family and boyfriend, which was perfect for me.

First we went out to a small little town for lunch, then wandered around for a bit, until it started to suddenly pour with rain. Unfortunately the rain still has not stopped, and my boyfriend had to walk home... One of us should really get our drivers license...

Anyway, onto the important stuff. Presents! My parents gave me a beautiful sweater, with a nifty belt and bracelet, along with a small book of poetry and a Chapters gift card. I'm sure they'll all get some good use. My sister bought me a nice water bottle, which will be useful for school. I'll stop buying bottled water now. She also got me a bag of skittles and some super comfy socks. My boyfriend got me a bluray Hobbit part two, which I'm sure will also get a lot of use, and best of all, Hyrule Warriors!

It's working it's way to becoming my favorite game ever! It's a lot of hack and slash, which is just dandy with me! So far we've mostly just been doing the main quest line, but there seems to be so much more to explore. The graphics are amazing, and the cut scenes are skippable. There's also the ability to upgrade your weapons, but we haven't really gotten far enough to play with that much. I'm sure it'll eat up a lot of my time.

Of course, tomorrow is back to school and regular life. I have a mid term in my philosophy class that I haven't studied for since Wednesday, so this should be interesting. I'll do some readings on the bus.


Maybe.

The Hero of Time is Failing

We need help! Go here and vote for Link! As of 10:00 am on Monday, March 25th, he's barely in the lead. Voting ends at 2:00 pm this afternoon. And you're able to flood the vote, so vote as many times as you can until it tells you to cool off and locks you out of that one poll. And if you really want to help, vote for Bilbo Baggins so that Link doesn't have to go up against Harry Potter. Bilbo still needs about 1,000 votes before he can beat Harry though, so spam spam spam!

I'm also voting for Rand Al'Thor (although I like Aragorn better. The Wheel of Time is my favourite book series however, so Rand is getting my vote), Gandalf, Eowyn, Arya Stark (I REALLY want her to beat Hermione), Mulan, and Daenerys. Unfortunately, Mulan and Daenerys have no chance, and Arya is barely hanging in there.

The Hobbit review *SPOILER ALERT*

Today while at the mall with one of my friends, we randomly decided to go see The Hobbit, since we have both read and enjoyed the book. I am also a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings movies, though I have to admit that I wasn't able to get past half way through the second book. It got to the Frodo part and I gave up. I hate Frodo.

Anyway, I'm going to say it now, that I found the movie to be a huge disappointment. I'm going to cut this post into three sections; pros, cons and neutrals.

I also apologize for not posting anything yesterday. I was stuck at my friend's house up on a mountain because of a sudden snowstorm.

Pros

-The acting was amazing. I loved all the dwarves, especially Fili and Kili. Martin Freeman makes an amazing Bilbo Baggins, and as usual, Ian Mckellan was superb as Gandalf.

-It's funny. I know this isn;t really something that should be included in the pros section, especially for an adventure movie like The Hobbit. But the book was funny in some parts, and I love having the comic relief.

-The singing was beautiful. One of the more famous parts in the book was the song in Bilbo's house. It has the deep, dark tone to it, and was song perfectly. It added the solemn tone that persists throughout the movie, and adds the serious element that is only lightened by the comic relief.

-They got some parts right... These some parts include the flaming pinecones, most of the riddle game (Though it was cut short), the golden buttons flying off of Bilbo's shirt (Though it was at the wrong time), and several other small details that escape my mind at the moment.

-The history. It's not part of the books, but I think that it is one of those few times where I actually appreciate something being added. In the book it's hinted to and explained throughout the book, but they couldn't do that without confusing the viewer in the movie, because they cut it into three parts. The only problem is that they got the history partly wrong... And added a few things that were not supposed to be in it. But it got the general message across and was a good start to the story.

-The graphics and filming. It's a small detail that can easily be overlooked, but the details in the movie surpass those of Lord of the Rings. Not by much, but it was still pretty amazing.


Cons

- It didn't follow the book. This will always be the main complaint of anyone who has read a book and later seen the movie for it. I just don't understand why directors cannot follow the book. It's written out for them already, it's just more work for them to re-work everything. In The Hobbit movie, I would say that half the movie was not from the book. That means that half of what they added could have been from the book, and therefore they probably wouldn't have had to cut the movie into three parts.

- It was cut into three parts. I would understand if the book was as large as one of the Lord of the Rings books, but The Hobbit is at least half the size of one book. There was no reason for them to cut it into three parts. Maybe two, since there is a lot going on and sometimes parts need further explanation to let the viewer know what is going on. But the first part is three hours long. I think they could have put at least half the book into one movie, instead of only a third.

- It nearly put me to sleep in some parts. I would not complain so much about the parts they added if they had made those parts interesting. There was way too much talking, and although there was also plenty of fighting, it was the talking parts that bored me. Oddly enough, these talking parts always seem to happen in Rivendale...

- A lot was taken from The Lord of The Rings movies. I suppose like uncle like nephew? There were two huge parts that mirrored each other; Bilbo/Frodo hanging off a cliff and need to be rescued, and Bilbo/Frodo accidentally falling and having the ring slip onto their finger. I understand the hanging off a cliff part, that's done in just about every adventure movie, but the ring part nearly made me burst out laughing.

-Small details that they got wrong. As long as it leads to the same end, I suppose I can't complain, but I would like to see it mirror the book perfectly. But that's an impossible request, as no director can possible do that, right? I suppose it's their way of having a creative touch.

-The Eagles were called by Gandalf. I wouldn't give this a second thought it I had not read the book. But the movie portrays the Eagles as servants to be called upon when in need. Furthermore, they appear to be simple animals, if larger that average. They show no intelligence or hint of being their on 'people'. In the book they happen upon the fire in the trees and pick up Gandalf and company because they owe him a favour. They drop everyone off and stay to chat. This proves that they are intelligent, but also that they are noble, proud and majestic, with a mind of their own that cannot be called upon like a taxi.

Neutral

-The riddle part was cut short. It's not a big deal, I suppose, especially considering I had expected them to butcher it. There was at least one more riddle each with they cut short, one of which it was my favourite riddle. It was disappointing, but I can't really complain.

- The dwarves didn't have hoods. It sounds stupid to anyone who has no read the book, but they entered the house and were mainly described by the colour of their hood and the silver tassel that hung from it. (Hood means hat, by the way) Thorin was the only one to have a golden tassel, marking him as different from the rest. It also goes to show that tiny details were either overlooked or not important enough to deal with, despite the fact that all it needed was a hat added to each dwarf.

-Thorin nearly died. Once again, I can't complain, since it was pretty bad-ass (Pardon my language). It showed his determination, courage and honour, but also an important part that shows up later in the book; his weakness, which is basically just being weak... He is portrayed almost as a god-like figure, strong, bold, and overall an impressive leader. But he is felled with barely a scratch on his foe. It brings him back down to human (or Dwarf) level and shows that he is mortal, and only a little better than his companions.




That's all I can think of for the moment, but I'm sure I will be able to add more later.