The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies - Review (No Spoilers)

So I went to The Hobbit marathon today. Yes, my fangirling has reached the level where I'm willing to sit in a theater for nine hours straight.

First of all, seeing the first two movies on the big screen again (and for the last time) was a wonderful experience. Seeing all three on the big screen in one night? Very cool. And getting to watch the character transformations and storylines in a row, fantastic. The effects, casting, acting, setting, action... everything was good. 

Martin Freeman should win some major awards for his acting... actually everyone should. They're all incredible. I must say, I cried for most of the last fifteen or so minutes. If you've read the book, you know why. If not, please go so you can cry too.

The action and battle scenes are captivating, intense, and extremely fun to watch. We get more info about Sauron, which makes me very happy. We also get more Legolas and Tauriel, and let's be honest, who doesn't want more Elvish epicness?

There were a few moments I could have done without, and a few moments where the CGI seemed off, but other than that, I honestly couldn't ask for a better movie. I feel like braiding my hair and learning to wield a sword now. 

Rating: 9.5/10.

Once again, thank you Peter Jackson. Agorel vae. Galu.

SDCC and Trailers

On one hand, I'm very sad that I missed SDCC. On the other, I'm really glad it's over because TRAILERS! ART! NEWS! I need to start looking at the cosplay pictures from this year ASAP. I had to restrain myself from doing a happy dance when I saw the trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. I also kind of wanted to cry thanks to Edge of Night being the song for it. How about no.



Then there's the Mockingjay Part 1 trailer (finally an actual trailer, even if it was just a teaser). But ya know, it was awesome anyway. All I can do is hope that they decide to keep... well, you-know-who alive.



And we also have the first trailer for the Mad Max reboot. Initially I wasn't thrilled with Tom Hardy being cast but that is now replaced by adoration. Also bald and face-painted Charlize Theron... yes. Many explosions and dust and cars flipping and flying all over the place.




Okay I'm going to stop geeking out now. I'll have a couple of posts in the next day or so, one about Lucy, and one about my new film project and the makeup experiments I've been doing for that. And come to think of it, I'll probably have a couple of rants about the new Marvel art before too long.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I went to see this three times and am tempted to go again. I honestly have no complaints about this movie, or the first one for that matter. The scenery is stunning, the acting is spectacular (can we talk about Martin Freeman's expressions?), there is a lot more action than in An Unexpected Journey, and the movie in general is exceptional.

As far as I can tell (I haven't read the book in a long time) they haven't actually taken anything major out of the story. And the things that were added? Well yes please. Most of the added information is apparently from the appendices and Unfinished Tales (am I correct?), which I never read. So for me, the extra information is absolutely wonderful. The added backstory about Sauron/The Necromancer is great, especially since it includes finding out what the heck Gandalf was actually doing all those times he disappeared in the book. 

Tauriel is one of my favorite additions to the story. She's downright fantastic with her insane fighting skills, gorgeous wardrobe, sassiness, and ridiculously cool hair. She and Legolas have one of the best scenes in the movie, battling orcs along a riverbank. And Martin Freeman just portrays Bilbo so perfectly, with his odd little movements and... well, excellent acting. Actually, all of the acting is excellent. Everything is awesome. 

If I went in to detail about all of the things that thrilled me about this movie, I would never finish writing this. But I do have to talk about Smaug. The animation of Smaug is some of the best I've ever seen. That creature is unreservedly magnificent. He's massive, intimidating, and brought to life with perfection. And with Benedict Cumberbatch's epic voice, it's unforgettable. So if you haven't seen this movie yet and you have the chance to go, GO! You won't regret it.