The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A hobbit falls into place as an unlikely burglar in a plot to reclaim a dwarf’s mountain kingdom from a gold besotted dragon.

Summary:

Bilbo baggins is minding his own business, smoking his pipe weed and enjoying the solitude of his hole – as hobbits are want to do – when Gandalf the Grey, an old acquaintance, comes to call and provides him with the proposal of an adventure. Though Bilbo refuses, rushing to hide in his home, a wizard is not turned away so lightly. A host of dwarves arrive that night and quickly liberate everything they can find from his larder as Bilbo stands by helplessly fearing this seemingly slovenly pack of bearded mongrels don’t break too terribly much. When Gandalf returns followed closely by the leader of the troupe, Bilbo is drafted into service as their burglar – though he has never burgled a thing in his life. He refuses them, but when he wakes in the morning to an empty house, he has a change of heart and finds himself on…. an unexpected journey.

My Thoughts:

I am really happy Peter Jackson directed this series as well as the LOTR series. While I do think it would have been incredible to see Guillermo Del Toro’s vision, all I ever think of when I hear his name is the faun from pan’s labyrinth and the long faced creatures with big eyes and scroll marks on their faces from Hellboy. And I can imagine the orcs transformation in to that end. As it is, I feel like the “feel” of these two separate (if connected) series allows us a continuity that might have been severely compromised with a different creative team at the helm. That being said, there were a few moments when I wondered if Jackson didn’t recycle some ideas.

The beginning sequence was a bit long for my liking. While I do appreciate the connection of the two series through this… prologue, of sorts, I don’t think half of it was necessary. For one thing, I don’t think we ever needed to know what Bilbo was doing when Frodo was waiting for Gandalf at the beginning of Fellowship. I found myself waiting for them to “just get on with it” when we came back to Bilbo at his desk again. To me, this part felt more like someone considered how they could cut apart the end six films and put them back together in a different way to sell yet another “cut” of the films.

James Nesbitt, James Nesbitt, James Nesbitt, James Nesbitt, James Nesbitt, James Nesbitt! I don’t remember when it was exactly that I was looking at the promotional picture with all the dwarves’ faces smooshed into one poster sized rectangle and realized Bofur was James Nesbitt. I’m certain it was not the first, and probably not the tenth – it does take a while to get over trying to pick apart what the Hell those prosthetics are doing to Rawrmitages incredibly sharp nose. It doesn’t really matter I suppose, but I saw that he was going to be a part of the series and I squeed aloud. James Nesbitt is an amazing actor – if you’ve seen Jekyll, you don’t need me to tell you that – and so I was immediately filled with equal parts joy and dread. Joy because YAY! JAMES NESBITT. Dread because what if he was lost among the collective dwarf dross? Happily, my dread was not founded. He has a much bigger part than I honestly anticipated and I assume that is because Peter Jackson recognized what they had in him.

If something bothered me most about the costume choices in this film, it was Radagast the Brown’s bird poop ‘do. I know he’s all about the animals and what not, and that’s totally okay, but having bird poop run down the side of your face is disgusting and unhygienic to boot.  I think that part of my issue with it is that no one seemed to have issue with it, that Radagast – while I understand he was preoccupied with necromancers and bad things in his forest – never once realized he had something on his face (it looked like it had been accumulating for quite a while) and tried to chip it off. Perhaps I’m more focused on him because I don’t want to think about the giant spiders.

When it comes to the Goblin King sequence I’m kind of on the fence as to how I feel about it. For one thing, I love him and his weird tumor jowl. Whoever designed him did an amazing job and while he was obviously CGI, I was too enthralled with being appalled to notice. I do have a problem with the goblin chase scene as it felt a little like a rehashing of the escape from Moria scene in Fellowship. But I am happy we got to see what goes on with the dwarves while Bilbo is dealing with Gollum.

The discrepancies from the books actual plot bothered me. I’ll admit that in all probability my problems with the plot additions are not as bad as some peoples’. But then, I know myself well enough that I did not re-read the novel before I went and saw the movie. Adaptations are always necessary when converting books to movies (when converting anything to film, I suppose) so I do not generally take issue with changes. I do however, wonder how on earth Peter Jackson pulled and pinched and prodded enough out of Tolkien’s world to turn a children’s story into a three movie epic.

I have other thoughts (Regarding things like Lee Pace’s costuming, and the rendering of Smaug) but I’ll save them for my review of the second in this trilogy.

Sherlock Season 2, Episode 3: The Reichenbach Fall

Feeling Sherlock has become too complacent, Moriarty stages a robbery of the Crown Jewels and tells him he’s created a computer code that would access anything and everything the internet has to offer – claiming its how he pulled off his crime.

When two children go missing, Sherlock solves the case – in a way only he could – and suspicion starts to mount that perhaps he is providing crimes to solve. With his reputation shattered, and the lives of his friends on the line. Sherlock must make the ultimate sacrifice.

My Thoughts:

It’s sad how easily people cling to the hope that someone’s got a dark mark hiding underneath their varnished exterior. How quickly people accept the bad, and are willing to explain away the good. But that is the way of things. As a whole, humans need to feel that those who perform exceptional tasks have some sort of leg up, or that they cheat. We tend to assume that others can’t possibly be able to do something, for no other reason than that we ourselves cannot do it. Humanity is a very blemished species.

Here we have proof that being mean doesn’t help you. Sherlock may be antisocial (perhaps even asocial) but a little kindness would have saved him a load of trouble. He may be the master of unraveling plots, but he has yet to understand the power of common courtesy. Perhaps he has it harder than the rest of us, because he can see our faults well before the good bits have a chance to shine through. And that is a pitiable thought.

In the category of things I didn’t expect: Moriarty shooting himself to screw Sherlock over. Seriously didn’t see that one coming – and it kind of proves how deeply psychotic Moriarty was.

I absolutely adore how mad Mrs. Hudson is with Sherlock at his grave. It’s adorable and a completely natural reaction to grief. And it makes her feel even more real than she did before.

Sherlock Season 2, Episode 2: The Hounds of Baskerville

When brought a case that has threads of the supernatural involved, Sherlock and Watson head to Dartmoor to investigate the claims of a man who feels the Baskerville government research station is breeding mutant animals. As they tour the facility, they find nothing concrete, and the admission of local town-folk to a hoax with a large-breed dog seems to be the end of it. In the end, it may likely be a foe posing as friend who’s behind it all.

My Thoughts:

This take on the original story is quite intriguing. I like the idea of a military cause behind the hounds. And that the main clue to who the culprit is was in the slip up of calling a mobile, a cell. Also, why do we Americans have to get all the rubbish terms for things? The Brits always have better names or pronunciations.

I love that we get to see Lestrade out of his usual element. I also love that Sherlock has no clue what his first name is.  And that Sherlock is forced in this episode to admit that he doesn’t have friends… just one.

The part where Henry Knight is at home, alone and freaking out, was admittedly rather creepy. The worrisome part about that lay more in the fact that he was alone, than the idea that there really was a ravenous beasty out to get him.

The idea of vegetarian inn owners buying loads of meat for a dog to drive up business is oddly fanciful to me. The poor blokes. I also love that one of them tries to claim he’s fallen off the wagon and has been eating meat, and that Lestrade doesn’t fall for it. It’s actually a rather comical scene.

Sherlock Season 2, Episode 1: A Scandal in Belgravia

While investigating a bizarre rural murder, Sherlock is pulled to Buckingham Palace where he’s asked to deal with Dominatrix Irene Adler. Adler claims to have compromising pictures of a member of the royal family and while she’s not asking for anything and isn’t making any threats, they don’t trust her. Upon meeting with her, Sherlock is intrigued, and finds that she possesses secrets more dangerous than the one he’s been called in to retrieve when a CIA team bursts in and tries to remove the information from her possession. As events unravel, Sherlock tries to figure out if Irene can be trusted… or if she’s in league with Moriarty.

My Thoughts:

Irene’s strategy is balsy, and I kind of love her for that. I also enjoy how it confuses the heck out of Sherlock. I think there’s some degree of shock to his inability to read her – more than the idea that reading her requires her to be clothed. I’m sure he could tell something from the way she put her hair up, or some lines or marks or bruising. But it is fun to see him stymied all the same.

I appreciate that she’s not traditionally gorgeous. She’s pretty, but her attraction comes from her power and her intellect. It’s nice to see a female in that sort of position.

Seriously, CIA douche. NOBODY hurts Mrs. Hudson. That sort of behavior calls for the deepest pits of hell and the longest death to get there.

And once again, here I am feeling terribly sorry for Molly. I just want to jump in the TV, give her a hug and gently pet her hair.

I was a little sad when I thought, at first that she might actually have been playing him the entire time. I do greatly appreciate that he’s put one past his brother and Watson when he goes to her rescue at the end.

Sherlock Season 1, Episode 3: The Great Game

When a bomb blast leads to a string of abductions that place the abductees’ lives on the line, Sherlock is given clues to solve a series of puzzles in order to save them. After solving a 20 year old murder, an insurance scam and a paint forgery, Sherlock realizes the case he’s been ignoring – but that John has been looking into are related… and his lack of interest in the case may prove to be John’s demise.

My Thoughts:

It’s interesting to see so many cases shoved into one episode. Like Sherlock is speed dating cases. Or he’s in some hellish school exam where the deadlines are crazy and the tasks near impossible.

Poor old blind woman. Moriarty really should have picked his people better. It is interesting to see him carry out his threat – even though Sherlock solved it. It speaks to what kind of a person Moriarty really is. I always enjoy a villain who’s more substance than fluff.

To be honest, the bomb vest feels a little unsophisticated for Moriarty. But it’s mobile, wearable, and let’s face it, an easy out.

I think the painting was my favorite of the cases he had to solve. Mostly because of the set up earlier in the episode – where we learn that Sherlock didn’t know the Earth revolves around the Sun. And because it frustrates him so terribly much just before he manages to get it.

If there’s one thing this episode illustrates, it’s that crime is a broad spectrum that is littered with pockets of new and old games. Murder, Fraud, Forgery… As a people, we’ve come up with a lot of ways to hurt others… and we’re always thinking of more. What does that say about us?

Sherlock Season 1, Episode 2: The Blind Banker

When two men are murdered, one a banker and the other a reporter, in eerily similar ways, Sherlock and Watson must investigate the Black Lotus crime syndicate to discover the truth. As they get closer to the truth, Watson is mistaken for Sherlock and he, along with his new girlfriend, are kidnapped. Sherlock has to decipher the syndicate’s code and find a way to rescue them.

My Thoughts:

This is the sort of crime you expect Sherlock to be tasked with. Murders inside locked rooms, a warning in a code you can’t read… All classic mystery stuff for the classic mystery detective.

If ever I go to London, I’m definitely finding one of those A-Z London books. Because Reasons.

As an avid fan of tea, I for one loved that aspect of the girl who tries to help them. I enjoy that her dedication to the teapots is what gets her caught by Sherlock.

I love that Watson is mistaken for Sherlock – even if it does put his life in danger… it just makes so much sense, since they’re obviously merging into a pair –even if it’s not a romantically inclined one.

Why do villains always choose some elaborate and silly way of killing people? I realize that this is to keep the character alive and give one of the heroes time to save her… but still. If you want to do something right. Do it quickly.

The idea of the brother coming after his sister is a tragic thought. But it’s a rather real one. Peole often say that family is the one bond you can’t break… but that’s a lie, isn’t it? Brothers and sisters forsake eachother… parents kill their children, or vice versa…. The ease with which some shed themselves of familial responsibility is quite disturbing, but it is often the way of things.