Concerning Hobbits

My love of The Lord of The Rings is well known in these parts, but really my love goes beyond that trilogy to all things set in Tolkien's Middle Earth.  I may have mentioned this before, but I cried a ridiculous amount when I first finished reading Return of The King, but that is nothing compared to how much I cried when I finished read the appendices to that book – it was like a close family member had died, and I couldn't be consoled.  After that, I only wanted more and so I braved The Silmarillion.

I mention this because sometimes I feel like I'm not the right person to recommend things to people.  I don't like things; I FUCKING LOVE THINGS. For example, I recommend show "Elementary" to some people, but as I'm already a huge fan of anything Sherlock Holmes, plus a sucker for procedural dramas, and I love both Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller, was there any way I wasn't going to at least like it?  And since I am the perfect audience, I'm not sure if other people will enjoy it like I do.  It's much the same with The Hobbit. I love the universe so much, it would have been very hard to make something that I didn't enjoy.  And I have always trusted Peter Jackson's decisions with these adaptations, so please keep that in mind when reading...

As anyone who has read both The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings knows, much of what happens "off screen" in The Hobbit is retconed during the "The Counsel of Elrond" chapter (which is like a million pages long in Fellowship) and in the appendices of The Lord of The Rings – Ganalf explains where he was for a quarter of the book, Thorin's back story and name are explained, nameless characters and places get proper names, etc.  So, that's what Peter Jackson has done – he's taking the information we find out later and filled in the blanks.  And if anyone was wondering, like I was when I first heard, how this could be 3 movies, well there's your answer.

A final thought before I cut for spoilers:  I initially wanted to see The Hobbit in standard, old school 2D.  Fiancé was skeptical of the HFR, I don't like 3D, and last time we saw a 3D IMAX film (Promethus), I had to run out of the theater violently ill with a migraine.  However, we accidentally bought tickets to the 3D IMAX version (or "IMAX" since it wasn't on a larger screen).  Unlike other 3D movies I've seen, I did not get sick, or even get a headache.  I felt immersed, not hit over the head with in-your-face gags.  Most reviews I've read so far are complaining about the frame rate, NOT the film itself.  And that's a bummer because I think those things should be looked at independently...

Alright, now on to the spoilery review, in list format because it really is just a jumble of thoughts...

Movie Review: The Thing

I've been told that I do fantastic movie and book reviews – in person, that is.  I think it's because I tend to get excited (read: drunk), flail my arms like Kermit The Frog, and ramble on about what happened, what should have happened, and my opinions on both.

Sometimes this involves voices.  Usually this involves an obscure reference to something elese that isn't even relevant to the movie or book currently being discussed.  Example: Comparing the weird Italian Vampires in that second "Twilight" book to Eddie Izzard's impression of The Queen trying to figure out what a plumber does ("A Plumber?! What on Earth is that?!")…  Really, it only makes sense in my head.  All that being said, I've been told that while people might not have any idea what I'm on about, I'm at least amusing.  So… mission accomplished?

For October, I've decided to try to do some Horror Movie reviews here.  The criteria is that I wanted them to be either pre-1990s and/or B-Horror, and preferably ones that I haven't seen before.  Oh, and I am going to be intoxicated while watching and taking notes.

The first movie we watched was John Carpenter's 1981 version of The Thing.  I had never seen this, but it's one of Boyfriend's favourites, so I decided it would be the first on our list.  Honestly, I didn't even really know what it was about.  Hell, I didn't even know Kurt Russell was in it.

The Thing is about a group of American scientists in Antarctica (there for unknown reasons), who witness a Norwegian man in a helicopter trying to kill a dog.  The helicopter crashes and the man dies with no explanation as to what he was doing, and the team take the dog in.  During the night, the dog mutates and attacks the other dogs.  The team realizes that The Thing is a shape-shifting alien who can take over a body and assume it's form. They no longer know who to trust, if anyone.

I admit that I was a little off-put when I realize that this was Sci-Fi/Horror.  Not that I have a problem with that genre in general, but that wasn't what I really wanted to write about.  Still, I ended up finding this movie intriguing.

First off, the idea of total isolation is very scary.  Not only are they in Antarctica, but a giant storm has also cut them off from any radio communication.  Couple that with the fact that there is a shape shifting alien on the loose and one or more of your companions may be said alien. 

Secondly, the cast is entirely male.  I once had a scriptwriting teacher that said every movie has to have a love story (someone asked "What about Master & Commander" and the teacher said "It's about a man and his love for his boat."  What a load of crap, but I digress).  There really isn't a love story here, no love interests, no damsel in distress, no Femme Fatale, no BAMF!Female, no all male oh-god-were're-gonna-die love affair… The only love here is the characters' love of life – their desire for their own survival.

And finally, the open-ended ending.  I won't spoil the end, but it was done in such a way that you aren't really sure what happens after the credits roll.  You're still not sure if you trust anyone.  You're not sure if the the movie ends on a high note or a down note (like Empire).

So, that's my sober review.  If you are interested in my drunken note taking while watching, you can continue on.  If not, I'll leave you with a shot of Kurt Russell from The Thing.  He still manages to be dead sexy in the middle of an alien attack. In a snow storm. With a beard.  I mean look at his eyes!

Note: CONTAINS SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!!