Thursday, December 12, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

[a big improvement over the first part]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
IMDB- 9.1 (Initial rating.To be updated later)
RottenTomatoes- 74%
RJG Ratings- 94

Bilbo and the dwarves continue their trek towards the misty mountains.

Starring- Martin Freeman,Richard Armitage,Luke Evans ,Ian McKellan
Director- Peter Jackson

Hobbit 2 is not a standalone movie at any cost.You HAVE to see the first part before seeing this one.

The cast do a wonderful job once again.Although its still very difficult for much focus to be given to the less prominent dwarves ,Peter Jackson does his best to get each one a good scene to shine.Martin Freeman does a good job as Bilbo.His character is slowly developed through the course of the movie ,giving him more opportunity to break free from the naive role he showed in the first movie.
Ian Mckellan has a very reduced role in the movie comparatively ,similar to his role in Two Towers.At times his role feels too stretched and unnecessary.Richard as Thorin once again gives a good performance.Orlando Bloom returns to the trilogy after a decade as Legolas.His role as a younger and more rash Legolas was great.Evangeline Lilly shines in the sole female role.Luke Evans as Barde was another excellent addition. 

The story is once again stretched to the point of breaking.It doesnt have the smoothness of the earlier Lord of the Rings.Its quite easy to notice these stretch points ,and it sort of ruins the pace.But unlike the first part ,Jackson has tried his best to cover these points.A lot could have been edited out, and the 160min movie could have been reduced by 10-15min.
Another major issue was the abrupt ending.It was a complete cliffhanger situation.And once again the stretching issue plays a major part here.Hobbit 2's finale, will now only be taking place in Hobbit 3's starting.Its predictable though.
The character development was good ,and all the characters were well fleshed out.The real surprise ,was the love story that Jackson has tried to infuse into the story.

The visual effects once again take the center stage.The beautiful background and the exciting action sequences will leave you spellbound.But the real winner was kept for last!And yes ,its SMAUG.The dragon's grand reveal was hidden for months ,and getting to see Smaug in his full form ,with all the effects ,was definitely worth the wait!Every scene with him was intense and thrilling.

The action sequences were brilliant.Most noteworthy was the barrel sequence ,which was hilarious and exciting at the same time!The final portion (Laketown) was beautifully shot.
The fight choreography was awesome and hilarious at times!

Direction by Jackson was great ,but not upto his potential.While he successfully manages to capture the magic of Middle Earth with his eye for detail and lavish doses of visual beauty ,he stumbles with the story telling.The climax for example kept switching to multiple stories that reduced the impact of the exciting Bilbo-Smaug meeting.He wasnt really able to juggle the Gandalf story ,the Laketown story and the Bilbo story smoothly.
But Jackson did fix much of the pacing issues that hogged the first part.The second part was more focused on action sequences and the story, and it didnt let the excitement level drop at any point.

I might have sounded a bit harsh with the movie ,but you have to remember that its in the shadows of one of the greatest trilogies of all time-Lord of the Rings ,which at this point Hobbit will never outshine.

Overall Hobbit 2 was a GIANT improvement over the first part ,but it still isnt without its faults.A must watch whether you liked the first movie or not.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 4/5
Direction- 4/5
Action- 5/5
Visual Effects -5/5
Drama- 4.5/5
Thriller -5/5

#hobbit #DesolationofSmaug #smaug

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

[a pale sequel]

Despicable Me 2 (2013)
IMDB- 7.5
RottenTomatoes- 75%
RJG Ratings- 65

Gru is asked to find out a dangerous villain ,by the anti villain league.

Starring- Steve Carell,Kristen Wiig
Director- Pierre Coffin ,Chris Renaud

Steve Carrel returns as Gru and once again he does a great job.The cast for Despicable Me 2 is great and everyone does a fine job. 

Animation was pretty good.The colourful world of gru and gang is once again beautifully recreated by Dreamworks.But if you have to compare it with the top guys in todays market,Pixar, then Dreamworks still have plenty to catch up.While the minions were great ,there were still many other parts which could have been improved.For some reason i found the climax a bit lazy in the animation department.

Back in 2010 , Despicable Me surprised everyone by presenting a story that even though tailored for kids ,captured the attention of adults as well.So how does the sequel stand up?Not too great.The story tried to bring in something new but kept falling short of delivering a satisfying end for each scene.It raises hopes but then just gives up lazily.

Even though its a kids movie theres still some very huge plot holes and clichés which keep pulling us out of the movie.Easy solutions and coincidences run aplenty in Despicable Me 2.

Direction was good but it doesnt match up to their previous work.They dont exactly raise the bar with the sequel.They underperform.The pacing was good at the beginning but starts to drag in the second half.A lack of a strong central message is missing ,and this makes the sequel not too memorable.
The comedy was good ,but all are at kids level.The minions were good ,but minions alone dont guarantee a good movie.The movie isnt bad but its way below the high expectations.

Overall,Despicable Me2 is a colourful movie with plenty of minions and fun....for kids.Grown ups might find this pretty average.

Animation -4/5
Story -2.5/5
Direction -3/5
Comedy -3/5
Action -4/5
Romance -3.5/5

Sunday, December 08, 2013

Oblivion (2013)

[a good sci fi timepass]

Oblivion (2013)
IMDB- 7
RottenTomatoes- 54%
RJG Ratings- 55

after defeating an invading alien army ,a lone soldier is left guarding the Earth. 

Starring- Tom Cruise ,Andrea R ,Olga K ,Morgan Freeman
Director- Joseph Kosinski

Tom cruise is the main pillar of this movie and he gives a good performance.His youthful looks and years of experience allows him to breeze through this movie without any issues.His charisma and screen presence ,completely overshadows everyone else.Morgan,Olga and Andrea give good supporting roles.Andrea, a comparatively  a new actress, stood out among the supporting cast.
Chemistry between Tom and Olga never actually took off as the movie expected ,it was weak.

The story had a good concept ,but somehow fell apart towards the end.It didnt have a proper finishing touch and doesnt tie up the loose ends.While the climax had a pretty great twist ,the movie stumbles plenty of time prior ,that you dont get the expected punch.The first half left me wanting to see more of the aliens but the movie changes tracks to a more disappointing alternative in the second half.Also the trailers were all pretty spoilerish. 

Direction by Joseph is good.While he has a good eye for the setting and the visuals, he lets the story part slide.But Oblivion was a much better attempt by him compared to his previous movie, Tron Legacy,which had all visuals and a boring story.The pacing of the movie was good.

The visual effects were perfect ,blending naturally into the background.But it would have been great if the story had little more scope to compliment the visuals.

Overall, Oblivion is an time pass movie.Tom Cruise fans wont be disappointed.But the movie doesnt leave a memorable mark on your minds like other sci-fi movies.

Acting- 3.5/5
Story- 3/5
Direction- 3/5
Action- 4/5
Visual Effects- 4.5/5
Thriller- 3.5/5
Drama- 2.5/5
Romance- 2.5/5

#oblivion #tomcruise #scifi
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