Moonbase 2

A few movie reviews for you all, the primary of these being The Hobbit.

The Hobbit - 8.5/10

So, like millions of others, I saw The Hobbit today.

Oh. My. God.

I loved the original trilogy dearly. And so this movie starts. I hear that familiar music, I see Bag End on screen again, and goddamn Frodo shows up and I lose it. I'm tearing up. I can't help it. Idolizing Frodo was such a massive part of my childhood. And the whole spectacle launches and for the first... I dunno, fifteen, twenty minutes, I'm just tearing up. So much boyhood nostalgia. Regardless. The actual film review.

Now, full disclosure, I haven't read the book in about a decade, but that doesn't matter. Regardless of how closely it follows the story of the novel, this film rarely disappoints. After a somewhat slow start, this movie picks up and rarely slows down, save for a few small spots here and there (namely the conversation between Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel). And sure, the acting at the beginning is a little stiff, but eventually everyone falls into character quite nicely, particularly Martin Freeman, who plays Baggins pitch perfectly. For a three hour long film, it certainly doesn't feel like three hours. The riddle scene is hilarious, heartbreaking, and intense all at once. Andy Serkis is back in full force, and as much of an oxymoron as this might be, Gollum is simply gorgeous, and the other visuals hardly disappoint. Few films are so deliciously visually rich. Sure, this one is a bit more CG-reliant, but as always, the effects are cutting edge and brilliant. Some of the best I've ever seen. This is the most eye-poppingly gorgeous film since Avatar. It's so ludicrously gorgeous it hurts. Visually, this film grabs you by the balls and takes you on a whirlwind ride. Simply beautiful. While it is far from the best film of the year, you'll have a hard time finding a more fun one. It's a wonderful blend of action and whimsy and is simply excellent.

Flight - 10/10

Robert Zemeckis hasn't made a live action film since 2000. In his first foray back into the medium after more than a decade, he shows us he's still got what it takes to make a masterpiece. A vast departure from his three previous works (Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol), Flight is not a massive, sprawling, CGI spectacle. Flight is instead a very personal drama that deals not primarily with a plane crash (which is incidentally one of the best 20 minutes of filmmaking you're like to find), but instead with addictions and how they affect people. Yes, that sounds like a snoozer, but rest assured, Flight packs enough emotional punch to keep you invested for the entirety of its 138 minutes. The performances from the actors are beyond phenomenal, with Denzel performing at his absolute best. He spits some of his lines with such venom it hurts, and you find yourself gravitating between loving, pitying, and hating his character. It's a wonderfully complex role, and he pulls it off with aplomb. Flight, for me, is the best picture of the year, and arguably Zemeckis's finest work.

Killing Them Softly - 4/10

The trailer for Killing Them Softly is a masterpiece of misdirection. It leads you to believe this will be a balls to the wall, intense, gritty crime drama. Killing Them Softly is none of these things. It is 97 minutes long, though could easily pass for three times that length. It is slow. It is plodding. It is garbage. Set in New Orleans (though you wouldn't know - it's never stated in the film), this crime drama is supposed to be a political statement of some sort. Throughout it, we are treated to sound bites of speeches from the 2008 presidential election, in what is apparently an attempt to make the film serious and political. This just comes off as confusing and pretentious. For a film with "killing" in the name, this film seriously disappoints in one of its big appeals. Violence. There are three - count 'em - three murders in this movie. Now, I'm not saying this should be a gory, ridiculous, Tarantino-esque romp, but it shouldn't pimp itself on the premise of violence if there are three very short and minimal killings. The film drags on for what feels like an eternity, introducing a small cast of characters, including James Gandolfini's Mickey. Mickey is talked about and talked about, shows up in two scenes, does nothing, and then is never seen or heard from again.

With all the negativity I'm giving this movie, it does have it's brilliant moments, though there are only two. The first is a simple scene where the two robbers (they're so forgettable you won't remember their names anyhow) are talking about sex. It's a lewd and pretty much disgusting conversation, but it's got a certain... earnest-ness to it. The second is the first killing. It's entirely in slow motion, and it is utterly beautiful. That being said, it's still not enough to redeem this long-winded, sleep-inducing, misleading mess of a film.

Seven Psychopaths - 8/10

My roommate saw this weeks before me, and all he could really say was "it's really meta". Understatement of the century folks. Seven Psychopaths is a film about a screenwriter who falls in with seven psychopaths and gets caught up in a very violent situation, only to escape to the desert and spend a long time talking with his friends before the violent conclusion to the events set in motion earlier. This screenwriter is also trying to write a screenplay about a screenwriter who falls in with seven psychopaths and gets caught up in a very violent situation, only to escape to the desert and spend a long time talking with his friends before the violent conclusion to the events set in motion earlier. Do you follow me? Probably not. This movie needs to be seen to be believed. It's unarguably the best written movie of the year, hitting peaks of both hilarity and sadness, and being so self-referential it occasionally hurts the brain. It's also ludicrously well-acted, with Farrell, Rockwell, Walken, and Harrelson all being equally fiendishly hilarious. Seven Psychopaths is one of those movies that doesn't take itself too seriously, but is very serious about not taking itself seriously and as a result is a delightfully unique, charming, engaging film that is most definitely worth a look.

So there it is. Reviews of the four films I've seen most recently. Feedback not only welcomed, but thoroughly encouraged!