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[Edmond Dantès]

Unlikely. Episode I's plot is fundamentally unsound. We already know the basic Hobbit story. It's fine.

Ropey acting too, not an issue raised so far with AUJ. In fact many have been praising the likes of Martin, Richard and Sir Ian.

One reviewer has already claimed that Martin's Bilbo is the best hobbit depiction ever.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

25 minutes of behind the scenes footage

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-hobbit/b-roll-v
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-hobbit/b-roll-iv
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-hobbit/b-roll-iii
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-hobbit/b-roll-ii
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-hobbit/b-roll-i

Hm. Ill wait to watch these.

Pretty much in line with what I was expecting. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no director should have a monopoly on Middle-earth. Guillermo's Hobbit adaptation seems like an almost forgotten dream.


New extended clips including Riddles in the Dark.

I wasn't talking to you!
Give him the contract
There is nobody home
Who did you tell about your quest?
Swords are named for the great deeds they do
Goblin chase

Ok, I only watched 'Goblin Chase" but that CG is awful. Holy shit. Some parts the actors are clearly CG, and they very much look inserted into the frames in other shots. Also, part of it gave me an Indiana Jones 4 Lucas-style cheese vibe, which I did not like.

 

[inky]

It really is a shame Guillermo walked out of The Hobbit...for a project that ended up dead anyway. Oh well.

I agree, if anything because it would've been a very interesting take on the aesthetics of ME.

I remember other ideas Guillermo talked about, like he was pushing for Smaug to have the head in the shape of a hammer and a kind of duality to its colors and scales.

He also talked about the costume design for the dwarfs complementing the color palette of each scene depending on the season that was represented on screen. For example, if a shot took place during fall, the prevalent colors would be a mix of red and gold, during winter would be silver and blue, etc. Also the horned helmets already mentioned.
Add to that the design of the "monsters". I guess the great shame is that we would've never had both PJ's version and GDT's one.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Ok, I only watched 'Goblin Chase" but that CG is awful. Holy shit. Some parts the actors are clearly CG, and they very much look inserted into the frames in other shots. Also, part of it gave me an Indiana Jones 4 Lucas-style cheese vibe, which I did not like.

Sir Ian McKellen am cry

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Gimli farts in Return of the King Extended Edition.

Shit, really? I can't remember that part. I used to watch the EEs constantly (I'm quite sure I've seen each EE over a dozen times), then I got responsibilities and had kids. Don't know when I sat down and watched them last. I still haven't even had the chance to crack open my Blu-ray EE set yet. I'll have to be on the lookout for the fart scene. When exactly was it in ROTK?

 

[Genesis Knight]

Shouldn't these goblins resemble the LOTR Moria goblins more?

 

[LegendofJoe]

Sir Ian McKellen am cry

literally, PJ is the new Lucas confirmed.

 

[RadioactiveLobster]

Ok, I only watched 'Goblin Chase" but that CG is awful. Holy shit. Some parts the actors are clearly CG, and they very much look inserted into the frames in other shots. Also, part of it gave me an Indiana Jones 4 Lucas-style cheese vibe, which I did not like.

It didn't look bad to me, granted it's a 720p YouTube clip but I didn't notice any "MAN that is obvious CGI" moments (even though we all know most of it is CGI)

 

[richiek]

Shit, really? I can't remember that part. I used to watch the EEs constantly (I'm quite sure I've seen each EE over a dozen times), then I got responsibilities and had kids. Don't know when I sat down and watched them last. I still haven't even had the chance to crack open my Blu-ray EE set yet. I'll have to be on the lookout for the fart scene. When exactly was it in ROTK?

It was the scene where everyone is celebrating in Rohan after Helm's Deep:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUOwz11x0Y

 

[Karma Kramer]

I think the CG looked good in the goblin video. Not watching anymore tho

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Shouldn't these goblins resemble the LOTR Moria goblins more?

A different branch of Goblins.

 

[Genesis Knight]

The CG in the Goblin Chase clip is excellent.

 

[Angry Fork]

Anyone know if there's a link/download to 48fps footage or trailer?

 

[Branduil]

Let's predict the RottenTomatoes consensus:

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth is full of visual wizardry, awe-inspiring cinematography, and comical characters, ultimately resulting in a thrilling and colorful fantasy adventure. However, this journey lacks the emotional weight and strong focus of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Plausible.

 

[Karma Kramer]

Seriously guys, read RT reviews so far... how is PJ pulling a Lucas?

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_an_unexpected_journey/reviews/

 

[Combichristoffersen]

The bad reviews from the movie aren't attacking the book except for one. In fact most say the bloat ruined what was a classic novel.

No, these reviews have ruined everything about Tolkien. I can never enjoy anything written by that shitty hack again, so I pissed on the Silmarillion before I threw it on the bonfire.

Spoiler

I'm obviously kidding.

 

[RadioactiveLobster]

Shit, really? I can't remember that part. I used to watch the EEs constantly (I'm quite sure I've seen each EE over a dozen times), then I got responsibilities and had kids. Don't know when I sat down and watched them last. I still haven't even had the chance to crack open my Blu-ray EE set yet. I'll have to be on the lookout for the fart scene. When exactly was it in ROTK?

http://youtu.be/f_TJ-oDRr_Q

Spoiler

This may or may not be real

 

[richiek]

Seriously guys, read RT reviews so far... how is PJ pulling a Lucas?

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_an_unexpected_journey/reviews/

Rotten Tomatoes for King Kong: 84% critics, 54% audience

 

[Karma Kramer]

Rotten Tomatoes for King Kong: 84% critics, 54% audience

Uhh the audience hasnt seen it yet. There's also countless examples of movies that get terrible reviews but have positive audience percentages.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Two pretty good examples of the look that Guillermo was going for with his Dwarves.

I can imagine Guillermo wanting Rivendell to look something like this.

 

[Altazor]

No, these reviews have ruined everything about Tolkien. I can never enjoy anything written by that shitty hack again, so I pissed on the Silmarillion before I threw it on the bonfire.

Spoiler

I'm obviously kidding.

of course you're not! don't you know Tolkien couldn't write a plot to save his life? What a doofus. Also, he was a nazi, an occultist that practiced black magick and sacrificed babies to jahbulon.

 

[Genesis Knight]

Pretty sure I would have hated a Guillermo Hobbit. It certainly would have been divisive.

 

[jett]

Pretty much in line with what I was expecting. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no director should have a monopoly on Middle-earth. Guillermo's Hobbit adaptation seems like an almost forgotten dream.


New extended clips including Riddles in the Dark.

I wasn't talking to you!
Give him the contract
There is nobody home
Who did you tell about your quest?
Swords are named for the great deeds they do
Goblin chase

Random sweeping shots ALL OVER YOUR FACE. sigh. PJ gonna PJ.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

of course you're not! don't you know Tolkien couldn't write a plot to save his life? What a doofus. Also, he was a nazi, an occultist that practiced black magick and sacrificed babies to jahbulon.

Seriously though, a friend of mine once claimed Tolkien had a secret half-brother born out of wedlock and this half-brother practiced black magic and drank blood :lol

As for del Toro, he's great at visuals, but I can't think of anything of his I've seen and liked very much besides the first Hellboy.

 

[kingocfs]

How much different could a Del Torro Hobbit really have looked, though? Wasn't PJ still involved?

 

[Loxley]

How did I know people would invoke the damn Star Wars prequels if The Hobbit received anything less than unanimous praise from critics? We're really going to proclaim the film to be utter shit before it's even out? How desperate are some people for this movie to fail?

Oh GAF.

 

[Dreamwriter]

At the very least Del Toro wouldn't have tried to milk the book for a trilogy.

So many people are thinking this happened, but it didn't. The deal was to make two movies. The studio only planned on two movies. And Peter Jackson filmed material for two movies. Then when he was done, Jackson decided that there was too much material that he had to drop from his original vision of the story that he wanted to film, and there was some material from the Appendices that had never been in his vision but he wanted to film that too. Basically he was being a Tolkien fanboy

He didn't decide "I want to do 3 movies, let's see what I can do to make the story fit", in fact when he first brought up the extra material he still wasn't sure how it could be done, because the two movies were complete, and there wasn't enough remaining material for a stand-alone movie. He was even considering filming that stuff for an Extended Edition of the two Hobbit movies. In the end he decided that the best solution was three movies with the new material spread throughout the last two, and of course the studio went "A THIRD BILLION DOLLAR BLOCKBLGRFDROOL... ahem, I mean, yes, you gotta do what you feel is best, we'll support you."

 

[Edmond Dantès]

How much different could a Del Torro Hobbit really have looked, though? Wasn't PJ still involved?

As a producer, but Peter said it himself in an interview; nothing much of Guillermo's vision of Middle-earth survives in the trilogy, a lot was changed.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

It was the scene where everyone is celebrating in Rohan after Helm's Deep:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUOwz11x0Y

Is that a fart or a belch? I think a belch makes more sense given the context of the scene. At the very least, it's no animal farting in Jar Jar's face.

 

[TAJ]

I hope Guillermo's material is released with the eventual extended edition trilogy boxset.

Extended edition, lol. That would be like releasing an extended edition of King Kong 2005.

Oh...

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Extended edition, lol. That would be like releasing an extended edition of King Kong 2005.

Oh...

It's pretty much confirmed that extended editions will follow after the theatrical releases.

 

[richiek]

Is that a fart or a belch? I think a belch makes more sense given the context of the scene. At the very least, it's no animal farting in Jar Jar's face.

There was Pippin landing next to horse poop in FOTR.

 

[maquiladora]

Interesting article in the Chicago Tribune from a guy who didn't like the look of the film in 48fps. Then he saw it again in the same format, and liked it a bit better.

Maybe I'll embrace it after a second viewing - or maybe I'll continue to miss the Middle Earth I remember from the first three movies, where things aren't quite so vivid or so goofy.

SECOND THOUGHTS: At the time this story was originally published on Monday night, I was seeing "The Hobbit" for the second time, again at 48fps. And I have to admit that not only did the movie strike me as better - faster and more entertaining, though still padded and at times silly - but the format wasn't as bothersome.

I still think the high frame rate takes you out of the movie at times, particularly in scenes that feature well-lit actors prominently in the frame. But about half the time, the format came closer to justifying Jackson's experiment than it had seemed on first viewing.

So maybe I'm just one of those viewers who needs more time to adjust.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/enter...it-48framesbre8b312l-20121204,0,4811548.story

 

[Karma Kramer]

Just seeing Gandalf swing his staff and kick ass in that Goblin clip has me happy to see this in less than 2 weeks. I expect it to be a fun movie, just like the LOTR movies. It's Fantasy ffs lol

 

[AstroNut325]

Interesting article in the Chicago Tribune from a guy who didn't like the look of the film in 48fps. Then he saw it again in the same format, and liked it a bit better.





http://www.chicagotribune.com/enter...it-48framesbre8b312l-20121204,0,4811548.story

This is why I would love to see movie studios take the Apple route. Cut off 24fps entirely and go HFR only. People will complain for 5 years. Then everyone will love it. Yes I know it's not going to happen.

 

[Messypandas]

Del Toro is a glorified concept artist, a slight notch above Burton in passable movies. He ain't the be all and end all despite the constant gushing

 

[Branduil]

I loved Pan' Labyrinth, but yeah Hellboy 2 was horrible.

James Rocchi is getting some flak on twitter for his Hobbit review.

"Tolkien can't create a plot at gunpoint"

gives Hobbit 2 stars. He gave Battleship 4.5.

Guess I never have to listen to anything this guy says.

 

[maquiladora]

Twitchfilm have an indepth review of the HFR aspect of the film.

http://twitchfilm.com/2012/12/an-un...it-brings-high-frame-rates-to-the-masses.html

 

[Wilbur]

Del Toro is a glorified concept artist, a slight notch above Burton in passable movies. He ain't the be all and end all despite the constant gushing

Pan's Labyrinth is far beyond anything Burton's ever made. Mimic, The Devil's Backbone, Blade II and both Hellboys are good as well.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Del Toro is a glorified concept artist, a slight notch above Burton in passable movies. He ain't the be all and end all despite the constant gushing

I'll take Burton over Del Toro any day personally.

 

[Wilbur]

I'll take Burton over Del Toro any day personally.

I thought Frankenweenie was his best film since Ed Wood to be honest, but I can't think of anything in between those two I actually enjoyed.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

I'll take Burton over Del Toro any day personally.

Depp as Radagast?

 

[maquiladora]

Depp as Radagast?

No. HBC.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I thought Frankenweenie was his best film since Ed Wood to be honest, but I can't think of anything in between those two I actually enjoyed.

He's had a few clunkers (Michael Jackson's Chocolate Factory, Alice and PotA), but his visual style and storytelling generally appeals to me far more than Del Toro. Del Toro is great at visuals, but I don't really care much for him as a director or storyteller (Pan's Labyrinth was stunning to look at, but the story and characters did nothing for me).

I need to see Frankenweenie BTW.

Depp as Radagast?

HBC as Gandalf
Christopher Lee as Gollum
Depp as everyone else

And then Danny Elfman writes a song for the score, where Thorin sings about how he loves little men and they make him feel so fine

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Pan's Labyrinth is far beyond anything Burton's ever made. Mimic, The Devil's Backbone, Blade II and both Hellboys are good as well.

Blade II and the two Hellboy films are ass.

Pan's Labyrinth is absolutely brilliant while The Devil's Backbone is decent enough, without being anything special.

Del Toro has yet to make a good english-language film and I'm still so very glad PJ returned to do The Hobbit. Del Toro's interest would have lied in the monsters, but in terms of his storytelling sensibilities for this world, I think PJ would have still trumped him quite easily.

 

[Wilbur]

I need to see Frankenweenie BTW.

Frankenweenie's great, the best animated film of the year for me.

Blade II and the two Hellboy films are ass.

Pan's Labyrinth is absolutely brilliant while The Devil's Backbone is decent enough, without being anything special.

Del Toro has yet to make a good english-language film and I'm still so very glad PJ returned to do The Hobbit. Del Toro's interest would have lied in the monsters, but in terms of his storytelling sensibilities for this world, I think PJ would have still trumped him quite easily.

I enjoy Blade II and the Hellboys for what they are; they're not fucking class cinema by any means but I enjoyed them well enough. I'm glad Jackson is in charge though, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have. Just disagreeing with Burton > Del Toro, really.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Oh yeah, Del Toro shits on Burton from great heights.

 

[Hale-XF11]

In case anyone hasn't caught it yet, there's a nice 2.5 min. 3D trailer for the movie on Nintendo Video. It really sells the movie better than any trailer I'd seen previously myself.

 

[TheKaeptain]

Dude at badass digest put this together

http://badassdigest.com/2012/12/04/does-anybody-like-48fps-in-the-hobbit/

oh and if you guys know who Jen Yamato is read her review. She goes in on the 48fps.

 

[mattp]

the hellboy movies are fantastic