Tag Archives: movie

The Hobbit (3 Stars)

Posted by Charlie Truong on

There and back again…again

Expectations

So, Peter Jackson is going to tell the story of The Hobbit in three movies when it only took him three movies to recount The Lord of the Rings.  This will be a bloated movie much like The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions.

Review

I saw the movie in 24 fps and not the HFR version.  I would like to see the 48 fps one, but I am not sure I can muster enough willpower to sit through The Hobbit again.  It’s not bad.  I rather enjoyed the return to Middle Earth and seeing some old friends again.  However, it’s just an unnecessarily long movie.

The Hobbit is, of course, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The story revolves around a younger Bilbo Baggins who has been chosen by Gandalf the Grey to join a company of dwarves as they seek to reclaim their homeland from an evil dragon.    Apparently, the dragon is familiar with the scent of most living things except hobbits, given that they rarely venture out of their homes in the Shire.  That makes Bilbo the ideal candidate to be the group’s burglar.  …and somehow he gives Gandalf courage, I guess.

Seeing Middle Earth (or New Zealand) again is always an enjoyable experience.  The magic is still there even after we re-visit the Shire and Rivendell.

Martin Freeman is great as the bumbling Bilbo who gradually proves himself more than capable as an adventurer.  Some familiar faces like Ian Mckellen from the Lord of the Rings also make fun appearances.  Richard Armitage serves admirably as the Aragorn-type character with his role as Thorin, the leader of the dwarves.

The overall story is fun, and more lighthearted than The Lord of the Rings.  The world is not quite on the verge of ending, but we see hints of what is to come with a dark force lurking in Middle Earth.  The Hobbit’s tale is more episodic than The Lord of the Rings.  It’s more fairy tale than epic fantasy.  Still, it is a grand movie experience.

On the other hand, Peter Jackson needs an editor who can keep him grounded.  He’s an amazing director, and there are fantastic moments in the movie.  But he needs to learn to let go of some scenes.  An early scene in the Shire that hearkens back (forward?) to Lord of the Rings should have been cut or left for the final movie.  There’s some random battle between rock giants where the party is caught in the middle.  Some of the scenes added to tie the story better to the Lord of the Rings could have been left out of this film.  Meeting Gollum and seeing how Bilbo obtains the one ring should be a sufficient enough tie-in.

I look forward to the rest of the series.  However, I cannot figure how Jackson will drag this out to two more movies.  I hope by the third film, I do not grow tired of the story.

Review: Indie Game the Movie (4 Stars)

Posted by Charlie Truong on

Expectations

I am a hobbyist programmer with dreams of making my own game.  However, I do not seem to possess the discipline to work 100% on my own game.  It’s a lot of work!  Indie Game the Movie at least will offer me some insight into the world in which I wish I worked.  I am looking forward to learning more about the game design process.

Review

Indie Game the Movie makes the case for saying video games are their own form of art.  The developers profiled in the documentary put themselves through intense, grueling emotional and psychological torture as they try and finish their games.

The documentary profiles the birth of three games: Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez.  If you’re a gamer, especially one with an Xbox, you should be familiar with these names.  All three went on to perform well on Xbox Live in terms of sales and critical acclaim.  While the movie does delve into some aspects of game design, its focus is on the sacrifice the developers make.  Braid was made by one guy.  Super Meat Boy was done by just two friends. 

I mentioned earlier that making games was a hard task.  It’s clearly demonstrated in this documentary how difficult it is, especially without huge resources commanded by the larger studios.  I found it very compelling though to watch them overcome their various obstacles.

What solidifies games as art here is the fact that each of the developer’s primary goal was not to make millions of dollars.  Sure, they want to sell a lot of their games and make money.  But they all were most interested in ensuring players understood what they were striving to communicate in their games.  By designing a level in a certain way, will it illicit the anticipated reaction from the players?  Or will it just frustrate them?

As we all know, each of the developers went on to do rather well with their games.  Still, it was great to watch them react as they learned of their success.  If you’re any type of gamer, I highly recommend this movie.  As technology and programming become more accessible, more games will be made in this fashion.  We’ll still get the Halos and Call of Duty games.  However,  the barrier for entry is diminishing rapidly for hopeful game designers.

The Bourne Legacy Premium Take!

Posted by Charlie Truong on

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