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Author Topic: The Hobbit  (Read 55899 times)

Scoops Novel

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #135 on: December 25, 2012, 02:08:30 pm »

Incidentally, I'm currently re-watching the fellowship of the ring and it strikes me as to how far they've come. Tell me, what the reception of the movie? Admittedly, I'm an hour and 20 minutes of 3 hours and 20 minutes in, but it hasn't been at it's best yet by a long way.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #136 on: December 26, 2012, 09:06:20 am »

And now I want to read the Silmarillion. I'll never get around to do something productive with my life.
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fqllve

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #137 on: December 27, 2012, 09:26:57 pm »

I saw the 48 fps version today and I have to say it was pretty good. The cinematography was excellent and all the tracking shots were perfectly clear at the high frame rate and did an excellent job of showing off all that beautiful New Zealand scenery. I thought it had a great effect on all the CG too, although perhaps it's just because they've made a lot of advances since I last saw a movie with so much CG in it. If I had to make any complaint about the high frame rate it would be that during the action sequences the extras in the background were so much more visible and their acting wasn't very... fidelitous. Otherwise I acclimated to it very quickly and stopped noticing it after about ten minutes. I will admit that the first five or so were a little strange to watch though.

Gotta say I probably enjoyed it more than Fellowship too. Despite the fact that the movie had more action sequences, it still felt less like some action flick than the LotR movies did. Maybe I just finally got used to Jackson's style of storytelling, but despite not really being faithful to the book at all I still felt it was more faithful than the LotR movies. It isn't, and I understand why he made the LotR movies like he did, but I still didn't get any real impression of the originals in those, whereas in the Hobbit you could tell he was at least making an effort. I also didn't mind the changes as much, probably because the Hobbit was a significantly less serious work. The movie was certainly much more dramatic and actually... way too dark for a children's book adaptation. I also didn't think much of the humor was very funny, but it was nice to see that Jackson was at least giving a nod to the tone of the original with more cartoonish stuff like Radagast, even if he clearly doesn't quite get how to make a movie like that. He did a pretty good job of characterizing the dwarves too, considering they pretty much have no personality in the book.  It was also surprising how quickly paced it was for a movie that's gonna end up being at least twice as long as it should have been.. There wasn't really any point at which I was bored, but neither was I really engrossed.

All in all I will probably go see the next one in theaters too, as it was enjoyable enough.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #138 on: December 28, 2012, 04:38:40 am »

Despite the fact that the movie had more action sequences, it still felt less like some action flick than the LotR movies did. Maybe I just finally got used to Jackson's style of storytelling, but despite not really being faithful to the book at all I still felt it was more faithful than the LotR movies. It isn't, and I understand why he made the LotR movies like he did, but I still didn't get any real impression of the originals in those, whereas in the Hobbit you could tell he was at least making an effort. I also didn't mind the changes as much, probably because the Hobbit was a significantly less serious work.

All in all I will probably go see the next one in theaters too, as it was enjoyable enough.
I liked the movie too, and it was a perfectly good fantasy movie, but it was not The Hobbit as written by Tolkien.
There were differences in both plot (things created wholesale, like the pale orc), minor lore differences (pervasive and fairly constant, not quite as noticeable as the new sweeping plot changes, but still easily noticeable if you have read the Hobbit), and a change in the general feel of the story (more actiony, more epic, set as more of a prequel to LOTR then it really was). All of those combine for a massively different movie then the Hobbit was a book. I haven't read The Hobbit in 5 years, but the differences were still so pervasive I could hardly go a minute without spotting one.

On the other hand, LOTR was very faithful too the book, both in details (with some rather notable exceptions) and spirit.

I saw the 48 fps version today and I have to say it was pretty good. The cinematography was excellent and all the tracking shots were perfectly clear at the high frame rate and did an excellent job of showing off all that beautiful New Zealand scenery. I thought it had a great effect on all the CG too, although perhaps it's just because they've made a lot of advances since I last saw a movie with so much CG in it. If I had to make any complaint about the high frame rate it would be that during the action sequences the extras in the background were so much more visible and their acting wasn't very... fidelitous. Otherwise I acclimated to it very quickly and stopped noticing it after about ten minutes. I will admit that the first five or so were a little strange to watch though.
I rather liked the 48 fps too, it was rather amusing when some things appeared to run at 200% speed during action scenes sometimes (which is quite bizarre since its not like it was actually running any faster).

That said, CG has been this good for quite a long time in movies of this scale.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #139 on: December 28, 2012, 05:23:03 am »

I saw it, and it was pretty good, but some things did bother me (of course I'm a total grouch, though).

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As for the things I liked:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #140 on: December 28, 2012, 05:46:42 am »

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I liked the movie too, and it was a perfectly good fantasy movie, but it was not The Hobbit as written by Tolkien.
There were differences in both plot (things created wholesale, like the pale orc), minor lore differences (pervasive and fairly constant, not quite as noticeable as the new sweeping plot changes, but still easily noticeable if you have read the Hobbit), and a change in the general feel of the story (more actiony, more epic, set as more of a prequel to LOTR then it really was). All of those combine for a massively different movie then the Hobbit was a book. I haven't read The Hobbit in 5 years, but the differences were still so pervasive I could hardly go a minute without spotting one.

On the other hand, LOTR was very faithful too the book, both in details (with some rather notable exceptions) and spirit.
I know there were a ton of differences. I even said it wasn't actually more faithful than the LotR movies, because it wasn't, not even close. But I definitely didn't think the LotR movies were faithful in anything but a strict sense. The books were more about establishing a world and its history and making it real, than anything the characters actually did. Honestly the characters were the least part of that book for me, and rather it was the history and the sweeping events they participated in that were the focus. The movies, while good, were mostly just action epics retelling the same story. They were completely different.

The Hobbit was completely different too. But it's way easier to translate the kind of book the Hobbit was to film than it is for LotR. I actually enjoyed the lore changes, which were mostly introducing stuff from Tolkien's later world-building back into the Hobbit. It was interesting, in that regard, to see what the Hobbit might have been like if it was more consistent with the other books, because it really, really wasn't at all. Plus, the Hobbit was a book with a much more intimate focus, so it wasn't as jarring to see it focusing on the characters so much.

And it may just be that the Hobbit is a much less serious book, so even though the changes were more extensive they seemed more acceptable because the book was so lighthearted and conversational. Honestly, the most jarring change for me was having the mysterious and cool LotR elves instead of the jolly and frivolous ones of the Hobbit.

Quote
I rather liked the 48 fps too, it was rather amusing when some things appeared to run at 200% speed during action scenes sometimes (which is quite bizarre since its not like it was actually running any faster).
Well of course it looked sped up if you were paying attention to the fact that there were twice as many frames. If I watch a movie and then play a PC game the game looks sped way up too, but eventually you stop noticing it. It didn't bother me at all after the first few minutes and I was paying more attention to the cinematography than the plot.

Quote
That said, CG has been this good for quite a long time in movies of this scale.
I don't usually watch AAA movies or movies with lots of CG so I wouldn't really know.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #141 on: December 28, 2012, 05:57:28 am »

Some of the panning shots of terrain looked really blurry to me, and my dad concurred. Thoughts?
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #142 on: December 28, 2012, 07:32:51 am »

Saw this a few days ago so I'll join in.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The 48fps 3D had some varied impressions on me, some scenes it looked great while some scenes it just made things needlessly blurry, same with the CGI, mostly great, some times out of place.

Note that it was years and years ago I read the Hobbit so I can't really say how true to the book it was but in my opinion the movie was well worth seeing.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #143 on: December 28, 2012, 10:33:22 am »

Azog, wtf was the point of him?
He is somewhat justified. He is a canon character who is dead at the time of the book. They probably needed an antagonist for the first movie and he will probably play a role in the 3rd movie that in the book was played by his son. There is an ork attack later in the book that comes pretty much out of nowhere, and the introduction of Azog early on will build up to that and make it seem less like a big plot point coming out of nowhere.
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #144 on: December 28, 2012, 01:20:01 pm »

The problem with the 48fps is it's still something of a new technique, so they haven't quite nailed down what they need to do to make it look good. Much like 3D, which is often used poorly but can actually be done well (apparently the scene where they all get high in The Hobbit is very well done in 3D).

They're gonna need to apply motion blue where there wasn't any before in some situations, and not apply it where they once did in others, and a whole lot of other things. The Hobbit brings the technique into public focus, now it's up to others to perfect it.
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RedWarrior0

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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #145 on: December 28, 2012, 02:52:43 pm »

I'm more or less posting to watch this thread. I do concur with regards to some of it. The party scene and the fall of Erebor were awesome, I must say, though.

I did finally realize that pretty much everything Gandalf does that's actually magic involves light and stuff breaking. Almost exclusively. Usually, the breaking stuff is made of rock.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2012, 02:56:03 pm by RedWarrior0 »
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Re: The Hobbit
« Reply #146 on: December 28, 2012, 03:13:15 pm »

    Some of the panning shots of terrain looked really blurry to me, and my dad concurred. Thoughts?
    I only saw the HFR version, but all the tracking shots looked remarkably clear. I'd have been really disappointed if they were blurry, because that was the main reason I saw it in theaters. It is possible I missed a couple though.

    Spoiler (click to show/hide)
    Spoiler (click to show/hide)

    Quote
    The 48fps 3D had some varied impressions on me, some scenes it looked great while some scenes it just made things needlessly blurry, same with the CGI, mostly great, some times out of place.
    This was the first movie I've seen in 3D, but to me it looked like they sometimes made things that weren't in the immediate foreground out of focus to make the 3D effect more prominent. I still barely noticed the 3D, except during the rain or for the gimmicky stuff. The council scene was completely full of the out of focus thing, and it was pretty annoying. Other than that the only blurriness I saw was when I got a headache about halfway in. I left for the bathroom and when I came back I was completely fine for the rest of the movie.
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    Bauglir

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    Re: The Hobbit
    « Reply #147 on: December 29, 2012, 01:12:22 pm »

    I finally got to see it. I really enjoyed it overall - their choice of Bilbo was absolutely perfect. Absolutely. Bombur is also exactly as I imagined. Thorin isn't as cranky as I imagined, but the way they are choosing to do him makes for a better movie and is going to make the ending better than if his mannerisms were as my younger self imagined. Nitpicks in the spoiler below - aside from these, I loved pretty much everything in the movie. Specific great things will also be noted.

    Spoiler (click to show/hide)

    Great movie, would watch again, will buy.
    « Last Edit: December 29, 2012, 01:27:35 pm by Bauglir »
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    Re: The Hobbit
    « Reply #148 on: December 29, 2012, 02:02:38 pm »

    Iirc the stone giants are canon.
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    Re: The Hobbit
    « Reply #149 on: December 29, 2012, 02:03:29 pm »

    Iirc the stone giants are canon.
    Nearly being killed by them was not, however.
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