By now I’m sure everyone has heard that all six of the Middle-earth films will be released in a collector’s edition blu-ray set. And everyone has also seen the price tag: $800. The price is all anyone seems to care about, with pithy comments like this: Warner Bros got that dragon sickness. pic.twitter.com/njA2DWSnz2 — TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) August 19, 2016 “We…
Category: Film
My Thoughts on The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (and a Prediction)
The movie on virtually every Tolkien fan’s mind these days is The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. I’ve avoided reviews from anyone else in an attempt to keep my own opinions clear, so I actually don’t know what the fandom as a whole thinks of the film. I know the general public generally doesn’t like it, but what else is…
The Legend of Slag the Dragon: The First Hobbit Animated Feature
Before Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films, before his Lord of the Rings films, before the Rankin Bass Return of the King and The Hobbit, before even Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, there was another film based on Tolkien’s works. In 1966, there was a Hobbit animated feature created–and it was just under twelve minutes long. Suffice it to say, this film makes Jackson look like a purist of…
There Are Still Scenes We Haven’t Seen
In the hallowed Hall H at Comic Con 2014, Peter Jackson said a lot of things. One of the things that I found most interesting was his confirmation that there are indeed scenes from LotR that we’ve never seen. And apparently it’s going to stay that way. This comes as no surprise to most of us fans who have been…
Upcoming Tolkien Biopics
There are rumblings in Hollywood that the Tolkien craze isn’t over. In fact, there are at least two different Tolkien biopics in development. The information is still a little sketchy and there’s no word on who will be cast as the Professor. There are some interesting tidbits, which I’ve rounded up below, along with references for where I got the info.…
Ridiculous Moments in the Movies: Skulls. Skulls Everywhere.
I love Peter Jackson for what he did with the films (at least Lord of the Rings; I’m still on the fence about The Hobbit). Although they’re far from perfect, they’re still pretty darn good. I appreciate his (and his team’s!) almost slavish-attention to detail. He certainly is a passionate guy. My admiration and respect for him doesn’t mean that I don’t…
A Tolkien Biopic–Will Anyone Actually Care?
Towards the end of November, The LA Times published an exclusive report that a Tolkien biopic is currently being written. “Tolkien led a complicated and colorful life,” the report notes. Surely people will be interested, right? Honestly, I’m not so sure. Yes, Tolkien did fight in World War I (at the Battle of the Somme, no less, one of the…
6 Reasons I Dislike Tauriel
Since The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug comes out on DVD and Blu-ray today, I thought I would comment on that element of the movie which has received possibly the most comments: Tauriel. A fair amount of (primarily digital and therefor metaphorical) ink has been spilled over Tauriel, the female Elf introduced in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. While there are some very well-reasoned…
Bard the Bowman: Why His Portrayal Surprised Me
Years ago (probably 2004 or 2005), I remember thinking about the potential of a Hobbit movie. I remember thinking, “But who’s going to be the hot guy? Every movie nowadays has to have a hot guy. The dwarves certainly won’t work, and it’s not likely that Bilbo will work.” That’s when it dawned on me–Bard! Of course he’ll be the…