The Hobbit: AUJ, second viewing
Dec. 21st, 2012 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerWell, I went to see TH:AUJ again. Once more, two cuts, for non-spoilery and spoilers:
The first thing has nothing to do with the movie: Last night I broke my resolution NOT to ever have a large soda at any movie with a longer run time than 2 hours. Even though I didn't finish it (I drank about 2/3 of my Diet Coke), and we had a large popcorn (we usually share a medium or even a small) my tummy was VERY unhappy with me. SO--one more time, only a small soda from now on especially when going to an evening movie, and NO popcorn at an evening movie. Period. Because I really did not feel at all well early this morning.
Second: 3-D was fun for the first viewing, but I did not really miss it on the second, 2-D version. The only thing was that some of the more drawn out action sequences seemed more drawn-out in 2-D. And I have to say it was very obvious when a scene was created especially with the 3-D in mind (extra swoops, falls and flying things...).
1. I really paid more attention to the Dale stuff this time around--it was lovely, and I wish we could have seen just a little more of its pre-Smaug splendor.
2. I am less OK with the Thranduil bit than I was the first time, not that I LIKED it then, but I just didn't care about it that much (frankly I was too impatient to get back to Bilbo at the time). But I don't like the "evil Thranduil" fanon (though I know it's a popular one in some circles) and I hoped that we weren't seeing what Thorin clearly believed HE was seeing--in other words I am still reserving judgment until we see more of PJ's Thranduil, but I will be severely annoyed if he turns out to REALLY be indifferent to the plight of the Dwarves. (Although given PJ's track record of "Elves don't really care about mortals" I am less sanguine than before.)
3. I found it easier to ID the individual Dwarves on sight this time; I could easily tell Balin,Dwalin,Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bombur, Dori, Ori, and Gloin at a glance. Thorin, of course. But it only took a few seconds to ID a few of the others. I expect I will be easily to tell them all apart by my third or fourth viewing.
4. Bilbo! I am loving MF in the role more and more. There were so many little mannerisms that passed unnoticed the first time that I found endearing this time around. I've always thought he seemed very Tookish in the role, and I think he captured that beautifully, especially the way he reacted to Gandalf's mentions of his mother. And I find that his performance enhances my own fanon interpretation of Bilbo's backstory (like why Gandalf found him changed). One thing I particularly noticed was the way some of Pippin's mannerisms from LotR (and even some of Merry's and Frodo's) were incorporated. I was especially impressed in the part where he prepared to come to Thorin's defense during the climax--he got this totally determined, yet still fearful, expression on his face. He WOULD do this, whether it terrified him or not and you could just see him shoving the terror to the side. It totally reminded me of when Merry and Pippin had such moments, such as attacking the orcs after Boromir was shot or when they stood among the ranks at the Black Gate: the deep breaths and the knowledge that he was probably going to die, but he'd die trying. And I could see Frodo in him with his reaction to the Elves in Rivendell or in his compassionate speech to the Dwarves when he told them WHY he was staying with them. Yet there was no neglect of the Baggins side either--I loved the way one of the things he missed were his books, and his fussiness about things like the doilies. There were some other little details that I also found more noticeable this time, such as the way he kept trying to feed Fili and Kili even as they were about to encouter the trolls. Oh, and I noticed his skint fingers after he took the fall that separated him from the Dwarves in the Goblin tunnels--I suppose the credit for that goes to the make-up dept. but I still thought it a great touch!
4. I totally missed the first time round that the Elf who greets the company in Rivendell is Lindir! How cool!
5. The White Council--even though Gandalf and Galadriel (and maybe even Elrond) are clearly suspicious of Saruman, they seem to put that aside every time he speaks and take his own words mostly at face value. Was he using his "Voice" on them? They'd not suspect that if they did not know he was already a traitor. I absolutely adore Galadriel in this one, much better than in LotR--if anything, Cate Blanchett is more beautiful in the role than in the latter. Christopher Lee recaptured the tone of arrogance as if he had never been away from the role at all. And I adore the "kinder, gentler" version of Elrond--which begs the question of what turned him into a Grumpy Old Elf in the intervening years.
6. I still love that the Stone Giants were included in the movie!
7. "Riddles in the Dark" is still my favorite scene. Although my favorite single shot in the movie is the overhead shot of the Shire when Bilbo is running to catch up to the Dwarves--I would adore to have a wallpaper of THAT shot.
8. PJ loves unbelievable odds--such as fourteen vs. a gazillion. I do think this time around I found the running battle/escape of the Dwarves and Gandalf more tedious. Perhaps the 3-D did make a difference there.
9. Bilbo's little speech to Thorin actually made me tear up this time. I found it moving the first time, and even more so now though I knew it was coming.
10. Eagles! Eagles! YAY! And I think I may be beginning to "get" the butterfly/moth thing--I am sure that it has some mystical connection to the idea of Manwe as Lord of the Skies.
11. I THINK from my observations this time that the Eagles have dropped the company off at PJ's version of the Carrock, and I BELIEVE I may have caught a brief glimpse of a stairlike area on one side of the rock, which would make it easier for them to get OFF of it.
12. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF SMAUG! Why isn't it next December YET?
The first thing has nothing to do with the movie: Last night I broke my resolution NOT to ever have a large soda at any movie with a longer run time than 2 hours. Even though I didn't finish it (I drank about 2/3 of my Diet Coke), and we had a large popcorn (we usually share a medium or even a small) my tummy was VERY unhappy with me. SO--one more time, only a small soda from now on especially when going to an evening movie, and NO popcorn at an evening movie. Period. Because I really did not feel at all well early this morning.
Second: 3-D was fun for the first viewing, but I did not really miss it on the second, 2-D version. The only thing was that some of the more drawn out action sequences seemed more drawn-out in 2-D. And I have to say it was very obvious when a scene was created especially with the 3-D in mind (extra swoops, falls and flying things...).
1. I really paid more attention to the Dale stuff this time around--it was lovely, and I wish we could have seen just a little more of its pre-Smaug splendor.
2. I am less OK with the Thranduil bit than I was the first time, not that I LIKED it then, but I just didn't care about it that much (frankly I was too impatient to get back to Bilbo at the time). But I don't like the "evil Thranduil" fanon (though I know it's a popular one in some circles) and I hoped that we weren't seeing what Thorin clearly believed HE was seeing--in other words I am still reserving judgment until we see more of PJ's Thranduil, but I will be severely annoyed if he turns out to REALLY be indifferent to the plight of the Dwarves. (Although given PJ's track record of "Elves don't really care about mortals" I am less sanguine than before.)
3. I found it easier to ID the individual Dwarves on sight this time; I could easily tell Balin,Dwalin,Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bombur, Dori, Ori, and Gloin at a glance. Thorin, of course. But it only took a few seconds to ID a few of the others. I expect I will be easily to tell them all apart by my third or fourth viewing.
4. Bilbo! I am loving MF in the role more and more. There were so many little mannerisms that passed unnoticed the first time that I found endearing this time around. I've always thought he seemed very Tookish in the role, and I think he captured that beautifully, especially the way he reacted to Gandalf's mentions of his mother. And I find that his performance enhances my own fanon interpretation of Bilbo's backstory (like why Gandalf found him changed). One thing I particularly noticed was the way some of Pippin's mannerisms from LotR (and even some of Merry's and Frodo's) were incorporated. I was especially impressed in the part where he prepared to come to Thorin's defense during the climax--he got this totally determined, yet still fearful, expression on his face. He WOULD do this, whether it terrified him or not and you could just see him shoving the terror to the side. It totally reminded me of when Merry and Pippin had such moments, such as attacking the orcs after Boromir was shot or when they stood among the ranks at the Black Gate: the deep breaths and the knowledge that he was probably going to die, but he'd die trying. And I could see Frodo in him with his reaction to the Elves in Rivendell or in his compassionate speech to the Dwarves when he told them WHY he was staying with them. Yet there was no neglect of the Baggins side either--I loved the way one of the things he missed were his books, and his fussiness about things like the doilies. There were some other little details that I also found more noticeable this time, such as the way he kept trying to feed Fili and Kili even as they were about to encouter the trolls. Oh, and I noticed his skint fingers after he took the fall that separated him from the Dwarves in the Goblin tunnels--I suppose the credit for that goes to the make-up dept. but I still thought it a great touch!
4. I totally missed the first time round that the Elf who greets the company in Rivendell is Lindir! How cool!
5. The White Council--even though Gandalf and Galadriel (and maybe even Elrond) are clearly suspicious of Saruman, they seem to put that aside every time he speaks and take his own words mostly at face value. Was he using his "Voice" on them? They'd not suspect that if they did not know he was already a traitor. I absolutely adore Galadriel in this one, much better than in LotR--if anything, Cate Blanchett is more beautiful in the role than in the latter. Christopher Lee recaptured the tone of arrogance as if he had never been away from the role at all. And I adore the "kinder, gentler" version of Elrond--which begs the question of what turned him into a Grumpy Old Elf in the intervening years.
6. I still love that the Stone Giants were included in the movie!
7. "Riddles in the Dark" is still my favorite scene. Although my favorite single shot in the movie is the overhead shot of the Shire when Bilbo is running to catch up to the Dwarves--I would adore to have a wallpaper of THAT shot.
8. PJ loves unbelievable odds--such as fourteen vs. a gazillion. I do think this time around I found the running battle/escape of the Dwarves and Gandalf more tedious. Perhaps the 3-D did make a difference there.
9. Bilbo's little speech to Thorin actually made me tear up this time. I found it moving the first time, and even more so now though I knew it was coming.
10. Eagles! Eagles! YAY! And I think I may be beginning to "get" the butterfly/moth thing--I am sure that it has some mystical connection to the idea of Manwe as Lord of the Skies.
11. I THINK from my observations this time that the Eagles have dropped the company off at PJ's version of the Carrock, and I BELIEVE I may have caught a brief glimpse of a stairlike area on one side of the rock, which would make it easier for them to get OFF of it.
12. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF SMAUG! Why isn't it next December YET?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 06:24 pm (UTC)such as the way he kept trying to feed Fili and Kili even as they were about to encouter the trolls
*grins* I loved that a lot.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 11:49 pm (UTC)I did enjoy the film immensely and am looking forward to the next one next year.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 01:54 am (UTC)But oh, my friend and I just *loved* how very English gentry the Baggins side of Bilbo was! And the doily bit ("It's *supposed* to look like that--it's crochet.") killed me, not only because it was spot on character-wise and perfectly delivered, and not only because I have some treasured crocheted doilies myself, but also because it reminded me of scenes from Agatha Christie's Come, Tell Me How You Live where she 'complains' about their household staff on the archeological digs in Syria not understanding the intended purpose of certain linens. (She usually tells those bits from the staff's POV, which makes them even funnier. I think she understood why they didn't get it, but it would still be frustrating!)
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 03:09 am (UTC)I find myself wanting to write a doily fic! Alas, it must wait for exchange fics and WIPs...
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 04:02 am (UTC)You are right that 14 against a billion is too unbelievable.
I've been listening to the soundtrack and find the music so amazing! there are many overlaps with LotR though which is expected.
I cant wait to see it again tomorrow night-- it's been too long since my first time!
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 04:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 04:55 am (UTC)