Category Archives: Reviews
Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
We all knew a cliffhanger was coming, but this was a bad one. The theater I was in erupted in groans, and I can’t say as how I’ve ever seen that happen at a movie before. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a nearly three-hour film, and it would be inappropriate to start talking about the ending first. But I can’t help it. As much as I enjoyed 99% of the movie, that cliffhanger overshadows everything. It deserved every groan it got. Even though director Peter Jackson has been dealing with this trilogy thing for several movies now, he picked the absolute worst time to leave us hanging.
At least the rest of the movie was very good.
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
Much was said during production of this Hobbit sequel that Jackson and the studio decided to stretch two films into three, and while I’m not complaining, because I like spending as much time as possible with these movies, the stretch is obvious in The Desolation of Smaug. We’ve been in this situation before, with The Two Towers in the middle of the Lord of the Rings, but The Two Towers had a proper ending with its own closure. There was Sam’s big speech to Frodo about hope, and the entire battle for Helm’s Deep. The Desolation of Smaug ends with a battle against the titular dragon, but the film cuts off before the battle is over, robbing us of closure and excitement. Not only that, but the movie shoots itself in the foot by foreshadowing the stilted ending, turning the movie’s climax into an effort in futility.
Fortunately for all of us, by this time next year, we’ll get The Hobbit: There and Back Again, and this cliffhanger ending will be a moot point.
The Desolation of Smaug is a movie for LOTR fans. To really enjoy this film, I would recommend knowing the characters, knowing the world and knowing the adventure, because this film is mostly ‘more of the same’ of the previous films in the franchise. It’s got exciting, CGI’d fantasy action, a rich mythology and the comedic stylings of a band of dwarves. The characters all carry over from the first film and remain largely the same, which isn’t a bad thing. Most of the dwarven band remain anonymous, and the few standouts continue to carry the film – though none of them are as heroic or memorable as Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from the first trilogy. Gandalf seems to get a reduced role, but he has his own fun adventure. New characters, like Smaug the dragon, Tauriel the she-elf, Bard the human and a guest-appearance by Legolas are all strong, especially Evangeline Lily as Tauriel, who gets the best sub-plot in the film.
The real standout remains Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit. He’s clever and heroic, and the influence of the One Ring starts its mind-boggling effects on the poor guy in this film. Freeman handles the acting challenge well. He’s a very different sort of hobbit from Frodo, even where the ring is concerned, and it’s rather cool.
Join me after the jump for the full review. There will be SPOILERS, so tread carefully.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/14/13
I hate Inhumanity already. I know, I know, I’m getting way ahead of myself. The event has barely even started, and it’s being written by one of my favorite comic book writers, Matt Fraction. But the evil that Inhumanity commits against Uncanny X-Men this week is nigh unforgivable! You’ll see what I mean when we get to it.
The rest of the comic book haul was pretty good this week. I especially enjoyed Mighty Avengers and Wolverine and the X-Men, both good books with some strong characterizations. I also gave a few looks at Batman, Superman/Wonder Woman and even Green Lantern Corps! But the hands down winner of Comic Book of the Week goes to Superior Foes of Spider-Man for turning in the funniest issue yet!
Comic Reviews: Batman #26, Green Lantern Corps #26, Mighty Avengers #4, Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6, Superman/Wonder Woman #3, Uncanny X-Men #15 and Wolverine and the X-Men #39.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/7/13
Last week was a monster week for comics, so it stands to reason that this week is kind of light on the funny books. I’m not complaining, mind you. My wallet thanks the comic book gods. But it means there weren’t many books to choose from for this week’s review list. Still, there were some important issues, like the final issue of Fearless Defenders, which goes out exactly how it lived. And the first issue of Inhumanity, which turns out to not be what I expected, at all – and I mean that in a bad way.
This is also the week where I start to turn against Green Lantern. I wanted to have faith in Robert Venditti and the new creative teams, but I just don’t think I can agree with what he’s doing on a moral level. You’ll see when you get to the review…
Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad comics this week! Superior Spider-Man remains strong, and I decided to check out Green Arrow after a long time away. I’m glad I did. The comic looks to be almost as good as the TV show. But the winner of the coveted Comic Book of the Week is Amazing X-Men #2 by Jason Aaron. He definitely seems to be having fun, especially with Storm.
Comic Reviews: Amazing X-Men #2, Fearless Defenders #12, Green Arrow #26, Green Lantern #26, Inhumanity #1 and Superior Spider-Man #23.
Review: Scarlet Spider #24
The end of Scarlet Spider will soon be upon us, and apparently writer Christopher Yost wants to go out with a bang – literally. No, seriously, there’s a big explosion at the end. In fact, this whole penultimate issue is like a big explosion. The writing of cancellation has been on the wall for some time, so Yost has had plenty of time to prepare for these last two issues. The action and drama get pushed up to 11 as Yost seems to throw everything he can into the issue, including the kitchen sink. Storylines that he probably planned for future arcs get crammed into this one issue. Yost seems determined to blow our minds with this finale. If only the art was willing to do the same.
Scarlet Spider #24
Scarlet Spider #24 may be the beginning of the end, but writer Christopher Yost is not yet ready to say goodbye – and we are all the better for it.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
From the very start, we all knew this was coming. The editors even acknowledge as much on the last page, saying their goodbyes now so that Yost can say his goodbyes in the last issue. The comic book industry these days just doesn’t support this kind of comic. Reaching the 20s in a solo series about a D-list character (at best) is a rare feat, and something to be proud of. Fearless Defenders, a comic launched under the promise of Marvel’s first all-female team, was cancelled this week with issue #12. That’s as far as they made it. But Scarlet Spider, a comic starring Kaine from the much-hated Clone Saga, made it to issue #25. That’s impressive.
I think what did the series in was the fact that it was still just a generic superhero story. Sure, Kaine is kind of an asshole, but this was still a comic about a guy with powers and a costume, who sets up shop to fight crime and super-villains, with a wacky band of supporting characters to play with. New solo comics like Hawkeye succeed because they’re doing something new and interesting with the superhero angle. Scarlet Spider was too much like the norm, starring a character that general audiences didn’t care about. So while it’s sad to see the series, go, there’s no denying it never had much of a chance.
Fortunately, like I said, this penultimate issue is pretty entertaining. Yost has nothing more to lose, so join me after the jump to dig into this exciting, action-packed issue!
Review: Saga #16
And so we finally come full circle back to Saga #12, with Prince Robot IV interrogating Heist, and Marko and his family hiding in the attic. But of course, considering all the time we spent getting back here, there are a few new wrinkles to add to make the scene even more tense and exciting. Saga #17 looks like it’s going to be pretty awesome. But we’re not there yet. First, Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples need to drop the last few pieces into place. And as I’ve come to expect from this series, those pieces are just as much fun as can be!
Saga #16
Also, we quickly find out what the point of the hallucinations were on The Will’s paradise planet, so at least there’s that. So much for all my grumbling in the last review.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
Like most issues in this volume of Saga, this one is about fleshing out the world and getting to know the characters. We’re solidly in Act 2 of this saga, I would say, and we’ve got a long way to go. One test of a good comic book series – or any fiction, for that matter – is if the writer can make the characters fun to read even when they’re just sitting around having coffee or playing board games. Vaughn succeeds. The conversations haven’t necessarily been as exciting as when they were all on the spaceship, but then Barr was a special kind of awesome. As was his brief relationship with Alana. Their scenes together were some of the best in the series so far.
That’s not to say everybody else doesn’t pick up the slack. There are a lot of great scenes in this issue between Heist and the family. He’s no Barr, but he’s still a fun character. And in this issue, everyone just works so well together, which is what we’ve come to expect. Plotwise, everything moves forward, especially the sub-plot about the two reporters. That might be taking a big leap forward.
But in the end, this is a penultimate cliffhanger issue. It’s all about finishing the set-up for what will hopefully be an epic climax!
Join me after the jump for a fully synopsis and more review.
Henchman-4-Hire 