2014: Week 1: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Main Players: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly

General Gist: The second in the trilogy. A Hobbit and a gang of dwarfs continue their journey to reclaim their home from a Dragon.

Deb's Take:
I looked back at my review for the first Hobbit movie (week 50 in 2012.)  After reading my review I'm thinking two things, 1.) Wow, I can tell I had been doing reviews for a while because I am extremely out of practice for writing like that! 2.) I think I must have liked the first one better.

As I've said many times before, this movie genre is not my favorite.  After seeing the first one though I felt like I need to finish the whole trilogy or it's a job left undone.  This movie was good.  My husband and son both thought it was much better than the first.  I think it was comparable.  This movie had a lot more adventure and action then the first one.  The characters took on more personality and life.  I found some of the characters more endearing and there was a little romance for my soulful side.  I feel like this one fell more into the "Hollywood" category as it worked to capture the audience with bling and fire.  The actors did wonderful, and I feel everyone fits their parts perfectly.  Again, I am just not so much a fan of these movies so I'm a little biased in my lack of enthusiasm. Like I said the first time, if you are a Hobbit fan you will probably love it!


Deb's Rate: Its a renter for me, but if you are a fan Friday Night.

Tiff's Take:
I read my review for the last Hobbit as well and I have to say that I feel pretty much the same about this one.  I didn't have a huge desire to see this movie but I didn't not want to see it either.  I've seen all the other movies so it seems like I need to keep going.  For being so unenthusiastic about going, I was pleasantly surprised.  As always with these movies.

I really did enjoy this once I started watching it.  It kept me engaged and didn't feel super long even though it sort of was.  The only bad thing is I felt totally confused about what was going on.  Apparently I remember even less then last time.  But even in my state of ignorance I didn't feel like it was a waste of my time.  Also, it was a major bonus seeing Orlando Bloom.  It's been awhile!  Oh, and another bonus.  It's super fun saying the word Smaug.  

Tiff's Rate:  Matinee for me.

Preview: Week 2: "Her"

2012: Week 1: Joyful Noise

We decided to try formatting our reviews a little differently this year. It seemed like we were writing a lot of the same things as far as actors, plot, etc. So we're trying out only one post per movie. Let us know what you think!

Joyful Noise

Genre: Musical, Comedy

Main Players: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan

General Gist: A church choir's road to a national competition with love, drama and music along the way.


Tiff's Take:
Our first movie of the year and it was a freebie. Gotta love that. I'll be honest. If it wasn't a freebie I may not have chosen this one. It looked okay but just not my cup of tea. Musicals are generally not my thing. (Except Chicago. Love it!) But I actually didn't realize this was going to be so much of a musical. You know, with multiple, full length songs. I thought it would just have a little music here and there inbetween the story. I was wrong. Long songs, more than one and in the gospel variety. Unfortunately a recipe for boredom for this sister. Don't get me wrong, it had a good message but it was just a little too much for me. The relationships didn't seem real thought out either. Or maybe just a little shallow and thrown together. The acting was okay and the singing was definitely good but it was a snorefest for me. You win some you lose some.

Deb's Take:
Yep, gotta love that we started with the Freebie. Also, we were happy to have two friends, Chris and Troy, join us for this one. Thanks for coming! You should do it more often!! Well, I LOVE musicals. Although, technically I don't know if this could be considered a true musical. The songs were part of the movie, but never used as people "talking" or singing to eachother, rather just performances that fit into the story line. While I did enjoy the singing quite a bit, I have to agree with Tiff that the relationships were weak. I also felt the movie kind of kept hitting the same points over and over again. Nothing like beating a dead horse. I was not bored, but have to say that the singing is actually what made the movie tolerable for me as the rest was a little slow. I think maybe I spent more time analyzing where Dolly Parton's plastic surgery took a turn for the worse than how the movie was going to end. If you like to hear singing, go and have fun, if gospel isn't your thing you may want to reconsider.

Week 1: Black Swan

So, this is the first week of our year of reviews. I can't think of a better way to start the new year than with a movie.

The movie we decided to see tonight was Black Swan. I'm a big Natalie Portman fan so I was excited about this one. And it didn't disappoint. It was a lot more sexual then I thought it was going to be which was fine but a little uncomfortable when you're sitting next to your mom. There was even a part that made me blush. I guess it got it's intended effect.

This movie was also considered a thriller. When I was younger I use to love to go to movies that were a little scary. I've gotten out of that phase mainly because I tend to freak myself out way too much after the fact. Well, this movie wasn't necessarily a scary movie but it did have it's moments. I have to admit there were a few times when I had to watch through squinted, half-closed eyes. But I'm a wimp so take that how you will.

Like I said, I'm a Natalie Portman fan so I'm slightly bias but I thought she was really good. Mila Kunis, who played Lily was good too. I looked her up afterwards cause I couldn't remember where I've seen her before and it was from That 70's Show. Totally different role for her and she did it well.

Overall, great movie. Words to sum it up: sexual, intense and a little artsy.