The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies

Yes, I liked it.

*Contains spoilers*

With the first two, I didn't see a need for an extended edition, this third one however, could really benefit from having an extended edition, some things were not very well explained or concluded.

For all that it's called "The Battle of The Five Armies" they never really explain the title in the film.

Favorite part: when Bilbo appears in the camp and talks with Thranduil, Bard, and Gandalf. The scene where he returns home to find all his belongings being auctioned off was satisfactory too.

I was surprised with the scenes of Bilbo alone in his "ransacked" house. All that talk of going home to his armchair, and his furniture is all gone. It almost symbolizes that his life was changed by his adventure and the emptiness in his heart due to the death of Thorin and the separation from the rest of the company. That atleast is what it said to me. That's what it's like to come back from an adventure. You've lost things, you've gained things, there's a hole in your heart from knowing those days are over despite the pain that was in them that made you a stronger person, you can never relive those moments with your team, like a breeze it's over, but it leaves an imprint on your heart and gently stirs you to drop everything and fly to the other side of the world....err...ahem, that's not where I was going to go with this... I digress, and it doesn't say all that, just the first bit, anyhow.

I liked the theme of love, loyalty, and honor. Love between many different characters, loyalty between Thorin and family, and Bilbo and Thorin, and honor between Bilbo and Thorin, Thorin and the people of Laketown.

While Tauriel and Kili were "in love" with each other, yet it was Legolas who showed the most love. Despite the fact that he was cold and distant, Legolas showed more love to Tauriel than Kili.  While he never said, "I love you" or compliments her beauty: actions speak louder than words, He was always there like a shadow protecting her. He stood up to his father and refused to return to Mirkwood for her sake. He invited her to go to Gundabad with him and they rode off together on a horse --interesting date idea there.... He fought many fearsome creatures to defend her, and he knocked down a building to form a bridge to get there in time to face down the foe that's about to slay her. And yet...she was "in love" with Kili. When Thranduil said to her, "it hurts because it was real" it rings false. I don't have an issue with Kili and Tauriel falling in love, but it is a paltry love story compared to Legolas' love for her.

Frozen

Disney's Frozen is an adorable movie I definitely recommend.

The plot and the message are actually good. It isn't about following your heart or disobeying your parents. It's about love, both filial and romantic. It also says straight out that marrying someone you've only known for one day is silly.

In my opinion, (since people are actually talking about this) the songs were not as spectacular as Tangled, or as finished.

Anna

It was visually spectacular however, with the snow, ice crystals, and a gorgeous castle which is reminiscent of the Norwegian Stave churches. In fact, the whole film was lightly infused with Scandinavian culture, from the clothing style to the trolls.

Now, about the trolls, instead of being the traditional large, fearsome creatures of Nordic lore that turn to stone in the sunlight, they are little magical creatures that turn back and forth between stone and troll at will.

For parents wondering whether or not their children should see the film: there is very little crude humor, and it is very mild. They just mention nose picking, that young men give off rather pungent odors after working hard, and Olaf uses the word "butt" a few times, and he's a snow man, so his bottom is just a ball of snow. Some parents will take issue with the use if magic. It's a fairy tale! However, through Elsa's magical gift one sees that talents can be used for good or evil and one needs to be careful about hurting other people with your skills.  The most important thing is to act in love.

 

All photos are from the downloads section of the Disney website: http://movies.disney.com/frozen/downloads/wallpapers

And, in case you've never heard of it before, ships really do crack up when frozen in ice. This was an added touch of realism. 

More of my thoughts on "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

A pile of disappointment.
Hoping for a dragon's hoard,
Finding instead a mess of dusty bones.
Yet a few gems glisten in the moonlight.
The shadows were darker than they should have been.
Biblical reference that could only mean demons.
You don't know what you're digging into.
The evil that it opens up to.

There was enough dirt to build on,
Without this added evil.
Dare I watch it again?
The first I watched a thousand times and one.
Yet like femur and tibia wrenched, they are
Disjointed.
It's like being tossed far,
From the fireside to an icy river,
In the dead of night. Frigorific.
It left me with fear and distrust.

Can they take it back and remake it?
Hoping for the return of light and clarity,
Hoping for so much more for part three.

~ I am disappointed with The Desolation of Smaug. But I like The Unexpected Journey. I really hope part three is back on par with part one. DoS was really different from The Lord of the Rings, and The Unexpected Journey; I was faced with references and innuendos I never thought I would have to face in a movie in this series. It is one thing to portray darkness, but it goes to a whole new and inappropriate level when an orc starts saying that he is "Legion." Yes, the necromancer is demonic in a sense, but to mix the spiritual realm of Middle Earth with the real spiritual world is beyond disturbing.

The Voice of Smaug

It whispers, it purrs, and its deep tones are laced with power and cunning. It is the voice of Khan.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan

All along, I couldn't see why Benedict Cumberbatch had been chosen as the voice of Smaug, the terrible dragon from The Hobbit. I figured he would do fine, but I couldn't picture it, it wasn't an obvious choice to me. I had seen him in BBC's Sherlock (just two episodes), but nothing about his voice struck me as particularly dragonish. Yesterday, I saw Star Trek, Into Darkness at a theater. In this film, Cumberbatch plays Khan, the very confusing enemy of Starfleet.

As I heard him speaking, I realized that his voice was perfect for Smaug!

I am now very excited for a captivating performance in the The Hobbit film trilogy. I know that Cumberbatch has the voice, I just hope the directors have him use it.




The photo is from the official website and then cropped by me:
Star Trek Official Website Gallery

The Icelandic horse and its home

Once out of Reykjavik and the lava fields, there are horses basically everywhere you look.

I felt like I was driving through Rohan as it is depicted in the film The Lord of the Rings. The horses grazed on the yellow grass on the flat plains, sometimes broken by ridges and large rocks, or small hills. Behind it all the blue mountains capped with white snow rose with majesty.

Horses

The plains

Driving through Rohan yet in Iceland

Rohan was shot in New Zealand. It's interesting how similar the landscape is.

Although the landscape is similar to Rohan, the horses are not like those in the book or film. The book says, "Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their grey coats glistened, their long tails flowed in the wind, their, manes were braided on their proud necks." -The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien 

The Icelandic horse is a short animal (extra shaggy in my photos because it is winter). Foreign horses are not allowed to enter the country and once an Icelandic horse leaves the country it can never return, so all horses on the island are purebred Icelandic horses.

The horses are generally friendly too. Whenever they saw us nearing the fences, a few of them would come over to it and let you pet them. Also, they seem to be kept in groups. I don't remember seeing a lone horse in a pen.

Coming to say hello

Grass

Shaggy coat

Iceland is my home

All photos are my own. Please give all photo credit to Edana A.

Brave - What is Young MacGuffin Saying? Translation

So, after seeing Brave several times, it appears Young MacGuffin, who speaks only Doric  (a dialect of English), has just three lines.

The first one is in the scene where the suitors are presented.

He says, "If he was a wee bit closer, I could lob a caber at him, ye ken."

If you know even a little about Scotland, then this one is pretty straight forward.

If you don't, I'll explain a wee bit here: Do you remember in the Highland Games scene when one of the men throws a a log that looks rather like a telephone pole? Well, that log is a called a"caber." The Caber Toss is a traditional Scottish game.
"Ken" is the Scot's word for "know."

Young MacGuffin's second line is right after Elinor turns into a bear and Fergus hears her roar and runs up the stairs to go bear hunting. I honestly can't understand it. To me, to sounded something like "Since yer sayin it I wasna anya say it myself. Og dae gahere wa a liɾle." (I'll go out there and watch a little?!) I'm missing words, possibly have it totally wrong...

Anyhow, just before his line, Lord MacGuffin says, "We haven't had desert yet."

His third line is in the scene where Merida walks into the room in the middle of the battle and then speaks with the lords. When she tells them she thinks they should all be able to find love for themselves the suitors each pipe in.

Young MacGuffin says, ""It's jist nae fair makin us ficht for the hand o the quine that disnae want any bit o it. Ken?" (Found on MetaFilter). The same person who posted this line also posted a translation: "It's just not fair making us fight for the hand of a girl who doesn't want anything to do with it. You know?"

The first and third lines and translations I found in a comment by gnuhavenpier on MetaFilter.  (Scroll down)

The second one, I was trying to figure out by listening to the movie. Doric speakers, please help!!!

I wrote more about Young MacGuffin and Doric in my post: Brave -What is Young MacGuffin Saying?

The Hobbit. A long-expected movie.

It's here! It is finally here! Saturday afternoon I saw The Hobbit with some friends.

Over all, I like it very much.

*Spoiler Alert. Don't continue reading if you haven't seen the movie yet.* 

There were a few things I did not like, like the troll sneezing all over Bilbo. Yuck.

Radagast was hardly what I pictured, plus he's not even in the book, The Hobbit. He is in the book, The Lord of the Rings, and he doesn't have a sleigh pulled by rabbits as far as I know. Bird poop on the side of his face: gross and not needed. The part where he out runs the wolves with his rabbit sleigh is just kinda silly.

The film portrayal of The Goblin King left me disappointed, the things he said, and the voice he used were so very un-goblinlike. It didn't fit with his grotesque appearance. The voice would be better matched to a greedy business tycoon in a suit.  

The beginning was neat because it ties right into The Lord of the Rings, the film. The Hobbit (film) opens with Bilbo and Frodo on the morning of Bilbo's big party. We see Frodo run off to meet Gandalf on his way into town, and we know what will follow in The Lord of Rings: "You're late." "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means too." Remember? If we stopped The Hobbit there, and put on The Lord of the Rings, well, it would flow seamlessly.

I really am glad they kept so many of the opening lines and dialogue from the book.

The song about the dishes, as much as I could catch, was right from the book.

His button's popped off when he escaped from the cave! Yay!

Gandalf said to Bilbo (loose paraphrase): "Courage is not killing people, but deciding who to let live."
Sure enough, along comes the Gollum scene. Although they changed Bilbo's escape from the cave a little, they emphasized the point that Bilbo lets Gollum live when he could have killed him. They made it very clear. Bilbo sees the pain and lostness in Gollum's eyes when he was about to slay him and makes the decision not to kill Gollum. This scene then fits in very well with this dialogue from The Lord of the Rings (film):
 Frodo, "It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him while he had the chance." 
Gandalf replies, "Pity? It was pity that staid Bilbo's hand. There are many that die who deserve life, and many who live that deserve death. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be to eager to deal out death and judgment."

While this dialogue is not in the books, these scenes work well in the movies and add a powerful lesson in the midst of scenes of heroes slaying enemies (where fighting is glorified). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the battle scenes, I'm glad though, that this point is made so that we all remember that strength and courage is not defined by the number of heads one has chopped off.

Another Lord of the Rings tie-in: Gandalf said to Bilbo, "Your home is behind you, the world ahead." These lines are almost straight from Pippin's Song. "Home is behind, the world ahead." In the book, Pippin does not sing for Denethor, but many of the other songs the hobbits sing were written by Bilbo. So, this is a strange sort of book/movie mixed-up tie-in. It's like Bilbo later wrote Pippin's Song after his adventure, but you wouldn't know that unless you read the books.

"I'm going on an adventure!"

I also love the moment when Bilbo is running down the path and a hobbit asks him were he is going. "I'm going on an adventure!" he cries with the contract flapping in his raised hand.

Twice, Thorin used a large piece of tree trunk (small log) as a shield. My brother pointed out that could be how he got his name: Thorin Oakenshield. Interesting, it's not in the books, but it's interesting that they made the movie detailed enough that even his name has a back story.

A surmise about the next installment: that big rock the eagles drop them off at looks like a bear. I think that must be the Carrock of Beorn. Which implies they skipped the night at the eagle eyries (not a big deal) and just had them dropped off at the Carrock immediately.

Richard III and Scar

If Richard III was an animated film character, he would be Scar.

Now, I don't know what the real Richard III was like. Here, I'm just talking about Richard III from Shakespeare's play by the same name.

Scar is a character in the Disney animated feature, The Lion King.

List of similarities:
1. Want the throne.
2. Want the death of their nephews and arrange for their deaths to take place. Richard succeeds; Scar fails.
3. Crafty, silver tongued. Scar weaves a web of lies around Simba. Richard III convinces a woman who whose husband's death he caused to marry him. And that is just one specific example for each...
4. Richard III was a hunchback and walked with a limp. Scar is a runt, he's scrawny and can't even grow a full mane while his brother the king is large, strong, beautiful, and brawny. Scar says, "Well as far as brains go, I've got the lion's share, but when it comes to brute strength, I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool."
5. Both are defeated in the end after a battle.

Simba and Uncle Scar

A Dwarf and a Gaul

Well, I'm not the first to notice that Bombur, as portrayed in the soon to be released film, The Hobbit, looks like Obelix from the Asterix comics.

But, this blog is all about comparison, so I feel I've got to include it!

Now, the book, The Hobbit, does not go into much detail about Bombur's appearance, except to say that he is the fattest of the thirteen dwarves. One assumes he has a beard because he is a dwarf.
The film removes his beard and gives him a ginormous mustache and sideburns that are braided together. Basically he has hair everywhere BUT his chin.

Obelix is Asterix's sidekick in the French comic book series about the days of the Roman conquest of Gaul. He fell into a cauldron of magic potion as a baby and is endued with superhuman strength because of it. He runs a menhir delivery service and quarries stone in order to make menhirs. I believe he is the sole proprietor and employee, unless he includes Dogmatix. He loves to eat, his favorite food being wild boar which he and Asterix hunt in the forest. He also enjoys beating up Romans and fighting in general. Not the brightest match in the box, but still a loyal friend to Asterix.

Asterix, Obelix, & Dogmatix

Here is a list of similarities between the characters:
1. Both have large rounded noses
2. Similar vacant yet contented expressions
3. Both have the same double chin
4. Body shape
5. Red hair
6. Have mustaches
7. Hairstyles that incorporate braids
8. Round ears that stick out of their hair  

Links to the official sites:
The Hobbit
Asterix

The Hobbit

Who's excited for the film The Hobbit? I am, for sure, and I know many others are! Ever since he directed The Lord of the Rings, fans have been hoping that Peter Jackson would undertake The Hobbit.

Not only is Peter Jackson one of the directors, but Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm (as an older Bilbo), Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, and Christopher Lee all playing the same roles as they did in The Lord of the Rings. Wonderful news!

Bilbo, from The Hobbit

However, from the production videos and trailers I've seen, the film seems to diverge quite a bit from the book. Galadriel does not even appear in The Hobbit. All the wizard action (Involving Radagast the Brown and Saruman the White) happens simultaneously as the action of the story, but is off-set so to speak: Tolkien never takes us there. We don't see the defeat of the Necromancer, we just hear about it. 

Secondly, I never would have pictured the village of Dale as an Italian/southern France village. It's cute though.

Thirdly, they added to the dwarves' characters. Ok, fine. Sounds entertaining. 

Fourthly, they got the beards wrong for the most part. In the film some of them don't really have beards, they have glorified mustaches. However, they are dwarves, therefore they ought to have full beards. Thorin Oakenshield from the book would be ashamed to go about with as little a beard as they gave him in the movie.

Kili

Aragorn

Fili and Kili, being younger, can certainly have smaller beards (in my opinion), but I think they should be longer and fuller than men generally wear theirs. Kili and Thorin in the movie look rather like Rangers or Men of Gondor.  In this photo, Kili looks like he could be a brother to Aragorn.
Here are pictures for comparison's sake.


Full, long beards are part of what make dwarves, dwarves (see The Blog That Time Forgot if you don't believe me). In the book, The Hobbit, Dwalin at least was able to tuck his beard in his belt: "It was a dwarf with a blue beard tucked into a golden belt" (page 7). Once, when Thorin was very angry, he said to Gandalf, "May your beard wither." Thorin was furious, showing that this is one of the worst things he could possibly wish upon another. The state of one's beard was a matter of pride. To loose one's beard would be like losing one's "man-card,"  or in this case, one's "dwarf-card."

The Blog that Time Forgot 
This blog goes into a detailed textual analysis of the dwarves' beards in the book. You can skip down to the section about beards. Basically his argument agrees with my observations from the book: dwarves should have beards and that beards are a source of pride.

In a production (behind-the-scenes) video one of the people on set suggests that maybe Fili and Kili can't grow beards yet. The above blog mentions this, and in addition to that blogger's analysis, I'd like to point out that Fili and Kili, most certainly did have beards in the book, "It was two dwarves, both with blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards" (page 8).

Sources:
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Ballantine Books, published 1965.
The Hobbit (Official Site)
The Lord of the Rings (Official Site)
All photos come from the downloads sections.

Brave - What is Young MacGuffin saying?

(For a translation of the lines please see: Brave - What is Young MacGuffin saying? Translation)

In Disney's Brave, no one (in the film and that I know in the audience) can tell what Young MacGuffin is saying. My question is, could he be speaking Scottish Gaelic? The flavor of the words sounded like Gaelic, but I couldn't be sure.

So I looked it up online. Well, the flavor is Gaelic, but he is technically speaking English! IMBD, among other sources, reports that he speaks the Doric dialect (of English).  This is the dialect of the Scottish hometown of the voice of Young MacGuffin,  Kevin McKidd. (The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter )

Kevin McKidd told The Hollywood Reporter, "It definitely is a fanaticized version of Scotland but I think that they did capture the essence and spirit of the landscape and spirit. The humorous and wildness but warmth still exists, really captured that, kind of a love letter to Scotland in a way. I think the landscapes they created were almost more beautiful than Scotland."

There are other interesting facts amongst the trivia. Seems like this was a film of firsts:
IMBD Brave Trivia

Want to learn more and see samples of Doric?
Wikipedia entry on Doric

Brave - a Mother and Daughter Movie / a Film about Family

Bagpipes, clans, kilts, haggis, highlander cattle, a Clydesdale horse (named Angus),"stubborn," fighting between the clans, highland games in which is featured the caber toss, tug-o-war, and Scottish dancing. These are all elements of Scottish culture that were woven into the Disney-Pixar film, Brave.

However, beneath the exterior is a tale that touches on the relationship between many mothers and daughters of just about any nation. The family is one that mirrors many across America. At any rate, I can certainly see mine. It's the mother who runs the family. She is an intelligent perfectionist and visionary who "knows" how everything must be done and what everyone should pursue in their lives.  Fortunately for me, my mother is better at listening than Merida's.  Like Elinor, my mother tries to keep everyone "civilized" when the rest (father included) are goofing off at the dinner table and trying to get her to let us have desserts!  Dad gets himself a big bowl of ice cream and my brothers say, "Dad did it, so why can't we?"

The father, Fergus, is big and strong, loves his family and is a great protector. However, he is lacking in leadership and courage in dealing with family affairs. He didn't know how to handle the betrothal of his daughter. He didn't know how to tell her that suitors were coming and that she was about to be betrothed to one of them and he didn't know what to say to the clans when they arrived. His favorite past-times are fighting and storytelling. He doesn't know how to lead unless it is into a battle. There are many fathers who are good at doing their job to sustain their families but don't know how to approach relationships their daughters have with men.

The mother, Elinor, is the one who ran things, she knew what to say and had expectations for everyone. When her husband got involved in a brawl (and was having a grand ole time) she just gave him a look and he knew she was disappointed. So then, he started making sheepish excuses and then simply said, "I'm sorry."  




Merida, the daughter, doesn't like being ruled over by her mother. It's typical, the daughter doesn't want to be the perfect lady her mother tries to get her to be. Merida wants to run free, have adventures, explore nature, ride, and practice arms!

The triplet brothers are funny little things. They are loved by all in the family despite their pranks. 

Both the mother and daughter had to learn lessons.  This is one of the best things about the film. Many films undermine parental authority, but this one shows both as making mistakes.  It also shows how hasty, desperate actions can lead to events no one wants. How horrible would you feel if your mother turned into a bear and may remain a bear forever because of your actions, accidental as they may be? 

Brave is a great film because it makes you think.

They say, "you never know what you got til it's gone."

Let's not let that happen in our lives. We can do this by learning from Merida and her family.

I am happy to say that the film has a happy ending! Merida and Elinor have a healed relationship. A brighter future is in store for Merida, her family, and the lads from the other clans!

All pictures are downloads made available by Disney on their website: http://disney.go.com/brave/index.html#/downloads/standard/

The Secret of Kells

Brendan and Aisling, picture from Matthew Sernett, Fantasty Film Review

 The Secret of Kells is a 2009 film about The Book of Kells and its creation.

This film is unbelievably rich for those who have learned a bit about Irish history and culture. The creators blend Irish history and legend together in a way that is befitting. In an Anglo-Irish literature class, I was told that it's hard to know what is true about Irish history because history and myth are thoroughly mixed together.
Can you separate the ingredients of a cake after it is baked? No, but the cake sure is delicious. So it is with Irish history.

Just like the history of Ireland, myth and reality intermingle in the film.The boy, Brendan, befriends a fairy girl in the woods.  Cromm Crúaich, a monster Brendan believes to be a myth is very real and dangerous.  Brendan's knowledge of Irish lore helps him find "the eye of Columkille," which is also the eye of the monster that the monks use as a crystal magnifying glass.

Brother Aiden tells a tale about St. Columkille, also known as St. Columba, the man attributed with bringing Christianity to Scotland. He was also a trouble maker, and was in fact sent to Scotland by his superiors because he got involved with a war between Irish chieftains.  As Aiden speaks, the tale is told in pictures. These pictures are comical and frank. When Columkille dies, his tongue slides out of his mouth and his eyes turn into Xs. Seems irreverent, but in this situation it works because it fits with the persona of Columkille as portrayed in lore: an ambiguous legendary figure, a Saint who was hot-headed and got into trouble.

This scene also demonstrates how tall tales are created. Brother Aiden says that St. Columkille was given "a third eye" to help him create the intricate designs in The Book of Kells.  The other monks chime in, saying he had a third hand, or a whole host of hands.  Aiden continues with his story about the third eye and St. Columkille.  It turns out the "eye" is actually a crystal that is quite simply used to magnify the images. It isn't magical and it isn't a third eyeball in Columkille's head. 

That said, the crystal is the eye of Cromm Crúaich. This monster apparently has crystals for eyes. Brendan needs a crystal, so he takes the monster's eye. And so, the legend of St. Columkille is mixed with the lore of Cromm Crúaich. Both are real in the film, not parts of alternate realities.

Aisling, the fairy, uses a famous Irish saying in a scene. Brendan provides the English translation for us.  This is symbolic: Aisling uses the native language and represents the old ways of Ireland before St. Patrick, the time when fairies and Celtic gods walked the land. Brendan represents life post-Patrick. Not a complete loss of the old way of life, but a new outlook. (By the way, this is NOT how English became the dominate language of Ireland. Here the use of the two languages is symbolic). When St. Patrick came, the worship of Celtic gods was diminished and they were relegated to the realm of stories. The Irish monks wrote down the ancient Irish legends (heretofore only in oral form) and thus preserved Irish "history." They tweaked some, adapting them to the Christianity, but not altogether discarding them because Patrick recognized the beauty and value of these colorful tales.

The Giant's Causeway

The beauty of nature is a backdrop for many scenes of the movie. This too is an important ingredient because the nature of Ireland is celebrated by Irish poets and people around the world.  Through the iconic and stylized designs the wonder of the forest is portrayed. Additionally, there is a quick scene with the Giant's Causeway, a distinctly Irish landmark.




Play around on: 
The Secret of Kells website

Full movie available here:
IMBd review