Re: The Positive Thread

[Music of the Ainur]

First off I wish to say that I don't intend to offend anyone with my positive comments and I don't try to offend anyone personally with them, these are my opinions and I don't try to suggest that they are more valid than any others opinion   

I myself would like to add in a positive vein that as is usual with the film treatments by Newline "the look" of the settings and the camera angles and lighting is quite good in my opinion. The New Zealand  settings can be amazingly middle earth like in my own minds eye in any case. There are some cool looking scenes to be sure.

Also as is usual the wardrobes and interior decorating are very believable and appropriate as well.
Again as has come to be the norm the casting and acting is good too.
I imagine that many of the actors have at the least some mixed feelings about the direction and the weakened lines and characters they have to portray in these TH films. It must be hard for the lovers of the books involved to act out some of the less than how should I say gently... Tolkien quality material that they have to work with. (I hope I haven't swooped to close the negative pole there   )

As is usual with new line treatments of the Tolkien tales they are visually nice and non offensive to me for the vast majority. If I turn the sound off I am impressed, often times in any case.

I must add that in some regards TH movies have retained some of the general tone of the book.
Meaning that the book is not a big serious "adult" deep thoughtful somber tale. It is kind of silly and light.

The movie treatments are certainly not light but, they are a mixture of silly and shallow with frequent heavy/graphically violent scenes of course. But they are silly in an entirely different way than the book of course. Tolkiens silly is child appropriate and the movies are not.

The look and voice and movements of Smaug as well as a lot of his dialog was also good.
I liked some of the Mirkwood woods.The spider scenes were fairly believable somewhat, but overly compressed in substance in my opinion and seeing the front door briefly of the Thranduil crib was cool for me.

Well that only leaves the most positive aspect  of the film for me personally. I ask you all to remember that terms like Positive and negative are relative and what is considered + or - to one person can be - or + to another.

This being said in my opinion the most positive thing about this nearly infinitely less than good film is that newline has gone so very far away from Tolkiens spirit and dialog that they have fallen flat upon their faces and are showing the dark little hole where the sun usually does not shine  by releasing a film that is so polar opposite of good that it will be remembered in years to come as a fiasco and failure of judgement.
At least now I don't have to listen to many people praising and defending newlines misguided arrogant diminishing judgments and products in reference to this one anyway.

I believe the vast number of people will in fact now see the emperor to be naked and not very pretty either.

           Sorry if I offend someone because our senses of positive and negative are not aligned...

[Radaghast]

Don't be so sensitive about offending people, MotA. You're just giving your honest appraisal of a movie

[Music of the Ainur]

Rad I put that in there purely as an attempt at humor. Apparently a weak attempt I see. 
Truth is I don't want to hurt any person personally... but I really don't care very much at all as far as what someone thinks of me.
So I am sensitive in some ways and nearly completely insensitive in others... Joy to all

[Radaghast]

Oh, okay then—carry on

[Forest Shepherd]

legolas is just as he was in the beginning of fotr. and IN the lotr books he's pretty hateful towards the dwarves.

I agree with your first point: Legolas felt consistent. But I have to say that your second point is not so right. Legolas of the LotR books is not hateful towards dwarves, at all.
The best example of this that comes to mind is how Gimli becomes bristly over Legolas' comment concerning, I believe, the Balrog in Moria, which he takes as an accusation of dwarven guilt.
Legolas is calm-headed and says something along the lines of "I did not say the dwarves created this evil, yet still it came."
That's horrible paraphrasing, but an excellent example of a spot in the books where Legolas could have been a dick to Gimli and instead chose to take the higher path and behaved quite politely about it. Instead of an elf that is blaming the dwarves for their stupidity, he is an elf lamenting the sad state of the world. Very elvish, I think you can agree.

[bungobaggins]

I like that they showed Beorn's transformation in silhouette in the darkness. Probably would have looked goofy otherwise.

[Norc]

hhaha.. .. 

i liked the horses

[bungobaggins]

They were beautiful horses. Hopefully they didn't die during the production.

[Radaghast]

"No horses were harmed in scenes that had no horses."

[Bluebottle]

No horses that weren't harmed were harmed...   

[bungobaggins]

wait...

[bungobaggins]

As they say in show biz, never work with animals or children.

[Radaghast]

[azriel]

"No horses were harmed in scenes that had no horses."

  

[Eldorion]

They were beautiful horses. Hopefully they didn't die during the production.

Damn. Cold-blooded.

Spoiler:

[RA]

I have nothing to add to this thread.

[Radaghast]

Popcorn is good with real butter.

[Bluebottle]

Actually popcorn is commonly known in cinemas as the biggest earner in movies. Costing a couple of cents a bag to make, and making a couple of hundred percent back in retail prize.

[Radaghast]

Even with the fake butter?

[Norc]

fuck popcorn. i hate it.

[Pettytyrant101]

Even toffee popcorn?

[bungobaggins]

I love popcorn.

[Norc]

Even toffee popcorn?

[Radaghast]

Especially toffee popcorn. And especially with peanuts.

[bungobaggins]

Yum!