The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Since 1997 Peter Jackson has been developing, honing, and filming what will soon be The Epic of Middle Earth. A series of movies based on the beloved books from J.R.R. Tolkien about a certain ring... and a Hobbit. This is the second to last movie in this series...but is it the best?

The film picks up about where the first one left off (bar a flashback scene to The Prancing Pony) with Bilbo and Co. trying to stay ahead of the pack of nasty orcs and wargs while navigating the craggy mountains of New Zealand  err...Middle Earth. Bilbo, the thirteen oddly named dwarves, and Gandalf the Grey continue their journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug and reestablish the kingdom of the Dwarves. Along the way they meet many a nasty creatures, sketchy elves, and is abandoned by Gandalf right before a very difficult task. Anyone feel like they've seen this before?

Okay, so that sounded a bit rough but seriously think back through all the movies and it does seem that Gandalf has a habit of abandoning quests he started or what? In the second chapter of the Hobbit and the fifth movie some of the Desolation of Smaug can feel a bit familiar, over long, and stuffy. For me, Smaug himself made up for all of that and some. His on screen presence is dominating, sinister, and creepy. The creation of Tauriel and addition of Legolas may seem unnecessary but it actually adds a sense of familiarity and relevancy to the journey. The Desolation of Smaug is a far better thing then was Journey, but still a far, far cry from the magic of Lord of the Rings.  

American Hustle

Last December director David O. Russell's film staring Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro expanded into hundreds of theaters across the country. It instantly became a critical darling, audience favorite, and financial success. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, made over eleven times its budget, and was one of my personal favorites of last year. This December David O. Russell ads Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner to his old cast, upgrades to a historical drama, and attempts to recapture that lightning in a bottle.


The movie opens with the line "Some of this actually happened." This is when you know you're in for an experience. In 1978, con man Irving Rosenfeld and his lover Sydney Prosser are happy ripping off suckers looking for a loan and selling fake art to wannabe collectors. Happy until they capture the attention of up-and-coming FBI Agent Richie DiMaso who offers them a plea bargain to help him capture four other con artists. This originally small time sting snowballs into the now well known Abscan involving corrupt politicians, well meaning politicians, and the ever sinister mob.


To be clear, American Hustle is already a critical darling and is fully expected to rack up at least a few awards. My only question is: Why? It has been compared to Goodfellas often and one reviewer even suggested that Russell "come(s) close to out-Scorsese-ing Scorsese," Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes all hold it in "universal acclaim," and I am still left unimpressed. Was it entertaining? Sure, in a slightly confusing and brash way. Strong performances? Too be sure. Silver Linings Playbook was a quiet indie that captured audiences with its honest portrayals and fresh story. American Hustle is an unabashedly, in your face of an attempt to be the the great awards worthy movie and in that, it falls flat. Positively fantastic? Not so much...more like passable frolic. 

Saving Mr. Banks

A fight over movie/book rights can be a bitter pill to swallow. Artists and authors love their works and no one wants to hand their dream over to someone who might turn that dream into a nightmare. Saving Mr. Banks shows how Walt Disney discovered just how much sugar it takes to make some people swallow a bitter pill.

Walt Disney has bargained, bartered, and begged for the rights to adapt the children's classic Mary Poppins into a film for twenty long years. Now in 1964 he has finally convinces P. L. Travers to come to Los Angeles  to sit down and discus her demands for how the movie is made. Unfortunately her many demands include no animation, no made up words, a clean shaven father, and ...none of the color red? Yeah, to make this happen Disney will need all of his magical fairy dust...

Its very rare that a movie that is in the running for the best picture Oscar and is geared to the fans of adult drama is even close to suitable for children. Hollywood loves making movies about themselves but many times the rest of us could hardly care. Surprisingly, Saving Mr. Banks isn't just a movie everyone can see, its a movie everyone should see.   

12 Years A Slave

Some stories need to be told and heard. They are hard to hear and even harder to watch but they still need to be told. Movies have become the medium for storytelling and sometimes the stories they tell are uncomfortable and emotional. The movies have changed peoples way of thinking for years to come. Movies like Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Precious, and now 12 Years A Slave.

Solomon Northrup is just like every other man. He lives in New York with his family and works to provide for that family. He is a talented musician and carpenter. Unfortunately Solomon lives in 1841... a time when not all men were understood to be equal, a time when free black men like Solomon were kidnapped and sold into slavery often. This is exactly what happens to Solomon and what follows is a visceral, harrowing tale of cruelty, humanity, and the will to overcome.

Let me get right to the point: 12 Years A Slave is the best movie of the year to date. I predict it will win the Oscar for being just that. It is a powerful film that beats you emotionally with its portrayals. I walked out of the theater feeling physically different than when I walked in. My popcorn was hardly touched and my drink was barely sipped. It is a hard story to watch but it needs to be watched.

Out of the Furnace

Hollywood loves gritty dramas. Every year you will see quite a few on awards lists that boast big stars, great directors, and respected producers. Out of the Furnace has all of these things. It stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shepard, Zoe Saldana, and Forrest Whitaker, is directed by Scott Cooper, and produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio. With that much pedigree you could tell this movie was reaching for the Oscars... so why did so many pan it?

Russell Blaze doesn't have it easy. His dad is dying, his brother is getting into debt thanks to gambling, and he just want to escape the steel town of Braddock, PA with his girlfriend and live happily ever after. But he just keeps plodding away at his hard job in the mill, paying his brothers debts, and visiting his dad. Unfortunately it doesn't get any easier for Russell either... A tragic accident sends him to prison and when he gets out things have gotten even worse. His father is dead, his girlfriend is with another man, the steel mill is ready to close down, and his brother has suffered a painful tour in Afghanistan and is still in deep debt. So deep that he tries to pay it off in illegal fights. After all this Russell is ready to pick up the pieces and put his life back together... but he should know by now that his life isn't easy...

Out of the Furnace is almost a period piece. One that could have been to this generation what The Deer Hunter was to the last. These two movies are easily comparable and I know I'm alone when I say that Out of the Furnace is the better one. Almost every year a movie is inexplicably ignored by critics and crowds. Last year was Lawless and this year is easily Out of the Furnace. Both have career best performances and captivating stories. Both are about hard men living hard lives and doing questionable things. But neither should have been so easily ignored...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Sequels have it tough. Some are criticized for not living up the original's glory while others are called simply stepping stones to the next installment. But there is that rare case when the sequel does out do the original... for example Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, and The Matrix: Reloaded.... CALM DOWN!! I was just kidding with that last one. Seriously though, we can add Catching Fire to that list.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have won the Hunger Games. They now live in the grand Victors Village in their district with fellow victor Haymitch Abernathy. True, Peeta now knows Katniss was faking the love story that allowed them to win and they aren't together but Katniss is now hanging out with her old pal Gale... It's going pretty good. Except: the districts are starting to rebel, Katniss and Peeta can't fool the coldhearted President Snow (see what I did there?) and now the 75th Hunger Games (known as a Quarter Quell) has allowed a rule change.... one that brings back old victors....like Katniss and Peeta. I guess no one really does win the Hunger Games....

I loved The Hunger Games books and I hated the first movie. It was decent but could have been so much better. When the movie franchise switched director Gary Ross out for Francis Lawrence I began to see a glimmer of hope in the future and when I saw the trailers for Catching Fire I knew this was going to be different. Catching Fire is the movie fans deserve. Stellar acting with superb directing and a great screenplay finally captures the magic that was in the books. Bottom line: If you aren't really a fan of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire will make you a fan

Thor: The Dark World

Many years ago some Marvel executives sat in what I imagine as a dark room and began mapping out their dream for the years to come. A plan to bring the greatest heroes this side of DC together in a daring, original, and thrilling collaboration that was the Avengers. Many fans were concerned after the experience of the Avengers of them returning to the individual movies that where the fantastic building blocks. After Iron Man 3 confirmed for many that the lightning in the bottle couldn't be caught twice Marvel answered with Thor: The Dark World.... We all should have trusted Marvel.

Many years ago...(before the executives sat down together) Thor's grandfather defeated a race of elves. Not the kind that live in a workshop and make toys or the kind that help hobbits but the kind that wants to destroy the world with a nasty device called Aether. At least he thought he did... Every story needs protagonists so the nastiest of the elves escape and have now returned. They easily retake the Aether that had been taken from them and begin their plan to destroy the world again and if Thor wants to stop them, he has to take help from his greatest enemy: Loki.

Marvel movies have been consistently the lighter, happier (but not near as good) counterpart to the dark, intense Nolanesque DC Comics movies. The Dark World is as close to a Nolan movie that Marvel has come... and it benefits from it. The risk is higher, the action darker, and the movie is better. In my opinion Thor The Dark World is the greatest Marvel movie to date and the best superhero movie this year.