This is the season for Top 5 or Top 10 lists. Games or films or books or toys – people like to rank what was best for the year, and find out how those ranking stack up against others. You may have noticed that I’m not really doing that. It’s hard to pick just one… Continue reading 2013: The Best
Tag: the hobbit
Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The second part of a three-part story is often the trickiest. It can be hard to work the tale in such a way that it feels like its own complete story, yet works to connect the first part with the last. Even when a work is planned as a trilogy from the outset, the second… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Execution of Smaug
Previously I have discussed villainy in terms of how we relate to and perceive various villains. I’ve praised villains who achieve their aims through intelligence, charm, and guile. These traits tend to appear in villains who are not necessarily a physical match for their heroic counterparts, doing their dirty work through henchmen or other means.… Continue reading The Execution of Smaug
Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is a far more filmable piece of work than his larger work, The Lord of the Rings. It has a more simple narrative, its plot is contained to one volume, and its themes remain focused on the character of Bilbo Baggins and how he deals with his adventures. Yet, according… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
