Film Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey   8/10
Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
Plot: a young Bilbo Baggins sets out on a journey to the Lonely Mountains along with thirteen dwarves to rescue stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug.

Following the phenomenal success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit has finally reached cinema screens with fantastic success and although the original novel by J.R.R. Tolkien was more child-like than the Rings trilogy,  Jackson’s addition of  a certain amount of darkness and action is extremely effective.

The acting is perhaps the biggest success of this film; Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins seems a little uncertain at first; however, as the film progresses, he really becomes the character we all love, with a particular scene with Andy Serkis (Gollum) becoming a highlight. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, giving us terribly emotional lines to will Bilbo on, as well as some moments of intense action. Also, we see some nice appearances from the likes of Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett.

The film is also very successful in the way that it never slows down; once the group leave Bag End, we plummet above, below and within mountains, coming across all manner of creatures. All of the creatures, in fact, are done very well with spectacular special effects. However, some scenes are so covered in green screen it is sometimes noticeable; a distraction for dedicated film fans.

In Conclusion: with fantastic creatures, a stellar cast and a moderately exciting ending, An Unexpected Journey shows us that Peter Jackson rarely faults.

Film Review: Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World   6/10
Director: Lorene Scafaria
Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey
Plot: as the end of the world is announced, a man, abandoned by his wife, goes on a road trip to find his high school crush along with his neighbour.

An apocalyptic film with comedy… well, there’s no action in this film and it’s fairly entertaining for something so dreary! The film seems to switch between deep depression (the real side to the end of the world) and a more bouncy, humorous and playful side. Overall, it’s nice to see a bit of both, which Carell and Knightley balance between them nicely.
 
The film, running at 101 minutes is nicely paced and has the usual beginning, middle and end. Whilst it may be disappointing to have no real ‘pay-off’ (boom!), perhaps it’s a dig at the likes of 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow. Lorene Scafaria delves appropriately into the emotional impact of families during this time, making sure each situation comes across as real and not at all set up, which it does, with perhaps the exception of the final scene.

Steve Carell is surprising in this role. His overused comedic and dramatic characters have become tiresome in many of the films he’s in. However, here and in Crazy, Stupid, Love he seems to have finally come out of his shell, delving into more interesting characters.
 
In Conclusion: a nicely crafted film with interesting characters and funny scenarios. Whilst it isn’t particularly memorable or classed as a ‘classic’ it’s still enjoyable in the moment.