The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

To the Summary!
Bilbo Baggins, a rather ordinary Hobbit, is chosen to go on an adventure to help the Dwarves reclaim their homeland.

To the Cast!
Ian McKellen - Gandolf
Martin Freeman - Bilbo
Richard Armitage - Thorin
Ian Holm - Old Bilbo
Elijah Wood - Frodo
Hugo Weaving - Elrond
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Christopher Lee - Saruman
Andy Serkis - Gollum
Sylvester McCoy - Radagast

To the Deeper Thoughts!

At long last, we have the prequel to The Lord of The Rings.  The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, uncle to Frodo.  See, Bilbo was a quite little Hobbit, enjoying good food, good drink and the quiet of his little Hobbit hole.

That is, until Gandolf shows up.

Gandolf is in the company of a group of Dwarves.  And the Dwarves need help.  Turns out when you have a whole underground cavern filled to bursting with gold, Smaug the dragon will come and take up residence.  Understandably, the dwarves are upset by this and aim to re-claim their home.

To do this, they require the help of a thief, in this case Bilbo.  Not sure what he has to steal, but we have two other movies for that.

There's a party, some traveling to Rivendell, some Trolls, and Orcs, and oh ya.  That Gollum guy.  Then the movie ends, so lets get ready for part two!

I liked this.  I felt it was right up there with The Lord of The Rings.  Which makes sense given how  pretty much everybody came back to work on this film.  Visually this is a stunning movie.

Speaking of visuals...

I declined to see this in 48fps 3D.  I enjoyed it in good old fashioned 2D.

Now, lets be honest.  The one part we were all looking forward to in this movie.  The meeting between Bilbo and Gollum.  This was a great scene.  Subtle and not to overplayed it was a great re-introduction to Gollum.

Its tough to write a decent review for this one.  Being the first in a trilogy, you can't yet judge the whole.  But, so far, we are off to a good start.

Trailer Review!

So a couple of trailers have hit the internet over the last couple of days.  Perhaps you have heard of some of these properties?  Star Trek? Superman?  Lone Ranger?

Star Trek Into Darkness



There has been much wailing and nashing of teeth over this one.  Who is the villain?   What's the plot?  Enterprise under water???  Well, some of those questions have been answered.  Alice Eve is playing Carol Marcus, Benedict Cumberbatch is playing John Harrison and Peter Weller is playing... we don't know yet.  I've read some speculation that Peter Weller's character could be a bigger deal than it is being made out to be.  People still think that Cumberbatch is Khan.  But his name is John?  (John/Kahn... roll that on your tongue for a bit.)  Plus, the whole Miranda Tate issue from TDKR has been mentioned as well.

I'm going to see it.  It look like it should be pretty good, probably awesome.

PS - Enterprise underwater?  As far as I care, if it can survive space, it can survive the ocean.

Man of Steel






I just..  I...  I have no words for this trailer.  Based on the trailer, I'm almost more excited for this than I am Star Trek.  I liked Superman Returns, and I really enjoyed the two Christoper Reeve Superman movies.  But this... this I think will surpass them all.

Lone Ranger


This looks good.  I know almost nothing about the Lone Ranger.  Johnny Depp seems to be playing somebody else other than Jack Sparrow, which is nice.  Seems kinda dark as well.

Training Log - Week of 2 DEC 12

3 DEC 12 - Abs week, month three.  What this means is pain.

4 DEC 12 - Did a double class tonight.  It was no picnic, but I got through it.  My sparring partner and I pretty much killed a tombstone.  Oh, and he complimented me on my kicks, which was pretty nice.

5 DEC 12 - BJJ seminar with 7th degree black belt Marcio Stambowsky.

Master Stambowsky is the guy standing up.  I'm the one in white.

I learned a lot at his seminar.  Can't say I remember it all, to be honest.  At least not in detail.  I remember bits and pieces of what was taught.  I do remember that it was all pretty cool stuff, especially something called the helicopter choke.

Training Log Week of 25 NOV 12

26 NOV 12
ABD - Month three!  Woot!

BJJ - Another side mount attack.  This time working your opponents arm to get there into a key lock.  Did ok with this.

29 NOV 12
ABD - Second day of review in preparation for belt test at the end of the month.  Need to work on rotating my hip when I throw a kick.

BJJ - Need to focus more on maintaining a solid base when rolling.

Moonraker (1979)

To the Summary!
Its Bond!  In SPACEEE!!!!!  Oh, and there's a guy, Hugo Drax who wants to populate the Earth with pretty people.  And there's lasers, bad science, bad jokes, and BOND!  IN! SPACE!

To the Cast!
Roger Moore - James Bond, 007
Lois Chiles - Dr. Holly Goodhead
Michael Lonsdale - Hugo Drax
Richard Kiel - Jaws
Bernard Lee - M
Desmond Llewelyn - Q
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny


To the Deeper Thoughts!
Le sigh.  This is the movie that triggered my theory of Bond.  There are no bad Bond movies, just some that are better than others.  This is near the bottom of the pile, in my opinion.  I mean, I know that at the time this was made, sci-fi was really taking off (thanks Star Wars!) so I can see why they took Bond where they did.

This is Roger Moore's fourth outing as Bond, and he has settled into the role.  Maybe a bit too much.  Moore's interpretation of Bond was always a bit too aloof for me.  But, this again could be the product of the time in which it was made.

But the cheese.  Oh my, the cheese.  I mean, I  know Bond is known for cheese, but this almost gets over the top.  Basic premise is that Hugo Drax wants to kill all the people on the planet, and replace us with his hand picked beautiful people.  A plus to this movie is the introduction of Jaws.  And by introduction I mean his second appearance, the first being The Spy Who Loved Me.  Jaws is an interesting villain, what with his mouth full of metal teeth.  Who also can't seem to die.

*** I've been working on this review for way to long.  Time to call it quits.  Summary:  Moonraker is probably lowest on my list of favorite Bond movies.  Sure, it has its moments, but overall its pretty weak.  Absolutely see it if you are a completionist like me, but not a good one to start with.