In 1994, Quentin Tarantino released a low-budget action pic, entitled Pulp Fiction. His second feature after Reservoir Dogs, this was the film that solidified Tarantino as the newest face of independent cinema. The most interesting part about it though, was besides including some of the best dialogue in a movie ever, as well as John Travolta’s career revitalizing role, the story is also told out-of-order. The movie is rather a series of connected vignettes as opposed to a linear story.
Not too long ago we took a look at Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, a sci-fi prequel to Alien that looks to be quite epic. Of course, looks isn’t exactly the right word as we haven’t seen anything besides a few Hi-Res images which you can check out here.
Perseus embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, who has been targeted for capture by his traitorous son, Ares, and his brother, Hades.
After hearing all of the worrying issues that caused Guillermo del Toro to leave the director’s chair in pursuit of other projects, and the long period of relative silence from production, it’s a relief to find some footage of Peter Jackson’s upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit today, in the form of a gorgeous trailer courtesy Collider.
Kind of nostalgic, isn’t it? It’s really nice to see that budget problems and creative changes don’t appear to have affected Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Middle Earth at all, and it’s a little embarrassing to admit how happy I am to be back in Bag End, and to see some old faces once again.
In addition to the trailer above, Collider also included a beautiful poster, along with the movie’s official synopsis:
“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
The trailer is vague, but if you’ve read the book you’ll know that things look as dedicated and faithful to the source material as all of the Lord of the Rings films before it. Of course, they’ve kept Smaug and the other creatures out of sight for the time being, which is a maddening tease, particularly after reading the massive feature on del Toro that was written in the New Yorker back in February. The interview, in addition to delving into the filmmaker’s fascinating story and older work, eventually went on to describe in detail some of the amazing designs del Toro has come up with for his fantastical creatures, including The Hobbit‘s iconic dragon:
“Smaug’s body, as del Toro had imagined it, was unusually long and thin. The bones of its wings were articulated on the dorsal side, giving the creature a slithery softness across its belly. “It’s a little bit more like a snake,” he said.
Smaug’s front legs looked disproportionately small, like those of a T. Rex. This would allow the dragon to assume a different aspect in closeup; the camera could capture ‘hand’ gestures and facial expressions in one tight frame, avoiding the quivery distractions of wins and tail […] Smaug’s eyes, del Toro added, were “going to be sculpturally very hidden.” This would create a sense of drama when the thieving Bilbo stirs the beast from slumber.”
There’s a lot more about Smaug’s description and concept in the full article, and all of it sounds awesome (The article is a must-read). Obviously the dragon might not feature at all in the upcoming movie, as An Unexpected Journey is only the first half of the story, but it’s a safe bet that del Toro would pour that same dedication and creativity into all of Middle Earth’s inhabitants, and I desperately hope that Peter Jackson is incorporating as much of his designs as possible into the final film.
I’m really excited for The Hobbit films, if you can’t tell. The trilogy is arguably the largest cinematic event of our generation, but even on top of that, I always felt the Hobbit was the best of the novels. The potential for these final Tolkien adaptations is paralleled only by our expectations of them – it’s a lot to overcome, but Jackson has proved before he doesn’t shy away from huge undertakings. 2012 can’t come fast enough.
I hope all of our readers are getting in the holiday spirit – our countdown is winding right down! For today’s installment, I pay tribute to 1988’s classic comedy, Ernest Saves Christmas. As I’m sure you all agree, the collection of Ernest movies are the top-tier of incredible film making. His characters are unforgettable, his facial expressions are laughable, and they exhibit the ultimate in story-telling and delivery. Know what I mean, Vern?
In Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest must – you guessed it – save Christmas. Santa Claus is getting on in years and must pass down his profession to Joe, who Santa has chosen to carry on the torch. However, when Joe is reluctant to believe and his lazy-eyed agent is annoyed by his presence, Santa is thrown in jail and must save Christmas – with the help of Ernest P. Worrell, of course.
Now, if it’s one thing Ernest can do, it is impersonate bizarre characters, and this film is replete with them. His seedy congressman character springs Santa out of jail. His dentally-challenged back country snake farmer gets Santa into a closed movie set to speak with Joe. And who can forget the curmudgeon old woman with the neck brace – my personal favorite.
In the end, Joe embraces the magic of Christmas and steps up to be the new Santa Claus. Ernest saves Christmas, it snows in Florida, and Santa can get back to being the Sultan of Agrabah. It truly is a Christmas miracle!
I submit that if you do not find the character of Ernest enjoyable, you are either lacking a sense of humor or you were born without a childhood. These movies are freaking hilarious. Good for the whole family to enjoy. Plus, as adults, we can make a nice drinking game and take a shot every time Ernest says, “Know what I mean?”
Ernest embodies everything great that the 80s had to offer, right down to his styling wardrobe. Jim Varney (may he rest in peace) is like so many other great artists – his brilliance was never fully appreciated. I won’t say he was type-cast, at least not to his relatives, but found a niche as one character and one character only, and played the shit out of it. I have to give him major respect for that.
It’s no Hollywood secret that Tim Burton has lost it and hasn’t made a single good film in the last decade (probably because he keeps casting his psycho wife). However, his first claymation attempt just happens to be one of my favorite movies, holidays aside.
Nightmare Before Christmas pairs together my two very favorite holidays: Halloween and Christmas; and throws in a little musical pizzazz, which I love! The story centers around Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, whose fame in Halloween Town is only diminished by his lack of interest in doing his job. He is sick of Halloween, of scaring, of the routine; and wants to find something more meaningful to do with his life.
In his morose state, Jack wanders and finds himself at a cluster of trees, which the audience knows must represent the different holidays. Here, Jack opens the door to Christmas Town where his life is drastically changed.
In Christmas Town, Jack feels a warmth that he is unfamiliar with and desperately tries to duplicate it. When he returns to Halloween Town, he shares his discoveries and announces that the residents of Halloween Town will take over Christmas. He sends kidnappers to snare “Sandy Claws” and begins his Nightmare Before Christmas, as it were.
Jack and his cohorts are impossibly scary, and he does such a poor job with the gifts that he is blasted out of the sky and it is announced that Christmas will be canceled. Jack is distressed and heartbroken. He returns to Halloween Town to release Santa, the only one who can save Christmas.
In the end, Jack realizes that he doesn’t need to take over Christmas or even be a part of Christmas to find what he is looking for. Running Halloween is what he was born to do, but he has found joy and warmth in his love with Sally.
I’m a sucker for claymation, I don’t know why. Blame the California Raisins I guess. Couple that with the brilliant score by Danny Elfman and you have, in my eyes, a winner and a great holiday favorite.
Grizzly Bomb 