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Reviews
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Drowning in special effects
In one of the 'Making of..." interviews for Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson pointed out that "this movie really needs to be made by someone who understands special effects, otherwise the special effects can easily overwhelm the story" (I'm paraphrasing), and then did exactly that in the Hobbit. In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's tale ruled supreme and the special effects were in their proper place. In this one, Tolkien's story is revised and pushed aside by the special effects. In Lord of the Rings, live actors are used as much as possible (even with Gollum) whereas in this one, computer graphics seem to be preferred. I think the introduction of a new character as the main antagonist is especially heavy-handed. To Peter's credit, it was probably a doomed project from the first. Lord of the Rings was a pseudo-sequel to the Hobbit and the 2 books are entirely different in character. The Lord of the Rings is a dark, dramatic adult epic. The Hobbit was a whimsical child's fairytale. But the screen won't have it.
For the Love of Grace (2008)
Great little gem
I don't get the rating and some of the reviews on this. It's one of my favorite 'lite' movies. I think the casting is perfect, the acting is good - even some great - moments. In my humble opinion, Cara Pifko and Ennis Esmer delivered some great lines superbly. Cara's gorgeous and perky. Ennis is funny and self-deprecating. The writing and dialog are very good. And I think the main characters carry off their respective transformations very believably. Kevin Jubinville's performance is a bit stiff but then his character, Cliff, is a bit phony and stiff. The emotional balance of this movie is much less syrupy than a lot of hallmark types that rate much higher. Certainly well worth the price - I got it from Amazon for under $5. I loved it and highly recommend it as an under-rated gem with a simple message that a lot of people I know could stand to hear.
Lincoln (2012)
Gee maybe the Civil War was about slavery - just a little?
I have to admit this review is not so much of the movie but of the reviews. I am getting sick of these history revisionists who scoff at the traditional image of Lincoln and seek to replace it with an image of some conniving, profiteering politician. To hear the modern 'historians' tell it, the Civil War was totally unrelated to slavery; it was all about States rights and secession or maybe just power and greed. But that's like saying that "My car doesn't turn because I turn the steering wheel; it turns because the wheel turns." How do you separate the slavery issue from secession in 1860? Read the diaries of the day - they understood it to be about slavery even before the emancipation proclamation. "History" can be made to say what you want it to and there is a temptation for those writing new books to come up with "new theories" just to sell them. I think in the 150 years since the Civil War, the losers have re-written the history. I don't say that this is 100% the greatest movie ever made on the subject but I do applaud Spielberg pointing out that yes, Lincoln did effectively end slavery in this country - period.