THE BEST OF 2014 - The Best MOVIES Of The Year

THE YEAR IN MOVIES - 2014

- Well, it's been an interesting year, hasn't it? There were a lot of things I could have talked about with regards to the state of movies in 2014, but ultimately, this was the year that The Interview almost caused an international incident. As I write this, there's still a bit of ambiguity over who, exactly, hacked Sony Pictures and later threatened to retaliate should The Interview be released. But because of our suspicions that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony, major theater chains pulled out of showing The Interview - leading Sony to follow up by cancelling the release of the movie altogether. Soon, an outcry began, and a Seth Rogen / James Franco comedy was the unlikely centerpiece of a movement. Fans, Hollywood insiders, and politicians all wanted the film to be released - not releasing it was an affront to our freedom, a victory for censorship. The President of the United States stated he thought Sony should have gone ahead and released the film, and encouraged Americans to go to the movies over the Christmas holiday. Eventually, as small theater operators rallied and fans protested, Sony relented. The movie ended up releasing in independent movie theaters across the county over Christmas, and also went live on select digital distribution platforms. The Interview could be seen, and freedom won the day.

The entire thing played out like some strange comedy of errors. The movie was cancelled, then suddenly back on again. America spent days worrying about some sort of attack on movie theaters, then began to doubt whether North Korea was even truly the source of the hack that started this whole incident. When Sony finally decided to pull the trigger on okaying a digital release for the film over Christmas, the timing was such that many big distribution platforms were unprepared to go live with the film - this meant that iTunes got the movie late, and Sony's own Playstation Store still, at year's end, doesn't have it available (while their competitors at XBOX do). 

In many ways, it's all already a bit silly in retrospect. But at the same time, it's not at all. If North Korea truly was behind the threat, and truly was willing to use force to keep The Interview from being seen - than that is a legitimate assault on our country and an attack on our freedoms. As surreal as it is to be having this conversation about an over-the-top comedy, we also can't dismiss what happened just because of the movie's genre. In fact, comedy is in many ways the epitome of our freedom of speech. The ability to mock, satirize, and poke fun at people and institutions - that's the very essence of what it means to have that freedom. And as I said in my review, The Interview feels like the kind of silly retort that an absurdly silly regime like Kim Jong Un's deserves. 

In purely pop-cultural terms, all of the discussion about The Interview opened up a debate about how we view comedy. One of the strangest side effects of The Interview becoming a politically-charged issue: scores of people watched it who would not normally be caught dead watching this kind of comedy. Which in turn led to an endless supply of comments trashing it. As a guy who reviews movies, and as a huge comedy nerd, this really frustrated and annoyed me. Suddenly, everyone was an expert, and people were all too happy to declare, definitively, that The Interview sucked. Ugh.

One of the things that got me interested in reviewing movies in the first place was the rise of internet enthusiast sites like Ain't It Cool News, circa the late 90's. As a kid, I remember always feeling frustrated with the movie reviews in the local paper. Comedies were always reviewed poorly, no matter how funny I found them. Action movies were always panned, no matter how badass their fight scenes were. Luckily, the internet gave voice to a new breed of reviewer who actually understood and appreciated genre. If you're going to review comedy, you've got to understand timing, joke construction, delivery, etc. It's why I hate when reviews seem to rag on comedies that aren't "about" some larger issue, instead of actually analyzing how well-constructed the jokes and dialogue are. If we only graded comedies based on what big, important issues they dealt with, then I suppose the works of Mel Brooks and Monty Python would be considered failures. 

This is why you're not going to see They Came Together on many 2014 Best-Of lists. But there was never any doubt in my mind that it would make mine. Watching They Came Together, I laughed more than at any movie I've watched in years. The movie isn't really *about* anything. It's just funny as all hell. Recognize and respect, people. For similar reasons, it was a no-brainer to me that the masterful The Raid 2 would rank high on my list. The movie is an absolute action-movie masterpiece, with some of the most jaw-dropping fight choreography I've ever seen. I understand that it may not be some people's cup of tea. But if you're going to talk about it, you've got to do so in the proper context, and look at what it is and what it's trying to be. 

Luckily, the mainstream seems to be getting increasingly down to get weird and crazy. Almost all of 2014's best and most acclaimed films are actually pretty insane, in their own way. Boyhood is a twelve-year opus from Richard Linklater, a guy who's always been a Hollywood outsider - a rock n' roll auteur. Whiplash, Nightcrawler - both dark and gritty and disturbing and intense as hell. One of this year's biggest fan favorites, Snowpiercer, is also quite possibly one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. And arguably the year's best and inarguably highest-grossing summer blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy, brought the weird, trippy, cosmic side of the Marvel universe to the big-screen - making heroes of a talking racoon and an ass-kicking tree-guy who says the same phrase over and over. 

So yeah, I guess 2014 was a pretty great year for movies - in the weirdest, strangest, unlikeliest of ways.


DANNY'S BEST MOVIES OF 2014:

1.) Boyhood

- Richard Linklater has long been one of our best filmmakers, but he outdid himself with the game-changing Boyhood. The way the film was shot - continuously over a twelve-year period - was no mere gimmick. Instead, Linklater created a film that gave us an unprecedented feeling of watching a life unfold before our eyes. Never before has a movie so actively invested us in the well-being of its protagonist. We hope and pray that the kid is alright, that Mason will be okay despite the hard times he goes through. Featuring incredible performances from Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and from star Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood was the one film from 2014 that struck me as an instant classic, one for the all-timers list. I know, there's always backlash when a movie is proclaimed as being this singularly great. But on this one, believe the hype.

2.) Whiplash

- Whiplash will leave you breathless. When I saw it in the theater, it left the audience in stunned silence, and it had the audience burst out in spontaneous applause. In this film, music is a battle, and Miles Teller's young, would-be drummer extraordinaire is at war. His barking general is JK Simons, in a performance for the ages - a can't-lose shoe-in for Best Supporting Actor. Simons is masterful in this film, and his stern warnings of "not my tempo" are flat-out nightmare inducing. Whiplash, in its own way, is one of the most messed-up movies you'll ever see. It's a dark, bloody, intense-as-hell look at the steep price of perfection.

3.) Interstellar

- Why did some people hate Interstellar? My guess is that whenever you take a story right up to the very edge of existence itself, you're invariably going to end up in some pretty far-out places - and some people would just prefer not to go there. But man, I give Christopher Nolan credit for pushing his film to the absolute narrative and thematic limits. He sends Matthew McConaughey's Cooper on a journey to the edge of space and time, and at some point, he's got to grapple with what happens when you cross over into the great unknown. Call it silly if you want, but I say it's brave. To me, Interstellar was flat-out mind-blowing - a sensory-overload experience that took us to places that no film has gone before. I suppose the film would inevitably be divisive. I say it's a new masterpiece from Nolan that's on par with his best work.

4.) Selma

- Selma was the right film at the right time - a moving, disturbing, deeply affecting look at a seminal moment in our country's history - a moment that feels as relevant today as ever. The brilliance of the movie is that it doesn't paint its characters in black and white. These are flawed, fully-formed people - but that makes what they accomplished that much more impressive. David Oyelowo is fantastic as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Tom Wilkinson kills it as LBJ. But Selma isn't just a slice of history - it's a rallying cry, a reminder that we can do better, that America is imperfect, but that its greatest strength is that it's a place that empowers its people to affect lasting change.

5.) The Raid 2

- The Raid 2 is the Godfather II of action movies. The Raid was a straight-up, no-frills action classic - featuring a simple but effective premise that provided the backdrop for some of the hardest-hitting, most jaw-dropping fight scenes ever seen on film. But The Raid 2 one-ups it by framing the action with a sprawling, crime-saga storyline that, even without the bone-crunching action, would be compelling. But combine the two, and what you get is sheer epicness - and hands-down one of the greatest action films ever made. If you dig action and martial arts films and have somehow not yet seen The Raid and its sequel, get to it.

6.) Nightcrawler

- What a dark, badass, wickedly satirical film. Like some nightmarish mash-up of Taxi Driver and Network, Nightcrawler shows us the dark side of humanity while also offering up a biting commentary on the often predatory nature of the news and entertainment we consume. Jake Gyllenhaal is off-the-charts great here as the psychopathic Lou Bloom, and Renee Russo also impresses as his news-producer enabler. This one stuck with me for a long time after viewing it, in part because it has one of the most uncompromisingly brutal and hard-hitting endings I've ever seen. An unforgettable walk on the wild side.

7.) They Came Together

- For devotees of Wet Hot American Summer, here, finally is the worthy follow-up we've been clamoring for. This is David Wain, free from big-studio restrictions, able to go all-out in order to provide the sort of insane absurdist humor that first put he and his fellow members of The State on the map. Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler destroy as the leads, and they're surrounded by a who's who of funny people, including several fan-favorite State alumni. I've seen people talk about They Came Together as if it's a straight-up parody of romantic comedies. Only sort of. Mostly, it's just an excuse for Wain and co. to provide scene after scene of over-the-top hilarity. Basically, this is a comedy nerd's dream-come-true.

8.) Obvious Child

- It's always exciting to see new comedic voices emerge, and Obvious Child is a highly impressive debut from writer/director Gillian Robespierre. It's also a true coming-out party for star Jenny Slate. After being booted from SNL, Slate bounces back with an incredible performance that's both heartfelt and hilarious. You wouldn't think that a comedy about abortion could work. But Robespierre handles the delicate topic with such humanity and humor that, somehow, the film turns into one of the funniest and surprisingly poignant movies of the year. To me, the film works as more than just a story about abortion. It's a comedy about what it means to be a struggling young adult in 2014 - and I think that's why it spoke to so many people as powerfully as it did.
9.) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

- 2014 had one of the best summer movie seasons ever. Several of the year's big blockbusters were not just great popcorn movies, but great movies in general. My favorite of the pack was the second film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise - a series which I've quickly grown to love as much as the legendary originals. What's amazing about Dawn is that the humans are largely peripheral. This is the apes' story, and it's remarkable that we come to care about Ceaser, and root against his rival Koba, to the extent that we do. Give huge credit to the phenomenal mo-cap performances of Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell. Also give credit to a smart script that creates the rare action-movie scenario where we root more for an end to hostilities than we do for one side to triumph.

10.) Snowpiercer

- Snowpiercer is flat-out insane, but man, is it awesome. The film is a true international production. It's a Korean film that's (mostly) in English, based on a French comic book, adapted by American screenwriter Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), shot in Prague, and starring a diverse cast that includes big-time talent like Chris Evans, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Alison Pill, and Octavia Spencer. And it really is unlike anything I've seen before. Visually, it evokes the post-apocalyptic sci-fi stylings of Terry Gilliam. The extreme action brings a Hong Kong martial-arts sensibility to the table. But beneath the out-there aesthetic trappings, there's a pretty potent message about manufactured inequality. Don't write this one off as a mere oddity - there's plenty of substance to accompany the style.

JUST MISSED THE CUT:

This was a year that was positively overflowing with great films, with perhaps the most films I considered in the "A" range of any year that I can remember. Here are five superb movies that just missed the cut.

11.)  Edge of Tomorrow

- This one was a huge surprise - an expertly-crafted sci-fi action film that made the most of its conceit: that its soldier hero, played by a game Tom Cruise - re-spawns every time he dies, now equipped with the knowledge to stay alive at least a little longer when he re-enters the fray. The way the premise plays out is clever and novel, providing the real viewer with a real sense of videogame-esque trial-and-error and ultimately reward. But aside from all that, this movie is owned by Emily Blunt, who shows never-before-seen action movie chops. Blunt absolutely kicks ass in this film, in an instantly-iconic turn that surely puts her at the top of every female superhero casting call from here on out.

12.) Only Lovers Left Alive

- Jim Jarmusch's gothic vampire film was a real surprise and a true stunner. Dripping with goth-rock atmosphere, the film is a darkly funny tale that is almost like the vampiric version of Before Sunrise. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swindon slay as the two immortal lovers, who now find themselves facing true danger that threatens to uproot their lives. What really struck me about the film is how it uses the vampires' immortality as a way to comment on what's important in life. The two are terminally bored, but it's the discovery of the new - of art and ideas - that keeps them engaged and makes continued immortality a thing worth fighting for. 

13.) Guardians of the Galaxy

- Guardians of the Galaxy is the kind of fun, funny, imagination-filled spectacle that they just don't make anymore. As great as the current cinematic superhero renaissance has been, what's been missing has been the weird, cosmic, trippy stuff that made us all love these comics in the first place. Now, finally, it felt like we were getting to the good stuff - and James Gunn imbued his movie with a personality and quirkiness unique in the superhero genre. It was, indeed, a cosmic mix-tape of awesome.

14.) The LEGO Movie

- Speaking of awesome, who would've thought that this of all movies would be an instant animated classic? Somehow, Phil Lord and Chris Miller made The LEGO Movie into a brilliantly-scripted adventure that served as a commentary on conformity, imagination, and growing up. On one level, the movie was funny and fun and visually-breathtaking. On another level, this was a surprisingly deep and thoughtful and moving film. That, I think, is a minor miracle.

15.) A Most Wanted Man

- A sad but fitting goodbye for the powerhouse that is Philip Seymour-Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man is a slow-burn, ultra-intense story of political intrigue that casts Hoffman as an under-pressure, in-too-deep German official trying desperately to foil a terrorist plot. Adapted from a John le Carré novel, the film brims with a quiet, methodical intensity, and Hoffman here is at the top of his game. 

THE NEXT BEST: 

16.) The Guest

-From the brilliant, genre-bending minds behind last year's cult-fave horror hit You're Next comes a must-see midnight-movie action/thriller that goes to some very cool, very unexpected places. Riffing on 80's action films, but with a modern twist, this one's a bonafide new cult classic.

17.) Locke

- A movie that takes place entirely in one man's car, with the only dialogue involving his conversations on a speaker phone. That can't possibly work, can it? It does. An unbelievably great performance from Tom Hardy and a crackling script make this one a must-see.

18.) The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

-A fitting send-off to Peter Jackson's Middle Earth epic, the final Hobbit movie delivers gravitas-filled moments of action, drama, and epic fantasy. Maybe it's not Lord of the Rings, but there's still a magic in Jackson's Hobbit films - especially in this one - that makes them a cut above. The end of an era.

19.) The Skeleton Twins

-My single favorite movie scene of 2014 is in The Skeleton Twins - a hilarious, sad, moving, chill-inducing, fist-pumping lip-sync sing-off involving stars Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig, set to Starship's cheesetastic ballad "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now." A showcase for the two SNL alums, who deliver laughs as well as pathos.

20.) Calvary

- Featuring a brilliant, razor-sharp script and picturesque direction from John Michael McDonagh, and an earth-shaking performance from the great Brendan Gleeson, Calvary is a meditative, elegiac, darkly funny story about Ireland's last good priest facing down a would-be murderer.

21.) Noah

- Darren Aranofsky's biblical epic is sort of bat$%&% crazy, but that's why I love it. It's got epic battle scenes, warrior-angels, a stunning animated sequence that depicts the entire history of evolution as filtered through the Book of Genesis, and a Noah who is downright psychotic. Somehow though, it all comes together to form a big, bold, dark, epic that is entirely unforgettable. 

22.) Gone Girl

- David Fincher's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel is an engrossing, screwed-up look at the dark side of marriage. Rosamund Pike is fantastic here, showing the true wrath of a woman scorned. Gone Girl is the ultimate bad date movie - a sordid look at the modern relationship that, in its own way, is as much about the darkness within as Fincher's Fight Club or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and as much about who we are today as The Social Network.

23.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

- A worthy sequel to the original film, this one pays homage to gritty 70's spy-thrillers, smartly adding Robert Redford to the cast as a S.H.I.E.L.D. official with suspect motives. The film plays out like one of those classic paranoid thrillers, pitting cap (Chris Evans still owning the role) against a new threat from a reborn Hydra and an awesomely badass antagonist in the mysterious Winter Soldier. 

24.) Big Hero 6

- Disney's animation studio is on a creative roll of late, and the streak continues with Big Hero 6. It might just be the studio's best CG-animated film yet - a visually-stunning, action packed superhero story that also packs an emotional punch. The movie is just flat-out fun. It one-ups The Incredibles in terms of paying homage to classic superhero and sci-fi tropes, and it delivers a story rich with positive messages that also never lacks for kick-ass action.

25.) TIE: The Imitation Game

- The Imitation Game isn't an experimental game-changer or a boundary-pushing film from a narrative or aesthetic viewpoint. It's a pretty classically-made Hollywood prestige film, no question. But there is also a lot of depth to the narrative and a lot to chew on - this is the rare World War II film that's not about combat, but about strategy and tactics and smart people trying to out-think the opposition. That to me is cool, and if that still doesn't sell you, the all-star cast, led by an Oscar-worthy Benedict Cumberbatch as genius code-breaker Alan Turing, should. 

25.) TIE: Top Five

-  Top Five is Chris Rock's Woody Allen film - a wryly witty, laugh-out-loud funny, emotionally involving story that is, one one level, about one man trying to find himself, but is, on another level, about, well, everything. Few comedians are able to put themselves out there in such a raw fashion, but that's exactly what Rock does here.

MORE GREAT FILMS OF 2014:

26.) Neighbors

- A hilarious comedy in the grand bro's vs. schmoes tradition, Neighbors is funny, but it's also got some real depth and heart. Seth Rogen is funny, but a hilarious Rose Byrne is the film's secret weapon. And Nick Stoller again proves that he is one of the best comedy directors working today.

27.) Unbroken

- An inspiring true-life tale, Unbroken features breakout performances from lead actor Jack O'Connell, and from Takamasa Ishihara as his relentless torturer in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Featuring some truly chill-inducing moments, Unbroken is a strong effort from director Angelina Jolie.

28.) X-Men: Days of Future Past

- This one really surprised me. I was weary of yet another X-Men movie, but DOFP is a fun movie, plain and simple, and it has just about everything you could ask for in an X-Men/First-Class passing-of-the-torch film. There are nice callbacks to the previous movies, as well as some nice stage-setting for stories yet to come. This is pretty much the ultimate Brian Singer X-Men movie, both keeping what worked about the older films but also addressing some of the issues. This is a film that elevates the franchise as a whole.  

29.) The Book of Life

-  The Book of Life may not have the blockbuster name-recognition of some of the year's other big animated movies, but it's a fantastic film - on par with the best from Disney and Pixar. Not only that, but it's a crafted-with-love celebration of a culture that we don't often see in film or TV beyond cliches and stereotypes, and it brings a unique sensibility and art-style to the table. There is a 100% universal story here about family and legacy, told in a fun, action-packed, visually-dazzling manner.

30.) TIE: Veronica Mars

- Come on now sugar: bring it on, bring it on - and long live Veronica Mars. Kickstartered back to life by a passionate fanbase, the cult-fave TV show returned in movie form in 2014 - and the result was a great film that served as a satisfying epilogue to the series, and a great example of how to continue and build upon a beloved franchise. The pop-culture universe is stronger with great characters like Veronica Mars in it.

30.) TIE: The Interview

- Oh, how could I not give one final round of props to The Interview, the movie that changed movies forever in 2014. I don't know that the movie is a stone-cold comedy classic. In 2014 alone, I felt that They Came Together, Obvious Child, and Seth Rogen's other big movie, Neighbors, reigned supreme. But The Interview *was* funny. Very funny. And if you disagree, hey, that's your prerogative. But let me know when next we see such an epically ballsy comedic take-down of an evil dictator come 'round the pike. I'll be waiting.

HONORABLE MENTIONS - OTHER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIES FROM THIS YEAR:

Blue Ruin
Inherent Vice 
Frank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Under the Skin
The Muppets: Most Wanted
Coherence 
Birdman
Wild
The Theory of Everything
John Wick
Fury
Get On Up

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

BEST LEAD ACTOR:

1.) Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
2.) Philip Seymour Hoffman - A Most Wanted Man
3.) Tom Hardy - Locke
4.) Brendan Gleeson - Calvary
5.) Tie: Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything / Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game / David Oyelowo - Selma

BEST LEADING ACTRESS:

1.) Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
2.) Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
3.) Kristin Wiig - The Skeleton Twins
4.) Reese Witherspoon - Wild
5.) Jenny Slate - Obvious Child


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1.) JK Simons - Whiplash
2.) Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
3.) Tom Wilkinson - Selma
4.) Riz Ahmed - Nightcrawler
5.) Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

1.) Renee Russo - Nightcrawler
2.) Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
3.) Jessica Chastain - Interstellar
4.) Tilda Swindon - Snowpiercer
5.) Emma Stone - Birdman

BEST DIRECTOR:

1.) Richard Linklater - Boyhood
2.) Christopher Nolan - Interstellar
3.) Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
4.) Damien Chazelle - Whiplash
5.) Gareth Evans - The Raid 2

BEST SCREENPLAY:

1.) Nightcrawler
2.) Whiplash
3.) Calvary
4.) Obvious Child
5.) The LEGO Movie
6.) They Came Together
7.) Edge of Tomorrow
8.) Guardians of the Galaxy
9.) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
10.) Locke

- And that's that, another one for the books. 2014 over and done. 2015 is going to be epic.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Concludes The Middle Earth Odyssey In Epic Fashion

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Review:

- And so it ends. After six movies and two trilogies, Peter Jackson's sprawling Tolkien adaptation is complete. And for that, I am sad - and, also, eternally grateful for what Jackson and his team have given us. Look, I get that a certain cynicism about Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings franchise, and this third Hobbit movie in particular has crept into both certain circles of fandom and the mainstream press. The Hobbit should not have been three movies. Peter Jackson has fallen in love with CGI at the expense of practical f/x with tangibility and soul. The Hobbit films have gotten so wrapped up with elves, dwarves, giant troll monsters, and the massive wars they wage that the titular Hobbit himself has all but gotten lost in the fray. I get it, and to some extent I agree with the knocks. But I also still love these movies, and I still think that they have a magic and a heart and soul that only Jackson could give them. You can pick 'em apart, sure, and god knows people have. But with these movies, and with FIVE ARMIES in particular, my doubts are overshadowed by a feeling that this version of Middle Earth - filled with amazing sights and memorable characters - is one of the greatest fictional worlds ever brought to life on screen. THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is, to me, a fitting goodbye to that world, a movie that's packed with action, but that also poignantly brings the series full-circle, and to a satisfying conclusion. I walked away with a smile on my face, but also with a lingering sadness that the end of this film marked the end of something truly special.

Over the course of multiple reviews I've talked about what makes Jackson's Middle Earth movies so uniquely great - but I'll talk about all of it just a little more here. Let me start by talking about the world-building. Maybe we take it for granted with these films, maybe we just figure that Tolkien laid so much groundwork, that ... of course these movies would follow suit. But look at how many fantasy and sci-fi film franchises feel like they take place in loosely-constructed, not well-thought-out worlds. We live in a cinematic age now where countless YA adaptations feel that a world based on a simple hooky gimmick is enough. But Jackson never took shortcuts with his Middle Earth films. These are lived-in, breathed-in stories, with history and lore and no detail taken for granted. Jackson and co. truly brought Middle Earth to life, and in my view that absolutely cannot be discounted. BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES serves as an exciting culmination of all that, bringing together the disparate factions and peoples of Middle Earth in a way that's often thrilling.

Of course, part of the thrill of seeing these conflicts play out is in watching such accomplished actors pitted against one another. There's a climactic scene in FIVE ARMIES in which Middle Earth's various great powers collide in a confrontation with a returned and slowly-but-surely re-powered Sauron. It's Ian McKellan, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee all being completely and utterly awesome. Not just because they're great actors, but because over the course of six films these actors have wholly and unashamedly committed themselves to these characters. McKellan *is* Gandalf. Weaving *is* Elrond. Blanchett *is* Galadriel, and Christopher Lee - 92 by-god-years-old and still kicking ass - *is* Saruman, and hot damn, the man deserves some sort of award for being possibly the greatest and most badass person alive. In any case, these actors and so many others have really gone above and beyond the call of duty for this franchise. Specific to FIVE ARMIES, I of course have to mention Martin Freeman. In a year in which he's impressed as Watson on Sherlock and as Lester on Fargo, he again nails the part of Bilbo Baggins - bringing the same sort of understated expressiveness and comic timing to this role as he did to those others. Few doubted that Freeman could pull off a great Bilbo, but I think his excellence in these films is oft overlooked. In this final chapter, Freeman's Bilbo has ample opportunity to shine, even in the midst of many conflicts that at times overshadow Bilbo's hero's journey. In particular, I loved the interplay between Freeman and Richard Armitage's Thorin. Thorin, here, finally goes almost-full-villain - mad for power and corrupted by the cursed treasure won from Smaug. Armitage really kills it and nails the character's descent into darkness and eventual return to the light.

Freeman and Armitage's fantastic performances need to be talked about. So too do the incredible visuals of this movie. Yes, I agree with the masses who wish that the original trilogy's more "solid" look was kept for the prequels - which suffer at times from too-glossy CGI that hampers the believability of some scenes. At the same time, I feel like these complaints sometimes come at the expense of giving Jackson the proper credit he deserves as a director and visual stylist. For every moment in FIVE ARMIES where I wished that perhaps there was a bit less CGI, there are several more in the film that just plain wowed me with their visual splendor. There are so many scenes that are just gorgeously framed, that look like the Tolkien-inspired illustrations I saw as a kid come to glorious life. Jackson is still a master at doing those iconic storybook-esque shots that make the film seem *un-real* in the best way possible - fantastic and painterly and larger-than-life. Jackson's large-scale action is still in many ways the best in the biz. His sense for portraying size and scope is unmatched, even if chaos occasionally overwhelms geography and cohesion. But still, the big battle scenes in this film are epic as all hell. At the same time, there are smaller moments in the movie that just look and feel perfect. I'm thinking, in particular, of a quiet scene towards the end of the movie in which Bilbo and Gandalf sit and reminisce about the adventure they've had. Talk about storybook visuals - the scene looks like something out of a Hildebrandt painting. So to those who endlessly knock Jackson's visual storytelling abilities (especially those who don't also acknowledge his unmatched strengths), my perspective is: I don't think we're watching the same movies here.

On a related note, the entire production team on these movies needs major kudos. The costumes, the sets, the overall aesthetic of the Middle Earth films is just so, so good. And it really shines here as armies converge - each meticulously adorned in unique armor and clothing. These films are simply awesome to spend time with. And a huge part of that is the impeccable production and art design. And the music. I mean, that music. Howard Shore's various LOTR themes are modern classics, and these Hobbit films have carried on the tradition of having absolutely epic, atmospheric, at times haunting scores. I will say that FIVE ARMIES does an excellent job of mixing in classic Middle Earth themes at just the right moments. Conversely, I love some of this trilogy's newly-created themes. The Laketown theme is, to me, a new classic.

So what doesn't work in FIVE ARMIES? Let me list my main gripes that keep the movie from being *as* good as it could have been:

a.) Not enough Bilbo. In general, I agree with the general sentiment that The Hobbit didn't necessarily need to be three movies. I always liked the fact that the book was a simple fantasy story that then set the stage for a much more sophisticated and sprawling epic. But oddly, FIVE ARMIES feels a bit rushed, in that so much is going on that the trilogy's central thematic throughline (at least in theory) - Bilbo's journey - seems to get shortchanged. To it's credit, the movie comes back around to Bilbo by the end, and sort of makes up for leaving him on the sidelines for much of the movie's middle. But what did irk me a bit is that Bilbo's story and character arc is slighted in favor of stuff we didn't need. The movie has too much Legolas, for example. We got enough of him in LOTR - we didn't need even *more* extraneous scenes of him kicking ass in this one. There's also a bit too much time spent on Laketown's comically conniving villain Alfrid, who is better, I think, in small doses.

b.) Battles that lack cohesiveness. Late in the movie, as the film shifts its focus from the main battleground to more personal fights, I couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated that elements introduced in the war scenes never got proper resolution. For example, we see giant sandworms introduced by the evil orc army, but we never see how they are defeated by the allies. Later, I had to roll my eyes a bit when a familiar deux ex machina from the original trilogy returns to serve as the tide-turners in the war. Lame.

c.) Too much cartoon-physics. I get that this is Middle Earth, and I am aware that in LOTR we got Legolas sliding down the tail of a beast as if surfing. But that was one funny/kewl moment. In FIVE ARMIES, we get several of those moments, that come right in the heat of otherwise intense battle scenes. It's one thing when an entire sequence is staged with a certain aesthetic - i.e. the barrel scene in Desolation of Smaug (which I love). But to insert random videogame moments into gritty battles is sort of annoying.

d.) That Strider call-out. There's one super cringeworthy moment in the movie - a bit of unnecessary foreshadowing of LOTR that feels very forced. Should have been left out, or at least handled in a more organic fashion.

Those were my chief complaints, really. And though I have those grievances, they are still not enough to turn me against FIVE ARMIES or Jackson's Hobbit trilogy in general. I would have loved a single, simple Hobbit movie that related to the LOTR trilogy in the same way the book does. But I take these for what they are, and I can't deny that I've enjoyed them. And there really is a lot to love. In addition to stuff I've already mentioned - the great performances, the visuals, the music, the world-building - I could spend paragraphs giving shout-outs to all the stand-out stuff in this film. Here are a few. Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel adds a strong female character to the story, and she's just kick-ass in general. Lilly is great in the part, and you can't help but root for her worlds-collide would-be romance with the dwarven Kili. Billy Connelly! The beloved comic and actor appears in FIVE ARMIES as leader of a dwarf army, and man, I grinned bigtime when I heard that distinctive Scottish-accented voice rally his diminutive troops to battle. Lee Pace is also, again, sort of great as Elven king Thranduil. The Piemaker does a great job at playing the stoic, emotionally-distant monarch. Mark Hadlow as elder dwarf Dori is also great. He's sort of the heart and soul of this trilogy, in a way. Finally, I love the movie's ending. It's a perfect segue into Lord of the Rings, and it made me want to immediately go and watch the LOTR trilogy. Jackson manages to make the ending comforting and poignantly sentimental, all while hinting, slightly ominously, at dangers yet to come.

It's been quite the ride. I think back to the release of the original LOTR trilogy, and remember each of those films being a true pop-cultural mega-event. I was too young to have seen the original Star Wars trilogy in theaters at the time of their release - and these films felt like that sort of monumental moment for me. Not only that, but as a kid I'd read and loved and become perhaps slightly obsessed with Tolkien's fantasy novels, and seeing those stories realized on-screen in such epic fashion was an undeniable rush. The fact that, after so many fits and starts, Jackson and key cast members returned for The Hobbit - it was an unexpected bonus. And though these films have not been the masterpieces that the LOTR films were and are, they have been true pleasures nonetheless. To be able to visit Middle Earth again, to be able to go back to this world, to see these characters again - it's been not just fun, but in it's own way, sort of magical. As I said, you can critique and pick apart these films, but man, if you can't see the magic that happens when Sir Ian McKellan dons his wizard's cloak and becomes Gandalf the Grey ... you might need to turn in your film-fan card. I only hope that we continue to see genre films - be they from Jackson or others - that carry on the tradition of what Jackson and his team did with their Middle Earth odyssey. But what's special about these films is that they now exist as a sort of portal to this world. For years and decades to come, people will revisit this cinematic world when in need of some of that magic. They'll watch as a reminder that even the smallest and unlikeliest of creatures can make a difference. They'll watch when in need of fellowship, fantasy, and great adventure.

My Grade: A-

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG - An Action-Packed Return to Middle Earth

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Review:

- The first HOBBIT film had its share of haters, but when I reviewed it last year I just couldn't bring myself to jump aboard the "I hate Hobbit" bandwagon. The facts are these: a.) no, The Hobbit was not quite on par with Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings films, b.) there was a sense that not only was Jackson a bit rusty when it came to crafting tales of Middle Earth, but that he was indulging some of his worst tendencies (overly-long narratives, overreliance on CGI wizardry) at the expense of the good, old-fashioned epic filmmaking that made LOTR great, and c.) these problems were further compounded by the rather unpleasant experience of seeing the movie in 48 frames-per-second, which gave the whole thing an overly-slick, overly-fake visual quality. But STILL ... with all that said, there was that magic in The Hobbit that was there, also, in LOTR. It was there in when the dwarves sang their Misty Mountain song, it was there when Gandalf reassured Bilbo that he could be of value to the group, and it was there when Bilbo encountered Golem for some long-anticipated Riddles in the Dark. You can't wholly quantify that magic, and to me the fact that it was still there in The Hobbit made it a movie that, despite its flaws, was still something special. Now, with the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, I'm happy to say that those magical moments come faster and more frequently that in the first film. There's a sure-handedness to Jackson's direction that wasn't always there in Part 1. And there's a feeling that this, again, is something special. Yes, there are flaws. But I still came away with a feeling that these are the movies that Peter Jackson was born to make, and a Jackson-directed film set in Middle Earth is still one of the best things going in the modern era of movies.

The Desolation of Smaug picks up soon after the end of The Hobbit. Thanks to his ring of power, Bilbo Baggins is now more confident, and has become a more valued member of the group - comprised of himself, Gandalf, and a dozen or so dwarves - led by the increasingly driven Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin is more determined than ever to reclaim his people's now-abandoned homeland. In his way, however, are bands of roving orcs - including their leader (and Thorin's nemesis) Azog. The orcs - gaining numbers thanks to the increasing power and influence of their enigmatic leader (the Necromancer, aka the-once-and-future Sauron) - are an ever-present threat. But Bilbo and company also come across giant spiders, unstable shape-shifters, and not-so-friendly elves on their journey. It is the elves who sort of open up the movie and begin to expand its scope even further. Orlando Bloom's Legolas, of LOTR fame, re-emerges as a major player, along with Evangeline Lily's Tauriel.

Tauriel is a new, made-for-the-movies character who I have to say, is pretty great. She adds a great, kick-ass female character to what was a completely male-dominated storyline. And she adds an element of romance - as part of a quasi-love triangle with Legolas and dwarf Kili. I can see why some might be wary of this, but I've got to admit that the relationship between Kili and Tauriel actually ended up being one of my favorite parts of the film. There's some great, epic-romance dialogue between them that calls to mind some of the best scenes between Aragorn and Arwen in LOTR. And as for Lily, man, it's about time that she got to play a big blockbuster role like this one. She not only meets expectations as Tauriel, but far exceeds them. I mean, look, the woman was born to play a badass elf. I've also got to think that this will open the door for Lily to take on more high-profile action roles, because she effortlessly makes Tauriel into a strong, intriguing, and pretty-damn-badass character ... that I think even hardcore Tolkien devotees will warm to.

Overall, this film just seems to handle its characters better than in the first. Some of the dwarves still blend together a bit - but, in addition to Kili's role as love-struck rebel, there are several other standouts. Ken Stott's Balin, for example, really solidifies himself as the heart and soul of the group here, laying claim to numerous memorable moments as the group's elder statesman. And Thorin seems like a better-defined character here - showing shades of LOTR's Boromir - with his resolve to achieve victory slightly corrupting his sense of morality. Because of the film's expanded scope, Bilbo inevitably takes a backseat at times. But I wasn't too distressed about it, as Bilbo is still front and center for the film's biggest moments - including his fairly epic, climactic confrontation with the dragon Smaug. Martin Freeman seems a little more at home as gaining-confidence Bilbo (as opposed to the first film's more whimpering version), and he is, again, really really good in the role.

Sir Ian McKellan as Gandalf ... I've said a lot about this role and this actor over the years, but the guy is phenomenal and a cinematic treasure. I feel like Gandalf needs special mention here because he's got so many fantastic scenes in this film. Here's the thing: I totally get the complaint that some of Gandalf's side stories in this one may seem to some a bit extraneous and tacked on. And yet, how can you not love them? In The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson gives us some of the coolest-ever Gandalf scenes. Namely, the imagery and epicness that we get during Gandalf's infiltration of the Necromancer's fortress is just off-the-charts. Nothing brings a smile to my face when Jackson gives us larger-than-life imagery that feels right out of a storybook painting ... and Gandalf fending off an orc horde on the crumbling stone walkways of Dol Guldur is exactly that.

Despite those storybook-like moments, I think that Jackson, overall, does a better job in this film of blending over-the-top action with more grounded moments. Visually, the orcs and other creatures look better than in Part 1. In the first film, Azog and his cohorts looked straight out of a Playstation game. Here, there seems to be a better mix of CG characters with practical FX and old-fashioned costuming and make-up. So, for example, when the elves hold a captive orc at knifepoint and interrogate him, in a crucial scene, it feels more real, more substantial, than most of what we got in the first film. Azog in particular still seems too videogame-ish and unreal for my tastes, but overall, it seems like Jackson better uses the various artistic tools at his disposal this time around.

Interestingly, the movie takes on a much grittier, more intimate feel when we get to Laketown. Laketown is where much of the action of the film's final third is set, and suddenly, the movie's focus shifts from elves and orcs to very human political drama. It's sort of interesting to see the introduction of Luke Evan's Bard - a smuggler who rebels against Laketown's corrupt and oppressive ruler. Bard brings a similar sort of brooding nobility to the story as Aragorn did in LOTR. But Jackson sets up an interesting juxtaposition of this sleepy, human fishing village that is suddenly beset by the problems of the larger, wider world - even as its own people's rebellion catches fire. Fans of Tolkien's The Hobbit (myself included) may find it a bit odd to have so much of a Hobbit film taken up by this darker, less fantastical Laketown section. But I did find that Laketown helps to give some nice context to all of the more out-there and magical elements of this world - sort of like Rohan did in LOTR. There aren't just dwarves, elves, and wizards who are in danger from Smaug, but also these more regular, everyday sorts of people. There are enough loose ends in Laketown where it and its people still seem only half-explored, but I still found the tonal shift it brings to the table to be welcome and surprising.

Overall though, I'd still categorize these Hobbit films as lighter, more over-the-top, and more storybook-like than their LOTR predecessors. That is most evident, perhaps, in the movie's big action scenes. And let me say: The Desolation of Smaug has one of the great over-the-top action scenes we've yet seen in a blockbuster film. This is what I will call "the barrel sequence." While some may criticize the barrel sequence as being *too* cartoonish, too silly, too much, I can only say that I found it to be completely enthralling and joyful - along the lines of the best Spielbergian set-piece action sequences to ever grace the screen. Jackson has always had that Spielbergian influence in his action (perhaps even more evident in King Kong than in LOTR), but the barrel sequence is full-on Spielberg - a rip-roaring rollercoaster ride of an action scene that is exciting, hilarious, surprising, and just flat-out amazing on both a creative and technical level. To me, LOTR was an epic, and The Hobbit is an adventure. There's a difference. And I think that difference opens things up for Jackson to be a little more playful with the action here. In LOTR, the barrel sequence may have been too much, and not keeping with the tone of the films. But here, in my view, it works - and works wonderfully, at that.

The barrel sequence is perhaps the set-piece highlight of the movie, but other scenes show off Jackson's horror-movie chops to great effect. I talked about Gandalf's sequences at Dol Guldur, which definitely have a creepy, creature-feature vibe at times. But the most horror-ish sequence in the film has got to be the spider-attack. The spider sequence is done fantastically, with a mind-melting combo of action, horror, and humor that is vintage Jackson. It's a great character moment, as Bilbo plays the hero and saves his friends with the help of his ring. But it's also an expertly-staged, awesomely-visualized bit of action that is breathtaking to watch unfold.

There are any number of great little bits in The Desolation of Smaug that work brilliantly. John Bell's shapeshifting Bain is a fun, menacing character - and he has some fantastic dialogue after letting the dwarves take refuge in his remote home. Stephen Fry is excellent, of course, as the slimy Master of Laketown. I do wish that his character got a little more fleshing out, but he does a great job with what's there. Elf king Thranduil is another character whose screentime is relatively brief, but who makes a strong impression thanks to actor Lee Pace. And then there's Smaug, who is voiced so well and so menacingly by Benedict Cumberbatch that it's hard to now imagine anyone else playing the part.

By the way, the music here continues to be top-notch - with Howard Shore's score an ear-pleasing mix of old and new themes. I really liked the Laketown theme, and think it's up there with previous LOTR classics. The one glaring omission to me was the lack of a reprise of the Misty Mountain song when the dwarves finally arrive at their long-sought after destination.

The film does, again, get a bit draggy in parts. Part of me does still, inevitably wonder if we needed three films to tell this story, and if all of the setup of LOTR was really necessary. But this is what Jackson and team decided on, and it helps that the additional material he's added or elaborated on has been, mostly, pretty cool. In any case, there's less here that feels tangential than in the first film. The story flows more organically, and there's more a sense of it all building towards something. One other complaint though: Jackson seems to develop an unwelcome habit of occasionally, almost compulsively cutting from the action right before a key beat. The timing of the editing, at times, seems a little off - and once in a while (as with an abrupt cut during a key moment between Kili and Tauriel), it's even a bit jarring.

But mostly, Jackson seems to more fully find his footing than in the first film. His direction seems more confident, more free. And there is a narrative momentum here that wasn't there in The Hobbit. When The Hobbit ended, there was not that old LOTR feeling of "must see the next one ... right now!" But here, I think Jackson recaptured that. Despite the long running time, I was ready for Part 3 immediately, and so too was the majority of the audience in the theater. Jackson tantalizingly, teasingly ends this one on one hell of a cliffhanger - prompting one young boy in our audience to cry out "aww, come on!" as the credits rolled. And you've got to love that. I don't know that this prequel trilogy will ever be held in the same esteem as the original Lord of the Rings movies, but I do feel that Jackson got some of his mojo back for Part 2, and is poised to deliver a fairly epic Part 3. So yes, there are things about The Desolation of Smaug that bother me. But when a movie is so exciting, so full of magic, that you forget about those flaws and just get caught up in this world and this journey - well, that's something special, and rare in the world of blockbuster filmmaking.

My Grade: A-

THE HOBBIT Proves That The Magic Is Still Strong In Peter Jackson's Middle Earth

THE HOBBIT Review:

- The Lord of the Rings books are some of my all-time favorites - I first read them as a young kid, and that experience has stayed with me ever since, and helped inform the kinds of stories I sought out and still do. I completely love the LOTR movie trilogy, and named them as my picks for Best Films of the Decade circa 2009. Over the last several years, it's been a pleasure to watch Peter Jackson become one of the most exciting and inspiring film directors of our time - a man whose passion for the material he works on is tangible in his movies, a man who is nearly the equal of Spielberg in his ability to craft set-piece action sequences, and up there with Ridley Scott in his skill at creating fully-realized, visually-dazzling fantasy worlds. And so, my anticipation for THE HOBBIT was off the charts. The long road towards production made it all the more satisfying when the film finally coalesced into a reality. When Jackson and his team assumed the reigns, after many false starts, all felt right in Middle Earth. Jackson, reunited with the likes of Ian McKellan, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee, making The Hobbit. This is how it was supposed to be.

Somewhere along the way, however, something seemed to feel a little off about the endeavor. Sure, Jackson's trademark "making-of" videos were fantastic, chill-inducing fan service. And the casting of Martin Freeman as Bilbo was greeted with universal praise. But later, Jackson's decision to make The Hobbit into three films instead of one, or even two, caused a wave of negativity. If there was any one criticism of the LOTR films, it was their lack of brevity - did Jackson really need to extend The Hobbit - a book that was far  simpler and shorter than the LOTR trilogy - with that sort of elongated treatment? Then, there was the use of 48 frames-per-second in the film. This was another extremely sensitive subject. After all, who *didn't* love the gorgeous, painterly look of the original films? Most wanted new films that felt like a return to a beloved place - not something that looked completely different than what we all hold nostalgic affection for. There was a fear that 48 fps could put a black mark on the whole film.

After seeing THE HOBBIT, both of these concerns, I think, turned out to be at least partially justified. It doesn't feel like three films are wholly necessary to tell this story, especially given how much of this world is already established thanks to LOTR. The movie too often takes the focus off of Bilbo, and instead gives us any number of side stories, nostalgic tips of the hat to LOTR, and extended expository exercises. It remains to be seen how the decision for three movies ultimately pays off. But a little of what I saw here worried me, I'll admit. Meanwhile, the 48 fps technology, in my view, hugely detracted from the film's overall effectiveness. It gives the entire film an overly-glossy, smoothed-over, hyper-real look that severely undermines the beauty of the fantastic sets and costumes in the movie. There's now a stark contrast between the film's real and CGI elements, creating a "layer" effect where there's no longer the seamless blend of CGI and live-action from the original trilogy. The CGI now looks completely unreal, without the earthiness or grittiness that allowed, say, Gollum, to meld with the movie's human actors in LOTR. The filter between viewer and screen now feels essentially lifted, meaning that the suspension of disbelief is much harder. We can see where every CGI effect was inserted, where every dash of makeup was applied, where every fake beard was affixed to an actor's face. The scenes that are primarily CGI now flow with an unparalleled vividness, and the 3D is the smoothest and most seamless I've ever seen in a live-action film. But the benefits of the 48 fps by no means outweigh the costs. Suffice it to say, I kept longing during the film to see it in the same manner as I did the original trilogy.

Now I say these things to get them out of the way at the outset. The fact is, despite these issues ... I still loved THE HOBBIT.

The thing is ... the LOTR movies have always been about more than what's on the surface. There's a certain magic that Jackson and team bring to these movies that, again, is less about the length of certain scenes or the way the movie looks, and more simply about the love they have for Tolkien and Middle Earth. And while the story of The Hobbit may not be as epic or as world-shaking as LOTR, by its nature, Jackson still brings the same sense of respect and care for the source material to this one, and still makes it feel as whimsical, wondrous, and full of imagination as Fellowship, Two Towers, or Return. It's a tough challenge. As a kid, I remember reading The Hobbit, and then being astounded to find that this was just the prelude to a much more sprawling and serious epic. All the little details of Middle Earth that Tolkien sprinkled throughout the book - those were all hints of the gigantic tapestry he was crafting. So for the movies to go in the reverse order - to go from the vast and sprawling and serious epics, to the smaller-scale, more lighthearted, more kid-friendly prelude - Jackson is essentially rowing against the tide here. And yet, what he does is pretty cool when looked at in the context of the whole six-film epic that he will have eventually crafted. He's going back and reverse-engineering The Hobbit as a prelude, dropping quick glimpses of characters like Elrond and Galadriel, and hinting at a rising tide of darkness sweeping over Middle Earth. Does he lay it on too thick? Maybe. But mostly, Jackson skillfully balances nostalgic callbacks to fan-favorite characters and locations with the retroactive need to set up LOTR. Those movies are now a decade old, so it's a little jarring. It will be fascinating, though, to someday watch all the films in narrative order and see how, indeed, they end up fitting together.

Like I said, Jackson captures the magic of the LOTR films, but he also adapts to follow the more storybook-esque structure of The Hobbit. In that book, each chapter is almost like a self-contained short story - an effect of the book's origins as a series of bedtime stories told by Tolkien to his children. And I think it's important to remember that when watching the film. The movie follows a similar chapter format - many chapters lifted directly from the book ("An Unexpected Party," "Riddles in the Dark,"), and others invented for the film (an extended encounter with a group of ravenous trolls, an aside featuring the kooky wizard Radagast the Brown). So, while some may take issue with the film's structure, I enjoyed that it honored the spirit of the book in this way. My only real complaint is, again, that the movie veers too far away from telling the story from Bilbo's perspective. I mean, it goes so far as to use a framing device where Ian Holm - back as Old Bilbo - tells Elijah Wood's Frodo his tale of adventure. So when the movie goes off on extended tangents about Radagast's escapades or Thorin the Dwarf's feud with a nasty Orc warrior - it can feel a little forced.

It's hard to get too upset though when the vast majority of the film is so darn delightful. For one thing, the cast is fantastic. Ian McKellan is again an MVP as Gandalf. The man is basically a wizard - he's got the part down to a science, and wholly embodies the character in iconic fashion. When Gandalf is on-screen, you are entertained ... period. I enjoyed that the wizard we see here is a slightly more whimsical version than in LOTR. He has occasion to be serious and badass, but Gandalf's less-intense personality is emblematic of the fact that this movie takes place in a lighter, brighter age than in the original trilogy. McKellan displays that duality to perfection here. As Bilbo, Martin Freeman is also superb. It's still a little surreal to see an actor I became a fan of years ago - as Tim on The Office - playing this sort of iconic fantasy role. But the same sort of "is-this-really-happening?" impishness that made Tim a classic comedy character serves Freeman well in The Hobbit. What remains to be seen is if Freeman can muster up the sort of wide-eyed earnestness that Holmes and Wood had in LOTR. There are signs of that range here, but mostly, this is Freeman as a slightly disaffected version of Bilbo. Perfect for this opening film in the trilogy - but I'll be curious to see how the fear of death and the toll of the Ring affects Freeman's performance in the subsequent movies.

As for the band of dwarves that accompany Bilbo and Gandalf on their journey to confront the evil dragon Smaug, they are certainly a motley crew of personalities. On one hand, there aren't characters that stand out like Gimli or Legolas did in LOTR. On the other hand, the point is less that these characters stand out, and more for them to be strange and gruff and a device to show how Bilbo is suddenly getting swept up into this wider world of adventure and danger. That said, Richard Armitage is quite good as badass dwarf Thorin Oakenshield. Armitage brings a real gravitas to the role, and lends the film a bit of edge that might otherwise be missing. Obviously, there's not really an "epic hero" equivalent of Aragorn in The Hobbit, so Thorin fills the gap.

Also, even though they play minor roles, I think it's worth mentioning the sheer awesomeness of key LOTR returning players like Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee. Their scenes are brief, but man, are these guys good - iconic, all of them. It's a particular treat to see Lee here as Sauruman the White. Knowing that the actor was ailing at the time of the movie's filming, it feels fitting and proper that Jackson went to great lengths to ensure that Lee was afforded the opportunity to cameo.

I will also reiterate that Peter Jackson still has the ability to direct action like few others. Some of the set pieces in THE HOBBIT tend to be a little bit more cartoonish and slapsticky than in LOTR, but again, that's in keeping with the spirit of the book. But Jackson does big action better than just about anyone not named Spielberg. Some of the film's biggest sequences - an underground confrontation with a horde of goblins, for example - are absolutely breathtaking. Similarly, complaints about 48 fps aside, Jackson continues his tradition of making Middle Earth feel positively alive and real. Locations are rendered in stunning detail. Some are familiar - like Bilbo's quaint dwelling in Bag-End. Some are new - the Misty Mountains, for example. And all are pretty awesome. Some will complain that Jackson throws in some unnecessary stuff. But really, can you complain when that stuff includes giant rock monsters hurling rubble at one another, glimpses of the evil-in-waiting Necromancer, and/or insane battle scenes of dwarf vs. orc armageddon?

The thing is ... Jackson not only has a knack for epic action, but he also has an innate sense for how to get the smaller moments right. At the end of the day, what often made LOTR so great were the little moments of friendship, fear, hope, and inspiration that make the stories emotional quests as well as geographical journeys. Jackson again weaves many such great little moments in The Hobbit. Again, it can be a little hard to view The Hobbit as its one thing in the wake of the previous trilogy. But if you look at it serving the same sort of function as the book - as a gateway into Middle Earth, as a sort of entry point into this world, then you have to admire the sense of awe and wonder that Jackson infuses the film with. Bilbo is our gateway - the Middle Earth equivalent of your average real-earth suburban homebody. We begin with his simple life getting interrupted by an unexpected party, his home filled with dwarves and wizards. But once recruited into their ranks, Bilbo's life becomes one of adventure. And with him as our eyes and ears, we see the big, wider world that's out there. We see its wonders (Galadriel, Rivendell), and its horrors (Gollum, Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins). But through it all, there is the recurring theme that Bilbo is a man who has a greater purpose than just sitting at home by his lonesome. And this, of course, is where The Hobbit nicely dovetails back to the greatest theme of all of Tolkien's work - "even the smallest ones can change the course of the future."

In all honesty, it's nearly impossible at this juncture to have a fully-formed opinion of The Hobbit. A key aesthetic / technical decision - to present it in 48 fps - was misguided in my opinion. But ultimately, that won't affect how the film stands the test of time. Perhaps some of the over-use of CGI will (the Orc leader Azog still looked too cartoony / CGI-ish to me). But mostly, the movie is a great blend of the themes and grandeur of LOTR with the smaller and more whimsical tone of The Hobbit as written by Tolkien. And the magic of the original trilogy is still there ... In the "Riddles in the Dark" sequence, where Bilbo first encounters Gollum deep beneath the earth (Andy Serkis is, of course, exceptionally fantastic, once again, as Gollum). When the company of dwarves, assembled at Bilbo's small home, begins grimly, hauntingly chanting the song of the Misty Mountains in unison. When we get our first and final glimpse at the dragon Smaug, in a teaser of a cliffhanger that gave me the same feeling I got after first watching Fellowship of The Ring: "I want to see the next movie right now." These magical moments elevate the film, make it more than the sum of its parts.

So no, I don't know how this new trilogy will stack up when all is said and done, or how it will fill out Peter Jackson's decades-long Lord of the Rings epic both as a prelude and companion piece. What I do know is that, even with its faults, there isn't a team I'd rather see helming this massive undertaking - no other filmmakers I'd rather see bringing this story to life.

My Grade: A-