The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Written By: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro, Phillipa Boyens (Based on the book written by J.R Tolkien)

Produced By: Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson

Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee

Plot: Bilbo Baggins is reluctantly recruited by the wizard Gandalf The Grey into taking back the land and treasure of the dwarves from Smaug, a dragon.

Peter Jackson is famous for the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy, King Kong and The Lovely Bones. All of which have included mesmerizing special effects, and The Hobbit is no exception. Jackson has created a world that is almost completely different and shapes the world that becomes familiar in the Lord Of The Rings. The landscape is completely stunning, and that alone is impressive. 

The story starts with Bilbo's 111th birthday, where he decides to tell the story of his greatest adventure. We then see the transition from Ian Holme (111 year old Bilbo) to a younger, more sprightly version of himself, played by the wonderful Martin Freeman. Freeman wonderfully shows us how Bilbo, throughout the course of the film, changes his outlook on life and the people he now shares it with. It's a breath of fresh air to see such character development within a mainstream Hollywood film. The script manages to balance comedy with the initial sombre tone of the film, which is not something usually done well. I was genuinely surprised to find myself laughing in some places, as the original trilogy was not that humerous.

The action scenes will not disappoint any body expecting the same standard as LOTR, with some fantastically choreographed fights. However, due to there being thirteen different dwarves, unless you are familiar with the book it is impossible to keep track and remember every single name. There was even one point where I didn't even recognise one of them and wondered who he was. So whilst there is a vast number of characters, the film manages to keep on top of that, and instead of focusing on them all, looks at them as a collective group. They are genuinely hilarious in places.

There are moments which may not make sense to audiences that haven't seen the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, which I can imagine would be quite confusing. But, it is still relatively easy to go watch the film without having seen the previous three (or future three, since this is set before). I was disappointed with the ending, as i feel that the finale wasn't big enough for something of this scale, and it definitely left me and other audiences wanting to know what happens after. This is probably a good thing for the producers, as the next two sequels are already in the works.

Lemon Rating: 8.5/10

Written By Eammon Jacobs

Drive

Drive

Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn

Written By: Hossein Amini

Based On The Book Of The Same Name By: James Sallis

Produced By: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker

Adam Siegel

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman

Plot: A man falls in love with a single mother, until her husband returns from jail. When the family are threatened by gangsters, he steps in to defend them.

Ryan Gosling is a stunt driver for Hollywood and is a getaway driver at night. He doesn't carry a gun, and he will only wait five minutes for a heist to be done. The Driver (who we are unaware of his name)

is a very quiet, and seemingly passive character. The film portrays him as an anti-hero, whilst he does good he is technically a criminal. I was particularly impressed with the way the film is shot, it has an 80's noir feel (with a terrific matching soundtrack) but with a modern flair.

The film is essentially in three parts; the romance, the crime, the solution. This mirrors the typical heist film structure: the preparation, the heist and the getaway. Part of the role is quite stereotypical for Gosling, for when he falls in love with Irene, it's almost like a flashback to various 80's romance flicks. He himself is no stranger to romance films, due to being in films such as The Notebook, and Crazy, Stupid Love. Irene and The Driver are shown falling in love, but without filling it up with dialogue. I admire the films lack of large amounts of dialogue, as it manages perfectly well without it. A simple look between characters conveys everything the audience needs to know (especially concerning The Driver).

However, the transition from this 'romance' part of the film to the definitive story is dragged out a little too long in my opinion. And there were certain scenes which could've been left out. They do add integrity to both the main characters and the villains of the film, and I understand what they're trying to do with this, but it takes about 40 minutes till we get to the proper plot-line. Eventually, the violence is quite shocking for a film that doesn't have anything particularly pulse pounding for the first 40 minutes. (Note, one slow motion headshot is fairly gory) The violence is quite gritty and real.

I'm not particularly aware if Ron Perlman has ever portrayed a villain before in his career, but he comes across as a total bad ass in this film. His whole attitude to everyone else was cold and sarcastic. I didn't like the way Bryan Cranstons' character didn't have that much screentime, as I felt his character could have been expanded on so much more, but it was probable he was added in more for comedy relief more than anything. The cinematography is fantastic, set against the backdrop of Los Angeles. The film feels very real. By the finale, the film isn't afraid of getting it's hands dirty, and I'm just praying for the same standard sequel. This is genuinely one of the best films to have been made within the past few years.

Lemon Rating: 9.5/10.

Written By Eammon Jacobs