The Hobbit

I managed to get to see The Hobbit at the big Odeon in Leicester Square.

I actually enjoyed it very much despite the additional characters and whatever else in the movie that ought not be there, I certainly enjoyed the spectacle a lot more than I did with the Lord of the Rings films. 

As I watched it I kept wandering whether to expect a scene from Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit coming next because I really wasn't a hundred percent sure anymore because of the confused memories

Martin Freeman played a brilliant Bilbo Baggins. As soon as his name was mentioned for the role of Bilbo, he was the ideal one and the director's wait for this actor payed off well. His Englishness was very much appreciated as the central character of this movie which is more than I can say about Elijah Wood's Frodo Baggins who was American although the latter was a good choice for a Frodo.

Barry Humphries's portrayal of the Goblin King was warmly welcomed, the goblin designs were wonderful although the goblin town looked too much like some environment designed for a computer game, but that really wasn't ultimately a problem.

The beasts of burden for Radaghast's chariot were priceless

It could be a movie for me to go and see again but I doubt that I will see it more than twice. 

I can't wait for the sequel.

"The Sky's a falling down!" said Miss Henny Penny: The James Bond movie

 

I did actually enjoy the James Bond movie, the initial visuals were quite interestingly surrealistic and certainly there was a fair amount going on in the movie. 

I wondered if they were going to run into Liam Neason's character from Taken 2 who was known to be running around the same Instabul rooftops. 

As in my earlier report which I probably didn't publish here (actually I did,  SEE: Early news about Skyfall), I wondered how the story might focus on Miss Henny Penny telling everyone that the sky was falling down because of the title Skyfall but one character revealed herself to be Miss Moneypenny somewhere in the movie when it was least expected as if it were a big surprise so maybe it all works out there. 

Xavier Bardom's character was excellent in terms of the way that all modern Bond villains seem to have to be able to have a fight with Bond rather than sit behind a desk somewhere stroking a cat expecting others around him to do the work, which is great after the previous Bond villain. 

I thought that the scene where Bond meets Q for the first time seemed a bit dodgy, someone in the gallery ought to have complained to the security guard at the site of the exchange of weaponry, I would have, and Bond's jacket/ coat in that scene looked a bit odd on him probably because he had shoulders like a gorilla otherwise he seemed well dressed in the rest of theories in terms of general fitting. 

However the way a certain main villain got loose or a certain Sumo wrestler sized heavy in a casino allowed himself to get killed and a certain hard drive full of data that shouldn't have existed got into enemy hands seemed rather appalling to me slightly but I realise that this what it takes to get a film made these days, and it was enjoyable enough to deserve repeat viewings. 

My friend Miss Tryon wasn't too impressed with Bond's haircut and she thought that he looked more like some sort of a communist spy or whatever

I think the movie was really about Miss Moneypenny/Henny Penny dropping acorns on people's heads to get them confused thinking that the sky was falling down on them and then do stupid things to get the film story movie, or maybe it was the villain Silva secretly dropping the acorns all along. but otherwise it was great entertainment

One could start going down a funny little world of people with memory implants of themselves being the one and only James Bond and the rest of the people are conditioned to think that he is the one and only James Bond including the groundsman at his old family home. And the way the old Aston Martin was dragged out of storage, it might as well be the way that Dr Who uncovered a replacement K9 in storage in his Tardis. Maybe this James Bond is supposed to be a Time Lord, that could explain all the different looking James Bonds

I hope Bond's family home gets rebuilt and what they'll replace it with is a mansion at least a two hundred years older

The Master

1) I recall seeing the movie The Master today and actually thought that the movie was very good and the performances were very good as well, although the film was very long. It might even be P T Anderson's most watchable movie for me. However if I never ever sees the movie again in his entire life, I wont consider it a problem. If I forget about the movie completely, I might not consider it a problem. I didn't like the main character played by Joaquin Phoenix at all, I felt uncomfortable having to watch him throughout the film, but I thought that Philip Seymour Hoffman's character was great and the cinematography was wonderful as well. There is a quality about PT Anderson's movies as if he doesn't want them to really be liked very much. A comfortable seat with extra legroom is ideal to tolerate the experience of watching this long movie especially if one is tall.

2) Someone had asked me if I saw the 70mm version. Quite honestly I haven't got a clue, if I saw the 70mm version or not I went to the Odeon in Leicester Square and saw it, I didn't inquire about the measurements in millimetres. I can't claim to have noticed whether the quality of picture was really good or better than usual on the screen that I saw it. I think that these things are a little more noticeable on such screens as the big Odeon in Leicester Square where the James Bond is playing at the time. 

3) If I am to consider the side of the version that I saw or the quality of image, I suppose the best thing for me to do is go to see the movie at a local cinema and make a comparison, but I don't think I'll be doing that so soon. But it wasn't a movie in which one expected to see any super details and I wasn't really sitting particularly close to the screen. I was somewhere back in row R and glad that no ones head was in my way.

4) Well, I look forwards to more PTA movies in the future that I have only the urge to watch once and perhaps even have no real urge to collect any of the relating interviews and articles relating to them allowing things to be a little more contained on the big cinema screen.

5) I think my favourite PTA movie of all is Boogie Nights.

Argo Bargo

1) I remember going to see the film Argo which was a movie set behind the scenes of the Iran Hostage Crisis and behind the scenes of the scifi movie industry. It was a very good drama as good as nearly everyone seem to point out in reviews, good performances from everyone, it was good to see Alan Arkin in a role. I remembers him from a movie called Simon which left some sort of an impression opn him. 

2) Ben Affleck who directed the movie also had the main role of a CIA operator who must go into Iran and under a foil escort 6 Embassy Staff members out of the country. 

3) During the movie, Ben Affleck sported a beard and hairstyle that made him look very much like a "Tom Skerrit as Captain Dallas of the Nostromo from the movie Alien" wannabee and Alien which was a movie released in 1979, the same year as the hostage crisis developed . It's quite possible that Ben Affleck's character looked nothing like the actual person he played in the movie or another way to say that is that there was no way Ben Affleck could look like the Latino man he was suppose to play at all

4) Viewers are advised not to look at Argo as a realistic depiction of the event. The Canadians did actually have a part to play in handling the hostage crisis and very little of this film actually seems to resemble the actual events that took place. But still it's a great movie with a 70s feels

Silent Hill: Revelation

1) I have memories of seeing Silent Hill: Revelation or whatever it is called. I liked the movie enough, it contained many interesting weird nightmare like scenes, many rehashed monsters from the original bur still some visual surprises just to give you an ideas that you saw some new things and thus it wasn't a complete waste of time rehash. A young actress playing the main role who seemed pretty enough, but the story almost seemed like an episode of some long going scifi series where the story had run out of steam. 

2) I liked the original movie very much but this as a sequel seemed okay enough in a time when there seemed little likelihood of any sequel at all. Of course it is sadly lacking in comparison to the original movie but is not ultimately that awful, there are still some things of interest, but if they don't make another Silent Hill for years to come it wont be a big issue anymore.

3) Someone somewhere thought that it seemed very much more like the computer game than the first one and might be more enjoyable to game players, and perhaps I might agree if I had actually played computer games in the last twenty years. 

4) There was enough in it to make me want to watch the good parts of it again on DVD and see documentaries about the conception of this movie but the revelations in the story didn't really interest me at all. If someone somewhere suggested that the film story had been slightly mainstreamed for Twiglight audience ( I can't be bothered to spell that film series name correctly) I'd probably agree.

5) It was good to see Deborah Unger making a brief appearance. A brave effort whatever and I could well watch it again pretty soon.

6) I have memories of seeing the Silent Hill sequel and wonder if those memories are real

Sinister

I saw the film Sinister, I was bored by much of it other than the contents of the videos of the murders that would show up through the movie, and when the end scene showing the demon and the children being revealed to be the murderers in the extended versions of the videos really didn't appeal to me. I wasn't really too interested in the design of the demon's face. It might be one aimed at those who liked the Ring movies but I liked the Ring movies but I did not like this.

I had to see it and look at what was likely to disinterest me about it. I think that my utter disinterest sank in by a third of the way through.  If you like to listen to husband and wife rows, this might be the movie for you. However it was almost generally an okay film in general but it didn't inspire me to think much about it afterwards.

P.S. (Several months later: The content of the small Super8 films in this movie would continue to play on in the back of this writers mind for a long time to come )

See: The dream seed for Sinister

The dream seed for Sinister

leading from

Dreams That Become Films

The opening shot from Sinister

C Robert Cargill had watched the movie The Ring (the American remake by Gore Verbinski ) and then he stayed up all night writing before taking a short nap before he continued with the rest of the day, and as soon as he put his head on the pillow, he dream of going into his attic and there he finds a box of Super 8 films, He spools one of them onto his projector and watches it and woke up terrified. The image haunted him for years and he thought that there had to be a good horror movie and soon crafted a story around it and as well as the whole mythology of Sinister. And so the first film that appeared in the dream becomes the opening shot for Sinister.

Sources

1. Starburst: What was the inspiration for the film?
   
   C. Robert Cargill: A nightmare. I had seen The Ring and stayed up all night working, and took a short nap. As soon as my head hits the pillow I’m dreaming of going into my attic and I find a box of 8mm films. I spool it on to the projector and the first image is the opening shot of Sinister. That image haunted me for years, and I thought that there’s got to be a good story in there. (source:http://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/interviews/4580-interview-c-robert-cargill-author-of-dreams-and-shadows) 
2. Craveonline: What was the initial germ of the idea that you were having trouble with?
   C. Robert Cargill: I had a nightmare. I had gone to see The Ring, and I’d stayed up all night writing, so I was exhausted, and I was like, you know, I’m going to take a little nap before the rest of my day, after seeing this scary, scary, terrifying movie. And then sure enough I had this horrifying dream of going up into my attic, finding a box of Super 8 films, spooling one up, and it was the opening scene from the movie. (source: http://www.craveonline.com/film/interviews/205257-horrific-images-scott-derrickson-and-c-robert-cargill-on-sinister) 
3. Heyuguys: What was your first image? First spark.
   
   C. Robert Cargill: It came from a nightmare. I made a terrible mistake and watched The Ring before I went to sleep. I had a nightmare about going into my attic and there is a box of Super 8 film I thread the projector and I turn it on and what I see is the opening shot of the film.
   So I wake up terrified and that image haunted me for years and I knew I had to do something with it. So I crafted the story around and created the mythology of Sinister. What’s really interesting is people are telling me they have nightmares and that says something about the art – that I’ve taken this nightmare and caused other people to have the same nightmare. That’s such a cool concept.
   (http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/it-started-with-a-dream-interview-sinister-with-writer-c-robert-cargill-exclusive-clip/)
4. Love Horror: Where did you come up with the amazing, original idea?
   C. Robert Cargill: A nightmare, believe it or not. I had a terrible dream after seeing THE RING. I was climbing into my attic when I saw a box with Super 8 films and a projector in it. I spooled up the first film and it was the opening image of SINISTER. That nightmare stuck with me for a while and eventually I realized it might make a for a pretty good horror movie. (source http://lovehorror.co.uk/interview-with-sinister-writer-c-robert-cargill)
5. Examiner:Where did you guys get the concept of the film from?
   C. Robert Cargill: It came from a nightmare. I have just came from seeing The Ring and when I got home and slept, I had a dream that I went into my attic and found that box of Super 8 films and I spooled one onto the projector and saw the opening shot of this movie. It terrified me for a long time and I thought “Well, if it scares you, than there might be a good movie in it.” I kicked it around for several years until I found the story and then I pitched it to Scott. (http://www.examiner.com/article/scott-derrickson-and-c-robert-cargill-create-a-horrific-and-sinister-film)
6. @AlexMcNeill93: What inspired the premise and ideas behind Sinister? #SeeSinister
   
   C. Robert Cargill: I had a nightmare about finding the box of movies in my attic, including the opening shot of the film. Freaked me the out.
   
   @johnnydonaldson: #SeeSinister looks really scary. We need more genuinely scary. Where idea 4 it come from?
   
   C. Robert Cargill: Had a nightmare after watching THE RING, thought it would make a good movie and worked on a story for it.
   (source: http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/168057-transcript-last-nights-sinister-twitter-qaa)
7. Zimbio: Where did you get the idea for SINISTER?
   C. Robert Cargill: I had a terrible dream after seeing THE RING. I was climbing into my attic when I saw a box with Super 8 films and a projector in it. I spooled up the first film and it was the opening image of SINISTER. That nightmare stuck with me for a while and eventually I realized it might make a for a pretty good horror movie.
   (http://www.zimbio.com/C.+Robert+Cargill/articles/tR9gf7i8WGB/SIX+BEST+C+Robert+Cargill) 
8. Moviemuser: Where did the idea for Sinister come from?
   
   C. Robert Cargill: I had a terrible dream after seeing THE RING. I was climbing into my attic when I saw a box with Super 8 films and a projector in it. I spooled up the first film and it was the opening image of SINISTER. That nightmare stuck with me for a while and eventually I realised it might make a for a pretty good horror movie.
   (http://www.moviemuser.co.uk/features/10339/c-robert-cargill-interview.aspx)
9. Screengreek:  So where did the idea for Sinister come from?
   
   C. Robert Cargill: A nightmare I had, if you’ll believe that. I had a terrible dream after seeing The Ring. I was climbing into my attic when I saw a box with Super 8 films and a projector in it. I spooled up the first film and it was the opening image of Sinister. That nightmare stuck with me for a while and eventually I realized it might make a for a pretty good horror movie.
   (http://www.screengeek.co.uk/features/article/interview-sinister-writer-c-robert-cargill)