A cheese sandwich of a documentary. Lots of bizarre editorial choices here including documents read by a robotic voice generator and non sequitor video clips from stuff like Family Guy. Though it touts an interview with Billy McFarland, most of the footage is him staring blankly or saying "no comment."
38/100
I wouldn't see another film projected at 48 fps if I were held at gunpoint. In the state of the art venue I saw The Hobbit, the film looked like it was being screened in fast-motion. It was distractingly cartoonish and never managed to trick the eye in the way 24 fps does.
Issues with the projection aside, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is deeply problematic despite the artistry of its production design, effects and sound work. This story is…
When confronted with "no more than a hundred" orcs, two of our dwarf protagonists shrug and begin slaughtering them like experts playing a video game on beginner mode. Such moments forego the most basic realities, and they're ultimately what kept The Hobbit from working on film. This is pure fantasy, of course, but plot conveniences and improbabilities eliminate any iota of drama. Once members of the sprawling ensemble finally shed blood, it's jarringly false. These characters have survived the most…
