This feels like a dry run for Ross Hunter's other, better bawdy comedies. It's funny to think that Leslie Nielsen is the straight man to Debbie Reynolds, who could hardly play the comedy any broader. Though her performance doesn't do anything for me, the script is full of wicked double entendres that still land. The Oscar-nominated song "Tammy" is heard in the opening credits and again as a ballad performed by Reynolds who wrings the sentimentality out of it.
54/100
The height of hubris for Gerwig to think she could improve upon Louisa May Alcott’s structure. By fracturing the timeline, it cuts most character arcs off at the knees. Emotional moments are dulled or simply don’t work. To compensate, the tone is manic as characters are constantly breathless, giggling and smiling to suggest connections that otherwise aren’t established. Contrasted with Gillian Armstrong’s warm, heartfelt, definitive 1994 version, it’s an abject failure.
45/100
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…
