THE HOBBIT : THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES : Monday 29th December 2014.

I sat in a packed theatre last night with a bunch of mates to see Peter Jackson's final instalment in 'The Hobbit' series and the culmination of 15 years of his life dedicated to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and bringing two great works of literary art to the big screen spread over six epic films. Much has been said already about this final chapter 'THE HOBBIT : THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES', and it seems that critical opinion has been divided so far from what I've read and heard. Come what may, as of 30th December the film has already amassed a global Box Office haul of US$573M against it's production budget of US$250M, and from this standpoint there are certainly plenty of bums on seats in the movie theatres generating a solid return in ticket sales already. In all likelihood this final chapter will top US$1B by the end of its cinematic run taking the trilogy well beyond US$3B - with DVD and TV rights still to go!

I enjoyed this film, as did my movie buddies, and like the other five instalments of the two books this is a must see on a big screen. Peter Jackson knows how to deliver spectacle on an epic scale, and six films in and using all the cutting edge technology at his finger tips he does not disappoint, and, does so with a deft touch having honed his skills admirably along the way during the last decade and a half.

Naturally this film continues immediately where 'The Desolation of Smaug' left off, and we see the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) circling over Laketown after the Dwarves have banished it from the Lonely Mountain. Needless to say Laketown is torched - there is death, widespread destruction and mayhem before Bard The Bowman (Luke Evans) takes down Smaug using the black arrow from atop a burning bell tower. Meanwhile the helpless Dwarves and Bilbo look on from inside the mountain as the town succumbs to fire and The Master of Laketown (Stephen Fry) comes to a sticky end trying to escape with his stash of gold. As this unfolds already Bilbo (Martin Freeman) notices a change in Thorin (Richard Armitage) as the 'dragon sickness' begins to take hold, and his obsession with his reclaimed gold, riches and wealth becomes all consuming and more important than life itself. Things will only get worse before they get better!

As word begins to spread across the lands that Smaug has been destroyed and the mountain reclaimed so the Elves and the Orks converge on Erebor to stake their claim and take what is believed to be theirs. As Thorin sinks deeper into his despair in searching for the lost Arkenstone and obsesses more about his gold and his new power as the Dwarf King, so he distances himself from the other Dwarves and eventually Bilbo too. The Orks summons a second army from Gundabad to converge on Erebor taking out Dale where the displaced people of Laketown are now taking refuge in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain.

At this point the army of Elves have arrived as has Gandalf (Ian McKellen) recently rescued by Galadreil (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman the White (Christopher Lee) from Dol Guldur. Sadly, this is all we see of Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman and I can't help feeling Cate, Hugo and Chris were short changed in this outing when perhaps their ongoing involvement could have been a little more meaty! Overcoming the Orks (temporarily) Bard attempts to convince Thorin to allow the folk of Laketown into Erebor for safe shelter from the advancing army, but Thorin is so wrapped up in his own  obsessive little world that he will have none of it and would rather bring on war than risk sharing a single gold coin with anyone else, despite the earlier commitments he has made!

And so it's on for young and old, man and beast as the Elves and the Men prepare to storm the Lonely Mountain. As they prepare to do so the Orc reinforcements arrive with Goblins and giant war hunger bats and other grizzly creatures to wipe out everything in their path. At which point Thorin's cousin Dain arrives (Billy Connolly - almost unrecognisable in his make up, except for his dead give-away voice which is  delight!) with his Dwarf Army bringing up the rear. During this conflagration of converging opposing forces Thorin hallucinates in a nightmare of voices, memories and visions eventually snapping out of his obsessive stupor and sees the error of his ways and what it has almost cost him. He musters his fellow Dwarves and Bilbo and together they all jump headlong into the fight with Dwarves, Elves and Men all doing pitched battle with the marauding Orcs and their Goblin followers with a bunch of giant swooping eagles who come out of nowhere to help save the day for our tiny friends, bringing said battle of five armies to a somewhat abrupt halt!

It's bloody and it's messy but on screen it is a spectacle to behold as the might of the battling armies spread forth leaving death and destruction on all sides. The magnitude of this is well conceived and well delivered in all its CGI glory. Meanwhile we have other smaller hand to hand fights as Thorin seeks to destroy Orc leader Azog (Manu Bennett) at nearby Ravenhill aided by Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Kili (Aidan Turner) and Fili (Dean O'Gorman) where ultimately is doesn't end well for any of them. As this is going on so Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is fighting it out with Azog's right hand Orc, Bolg (John Tui), and you can guess which one of these two survives to fight another day!

In the end the Orcs are vanquished and retreat, their leader is slain, but there are casualties on all sides - Dwarves, Elves and Men, but Erebor is saved and with it the riches contained therein. Bilbo returns to The Shire accompanied by Gandalf and we learn that 13 months have passed by since he set out on his epic journey. Gandalf leaves Bilbo saying that he will maintain a watchful eye on the little Hobbit, and in the closing scene we see the older Bilbo (Ian Holm) sixty years hence reflecting on his previous journey and toying with the gold ring still in his possession when Gandalf knocks on his door, and he springs up to greet his old friend.

Jackson has been criticised for spreading a relatively short concise story (unlike the 'LOTR' tome) into a three instalment film event spanning over seven hours of run time, but in the final analysis I think he can be forgiven for his enthusiasm, his commitment and his energy in delivering another filmic event on a grand scale, and, for dedicating such a large proportion of his life to this labour of love. So far, US$2.55B in combined sales for this series, and counting, says something . . . and the movie going public are voting with their wallets - good on 'em! This is a fitting end to the series, sets up the first film in the 'LOTR' trilogy with a few well placed references, and whilst at times the CGI is just a little off kilter and some of the dialogue a little questionable, I am happy to recommend this film to you.

   

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Friday 26th December 2014.

Merry Christmas to the national and international readership of this Blog, and best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy and safe festive season from your friends at Odeon Online.

And so the biggest day in the movie release year is upon us with another raft of new film content coming to our big screens on Boxing Day. December kicked off with ten new release movies and then the brakes were applied in successive weeks in anticipation of the Christmas week releases to capitalise upon the holiday season and some eagerly awaited offerings that once again are sure to offer something for everyone.

For the week ahead then we have the epic final chapter in a monumental saga that has been fifteen years in the making; one of Australia's favourite sons has turned Director for the first time to deliver us a tale of WW1 in the wake of Gallipoli; Disney Studio's have come good with their animation to deliver us a heart warming futuristic story that ticks many boxes; then there is probably Hollywood's most grumpy old man who forges an unlikely friendship with his polar opposite in almost every sense, that is being touted as a long-term best for this grumpy old Actor; we then have an English period piece about a renowned ageing painter as he struggles in his later years to come to terms with what is going on all around him; and finally, and next up is the third instalment in another successful franchise that reunites a familiar cast and a Hollywood great that we sadly lost earlier this year.

There it is then, six new films to tempt, tease and tantalise your taste buds with big screen entertainment that will deliver on spectacle; be sure to  surprise and delight; make you laugh and maybe make you choke back a tear and all will certainly entertain in 2D or 3D over the coming week. Drop me a Comment when you've chosen your filmic entertainment in the week ahead and sat through the experience, and share your views and opinions with your favourite movie Blog and the cinema going world. We'll be pleased to hear from you!

THE HOBBIT : THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (Rated M) - Peter Jackson's closing chapter in his 'Hobbit' trilogy brings to an end over fifteen years of film making that started the J.R.R. Tolkien saga with the first instalment of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in 2001 and which went on to yield US$2.92B in Box Office receipts off a US$281M production budget. This series of three has so far cost US$745M to bring to the big screen and has made (out of the first two films) US$2.13B, so looks set to surpass the global haul from all three L.O.T.R films if past performance is anything to go by.

Following on from where 'The Desolation of Smaug' left off, we see the same bunch of characters led by Bilbo recapture Erebor as Smaug has fled and in so doing destroys Laketown. With Bilbo and the dwarves led by an increasingly obsessive and distant Thorin, they must now protect The Lonely Mountain with the help of the Elves, Men and The Great Eagles against an oncoming army of Orcs unleashed by the evil enemy Sauron. Effects laden, CGI heavy with huge set-pieces culminating in the battle to end all battles (until the next one), 'The Battle of Five Armies' has already earned US$358M since its US and European release earlier in December. A must see, with expectations running high and given what we know Peter Jackson is more than capable of.

THE WATER DIVINER (Rated M) - Russell Crowe here delivers his Directorial debut, and stars in this telling of Water Diviner Joshua Connor (Crowe) who makes the journey from his native Australia to Gallipoli in search of his three missing sons in the aftermath of that tragic battle in World War 1. Four years have passed since, and in travelling to Turkey he forges a relationship with the owner of the hotel where he is staying in Istanbul, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) and enlists the help of Australian Lt. Col Cyril Hughes (Jai Courtney) and his Turkish opposite Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) to search for his missing boys. Will his water divining skills enable him to devine his missing-in-action-presumed-dead sons and so bring them home to Australia to be laid to rest in peace in there. This of course is the crux of the story intertwined with beautiful Turkish scenery, some Hollywood screen magic, and a story of endless hope, courage, faith, determination, love and friendship amidst the backdrop of tragedy, loss and death on an unfathomable scale.

ST. VINCENT (Rated M) - this Comedy Drama stars an A-List Hollywood Actor known for being grumpy and who has become very selective in the roles he now plays, and with whom. Originally intended for Jack Nicholson who turned it down, the role ended up with Bill Murray who puts in a tour-de-force as Vietnam Vet Vincent who has led a squandering stubbornly self-satisfied life which in his twilight years have left him with next to nothing. When Vincent's new neighbours need a babysitter for teenage son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), Vincent agrees, but for a fee. What unfolds is an unlikely friendship between these two polar opposites as Vincent downloads on Oliver his adult experiences of alcohol, gambling, bad food, loose women and over indulgence in life. What Oliver offers Vincent is an inward looking view of a lonely existence and a secret past that perhaps he would prefer laid to rest but must now confront - particularly as life events take an unexpected turn for the worse for Vincent leading both to move in a direction that neither they or those around them could ever have imagined. Directed and Written by Theodore Melfi and starring too Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O'Dowd.

MR. TURNER (Rated M) - this is the story of 19th Century English landscape and seascape painter J.M.W. Turner as played by Timothy Spall. Set during the last 25 years of his life this is a detailed, nuanced, finely balanced film that sees Turner at the height of his fame, popularity and output but torn between his ever faithful housekeeper and mistress of 40 years, Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson) and his seaside landlady with whom he forms a relationship, Sophia Booth (Marion Bailey) and eventually resides in Chelsea unbeknownst to most, and where he eventually dies. During this time, the film charts the many exploits and idiosyncrasies of Turner - the man, the artist, the eccentric, the socialite and the obsessive. Spall gives a career defining performance in this Mike Leigh Directed film that could well be the sleeper hit at the upcoming Academy Awards.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM : SECRET OF THE TOMB (Rated PG) - Directed by Shawn Levy this film stars two Hollywood greats who very sadly passed away earlier this year - Mickey Rooney as Gus reprising his role from the first film and Robin Williams who has appeared in all three as Teddy Roosevelt. Ben Stiller is back at Larry Daily the night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History only now he has gained promotion to 'Director of Night-time Operations'. The 'tablet' which gives the museum artifacts the power to become animated at night-time is beginning to lose its powers, and as such those exhibits are beginning to exhibit some strange behaviours. Investigating further Larry learns that the tablet's powers are not infinite and that 'the end will come', only now sooner rather than later. The only way to prevent this is to travel to London to the British Museum of Natural History and the origin of the tablet that can only be regenerated by moonlight. As the tablets powers begin to wane so does the staying power of the animated exhibits who begin to age and turn back to wax. As the tablet falls into the wrong hands of an  historical English figure, a race against time begins in the London museum and across the city as Larry and his friends seek to retrieve the tablet before it crumbles away to dust forever, and any chance of retaining its magic disappears completely. Starring also Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Ben Kingsley, Dick Van Dyke and a host of historical figures, animals and set pieces this is sure to please for a number of reasons, including those aforementioned two late great Hollywood legends.

BIG HERO 6 (Rated PG) - Disney Studio's have pulled out all the stops to bring this animated feature to life and in doing so have created a delightful story with heart, great visuals, an east meets west backdrop and the rich pedigree of Marvel Comics. Following on from their recent success too with 'Frozen' this is set in a futuristic San Fransokyo and sees an oversize inflatable health-care robot called 'Baymax' (a mix of the 'Michelin Man' and 'Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man') who was designed to be activated upon hearing the word 'ouch' and continues administering aid until the 'patient' proclaims 'I am satisfied with your care'! This is all good until our hero of the piece - young Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter) whose recently killed older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) was working on various robotic devices with his friends GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred and of course Baymax at the local University. Hiro himself is a robot whizz and so he and Baymax adopt each other with a view to continuing brother Tadashi's work. But all is not well as they soon discover, and someone else is mass producing robots for potential unsavoury gain, and so Baymax is re-programmed by Hiro to thwart the no-good enemy, discover the truth behind his brothers death, and ultimately continue the good work his brother had initiated. This film is Directed by Don hall and Chris Williams and stars the voice talents too of Scott Adsit as Baymax, Damon Wyans Jnr. as Wasabi and James Cromwell as Professor Callaghan amongst others. There is an animated short film shown before the main event and remain seated through the credits for additional footage that lays the foundation for a possible sequel.

Wow - some big releases this coming week as you would expect for Boxing Day. Get out there and see something on the big screen and take in the spectacle of what these films have to offer - something for everyone, young and young at heart. Plenty of choice - enjoy your movies, enjoy Christmas, best wishes, and we'll report next week for the first of 2015's new releases.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-