The Minority Report - "The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey" (2012)

“Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old.”

My Sunday probably started much like everyone else’s: I woke up in a sunny tropical island and thought “I’m gonna go see a movie!” Obviously, I chose Peter Jackson’s latest entry into his JRR Tolkien-based franchise—The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Now, I didn’t see it opening day because of two reasons: I had work and I have no friends. Let’s get real here, though, if I didn’t have work, I would have gone by myself. This film has been a very very hotly anticipated film and, I believe, might have suffered from it. First it was one movie, then two, now three; it was done in 48fps, which some people were upset about; the props and sets looked “fake” for a while there; and etc. All of this culminated in me entering the movie theater and there being maybe 20 people there, to my surprise. The movie was plagued with problems but, in the end, it has made a killing in the box office thus far (kicking out I Am Legend as the highest grossing December weekend box office hit) and I believe it turned out fairly well.

The movie begins with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) writing a narrative of his adventure 60 years prior. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) had tricked Bilbo into hosting a dinner party/get-together with Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and a gang of 12 dwarves. It is here that he learns of their strife and their mission: journey to The Lonely Mountain, defeat the dragon Smaug, and take back that which has been taken from them. In their plan, Bilbo is supposed to be the “thief.” After some initial hesitation, Bilbo decides to join their party as they attempt to reclaim their lost kingdom. Along the way, we encounter orcs, trolls, goblins, and elves as we journey up the tallest mountains and down the deepest caves.

Fraught with dazzling special effects and beautiful landscapes, this movie is sure to thrill. It suffers from a slow, expository beginning that revels in details that were present in Unfinished Tales, Silmarillion, and the Appendix of The Return of the King, but picks up as soon as there’s enough backstory. The movie is very accurate to the history of Middle Earth and the book it’s based on (save some minor changes). But, because of this, it feels long-winded and full to the brim of things it makes you think you should know, but you can’t seem to put your finger on. I believe it suffers from prequel-it is: it attempts to set up everything for the future films while, at the same time, going through Bilbo and Thorins’ character arc. It does it well enough, but, in doing so, misses the mark slightly. Even still, I would highly recommend it and I, personally, enjoyed it very much. I do think that Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman killed as their respective roles, even though the whole cast did a phenomenal job. This movie is slightly like watching paint dry that was filmed at 48fps, so at least it looks more real.

By Kulguy

The Minority Report - "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011)

“Caesar is home.”
This movie definitely had big shoes to fill to say the least. The original “Planet of the Apes” film was absolutely superb in most every way, and a prequel claiming to give rise to the former needed to do outshine all of the previous attempts. That it did. I love the original series and was looking forward to this movie, unlike some of my counterparts. It seemingly came out of nowhere and proved that sequels (or prequels, for that matter) can be excellent movies in and of themselves.

The story begins with a scene in Africa, where the natives are capturing apes. They are getting shipped to a testing facility under the direction of a man by the name of Will Rodman (James Franco) who is in the process of developing a cure for Alzheimer’s, which he tests on the captured apes. Soon, he finds that one of the apes has immensely increased intelligence due to the ALZ-112 drug he is developing. They present the results to a board of directors and investors that wish will decide to market the product or not, but the meeting is disrupted by the intelligent ape, who is shot. It turns out she was a female and had lashed out only because she felt her baby, who she had given birth to secretly, was threatened by the researchers. This puts a damper on Will’s plan to possibly cure Alzheimer’s since his lab is left without chimps after they force the researchers to put them all down, and because he also takes the baby chimp to his home so that it won’t get killed like the others. There, he raises it to keep his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who has Alzheimer’s, company. What began as a temporary house guest soon becomes part of the family as he gains more and more intelligence along the way. Will records the progress and realizes that the ape, whom he named Caesar (Andy Serkis), has inherited the genes for intelligence from his mother. Soon, terrible circumstances force Caesar into a situation where he has to take charge and grow as an ape and as an eventual person. The future of the world is at stake.

Treading a fine line between retribution and compassion, Caesar’s character accepts the role of protagonist in an inspiringly human way. The emotions displayed by the apes and humans alike drag you in and don’t let go. You find yourself hoping and praying that the apes get their way, as the conditions for both sides get worse and worse. Will’s fight against the ravages of Alzheimer’s on his father is emotionally charged and deeply saddening. Here is a man who has dedicated his entire life to save his father, but has created something different as a result. Special praise has to be given to Weta Digital—the company which created the special effects in the film. If the apes wouldn’t have been so realistic, the drama would not have been felt the way it was. The interaction between the real world and the special effects was flawless, and the detail and craftsmanship of the apes was impressive. A film both inspiring and terrifying in its scope, it really brings home new ideas on what it is to be human. This film is only slightly like watching paint dry on redwood trees that tell the story of the rise of the apes.


By Kulguy