The Desolation of Smaug: Movie (poster) review

[Growley]

I found this particular poster intriguing. The play between the light and darkness draws me in, to a deeper understanding. The deep greens and grays speak of desolation, while the light evokes a feeling of hope. However, with seven characters packed in so tightly, I find the whole thing a bit busy. The tonal quality...(insert record scratch noise here) Blah, blah, blah....







WHAT'S GANDALF THINKING, SMOKING THAT PIPE SO DARNED HOT!?!?!?!? LOL.  :twisted: 

 

[Puff Daddy]

There be dragons in that pipeweed!

Dragons Breath. The only pipeweed that relights itself   

 

[i.keenum]

That really is a great poster.

 

[rothnh]

Surprised Gandalf can hold that pipe -- asbestos hands?  :shock: 

 

[flyguy]

It must be pretty windy for Gandalf's pipe to glow like that! Great poster though.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I really like the way the smoke from Gandalf's pipe takes the form of a dragon breathing fire on the pipe itself. I also really like how the seem to make the pipe the centerpiece in this poster. You can't miss the dragon shaped smoke and it's breath on the bowl of the pipe draws you right to it. It's very nearly an advertisement on pipe smoking.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

It pains me to see the release of another one of these films. But on a positive note for the pipe industry, more Churchwardens will be sold to random 18 year olds than ever before.  

 

[Brewdude]

It pains me to see the release of another one of these films. But on a positive note for the pipe industry, more Churchwardens will be sold to random 18 year olds than ever before.  

Yes, but what they use them for might be questionable!

 :!: 



Cheers,

RR

 

[Growley]

It pains me to see the release of another one of these films. But on a positive note for the pipe industry, more Churchwardens will be sold to random 18 year olds than ever before.  

I kind of agree with you on both statements. Being a big fan of the book, I ended up being less of a fan of the first movie. Just the fact that The Hobbit was probably about 700 pages shorter than the LOTR trilogy, yet they have found a way of making the movie into a 3 part series.... It just feels like most of the focus is on the profit, not the story. I'm not against profit in itself. Without it, we'd have very few movies. But some things are better kept simple and understated.

As far as the 18 year olds, well, maybe they'll end up being true lovers of the pipe smoking magic and show up here on the board.

 

[loco pony]

Too bad the movie will probably suck as bad as the first one, and the poster will be the best thing about the Hobit movies.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Yeah, splitting the Hobbit into 3 films is truly the ultimate Hollywood bilk job. Peter Jackson needs to go back to making masterpieces like Dead Alive and twisted puppet films. Those I enjoyed.

Ps- Growley Churchwardens, yeah baby!

 

[i.keenum]

Meh, I like the movies alot. I have read the books and they are better no doubt, but this is better than a bunch of crap being pushed out now of days.

 

[Growley]

Meh, I like the movies alot. I have read the books and they are better no doubt, but this is better than a bunch of crap being pushed out now of days.

I tend to think the same at first. There's not a lot of just absolutely fantastic stories being filmed at the moment, and this one isn't too bad in comparison. But if we always compare to the average or status quo, then we're probably shorting ourselves in the long run.

These stories are classics, and have captivated many for over 75 years, because they were written well and because they told a great story. I'm only asking that the movie producers strive for the same. It can be done, Casablanca was filmed in 1942.

I write this in a spirit of good conversation, not argument.

 

[Puff Daddy]

The first of any of these stories I was ever exposed to was when my daughter gave me the extended directors cut box set of the  Lord of the Rings trilogy on dvd. Somehow I never read, or even knew of, the Hobbit books when I was young. I only read it after seeing the films on DVD. So, my perspective was much different, having seen the films first.

I love the LOTR trilogy movies, among my favorite movies ever. I thought the latest Hobbit movie (last year) was entertaining but lost a step compared to the first three. I'm not so sure that it's because they extended a story into three movies, I kind of feel that people would complain that it was overly abridged if they made the whole thing thing fit into 2 1/2 hours, but I felt it was not quite as good because it had less of a sense of raw mystery and adventure and more of a lighthearted nature to it. At least in parts. The feel of the LOTR movies was fluid, whereas this one feels different.

Still, I found it enjoyable, and I am looking forward to seeing the latest edition, although I'll wait a few days for the crowds to die down.

 

[Growley]

I think part of where it fell short is that they tired to make a simple story into something much grandiose. The Hobbit is really about the Hobbit, and his journey. They've worked hard to create big powerful heroes and epic battle scenes were there didn't really need to be any. The Hobbit is the hero here. He's small. He doesn't have any epic battles, at least in the sense of massive armies and such.

Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely watch it, and maybe even pay to watch it in the theatres. I'll enjoy it for what it is, and I'm sure it will be entertaining. I'm just guessing it will be more of a "popcorn" flick, where I sit, eat tons of popcorn and am entertained. But sometimes I want more than to be entertained, I want to be moved. This story has the power to do that if it's told correctly.

Man, I've got a soap box huh? I had envisioned this thread to be lighthearted comments about poster designers knowing nothing about pipe smoking, and here I am ranting about the mastery of good storytelling.

 

[docwatson]

Really enjoyed LOTR trilogy and now I'm looking forward to the second installment of The Hobbit. I personally don't care about how true they are to the books, IMO the books can never be upscaled by a movie, but the movies are fabulous to see on the big screen. It's all fabulous entertainment to this old Codger. :cheers: :cheers: 

 

[Puff Daddy]

Oh, and the poster. I don't claim to have any artistic knowledge, but I found it pretty generic, 'cept for the dragon smoke.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I don't think that "The Hobbit" and LOTR are comparable stories. Though they contain some of the same characters and environs, the LOTR is about self-sacrifice and being willing to take on seemingly impossible odds for the right cause while "The Hobbit" is more of a light romp to steal a dragon's plunder.

 

[Growley]

I don't think that "The Hobbit" and LOTR are comparable stories. Though they contain some of the same characters and environs, the LOTR is about self-sacrifice and being willing to take on seemingly impossible odds for the right cause while "The Hobbit" is more of a light romp to steal a dragon's plunder.

+1

 

[rothnh]

The LotR trilogy movies blew me away.  For example, when the Fellowship traveled through the mines, for me, it was as close as it gets to Tolkien's description.  Well done, Mr. Jackson.

I, too, was a bit disappointed in the first Hobbit movie, for the same reasons other posters stated in this thread.  Of course, that won't stop me from seeing the others.