Bllu-ray Review: The Hobbit - Extended Edition

By now, it's pretty much a given that a Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movie will inevitably have an extended edition released eventually and so it is with The Hobbit.

Just in time for the upcoming release of The Desolation of Smaug in December, fans can gobble up this wonderful film and get all refreshed for the next chapter.  Or wait a few years for the giant box set of all the movies, assuming physical media is still around by then.

The extended edition adds 13 minutes to the film (putting it at 182 minutes or just over 3 hours), which may not seem like a lot, but there are some fun scenes added to make it all worth it.  The set is also packed with over 9 hours of bonus features, including more fan favorite appendices (parts 7 and 8), and commentary from the filmmakers.

This set is definitely for the fans as casual viewers might find themselves overwhelmed.  Personally, I loved it.  I loved the film and am super excited for the next one in a few weeks.

It's sad though to know that there will be inevitably another edition of these movie, and probably the others as well, that fans will almost certainly shell out more money for.  Until then though, as of this writing, you can name this extended edition of under $20 at amazon.  It's most certainly worth that much!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition is available now!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Extended Edition Blu-ray

10/10 Hobbit Breakfasts!

RAWR(for more)

Twilight: Lowlights and a Farewell to Jacob

by Kari Tervo

I finally finished watching the Twilight saga. In honor of the great experience I had with the movies, I'm going to post some feedback about stuff I didn't like, and then bring you back up to a soaring farewell with triumphant music, a montage, and some fuzzy focus romance.

I'm referring to this criticism as "lowlights," which I think is a great time to declare that I'm glad that stupid ombre hair trend is over. Girl, you're gonna regret that in 15 years like Jennifer Aniston regrets the Rachel. I do admit, I did have some Rachel-y color banding in the late '90s, but I thought it was cool. My head looked like a sunset, or cinnamon toast.

What? What am I talking about? Twilight. Okay.

I shared a collection of fun thoughts about the first 4 movies, here. And I started talking about how I think some feminists have it all wrong about Twilight, here. All in all, I've been pretty happy with the series--it has made me laugh, cry, cringe, feel suspense, wonder, and do all those things movies are supposed to do! In short, I've been wonderfully entertained by this series.

Yet, I didn't enjoy Breaking Dawn, Part II as much as I did the first four films in the series. Here's why:

 CLICK RAWR TO BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE!

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Dredd 3D Review

Judge Dredd is a relatively unknown comic book character, in fact most people are more familiar with the awful Stallone movie from 1995. If there's anyway to rinse that 17 year old bad taste from your mouth, Dredd 3D is it!

Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek) plays Judge Dredd and is perfect. He scowls the entire movie and contorts his face to constantly look like one tough, mean S.O.B.! Also, he wears the Judge helmet the entire movie! Joining him is Olivia Thirlby (The Darkest Hour) as rookie Judge Anderson and Lena Headly ("Game of Thrones") as the deadly Ma-Ma.

The story is very much like Die Hard or The Raid: Redemption in that it is mostly contained inside one location. Judges Dredd and Anderson are called to investigate a triple homicide at the Peach Trees Tower deep within the heart of Mega-City One. When they get there, the Judges quickly realize that the deadly Ma-Ma controls the tower and locks it down. The Judges must traverse the 200 floors of killers to get to Ma-Ma and stop her.

Saying that Dredd is bloody and violent would be an understatement. The violence doesn't escalate, it's consistent and constant from the very first minute, which is how Judge Dredd should be! This is definitely a "Hard R" rated film.

This film also gives a reason to show awesome action sequences in slow motion. A new drug has hit Mega-City One called Slo-Mo, which slows your brain down to 1% of normal speed. There are several great scenes that utilize this effect in the film. I'm usually not a huge fan of 3D, but I really thought it was awesome in this movie, especially during these scenes.

Slo-Mo Shot

Dredd 3D is an exciting, action packed, and faithful adaptation of the cult comic! Director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) and writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later) did an amazing job interpreting the character and the tone from the pages to the screen. 

It's disappointing that this had a less than spectacular opening weekend, when so many terrible films make a ton of money at the box office. A great action film like this deserves to do well at the box office, so I highly recommend going to see this violent, bloody, and fun film (in 3D if you can). 

I would love to see a sequel to this opening up the setting a bit and seeing other places in Mega-City One. The current goal set by Pete Travis is $50 Million in North America for him to justify making a sequel. Hey, if they made a sequel to Ghost Rider, Dredd definitely deserves a sequel!

Dredd 3D gets a well-deserved 10 out of 10 Judges!

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o hai Galdalf!

Entertainment Weekly scored an exclusive look at Ian McKellan reprising his role as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's upcoming The Hobbit. 

Makes me want to visit the Lord of the Rings again.  Good thing the Extended Editions hit blu-ray next week!

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The Hobbit Cometh

Peter Jackson is returning to Middle Earth.

Not as director, that gig will probably end up with Sam Raimi, but as Executive Producer of two films based on The Hobbit. The movies will be shot simultaneously for release in 2010 and 2011.

Not sure how they can turn The Hobbit into two movies but still looking forward to checking it out.

In 3 years.

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