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Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (Blu-ray Review)

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The Battle Of The Five Armies certainly doesn’t want to give you time to settle in. Indeed it appears that in Peter Jackson’s mind he wasn’t making three movies, he was creating one enormously long one, as the final part of the trilogy jumps straight in without even the vaguest hint of a recap or a desire to allow the audience to catch their breath.

Nope, the dragon Smaug is on his way to attack Laketown and only Luke Evan’s Bard the Bowman can stop them. That part of the plot is wrapped up pretty quickly, leaving two full hours for the battle of the title and its build-up. Thorin (Richard Armitage) has holed himself up in his ancestral home in the Misty Mountain, but like his forefathers, having control of the vast dwarvish treasure immediately sends him nuts, with the gold causing him to betray his friends and isolate himself from all those around him. [Read more…]

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Cinema Review)

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So here we are at the end of Bilbo’s quest, and a journey that Peter Jackson and co started on many years ago to bring Middle Earth to the big screen. I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2004) and they are some of my all-time favourite films.

It’s been more than a decade since I went to the cinema to see The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), and at the time I went in with little expectation, just knowing that it was a fantasy film based on a beloved book that had gained legions of fans worldwide. I was captivated by a fully realised world and became attached to the characters and their quest. And then suddenly it ended and I couldn’t believe I had to wait a year for more! [Read more…]

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Trailer – Can’t Middle Earth people just learn to get along?

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hobbit-battle-of-five-armies-poster1-slideIn just over a month we’ll be going back into Middle Earth for the last time (probably) with the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. To give us a taste of what we can expect, the full trailer has now arrived, which you can watch below.

As you would expect, the trailer is big on battle (which presumably involves five armies) and suggests this instalment certainly won’t be lacking in action. Indeed rumours already suggest the final battle itself will last for more than 45 minutes.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

‘“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the vast wealth of their homeland, but now must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon, Smaug, upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.

‘As he succumbs to dragon-sickness, the King Under the Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield, sacrifices friendship and honor in his search for the legendary Arkenstone. Unable to help Thorin see reason, Bilbo is driven to make a desperate and dangerous choice, not knowing that even greater perils lie ahead. An ancient enemy has returned to Middle-earth. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide—unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends as five great armies go to war.’

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is released in UK cinemas 12 December 2014. [Read more…]

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Bilbo Gets His The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Poster

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hobbit-battle-of-five-armies-poster2In the last film they found Smaug and the dragon isn’t happy. It’s only a few months until we get to see what happens next (or you could just read the book), with Laketown under threat and Bilbo stuck in the middle of it all.

Now the main one-sheet poster for the film has arrived, with Martin Freeman and his sword centre stage.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the vast wealth of their homeland, but now must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon, Smaug, upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.

‘As he succumbs to dragon-sickness, the King Under the Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield, sacrifices friendship and honor in his search for the legendary Arkenstone. Unable to help Thorin see reason, Bilbo is driven to make a desperate and dangerous choice, not knowing that even greater perils lie ahead. An ancient enemy has returned to Middle-earth. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide—unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends as five great armies go to war.’

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is in cinemas on 12th December 2014.

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First The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies Poster For Comic Con

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hobbit-3-comic-con-posterIn five months time the journey of The Hobbit comes to an end with The Battle Of The Five Armies. We’ve yet to see a trailer, but we do now have a poster, which has been released especially for Comic Con.

The image sees Bard The Bowman (Luke Evans) facing the enormous Smaug as he prepares to defend Laketown.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Opening in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D theaters on December 17, The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.

‘Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.

‘As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.’

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The Hobbit 3 Officially Becomes The Battle Of The Five Armies

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hobbit-desolation-slideLast week rumours emerged that the third Hobbit movie, which up until now has be subtitled There and Back Again, might be getting a new title, due to the fact Warner Bros. had registered some new Hobbit related internet domains.

Now it’s been confirmed there will be a new name, although while most rumours suggested it would become The Hobbit: Into the Fire. Earlier today, Peter Jackson revealed on his Facebook page that it’s actually becoming The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Here’s what Jackson had to say: ‘Inside Information…

‘Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo’s own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we’ve gone along. There and Back Again felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced-after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

‘When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.

‘And so: The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies it is.

‘As Professor Tolkien intended, There and Back Again encompasses Bilbo’s entire adventure, so don’t be surprised if you see it used on a future box-set of all three movies.

‘Before then however, we have a film to finish, and much to share with you. It’s been a nice quiet time for us-Jabez and I happily editing away in a dark cave in Wellington-but those halcyon days are quickly coming to an end. It will soon be time to step into the light. Expect to see and hear much about The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies in the coming months.

‘And there’s also The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Cut, which we’re in the process of finishing, with over 25 mins of new scenes, all scored with original music composed by Howard Shore.
It’ll be a fun year!’

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First Hobbit: There & Back Again Image Sees Orlando Bloom Back As Legolas

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We’ve had quite a few images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which hits cinemas on December 13th, but now we’re jumping forward to the third film, The Hobbit: There & Back Again, with the first pic from that movie arriving via EW. And it’ll be exciting for all those who swooned over Legolas in Lord Of The Rings, as it shows Orlando Bloom back in Middle Earth for more elf-ness.

As many will know, Legolas isn’t in the book, so what’s he doing in the movie? Peter Jackson says, “He’s [elven king] Thranduil’s son, and Thranduil is one of the characters in The Hobbit, and because elves are immortal it makes sense Legolas would be part of the sequence in the Woodland Realm.” In the pic Legolas is one of the Hobbit trilogy’s new human faces, Laketown warrior Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans).

EW also has a rather cool new Unexpected Journey shot, showing Gandalf meeting the Goblin King (played by Dame Edna herself, Barry Humphries).

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Third Hobbit Movie Gets A Release Date, While The Second Film Is Given A Name

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While a couple of months ago it was confirmed The Hobbit was changing from being two movies to three, we didn’t know when the third film would be released, or which of the films was getting a new title. Now we know, as Warner Bros has released a statement, saying that the final film will be titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again (which was previously what the second film was going to be called), and will be released worldwide on July 18th, 2014.

The studio also announced the title of the second installment in the franchise will be The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and will keep its release date on December 13th, 2013. The first film in the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, opens December 14th, 2012.

Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures, stated, “We wanted to have a shorter gap between the second and third films of The Hobbit Trilogy. Opening in July affords us not only the perfect summer tentpole, but fans will have less time to wait for the finale of this epic adventure.”

Some fans will undoubtedly still feel adding a third film is just a cash-grab, but we’ll have to wait and see whether it works.

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Third Hobbit Movie Confirmed For Summer 2014

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A few days ago we reported that Peter Jackson was ‘deep in talks’ with Warner Bros about turning the two planned Hobbit movies into a trilogy. It’s now been confirmed that’s exactly what’s going to happen, with THR reporting that we’ll get The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and There & Back Again in December 2012 and 2013 as planned, with a third, currently untitled movie arriving some time Summer 2014.

While there’d been rumblings of discontent at the idea of turning it into a trilogy, especially as The Hobbit is a shorter book than any of the three Lord Of The Rings novels, Jackson is ready to defend the decision. He says in a statement, “Upon recently viewing a cut of the first film, and a chunk of the second, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and I were very pleased with the way the story was coming together. We recognized that the richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, gave rise to a simple question: do we tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as filmmakers and fans was an unreserved ‘yes.’

“We know the strength of our cast and of the characters they have brought to life. We know creatively how compelling and engaging the story can be and—lastly, and most importantly—we know how much of the tale of Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur would remain untold if we did not fully realize this complex and wonderful adventure. I’m delighted that New Line, MGM and Warner Bros. are equally enthusiastic about bringing fans this expansive tale across three films.”

It’s unclear is this means more footage will need to be shot, although Jackson has previously said he’s always intended to include a lot of material Tolkien included in the appendixes to Lord Of The Rings and that he’s shot a lot of extra footage. We’ll reserve judgement, but it does seem a bit of a stretch to say we really need The Hobbit as a trilogy.

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Peter Jackson Deep In Talks For Third Hobbit Film

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As The Hobbit is a shorter book than any of the three parts of Lord Of The Rings, many wondered if there was enough plot for two films, but at Comic-Con, Peter Jackson suggested he was thinking as actually making it into three. Now THR reports that the director is in “accelerated” talks with the studio about making a third movie.

The filmmaker has said that he shot an abundance of material that he would not be able to fit into either of the planned movies, which sparked speculation that a third movie may be in the works. Warner Bros. is now reportedly on board with the proposal, if they can make it for the right price, since new deals will have to be negotiated with cast members. At any rate, a decision must be made very soon, according to an unidentified source close to the production, “If we’re going to do it, we have to make a decision soon. It’s strongly driven by the filmmakers’ desire to tell more of the story.”

If a third movie is given the green light, shooting will likely take place for a couple of months in New Zealand, sometime next summer. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slated for release on December 14th, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again arriving in cinemas December 13th, 2013. The proposed third movie would likely debut during December of 2014, if it comes to fruition.

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