The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies

The finale to to the Middle Earth saga may not rise up to purge the bad taste left in some fans mouths after the first two Hobbit movies but still manages to recapture some of the original trilogies magic if not a little too late.

Spoilers and shizz...

Leading off immediately from where the Desolation Of Smaug left us we see the Haughty dragon laying waste to Lake Town with only Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman to stop him. Though it's an incredibly short sequence (about ten minutes to be exact) it stands out as one of the most memorable scenes in the movie and captures one of the stories main themes that the unassuming are capable of greater things than thought possible. Not to take anything away from Bard, he's pretty handy with a bow and is a great leader but I wouldn't exactly call it a fair fight, think Mother Teresa fighting off Zeus or something.

Returning to our heroes however, Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage) and his company have recaptured the lonely mountain and it's from the gold littered halls the battle of the five armies all kicks off. Bilbo Baggins, the circumspect protagonist of the story begins to worry about the movies main focus, Thorin, the dwarf prince now finally retaking his homeland is overcome with horrific greed which sends him spiraling into a Gollum inspired madness with a voice eerily reminiscent of the dragon, Smaug.

The strained relationship between the patient Bilbo and abrasive Thorin stands out as one of the films greater moments, Armitage and Freeman share a natural chemistry and even wrapped up inside the fantastical nature of the plot, it's in both of these character we find the most humanity, balancing on both ends of the scale. Though the film is mainly composed of one very long (maybe a little too long) battle of the titular five armies of middle earth, there are undercurrents of sub plots that occasionally draw reference to the original trilogy and finally feel like they belong as opposed to Jacksons' usual shoehorning, yet other plots don't really get resolved and it's all down to the two main gripes with the film.

First off the extended cameo of fan favourite Legolas (Bloom) actually fits and at times even makes you question whether the inclusion of him would have improved the novel (perhaps not but y'know...) Lee pace returns again as king of the wood elves and Legolas' father, Thranduil in a part he plays majestically. Through his speech and demeanor to the cast around him he moves with a grace a warrior should not possess but he makes riding an elk look pretty badass. Time shared between the two gives up some character development behind Legolas that though isn't necessarily needed, it does cement his place in this story all the more.

I love Ian Mckellan, he's fantastic in everything he's in and I'd be happy seeing him play anything, he could play the shark from Jaws and I'd still enjoy it, his role as Gandalf however is drastically cut short in this film however to make room for a forced love triangle between one of the dwarves and new character, Tauriel the elf (Lilly) which is brought down by lackluster and paint by numbers dialogue, I can say this with great confidence as any time a scene arose with the pair of them a groan could be heard all around me in the cinema.

That and this bastard taking up far too much screen time to use the same retired joke at least eight times in the movie.

Though the Battle Of The Five Armies has plenty to go around and an over abundance of CGI aside, captures some of the magic of the battle of Minas Tirith from the Two Towers, Billy Connoly provides some genuine comic relief as the rowdy Dain Ironfoot and the battle between the council of Elrond and the weakened Sauron keeps the pace going even though the story seems to be a little stretched once again.

Speaking of the themes of the movie, While Bilbo would have normally been the narratives focus, instead he's somewhat sidelined so Thorin can take center stage, and as the themes of greed and redemption are personified through his actions it's incredible to watch Armitage organically transition between the two which are made all the more powerful by his final confrontation with the white orc Azog.

I could absolutely go on throwing around the pro's and cons of this movie for pages but like Jackson's final endeavor to Tolkein's master piece I'll end this somewhat cleaner.

Though not all of the die hard Lord Of The Rings fans will enjoy this it still stands as an all around good movie, ending on a familiar scene fans may recognise with the panoramic shots of New Zealand and the soft sounds of Howard Shore's Shire theme, The middle earth saga ends as a story worth telling.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

Oh good Christ yes.

So I'll try not to fan boy too hard on this one but this was a fucking great movie, like being a kid and watching Star Wars again for the first time.

Marvels newest wild card seemed like a bold move 2 years ago when it was announced but may well be on it's way to becoming one of the studios freshest outings. Going against the grain of comic book movies having to be somewhat gritty and dark Guardians only takes itself serious for a split second at the start, from then on it revels in its own goofiness and unashamedly breaks the mold.

Beginning in the 80's a young Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself abducted by a group of space ravagers after a traumatic family experience, he becomes well versed in the goings on of the galaxy and only has a few mementos of his life on earth, most importantly a Sony Walkman and his 'awesome mix tape vol 1'. Quill is a charming yet crass man child known for more than a few run ins with the law and has dubbed himself 'Starlord', something he wishes would catch on more. He later steals the films macguffin, a mysterious silver orb the universe's heavy hitters all seem to be after in a scene very reminiscent of the first five minutes of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and after this the whole plot is thrust into mayhem. There is an incredible prison escape scene in which we are introduced to the other guardians before they're a team, the driven warrior Gamora (Zoe Saldana swapping blue for green) a hulking and revenge bent Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and the seriously odd couple Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel proving the same line throughout)

Director James Gunn realistically brings these offbeat characters together exceptionally and never making it feel forced, all the more credit in that these actors were having to act among 2 CGI characters. It's hard to say who steals the show however, Pratt is enigmatic and perfect as the relatable yet morally skewed Starlord, he's effortlessly charming and may well replace Robert Downey Jr as your favourite marvelite. Coming straight behind however is the pairing of Rocket and Groot, one is a crass talking Raccoon with a penchant for big guns and bursts of anger while his muscle/house plant is a Goliath like talking tree who can change shape, limited only to the words "I am Groot" Diesel still manages to convey different emotion between each uttering, you almost start understanding him. If you loved the macabre conversation between Han Solo and Chewbacca you'll be in your element here.

My only real gripe with the movie lies in its villains, you have three (potentially four but those are spoilers...) baddies who hold back the Guardians in one way or another, Lee Pace's zealot like Ronan The Accuser is visually dynamic but seems a little 2D, he's bent on destroying another race his planet is at war with for reasons that aren't really elaborated on too deeply. Doctor Who's Karen Gillan plays the cyborg adoptive sister of Gamora and does well to establish her as a sinister femme fatale with almost reptillian movements and at times a spurned angry child with the mother of all daddy issues, her on screen interactions with Gamora however are no way near enough so here's hoping we see an extension of this in the 2017 sequel.

Visually breathtaking and a soundtrack you'll be replaying to yourself for months to come, Marvel has no qualms with taking you into the unknown and bringing you out a believer. Believe the hype.

"You said it yourself bitch, we're the Guardians Of The Galaxy" the new kids on the block definitely give their earth dwelling cousins a run for their money. This film is the tits.
I read once that if The Avengers are The Beatles then these guys are The Rolling Stones.

Go see it already.