Tag Archives: Smaug

Benedict Cumberbatch’s 10 Best Movies

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch, in addition to being one the finest actors working today, possesses THE most English of English names ever to be bestowed upon an Englishman.  In case you doubted it was his real name, it’s actually shortened.  His full name is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch.  He has, however, endeared himself to geeks and non-geeks alike by already indelibly visiting the worlds of Tolkien (Smaug and the Necromancer), Star Trek (nobody blames Into Darkness on him), and the MCU (where he is the resident Sorcerer Supreme: Dr. Stephen Strange).  Cumberbatch, with his distinctive, mesmerizing voice and talent for squeezing his narrow frame into giant characters both fictional and real (Julian Assange, William Pitt, Alan Turing), has already made a lasting mark on the big screen and small, where he has achieved an impossible feat with Stephan Moffat and Martin Freeman in updating Sherlock Holmes for contemporary times, while still maintaining the spirit of Conan Doyle’s master detective better than any adaptation in my lifetime (if not period).
Continue reading Benedict Cumberbatch’s 10 Best Movies

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies EXTENDED Edition Blu Ray Date and Details

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially announced the Extended Edition Blu-ray release of filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The extended edition of the third film in Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy features twenty additional minutes of scenes and is accompanied by more than nine hours of new special features. The R-rated Extended Edition arrives via 2D and 3D Blu-ray/Digital HD combo packs on November 17th.

Synopsis: The Battle of the Five Armies is the epic conclusion of the adventure 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 (Benedict Cumberbatch), 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 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.

2-new-posters-for-the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies1

Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. The international ensemble cast is led by Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Stephen Fry and Ryan Cage. The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Adam Brown, John Bell, Manu Bennett and John Tui.

The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies, Smaug, Benedict Cumberbatch

The creative behind-the-scenes team is led by director of photography, the late Andrew Lesnie, production designer Dan Hennah, editor Jabez Olssen and composer Howard Shore. The costumes are designed by Richard Taylor, Bob Buck and Ann Maskrey. Taylor is also overseeing the design and production of armour, weapons, creatures and special makeup, which are once again being made by the award-winning Weta Workshop. Oscar-winning visual effects studio Weta Digital is again handling the visual effects for the film, led by senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri. The hair and makeup designer is Peter Swords King. The conceptual designers are John Howe and Alan Lee. Eric Saindon is the visual effects supervisor, with David Clayton serving as animation supervisor.

The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies, Bard the Bowman, Luke Evans

The R-rated 174-minute Extended Edition cut of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is presented in 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround. Special features include:

  • Commentary with director/producer/writer Peter Jackson and co-producer/writer Philippa Boyens
  • The Appendices – The Appendices Parts XI and XII showcase a chronological history of the filming of The Battle of the Five Armies, documenting the work done on set chronologically through the three shooting blocks and in the world of its digital effects.
  • New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth – Part 3
    The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Movie Review: The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) *MAJOR SPOILER WARNING*

Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson has completed his full six-film Middle-Earth epic over the course of nearly 20 years of work on and off again on the two trilogies that make up the project.  That The Lord of the Rings is pretty much flawless (and, oh yes, we can throw down over that), universal consensus on The Hobbit trilogy is much more mixed; the overall feeling seeming to be that the trilogy’s glacially-paced start can be forgiven (if we all agree the Goblin King song never happened) by the action that took the dwarves to The Lonely Mountain and the tragic battle spawned by the greed for the riches that is the equal of any battle in any film ever made. Continue reading Movie Review: The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) *MAJOR SPOILER WARNING*

POLL RESULTS: Who’s Your Favorite Character in Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth Saga?

As I head out the door to see the final Middle-earth film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, I closed our poll on “Favorite Middle-Earth Character” and was stunned.  Gandalf had the lead the entire way with no one even close, but as the poll closed, Frodo had in the same underdog way that got him up Mount Doom, passed a puzzled Ian McKellan.  Frodo Baggins the gold; Gandalf the Grey the silver and Legolas Greenleaf the bronze.  Thanks to all for voting; we’ll have a review up of the final film by the weekend!

Middle Earth

POLL REMINDER: Who’s Your Favorite Character in Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth Saga?

Usually I try to do our polls on a monthly schedule but Middle-Earth has been up for an extra long run because, heck, we’re talking about establishing the official KT Best Character in probably minute-for-minute the best film franchise of all time!

SOMEONE throw Thorin a pity vote for crying out loud, it’s getting sad.  Sauron has more votes than him.

Here’s the deal, on December 17th, we will give to the character most loved by KT a special Ring of Power that really just shoots out sparklers and the occasional cherry bomb, but Gandalf made a living doing that for centuries using a staff!  From there we’re going to go to our next poll which will be the community decision of game of the year and on January 17, we’ll switch over to our most solemn of polls.  Our highest calling as blogging nerds.  We crown the film of 2014 and if we have as hard a time as the Golden Globes did in finding nominees, this should prove challening.  Who will be the third KT Best Picture of the Year?  2013 – The Dark Knight Rises; 2014 – Argo…..2015 – ……..can we pre-vote Star Wars Episode VII? NO!  Squashed that question.  But for now, make sure you’ve voted in the Middle-Earth poll and get ready for a final trip to that most fantastic of escapist worlds!

 

 

Middle Earth