Hello fellow moviegoers!
      'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' is the final film in the Hobbit trilogy and (hopefully) the Lord of the Rings franchise. It stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Orlando Bloom as Legolas and so many more. 
      Now that the dwarves and Bilbo have occupied the Lonely Mountain. It is up to them to defend it against other races who either believe they should get a share of the treasure, or just want to see everybody die. As I said before, this is the final film of the Hobbit trilogy, and with that comes a lot of high expectations. Did it meet expectations? Here's what I thought...

      Overall, I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. This movie picks up literally just a couple of minutes after the events of the last film. In fact, it is so close that you can noticeably tell that it was originally connected to the last film before they split it from two to three movies. But let's get into the actual movie shall we?
      I'll start with the plot. The plot to this movie is extremely well realized for the most part. It is blatantly clear that this movie knows what it is. The only thing that it may be trying a little too hard to be is the Lord of the Rings, and understandably so. In the first film, it was clear that the main character was Bilbo. But in the second one, that torch seemed to be passed to Thorin a little bit. In this film however it gradually all goes back to Bilbo. I absolutely loved to see the evolution of Thorin as he starts to become more and more obsessed with his gold. One of my favorite scenes in the entire movie (and this isn't a spoiler because it was in the trailer) was when Dwalin goes to Thorin and basically tells him to wake up. It was one of those scenes that you really start to think about. It makes a good point, not only about Thorin, but also about the society we live in. 
      The last 45-60 minutes of this movie is literally just one big battle scene, and it was epic. It was great to see all of these plot lines that were running throughout the films finally come to a climax and be fully realized. I would have liked to see more of the character Dain though. That character was probably one of the highlights of the film to me, and it makes me sad that he wasn't in it very much. I quite enjoyed where they brought the character of Bard though. In the previous film it felt like he was just kind of there, but in this film, he actually plays a pretty crucial role, and it was nice to see them really develop that character.
      There are a couple moments in this film where certain things happen that shock members of the audience. I had read the book beforehand so I knew what was coming, but when those moments hit, they hit hard. Throughout the entire film I could hear the people around me in the theatre adjusting how they were sitting or sniffling from a cold. But in those scenes, it was utter silence. I even started to tear up a little bit, and I wasn't alone. 
     I did have a couple little issues with this movie though. One of which is that in the vast final battle, with all of it's amazing shots and everything. It did start to get a little repetitive. One fight in particular I am thinking of is the Legolas vs Bolg fight. It was pretty sweet at first than I found myself thinking "Didn't they just do that?". I mean come on Legolas, if you hit metal with a knife and nothing happens. Don't do it again... (Insert face-palm here). The next thing I had a problem with I do need to use spoilers to explain so beware. 
SPOILERS AHEAD
    When the fight between Galadriel, Elrond, Saruman, and Sauron was over. Saruman was like "Leave Sauron to me,". Then they made it seem like he was going to chase after him or something and have a showdown where Sauron could deceive him a little and set his character up for the Lord of the Rings. But no, they didn't do that. They just left it at "Leave Sauron to me" and that was it. It was kind of disappointing because the character of Saruman is such and interesting one portrayed by a brilliant actor, and they didn't utilize him to his full potential.  An argument can be made that Saruman went back to Orthanc and used the Palantir then, but that didn't seem to be what they were alluding to. I don't know. Maybe it's just me.
     Also, I noticed that my favorite part of the movie overall was the reference of "Strider" from Thranduil to Legolas toward the end.I absolutely loved that, but when your favorite part of a film is a reference to another film, there is something wrong with that picture. 
END OF SPOILERS

     Overall I really enjoyed this movie. The acting is great, the action scenes are even better. There are a few little things here and there that detract from the overall quality of the film. But I still liked the movie. I would definitely recommend it to Tolkien fans everywhere, and anybody who is just looking for a good action/fantasy movie to watch over Christmas. You should definitely check it out!
7.5/10

    I am wrestling with myself on whether I liked this film or Desolation of Smaug more. Right now, I am kind of leaning toward The Desolation of Smaug.That will probably change everyday though. So what did you think of this new Hobbit adventure? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts? Let me know by commenting on this post!

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Hello fellow moviegoers!
        'Exodus: Gods and Kings' is a movie directed by Ridley Scott, and it stars Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, and Aaron Paul. It is the story of the Exodus. Moses (Bale) was an Egyptian prince before his life is turned upside down, when he discovered that he is not who he thought he was. He was born a slave. This movie is about his journey to set his people free through the help of God, and him struggling with his faith. Edgerton plays the Pharaoh Ramses, and he does not want to set free the slaves that helped build his empire. This movie has been highly anticipated by some. Others are nervous about it because of 'Noah' earlier this year. Here is what I think...

      Overall I thought that this was a pretty decent film. It does a good job keeping you involved in these characters and what they are going to while also staying relatively true to it's source. The action scenes in this movie were very well directed, which is to be expected from Ridley Scott. In the first real battle towards the beginning I found myself really into what was happening on the screen. 
     The acting in this movie was pretty good all around. Christian Bale was great as Moses, his performance in this film really captured what Moses was going through, and all of the challenges that he faced. On actor I was extremely pleased by, maybe more so than Bale, was Joel Edgerton as Ramses. When watching this movie, I really couldn't help but be glued to the screen whenever he was there. While he performance isn't necessarily Oscar worthy, it definitely deserves to be recognized. So good job. 
      Ben Kingsley was good in the film although he wasn't in it quite as much as I had wanted him to be. I wish that there would have been a few more scenes with him so that we could get a little more involved in his character. It just kind of felt like a waste of good talent to me. 
     There were a few things I noticed that took me out of the film a little bit though. One of which was that in a movie about Egyptians the cast was almost completely white. While, the actors and actresses did a good job, I just couldn't help but think "Why are there English people in Egypt?". Another thing is, I noticed at times that it seemed like I was watching the movie through Instagram filters. At times, it seemed that the entire screen had a yellow tint, other times it was green, and blue, etc. etc. I did see the film in 3D so that may be part of the reasoning, I may watch it again in 2D to see if that is true. But if it is, that is also a poor job on the film's part of not having good 3D.
      Speaking of the 3D, this film is one that it really is completely unnecessarily in 3D. The 3D in this film is just kind of there. It doesn't enhance the experience at all, nor did I really notice it at times. Save your money people, see it in 2D. Please. 
     In conclusion, I liked this film, but it did not blow me away. The acting in it is great, but why is everybody white? At times, felt like I was watching it through filters, and the 3D is not necessary. But, the story was well written, the actions scenes were very well directed, the film could have been a little shorter, but it wasn't absurdly long. I would definitely recommend it to religious people, and anybody who is a fan of these kinds of action movies in ancient times. I am having a tough time coming up with a score for this one. But I would give it a...
6.99/10

      I know, I know, it is a really odd score. But, while I enjoyed the movie, it is not quite a 7/10. Although it is very close. 
      What did you think of 'Exodus: Gods and Kings'? Are you fine with films like this making all of the main characters white, or do you think it should be ethnically accurate? Let me know by commenting on this post!

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Hello fellow moviegoers (and TV-goers in this case)!
      So, there is no doubt that the CW is knocking it out of the park right now with their two DC shows 'Arrow' and 'The Flash', and WB is a little wobbly with their movies right now. But would it be a good thing if they both existed within the same universe? Would it be better if they made 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' similar to the way they make 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'? Here's what I think...
(SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ARROW S3 AND FLASH S1)

      Could you imagine seeing Stephen Amell's version of Green Arrow fighting alongside Ben Affleck's Batman? Or even Grant Gustin's Flash racing Henry Cavill's Superman? While I would absolutely LOVE to see that. I don't think it is the correct way to make all of these characters thrive. 
     The Arrow and The Flash both exist within their own universe separate from the  up-and-coming DC Cinematic Universe, and that is the way it should be. One thing that I would absolutely hate to see, is either one of these shows be restricted by what's going on on the big screen, and vice-versa. 
     Imagine if Oliver Queen had actually killed Ra's al Ghul. What kind of repercussions would that have in the DCCU? That would be one of Batman's greatest foe's completely negated from ever making onto the big screen again for quite some time.  Also, think about the story-line they are covering right now in 'The Flash' S1, all the stuff they are doing with the Reverse-Flash would already be told so we wouldn't get to see some of the best things about that character on the big screen. 
     So, while I love both of these universes, I would hate to see them cross-over and restrict themselves from doing all of the different stories that they would like to do. Think about it, how cool is it that we live in a day-and-age that we can debate whether the amazing superhero TV shows or the amazing superhero movies are better! If they were the same thing, we wouldn't be able to have that conversation.
    So do you think that the TV and Movie DC universes should be one and the same? Do you disagree or agree with my thoughts? Let me know by commenting on this post!

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