Hobbit review

Peter Jackson has returned once again to bring us the second installment in the Hobbit trilogy. But how

Does thing retelling of the book stand up against its predecessors? Keep reading to find out.

            Peter Jackson has become well known for his hugely successful adaptations of the Lord of the Rings series that he brought to the movie screen in the early 2000’s. Last year he booted up the J.J.R Tolkien train once again to bring us 3 movies based off the Hobbit books. And while the first one was a very good movie in itself, it had some flaws in that it was relatively slow to start off with, and was a more overall lighthearted movie. But unlike the first, The Desolation of Smaug brings us back to the good old days of the Lord of the Rings with much up actions scenes and  an overall more dark and serious tone then the first. This time around the dwarves and company are nearing closed and closer to their mountain. But time is ticking and they much reach it before Durans Day (sort of a dwarfy holiday of sorts). Unfortunately for them it seem like the world is out to get them, with their capture at the hands of the elves to the departure of Gandalf. And even worse for them is when they finally reach their old home. They mistakenly awaken an ancient dragon that has lived in their home for far too long. Realizing there mistake, they quickly try to dispatch the dragon before it go’s flying away to bring ruin to middle earth.

            As I said before, this movie is a much darker tale then the first, with the scene of them being attacked by spiders in the forest being especially tense. Even though many of the dwarves are nearing there old home, it seems like the spirit has been drained out of them from the hard journey. It seems like this time around their lighthearted spirit has dwindled and been replaced by a somber feeling. The new characters that were revealed were very good, with Legolas making a return as the son of the king, to the appearance of Beorn, a half man half bear shapeshifter that helps the dwarves out on their journey.

            This film has one downside and unfortunately it’s quite a major one. The studio thought that small people killing orcs and many other fiendish creatures isn’t enough, so they decided to add a love storyline between one of the dwarves and an elvish woman. This plot point does absolutely nothing for the story, only making some parts of it especially cringe and almost impossible to watch. I know sometimes movies like to deviate away from the books, but this time they went too far with it adding nothing for the movie, and being my only complaint.

            The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug has surpassed my expectations this time, leaving a impression that won’t soon be forgotten. I highly recommend that you see this movie.

Best Shows On Netflix:The Office

Many of your reading this spend almost half of your day working or attending school, so after you come home and get your work done, I’m sure you want to relax, and many of our versions of relaxing include watching a little bit of TV. But what to watch you might ask? Join me as I suggest some of the best television shows for you entertainment.
Now these days I would suggest that you get Netflix if you don’t already have it. For the small amount of you know, Netflix is a video streaming company that for a relatively low price of $7 a month, lets you watch all the TV shows and movies you want.  One of the first shows I think everybody should watch on Netflix is the Office. The Office is a comedy show, based on a Pennsylvanian paper factory, run by the fun loving quirky Michael Scott. The wide variety of characters the show offers makes it very relatable, from the by the books, weird, nerdy Dwight, to the interesting relationship between the laid back and cool Jim and the nice and likable Pam.
Not only are the characters good, the situations that they get themselves in are hilarious, some of which include throwing a “Office Olympics” while Michael is out, to the incredibly awkward situations Michael gets into trying to befriend his co workers. There are also some fairly emotional bits, especially surrounding the Pam and Jim situation (Watch the show to find out). But some of the best parts of the show come out of Dwight, whose eccentric attitude towards his co workers sets him up for some very good scenes, especially with Michael.
With all the shows available on Netflix, I would totally recommend the office for anybody who wants to get a good laugh and relax after a hard day.

What is the OUYA

This holiday season there are plenty of gifts to be given, and some of the most popular this year are the newly released video game consoles.  But there is one console that has gone under the radar this season, which for it being the number one backed projects on Kick starer (a website where users can donate to a game/console to make it a reality), is quite a weird thing. So how does this console stack up against the Xbox One and PS4? Keep reading to find out.

                This new console is called the OUYA. There premise is that it can offer a large variety of console/app games for a low price. This it does hold up as the console itself is fairly cheap, sitting at a modest $99, a whole 300-400 dollars less than the other competing consoles. But the price variation shows, with its limited library of games. Now this wouldn’t be that terrible if it weren’t for the games itself. Many of the games it offers are weak when compared to the games available elsewhere, with many of them being almost direct copies of games straight from the android or apple marketplace. These are however free, so you’re not paying directly for them.

                Many of the games that are not directly from the app store are actually games that the developers have made for the system, and some are games that were ported from the consoles. And although many of the original games look quite fun and entertaining, you have to ask is it $100 worth of entertainment. Many of the games on the console look to be quite not detailed and boring, and with the easy to access internet, I’m sure you could find many other FREE games that would entertain you much longer and without you paying a dime out of your pocket.

                Many might look at the OUYA and think that it would make a good gift for their child or for you to buy yourself this holiday season.  This might not be a horrible idea for a parent of a young child. Anybody older then this might want to stay away from this console. This especially applies to you if you have a smart phone in your possession, as I’m almost 100% sure that you can find better games for a much less price on your respective markets.

                The OUYA was an oddity, with it being the number one most backed/funded idea on Kick starter. This made the ball rolling for it to be a roaring success, filling the void between mobile and console gaming.  But what it did accomplish was a awkward spot in between that seems to turn off players of both side away. A good idea, but it shows that even great ideas can flop.

                Source: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

Hunger Games Catching Fire Review

Many people can agree that book to movie transitions don’t always quite hit the mark (even the harry potter movies). But unlike the first in its trilogy, Catching fire has become one of my favorite movies I’ve seen for awhile, as it retained a large amount of info from the book without taking too much out, all while staying action packed for the most of it.

                The first movie in the series I thought was quite poor, with the movie never capturing the sense of danger or fear in the arena like the book did, as I never quite thought that katniss was in much trouble throughout the movie. But unlike the its predecessor, Catching fire set the tone perfectly from start to finish. You could tell that our hero’s are in for a bad year this time, as the darker sadder atmosphere implied. The grittier images this time around reinforce this perfectly, and really set the tone that the first film never really got down. I also think another reason why this film did so well was that it was simply a darker and grittier tale this time around, with multiple riots breaking out in the districts really adding to the the film in a positive way, as I always thought the hunger games books really fit well with the “All hell is breaking loose” sort of thing that works perfectly.

                I also think another factor that attributed to the films improvement was the actors. Now it was the same actors that played Katniss and Peeta in the original movie, but they seem to have found their place and really have become the characters this time.  You can see Katniss and Peeta’s strained love, and Haymitch this time has really filled in on his role as the drunken mentor that has to send his two victors back into the ring really fight with emotions, something that the first film never really got down so well. The new characters introduced in this movie are solid in their roles, with the sexy and charming Finnick and the lovable but insane Johanna helping our hero’s in the arena this time, both of which play their characters perfectly.      

                With a solid story this time around that only left out one plot point, great actors that perfectly accentuated their characters, and a great theme of dread and war, Catching fire is a mass improvement over The Hunger Games. I really hope they follow this path, as I can already feel that the next in the franchise is going to be better than the last.