Movie thoughts: The Hobbit

By J.R. Wagner

I've been dreading writing this post since I watched The Hobbit on opening day (at 12:01 am).  I have such a love for the three Lord of the Rings films and it pains me to think that Peter Jackson has fallen down the same well as George Lucas. I will try to avoid including any spoilers but I make no guarantees. I'm assuming that you've read the book.





Before I begin my rant you must know that I'm an early riser so a midnight showing isn't an easy thing for me to sit through.  I actually felt myself falling asleep in parts not because the pacing was slow or boring but because I'd been awake since 4:30.  With that in mind, even I question my clarity when it comes to discussing this film and I hope that when it comes out on Blu-Ray and I am able to view it during normal waking hours, I may come to a different conclusion.  It isn't likely but there is always a chance.

Onward. If I were asked to say one word about The Hobbit, it would be disappointment.  Perhaps the expectations were simply too high for Peter Jackson and company but if you step up to the plate, you're going to play ball.

I was disappointed almost immediately simply because Jackson felt the need to tie in characters from LOTR (*cough* Frodo) when they weren't needed.  It did nothing for plot progression, and came across as filler material to get that nearly 3 hour run time that Jackson is famous for.

So, almost out of the gate, I was annoyed.  The scene with the Dwarves was very true to the book and I have to give Jackson credit for not rushing through this part -although, when has Peter Jackson rushed through anything?

Martin Freeman

On a positive note, Martin Freeman did a phenomenal job as Bilbo Baggins.  Perfect.

As the film progressed, it quickly became apparent that more and more irrelevant characters and scenes were sprinkled throughout the film.

For instance (spoiler alert, sorry I can't help myself) Jackson created a new character (he may not be new to the books but he sure as hell didn't play this much of a part), I can't recall if he is a goblin or an orc, regardless this fella (It may be Azog) apparently fought in the battle with Thorin, leader of the Dwarves and killed his father.  (And, as I said, this may have been mentioned in one of Tolkien's books, appendices or some other Tolkien work.) Anyway, throughout the film he and his army are hunting down the company of Dwarves (plus Bilbo and Gandalf) adding a completely unnecessary and irritating plot point.

This is akin to George Lucas' General Grievous (Star Wars episode II) Totally unnecessary. Every time he shows up on screen, I felt myself rolling my eyes. there are more than enough bad guys in the original story, which isn't slow whatsoever.

I watched the movie in 3D, which I really don't like.  I'm hoping this is just a fad and goes back to the 70's from whence it came as soon as possible. Don't get me wrong, the 3D was cool, I just find it irritating to watch. Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to midnight showings.

So the story moves onward, other obscure and pointless characters are introduced until finally we wind up in the caves where Bilbo meets Gollum. This part was great -everybody loves Gollum from LOTR and he didn't disappoint (all while staying true to the book). There were some inconsistencies between how Bilbo from LOTR picked up the ring and how Bilbo from The Hobbit picked up the ring but, in PJ's defense, I'm sure he didn't think he'd be going back and shooting this scene in its entirety and you can't go back and change that scene with Martin Freeman...can you?  God, please don't let PJ start messing with the LOTR films like George Lucas did to Star Wars (like when he completely cut out the actor who played the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back and digitally inserted the actor who played him in the prequels. Train. Wreck.)

Yup, he just cut the poor guy out

 No, Peter, Don't do it!!!

J.K. Rowling, The Casual Vacancy -still not disappointing

by J.R. Wagner

This isn't a review of The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I'm not even done reading the book. While reading, I've come across some eye-catching words and phrases that I think are worth sharing. Yes, I'm a writer and therefore a word addict. When I see something out of the ordinary, extraordinary or something I just don't know, I write it down.

Will anyone know the word definitions? Comment if you do!

I needed the assistance of my friend Dictionary.com to get some definitions and or confirmations that these words were actually words and not something Rowling used with her now unlimited creative license.
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Interrogatively

I had my doubts as to whether or not interrogatively was an actual word.

Yup, it's a word.

in·ter·rog·a·tive·ly, adverb.

of, pertaining to, or conveying a question.

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I really enjoyed this...

"...as though there were degrees of deadness, and the kind that Barry Fairbrother had contracted was particularly sordid."
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I honestly didn't know what the heck this word meant.

Pedagogically

ped·a·gog·i·cal·ly, adverb.

of or pertaining to a pedagogue or pedagogy.

The definition isn't very helpful until you know what pedagogy means...

Pedagogy: the function or work of a teacher; teaching.

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I really enjoyed the visualization of this phrase

"...for everything was suddenly tissue-thin and friable."
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This one, while gross, is so very accurate and visceral. Love it!

"..scratching idly at the overfold of his belly, which was often itchy,"
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Don't see this used in a sentence every day...

"Krystal sat in truculent silence,..."

truculent fierce; cruel; savagely brutal.

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This sentence is both beautifully written and verbose -I suppose many beautifully written sentences are verbose. The literary scholars out there would enjoy this one.

"These rapid scribbles, the pixels arranged by fingers henceforth forever still, acquired the macabre aspect of husks."

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Here is another word that, in context I could hazard a guess at the definition but standing alone I would have been clueless:

"...and he could not help feeling that he had been vouchsafed a sign, a celestial wink."

Vouchsafed: to allow or permit, as by favor or graciousness:

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Even in context, this one is difficult. It could mean what's on the other side of the comma; vocal/independent -or it could mean something else entirely.


"...Pagford prided itself on being the most obstreperous, the most vocal and the most independent."


Obstreperous: resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.

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Again I could come up with a definition simply by the word's context but it wasn't dead on.

"The first effusion of Pagford's outrage had annealed into a quieter, but no less powerful, sense of grievance."

Annealed: to toughen or temper.

and just for fun there are five definitions for this word and only one of them would work in this context. I seriously think she has a cool word substitution specialist on her staff.


1. to heat (glass, earthenware, metals, etc.) to remove or prevent internal stress.
2. to free from internal stress by heating and gradually cooling.
3. to toughen or temper.
4. Biochemistry . to recombine (nucleic acid strands) at low temperature after separating by heat.
5. to fuse colors onto (a vitreous or metallic surface) by heating.

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This is just a beautifully worded metaphor.

"...satellite dishes everywhere, turned to the skies like denuded ovules of grim metal flowers."

If Stephen King were editing this book, he would have hacked out every unnecessary adverb and adjective in the book (if you don't get the reference, read, On Writing).  Would it have made it easier to read? Probably. Would it have been as enjoyable? I suppose that depends on the reader.

Thus far into the book (~200 pages), I'm not hooked like I was with Harry Potter.  Then again, this is not anything like Harry Potter. I am enjoying it...slowly. Eventually, I'll share my overall thoughts on the book.  I'm currently reading four others, which slightly hinders my ability to blow through any single title (unless it is fantastic).

If anyone can honestly say they could identify the meanings of all the above words, post a comment and I'll send you something for your literary brilliance!

Music with a Message IV: Who you Are, Jessie J.

by J.R. Wagner

Here is the Fourth song in my Music with a Message series. Music released in the past five years that has a positive,  uplifting, self esteem boosting theme. 

Song: Who You Are

Artist: Jessie J

Panacea -Chapter 5 (Formerly: Enhancing and destroying memories really)

By J.R. Wagner

image credit: giantbomb.com

I highly recommend reading parts 1-4 before continuing
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

We stepped into a foyer that would easily fit my entire house. Tessa didn't slow as I stared gape-jawed at the area. Wide, sweeping marble staircase; check. Niches filled with strange looking sculptures; check. Ugly paintings in uglier golden frames; check.

"Hurry up," Tessa said from the opposite end of the foyer.

I jogged to catch up. We crossed under several arched doorways and into the kitchen (insanely large, ornate, clean, as you can imagine) where she began rummaging through cabinets.

yes, just like this

Something caught my eye outside the windows that overlooked the pool. Movement. I walked toward the window to get a better look but whatever it was had disappeared.

"Do you have a dog?" I asked.

"No, why?"

Before I could reply the floor-to-ceiling window beside me shattered. I instinctively dove to the ground and not so instinctively wet my pants (just a bit). A second window shattered and I spotted something cylindrical hit the floor.  Just as I was able to focus on it, smoke began pouring from both ends.  Crap.

I looked over to where Tessa had been standing only to see empty space rapidly filling with smoke.  She ditched me.  That didn't take long.  My lungs and eyes began to burn and I knew I had to get out. I forced myself to stand and ran through the archway and into the dining room.

My eyes teared as I coughed -I'm not sure if it was from the running or the smoke.  I sat in a fancy wooden chair at the over-sized dining table to catch my breath and evaluate the situation. That's when Tessa reappeared in a doorway at the far end of the room.

"Get up, idiot!" she shouted.

I got up (slowly). She ran to me, grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her. We passed through the doorway where she had appeared a moment before, down a long hallway and up a set of stairs (not the sweeping marble stairs). Continually wiping the tears from my eyes with my free hand, my legs burning from the too-fast ascent and my lungs still protesting, I followed. We reached the top (thank god) and turned down another hallway and through a door.  Tessa slammed it behind us.

"What's happening?" I asked.

She ignored me and moved quickly to a large cabinet. Everything was a blur as the tears continued to spill and I continued to wipe. Tessa grabbed me by my shirt and once again, pulled me along behind her.  We moved into a smaller room off the first and again she shut and locked the door.  It was a bathroom. That much I could tell. She let go of my shirt and began rummaging through a cabinet.

"Look at me," she said.

I looked in the direction of her blurry outline as she roughly grabbed my chin.

"Open your eyes."

Something wet instantly hit my eyeball (left one) as I strained to open them fully. It then hit my right. She let go of my chin and stuffed a towel in my face. I wiped my eyes and was thankfully able to see once again. Tessa was standing beside an open door.  She had a large black backpack over her shoulders and an anxious look on her face.

"Lets go!" she shouted impatiently.

"What is going on?" I asked, moving across the room.

"They've come for me," she said, stepping through the door.

A loud bang sounded from behind us and once again she was tugging on my shirt. She pulled me into a dark, narrow space. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed it was a linen closet.

"Shut the door," she said.

I shut and locked the door.  Darkness.

"What's going..."

"Shut up," she said.

Something clicked and light outlined what I thought was the back wall of the closet. Tessa pushed on the wall (door?) revealing another small room where an overhead fluorescent light was blinking to life. She stooped and pulled a nearly invisible latch in the floor.  A rectangular hatch fell open revealing a metal ladder. Another loud bang sounded somewhere nearby.

"Go," she whispered.

I went. It was a long descent -it didn't help that I couldn't see anything but darkness below. As I moved down the ladder small lights that must have been on motion sensors clicked on.  Above me, Tessa secured the hatch and began moving down. Quickly, she was just above me.

"Hurry," she said impatiently.

I hurried, finally hitting the bottom.  More lights clicked on revealing a cement room.  Tessa brushed past me and jerked a black tarp that was draped over something against the wall.

I instantly knew things were going to get worse before they got better.

The story continues...

Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 
Chapter 9

Escaping Reality

a guest post by Carlie MA Cullen