New in Theaters
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(Playing at Durango Stadium 9)
(In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge) Sleeping dragons, as we know from our childhood literature, eventually awaken. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be a story. So it’s hardly news that in the second installment of Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” trilogy, the dragon rouses from his slumber.
What is news: the franchise wakes up, too.
Die-hard fans might disagree, but to many, the first film, last year’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” took way too long to get going and then dragged for much of its 169 minutes. “I do believe the worst is behind us,” noted Bilbo Baggins at the end of that film, to which some of us wanted to reply: “Well, we hope so.
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is not much shorter – 8 minutes, to be exact – but it feels brisker, lighter, funnier. The characters are more varied, more interesting; We’ll take a comic turn by the entertaining Stephen Fry over another Orc any day. There’s even an added romantic subplot.
The whole enterprise, it must be said, involves a huge dollop of cinematic hubris. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” after all, is a book of some 300 pages. With these three films, a prequel to his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Jackson devotes about two film minutes to each page. Imagine if they did that with Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” The movie would have been 40 hours long.
On the other hand, the first “Hobbit” installment brought in some $1 billion. So it’s rather beside the point to argue with Jackson’s approach.
Happily, “Smaug” is vastly better from the get-go. Instead of a drawn-out intro, we get right to the action, which is of course the quest of Bilbo (Martin Freeman, himself livelier and funnier) and the band of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (a suitably noble Richard Armitage) to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor, under the Lonely Mountain, from the frightening dragon Smaug.
As always, trouble takes many forms: not only the menacing Orcs, but giant spiders with sticky webs, too. Then there are the elves, who come to the rescue at an opportune time but then imprison Bilbo and his mates. (Gandalf – the always grand Ian McKellen – has other business, and leaves for long stretches.)
Lee Pace is fun as the campy and authoritarian Thranduil, leader of the elves. His son Legolas (Orlando Bloom, back from “The Lord of the Rings”) is talented as ever with a bow. And he has a love interest: Tauriel, a newly invented character, played with spunky sweetness by Evangeline Lilly. Tauriel, it turns out, has a soft spot for the dwarf Kili, a rather hunky Aidan Turner. (“He’s quite tall for a dwarf,” she says. “But no less ugly,” retorts Legolas.)
Bilbo, ever bolder, helps the dwarves escape their jailers in a terrific scene – involving barrels, river rapids, and an endless supply of Orcs – that rivals a Busby Berkeley dance number. (Side note: These dwarves are awfully durable.) Further entertainment comes in Lake-town, led by a greedy Master (the engaging Fry) and his underling Alfrid (Ryan Gage, also fun).
It should be noted that Jackson has again shot his film at 48-frames-per-second, double the standard speed, to make things look sharper. But this time, the fanfare is gone; critics were not even shown the film at the faster speed. Jackson clearly doesn’t want the technique to dominate the discussion.
In any case, it all comes down to the climactic confrontation with the dragon; Unfortunately, the film sags somewhat here. It’s fun to hear Benedict Cumberbatch, as Smaug, hurl seething epithets at Bilbo, and Freeman is at his most pluckily adorable. Still, they really could have shortened this confrontation by a good 20 minutes.
But what’s 20 minutes when you’re taking nine hours to tell a story? Onward to the third installment. Jackson is back on track.
JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
(Not reviewed.) Madea gets coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas, but the biggest surprise is what they’ll find when they arrive. As the small, rural town prepares for its annual Christmas Jubilee, new secrets are revealed and old relationships are tested while Madea dishes her own brand of Christmas Spirit to all. Rated PG-13.
Philomena
(Playing at Gaslight Cinema)
(Not reviewed.) Based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, “Philomena” focuses on the efforts of Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), mother to a boy conceived out of wedlock – something her Irish-Catholic community didn’t have the highest opinion of – and given away for adoption in the United States.
In following church doctrine, she was forced to sign a contract that wouldn’t allow for any sort of inquiry into the son’s whereabouts. After starting a family years later in England, and, for the most part, moving on with her life, Lee meets Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), a BBC reporter with whom she decides to discover her long-lost son. Rated PG-13.
Still Showing
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
The Spectacular Now. (Wednesday only.) This is the tale of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), a high school senior and effortless charmer, and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with good girl Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths. Rated R.
Frozen. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) Inspired by the 19th century fairytale, “The Snow Queen,” by Hans Christian Andersen, “Frozen” marks another Disney film modernizing one of the Danish author’s stories.
Out of the Furnace. When one brother (Christian Bale) from a poor family goes to jail, his younger brother (Casey Affleck) falls in with a really, really bad crowd. Rated R.
Homefront. A widowed ex-DEA agent retires to a small town for the sake of his 10-year-old daughter. The only problem is he picked the wrong town. Rated R.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Katniss goes on a victory tour after her “Hunger Games” victory, but there’s no time to rest before the next round. Rated PG-13.
Thor: The Dark World. If Thor had a hammer ... oh, wait – he does. And he uses it. Rated PG-13.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to thee railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
The Book Thief. Narrated by Death and set in Nazi Germany – a place and time when, as the narrator notes, he was extremely busy. Under the watchful eye and caustic musings of Death, a young girl named Liesel embarks upon a journey marked by discovery, courage, friendship and the power to triumph over the most daunting obstacles. Rated PG-13.
Animas City Theatre (128 E. College Drive, 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
The Crash Reel. Follows the interrupted career of champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce after he suffered a traumatic brain injury just weeks before the 2010 Winter Olympics. (See review page 1C.)
Back Space Theatre
(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940)
Rotating Holiday films: The Back Space will show “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Sound of Music,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “White Christmas” in rotation. One show per night Monday through Thursday, two shows on Fridays and Saturdays, through Dec. 29.
Ted Holteen and Associated Press
