2014 Winter Movie Reviews - December

December 12th

Exodus: Gods and Kings: The defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

Opening Weekend: $24.1 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%

Review: It is unclear if there truly is a resurgence occurring in Hollywood of sweeping Biblical epics or if the emergence of Exodus and this year's earlier Noah are merely passing fads of the year. But it is clear that filmmakers do enjoy telling such grand tales of God and men. Exodus takes fewer liberties with the original source material found in the Torah than Noah did (though I still appreciated the effort put into crafting a conflicted Noah character), giving it less of a fairy-tale feel and more of a historical account. Of course, the infliction of the classic plagues upon Egypt are fantastical in nature, but legendary director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) finds ways to depict them as both visually and narratively compelling. Stars Bale (The Fighter) and Edgerton (Warrior) craft engaging, complex characters and Exodus is truly only held back by not focusing on them enough. The visuals are outstanding, though I'd have liked to have seen more of Moses's interactions with the people he leads to understand why they follow him so devotedly. In the end, Exodus boasts impressive imagery and captivating story, making it worthy of a viewing for religious and nonreligious alike.
The Final Word: 3.5/4 - Go buy a ticket.

December 17th

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and the dwarves are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the terrifying Smaug from acquiring a kingdom of treasure and obliterating all of Middle-Earth.

Opening Weekend: tbd
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

Review: Much has been said of director Peter Jackson's decision, along with the studio undoubtedly, to translate a relatively small children's novel into three feature-length films. Most of that commentary has been negative, and I would tend to agree that two movies would have been sufficient. I bring this up as Five Armies serves as a persistent reminder of this critique. The film is a solid conclusion to The Hobbit trilogy, but is forced to extend itself beyond what should really be expected of the last few pages of the book. Most of the film simply jumps from conclusionary battle to conclusionary battle, with little plot left to be addressed other than the final sword blows of good conquering evil. The battles themselves

are entertaining enough, but - much like the prequel series in general - lack the grit of the Lord of the Rings films, partially due to the prequels' over-reliance on CGI animations. As most of the story from The Hobbit book has already been told before the third movie begins, the most interesting bits come from moments found in other works from author J.R.R. Tolkien, added in by Jackson and company. The White Council's encounter with the Necromancer was one of my favorite parts of the film, far removed from the titular battle. Ultimately, Five Armies a fun flick to watch that wraps up and connects the entire Middle Earth franchise effectively, but is the foremost victim of a lack of tangible content resulting from the decision to make The Hobbit into a trilogy.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.