Episode 30: Things Deeper and Higher

We talk about the role of fate or chance in The Return of the King, symbols and sacraments, life and death, and the role of loss (of innocence, greatness, and inheritance) in the story.

Episode 29: Worth Fighting For

We discuss The Two Towers, two big Pilgrim's Podcast Family revelations (one of which we reveal), the Progeny describes an identity crisis in Chinese, 1970s music, the true identity of Episode 12's Tacitus, and more in this episode of The Pilgrim's Podcast.

Episode 28: There's Some Good in This World

We come up with a name for a rock band and talk about the Patriarch's history as a Parrot Head. Also, we discuss The Two Towers, the Enlightenment, dehumanizing language, Islamic terrorism, WWI and cultural disintegration, what The Lord of the Rings has to say about foreign policy, multiculturalism, and the true nature of patriotism.

Episode 27: One Does Not Simply...

We talk about Ahmed's clock, The Fellowship of the Ring, on-screen violence, the importance of cohesive artistic vision, CGI vs. storytelling, allegory vs. myth, the dangers of urban dictionary, and (of course) whether or not the ring symbolizes Donald Trump.

Episode 26: Lies Breathed Through Silver

We talk about how much The Lord of the Rings has meant to us over the years. Also: small towns, myth, holiness, the corrosive influence of power, and rebellion against God. What does the Ring symbolize? Is there a divine agency in the story?

Episode 18: Stories for Children

"I hadn't really thought about it before, but that might be the problem with our whole entire civilization! Walt Disney!"
~The Patriarch

We talk about The Lord of the Rings, Redwall, Watership Down, Narnia, mythology, Harry Potter, the Freddy the pig books, danger in children's stories, and the difference between a contribution and a commitment. Are happy endings a good thing? Also: The Patriarch reads Good Night Moon.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - A Decent But Disappointing End to Jackson's Middle Earth Saga

My review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The most frustrating thing about the Hobbit movies is how I can't quite manage to dismiss them completely. Reading my review of the first film is an amusing, if somewhat embarrassingly effusive, flashback to when I was still optimistic about the franchise. My second review had internalized the cynicism to some extent, but was still reluctantly positive. And with the third installment, yet again, I kind of enjoyed the film.

[Spoilers]

Throughout the two and a half hour run-length of The Battle of the Five Armies, I was fighting to hate it. Part of the problem is that Peter Jackson still shows flashes of his old genius, though marred by his utter lack of restraint. The film begins with the quick, dramatic dispatching of Smaug the dragon by Bard and Bard Jr. (really Bain). This act is accomplished using a cobbled-together bow to launch a giant arrow off of Bain's shoulder. The shoulder thing was a neat idea, a great element of added personal tension, but to convince us that a makeshift bow would launch a huge arrow off a little boy's shoulder...uh, no.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Indiana Jones Hits Middle-Earth

Review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

When I walked into the theater today, I had the title of this post ready and waiting. Last year's review was entitled "A Great Adventure, But Not as Great as it Could Have Been." The second installment had already earned the tag of "Terrible, But Not as Terrible as it Could Have Been."

*Many spoilers*

It turns out I was wrong. Like the first film, The Desolation of Smaug is certainly a mixed bag, but coming up on my horrendously low expectations, it quickly soared into my good graces.

The first movie was so disappointing for several reasons: Radagast. The Goblin King. Stupid dwarf humor. Black magic. Boring visuals. Lazy, ham-fisted foreshadowing of the other films. Ridiculously large, cartoonish action sequences. Not being Lord of the Rings.

How does film two compare?