IMDB 250 - The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

In my previous review of the first "Hobbit" movie I said the movie was enjoyable but I didn't understand the whole magic aspect. This movie picks up where the last one left off and runs with it... and from start to finish, I didn't understand a single thing in it. Not a single thing. I don't know why anything happens to anything else. I'm watching it saying to myself "why?", "what?" and "why?" and also "what?".

At one point, the gang is off on their quest doing the whole "quest" business and Gandalf says peace out and just goes off and does his own thing. I even think he says at the time, "This place is dead anyway", but I'd have to rewatch it to be sure. As much as I didn't understand the "A" story, I understood the Gandalf sub-plot even less. Much less. From memory: he goes to a place, he talks with a guy, he sees a vision, he turns the "Lost" wheel and transports to another Dharma station. Is it wrong to think he's bored? Maybe he's senile and wandering aimlessly. I hope he comes back to the movie at some point.

So without any understanding of the larger picture (or any of the specific details), I'm left with the fantasy and spectacle aspects. Even if I don't know why the giant spiders are attacking, between the spiders and dwarves it's easy to know who to root for. There are many "action" scenes in this movie and they work are at least still enjoyable on a simple visceral suspense level. It would be pretty hard to not enjoy a giant battle or a giant dragon or a giant battle with a giant dragon.

6/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 382.

Who Cares Wins: Conan Edition

This is more interesting than "funny". In the 1980s, Conan did a training video for music salesmen and, for no reason, he decided to reveal it to the world recently...



Seems like they need to release the full-length video. What customer would actually be placated by the salesman saying, "And I do respect your knowledge about guitars"?

Late Show - Don Rickles

Don Rickles talks about his recent health problems and Reagan's second inaugural (almost).





Are inaugurals like that anymore? I've never seen anything that looks like that.

The special "One Night Only: An All-Star Comedy Tribute to Don Rickles” will air May 28th on Spike TV.

Tonight Show - The Drum Off

When Will Ferrell was told he looked like Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Will Ferrell replied that he WAS Chad Smith. Chad Smith was a character, he said. This sparked a feud that has lasted for weeks. But in the latest episode of The Tonight Show it was time to finally put an end to this feud with a good old-fashioned drum-off of epicness.

Conan - Norm Macdonald's Talk Show Audition

The always unpredictable Norm Macdonald has thrown his hat in the ring for the Late Late Show host job. Current host, Craig Ferguson, has announced his retirement at the end of the year.

In his recent appearance on Conan, he puts together a 1 minute audition tape:



The Late Late Show with Norm Macdonald? Seems unlikely but man, I'd watch that.

Tonight Show - Lost Monologue Update: Still Lost

A few days ago I wrote a blog entry about how a recent Tonight Show monologue (5/13/14) had been removed from the online version of the show. Since that time, nothing has happened. Jimmy didn't mention the incident in the show, there was no post of facebook, twitter or any social networking site and the missing clip was not posted anywhere as far as I'm aware...

Speculation amongst fans was that the monologue had referenced Jay-Z's current 1 problem and had to be removed because it angered him. It's not a theory that makes much sense but it is a theory. Another fan has speculated that a song was used in the show with an exorbitant licensing fee. That, at least, sounds much more likely. But some of the same concerns remain: why didn't they just edit out the song, why throw out the whole segment? The whole thing is strange.

On a personal note, as someone who's seen every single Tonight Show but can't watch this monologue, does that mean the streak has ended? Can I say that I saw MOST of the episode so it still counts? That's probably what I'll do.