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preview by Dean Crawford AT THE BOX OFFICE THE BIG SCREEN Edited by Jenny Na (jenny@groovekorea.com) MuSIC & ARTS GrooveCast host Chance Dorland and columnist Dean Crawford talk movies. Check out the podcast at groovekorea.com or subscribe for free at the iTunes Store. Directed by ridley Scott December 3 I find Ridley Scott to be a fascinating director. There’s no doubting he is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time — “Alien” (1979), “Blade Runner” (1982) and “Gladiator” (2000) have made sure of that. But for every classic, there are several others that are — how do I say this politely and respectfully? Not classics? For “Al- ien,” see “Prometheus” (2012), for “Blade Run- ner,” see “The Counselor” (2013) and for “Glad- iator,” see “Robin Hood” (1991). To say you’re never really sure what a Ridley Scott film will be is something of an understatement. Scott returns with “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” which follows Moses (Christian Bale) as he leads a rebellion against the Egyptian lead- er Ramses (Joel Edgerton). Moses must help 600,000 slaves not only escape from Egypt, but from the biblical plagues that have been sent to test them. It’s interesting to note that Christian Bale had to pull out of playing the title character in Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” (2014) to take on the role of Moses, and I’m interested to see if that was the right choice. “Noah” had many critics, but despite its flaws I thought it was an excellent film, and I’m positive Bale could have excelled as Noah — he plays that moody, brooding, se- rious type so well. Though both stories come from the same source material, “Exodus” looks like a different type of movie altogether. It has warm, sandy palates, and it’s on another level in terms of scale. There’s no doubting the film will stir up some sort of controversy with its depictions of famous religious figures using a whitewashed cast, but I’ll reserve my judgment until I’ve seen the fin- ished product. And if “Prometheus” and “The Counselor” are anything to go by, the movie is likely to offend filmgoers just as much it will re- ligious types. “Exodus: Gods and Kings” will be released in 2-D and 3-D on Dec. 3. Biblical drama U.S. / U.K. / Spain Exodus: Gods and Kings Directed by Peter Jackson December 17 Since the early 2000s, Christmas just hasn’t felt like Christmas without a trip to Middle Earth. I may not be the biggest fan of Peter Jackson’s more recent offerings, but I can’t argue with the fact that his movies are huge events and I love going to see them. However, if you’ve read any of my previews for the previous “Hobbit” movies, you may have felt the apprehension seeping off the page; I just couldn’t see how Jackson could successfully adapt a tiny book like “The Hobbit” into three 180-minute movies. I found myself bored at times during “An Unexpected Journey” (2012) and even more so in “The Desolation of Smaug” (2013), but I fear this new film might be the fi- nal straw. By all accounts, the majority of the footage for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” was intended for the first two films, but additional filming has taken place so the film can make extensive use of the Middle Earth ap- pendices printed in the back of “The Return of the King.” Is that enough to make a film from scratch and satisfy millions of Tolkienites? I’m not so sure. The website tells us that “The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the vast wealth of their home- land, but now must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying dragon Smaug upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. While this synopsis sounds exciting enough, my problem is that, despite having watched six hours of “Hobbit” action, I can’t for the life of me remember what took place in which film; they all just blend into one. Much like the “Lord of the Rings” series (2001-03), I feel like these films have consisted of five hours of walking with just one hour of ex - citing action. The dragon looked great, the un- derground train ride looked great and Gollum is amazing, but did the series really need to be so long? Here’s hoping Peter Jackson has saved the best for last. Adventure / Fantasy New Zealand / U.S. / U.K. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
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