The Hobbit, or There and Probably Not Back Again

was a bit of a disappointment.  I’ve read the book and absolutely loved it, and, of course, I try to judge adaptations as a film by itself.  Yes, there are many additions to the film that isn’t mentioned in the book (and many felt extraneous and really dragged the plot), but there were scenes that were just silly and lame (*SPOILER ALERT!* like when Radagast tries to distract the Orcs and Bilbo and the dwarves try to run but they keep bumping into the Orcs and so many times almost get seen.  It’s comes off as slapstick and just really silly, but it’s not even laughable).

Also, there was a piece of what seemed like steel wool in my popcorn (and in my mouth).  Also also, I had no idea Metropolis had become overloaded with utterly laughable ads — even putting a serious ad about not creating waste during the gift-giving season followed by ad where featuring a typical, white family ripping apart loads of wrapping paper and opening boxes, all likely going in the garbage can — and ridiculous game-things before the movie.  That really put me off to ever going to a Cineplex theatre ever again.  Ugh.

Andrew Marr’s Megacities

At last: a documentary series about the world’s largest metropolises.  This three one-hour documentary series, yet another high-budget production from the BBC, narrator and host Andrew Mars takes viewers around the world at a look at various megacities — cities with populations of over 10 million people — and their influence on the world.  From obvious cities like London and Shanghai, to poorer cities such as Dhaka, Bangladesh, the series examines everything from buildings, to garbage and consumption, to crime in the usual dramatic, heightened BBC-produced way.

The music is, right off the bat, loud and overdramatic, as if trying to convey some sort of tension or drama in the series, which I guess should be the case in any series or program, but there really isn’t anything dramatic here.  Yes, these cities are large; yes, different cities do different things.  It’s how people react and why/how people do the things they do that, for me, is interesting.  The sewage treatment in Mexico City, for example, is a big open canal where sewage workers occasionally find dead bodies in.  That in and of itself is frightening, and when paired with the visual of the floating garbage and waste in the lake, as well as Mars’s narration that there isn’t really a bottom for workers to walk on — just a meter of unidentifiable trash — even without the boisterous soundtrack, the scene speaks for itself.

Far too often, cities are given numbers and statstics that don’t accurately put a face on the actual living situation.  The best thing aboutMegacitiesis that, well, we actually get to see the megacities in all their chaotic action.  And as Mars concludes in the final episode, the problems faced by the megacities, such as food shortages, is not just the individual cities’ problem, but a global problem.  As he suggests, perhaps looking back in the past to farming techniques, for example, are the key to relieving the burden and demand placed on some of the most important and influential places on Earth.

Andrew Mars is amazed at the speed of the Shanghai Mag-Lev.