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film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022

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JRR Tolkien

Tolkien movie review: it doesn’t wander, but it’s lost

Wed, May 08, 2019
no comments yet

This infuriatingly reductive biopic of the Hobbit author renders him as stolid and dull, and removes all the mystery and the wonder from creative inspiration. Literal-minded and free of magic.

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Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms movie review: the tragedy of the immortal

Wed, Jun 27, 2018
3 comments

Epic yet intimate, this is a visually gorgeous and emotionally lush fantasy drama about love and hope set in a violent but beautifully realized invented world.

| 3 Comments

from Facebook: how Tolkien was inspired by the Battle of the Somme

Fri, Jul 01, 2016
1 comment

[This post is not behind the paywall.]

| 1 Comment

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies movie review: there and back again… at last

Wed, Dec 10, 2014
75 comments

I fear that Peter Jackson has been suffering from a similar affliction to the dwarf king’s “dragon sickness”: a compulsive lust for epicness.

| 75 Comments

evening clickbait: how’s the weather in the Shire today?; fake nerd guys; Paul Rudd’s years-long practical joke

Thu, Dec 19, 2013
no comments yet

Stuff I found on the Net today.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review: are we there yet?

Fri, Dec 13, 2013
38 comments

Smaug is a magnificent cinematic creation… but there’s no good reason it takes so damn long to get to him.

| 38 Comments

evening clickbait: who will play JRR Tolkien in the biopic?; Katniss and her movie girlfriend

Tue, Nov 26, 2013
3 comments

Stuff I found on the Net today.

| 3 Comments

Thor: The Dark World review: Viking with a chance of wormholes

Thu, Oct 31, 2013
23 comments

Think heavy-metal Lord of the Rings. With wormholes. It’s completely mad and kind of awesome.

| 23 Comments

Scottish Borders photo of the day: Smailholm Tower

Wed, Apr 10, 2013
no comments yet

It sounds like something out of Tolkien, and it looks like the last lonely outpost on Mars.

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (review)

Mon, Dec 10, 2012
90 comments

No, not all who wander are lost. But doesn’t mean that some who wander aren’t lost. Such as Peter Jackson, with his first-of-three-parts big-screen adaptation of The Hobbit.

| 90 Comments
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