crotalus510

Great podcast as always, guys. I think Fellowship and Two Towers are easily the best of the trilogy and this one deserves to be on the list. One technical correction (yes, I'll be that guy): the issue with the Hobbit films was not that they were shot in 3D or 4k (the latter is a resolution and many many things are shot at 4k resolution nowadays), but that they were shot at 48 frames per second, not the standard 24 frames per second that most American films have been shot at for decades. At 24 fps, the shutter speed is a bit slower, meaning there is more blur (freeze frame any blu-ray or dvd and you'll see this), making things less clear and less "realistic" - more like what we think of as "cinematic". At 48 fps, there is less blur so things are more clear and you're seeing more clear images per second. This is what gives the footage that "soap opera" video feel. Try this out on your cell phone and shoot at 60 fps or 120 fps and watch at regular speed. This is also why the motion smoothing "feature" on so many HDTVs is a desecration of all that is good and just in the world.

Aside from Dance Magic Dance, this movie is a dud. No.

This is a no-brainer. Even if you don't like the movie, I think it's impossible to count out its vast influence on cinema and culture, which makes it canon. That being said, I do love it and will never forget my first time seeing it (in a theater!) and being blown away by the dialogue, the variety, the tone, and the beautiful camerawork. I walked back to my car on a huge high from watching this masterpiece. I also love the scene between John and the woman in the hallway, but to me it's never felt like a flirtation scene (aside from "what have you heard?"), just a bit of absurdism about celebrity and an exercise in vague conversation.