Dr-He-Who-Remains Reviews

The Hobbit (1977 TV Movie)

The Best Adaptation of The Hobbit

[8/10 · 17 February 2024]

I didn't say it was the perfect adaptation. But I think it is the best we've got. My favorite anyways. They get the characters more closer to the original story and keep the story concise while hitting important story beats.

I do have a lot of nostalgia for this movie, as I first saw it when I was a kid. It certainly makes some changes to the story, but not as drastic as Peter Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy. This film captures the fairytale whimsy of the book, while taking certain scenes very seriously (for example the encounter between Bilbo and Gollum is creepy, while the live action version of that scene comes across as more silly/played for laughs). The songs are taken form the book, and range from silly (the barrel song) to terrifying (the goblin songs).

Some parts are a bit rushed, but it follows the story pretty well. John Huston as Gandalf and Theodore Gottlieb as Gollum were excellent in their roles. Glenn Yarbrough has a unique warble that makes his songs memorable. The violence is toned down to be kid friendly, but you have plenty of action. Highly recommend if you are a Tolkien fan and haven't seen it, or want to introduce your kids to the story without the graphic violence you get in the live action films.

The Return of the King (1980 TV Movie)

Best Non-Tolkien Song Ever to Grace an Adaptation

[7/10 · 15 February 2024]

I have fond memories of watching this film as a kid. This was pre-2000s so Peter Jackson's Trilogy didn't exist yet. This movie, The Hobbit movie (made by the same people), and the movie Ralph Bakshi made, were the only movie versions of Tolkien's world available to me in my childhood.

I got that there were some differences between the books and the movies (my dad read the books to me as a kid), like the Black Riders looking like banshees, and not including Legolas or Gimli. But as I go older the differences became more apparent. Most of the main story is there, but it tends to exclude most non-Hobbit characters and condenses the overall story a bit.

Despite the departures from the source material, I really enjoyed how they depicted the temptation of the Ring. They did a better job (in my opinion) of showing how the Ring corrupts people's minds, that inner battle of the psyche, than the more outward portrayal in Peter Jackson's films.

John Huston will always be my favorite voice for Gandalf.

The battle between Eowyn and the Witch-King is actually more book accurate than in the Peter Jackson films. I really like this scene in the movie, and just how cool they made Eowyn here, despite her barely having any screen time.

I also really liked the Orcs. They look so creepy and menacing. The "Where the Wild Things Are" vibes are very strong. Also, the best non-Tolkien song to ever grace an adaptation is by far "Where There's A Whip There's A Way." This alone gives this movie a special place in my heart. It captures the miserable nature of the Orcs so well, striking the perfect balance of campy-ness, family friendly, yet diabolical tone, that makes villain songs so iconic. There are other great songs too that will forever live rent free in my head.

Not the Best Tolkien adaptation, but an excellent movie. Especially for younger audiences. It is a bit creepy, but way more kid friendly that the intense Peter Jackson films.

Go West (2023)

My honest take...

[6/10 · 5 October 2023]

I love the "old Studio C" cast, or JK studios as they are now called. I started watching their content back in 2014, and have been a big fan ever since. From old YouTube videos of Divine Comedy, to Studio C, and finally JK Studios, I have enjoyed their creative talent, friendship, and passion for brightening people's lives with their humor. I was very excited when I heard they were making a movie.

Now I have to be honest with you, I did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. I thought the humor was okay, and good at times, but not great. I thought Matt's characters failed to capture the range he has. I would have also liked to see more from Adam, who was hardly in this movie.

It felt like multiple sketches loosely woven together. The overall plot or story just didn't hold that much tension (if that's the right word). It had some good sketches (although not all were great) but lacked overall cohesion besides having reoccurring characters. The attempt was there, but it just was missing something.

The humor was good (sometimes a bit on the gross side) but I think it lacked variety, or maybe they could have developed some stronger jokes that felt natural with the story/plot of the film. Not all of the jokes were bad, but they averaged on ok to good, when I was hoping for more.

If you guys are reading this, I hope you don't take this personally. I don't want to discount the effort you put into this project. Even though I think this wasn't your best work, I sincerely hope you continue making movies, sketch comedy, T-Shirts, whatever, I'm here for it. You have made a great impact in so many people's lives, including mine. I am so grateful that you put yourselves out there again and again. Looking forward to your next big project.

The Mysterious Benedict Society (2021–2022)

Disney+ throws away a masterpiece

[8/10 · 26 May 2023]

I was wonderfully surprised by this show. The entire cast was excellent, especially the child actors. I can't stress enough how great they played their characters. They were funny, felt genuine, and you really grew to love them. The adults too, played their roles incredibly well. I was not familiar with the books they are based on, but the story was compelling, while still being family friendly. A lot of love went into this story (both seasons). Sadly, Disney couldn't let a good thing alone.

Disney+ announced it would be removing this show this month, along with many others, as a way to cut back costs. You'd think they'd start with their poorly made stuff first. It was slated to have a third season, but now it's fate is uncertain. No wonder Disney is losing money. They struggle to make good content, and when they do they find a way to ruin it. Bad management across the board. Really hope this show comes back or finds another way to survive.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

Sad to Say, Don't Waste Your Time

[1/10 · 25 May 2023]

I was so excited when they first announced the She-Hulk series. Not only was this a chance to see more of the character Jennifer Walters, but there were great opportunities to explore more characters from the Hulk/She-Hulk comics. Marvel does (for the most part) an excellent job at creating interesting and relatable characters that people love, even if they're not into comic books or superheroes. I was also interested in seeing the blend of a Legal Drama with the elements of the MCU. And usually Marvel delivers satisfying comedic moments that make their characters fun and relatable.

Sadly, this show failed to deliver what was advertised. I hate to say it, but don't waste your time on this.

Pacing: This show felt like it tried to check the boxes of a Marvel show, but from the get-go it took off at break neck pace, never giving the characters time to have character growth/development moments. Jen becomes She-Hulk so quickly that we don't have time to get to know her before she's got powers to really she how this change impacts her personally ( we do get monologues, but they needed more showing not telling). They were so eager to rush us along that we got to the end feeling like we missed something. A lot of somethings.

Characters: They had some great opportunities to make Jen's character interesting and relatable (as per the usual Marvel way) but they spent little time developing her as a character. They upfront refused to give her any difficulty with her new powers. Whenever there was a hint that she was going to grow or have character moments, the show quickly resolved that issue and moved on. They had the potential to do great things with her, like how her powers changed her life, but they kept everything at surface level and had to rush on the the next scene. The conflicts that did come up had little foreshadowing, and were resolved easily.

Humor: The stereotypical, highly exaggerated misogynistic male character (forgot his name, and I think there were more than one) was annoying but not in a fun way. No woman I know who has watched this show thought he was funny. Also, the humor in general wasn't really funny. Most of it was played around men not understanding women and being terrible people. But not in a way that makes you love to hate them or feel relatable. I do have to say there was one joke in the whole series that I thought was good, but not good enough to justify watching this whole show. They also take a not so subtle hint at mocking fans of Marvel... the people they expect to watch this show. I don't even know what they hoped to accomplish.

Villains: They never went into detail why the villains hated She-Hulk. At most we get the idea that they hated her because she was a woman super hero. Why weren't they also targeting other female superheroes? We barely see them or know what they want, so She-Hulk stopping them had little build up and thus little satisfaction. This show had the opportunity to tap into the villains of the Hulk comics, but either ignored them or had them cameo. Even Titania hardly had a role, and we never understood her motivations.

Legal Drama: They had scenes in court rooms. Said some legalese sounding stuff (like in poorly made Sci-Fi where they are using real words but not making sense with them). Besides that, hardly anything that qualifies as "legal drama."

I don't get how this got approved. They did fans of Jen Walters/She-Hulk a disservice. Not to mention underutilizing Bruce Banner and Abomination. I really wanted to like this show, and gave it a chance. A real low point for Marvel.