Three New Movies Based on Books: Which One Will You See?

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day with the release of a trio of  new movies based on books!

The Hobbit is finally being released countrywide and the whole 24 vs 48 fps dialog can go nationwide too. I'm  curious to see the movie, to see how well Martin Freeman does as Bilbo Baggins (I'm sure he nails it), but mostly to see how this new technology looks. I have a friend who heads up the post production department of a major studio. He tells me that 24 fps only looks right to our eyes because that's all we've ever seen on screen, that's all we know. We're used to it, and we don't realize how little it reflects the way things really are. He told me the industry's history of using the standard 24fps was based on what was essentially a business decision made in those early days. The developers settled for what 24 fps could give them visually because it was all they could afford and the only way to proceed at the time. Faster frame rate = more film processed = too expensive.

One movie based on a book opening this weekend that I won't bother to see is Jack Reacher, the film based on Lee Child's book One Shot about a hard boiled detective who dispenses his own brand of justice.  I've never been into this one partly because I have a love/hate relationship with Tom Cruise and it's the kind of film I'll watch on HBO when it rolls around just so I can say I've seen it. I wasn't overly surprised that A.O. Scott in his New York Times review  notes that Reacher is a part Cruise could play in his sleep. And does.

“It’s just what guys like me do,” Reacher says wearily at one point, though he could say it at just about any point.Guys like him are mythical creatures, fantasy figures who dispense rough justice when civic institutions fail. Part comic-book superhero, part Old West vigilante and wholly preposterous, Reacher is far less enigmatic than he or anyone else in the movie thinks he is. And also less interesting.

Less interesting and maybe we're just not in the mood for that kind of extreme violence acting as entertainment right now. We've lost our taste for it.

Finally, On The Road opens tomorrow, Friday December 21 too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one, hoping it's got an authentic ring to it. I think the casting of Kristen Stewart makes it a bit tricky. She's such a TwiHard icon that one wonders if she can break through. Does she have the talent? And even if she does, will her personal life with its high octane celebritized drama outweigh any good work she may do in the film?
I've included the trailer so you can have a look-see.

I wish Hollywood didn't crowd the end of the year with so many films. I know we are on school holiday and so presumably go to the movies more but it's not that easy to squeeze in a movie with Christmas shopping and holiday parties and events around every corner.  How about you? Will you take in a 'flick' this weekend?