New Berlin Station Interview
If you're not watching Season 4 of 'Reign' here's a taste of what you are missing..
Check the website - more cities could be added:
Showing posts with label Violet Hill Cork Irl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Violet Hill Cork Irl. Show all posts
March 14, 2017
December 21, 2014
Richard Armitage: Latest EW Mag Compares RA as Thorin to Humphrey Bogart in Treasure of Sierra Madre + Blogger Compiles Thorin Review Quotes(see excerpts & link)
.jpg)
It doesn’t help matters that the dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), presumptive heir to Erebor’s throne, is not long inside these hallowed walls when he succumbs to a familiar Tolkeinian malady — a lust for gold and jewels that renders its victims void of reason or empathy. And if “The Battle of the Five Armies” feels psychologically weightier than the previous “Hobbit” films, that’s largely a credit to Armitage, who plays Thorin with the paranoid despotic rage of a Shakespearean king, his heavy-lidded eyes ablaze with a private madness.
– Variety
As both hero and antagonist at various points, this is in large part Armitage’s film. Thorin’s descent into madness under the dragon’s taint is played out with maniacal intensity. His grim rebuff of Luke Evans’ diplomatic overtures (the exchange framed beautifully by a hole in Erebor’s barricade) and final, hallucinatory epiphany upon a floor of burnished gold are as masterfully shot as they are powerfully delivered.
– Empire
Maddened by greed, the dwarf king Thorin (Richard Armitage, a dramatic standout in all three films) refuses to honor agreements to share his treasure with his elvish and human allies. Who then decides to fight for what’s owed them.
– Sun Times
From their prominent position front-and-center in An Unexpected Journey, the dwarves slowly recede into the background during Five Armies, arguably to the story’s benefit; in the pitched battle of the climax, they’d be of little use, and they collectively manage to survive the carnage largely by staying out of harm’s way. The exception is their leader, Thorin, and the formerly little-known actor who plays him, Armitage, who emerges as perhaps the dominant actor in this very large ensemble.
– Hollywoodreporter.com Current StarMeter standing at imdb board:
If there was one performance that stands out the most in the film however it would belong to Richard Armitage, dominating proceedings utterly, as the arc of the plot circles around Thorin’s redemptive path from madness to heroic end, all delivered with a thundering, Shakespearian presence. Despite the demise of the dragon, in a genius touch, composer Howard Shore’s shifting and creeping theme for Smaug shifts to Thorin as the greed threatens to overwhelm him, with Armitage’s voice manipulated in a similar way as Cumberbatch’s. It is a fearless, dangerous display from him, as he risks losing the sympathies of the audience utterly, and so when he does emerge from his stupor, it is a triumphant moment.
– sherlockology.com
In fact, your heart is put through more strain here than compared to any of the previous Middle-earth instalments, and it’s mainly down to Jackson’s love of the material, but also down to the cast, in particular, Martin Freeman (as Bilbo Baggins) and Richard Armitage, who are both equally brilliant, but in such different ways.
(…) As Thorin falls to ‘dragon sickness’, Armitage takes, what was once a heroic character, and brings him to the depths of greed, to the point where he becomes close to villainous and, at times, downright menacing – his incredible performance is frightening, frustrating, sympathetic, heartbreaking, but ultimately inspiring. It’s hard to believe that this is the same guy that starred in the final episode of THE VICAR OF DIBLEY.
But, what makes the combination of these two actors so outstanding is that you have Armitage playing Thorin as though he has just come fresh from THE LORD OF THE RINGS series. And, on the other side to that, you have Freeman playing Bilbo as the rational, down-to-earth character, who has just come fresh from THE OFFICE (and I don’t mean that as a criticism). What this leads to is Armitage retaining what the fans held, and still hold, so dearly to the trilogy: grand speeches of honour and betrayal, male ego, warriors and so on, along with Freeman, who acts as the audience’s eyes into this warring world, making us truly involved in Middle-earth, in a way with which I initially struggled in THE LORD OF THE RINGS series. Thanks to these two actors’ performances, this film is for everyone, fans or otherwise.
– Screenrelish.com
And once again Richard Armitage is a powerful presence, with Thorin’s journey both touching and heartbreaking.
– ign.com
If all those names are so much gibberish, “Five Armies” is likely to leave you cold. But the cast, especially Armitage and Bloom, play it all like Shakespearean historical drama, which helps overcome some of the baked-in twee-ness. Also of aid there is Freeman’s wry performance as Bilbo.
– nydailynews.com
In a film with universally strong performances and one that is supposed to focus on the titular Hobbit, the now complete trilogy is dominated by the mesmerising presence of Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield, whose story arc finally sees the heroic leader get his big moments in the spotlight. I really can’t say enough good things about Armitage’s work here – from the moment he first arrived in Bag End he managed to immediately capture what makes Thorin such a compelling and charismatic leader and his work in The Battle Of The Five Armies is excellent.
– Denofgeek.com
Remember how it was mentioned earlier that the hobbits were the emotional core of the original trilogy of films? Jackson has tried time and again to provide the dwarves with a similar function, but their large quantity has often made many indecipherable from one another. And yet this is the story in which Thorin Oakenshield is finally the centerpiece of the narrative and helps to put the film back on its feet. There were seeds of his selfishness planted in earlier films, but they finally bear dramatic fruit in this one. His lust for power has turned him into a violent monster who distrusts his own kin and is obsessed with finding the infamous Arkenstone. Richard Armitage, who plays Thorin, continues to steal the show as the omnipotent and omnipresent dwarf. One must forgive some of the exaggerated speech (unfortunately Jackson, who was solid at using slow-motion technique in his first trilogy for poetic depiction, has overstepped the boundaries of indulgence at times) in which he tells Bilbo of his desire to destroy the traitor because it is the only pitfall in his performance. Once he eventually goes through his emotional trial and reaches his epiphany, Thorin retains the heroic stature that made him the trilogy’s true hero.
– latinpost.com
However, it’s Thorin’s movie, as Richard Armitage takes his Dwarf king character to the edge of madness. With the “Dragon Sickness” that plagued his grandfather taking hold, Thorin is a danger to everyone under his rule, yet Armitage never allows him to become a monster, allowing glimpses of the good man he was before to shine through.
– gamesradar.com
As a bonus, “Armies” is armed with one of the best performances in the entire Jackson Middle-earth series, and that’s saying a lot when the cast includes Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen. As Dwarf Lord Thorin Oakenshield, Richard Armitage perfectly embodies one of Tolkien’s steady themes about man’s eternal war with his own inner demons. Even when the showy director can’t restrain himself and allows that epic battle sequence to run on too long, Armitage’s performance brings the film back to its classic literary firmament. He taps into his character’s “dragon-sickness” — coveting riches at the expense of the soul — and does it with a mad glint in his eye one instance, a conflicted expression the next. His performance is a highlight, as is the presence of Martin Freeman, whose hobbit Bilbo Baggins feels the tug of his own dark side. And, yes, “Ring” veterans Blanchett, McKellen and Christopher Lee contribute as well.
– mercurynews.com
Richard Armitage delivered an intense and commanding performance as Thorin Oakenshield, and is arguably the true star of the film. Armitage was also very skillful at portraying the subtle and the heightened aspects of Thorin’s internal struggles. But with Thorin being the star of the film, this also means that Bilbo Baggins plays more of a secondary role (in a film that’s named after him). This is unfortunate since Freeman’s sympathetic and caring Bilbo Baggins delivers much of the touching moments in the film.
– nerdreactor.com
The tragic figure here is the Dwarf king Thorin (a splendidly conflicted Richard Armitage) who, having recaptured his people’s ancestral cave of gold, is tainted and maddened by it.
– time.com
Though they’re both good actors with a gift for subtlety and pathos, Freeman and Armitage are a bit swallowed up by the action surrounding them, only really allowed to shine near Battle’s end once the warring ceases and their characters’ bond is finally allowed to be addressed.
In truth, Thorin is Battle’s main character with the greater arc: Early on in Battle, the noble Dwarf succumbs to madness, his lust to keep all of Erebor’s gold prompting him to declare war on Middle-earth’s other tribes, even those who are the Dwarves’ comrades. Thorin’s eventual change of heart may be simplistically dramatised, but Armitage gives it a punch, showing us how a good Dwarf can let greed temporarily blind him.
– screendaily.com
Richard Armitage is perhaps the best thing about ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’. He’s utterly brilliant as Thorin and the way in which he plays the character is tremendous.
– derryjournal.com
Maddened by greed, the dwarf king Thorin (Richard Armitage, a dramatic standout in all three films) refuses to honor agreements to share his treasure with his elvish and human allies.
– Chicago Sun Times
In the series as a whole and in this movie, Armitage provides fine work. As the stoic and increasingly mad Thorin, he is ever compelling.
– News-herald.com
The real standout is undoubtedly Richard Armitage. His portrayal of Thorin, as he descends into madness, provides a real gravitas to this final chapter. There is real depth to his character’s story that is brought out beautifully.
– atolkienistperspective.wordpress.com
Martin Freeman as Bilbo is as charmingly aloof and plucky as ever, but he’s (somewhat awkwardly) replaced as the protagonist by Richard Armitage’s Thorin, who has the most well-defined character arc of the many players in Battle of the Five Armies. The two actors not only play their respective parts well, their scenes together are, by far, the most engaging when it comes to the non-action-driven material. Battle of the Five Armies doesn’t have a huge “heart,” but the one it does posses comes from the Bilbo/Thorin relationship.
– screenrant.com
Jackson also carves out some more room for Armitage to show what the dwarf king is made of. With the actor’s flare for making dark, brooding introspection magnetic, Thorin’s battle with himself and his legacy is by far the film’s most interesting fight.
– latimes.com
On the other side of the wall, Richard Armitage’s Thorin is more interesting than ever, glowering through hallucinatory sequences that illustrate how much of a hold the treasure has on him. Armitage is unafraid to take the character to dark places, repelling his friends with his Arkenstone obsession and his paranoia. It’s to the film’s credit that you’re not sure if he’ll be able to pull himself out of the spell; we may have never really been invested in him the way we were with Aragorn or any LOTR character, but this final film goes a long way to humanize (dwarvenize?) him, and the conclusion of his arc is entirely earned.
– screenfellows.com
Watching Thorin succumb to the dragon sickness and turn his back on his dwarves, Bilbo, and those who helped them reclaim his throne is powerful in relating the troubles of greed and its affects on those who hold power over others. Richard Armitage does a fine job recreating Thorin’s madness and the destruction and death it brings to those around him, making you feel for him and want him to be a better dwarf than he is because you know he has the ability to redeem himself. His scenes with Martin Freeman (Bilbo) are definitely the most touching, and they honor the rocky relationship these two characters have in the book perfectly.
– entertainmentbuddha.com https://bookesther.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/the-hobbit-the-battle-of-t he-five-armies-and-richard-armitage/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hume Castle, Berwickshire
August 28, 2013
Richard Armitage:Desolation of Smaug Artwork(see link below-Thorin one up on Smaug) + Almost a Given You're Descended from Charlemagne(see link) + Guy Friday + Really Random Thursday
New artwork for The Desolation of Smaug..
Sexiest voices: Of course, we all know RA is #1 but won't be greedy, at least we squeaked by Smaug this time..
Our crazy uncle in proverbial attic is Charlemagne:
EXCERPT:
This NationalGeographic.com article explains how there comes a point in history when "all individuals who have any descendants among the present-day individuals" (that's us) "are actually ancestors of all present-day individuals."
and "all Europeans alive today have among their ancestors the same man or woman who lived around 1400 ... About a thousand years ago, a peculiar situation prevailed: 20 percent of the adult Europeans alive in 1000 would turn out to be the ancestors of no one living today (that is, they had no children or all their descendants eventually died childless); each of the remaining 80 percent would turn out to be a direct ancestor of every European living today."
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/
Don't care if the following style is authentic to the period or not -- like it!
March 25, 2013
Richard Armitage:Wears Chocolate This Time--No-cal Easter Treat + April's Split Personality + GoT3 Geo Martin Interview + Coffee Fixes Everything + New Development for Richard III (see link) + Thorin in THE HOBBIT - Plus Other Roles
Richard III News:
Virgin Media's month of RA as Thorin, Guy and Lucas..
Game of Thrones author, George Martin, has more than once made it obvious he has an appreciative eye for female beauty. Will never forget my first introduction to him while reading posts at his journal. He described his activities that day to book readers. This was prior to Season 1 of Game of Thrones - he was part of the casting process, along with those working for HBO. George said he was on his way for a cold shower, after watching four beautiful women audition for the part of Daenerys. The writer obviously dallied longer with the following reporter than he might have with a male in the same position--even she seems aware of it;D
Rock star character Euron Greyjoy's entrance in Martin's book#4:
Barefoot RA cocktail - Don't understand why it has received 0 votes? Definitely looks inviting..*tickle,tickle* [Update: Barefoot RA received it's first vote--thank you! Will tickle that person's feet if ever given the chance;D..err..if it's a male. Why waste effort unless there could be a reward?...well, that's not very noble, is it (must've caught Gollum speak;) He's preciousss]
Just read this from article describing the questions asked of director Peter Jackson yesterday - coinkydink:
..does Peter always edit barefoot? A resounding yes, and he props his bare feet on the table in the editing suite to demonstrate. He says that, unfortunately, he has to wear shoes most of the time when he’s working on set due to safety regulations.
.jpg)
March 4, 2013
See Leicester Radio Details Below + Eyebrow Forming Everest + Today's Lorraine Interview(see vid) + Baby Tweets & Chocolate Treats + File Under 'Small World':Gisborne & Rollo Encounter Over The Pond + GoT Interview:Jaime,Brienne,Tywin(See link) + New 'Vikings' Series on History Channel - Written by 'The Tudors' Michael Hirst
Here's the link to listen realtime, Sun interview--8am,EST:
.jpg)
Richard III Article:
Richard's very first tweets;D Read from bottom up - his baby,baby,baby tweets:
3 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovieThanks fans for supporting the film. Come back and keep watching. - Richard Armitage
3 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: His nobility and bending will to succeed. We share a propensity for a bad temper and anxiety of care.
3 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @sadie72733929: #AskThorin- what characteristics do you admire of Thorin and why, & what do you recognize in yourself?
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: Chocolate ice cream. Treat others as you would want to be treated. And lots of chocolate ice cream.
Retweeted by RAblogger
Expand
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @karolinazajc5: @thehobbitmovie What is your recipe for life?
#AskThorinRetweeted by RAblogger
Expand
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Chocolate ice cream. RT @anaradubh: @thehobbitmovie #AskThorin What's your favorite dessert?
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: The face because it was the most uncomfortable, it stings, and fills up with sweat.
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @mitsuhachikuro: @thehobbitmovie #AskThorin It must be hard putting on all those makeup and costume! Which part do you dread the most?
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: Climb Everest.
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @inged3: @thehobbitmovie Richard, what's currently n°1 on your bucket list?#AskThorin
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: Peru. I would like to climb Machu Picchu.
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @hannahmcspadden: @thehobbitmovie Somewhere in the world you've always wanted to travel to, but not had the chance to yet? #AskThorin
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
Richard: Yes. I would like to know which songs you think fit his character. Master and servant.
4 hrs The Hobbit @thehobbitmovie
RT @gizgunslinger: Do you like #DepecheMode? I won't believe if not, cause their songs match greatly with most of your characters #AskThorin
Richard's fan Maraiad's version of the dinner party he proposed:
RA was asked which 3 figures he'd like to enjoy dinner with - he mentioned Richard III, Pres John Kennedy and Ian McKellan
Just discovered Mariaid is also a fanvid creator. After the long wait we endured for tweet replies today, I'd say he owes us this one;D
NEWS
When historic-legend thespians collide, is it merely coincidence, blog's magnetic ethernet pull or fact there is only one pond between NYC & London??;D (thanks to dear Musa/Fabo for the lovely news)
A Rollo(Clive Standen) tweet reveals he and Gisborne(RA) were pleasantly surprised to bump into each other on recent trans-Atlantic flight:
Great to bump into my old pal Richard Armitage on flight back from NYC...He hasn't changed a bit...A gentleman.
.jpg)
http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/television/interview-game-of-thrones-lannister-panel/
*****
Not just air travel in common - also time travel. Nice to see bros united again.
http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/793/
Guy of Gisborne's little brother in Robin Hood3, actor Clive Standen, plays Rollo in new series 'Vikings'(History Channel). Filed under "Only thing new in the world is the history you don't know" are these newly learned historic facts: Rollo was the Duke of Normandy and the ggggrandfather of William the Conqueror:
For those following the new History Channel series 'Vikings', the first ep of following series explains the enormous effect the invading Scandinavians had on English history:
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/applications/best-free-photo-editing-software-10-top-image-editors-you-should-try-1135489
http://gallicka.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=485&page=1
January 8, 2013
Hobbit Review From The Highlander:University of California + THE HOBBIT Receives 3 Technical Oscar Noms Including Makeup & Hairstyling(see link) + "Create New Characters But Save The Old--One is Silver and the Other Gold"
.jpg)
Gorgeous artwork below by Anne Cain:
http://annecain.tumblr.com/post/40317661236/my-latest-hobbit-fanart-thorin-as-a-metalsmith
Excerpt: "The lead cast is impeccable, with British actor Richard Armitage (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) capturing the grimly determined countenance of Thorin Oakenshield perfectly. Armitage has made a name for himself playing solemn, brooding characters in both film and television. Martin Freeman (“Shaun of the Dead”) is spot-on as Bilbo, a hobbit who reluctantly joins the dwarves on their quest after some heavy-handed persuasion by Gandalf.
The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey received Oscar nominations in:
-- Makeup and Hairstyling
-- Production Design
-- Visual Effects
http://oscar.go.com/nominees
For anyone wanting to know more details about this character, here's a long conversation between Game of Throne readers about him. Amazing how differing their opinions can be - some find him the most fascinating character in the entire 7-book series, while others simply say "I don't like him."
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/61543-euron-greyjoywhats-he-got-in-store-for-us/
http://winteriscoming.net/2013/01/season-four-open-casting-thread/#comment-232655
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/f/r/e/Lilliemae--G-Frey/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-Surnames.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)