By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features HOLLYWOOD—As the mysterious and violent Lorne Malvo, Billy Bob Thornton has served as a thorn in the side of put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) for 10 episodes of the dark comedy series “Fargo,” on FX. He’s also eluded local Deputy Moll [...]
By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features HOLLYWOOD—Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” hits theaters just in time for the holidays. The New Zealand filmmaker returns to Middle-earth with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his band of dwarf companions on their quest to reclaim the Lon [...]
By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features NEW YORK—“The Hobbit,” the long-awaited prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is hitting theaters. It was a long journey for filmmaker Peter Jackson, who poured himself into the first trilogy based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, earning him many accolades [...]
By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features NEW YORK—Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis reprise their respective roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy in Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic prequel “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first in what is planned to be another three-parter. This tim [...]
By JAMES DAWSON Front Row Features Film Critic There’s no middle ground when it comes to Middle-earth. Although director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a multi-billion-dollar franchise, it paradoxically retained a fanboy-cult flavor that left detractor [...]