Lincoln (2012)

★★★★

On an educational and artistic level, I would give this movie 5 stars. All I knew about the Civil War I learned in high school, and I had no idea such politics were at play regarding the timing of the passage of the 13th Amendment and the ending of the Civil War. I also didn't know anything about Abraham Lincoln the person, and the movie's depiction of his wife and his interactions with his children and other people in general just really humanized him.

However, ultimately I'm giving this movie 4 stars because I just sometimes got so confused. Maybe that's more a statement about me than the movie - or how tired I was when I watched it - but I think I'm a fairly intelligent person, yet I still had trouble understanding what exactly convinced some Democrats to change their vote.

Also, for a movie titled "Lincoln", it seemed to have a relatively narrow focus. I think I expected a biopic, but this movie was more a snapshot of how Lincoln pushed through the 13th Amendment. We do get a glimpse of his personal life while he was in office, but we don't see or learn anything about Lincoln's childhood, or how he became the man that he was.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

★★★★½

This is my third time reading this book, and I had forgotten how approachable it is. The storytelling is casual and reads more like young adult fiction. I love the adventures and the world of Middle Earth. I only wish I could have read this book in a more continuous fashion; I only had time to read it in short spurts, usually maybe half an hour straight at most. I felt like my momentum kept getting interrupted, and that detracted from my reading experience. In fact, as soon as I finished the book, I felt like I wanted to go back and read it again! But I don't know, I guess I'll move on to The Lord of the Rings, as originally planned...

So the reason I didn't give the book 5 stars is that it did leave me with a couple questions. I never quite felt like I understood why Gandalf chose Bilbo to go with the dwarves on this adventure. How did Gandalf know that Bilbo would be up for it? Partly, perhaps, because he had some Took blood in him, but then, why Bilbo and not another hobbit in the Took family? I was also a little surprised by how silly the elves were portrayed, always singing and laughing. They didn't have the kind of dignity that I associate with them from having read LOTR.

UPDATE 2/2/15: After watching the final installment of the Hobbit movies, I was inspired to re-read the book again. The first thing that struck me was just how many liberties Peter Jackson took with the movies. But that's beside the point. As always, a good read! This time I read it with an eye towards children, as I wondered if the book would be suitable as a read-aloud with the kids. In fact, I found the book to be pretty kid-friendly! The narrator assumes the air of a friendly storyteller, and all the potentially scary encounters are told so matter-of-factly that they aren't nearly as scary as the movie makes them out to be. Isabelle and Sebastien haven't shown much interest in this world of hobbits and dwarves, but if I can convince them to sit and listen, I think they would enjoy it!