My 2014: Best Musical Performance In A Non-Musical Film - Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins)

I don't know if there's much more I have to add to this, aside from the fact that its fantastic, I laughed my ass off and its the highlight of this movie (Which is pretty good outside of this clip, btw).  When I saw the film for the first time, you bet your ass afterward I went back and watched this thing a few more times...then discovered there's a clip on YouTube and watched it a few more.  Bill Hader is a comedic genius that hopefully one day just blows up.  I miss him on SNL (An all time favorite cast member of mine), but I like the interesting choices he makes and he's always great in everything he pops up in.  I don't think you have to have seen the movie to get the clip or enjoy it.  And oh yeah...Starship is gonna be stuck in your head for days and put the thought of doing a Mannequin "Quickie" Retrospective in your head.  

Ten Movies To Bring Them All And In The Darkness Rank Them: Ranking The Lord Of The Rings Films

First off, a very very very big thanks to Jim Dietz, Jen Gualdoni, Scott Mendelson, Aaron Neuwirth, Victoria Irwin, Maxwell Haddad and Philip Vandy Price for subbing in here and guesting to give this retrospective many different flavors.  Believe me, it gave me a nice little break to catch up on some other things as well ;)  I hope you enjoyed their voice on this journey back to the Middle-Earths of Peter Jackson, Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi.  

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014)

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

2014

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom. Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee

Rated: PG-13

Will you follow me...one last time?

           ~Thorin Oakenshield

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013) - Philip Vandy Price

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

2013

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom Evangeline Lilly, Andy Serkis, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch

Rated: PG-13

Revenge? REVENGE?  I will show you revenge!

                ~Smaug

Here's our final guest piece for this fantastic and flavorful little retrospective.  It comes from Philip Vandy Price who you might remember I talked Robocop with on Out Now With Aaron & Abe.  He's got a terrific little film review blog I enjoy following called Reviews From A Bed that you can check out HERE!  

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - Maxwell Haddad

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2012

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Lee Pace, Sylvester McCoy

Rated: PG-13

I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure.

             ~Gandalf

Today we've got one of my favorite people to talk film shop with and...well Sleepy Hollow...one of my co-hosts on the IchaPod CraneCast, Maxwell Haddad!  You definitely need to check out www.cinemaxwell.com as well as his writing over at The Young Folks.  I'm so thankful he's taken on An Unexpected Journey for us here in the Fellowship!

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003) - Victoria Irwin

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

2003

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Otto, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lee, Sean Astin, Karl Urban, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving, John Noble

Rated: PG-13

Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf.

        ~Gimli

Our next member to join the fellowship is Victoria Irwin who is the head honcho over at the super groovy and ultra cool FangirlNation.  If you'll remember, she joined us for the Sleepy Hollow Commentary back in September and I had a blast with that discussion so I knew I had to coax her into a guesting on Naptown Nerd someday.  And today is that day.  

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - Aaron Neuwirth

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

2002

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Otto, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lee, Sean Astin, Karl Urban, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving

Rated:  PG-13

I want to hear more about Sam.

           ~Frodo Baggins

Aaron Neuwirth is back...which is no surprise.  However, he's not the world's biggest LOTR fan either, which may surprise...it may not.  I think the retrospective benefits greatly from having someone of his perspective that isn't a hater, he's just not the rabid fan.  And this piece is pretty terrific.  Check it out...also check out OUT NOW WITH AARON & ABE every week on the HHWLOD Podcast Network and drop by THE CODE IS ZEEK for his reviews and bloggings as well as Why So Blu.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001) - Scott Mendelson

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

2001

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring:  Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Cate Blanchett

Rated: PG-13

A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins.  Nor is he early.  He arrives precisely when he means to.

                     ~Gandalf

Well, my next guest needs no introduction.  Forbes' Scott Mendelson returns to Naptown Nerd to discuss one of my favorite films in the LOTR series, The Fellowship Of The Ring.  You can of course find Scott's work on Forbes.com and check him out in featurette on the 25th Anniversary Edition of Tim Burton's BATMAN available now.

The Fabulous Journey Of Mr. Bilbo Baggins The Hobbit (1985)

The Fabulous Journey Of Mr. Bilbo Baggins The Hobbit

1985

Director:  Vladimir Latyshev

Starring:  Anatoly Ravikovich, Ivan Krasko, Igor Dmitriev

Not Rated

There's no quote here, because I'm not fluent in Russian.

And props to Jim Dietz for directing me to this.  I had no idea it existed.

The Return Of The King (1980) - Jennifer Gualdoni

The Return Of The King

1980

Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr

Starring:  Orson Bean, John Huston, Roddy McDowall, Casey Kasem, Theodore Bikel, William Conrad, Nellie Bellflower

Not Rated

Oh Sam, what have I said? What have I done?

       ~Frodo Baggins

Today my guest is Jennifer Gualdoni, or "Jen G" as I tend to refer to her.  She's the biggest X-Men fan I know, so of course I bring her on here to do a piece on Lord Of The Rings, right?  Anywho, enjoy!  And be sure to check out her book reviews on her site www.goddessbnl.com !

The Lord Of The Rings (1978) - Jim Dietz

The Lord Of The Rings

1978

Director: Ralph Bakshi

Starring: John Hurt, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Simon Chandler, Dominic Guard, Anthony Daniels

Rated: PG

Legolas: So all you had to do was say friend...and enter.

Gilmi: Those were happier times...

Our first guest up to join the Fellowship, is the legendary Jim Dietz.  Jim runs the HHWLOD Podcast Network where you can find the show I co-host, The IchaPod CraneCast was well as PLENTY of shows to keep you entertained.  And if you listen, you'll know I love doing commentary tracks with this guy.  In addition to the incredible Walking Dead TV podcast, Jim now does the DCTV podcast focusing on all things DC Comics on television.  I don't have to tell you that its great too.  Anyway...I should shut up and let Jim do the talking.

The Hobbit (1977)

The Hobbit

1977

Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

Starring:  Orson Bean, Richard Boone, John Huston, Otto Preminger, Han Conried

Not Rated

I'm Mr. Bilbo Baggins.  I've lost my dwarves, my wizard and my way.

       ~Bilbo Baggins

The Fellowship Of The Retrospective

The Hobbit; Battle Of The Five Armies is bringing Peter Jackson's 2-Trilogy 6-film epic of the JRR Tolkien lore to a close.  Although, I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of this universe.  Personally, I'm not some super huge Lord Of The Rings junkie.  I never read the books, but I was quite a big fan of the original trilogy, as I think its cinematic excellence.  Every time there's a new one my but is firmly planted in a seat opening weekend.  However, I'm also someone who is perfectly fine with the theatrical cuts of these films.  I own no real collectibles on the series aside from Blu-rays and DVDs in my movie collection.