Saw some of the film this afternoon. I say some, because between dozing off and going to get refreshments, I missed about half an hour. According to my sister, I did well to escape this LOTR repeat. It was mind numbingly boring. Peter Jackson had the easiest time of his working life because all he has done is swapped names of characters and then planted them in a what I can only describe as a New Zealand tourist video. The editor could have done us all a favour and halved the running time. Nothing would have been lost in the story. This will be a great success because this pamphlet of a book has been stretched to War and Peace proportions - without the substance. If it had been made before the LOTR trilogy, the trilogy wouldn't have been made because the core audience would have lost the will to live. I also made the mistake of seeing it in 3D. What a waste. If you have nearly 3 hours of your life to waste, 2D is the way to go. At least the glasses won't fall off when you fall asleep. Shoud have been subtitled "A wasted journey - for you".

Also saw a trailer for Man of Steel. I've seen more gripping hemorrhoid cream commercials. They really need to up their game on this one.

Other than that - a Good afternoon?

So, you enjoyed your trip to the cinema then?

They probably wouldn't get him an ice cream and he's just brooding.

Went to see the Hobbit tonight - was surprised to see the Cinema half empty, obviously they had read Graham's review, but I found it an absolute blast.

I must admit I am a bit of a tolkien fan, and really enjoyed the background stories. There was a bit of artistic license used as the story was not strictly in line with the book.

But nevertheless, without any spoilers I really enjoyed it and it worked particularly well in 3D. Sorry Graham to disagree with you. Bring on part 2.

Gotta agree with Graham.

I also fell asleep an hour before the movie ended and woke myself up before I started drooling on myself.

I will see part 2 and 3 just because I love the book.

I caught it last night in IMAX 3D. It was pretty good, I'd give it a B grade. The structure of the film really, really followed The Fellowship of the Ring. The "Riddles in the Dark" scene was really good, Gollum has even more expressiveness and scariness in this film over the original trilogy. Most of the dwarves were 2-dimensional as only a few got screentime and lines, but I'm sure (hopefully), they'll get developed more in the next 2 films.

They also showed the 7-10 minute Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. The 3D was good, there's shots of spears flying out of the screen that made me jump! It showed a couple of complete scenes from the movie, then about 30 seconds of the usual short trailer clips.

The Man of Steel trailer was shown also. It was underwhelming when shown between Star Trek and The Hobbit main feature I thought...

You know I saw all of of the LOTR movies and enjoyed them, but for some reason I have absolutely no desire to see The Hobbit. The ads don't look very compelling and the hobbits, at least I think they are the hobbits, look like medieval Trick-or-Treaters. Sorry, those are the dwarfs, who knew?

It also doesn't help that everyone knows its one book and three movies. Its more like a commitment than entertainment.

I think Jackson should have left it alone, but of course they never do when they have nothing else.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

The problem that seems to be coming up is the one everybody said would come up.
The Hobbit would have made a great film, it may even have made 2 great films but there was no way it was going to make 3.

I just saw the new Tinkerbell film get a higher rating than The Hobbit.

Now you know why card manufacturers won't touch movie sets anymore.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wolfie:


I just saw the new Tinkerbell film get a higher rating than The Hobbit.

QUOTE]

All 4 of the Tinkerbell movies are pretty good. The Secret of the Wings is probably the second best of the lot 1, 4, 2,3.

I went into the theatre today to see The Hobbit with some concern as I've read a few reviews that complained about the pacing of the film. I was also a little worried about whether or not Jackson & Co. would be able to recapture the magic of the LOTR films...

and I was worried for nothing. I LOVED it. It felt like revisiting an old friend, both comfortable and enjoyable. It was exactly what I wanted as both a Tolkien and a Peter Jackson LOTR fan. The pacing was perfect, the flashback and adventure scenes were well done. The characterization was solid and the plot never felt stretched despite the additions to the novel. Humor, adventure, drama and some emotion... what more could you want from a movie?

My only quibble with it is that some of the CGI stuff felt a little too CGIish if that makes any sense. Overall, I'd have to give it a 9 out of 10.

Saw it on dvd last night (been too unwell to visit Cinema for some time).

I loved being back in the LOTR world, seeing back stories and familiar faces, as well as new ones.

However, my overall impression is "LOTR but for little kids".