Movie Trailer: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I know a lot of people soured on the first Hobbit movie but I actually loved it. I loved the songs, I loved the Bilbo, I loved Radagast. Maybe it's because I'm a D&D* player and just love a good old fashioned adventure  that pits adventurers against dragons for profit, but yeah, it worked for me. So I'm pretty excited by this new trailer. There's more Radagast, more Bilbo (who I keep typing out as Biblo for some reason) and Legolas is back AND UNF, LEE PACE IS BEING ALL EYEBROWSY AND ELFISH.

My question, which I asked after watching the first one, is what happens in the final film? IMDB has film three's (There and Back Again) synopsis as: Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves are in Smaug's lair, but will they get their gold and return home safely? So is it still just about the dragon (and the subsequent 5 armies war), and how does the Necromancer (Sauron Lite) fit into all of this?



*I just re-read the linked in post and I made the exact same claim. I'm circling around on myself, destruction is imminent.

Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein

The Hobbit

Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien

Published: 1937

Synopsis: Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.

Challenges: Made into a movie for Book'd Out's Eclectic Reader Challenge.
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J. R. R. Tolkien has his faults (ugh, those songs) but my god he writes a good story. LOTR is amazing, but they're three long ass books and they're not exactly cheery material. The Hobbit on the other hand is short, sweet and manages to create a wonderful and warm story of adventure, comedy, camaraderie, dragons, barrel rides and golden rings.

This reread was brought on because of the film's release and it was looong overdue. It's probably been about 6-7 years since I last followed Bilbo on his journey, and even though I felt like I barely remembered the book at all going in, it all came flooding back as soon as I began the first chapter. It's a rather iconic story, and if you haven't read it yet, well, you probably never will. But you should, because this book is wonderfully wonderful.

So the book begins with one of my favourite introductions ever;

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

And from there it just keeps on getting better. Bilbo, the timid and proper Baggins of Bag End, is pushed and prodded and forced into the most uncomfortable situations all in order to help a company of dwarves reclaim the treasure of their forefathers. While Thorin and his merry band of dwarves are a big part of this story, more than anything else it is a story about Bilbo. As the group faces obstacle after obstacle, Bilbo is forced to shed his timid shell and become the thief that the group needs, and a valuable member of their crew. Much like Harry Potter, he seems to have some pretty magical luck and rescues the group from countless close calls. I always found Frodo just a little bit whiney, but Bilbo is the perfect combination of the four hobbits in LOTR, a little bit responsible, a little bit fun, a little bit adventuous and a little bit of a worry wart. He's written with such love and care on Tolkien's part that you just can't help but root for him to succeed, even if the dwarves themselves come off a little treasure-hungry and selfish at times.

It is very much a kids book, from the style of writing and description that Tolkien chooses to use, to the 'small man makes good' story but it takes a pretty dark turn at around the three-quarter mark. The fun adventures grind to a halt and the everyone-ever-is-going-to-die takes over. If you have plans to read this to your kids, maybe skip ahead and check whether you think your 7 year old is quite ready for the desolation of Smaug and the battle of the 5 armies. It's still a phenomenal story, but I wonder what made Tolkien charge at such a destructive conclusion.

Gollum is terrifying, the dragon is greedy, the elves (of Mirkwood) are assholes and Rivendell sounds like the dream location to retire too. It's the perfect fantasy story for a first-timer looking to get into the genre, and a book both parent and child will obsessively read long into the night. There really isn't a whole lot more to write without deconstructing all 300 pages (which I will totally do with you guys in the comments if you wanna) but if you haven't reread this one in awhile, you probably should get on that right now, and if you haven't read it before? Well, I don't know if we can be friends. If you promise to read it asap I guess we can, but it's a bit of a deal breaker to be honest.

Discussion Post: What the heck does Jackson have planned for The Hobbit?

I can only guess that Tom and I were still loopy from the major food intake on Christmas day, but for some reason we decided boxing day would be the best day to visit the movies. Stupid. Stupidest idea in the existence of ideas ever. STUPID.

But one good thing that came out of it was that we got to see The Hobbit in 3D and the new higher frame rate (HFR). I know some people have been a little negative about this film but I flippin' loved it. Perhaps it's because I'm a mad D&D player and it got me eager for some dungeoneering of my own, or maybe it was a love for the LOTR series or maybe it's just a good film - I don't know, I don't care, I enjoyed the hell out of myself.

Don't look to pleased with yourself yet Bilbo...

But what I'm still not sure about is the whole trilogy thing. After getting back from the film I decided I had to reread the book. It was something I had wanted to do before the film, but I just never found the time. The last time I'd read the book was too far back to even remember, so my memory of the plot was spotty at best; Gollum, dragons, lots of dwarves, barrels, the ring and that was about it. So while I was enjoying the heck out of that fabulous book (sans songs: THEY SUCK) I was trying to work out where the next two Hobbit films would head.

You see, the first film covers the first 6 chapters of the book, which is roughly a third of the book. (there be spoilers ahead) Logically you could see them splitting it equally that way. Film two would lead them past Beorn, the wood elves and into Lake Town. It would probably end either with them entering the mountain or killing the dragon. The final film would then cover the war of the 5 armies and then the wrap up (which is loooooooong). The only problem with this is the additions and changes that were made to the first film, which basically means that it can't go ahead that way.

The biggest issues/obstacles are Azrog the white orc (a goblin briefly mentioned in the book) who is determined to kill Thorin, and the necromancer, who was mentioned twice in the book, but is clearly (both from the additions in the film, and the imdb page for the third film) going to occupy a much bigger role. Both were (mostly) welcome additions to the film for me, but they've left me basically gobsmacked as to how this whole trilogy shiz is supposed to pan out.

My best bet is that they still follow the basic format. The dragon dies at the end of the second film, and the third is dedicated to the war of the 5 armies, however they shift it so first Azgog has his showdown with Thorin and then everyone (minus the goblins and orcs I guess) has to unite against the Necromancer. Or maybe they keep the necromancer as a side story that Gandalf deals with alone while the dwarves and Bilbo do their business at the Lonely Mountain. I know that originally it was meant to be 2 films but Jackson was having issues with the editing (dude needs to go to a workshop or something) and split it. So it's not inconceivable that the story split between the dwarves and Gandalf is the way it goes - especially if there is actually another Tolkien story about the take down of the necromancer (in the Silmarillion perhaps?). BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW GUYS, I DON'T FREAKIN' KNOW.

What about you guys? Have a theory or two about what direction the films are going to take? Did you even like the first film? I need to talk this shit out, yo.

Movie Trailer: The Hobbit

I am less than impressed with The Hobbit being split into three separate films (seriously, with WHAT material??) but I am still terribly excited to see Bilbo's adventure up on the big screen. Martin Freeman makes an ideal Bilbo (secretly I think perhaps he's actually a hobbit in real life) and any film that lets me watch Ian McKellan act as a wizard deserves my money. Plus, you know, Lord of the Rings was kinda amazing and if anyone could do the book justice it'd be Peter Jackson. So yay for the full trailer!

Has anyone not watched Extras? If you haven't you've missed a stellar episode with Ian McKellan where he discusses his acting process with Ricky Gervais. Watch it, and leave your thank yous in the comments section!

My Favourite Covers: Lord of the Rings

I mentioned in my post yesterday my love for retro book covers so I thought over the next few weeks I'd share some of my favourites. To start with I thought I'd share my wonderful 1974 Unwin editions of Lord of the Rings. I had been searching for a copy of these books because I wanted to reread them but all of the ones in store were either the movie editions or the ones with the plain black covers, plus having to buy all three of them new was going to weaken my wallet substantially. I came across the Two Towers copy when I was at Bookfest, the annual (sometime Bi-annual) Brisbane second hand book fair, and fell absolutely in love. The cover art and font is synonymous with the seventies and the pattern across the bottom of each book just grabbed me. Two hours later I had somehow managed to find a copy of all three LOTR books in this edition and snapped them up (a whopping $6 for all three) and they've been sitting proudly on my bookcase ever since!

LOTR

I'm just about finished re-reading Lord of the rings for my popular fictions class and have sat down to rewatch the movies as a comparison of sorts. Holy crap I forgot how much I love these movies, they truly are some of the most fantastic pieces of film ever to be created.