McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

[RoIIo Tomassi]

Dwarves and Hobbits are a sturdier lot and can survive falls that we mere mortals could not.

[Ran]

My wife and kids are going to see Grandma, so I'm home alone this weekend. I was thinking about going to see this. The last movie I saw in the theater was Revenge of the Sith.

[jjreason]

The visuals of the Dwarf city alone are worth the price of admission. Just amazing. Another thought - I would have guessed they would tone down the intensity a bit but notsomuch. Apparently the spirit of the book was to entice slightly younger readers to get into this universe, but the movie seemed to be tailored to about the same age group as LOTR.

[Ran]

Just got back from the theater. I liked it even though I had to pee for the last hour of it. Maybe I shouldn't have watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy the other night because Bilbo Baggins seemed very Author Dent-like. JJ and Rollo pretty much covered everything else. When this series is over, will The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings be the longest chase scene in movie history? It is basically Orcs chasing hobbits, dwarves, and Gandalf for 6 movies.

I suppose Steven Colbert makes his appearance later in the trilogy.

Anyway, that was my first time in a theater since ROTS so I forgot how expensive stuff was. It was a matinee, so I only paid $8.25 to get in. Then I paid $11.25 for a small popcorn and medium drink.

[jjreason]

Yep that's about right. It was over $40 for Tom & I to see it with snacks.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

My theater has Early Bird specials before Noon and also "Cheap Tuesday" so tickets are only $5.

I have no idea what an evening ticket costs because I haven't gone to a night show in years.

[Ran]

December 13th, eh?

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

This makes it look more interesting. Still, nothing I've seen or heard about this series really makes me think it'll be worth spending nine hours to watch. (I still haven't seen the first one and am not really in a rush to do so, despite liking the LOTR films.)

[Jargo]

I'm anxious. but that's a different issue.

I'm curious about the expanded cut of an unexpected journey. I expect there'll be more of the stone giants and various fighty bits. more of that bit where Christopher Lee acts to a green screen while Cate Blanchett smirks in a vaguely sensual way and Hugo Weaving looks like he'd rather be doing something else. More Radagast comedic schtick. More Hobbiton, seeing as they ploughed a ton of cash into building it for real. More dreary Dwarf song. And more 'here's a character that wasn't in the books but you might enjoy anyway'.
It's true the visuals are lovely. The attention to detail in everything is very rewarding. That PJ is in charge of telling the entire Bilbo story to give it continuity and a sort of fluidity. It is however missing something. The quiet moments in Fellowship of the ring were so atmospheric you felt like you were there with Aragorn and Frodo and Gandalf. You felt the world of Middle earth flow around you and absorb you into the adventure. The Hobbit so far feels like any other movie and never draws you in so far. That's what I want from the extended cut. Moments that will catch at me like teasels and drag me along for the ride. Make me forget I'm in my living room.
If all else fails to grab me, at least there'll be cool extras on the disks.

[Ran]

I'm not sure if this is really a spoiler, but I'll play it safe.

The Hobbit trilogy will end with a 45 minute battle scene.

link

[Tom Foolery]

It's not a spoiler if you've read the book. Also, the film's title suggests a battle involving five armies soooo...

[Ran]

It's not a spoiler if you've read the book. Also, the film's title suggests a battle involving five armies soooo...

I know, but how many endings did the last LOTR movie have? <Insert Clerks 2 scene here>.

[Tom Foolery]

Just finished watching the final film in IMAX 3D.
It's a satisfying watch, but as with all of these Hobbit films, it doesn't have the epic resonance the LotR trilogy had. Maybe it's because I'm a great deal older now and that sense of wonderment is dulled or something.
But I haven't rewatched any of the Hobbit movies since they came out and I can watch the LotR movies over and over and probably watch them twice a year.

And I have to say, Smaug's death scene is about the hammiest performance by a giant CGI dragon I've ever seen.
Also, why was unibrow in the movie? Just an annoying douche of a character that served no purpose other than to be annoying.

[Jargo]

You mean Alfid, the geezer with the mouth of too many oversized teeth? Padding. He's also annoying and overly toothy in everything he's cast in.

[jjreason]

It was ok. Definitely agree with the lack of "resonance" - I didn't get teary eyed at any point here and it happened a good few times on my first trips through the LOTR movies. The action sequences were so over-the-top in their implausibility, they made Pirates of the Caribbean 3 look almost believable by comparison.

The only part that really struck me was the very end, the return to the comfortable beginning with Gandalf banging down old Bilbo's front door. This Bilbo didn't come close to portraying the sense of wonderment that Elijah Wood did with Frodo, and I felt like he kept making the same annoying faces over and over, almost on cue or something. I don't dislike the guy, I just wasn't a huge fan of this Bilbo (or the "handsome" Dwarves, or any number of other things I could nitpick about but won't bother - it's not like I feel I got ripped off or anything).