The Hobbit

[teddybear]

Anyone seen it yet? Is it any good? Should I see it now or wait a week or two until there aren't so many in the theaters?

[B5SnowDog]

I haven't seen it yet but I'm excited about it. I liked the LOTR adaptations so I'm sure I'll like this as well. I'm waiting until the crowds thin out a little so maybe next weekend.

[Arete]

Same here, waiting for the thin out but really excited to see it.

[wild little fox]

I saw it on Thursday. I really enjoyed it. I'm not into the big Hollywood block buster type of movie, but The Hobbit is my favorite book. I read it regularly. There are some changes, of course. I don't understand why they chose to do what they did. One of my VERY favorite scenes (and funniest in the book) was changed and I see why, but it didn't have to be that way!

Over all I LOVED it and I am going to see it again this week when my small town theater has the $5 matinees.

[wild little fox]

If anyone wants to discuss it, I would LOVE to.

[duplessis3]

we saw it on the first showing here. i am not a fan of the books.my husband and son are. it was great fun.

[RandomTrivia]

Anyone seen it yet? Is it any good? Should I see it now or wait a week or two until there aren't so many in the theaters?

Haven't seen it yet, unfortunately. The kiddo's school schedule, and lack of babysitter, means it'll be Friday at best before I can see it. Thanks to the holiday vacation, my original plan of going to a daytime show got squashed, but I'm hoping it's still in theaters after 1/1/13, so I can go see it a second (and third) time. I'm not paying for 3D though, the 3D movies I have seen are just too dark and hard to see for whatever reason. It's like watching the X-Files. :)

I loved the LOTR movies - bought both versions of the DVDs, and a bunch of the related merchandise. I'm very glad that things worked out for Peter Jackson to do the Hobbit movies as well.

[terranova]

I want to but haven't yet. We've been so inundated with it here, it's even on stamps, that I'm kind of burned out. I'm not as excited about it as the LOTR.

[Loveday]

Just got back from seeing the early showing today with my daughter. I haven't read the book since my eary 20s (a very long time ago!), but it all started coming back right from the start. Beautifully done, it was just what a book-to-film should be. And Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield was...well, let's just say I never considered the dwarves in the LOTR books to be sexy--until now. :lol:

[SpeshulTaterTot]

I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and saw it on Wednesday. I don't understand some of the changes they did, but overall, I loved the movie. I even liked the 3D, which I'm usually not a fan of. I'll definitely go see it again.

[Bookworm]

And Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield was...well, let's just say I never considered the dwarves in the LOTR books to be sexy--until now. :lol:

I've been an RA fan for about three years now. And a Tolkien fan my whole life. When I heard he was cast as Thorin - it was one of those "Can this be real?!" moments.

As to the storyline, I was not sure I liked the whole Azog subplot at first, but I think I do like it. And I bet I know exactly how it will play out at the end, can't wait to see if I'm right. I'm not a total purist so I really liked their adaptation and expansion of the book. As long as they don't do anything like Legolas's skateboard or Faramir's character assassination then I'll be happy.

[Witsec7]

My neighbor and I are attempting to see it this week before school is out. I hardly remember the book since it's been ages since I've seen it, but the neighbor is an avid fan and it will be an escape for us.

[Arete]

I've been an RA fan for about three years now. And a Tolkien fan my whole life. When I heard he was cast as Thorin - it was one of those "Can this be real?!" moments.

As to the storyline, I was not sure I liked the whole Azog subplot at first, but I think I do like it. And I bet I know exactly how it will play out at the end, can't wait to see if I'm right. I'm not a total purist so I really liked their adaptation and expansion of the book. As long as they don't do anything like Legolas's skateboard or Faramir's character assassination then I'll be happy.

I despise what was done to the character of Faramir in the movies (or more not done), but I am going to stand unashamed and say I thought Legolas's skateboard was SO COOL! :D

[duplessis3]

I am a ridiculously huge Aidan Turner fan so when my sister wife (to Aidan) heard about the movie, we decided to go to the first showing. And we made tshirt of Kili. And now Richard Armitage and Dean O'Gorman. I like my men beardy.

And yes, Kili's Movie Pt. II is already on our calendar. (As is The Mortal Instruments, which has my unholy trinity of Irish actors in it: Aidan, Jonathon Rhys Meyers and Robert Sheehan. I'll be bringing a fan. I suppose the main character in the story will get in the way though. Why can't those three just walk around shirtless for two hours?)

[Bookworm]

Honestly? I kind of like the skateboard thing myself, but my friends are so purist that I'm hoping there isn't anything like it in this trilogy just to keep them quiet... They're already grumping about Legolas and Galadriel being brought back for this, but I think it's awesome. Fun to see some of the old bunch! I'm dying to see the next one already - not sure what parts of the story will be in the second and which in the third. Just had a thought - I bet we'll get to see the Sackville-Bagginses at some point!

[PennySycamore]

Honestly? I kind of like the skateboard thing myself, but my friends are so purist that I'm hoping there isn't anything like it in this trilogy just to keep them quiet... They're already grumping about Legolas and Galadriel being brought back for this, but I think it's awesome. Fun to see some of the old bunch! I'm dying to see the next one already - not sure what parts of the story will be in the second and which in the third. Just had a thought - I bet we'll get to see the Sackville-Bagginses at some point!

I missed how Lobelia savaged Saruman's ruffian's with her umbrella during the Scouring of the Shire. She turned out to be quite the heroine for standing up to them.

[nokidsmom]

Mr. Nokidsmom and I saw it on Christmas Eve as he had to work so we went after he got home.

To tell the truth I was a bit skeptical going to the movie as I wondered how Peter Jackson could stretch the story over three movies. I was expecting some scenes to be to be dragged out but it moved along pretty well. Wondered about the Azog subplot but it did work in well with the Goblintown scenes.

Never thought Dwarves could be sexy but I was crushing on Thorin Oakenshield by the end. I like guys with beards. Mr. Nokidsmom has always sported one.

[B5SnowDog]

Never thought Dwarves could be sexy but I was crushing on Thorin Oakenshield by the end. I like guys with beards. Mr. Nokidsmom has always sported one.

I don't blame you at all - I had to fan myself after seeing a pic of Kili and Fili. They definitely went in a different direction from the animated version.

I'm seeing it this afternoon with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law. Squee!

[B5SnowDog]

If anyone wants to discuss it, I would LOVE to.

I finally saw it yesterday and I'd love to discuss it with you. Since the movie is still fairly new, I'm going to put it under a spoiler tag.

The main thing that hit me was how somber and serious they made the movie compared to the style of the book and the animated film. I think Stephen Colbert mentioned that it was like a grown-up retelling of the events of a children's story and I totally see that. Thorin was more regal than his characterization in the animated film, which was nice. I really enjoyed seeing Radagast and while Galadriel wasn't in the book, I'm glad she was there. It makes sense that they would've gone into more detail about what happened during the times Gandalf left the company.

[ElphabaGalinda]

If you've never read the book, or seen any of the LoTR movies/read those books either, would the movie be worth seeing? I actually tried watching the first LoTR, and got bored like half an hour in and stopped. Everyone I know wants to see it, but dunno if I should if I could never get into the books.

[B5SnowDog]

If you got bored during the first LOTR movie, you'll probably get bored during the Hobbit: Unexpected Journey. It's almost three hours long and is part 1 of 3. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next two parts to come out but I'm a big fan. Your mileage will most likely vary.

[Maggie Mae]

I thought The Hobbit was much more engaging than LoTR. YMMV though. A friend of mine said that The Hobbit was more difficult to watch as LoTR has distinct characters (Wizards, Hobbits, Dwarfs, Elves, Orcs, etc.) while The Hobbit is really just 12 mostly indistinguishable dwarfs (the hot one, the fat one, the old one, the ginger) and a hobbit and a wizard.

[EyeQueue]

And Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield was...well, let's just say I never considered the dwarves in the LOTR books to be sexy--until now.

I haven't seen the film yet, but I recall that when I first read The Hobbit (I think I was 9 or so), I was crushing pretty hard on Thorin. :oops:

[B5SnowDog]

I haven't seen the film yet, but I recall that when I first read The Hobbit (I think I was 9 or so), I was crushing pretty hard on Thorin. :oops:

Then you are going to lurve this movie! ;-)

[Soldier of the One]

I loved it.

I loved that the movie had the guts to 'adapt' the story to a more mature feel. I re-read The Hobbit about halfway through prior to seeing the movie and thought that it was awfully childish compared the the epic sweet of LOTR. That's fine, because it's a children's book. But had the movie maintained that same 'feel', it wouldn't have meshed as nicely with the LOTR movies. Also, I liked the ominous feel of it - which captures the understated essence of the book. Even though it is a children's book, a lot of important events play out which become very relevant for the LOTR saga. So they transitioned that nicely.

And yes, Thorin. One hot dwarf!

Now for the spoilers:

I liked the hint at the end of the 'Eye of Sauron' in Smaug's eye. I thought that was brilliant and brooding!