Fantasy Aficionados discussion

Anyone else getting excited about The Hobbit? I really don't go to the theaters anymore. I just wait until movie comes out on video. But the Lord of the Rings movies were an absolute exception. Had to see these on the big screen and me and the hubby have a date night planned already for the opening of The Hobbit. Only 3 (and a bit) more months to go!

No, not since I found out he's planning for 3 installments. :(

I'm so thrilled! Even though the book can't possibly be long enough for 3 movies, the idea that they've probably had to include what Gandalf was up to when he was off swanning around Middle-Earth AND the fact that the Necromancer is probably going to be more than a passing reference like he was in the book (I'm guessing because they have Benedict Cumberbatch voicing him as well as Smaug so it has to be a speaking part!) I'm just quite excited to see what's been done with it :D

Yes, there'll probably be some bastardisations and liberties taken but... they did the same with LOTR and I still loved those films. On top of all this.... Gollum!!

I question the three movie thing too, but it might work. I'm in a wait and see mode right now. From the previews it looks to me like Bilbo is telling Frodo the story. So the movie will probably show the Shire after The Hobbit but before LOTR. And I agree they'll show more Gandalf and what he was doing. I've heard rumors that a lot of what has pushed it into three movies is sections from The Silmarillion. Not sure how that would work though. Maybe weaving it into the narrative somehow?
Don't know. Not as excited as I was when I first saw the trailer. But I'm still going to see it.

I'm sure I'll love it. After all it's the HOBBIT!
But three movies...groan...
Is it that they are after as much money as they can drain from us?
Or are they really trying to do it justice? Wouldn't two movies at the most have been enough?
Look at how well Lord of the Rings was made. And in three movies.

As long as the movies are as fantastic as The Lord of the Rings movies, then I don't mind getting an extra one to look forward to! :)

:)

I think it was said that they felt they couldn't keep it down to the regular time of two movies and still keep in everything they wanted to stay in without it losing any of it's epicness (okay, they may not ahve used 'epicness' ;D) and there'll only be a 7 month gap between the 2nd & 3rd film rather than a year!

I hear you.
:)
The "epicness" wasn't a problem for LotR, so I just wonder if that is just an excuse.

I plan to do the same thing that I did with LoR--wait until I can see all three at once.

Brenda ╰☆╮ wrote: "I hear you.
:)
The "epicness" wasn't a problem for LotR, so I just wonder if that is just an excuse."

I dunno, I'm looking on the brightside - plus with allt he extra scenes it looks like they've put in along with some extra characters and winks towards LOTR for the LOTR tie-in I'm gonna convince myself that 3 films are absolutely necessary (I mean, relaly.. Galadriel's definitely not in The Hobbit!) and be happy that I will try to make sure I book tickets for one of the first screenings in my area for all three films ;D

*fingers crossed*

I'll be satisfied if it just doesn't have any eight-story-tall elephants.

But S. J.,
would it be epic if it didn't?
LOL
(sorry couldn't resist)

There's Epic, and there's CGI guys showing off, which is only Excessive. Excessive is not the same thing as Epic.

Ahhhh....but I loved the Legolas slays the oliphaunt sceen!

I preferred the scene where Eowyn revealed to the king of the Nazgul that she was no man...then let him have it right in his face...or, at least, where his face would have been if he'd had one.

I agree Kim...the competition!

I definitely want to see it, but probably won't get to in theaters. We manage to make maybe one movie a year, if even that. Plus it's split up into 3, so I think I'd rather wait until I could watch 'em all at once. And I don't get the need for 3 movies. The Hobbit is a relatively short book, and it gets three movies, but the 3 LotR books were much longer and more complicated/involved, and they only got 1 movie each. I mean, sure I'm glad that The Hobbit's going to be done excellently (as I'm pretty much sure I'm gonna love it), but it just seems strange. But oh well, I know it's gonna be good :D

I'm really looking forward to this.I try not to be cynical and criticize before actually seeing the movies, but wonder if it is a way to such as much $$$ as possible out of it. I have a lot of pre-movie Tolkien collectables which I hope can be sold at a profit when these movies appear. I too will wait till the blu-rays are out as a set.

The Hobbit is one of my favourite books so I was initially really excited, but I only just found out that it's split into 3 films - what's the point? The book is definitely not long enough to warrant 3 films it's just a bit ridiculous. It will just be really stretched out and boring now. I wish Guillermo del Toro had stuck with it instead of Peter Jackson getting all 'epic' with it.

I'm pretty sure it's not just the Hobbit. I read the movies will cover extra sources. Appendixes. And other books. Silmarillion especially. I think they're going to be more of a, 'history of Middle earth', than a straight up adaptation of The Hobbit.
I don't know yet. I'm going to give the first one a chance anyway. I loved LotR. Saw each one in the theater.

I'm still looking forward to it. I did groan a bit when I heard they were extending it into three movies, but I will reserve final judgement until after I've actually seen the movies.

And I will most likely see at least the first one in the theaters. I've watched a few behind the scenes things about how they're making it, and it's one movie I think will benefit visually from being seen the big screen.

I guess I'm more excited than I was willing to admit because after seeing the second trailer I'm really looking forward to it. Even thinking about reading the Tolkien books again, although I just did earlier this year when I saw the first trailer.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that the Hobbit book is almost completely different in tone than LotR. The Hobbit is a childrens book and has a lot more humor in it than LotR does. So the movies, in order to match the other movies, are going to have to be darker than the book, and to match the book, are going to have to be lighter than the other movies.

I'm annoyed Del Toro is not directing it anymore. He wrote the script though. If he had been directing there would be nothing childlike about it at all.

I'd love to see Del Toro make a straight up fantasy movie. Not sure about The Hobbit though. I like the idea that all the movies will look the same. I wasn't a fan of Pan's Labyrinth but the fantasy sections of it were fantastic. I hate that the planned At the Mountains of Madness was cancelled. I think he might be the only director who could do justice to Lovecraft.

I am cautiously optimistic. I enjoyed the LOTR movies, and I think Jackson does a great job with getting the feel of Middle Earth.

I didn't mind the changes all that much. Books are books and films are films, and not everything works in both media.

Three movies does seem a bit over the top, but I'm willing to give Jackson the benefit of the doubt.

Hope this isn't too off topic...but I loved this Youtube video about airline safety in middle earth.
"An Unexpected Briefing"

"Air New Zealand partnered with WETA Workshop on a brand new Hobbit inspired Safety Video."

Saw a trailer forthis today when we went to see 'Frankenweenie', and it looks good. Dark in places, but also funny. I rrckon some people will have issues with it if it's too funny, but I won't be one of them, I don't think.

Definitely gonna see this... just not sure when. Maybe for Xmas.

I liked the LOTR movies myself, even when Jackson deviated from the original story here and there. My one real complaint was that there was no good reason on God's Green Middle Earth to make those freaking elephants eight stories tall.

It's the Rule of Cool, man.

Shereen wrote: "Hope this isn't too off topic...but I loved this Youtube video about airline safety in middle earth.
"An Unexpected Briefing"

"Air New Zealand partnered with WETA Workshop on a brand new Hobbit in..."

Ha!

Oh my gosh.... it's getting so close now!!

I'm also with Colleen - there was no reason to do it... but they looked pretty gosh darn cool ;D

Shereen - love that video - I want to fly air NZ just to see that when on a plane ;)

Went and saw this with my husband yesterday. I loved it, my hubby liked it. Anyone else see it yet?

I saw The Hobbit and absolutely adored it. My husband and I are planning to see it again after Christmas.
I know a lot of people didn't like that they changed some things and added extra scenes, but I think it really made the movie even more special. The things they added (view spoiler)[like the scenes with Radagast in the forest (hide spoiler)] fleshed out the story.
It is my favorite movie of the year, maybe even the best I've seen in a couple of years.

I enjoyed the Hobbit though they have taken liberties and added stuff that I do not recall in the book. It works as a movie and that is the important thing.

S.J. wrote: "I liked the LOTR movies myself, even when Jackson deviated from the original story here and there. My one real complaint was that there was no good reason on God's Green Middle Earth to make those ..."

Except that Tolkien had massive 'elephants' in his book...

Looking forward to watching this.

I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would have. Here is my review of it on my blog http://www.carlalves.com/blog-post/mo...

I agree the movie is slow to start. It could've easily been cut by half an hour! But perhaps once we have all 3 pieces it'll flow better. I must admit I am dying to see #2!

I really enjoyed the movie - I suppose I'd rather he stretch it out into 3 than cut out half the book to cram it into one movie. But probably he could have left out his additions & made it two solid Tolkien films. And Kim - I SO loved the Legolas killing the oliphaunt scene too!

I thought the movie was ok :/

I think if we hadn't already seen 'The Lord Of The Rings', 'The Hobbit' might be getting better reviews. It's a pretty good movie, though once again Peter Jackson gives his CGI team way too much leeway. Some of the special effects could have been cut back without affecting the film adversely. I came out of it looking forward to the next installment.

I thought it was okay, too. Actually, I loved it. But then, with epic fantasy, I'm rarely picky, and I always did like LotR more than was 'normal.' xD If any book of mine was to go big and be made into a movie, I'd want Peter Jackson to direct.

I just saw it last week (it FINALLY got to my town's theater!). I went twice. The first time, I spent too much time picking it apart, noticing the things that were wrong with it, or different from the book. The second time I actually liked it much better because I just sat back and enjoyed it. My son, who has never read the book, thought it was just a really good movie.

Michael wrote: "I for one am pretty ticked off about the first movie in this trilogy. I really feel that there is more Jackson Hobbit than Tolkien Hobbit in the movie. The movie takes up about the first 110 pages ..."

ITA with the extreme efforts to tie it all in - the movie was painfully long
won't be seeing the others in the theater
disappointing in ways LOTR wasn't and not enough on the upside to make up for it

I was worried about seeing the 1st Hobbit film after all the comments I have heard/read about it taking too long to get started and the book being stretched across 3 films but I (actually we if I include my whole family) loved it. It didn't drag out as claimed and the extras are from the LOTR appendix anyway. And we loved both the acting and the humour.

My younger son has seen it twice and now finished reading the book, which can't be a bad thing! My only concern now *slight spoiler alert* is that he is worried about watching film 3 because of events surrounding 2 of his favourite characters.

(P.S. Please tell Goodreads I am English and am allowed to spell both humour and favourite with a 'u'!)

I love the film - I liked it a lot more than the LOTR films. I went into it not expecting much, but it was brilliant.

It was long

I was very leery of The Hobbit, but had to go see it. I loved it. I almost loved it more than LOTR and we watch the entire LOTR xtended version every year between Chrismas and New Years. We're waiting for the xtended bluray Hobbit, I guess our annual JRR Tolkien/Peter Jackson is going to be pretty long by the time the third Hobbit comes out, lol

I really enjoyed The Hobbit and I am very excited about the second movie coming out in December =)