Review: The Desolation of Smaug

You know, I expected this post to be a long spew of me shouting/raving about how insanely cool the Desolation of Smaug was––instead . . . I've got decidedly mixed feelings about the latest installment of the Hobbit trilogy. It's not that I didn't like the movie. Far from it. Like all of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth movies so far, Desolation definitely ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time. What I can't decide, is how it stacks up against it's predecessor, An Unexpected Journey, and how well it did at retelling Tolkien's story. Jump past the break, and I'll do my best to explain.

Oh, and I'm too tired to even care about watching what I'm saying, so BEWARE SPOILERS!

Desolation of Smaug Photos and Plot Spoilers

So after a long drought of Desolation of Smaug info, the internet seems like its been raining and pouring Hobbit-related pictures, mostly from the Hobbit Annual. Additionally, the Annual has provided some (limited) insight into the plot of the Desolation of Smaug. If you're into spoilers, click here. If you just wanna see the pics, jump past the break!

Rankin Bass Dwarves

Just had to repost these images . . . awesome!

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Liz O'Connor

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

Yes . . . it's true. It has been AGES since I've visited the Mathom-House. But I stumbled across some sketches of our favorite characters from the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and I could not resist posting them. The art is by Lisa O'Connor . . . and it is fantastic. Jump past the break to see more.

Trolls, Goblins, Gloin and More!

All right, I've been a little lax about posting up all the new pictures I've come across in various places on the internet . . . so here they are. This troll pic is one of my favs, but there are some awesome ones past the break:

New Hobbit Character Posters!

comicbookmovie.com posted 14 character posters . . . featuring quite a few that we hadn't seen before. Gotta admit, much to my surprise, the posters of Bombur and Bifur are my favorite. The guy with the axe in his head is definitely growing on me. Jump past the break to see the rest!

The Hobbit Reread 4: An Unexpected Party

Ok, so I know I'm gonna have to start doubling up on these because I've been lazy and not posted every week. But . . . I'm gonna get it all done before Dec. 14 rolls around. You have my word. Today we'll start the fourth post of this reread and the first post dealing with a chapter from the actual book. Chapter 1, that is, An Unexpected Party.

Better Late than Never . . . New Dwarf Pics and Descriptions!

Ok, I apologize for the extra long break in posts (and even this one is going to have to be a quicky). My family and I just made a long move to Seattle, we're still in the middle of unpacking, and we don't really have internet access yet. In fact, at the moment I am mooching of our apartment complex's rec room computer. Anyways, while I've been busy shoving boxes around, the rest of the world has gotten a glimpse of some amazing new Hobbit pics, courtesy of the new iOS Hobbit app that was recently released. No, I'm not glaring jealously at all you iPhone and iPad owners out there. I'm not. Really.

In addition to the awesome new pics, the app gives official descriptions of each of the dwarves in Thorin's Company, which I'll include below the break. Enjoy!

More Pics of Dwarves and Thranduil!

Thanks to DarkJackal for alerting us to some more awesome Hobbit pics from an "activity" book available in the UK. Hands down my favorite is this shot of Thorin & Co. on their way to the Lonely Mountain. Jump past the break to get a look at the rest of them!

Protecting the Crew: Thorin & Company's Armor

Packing around a whole mess of swords, axes and sundry other weapons is all well and good . . . but what happens when the Enemies get past your poorly-timed thrust, or you accidentally drop your oh-so-pretty axe? Well, my friend, that's when you call in the heavy armor. Designed to stop a sword or piercing arrow, armor is a necessity for Thorin & Co. if they hope to reach Erebor in one piece. Luckily, we're talking about dwarves, and Middle-earth has never seen a people more skilled at making (and wearing) armor.

Read on past the break to learn about the various types of armor Thorin and his crew have chosen to see them safely through to the broken gates of the Lonely Mountain!

Arming the Crew: Thorin & Company's Weaponry

Thorin & Co. may not be the classiest crew around. They may not have manners. The distinct lack of Big People in the crew may even hint at some sort of height-based profiling. But there's one thing you can't deny: these dwarves are packing heat. From axes to swords (and almost everything in between), this band of dwarves is equipped to deal with just about anything.

Read on past the break to get an in depth look at the various implements Thorin & Co. have selected to deal out death and justice to any who stand in their way:

Fleshing Out the Company: Fili and Kili

Well, this is the review I was reluctant to do . . . but Fili and Kili showed up at Bag End right after Dwalin and Balin, so review them I shall. After all, there are some positive things to say about these guys, so it's not going to be all that bad. Really. I promise.

Let's start this post out with a look at how Tolkien described these two younger dwarves:

It was two more dwarves, both with blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards; and each of them carried a bag of tools and a spade.

–The Hobbit; Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party; pp. 16-17

After reading the author's description, I have to admit that the Rankin and Bass cartoon did a decent job of portraying these guys. They've got the the blue hoods (though I don't see any silver bells) and the yellow beards, and I guess those little pouches they're carrying could be bags of tools . . . though they must be pretty small tools. All in all, I like the way these two dwarves look. Of course, they're nothing like what's coming right after the break . . .