Next to watching movies, hiking is my favorite thing to do. I don't do it as much as I'd like, and it can be tough when I do hike as I'm fat as Bombur the dwarf*. Still, there's nothing like getting to the top of a ridge line and looking out over the valleys below. It makes all the effort worthwhile. Nothing beats that feeling of accomplishment as you drive away from a completed trail. Even if your legs are cramping and your back is sore. I remember once as I finished walking up Blood Mount-
"But Andrew, why are you writing about hiking? This is a pop culture blog, not a hiking blog. Don't you have a blog for hiking?"
Yes, I do. It's called Walk With Nature, and its pretty good**. However, if you will stop interrupting me, I'll get to the damn point.
Anyways, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a tale of a bunch of characters traveling through valleys, meadows, and mountains to reach the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, they go to Rivendell and climb up the Misty Mountains. They do spend some time on ponies, but eventually they travel by foot. As mentioned by Bilbo, they are definitely on an adventure.
In other words, of course I love this film. If it would have been just three hours of Gandalf, Bilbo, and the twelve dwarves hiking and camping I probably would have enjoyed it. The fact that it stars Martin Freeman in the role he was born to play, has a scene with the White Council***, and nails the Gollum and Bilbo riddle-off is just icing on the cake.
Sure, the movie drags in places. There are times during the dwarves arrival at Bag End where I wondered when they were going to get going. Were it about 15-20 minutes shorter, it would be a much tighter film. That doesn't mean I can find much to cut, just that it could benefit from some streamlining.
I've already seen the film twice, both times being the regular 2D showing. It sounds like the 48fps 3d is at best insignificant and at worst a disaster. If anybody who reads this has seen it in the other formats, please let us know how it was in the comments section.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is playing at theaters across the country. If you loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy, enjoy fantasy adventures, or just enjoy creative facial hair, I fully recommend this film.
Coming Soon: We'll be staying at home to catch up with some of the best films of the year that found their way to Netflix, plus a few classics I've never seen. Also, if luck turns my way, we'll be catching up on some other films in the theater.
*These things are related.
**When it's updated.
***For those uninitiated in the world of Middle Earth, that would be Elrond (Hugo Weaving), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and Saruman (Christopher Lee). It's kind of a big deal, and is a favorite scene of mine.
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