The Hobbit

I fell in love with all things Tolkien when I was in Jr. High and watching the movies adapted from my favorite Tolkien book, The Hobbit, has been quite an adventure!  I arranged for a private screening of An Unexpected Journey for my students (a new theater had just opened near my school and they had a great promotion for private screenings) two years ago and it was so much fun.  I don't know what my students liked more:  the actual movie or the fact that they were missing school!  I was completely enchanted by it, especially Radagast the Brown...and his rabbits!  I was so excited for The Desolation of Smaug so I saw it last year at midnight right before an early morning flight to Denver!  Hmmm.  While I really liked the sequences with the spiders and the Dwarves' escape from the Elves in wine barrels, this installment was my least favorite because it didn't really advance the plot very much.  Last night I saw the first screening of The Battle of the Five Armies  in IMAX 3D and I thought it a fitting end to the trilogy.  The story begins with the the death of Smaug after the dramatic destruction of Laketown (which, in my opinion, is where The Desolation of Smaug should have ended).  The Dwarves then return to Erebor to look for the Arkenstone and Thorin descends into madness over lust for the treasure left by Smaug.  The inhabitants of the decimated Laketown, having been promised a share of the treasure for helping the Dwarves, also travel to Ereborn, as do the Elves seeking to reclaim valuable heirlooms stolen by Smaug.  Dwarves, Humans, and Elves begin battling with each other, until a threat from Azog and his army of Orcs unite them against a common enemy.  The battle sequences are epic, if somewhat repetitive, especially when Tauriel fights Bolg (girl power), when Thorin pushes Azog under the ice, and when the Eagles drive off the rest of the Orcs.  I really liked the resolution between Bilbo Baggins and Thorin and I think this movie does a great job of bridging the gap between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I definitely recommend it but, honestly, if you haven't seen the previous movies, you may be a bit confused.  If, however, you are a fan of the franchise, I suspect you will love it!

Note:  I really think that men should wear their hair long.  Just my opinion.