The Hobbit

[Hebrew Hammer]

This would have to be a gay porn parody, that begs the question who is going to be pivot man?

[Hebrew Hammer]

Hobbitsez!!!! It was amazing, the film that is, not withstanding the FULLY Stocked Bar with a Hot Asian Female Bartender. Once lubricated with the good Captain Morgan and coke the movie experience with the high speed 3D was outstanding. Much better than the older 3D, it didn't make you dizzy, the clarity was fantastic. The Hobbit itself surpassed my expectations...lots of great action, some humor, of course the adventure of it all...had a smile on my face most of the film see: For you doubters it was better than LOTR in my opinion. I'd pay to see it again.

[GeneChing]

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY the Most Expected Film

It's a big film, and very long. If you're into Tolkien, you'll enjoy it. If not, you'll probably find it laborious, as 3D in 48 fps is exhausting on the eyeballs.

[doug maverick]

im actually not seeing this film in 48fps...while i would love to see it in 3d i feel the clarity of 48fps will take the magic out of this film. thats all about make up and monsters and costumes.. it will all have a cheesy fake look to it. because of the crystal clear image, and no filmic softness to it. ill be seeing this in 2d with a standard 24p frame rate.

[Zenshiite]

I'll be seeing it at a real IMAX today. I assume it's 48fps, I don't think it's 3D... but I could be wrong. Next week I'll be seeing it in 24fps 2D. We'll see which I like best to figure out if I end up going to the LieMAX 48fps 3D.

[Zenshiite]

Well, as a Tolkien fan... that was freaking amazing. Even the added stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with the book didn't feel forced or out of place to me. And I'm not talking about Appendices material like the White Council or Dol Guldur.

I am not certain if it was the 48fps or not at the IMAX theater, though I assume it was, and I didn't really feel like it was too realistic. I never once felt like it looked like video.

[MightyB]

loved it. Saw it on a 3D IMAX 48 frames. Noticed some CGI, but it didn't detract at all from the film. It was amazing to see how far the technology has come. You see it especially in how they were able to develop individual characters out of the goblins and orcs. There's a certain uniformity in the original 3 with goblin and ork hordes - uniformity in shape, size, movement etc. In this one they vary. You'll have to watch to see what I mean. The only criticism I have is that you definitely know that this is the first act of an unfinished saga when you leave.

[MightyB]

Oh, and the Star Trek teaser was amazing. That will be the next film I watch in IMAX 3D.



And Gene - I noticed the Wushu Choreography. It was one dwarf in particular in one scene. I can't say more without spoiling it for others.

[JamesC]

Thanks for the reviews guys. Taking the wife tomorrow. I'm a big Tolkien fan

[Scott R. Brown]

Went to see it today with my boys. My youngest 16, gave it a 10. My oldest, 21 gave it a 9. I met them half way with a 9.5.

All the added stuff didn't bother me in the least. It's been 40 years since I read the book, so it didn't affect the story for me. It was very entertaining. Gollum was great. The dwarves were entertaining. I wasn't impressed with the elves or Rivendell or the lady that played Galadriel. I didn't like her in the first trilogy either.

The actor who played Bilbo was great.

[Sardinkahnikov]

As everyone else said, the movie is pretty good, if you liked the book. It has the same tone and the bits that extrapolated the text draws from other Tolkien content, so no sin against the Middle Earth lore was commited. I'd also like to add that the soundtrack was AMAZING.

[GeneChing]

"a slight miss..."

Weekend Report: 'Hobbit' Takes December Record, Misses $100 Million
by Ray Subers
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
December 16, 2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set a new December opening weekend record, though its debut failed to reach the inflated levels many were anticipating for director Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth.

At 4,045 locations, The Hobbit earned $84.6 million this weekend. That's a bit ahead of the previous December record held by 2007's I Am Legend ($77.2 million), and also noticeably up on the three-day start for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($73.3 million). With 3D/IMAX premiums and a bit of ticket price inflation, though, The Hobbit had lower initial attendance than both of those titles (it also likely sold fewer tickets initially than The Two Towers).

3D showings accounted for 49 percent of ticket sales, which is about on par with most major releases right now. Warner Bros. isn't currently providing a breakdown for the high-frame-rate (HFR), though a distribution executive there suggested it had the highest per-screen average among the three main formats (2D, 3D, HFR 3D). That may not sound overly convincing, but IMAX is reporting that HFR did $44,000 per-theater compared to $31,000 at regular IMAX 3D locations. Overall, IMAX contributed an estimated $10.1 million (12 percent) this weekend.

It's hard to rag on a new monthly record, but it does feel like this $84.8 million debut is a slight miss for The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular movie franchises ever, and adapting the prequel story should have been a box office slam-dunk. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. marketing almost exclusively focused on The Hobbit's connection to Lord of the Rings, and therefore failed to show what's special about this movie. Add in confusion about the trilogy situation (which WB didn't make much of an effort to correct) and some middling reviews (65 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and many casual moviegoers likely decided to take a "wait-and-see" approach here.

Long-term, though, The Hobbit should be in fine shape. December releases typically have a slow start but hold well through the Holiday season, and that will likely be the case with The Hobbit as well thanks to solid word-of-mouth (it received a strong "A" CinemaScore from audiences this weekend). Ultimately, $300 million at the domestic box office is within reach, though it's entirely possible the movie falls short of The Fellowship of the Ring's $315.5 million total (the lowest-grossing of the three Lord of the Rings movies).

The Hobbit's audience skewed male (57 percent) and a bit older (58 percent over 25). The "A" CinemaScore improved to an "A+" with moviegoers under 18 years old, suggesting this will be a great choice for families throughout the next few weeks.

While The Hobbit accounted for over half of business, there were still other movies drawing attention this weekend. DreamWorks Animation's Christmas movie Rise of the Guardians took second place again, dipping 31 percent to $7.14 million. While it's tie-in with the holiday should help it maintain some momentum, it's going to have a tough time holding on to its screens with so many new releases coming out in the next nine days; as a result, there's no chance it makes it from its current $71.1 million to the coveted $100 million level.

Thanks in part to its seven Golden Globe nominations, Lincoln eased just 21 percent to $7.03 million this weekend. It's now the highest-grossing of the major Academy Award contenders with $107.7 million (ahead of Argo's $105 million).

Even with direct competition from The Hobbit, Skyfall still hung on well and only dropped 39 percent to $6.56 million. It's now earned $271.9 million, and a total north of $290 million seems like a done deal.

Life of Pi rounded out the Top Five for the fourth weekend in a row; the Ang Lee-directed adaptation dipped 35 percent to $5.4 million. To date, the movie has grossed $69.6 million.

In 10th place, Silver Linings Playbook was off just three percent to $2.1 million. The movie was once again in 371 locations, which is the level that it's been at for the past four weekends. The acclaimed David O. Russell romantic comedy has grossed just under $17 million; with the upcoming Christmas traffic jam at theaters, it's likely that The Weinstein Company waits until around Oscar nominations (Jan. 10) and Jennifer Lawrence's Saturday Night Live hosting gig (Jan. 19) to push the movie in to nationwide release.

And Gene - I noticed the Wushu Choreography. It was one dwarf in particular in one scene. I can't say more without spoiling it for others.

Yeah man, wushu dwarves! I think I enjoyed Gollum's HFR 3D face most of all.

[SimonM]

I loved it. Could have watched a nine-hour version. Probably WILL watch a nine-hour version in two years when part three comes out. Totally want to look up the soundtrack on iTunes.

[pazman]

I enjoyed the movie. The higher frame rate was interesting but I didn't like it for the action scenes. It's difficult to explain why but my eyes and brain felt confused by it. I did like it for when there was no fast action...made it feel more like a stage play, so it worked well.

I hope the next installments have at least as many songs as the first did.

One thing I think most of audience misses out on, though, is that most people read the hobbit as a kid and Lord of the Rings as a teen. When reading it in this order, its a surprise that the ring becomes so important. The Necromancer in the Hobbit is also just mentioned in passing, but in the movie I'm pretty sure everybody knows who it is.

[Sardinkahnikov]

"Saruman has a mind of metal"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=gVzOve8T39w#!

I certainly did not see this coming