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That's sometimes nice, sometimes too... Wand of Gamelon for my liking...

 

Also... third Hobbit film? I don't understand how 1 short book can be 3 films, while massive tomes can be 1 film.

 

(I'm just bitter that this would post-pone the Tintin sequel...)

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Names of the three films confirmed...

 

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/09/01/hobbit-sequels-get-titles-release-dates

 

Warner Bros. and MGM have officially announced the new titles and release dates for the second and third installments of The Hobbit.

 

The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, opens December 14.

 

The second film will be called The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and is slated for release December 13, 2013 in 2D, 3D, IMAX and in both 24 and 48 frames-per-second formats.

 

The third and final film is titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again. It will open worldwide July 18, 2014.

 

"Opening in July affords us not only the perfect summer tentpole, but fans will have less time to wait for the finale of this epic adventure," said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Bit concerning that Smaug who is near enough the conclusion of the book (if I remember it right?), is in the second film!?

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Names of the three films confirmed...

 

Bit concerning that Smaug who is near enough the conclusion of the book (if I remember it right?), is in the second film!?

 

Yes and No there is more that happens after Smaug than you probably remember but still not enough to fill another film to my mind.

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Perhaps the stuff relating to what Gandalf did and the Necromancer will be covered in the third film, then.

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I have a IMAX 3D HFR booking for Saturday, and I'm very much looking forward to it. A lot of the reviews seem to not like the pacing (but complaining more about how it's three films) - as someone who'd rather watch the extended LotR, that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

I do have one question about 48fps: people are saying it gives it a "TV feeling". Is 48fps broadcast TV an American thing? As far as I can tell, BBC show in 25fps or 24fps, most downloaded or streaming TV is 24fps or less. So where is this TV comparison coming from?

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I saw this today and enjoyed it immensely. Way, way more than I expected to enjoy it given how meh I've been about the film throughout production. It isn't quite on the level of what we saw with Fellowship (naturally there isn't as much at stake), but it definitely sits alongside the Lord of the Rings as a fine fantasy picture.

 

The pacing "issues" being reported by critics are nothing new if you're used to watching the extended editions of the Rings trilogy. In fact, I suspect a number of the scenes in the film were being saved for the now unlikely extended edition and ended up being used to spread two films into three.

 

The film scored big in all the right places and got me pumped for the sequel. Even scenes I expected to feel tacked on hit all the right notes. There are loads of little moments throughout the film that will really draw you in, especially parts involving familiar faces.

 

I was absolutely against having Frodo/Old Bilbo in the film at all, but the opening was surprisingly sweet and endearing. If anything, being reminded of Holm's incredible Bilbo served to show us just how fantastic a casting choice Martin Freeman was as his younger incarnation. He is perfect.

 

Similarly awesome was when Bilbo pauses when he's invisible with the ring and poised to kill Gollum and... shit, all the sympathy you ever felt for Smeagol just comes flooding back in the little guy's expression of bewilderment and loss of the ring. That moment absolutely shattered my expectations. In fact, the entire Bilbo/Gollum act is probably the highlight of the film.

 

 

Only downside is the film has a fair amount of ropey CGI. One chase sequence in particular is all over the place in terms of quality. That could been due to how I saw it though and the CGI is leaps above what we saw in Rings.

 

Those of you worried about 48fps should drop by an electronics store and check out a film with trumotion/motionflow/120hz or whatever. That's a good representation of how The Hobbit/48fps looks. While 48fps won't be for everyone, I think it really brought out the clarity of the film and helped define the 3D. It's well worth a look in the same way it was worth seeing Avatar in 3D.

 

I don't expect The Hobbit will be as well received as Rings critically, but this is one hell of a love letter to everyone who loves the original trilogy. I'll definitely be seeing it again, as with all the Rings films theatrically.

Edited by Guy

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Watched this yesterday. A very good film, definetly worth a watch, but it could have been better. As mentioned by others, some scenes just stick out as unnecessary, they feel like the extended edition scenes just stuck in. They try to be funny, but they don't pull that off very well and it ends up distracting from the main story. That's my main criticism about the film, in my opinion editing those scenes out probably would have given a better, more serious story (yes the book is more lighthearted than lotr, but even without those scenes it'd still do the job).

 

I found it a little bit ropey/nothing really happened up until Rivendell, then it picked up again. I agree with Guy

the gollum bit was great. They nailed that.

 

 

Also a question for those who have read the book (and can remember it):

The albino Orc... Is he in the book? I can't remember him at all.

.

 

Also final criticism:

Radagast. I really wanted to like the character, but i feel his scenes didn't benefit the film at all. The sleigh chase was cringey and looked quite crap.

 

 

Other than that a very good film. Definitely a worthy prequel (unlike Star Wars). Tempted to go see it again.

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Absolutely loved it. I don't know what film the people complaining about the framerate have been watching, but it can't have been the same I saw! The visuals were utterly outstanding, and there were too many goosebump moments to count. Just a brilliant, brilliant film.

 

Also, how come people dislike Radagast?! I loved him! I think he nailed the "odd hermit" thing to a T.

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Just a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant film.

Fixed that for you.

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Hopefully the IMAX in Manchester has the 48 fps version.

 

Saw it in IMAX 3D at the Manchester Odeon earlier, jaw dropping stuff. I thought 3D was a bit of a fad but it was genuinely enjoyable.

 

Haven't read the book so I couldn't be indignant about the novel/film likeness afterwards, but I have to say I thought it was brilliant. A visual feast with a spot-on cast. Had no problem with the length either, sure Peter could've trimmed some of the early scenes but I'd have happily wolfed down another hour of it all.

Edited by dwarf

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I'm going to see this tonight. Just the 2D version, as that's the one my friend wanted to see. Wouldn't be surprised if I end up going again, just to see the other versions, as I'm curious how it'll look.

 

Exciteeeeeed.

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Same as Flinky, off to see the 2D version tonight because my dad isn't very comfortable with 3D films. Will definitely be checking out the HFR version, maybe on Orange Wednesday.

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Same as Flinky, off to see the 2D version tonight because my dad isn't very comfortable with 3D films. Will definitely be checking out the HFR version, maybe on Orange Wednesday.

 

There's also something inconsistent I find with the 3D version of this film in comparison to the releases of the Lord of the Rings films. They're all in the same universe, so they should all be in the same style. I'm worried it will be a "jarring" experience to see this in 3D and for it to look visually different when compared to the others.

 

We'll see.

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I don't know what film the people complaining about the framerate have been watching, but it can't have been the same I saw! The visuals were utterly outstanding, and there were too many goosebump moments to count.

 

I haven't watched it yet (will be seeing it today, actually!), but after a small tour around Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb it seems that the universal complaint that's being leveled at the HFPS version is that it looks like TV and that things look "fake" (ie, sets look like sets, props look like props, etc), issues that are apparently not present in the HFPS version.

 

I'll be seeing the 24fps 2D version as that's what's available in my hometown, but if I happen to like the movie enough I'll probably double dip when I'm back in the city where I study.

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I haven't watched it yet (will be seeing it today, actually!), but after a small tour around Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb it seems that the universal complaint that's being leveled at the HFPS version is that it looks like TV and that things look "fake" (ie, sets look like sets, props look like props, etc), issues that are apparently not present in the HFPS version.

 

I'll be seeing the 24fps 2D version as that's what's available in my hometown, but if I happen to like the movie enough I'll probably double dip when I'm back in the city where I study.

 

I can't say I found any of those claims to be the case. Everything was simply much more fluid and gorgeous to look at, especially panning shots and hectic action sequences.

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3D IMAX HFR was as smooth as fuck. It took about ten minutes to get used to it. 3D was put to good use, used to enhance rather than distract (unlike Star Trek).

 

I loved every moment of the film, although some scenes could have been longer.

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See, even the thing about the framerate taking time to get used to I didn't get. I was completely into it after the first few seconds.

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I saw it in 2D 24fps, and it was great. I'll be seeing it again i think after christmas, but even then i don't think the cinema i'm going to has it in 48fps...so few places seem to be doing it?

 

I'd love to see it in that format though just to see what the fuss is about.

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Just seen it and I loved it. That being said, I must say that it didn't feel as lighthearted as I would've liked and a bit too similar in tone to the to the LOTR trilogy, while the one scene which I was hoping would match up with Fellowship (Riddles in the Dark), did not (I think they missed a trick by not having Gollum speak the same line he did in the intro of Fellowship, though the scene was wonderful regardless)

 

They'd snuck in quite a few nice bits from the Appendices very well, like the White Council scene with Galadrial (I think the flashback to Moria was also a part of the Appendices rather than The Hobbit, but I don't really remember - been too long since I have read it last!)

 

It was slower in pace than the LOTR movies for sure, but it doesn't get boring at all. They did a great job of representing pretty much all of the original material, or at least all I remember of it (don't think anything was cut out AFAIK, though I must confess that my memory is not the best) and it does leave me wondering what is left to add into the Extended Editions... :hmm: (content from Silmarillion perhaps?)

 

All in all, very happy with how it has turned out. Not perfect, but still wonderful. Looking forward to watching it again (gonna watch the 3D/48FPS version on my second viewing; I'm immensely curious as to how it looks!)

 

Still not sure how they intend to draw out 3 movies worth of content from the one book, but I have faith that they will deliver. They've done a fantastic job so far! :D (and of course that's to say nothing of the LOTR trilogy ;) )

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(content from Silmarillion perhaps?)

 

 

They're not allowed to use any content from it - the deals only cover The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

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