The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

Watched this movie yesterday and as someone said afterwards, what am I now going to look forward to? Well, beyond the extended edition next September/October... maybe Star Wars, but anyway. I enjoyed and it was a good ending for the series. Certain scenes was unexpected, but fun to watch like Gandalf escaping Dol Guldor. Other things was the small touches connecting to the books, for example that the orcs actually had some kind of vampire bats on their side or that when Bilbo used the ring in the presence of elves they shine of light in this shadow world (although one could argue that the effect only would have been around really special elves like Glorfindel which is the only one that was mentioned having that effect in the Lord of the Rings).

Was it something that I didn't like? It felt unfinished, and by that I mean that there was many things left hanging and this section is gonna be filled with spoilers so be warned. For example when the white council rescues Gandalf Saruman tells the others to leave Sauron to him. If you have seen/read Lord of the Rings you know Saruman is a traitor, but have he turned or is it a possible future confrontation with the dark lord that makes him turn (or it could have been a post-credit scene that we walked out of)? Then, what happened to Alfrid, the Grima Wormtounge of the series? Did he survive the battle? What happened to the people of Laketown, the dwarven kingdom of Erebor and what did the Mirkwood elves do? I know since I read the books and materials around it, but the movies left me hanging. I expect at least an hour extended material detailing Dains coronation, the funerals of the dead dwarves, the rebuilding of Dale and a reunion scene between Balin and Bilbo... that might be asking for to much, but it would be nice.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Last Sunday me and my family watched the second part of The Hobbit at the cinemas. I liked it, music still great,setting and actors as well. Can't really complain and the changes from the book and other material I have no real problem with (compared to the army of the dead in Return of the King who just rubs me the wrong way over time). Missed certain things like the introduction of the dwarves to Beorn the skin changer, instead we got an action scene, maybe they put it in the extended edition. The elf Tauriel didn't bother me either nor the dwarves who stayed in Lake Town since it helps distinguish them and help flesh out the character of Bard who seemed thrown in the last minute in the book (if my memory don't deceive me that is). The biggest thing that annoyed me though was the ending and 

*spoiler* 

that it ends so abruptly without killing Smaug show that it was meant for two movies in the beginning and they made three of it. It also makes me a bit worried since it feels like that last movie will be packed with the death of Smaug, the defeat of the Necromancer and the battle of five armies. Not even counting the death of Thorin, Fili and Kili (if they stick to the book that is, the animated version killed of even more main dwarves). 

*Spoilers end*

Overall I enjoyed it, but it feels bad that I have to wait another year for the conclusion. Maybe have to watch the Robocop remake in the meantime, sadly the biggest fear I have when I saw the commercial at the theater was that there wasn't a hint about any music and especially not the original main theme. I'm really gonna miss it.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Movie times again and it was time for the Hobbit. BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR! Fast action, awesome music and amazing sets. Great actors and a decent script. Although it is almost 3 hours long it keep you entertained and make you crave for more. Well worth a watch or even more. The story itself as a movie builds up the character decently and subtley differentiate the dwarves, although I can't say which name fits to which dwarf names, more their character traits. As a non-Tolkien fan It should be a good movie... for a Tolkien fan on the other hand (and here be spoilers):

Gonna be frank, most changes from the book I can justify in some way. For example, take the troll scene. In the book Thorin and co has just parted ways with Gandalf, short on food and with bad weather they are a bit grumpy, they see a ligth and send Bilbo to investigate. He finds three trolls preparing muttons. Bilbo see their wallet and deceide to steal it to prove his worth, but when he grabs it it talks and he is captured. After some blubering the trolls realice there is dwarves nearby and put one by one in a sack when they try to check on Bilbo. Except Thorin who fights them for awhile. Then Gandalf comes back and save them by mimiking their voices. In the film on the other hand Gandalf takes a walk to cool himself down from the obnoxious dwarves, the trolls steal their ponies, Bilbo tries to free them, get caught, dwarves try to save him, they fail and are almost cooked before Bilbo stalls for time until Gandalf shows up and breals a rock so that the sun turns them into stone. The changes establish Bilbo as a fast thinker, the dwarves a little bit more competent than in the book (how can you not suspect something wrong by sending one by one and none come back?) and probably shortened the capturing scene and one of the more fairy tale elements that feels to much "unreal" is gone.

Then we have the dwarven back-story. First a bit of nit-picking, discontinuity in the first minutes with the escape from Erebor, Thorin and Balin should have escaped together while Thror and Thrain took the secret door which gave the dwarves the idea to use it (if I remember correctly, haven't read that book in years). Anyway, it establish Thorin a bit more, but then we have the Azog story. Azog is the one that killed his grandfather the king when he and his servant went to Moria, the survent was released with the head of the king with the word Azog imprinted on his forhead, giving Azog the name Defiler (which cames out of nowhere in the film). This enrages the dwarves clans so they unite to avenge this shame and they march on Moria and fights a war driving the goblins and orcs back. During this fight Thorin gets the name oakenshield since he protects himself with an oaken bransh or staff (don't know which since it might differ in the translation between english and swedish) and Azog is slain by Dain Ironfoot as he hunt him down into Moria, but deceide to leave when he feels the prescense of the balrog. Not so much in the movie with Thorin maiming Azog and establish him as primary villain. In the movies defence it makes for a better antagonist than Smaug who they brilliantly teases the movie goers with from beginning to end only showing his shadow on the ground and in the smoke from the ruins he created until the very end.

The biggest change is probably the appearance of the White Council and the Dol Guldur subplot filling up the story which is more of a traveling guide across Middle Earth.  Anyway, the last thing to comment upon is the swedish subtitles writers who did an excellent job by sticking to the old translation where Rivendell is Vattnadal intead of Riftedal, and Baggins is Bagger instead of Secker (although for some reason Bag End became Säckers ände instead of Baggershus). Well, it was the right choice as a consistency toward the original movies. And I like Ohlmarks translation better, both for its nostalgia and also for a more lively text (although that might get me killed by real tolkien fans).