Movie – The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey

[Movie]

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I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movies. I even played the console games and I so was eagerly anticipating The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey.

The nice folks at Fox Movies Malaysia invited me to their premier screening at the new IMAX cinema at 1 Utama and so I brought along MHB’s Jane Low (who incidentally has NOT watched any of the LOTR movies).

So here’s a little info on this epic movie.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the Goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Ok that’s the official synopsis. Find out what I think of it at the end of this post.

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I was slightly skeptical about this one as I didn’t feel that anything could top LOTR but I absolutely loved it. It’s slightly lighter than LOTR as The Hobbit was written by Tolkien as a children’s book but it’s a masterpiece nonetheless. However it’s visual effects are absolutely stunning so watch this in IMAX if you can. Expect this one to win many Academy Awards next year! It’s around 2 hours and 45 minutes long so ladies do bring a jacket or shawl with you.

The three films in “The Hobbit” Trilogy will be released one year apart, beginning with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” followed in 2013 by the second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and, in 2014, the final film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.”

The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey opens in Malaysian cinemas on 13 December 2012.

Official site – www.thehobbit.com

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Visuals courtesy of Fox Malaysia.

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