The desolation Of Smaug

the hobbit part two opened this week and I went to see it today and it is a cracker, even if PEter Jackson has taken a few liberties with the story.

this episode takes us from when the eagles rescued the band and they are still being pursued by Azog the defiler and his band of cuddly wuggly orcs, via some help from Beorn, not the one from abba but a shapeshifter, through mirkwood where they tangle, literally, with some spiders, rescue and imprisonment by Wood Elves, a bit of a three way love story with legolas, a wood elf femail captain and Gimli. On to Laketown where Stephen Fry is in charge and finally to the lonely mountain where they take on Smaug.

anther epic bit of tolkien done by the master jackson
10/10

roll on next christmas for the last part

Really looking forward to seeing this one - thought the first was great.

Did you see it on a dodgy Turkish copy Flip?

BigAndy9 wrote:Really looking forward to seeing this one - thought the first was great.

Did you see it on a dodgy Turkish copy Flip?

No of course not. In a luxurious 3d cinema with seats you can stretch your legs out in that recline. Better than any cinema I have been in in the UK. And it only cost £4
On thursdays they do 2 for 1. and if the show starts before midday it is only £2 for 2.
As to dodgy copies, they are rarely dodgy, most are as good as the DVD's, well most are the DVD's.
and you can get 4 for just over £3 from the DVD shop, cheaper often if you buy them off a man with a cardboard box full on the street or at the beach

Have yet to see 1st one - too damn busy but soon so I can go to the cinema next week and see this one.

As long as cute elf guy is there I'm in

Nice to see you here Cass   

Cute elf guy (if by that you mean Orlando Bloom's Legolas) is indeed 'in', and if I wanted to let the geeky fan boy in me unleash I'd have some pretty strong words to say about that (he isn't in the damn book!)- however the shallow gay boy in me finds it within to let them off on this one

Cass wrote:Have yet to see 1st one - too damn busy but soon so I can go to the cinema next week and see this one.

As long as cute elf guy is there I'm in

yes orlando is back.

Eilzel wrote:Nice to see you here Cass   

Cute elf guy (if by that you mean Orlando Bloom's Legolas) is indeed 'in', and if I wanted to let the geeky fan boy in me unleash I'd have some pretty strong words to say about that (he isn't in the damn book!)- however the shallow gay boy in me finds it within to let them off on this one

a lot in this film is not in the book. however it is not outside the realm of possibility that he was around for those events as he is a wood elf from mirkwood. so would have been alive then. I am going to have to read the hobbit again I think as elves antics are not the only changes. however it does flesh out the story somewhat and the battle of the 5 armies should be a cracker in the next instalment.

Did anyone else notice peter jackson?


Is he starting to do an Alfred Hitchcock

Flap Gallagher wrote:
a lot in this film is not in the book. however it is not outside the realm of possibility that he was around for those events as he is a wood elf from mirkwood. so would have been alive then. I am going to have to read the hobbit again I think as elves antics are not the only changes. however it does flesh out the story somewhat and the battle of the 5 armies should be a cracker in the next instalment.

Did anyone else notice peter jackson?


Is he starting to do an Alfred Hitchcock

Yes Legolas is a Mirkwood elf; it's the tedious giving the character a whole part of a story of his own- still artistic license I guess

Jackson actually appears in all 3 LOTR films, and I think King Kong too, though can't remember where.

Eilzel wrote:

Flap Gallagher wrote:
a lot in this film is not in the book. however it is not outside the realm of possibility that he was around for those events as he is a wood elf from mirkwood. so would have been alive then. I am going to have to read the hobbit again I think as elves antics are not the only changes. however it does flesh out the story somewhat and the battle of the 5 armies should be a cracker in the next instalment.

Did anyone else notice peter jackson?


Is he starting to do an Alfred Hitchcock

Yes Legolas is a Mirkwood elf; it's the tedious giving the character a whole part of a story of his own- still artistic license I guess

Jackson actually appears in all 3 LOTR films, and I think King Kong too, though can't remember where.

yes but have you noticed him in the latest epic.

As to why legolas appears, obvious box office draw and it gives them a chance to do some amazing fighting stunts again and they are pretty good, especially the escape from mirkwood in the barrels, although it has been a while since I have read the book and those scenes seem to take rather a lot of artistic licence as well.,

I got the extended version of episode one today so have that to look forward to watching this week.

I have watched the extended versions of LOTR a couple of times back to back. almost 11 hours. By the time the third one of this series comes out it will be a truly epic watch in one go.

A trifle boring for the wife though as she is not a fan
Also elves are mentioned in the book, just not by name except for the king.

Flap Gallagher wrote:
yes but have you noticed him in the latest epic.

As to why legolas appears, obvious box office draw and it gives them a chance to do some amazing fighting stunts again and they are pretty good, especially the escape from mirkwood in the barrels, although it has been a while since I have read the book and those scenes seem to take rather a lot of artistic licence as well.,

I got the extended version of episode one today so have that to look forward to watching this week.

I have watched the extended versions of LOTR a couple of times back to back. almost 11 hours. By the time the third one of this series comes out it will be a truly epic watch in one go.

A trifle boring for the wife though as she is not a fan
Also elves are mentioned in the book, just not by name except for the king.

Yeah I read the book years ago then again last year- the elves are by no means heroes in that part of the books- though they are good guys again during the battle of the five armies

LOTR was an understandable 11 hours- three epic books.

The Hobbit is one book, and even with the fleshing out from the appendices etc the first film seemed awfully stretched- I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I did, and from all accounts this second is much better

Eilzel wrote:

Flap Gallagher wrote:
yes but have you noticed him in the latest epic.

As to why legolas appears, obvious box office draw and it gives them a chance to do some amazing fighting stunts again and they are pretty good, especially the escape from mirkwood in the barrels, although it has been a while since I have read the book and those scenes seem to take rather a lot of artistic licence as well.,

I got the extended version of episode one today so have that to look forward to watching this week.

I have watched the extended versions of LOTR a couple of times back to back. almost 11 hours. By the time the third one of this series comes out it will be a truly epic watch in one go.

A trifle boring for the wife though as she is not a fan
Also elves are mentioned in the book, just not by name except for the king.

Yeah I read the book years ago then again last year- the elves are by no means heroes in that part of the books- though they are good guys again during the battle of the five armies

LOTR was an understandable 11 hours- three epic books.

The Hobbit is one book, and even with the fleshing out from the appendices etc the first film seemed awfully stretched- I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I did, and from all accounts this second is much better

the second is certainly more action packed.
And it does give them a chance to flesh out the story somewhat as the hobbit is quite a thin volume.

Just back from seeing this   

It is brilliant as expected. But my did PJ get carried away with that artistic license he's got haha, still the Tauriel/Kili/Legolas love-in is cute and Fry was brilliant hamming it up- also see how they are stretching the length a bit- the most drawn out action sequences in film

Fortunately I love all that kind of thing, and can't wait for the final installment- especially after ending this film where it did- I mean come on Jackson, that was just cruel

Eilzel wrote:Just back from seeing this   

It is brilliant as expected. But my did PJ get carried away with that artistic license he's got haha, still the Tauriel/Kili/Legolas love-in is cute and Fry was brilliant hamming it up- also see how they are stretching the length a bit- the most drawn out action sequences in film

Fortunately I love all that kind of thing, and can't wait for the final installment- especially after ending this film where it did- I mean come on Jackson, that was just cruel

I just downloaded the hobbit book from amazon, they are doing it for 99p, so I shall give it another read, when I finish the blandings novels, just to remember how much is added.

Cute elf guy - I am in.

Just rented the first hobbit to watch next couple of days and then get to the cinema but going by the last 3 I have had to buy them and watch them multiple times. And get junior boy to explain multiple times exactly what is happening and who is who.

Awwww les xxx

Ps I wrote a long and amusing reply to this a week or more ago and there was all kind of technical glitches when I hit submit - it had disappeared so I thought f*** it and had another glass of wine

As a quick aside just finished The Quern....again....Helen Midden rocks.

Cass wrote:Cute elf guy - I am in.

Just rented the first hobbit to watch next couple of days and then get to the cinema but going by the last 3 I have had to buy them and watch them multiple times. And get junior boy to explain multiple times exactly what is happening and who is who.

Awwww les xxx

Ps I wrote a long and amusing reply to this a week or more ago and there was all kind of technical glitches when I hit submit - it had disappeared so I thought f*** it and had another glass of wine

As a quick aside just finished The Quern....again....Helen Midden rocks.

make sure you buy the extended versions of lord of the rings, and the hobbit series as they add a good 30 to 45 minutes of extra story.
however that does put lord of the rings up to about 11 hours to watch in one go with a lunch break

Flap Gallagher wrote:
I just downloaded the hobbit book from amazon, they are doing it for 99p, so I shall give it another read, when I finish the blandings novels, just to remember how much is added.

I have three copies- one from when I first bought it; a gorgeous illustrated version I found online years ago; and another copy I bought in Thailand last year just after watching the first film   

^wine makes everything better right Cass x   

Eilzel wrote:

Flap Gallagher wrote:
I just downloaded the hobbit book from amazon, they are doing it for 99p, so I shall give it another read, when I finish the blandings novels, just to remember how much is added.

I have three copies- one from when I first bought it; a gorgeous illustrated version I found online years ago; and another copy I bought in Thailand last year just after watching the first film   

^wine makes everything better right Cass x   

yes I have well thumbed paperback copies of the hobbit and lord of the rings, both just about ready to fall apart. I also have a boxed set of hardbacks which I haven't even opened yet, However I do most of my reading with a reader these days.

Flap Gallagher wrote:
yes I have  well thumbed paperback copies of the hobbit and lord of the rings, both just about ready to fall apart. I also have a boxed set of hardbacks which I haven't even opened yet, However I do most of my reading with a  reader these days.

Readers... I'm a staunch traditionalist where books are concerned- same old reasons, I like the feel of the weight of a book, the touch of the pages, that 'new book' smell. I've read one or two books on my iphone, which I know isn't as good as an actual reader but I think until they outright stop printing books (a strong possibility I reckon unfortunately) I'll stay away

Eilzel wrote:

Flap Gallagher wrote:
yes I have  well thumbed paperback copies of the hobbit and lord of the rings, both just about ready to fall apart. I also have a boxed set of hardbacks which I haven't even opened yet, However I do most of my reading with a  reader these days.

Readers... I'm a staunch traditionalist where books are concerned- same old reasons, I like the feel of the weight of a book, the touch of the pages, that 'new book' smell. I've read one or two books on my iphone, which I know isn't as good as an actual reader but I think until they outright stop printing books (a strong possibility I reckon unfortunately) I'll stay away

try humping your library to thailand when you go next. books are fine and dandy, I have hundreds, but I carry around about 1000 in my pocket as well, and they remember where I was last reading, I can change the font and with some I can explore hyperlinks for more info online.

I have got by so far with reading on a tiny screen on my IPAQ, which sadly broke down recently, my next phone will have a somewhat larger screen and I have found a nice android reader that is easy on the eye, I can also easily sync all the books from Calibre, the best book manager out there IMO.

Flap Gallagher wrote:
try humping your library to thailand when you go next. books are fine and dandy, I have hundreds, but I carry around about 1000 in my pocket as well, and they remember where I was last reading, I can change the font and with some I can explore hyperlinks for more info online.

I have got by so far with reading on a tiny screen on my IPAQ, which sadly broke down recently, my next phone will have a somewhat larger screen and I have found a nice android reader that is easy on the eye, I can also easily sync all the books from Calibre, the best book manager out there IMO.

Yeah there will be a few boxes of books worth keeping when I go back haha, that is the downside. And yes there is a lot to be said of the hyperlinks and auto book mark

Ebooks are fine when travelling or in car but at home I am strictly old school....the smell is addictive.

I remember having to sort and pack up the majority when we went to Cyprus - so hard and I cried but when we got home 3 years later it was Christmas opening all the boxes! Tried my best to get rid of some before coming Here - I think I got rid of 5....couldn't do it but then thought screw it who needs clothes or pictures or linen I am bringing my babies and stocking up on essentials.

Back on topic I just saw the first hobbit....not bad...again I kept pestering junior about who and what and ended up googling stuff too as we went along....not bad at all but NO cute elf guy - hmph. Will try and go this weekend ti see #2. Lead dwarf guy pretty cute though

well finally finished the Blandings novels by P.G Wodehouse and before starting on the Jeeves and wooster stories I thought I would re read the hobbit and lord of the rings again.
I am just up to where they enter mirkwood on the spider chapter now and while the gist of the book is similar to the film there are major changes so far, and if I am honest I think the changes in the film make the story flow better and are certainly more exciting.
the whole bit with Azog is a case in point. As far as I can see he is mentioned in one sentence in the book. Anyway I should finish it in a few days and then I get stuck into the LOTR which is a more meaty story.

I went to see it but I didn't really watch it because my friends and I smuggled in Vodka and got piss drunk and left at the stage where they were in some town with a river going through it or some shit.

Summers wrote:I went to see it but I didn't really watch it because my friends and I smuggled in Vodka and got piss drunk and left at the stage where they were in some town with a river going through it or some shit.

then you missed the dragon

Summers wrote:I went to see it but I didn't really watch it because my friends and I smuggled in Vodka and got piss drunk and left at the stage where they were in some town with a river going through it or some shit.

Recently saw this on DVD brilliant film, peter Jackson gets it perfect every time, we're so fortunate to live in a great age of films, music and art.