A Journey... Quest... Thing... to see The Hobbit!

It almost didn't happen. The one thing I'd been looking forward to for at least two years – going to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with my brother, John, over Christmas weekend – almost didn't happen. Because of the flu! :-(

My brother is nine years older than me. And some of my precious memories as a girl are of him reading to me - especially Tolkien's The Hobbit. Teenage boys shouldn't be interested in spending time with their younger sisters! But my brother has always marched to his own beat and he wasn't afraid that spending time with his kid sister would make him uncool. Winning!

So of course when I heard Peter Jackson was making a prequel to his masterpiece Lord of the Rings trilogy, I wanted to see the movie with him more than anyone else! He lives three hours away from me, so the trip would have to wait until Christmas weekend when we would be together. But three days before I'm to leave for home, tragedy strikes. My brother has the flu. Of course I was worried about his health first! But I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed at the thought of having to skip out on our showing because he felt bad. But amidst the celebration of the miracle of Christ, our family got out own Christmas miracle. John was feeling a little better. Well enough to go to the movies! Whew! That was a close one! So we went and we even got to take my two oldest nephews.

What a beautiful film. Peter Jackson should just make all of the movies! Well, he could share with a handful of others (I'm looking at you Spielberg, Howard and Nolan!)... I mean, this movie was gorgeous and had my nephews and I ready to pack and head off to New Zealand!

What a treat to head back to the Shire! And I hadn't been reading too much about the film, so I was happily surprised to see Elijah Wood reprise his role as Frodo! But I was concerned... This movie is all about ugly old trolls! What am I going to do without visual treats like Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and even (a little) Viggo Mortenson? But then came a little dwarf named Kili. Hello Aidan Turner!

Aidan Turner as Kili

Now we've got some eye candy! And the Dwarf King, Thorin Oakenshield was pretty worthy of all of his screen time too!

Richard Armitage plays Thorin Oakenshield

Both of these men have had success on the BBC. Turner plays a vampire in the British show, Being Human. And Armitage was Guy of Gisborne on the BBC's Robin Hood. But once again, Jackson has opted to go for actors that fit the roles well, instead of casting big name stars to bring in the crowds. I admire him for this. 

The movie was two and half hours long, but I didn't feel the time drag. I was caught up in the beauty! Trolls! Goblins! Stone Giants! This movie is just gorgeous!

Stone giants wage war in The Hobbit.

Rivendell is beautiful as always.

Some critics have argued that the movie is trying to hard to be Lord of the Rings and it fails. I disagree. I think Jackson created a living breathing Middle Earth in his first three films and The Hobbit feels true to that style. I thought that Ian McKellan as Gandalf brought just the right amount of authority and, when required, humor. Andy Serkis entertains as Gollum and each dwarf embodies their character to perfection. And Martin Freeman as Bilbo...

I say "good job" to you sir! He is timid when he needs to be scared, he is brave when bravery is called for, and you believe every minute of it.

As for Peter Jackson, I think he's hit it out of the park again. I can't wait until next Christmas when, barring any illnesses or other calamities, my brother and I head off once again to see The Hobbit. This time, The Desolation of Smaug! Can we say dragons, people? I can't wait!