I finally got to see the movie. And so I have come here to read others' thoughts and post a few of my own. I had to stop researching The Hobbit for awhile after it came out because of my attempt to keep away from most of the spoilers.

There's a lot to discuss about it. It's around 3 hours, hence, it has a lot in it to think about. My opinion will probably change over time as I get to see it again. I've only seen it once so far, and in 2D.

I'll start by mentioning that while a lot of reviews on the Internet seem to be unhappy about the 48 fps, I didn't notice anything, and I was paying attention for that. Maybe it's only showing in 48 fps in the 3D showings? I don't know, but in any case, it didn't make me feel strongly one way or the other.

I was very impressed with the prologue scenes.

The Shire:

Spoiler

Loved the scene with Bilbo and Gandalf first meeting, and the fact that a lot of their dialogue seemed to come straight from the book. Gandalf's eye in the window was very nice, too, although I'd already seen that in enough of the previews that it didn't come as a surprise.

The Dwarves:

Spoiler

Wonderful scene entering Bag End, one by one, two by two, and then...all of us at once. Bilbo's heightening frustration is perfect. "There's nobody home!" Makes me want to laugh every time I think about it.

And the Dwarf song is still perfect. Very refreshing to finally hear it in its entirety. My, I am somewhat surprised because I didn't know Dwarves could be so musical! I was also surprised to hear the song become the main hero theme of the movie, but that's still good.

Overall, they paid attention to a lot of the fine details, and I was pleased with those.

Spoiler

Bilbo losing his buttons, having to jump over Gollum in order to escape, the Dwarves' contract, the songs -- "Chip the glasses, break the plates!" ( ) ...

A couple of my not-so-sure things...

A couple of LOTR/Hobbit comparisons:

I could come up with a million things to write, but I think this will do for starters. Can't wait to hear others' thoughts on the movie whenever they get the chance to see it. My feelings about it are overall positive, although I think it has its downfalls. It will be interesting to watch it a few more times before getting more of an opinion, as well as seeing the next movie next December.

The final shot of the film:

About Azog:

Actually Azog is in the book. It's a very brief mention while they are at Bag End when Gandalf pulls out the map and key. I'm rereading The Hobbit and I stumbled across it.

Also, Azog's son Bolg is in the book.

I would have thought it might have worked just as well to have Bolg instead of Azog, but there may be a reason for the current choice that we will see in a later movie.

Finally saw The Hobbit in HFR 3D. Nice. Very Nice. I'm not much for 3D due to motion sensitivity, but I didn't have any more trouble with 48fps than I do with the regular format. I noticed quite a bit of improvement in 48fps than the last time I saw something in 3D.

Less motion blur, sharper image, better color quality.

I have a few quibbles on the color quality, but I color correct photos for a living at the moment, so I pick up on things like that. I will say that in 48fps, the color quality is far improved over the regular format. So they need to tackle the lenses next instead of just improving the film format.

Twas my third viewing of The Hobbit.

This was passed on to me by an old professor. It's an interview of sorts with Christopher Tolkien and some of the other important folks at the Tolkien Estate. The bulk of the article is not their words, but the author's background information on the works of Tolkien and their place in today's world. Regardless, it's worth the read through since Mr. Tolkien hasn't given many interviews over the years.

http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/my-father-039-s-quot-eviscerated-quot-work-son-of-hobbit-scribe-j.r.r.-tolkien-finally-speaks-out/hobbit-silmarillion-lord-of-rings/c3s10299/

Well this is kind of interesting. I think after seeing the movie a lot of us assumed that Azog would take the place of Bolg in the final movie. But TORn just posted pics of a couple action figures... Azog and Bolg. So I guess Bolg will be there after all...
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/01 ... urce=pubv1

He should. After all, Bolg is the one who is there in the book.

If PJ invents a chase that is not in the book and twists the generations a bit for that, that is one thing - but when he gets down to the actual events of the book itself, he shouldn't replace one character with another.

He sometimes did in LotR, but I didn't think he would do so in the case of Bolg - it makes more sense to have both of them to explain even better the revenge theme for the Goblins in the Battle of Five Armies (even though Azog shouldn't have been around).

I'm pleased to hear that Bolg will be there.

J. R. R. Tolkien on the inception of the Hobbit

It's a .gif set of an interview... and I thought it was really neat. But then, I enjoy matching subtitles to facial expressions.

Wow! The DVD/blu-Ray release of The Hobbit is coming out FAST!

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/02/05/68922-own-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-on-blu-ray-combo-pack-319-available-for-early-download-in-hd-312/?fb_source=pubv1

Peter Jackson said something about having all parts more or less finished - I wonder if there will be extended editions as well? (Or whether all extensions were retained in the theatrical version?)

I heard there will be extended editions that may come out during the Holiday season in Nov? Dec? So I'll pass on buying the theatrical releases. But I did add it to my Netflix list. Very excited about it.

So, have there been any more production videos released recently? I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen anything, but I guess it is still pretty early.

In brief, Lady Galadriel, your thoughts on the film are very similar to mine.

Thanks for that link, shastastwin. It is certainly unusual that Christopher Tolkien would give an interview, so I'm hanging on to this.

After thinking a lot about the film, and surprising myself, even, I will not be rushing out to purchase the theatrical DVD when it releases in March. I may consider the EE, after waiting to hear from others who I'll let purchase first. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed some parts (the first 35 minutes, and most of Riddles in the Dark, mainly, along with a few other bits), I was so disappointed with some scenes/additions, that I've kind of lost interest in the film, overall, sad to say. I think PJ was riding too much on the success of The LotR and figured he can do whatever he likes now, instead of leaning more toward sticking with Tolkien's material, and whilst adapting the story for the big screen, at least not making huge changes. In fact, I think he started this downhill turn (imho) after The FotR, given the changes in character in TTT. /rant

In terms of production videos, I hope one releases soon, although I'm wondering if PJ and Co took a well-deserved break after the film's release before jumping into editing for #2 and pick-ups. (And yes, though I say I've kind of lost interest in the first film, I must admit, I am curious how the 2nd and 3rd will pan out. )

So, Bolg and Azog together in the story. Hrumph. I certainly don't mind Bolg there, as that's canon, but Azog is just far too annoying to me already.

Mel, thanks for that link! I love hearing Tolkien talk. His mumbly, fun way of communicating really is appealing, although I can see how the 'mumbliness' could be rather disconcerting in lectures. My favourite frame is definitely the bottom left. I've always enjoyed seeing the mischevious twinkle in JRR's eyes. He had such a grand sense of humour. I'm sure I've shared this before, but when he and Edith were dating, they would sit at an outdoor patio on the roof of a café, tossing sugar cubes through the railing in an attempt to have them land in the bowler hats of gentlemen passing by.

Third Hobbit film release pushed from summer to December 2014: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/02/28/69532-third-hobbit-moved-from-july-to-december-2014/?fb_source=pubv1

Well phooey on that! Messes up all of our plans to see the movie together.