Well into his later years, living in simple comfort on the Shire, Bilbo Baggins begins writing the tale of his epic journey when an old wizard recruited him to aid a gang of motley dwarves in reclaiming their once prestigious homestead, now completely obliterated by a treacherous and seemingly insurmountable dragon. Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" shares many of the positive attributes of the Lord of the Rings series including great scenery, musical score, elements of comradery, the presence of Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis in their now iconic roles, and even adds to the mix a more quickly paced plot line and an ideally cast Martin Freeman as the young Bilbo Baggins. It does though contain the same propensity for overblown all-inclusiveness, with Jackson never knowing when to quit, and promises to be just as protracted as the initial series (we barely even get a glimpse of Smaug here). Furthermore, although we thankfully see very little of the intolerable title creatures, the dwarves are more than happy to take up their headache inducing mantle. But these quibbles could be chalked up to a matter of my own personal taste and will surely be embraced by fans of J.R.R. Tolkein's book and the prior film installments. What certainly (and sadly) damages the film is Jackson's decision to shoot at 48 frames per second which adds very little, if anything to the 3D process (which was sighted as the reason for filming at that rate) and gives the film an ugly gloss and moves with the fluidity of a video game. This is all the more disappointing when reflecting on the first movies and that seamless blend of live-action and CGI,  and how we've only made a few strides on another bombastic excursion.
An Unexpected Journey (2012): ** 1/2 out of ****

The second and third installment of The Hobbit trilogy checks in once again with Bilbo, Gandalf, an increasingly ego inflated Thorin Oakenshield, and the rest of the barely defined dwarfs as they gear up for a showdown with the destructive Smaug and the more dastardly prospect of all out war. The Desolation of Smaug drops the unnatural, video game feel of the first movie and thankfully returns to the faithful form of the LOTR movies, yet is still meandering, never getting to the point, and moreover, again leaves you questioning why the book deigned this mammoth treatment. The Battle of the Five Armies is very watchable but still feels very unnecessary with (spoiler) Smaug oddly meeting his demise before the opening credits role and the rest of the film revolving around the anticlimactic eponymous battle. Also, Martin Freeman is regrettably absent from most of film. To sum it up, what count have been a tidy little Tolkein victory lap for Peter Jackson was instead both a bizarre, bilious experimentation (at first) and a bloated, unending, and overblown journey.
The Desolation of Smaug (2013): ** 1/2 out of ****

The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) ** 1/2 out of ****

When it comes to the attention of the great wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) that his old dear friend Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) is in possession of the One Ring, he determines it must be destroyed in the cauldron whence it was formed before the evil being Sauron can attain it and wreak destruction. Charging Bilbo's nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his loyal friend Sam (Sean Astin) with this task, a fellowship consisting of two men (Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean), two more hobbits (Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd), an elf (Orlando Bloom), and a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) forms to guard the ring's passage, as the aforementioned embark on a battle to save Middle Earth.  I was going to treat these films as three separate entries but i wanted to spare myself the writing (and you the trouble of reading) what is already widely known of what is essentially one, expansive film anyway. Peter Jackson's magnum opus is an overblown adaptation of the beloved J.R.R. Tolkein fantasy trilogy, which was a sequel to his equally successful (and forthcoming as another Jackson adaptation) The Hobbit. These first installments continue to achieve endless amounts of acclaim, but I find them unnecessarily overlong and incredibly corny efforts to please the Tolkien fanboy minority. They are most notable for their spectacular visuals, which by no means deserve to be downplayed considering, in my opinion, that they buoy a nearly ten hour film. Of the three films ("The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", "The Return of the King"), none is far superior to any other, although the first installment has the unenviable task of being the set-up film and the last's multiple endings conjured nightmares of my bladder exploding when I first viewed it during the theatrical release. Ian McKellen (you almost need an actor of his breadth to take some of this shit seriously), Viggo Mortensen, and Sean Bean are in fine form although the hobbits (with the exception of Holm) are completely insufferable, especially Astin who is in all out Rudy mode. I thought Andy Serkis' Gollum was phenomenal, and that Jackson and co. are to blame for not clearly explaining the CGI process to Academy voters in efforts to garner him an Oscar nod. Detours also detract from the overall effect (I was bored to tears every time an elf was on screen) and many segments are beyond mawkish to the point of laughability. Still, the virtuoso filmmaking, breathless photography, and seamless CGI make this trek worth enduring.

A boy genius reporter and his trusty dog Snowy are browsing at the market in London and come across a model ship which they purchase at a bargain, or so it seems. Soon shady people come crawling out of the woodwork to unhand the boy of his ship and eventually it is stolen, but not without leaving behind the secret messages which the marauders are ultimately seeking. Now, Tintin and Snowy, with a drunken ship captain in tow, embark on a grand adventure on the high seas and deserts, unraveling the secret of the unicorn. "The Adventures of Tintin" is based on the beloved European children's author Hergé, adapted by acclaimed penners Steven Moffat ("Dr. Who", "Sherlock"), Joe Cornish ("Attack the Block"), and Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz"), and brought to the screen by special effects giants director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson. Made in a Robert Zemeckis style of motion capture animation, and shot in reserved 3D, "Tintin" is a wonderful and comical action romp, replete with fine motion capture performances from Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and the inimitable Andy Serkis. Alongside his "War Horse" which is also scheduled for a Christmas release, Spielberg has crafted two endearing family films, this one in the same vein as "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the kind of film which he does best.