# So the new Hobbit movie is out (pre-screening) for reviewers and celebrities. Anyone seen it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933 "2012-12-04T04:18:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/1 "2012-12-04T04:18:44Z")
Heard some radio hosts (Opie and Anthony with Jim Norton) talking about the screening they saw the other night. They saw it in a new High Frame Rate D format and said it looked amazing. Any dopers see it yet? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/2 "2012-12-04T04:42:04Z")
Yes, I am a celebrity. I own a mansion and a yacht. no, actually, I’m not, and I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/3 "2012-12-04T04:48:12Z")
One of our vendors has invited me and some of the senior staff to see a private screening of the movie next week. That’s the closest I get to being a celebrity. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/4 "2012-12-04T05:22:00Z")
From [Aintitcool.com](http://Aintitcool.com): > [@](#): > > And therein lies the potential problem with the next two movies. AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY runs a healthy 160-plus minutes, and more than half of it is filler. Worse, I know goddamn well there’s not 320-minutes worth of story left. Not even close. If I felt like Jackson was attacking this book with the all-in bravado he brought to THE LORD OF THE RINGS (and setting up more than Tolkien’s book delivers), I’d forgive the bloat. But the listlessness of AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY reminds me of the slow boat to Skull Island in KING KONG. We’re adrift. So please, Mr. Jackson, wrap this up, and get the hell out of Middle Earth. This is beginning to feel more like cartography than storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/5 "2012-12-04T06:05:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > From [Aintitcool.com](http://Aintitcool.com): What an evil fortune. And I am already wary. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/6 "2012-12-04T06:09:44Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > What an evil fortune. And I am already wary. Honestly, I have not found aintitcool reviews to all that accurate. They are mostly exercises in impassioned fanboy wankery. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/7 "2012-12-04T07:32:51Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Honestly, I have not found aintitcool reviews to all that accurate. They are mostly exercises in impassioned fanboy wankery. Sure, but that’s no reason not to bust a Gandalf quote. And I am already wary. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/8 "2012-12-04T07:54:22Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Honestly, I have not found aintitcool reviews to all that accurate. They are mostly exercises in impassioned fanboy wankery. True, but they generally err to the side of over-enthusiasm. A negative review from them, especially for such a geeky movie, is troubling. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/9 "2012-12-04T08:11:15Z")
Not only have I not seen it, but it doesn’t get released in Australia until two weeks after the rest of the world. The _entire rest of the world!_ They all get to see it on December 14th, and Australia gets it on that busy movie cinema-going day (not), December 26th. _The day after Christmas_. I do not understand the madness. Re: the AinItCool review, though - I liked PJ’s _King Kong_ (and cannot sit through the original). I have no problem at all with the setup time before we see Kong himself, I think it was well paced and works wonderfully. I stopped visiting AICN years ago because of their irritating nth degree nit-picking, poorly written articles, and arrogant assumption that they spoke for geeks everywhere, instead of the tiny subset of a subset that they actually do. Their time in the spotlight is long since over and they should now be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/10 "2012-12-04T08:21:29Z")
It’s not like we needed to be told that there isn’t nearly enough story for 2 films, let alone 3. And we already knew it would be mostly “filler”, using the definition of “story not based on the book.” The entire idea of this new trilogy is to spend half the time on a movie original Radagast sidequest. We just have to hope it is good. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/11 "2012-12-04T08:59:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Re: the AinItCool review, though - I liked PJ’s _King Kong_ (and cannot sit through the original). I have no problem at all with the setup time before we see Kong himself, I think it was well paced and works wonderfully. Myself, I thought the movie could have easily been an hour shorter. Jackson wouldn’t know “tight” if you gave him a wedgie. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/12 "2012-12-04T09:06:06Z")
So, it is Star Wars Prequels all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/13 "2012-12-04T09:36:44Z")
Review in the Sydney Morning Herald [here](http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hobbit-adaptation-a-dark-spectacular-adventure-20121204-2assx.html). It’s pretty positive. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Australia gets it on that busy movie cinema-going day (not), December 26th. Are you kidding? I always head to the cinemas on boxing day, and they are always _packed_. My sister and I saw the 3 Lord Of The Rings movies on Boxing Day - first session of the day - and always had to make sure we booked our tickets in advance, as most sessions were sold out. Looking forward to continuing the tradition with The Hobbit, although it is going to be hard to resist reading too much about them after the rest of the world has seen them. Might go and see Les Miserables in the evening too. Assuming there’s a session after the Doctor Who Christmas special has finished on ABC. And that I’m not too drunk and sunburnt. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/14 "2012-12-04T10:08:44Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > Are you kidding? I always head to the cinemas on boxing day, and they are always _packed_. My sister and I saw the 3 Lord Of The Rings movies on Boxing Day - first session of the day - and always had to make sure we booked our tickets in advance, as most sessions were sold out. That’s because it’s the debut of a highly anticipated movie, not because it’s the right day to release it. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/15 "2012-12-04T10:40:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > That’s because it’s the debut of a highly anticipated movie, not because it’s the right day to release it. I agree with this. If Australian cinemas insist on shoving an entire month’s worth of big movie releases onto one day (we have to wait for _Wreck-It Ralph_ too), of course it’s going to be busy. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/16 "2012-12-04T11:05:04Z")
Oh yeah, fair enough. I was just expressing incredulity at the notion that Boxing Day wasn’t a “busy movie cinema-going day”. I do like the tradition though. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/17 "2012-12-04T12:53:09Z")
160 minutes? Oh, Lordy. AND the DVD will have “extended scenes.” Someone needs to reign Jackson in. Sigh. It won’t be as bad as STAR WARS prequels, no matter what, because at least there will be an underlying interesting story line with great episodes (the novel is, after all, episodic.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/18 "2012-12-04T13:17:56Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > I was just expressing incredulity at the notion that Boxing Day wasn’t a “busy movie cinema-going day”. On reflection, I think this is the same thought the distributors have: “Boxing day is really busy when we release the big blockbuster everyone was waiting for, so let’s continue the tradition.” Instead of the more logical thought of: “It doesn’t matter what day we release it, this is the biggest movie of the season, whenever we show it they will come.” ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/19 "2012-12-04T14:57:38Z")
Some more reviews, all of them mildly positive (except maybe the Hollywood Reporter one) with pretty much the same complaints as the Ain’t It Cool Review: [Variety](http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117948867/) [The Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/review/397416) [Hitfix](http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-is-very-good-good-enough-for-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey) The 48fps shooting style seems to be a huge point of contention, with some loving it (after taking about a half hour to get used to it) and some absolutely loathing it. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933/20 "2012-12-04T15:09:50Z")
I am an LOTR book geek & surprisingly loved the Jackson LOTR movies. But I fear I will hate this. They should never have been so blinded by the $ signs that they expanded a small book into 3 huge movies. My daughter is already talking of taking me to the film as a treat. I hate to tell her that I dread seeing it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-new-hobbit-movie-is-out-pre-screening-for-reviewers-and-celebrities-anyone-seen-it/642933.md?page=2)