HOBBIT HOBBIT HOBBIT HOBBIT (The Discombobulation of Smaug) Pt 1

Saw the midnight show last night, and I'm still pretty happy. My approach to these movies has become this: I imagine Peter Jackson as, not a powerful director, but a fellow fan (In reality, he's both). He has a huge budget and a global audience for his crackfic. I have to ask myself: do I enjoy the sensibility of his crackfic? Would I read it if it was free on AO3? The answer is yes. I would like to hang out with him all night at Denny's laughing about crackpot fan theories. I would like to game with him - I bet he's an awesome DM. Once I accept the films on that level, I'm happy as a pig in shit, so that's the perception option I choose.

( Spoilers go here )

More coming soon, this is only about a third of the movie covered here.

The Disambiguation of Smaug (scrawly review pt 2)

Non-spoilery bits (the boring parts):

I absolutely loved the visual designs of Thranduil's realm (reminiscent in some ways of Lothlorien, but closed off, different lighting tones, browns and golds of autumn and a distinct lack of nocturnal/lunar blues) and of Laketown. Laketown. Wow. Beautiful. Bizarre mishmash of bayou stilthouses, Dickensian slums, Norwegian stavekirks, etc.

( Delve too deep, and there are spoilers )