I finally got around to catch The Hobbit at Cineworld last Friday. It had been 22 years since I read LOTR, following which I bought David Wenzel‘s illustrated adaptation of The Hobbit[1] when I was in the first year of medical school. I didn’t revise the graphic novel prior to watching the film as I kinda remembered the premise of the tale. The film was a tad long-winded as expected obviously because a children’s book that is to become the prequel of Tolkien’s most famous written legacy is to be made in three parts by Peter Jackson. And, if you had read Tolkien’s work and watched Jackson’s extended cuts of the three LOTR films, you could see why. The CG by Weta was fantastic but if you had been a fan of the trilogy on film, it was nothing new. Just to add, the sequence of events (seeking refuge at Rivendell, going into the mountains only to face goblins etc) are mirrored in those in LOTR – which possibly explains the familiarity of The Hobbit.

At the end of it, I thought it felt like a ‘cheaper’ version of LOTR on the whole. I enjoyed seeing the familiar faces again and was also surprised (the cameos were credited) but it transpired that the expansion of the film version of The Hobbit includes the appendices from LOTR as well as expanding canon characters in Tolkien’s universe not necessarily in either tome (like Azog, the orc chief that beheaded Thorin’s grandfather, Thrór. Highly recommended, and pray that Ian McKellen is around to do the next two films!

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Chrimbo came early on Wednesday when the Horizon I was alluding in a previous post arrived by Parcelforce. It was in near-mint condition for a four-year old guitar and was £500 cheaper than RRP. The seller received his well-deserved 5-stars positive feedback.

Oh, I’ve named her まみちゃん. She sounds fantastic[2]:

And a review will be done in due course!

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My London trip tomorrow morning has hit a snag, thanks to a derailed freight train between Loughborough and Leicester. I’ve been reliably informed that my tix will be valid on other services. Let’s hope my First Class tix are valid as well. I just want a quiet trip.

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[1]The beginning of my downward spiral of seeing more pictures and reading less words.
[2]I’m afraid you can only watch this on a computer as opposed to a mobile device. Copyright issues. Apparently.