The Hobbit reaction post

[luzula]

I went to see The Hobbit yesterday, with an old friend with whom I went to see the first trilogy ten years ago. I enjoyed it, although I got no urge to ship anyone! Martin Freeman absolutely worked as Bilbo for me. I liked the slower first half of the movie best, I think--I love to look at worldbuilding details such as dwarf hairstyles and all the stuff inside Bag End. I also love Gandalf pretty much whenever he appears. Oh, and also the landscape porn! Yum. My least favorite part is all the improbable hairs-breadth escapes--I just wish it weren't as much of an action movie as it is. Also, Azog. Meh.

I sometimes get stuck on worldbuilding details while watching, such as: the orcs in those huge caves at the end use a lot of wood in their building, but the slope outside the caves where the company comes out is not deforested at all! Where do they get all that wood? Also, how do they feed themselves? To be fair, that last question could be asked of LotR canon as well--if nothing grows in Mordor, how does Sauron feed all the orcs? By magic? By demanding tribute from those human countries to the south?

And Radagast, rotting fungi are a sign of great evil, really, and not part of a healthy ecosystem?

Oh oh, and I loved the dwarfs singing in Bag End! All-male a capella choirs get to me every time, nnngh.

Comments

[hazelwho]

Your brain is awesome! I hadn't noticed about the trees or the food or any of the other world-building details.

Oh oh, and I loved the dwarfs singing in Bag End! All-male a capella choirs get to me every time, nnngh.
That's slow, almost dirge-like version of The Misty Mountains that Thorin started was amazing. I melted into a puddle in my seat. *happysigh*

[amoama]

I saw it yesterday too. The dwarfs song was so gorgeous, guh, what a beautiful resonance it had.

Definitely a bit too much running and slashing at orcs for me too, but so much to love as well. <3333

p.s. so sorry to be all over your journal right now, I have a ton of your podfics cued up to listen to and I'm really enjoying making my way through them.

[luzula]

Well, I think we just notice different things depending on what we're geeky about? Like, I wouldn't ever notice details about cars, because all cars for me are kind of lumped into one big category labelled "CAR". And probably for some people, all trees are lumped into one category labelled "TREE".

[luzula]

Mmmm, dwarves singing. I might possibly like it better than elves singing?

p.s. so sorry to be all over your journal right now, I have a ton of your podfics cued up to listen to and I'm really enjoying making my way through them.

Absolutely no need to apologize about that! (Although I do have a weird thing about not liking my own early podfics, kind of like some people feel about their early fic.) But anyway, podfic feedback is a sure-fire way of making me happy. : )

[riverlight]

Wasn't the music amazing? That was one of my favorite parts. I could have used SO much more singing in the movie, for sure!

[luzula]

Yes, definitely! Ha, I used to make up melodies for all the songs in LotR when I was younger...

[riverlight]

My mother always sang the songs to us, when she read aloud. :)

[feroxargentea]

I'm still humming the dwarf-song (oh god make it stop)

It's not just Mordor - none of the towns have any sort of workable food supply system. Take Rohan land of the Horse Lords - it ought to be home of the Cattle lords or at least the Sheep lords, because there's no sign of agriculture or even wildlife of edible size (and if the films weren't quite so slooooow we wouldn't have time to ponder this stuff!)

[luzula]

It's not just Mordor - none of the towns have any sort of workable food supply system.

Ha, very true. I guess Rohan would work if they ate the horses, though? Which I guess they don't.

[nonesane.livejournal.com]

The singing was wonderful! I looked up both the dwarf songs on tumblr the moment I got home after the movie and I'm definitely buying the soundtrack when it comes out :D

I kinda liked the action parts as well, since I'm a fan of action/adventure. Felt quite different from the book though, in that aspect. Less fairy tale and more action movie.

As for the rotting fungi, I assumed it wasn't the fact that it was rotting that set him off but how it was rotting. Maybe there was a sense of evil around the fungi?

[hurry-sundown.livejournal.com]

Ooh, me too! I saw it Christmas Eve day. I love Martin as Bilbo. He's entirely the reason I went to see it, having no interest in LotR beyond having read the trilogy.

I can see now how PJ is going to get three films out of it, but I think the run-times need to come down. The first one could easily have been cut by 20 minutes IMO. I didn't have quite the detailed thoughts that you did. I was busy thinking things like How did they make Elijah Wood look so young? and Wow, Thorin is kind of hot, isn't he?
Also, I was practically in tears (both frightened and compassionate) over Gollum. Andy Serkis is amazing.

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Thorin was tots hot! They're definitely making him into a Hero :D :D: D

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Oh god, the landscape porn - kept thinking I have GOT to go to New Zealand!

Oh yeah, forget worldbuilding - no one ever poops in Middle Earth, either :P But Sauron definitely gets tributes, and I think there may even have been mention of enslaved farms somewhere east or south or both.

Now, the fungi comment is not quite fair - maybe it's just the wrong kind of fungi! Some weird stuff not growing where it should, or a new kind, or it was replacing what should have been there.

[luzula]

Dwarf songs! \o/ I probably like them better than elf songs.

As for the rotting fungi, I assumed it wasn't the fact that it was rotting that set him off but how it was rotting. Maybe there was a sense of evil around the fungi?

Yeah, I'm probably not being fair. : ) But I found it funny, because I am more likely to say "oooh, interesting fungus, which species is it?" than "oh noes, it's a sign of evil!" if I see something like that.

[nonesane.livejournal.com]

I bow to your superior fungi knowledge :)

[luzula]

Yeah, he's definitely the dark and brooding hero type! I thought he was hot, yes, but in a mostly academic way--he didn't really get to me.

[luzula]

To be fair, no one ever poops in most books or movies, and we wouldn't want a play-by-play of all the pooping, anyway. *g*

Now, the fungi comment is not quite fair - maybe it's just the wrong kind of fungi! Some weird stuff not growing where it should, or a new kind, or it was replacing what should have been there.

Yeah, I know...it's that I'm more likely to go "interesting, I wonder what species it is" than "oh no, it's a portent of evil!".