TORn staffer ImladrisRose was lucky enough recently to see the ‘Two Plays in Rep’ on Broadway, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart.  Here’s her review:

cort theatreNew York City in December is nothing short of magical, and this year, for a limited time, you can see pure magic on the Broadway stage. No Man’s Land and Waiting for Godot are two completely different plays, by two different writers, but with the exact same cast, at the historic Cort Theatre. Each performance runs subsequently one night after the other, and each show is a different experience.

The stellar cast just happens to include film and theatre legend Sir Ian McKellen (perhaps you have heard of him, he plays Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films and Magneto in the X-Men franchise), and film and television legend Sir Patrick Stewart (best know for playing Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in the X-Men franchise). These fantastic, cinematic greats are working together again on Broadway, and it is something that should be witnessed by every person who is able! There is a poignant line delivered by Patrick Steward in No Man’s Land that rings especially true: “You speak with the weight of experience behind you!” These two stage and screen masters certainly do.

Continue reading “Staffer ImladrisRose sees Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart on Broadway”

Frodo and Samwise Diorama from SideshowCollectibles.com
To celebrate TheOneRing.net achieving 200k fans on Facebook, Sideshow Collectibles‘ has generously given us their Sam and Frodo diorama to giveaway to our audience. Fully-realized in high-quality polystone, the statue depicts Frodo and Sam, clad in commandeered orc armor, as they make their way across the black lands of Mordor. Standing at 14 inches in overall height, the Frodo and Samwise Diorama equally captures Frodo’s tormented fortitude and Sam’s earnest vigilance while on the final leg of their quest to Mount Doom. How do you enter? Simply fill in the form below! The winner will be chosen next week. [View the Prize]

As part of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s premiere festivities, Air New Zealand graciously invited TheOneRing.net to the red carpet reveal of their new Smaug plane! Fili of Happy Hobbit was in attendance and thank goodness she was, for two certain dwarf brother recognized her on sight! Another surprise was the appearance of Peter Jackson, so join the director himself, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, and TORn staffers Quickbeam, Sarumann, and Fili and her mother Dis for a fun time and some interviews with the cast! [Air New Zealand]

Below are some images Fili caught of the event.

all dean aidan deanaidan2 DSC06555 DSC06564 DSC06627 epic pj PJ pjaidanddean smaug

 

Desolation of Smaug Poster
They say “better late than never”. I hope that’s true – because my review is coming a bit late. I love discussing cinema, but I’m not always very fast at collecting my thoughts. Many times, as on this occasion, I don’t even have a complete handle on the film until a second viewing. Also, I tend to write
on impulse – which means that something as organized as a film review takes me a little while to put together. I’m never able to discuss as much
as I would like to – so you can expect a few elements of the film to go uncovered. Otherwise, I could go on forever about each of these movies.

I also didn’t know how to approach this review. I had two very different reaction to this film – one as a Tolkien loyalist, another as a cinema lover. To the chagrin of many, I’m sure, I’ve chosen to focus on the latter. I’ve always viewed the books and PJ’s cinematic offerings as two completely separate things – and I think I must remain true to that. This is a film review of The Desolation of Smaug – which I unabashedly loved – and not a checklist of book vs. film differences. I look forward to such a discussion in the future, and hope you, dear readers, will indulge me in a different conversation at the present moment. Continue reading “Aragorn the Elfstone reviews ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’”

Bag End

Since this is full of conjecture for the next film, consider it wall to wall spoilers!!!

 

Here is a list of all the things we are looking forward to seeing in ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ next December. Since there are so many changes, additions and enhancements in the films, we can only know the broad strokes of what is to come with the details up for grabs. That means this list will mostly be based on events that occur in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ and the questions and actions they leave open heading into ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’

 

And now we begin the Spoiler filled guesswork portion of this article. 

 

1) Legolas catching up to Bolg. Nobody, but nobody gives Leggy a bloody nose and lives.

2) Smaug’s attack on Lake-town will be epic! Bard’s response will be equally epic!

3) What exactly does it take to pry Thranduil out of Mirkwood and enter the fray? Could it be a true desire to assist the Men of Lake-town in their hour of need? Or will it be his desire to recover the missing elven gems? Or will it be a more personal desire to find and bring back Legolas and Tauriel who are missing and presumed to be in the middle of the fight already?

4) How will an injured Kili and the rest of the dwarves get out of the way of an approaching Dragon? And what about Bard’s kids?

5) Who springs Bard out of prison? Will it be Tauriel, Bofur and Fili, or might it be his son, Bain?

6) What becomes of Tauriel? Does she stay with the Dwarves and Bard’s kids or does she try to catch up to Legolas?

7) How does Gandalf get out of his pickle?

8) Radagast went to inform Galadriel of what was happening at Dol Guldur, will she go to War? Who else might come with her? Will Saruman join in or drag his feet?

9) Does Bilbo have the Arkenstone already? If not, how will things play out in Erebor while Smaug is away? And how does the Company find out about Smaug’s fate and how long does that take?

10) Is that big Orc army we see marching through Dol Guldur going to be present when the White Council shows up? Or is the army headed towards Erebor, leaving Dol Guldur rather defenseless when the White Council does show up to spring Gandalf?

11) When will Beorn decide to jump into the fray and how many dead orcs does he leave in his wake?

12) Will we see an auction beginning at Bag End with Lobelia stashing silverware into her bodice?

THDOS_Main_smBefore I begin this review, I want to give a short blurb and let you all know from what perspective it comes from. I am an artist of sorts, so I definitely touch upon some of the visuals used in the films. I am also one of the younger members of TORn’s staff and did not pick up Tolkien’s books until after I saw the “really cool trailer” of ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ on TV back in my preteens. But despite Jackson’s films introducing me to Middle-earth, I have ultimately become a Tolkien fan with a good amount of appreciation for what the cast and crew behind Jackson’s Middle-earth adaptations have done for both the film industry and for the Tolkien legendarium, despite the many changes.

Continue reading “Ainu Laire’s Review of the Hobbit”