WARNING: Spoilers for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit book. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has…
Continue ReadingWARNING: Spoilers for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit book.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has drawn a lot of heat (see what I did there?) for deviating from the book. As stated in my review of the film, A Feast of Starlight, I have no problem with the new material and in fact, have enjoyed the depth and emotion the changes have brought to the story. However, the changes, and several fans’ resistance to them, have made me look at the story from an alternate view.
One of the most beautiful pieces at Comic-Con 2013 came to us from our friends at Weta Workshop. This statue is a real eye catcher with a great likeness, amazing detail, and a fantastic mix of grace/power. The character that Weta created that mixes all of these together is the King of the Mirkwood Elves Thranduil. This was also a special release granted by Warner Brothers so fans could see the character and start getting pumped for the awesomeness that is to come in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Thranduil Statue Review”
United Cutlery has announced several new products that are some of the coolest looking prop-replicas you will find for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. These prop replicas range from the Bow of Tauriel to the Mace of Azog all of which allow you, the fan, to rip Middle-earth off the big screen and bring it into your collection. All of these items are currently up for pre-order so make sure to hint to your loved ones to get a last minute holiday gift added to your list.
Games Workshop produces little mini-figures that you can buy, put together, and paint yourself. These little figures are really cool when done up and painted by someone who knows how to handle a brush. Today, we’re pleased to bring you their wave of figures for the second of The Hobbit Trilogy. These figures range in price from $20 for a single figure to $65 for a set of the Dwarves in their barrels. This wave contains 11 new figures which can be pre-ordered by visiting the Games Workshop website.
In expanding on Professor Tolkien’s text in his film adaptation, director Peter Jackson allows us to follow Gandalf the Grey into areas that remain secret to us within the text of The Hobbit. As we look forward seeing these events unfold before our eyes next month, this essay by Tedoras examines Gandalf’s journey into the dark fortress of Dol Guldur, what he found there, and the impact that this event had on the fate of Middle-earth. Continue reading “On the Finding of Thror’s Map and the Key to the Lonely Mountain”
Dolby Laboratories sent TheOneRing.net a press release today that might rank among the least surprising press releases ever. Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” will resoundingly ring out at its world premiere in Dolby Atmos. Some of here at TORn are big fans of the Atmos sound experience with its ceiling mounted speakers that allows sound engineers the ability to create a sound landscape, a step beyond surround systems.
Most people go to films and are happy just to make it through previews, “clever” ways to tell viewers to shut their phones off and then watch Dolby’s promotion for what audiences are about to hear. But being the movie nerds we are around here, some of us celebrate motion picture sound and the chance to be further transported out of the theater and into a three dimensional auditory experience. No surprise, Peter Jackson embraces new technology and never misses a chance to tell the most vibrant story possible. So, just as with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” DOS will have the newest, best sound experience at the premiere and select theaters.
For those readers who aren’t sound nerds, Atmos allows technicians to create sounds anywhere in the theater, not just where speakers are. This sounds too good to be true, and we can’t explain it here, but in the right theater you can listen carefully to the Radagast sequence where he is dashing through the undergrowth and spiders crawl on his house to appreciate it. You will hear it. Anyway, this is great news even if it surprised nobody. Not paid anything by Dolby (but hey Dolby, feel free) I intentionally seek out the Atmos theater in my city whenever possible.
Dolby also has this page dedicated to Atmos and AUJ if you want to do a little home work. And below is a video of director Guillermo del Toro talking about the sound. Below that, the full press release from today. Continue reading “‘Hobbit: DOS’ world premiere to be heard in Dolby Atmos, nobody is surprised”