I’m certainly no poster child for the Peter Jackson fan club, but a hatchet job review of the Extended Edition by Fred Topel over at CraveOnline is full of such over-the-top hyperbole that I cannot let it pass. It reeks of clickbait. And, as someone who makes a living working in advertising, I know clickbait pretty well. Yet its headline, and conclusion, is so at odds with the calibre of the evidence in support that I simply cannot let it pass without comment.
(In the spirit of not rewarding clickbait, I’m not even linking the article here. I know that’s a bit fraught, but if you do really want to read it, here’s Google search. It’s not hard to find.)
Let’s take Toper’s conclusion, and ultimate claim about the EE (and The Hobbit film trilogy as a whole):
“We are witnessing the dawn of a cinematic train wreck.”
Gentle Giant has been turning out some really cool busts for The Hobbit Trilogy with Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Gollum, Azog, and the Goblin King.
As you all know, they’ve also crafted Mini-Busts of two of the Dwarves: Thorin Oakenshield (Comic-Con 2012 Exclusive) and Dwalin (2012 PGM Exclusive). Well, now they’d like TheOneRing.net readers to help decide which of the Company of Dwarves will be next to have their own Mini-Bust. We’ll be running this poll here on the site from now until the end of the month. Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – vote for your favourite and help Gentle Giant choose their next Dwarf Bust”
Physical (i.e.: Blu-ray 3D and DVD) copies of the Extended Edition of the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey were supposed to go on sale in stores in the USA on November 5, with the UK follow on November 11.
But the journey from screen to store to the hands of fans has proved to be as challenging as Bilbo’s own adventure. Over the past couple of days, TORn has received numerous reports from perturbed fans via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.
Fans report that the Extended Edition is unavailable at Target in all forms, difficult to find at Best Buy and Barnes & Noble (where you might grab a Blu-ray copy, but are unlikely to find the DVD), and that Amazon is temporarily out of stock of the DVD and shipments are being delayed by one to three days.
What’s going on? Well, we have reached out to Warner Bros. to find out what’s happening, and provide some firm answers. In the meantime, read our complete report on the issues that fans have been experiencing trying to get their hands on a copy of the EE — and a couple of things you need to be wary of lest you end up with a version that contains less than you expected! Continue reading “Trouble getting a physical copy of The Hobbit Extended Edition? You’re not alone.”
It is an exciting day for fans of LEGO® and The Lord of the Rings! As of right now, you can download the iOS game ‘LEGO® The Lord of the Rings’ from the Apple App Store! Check out the full release below as well as some screen caps. The game is only $4.99 and available for both iPhone and iPad. [Download]
As we march closer to the Holiday shopping season, we need ideas as to what we may want to buy our loved ones. Well, our friends at Weta Workshop in their most recent newsletter have given us several ideas on what from Middle-earth we can get.
Two new items were unvelied in this group with a huge yet cool looking Gollum 1:1 statue and some beautiful Elven Earrings for only $75.
If you’ve been waiting on some good deals on previously released items you can get Balin’s Mace for $150 (only 10 available for this price), Dwalin’s Axes $199.50 (Only 5 available at this price), free shipping on The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Art Prints, and The One Ring for $85. These deals are good while these limited supplies last or until November 17th whichever comes first.
You can get the full run down of all the fantastic items Weta has on special right now on their Christmas Specials Page.
We’ve started to see more and more products announced and launched tying into The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. One of the companies turning out some pretty cool stuff for film two is our friends at The Bridge Direct. The collectible we’re covering today is Radagast the Brown, from their 6” line of figures. After seeing this piece at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, I was quite excited to get this; and I have to say this figure lived up to my expectations.
PACKAGING
The layout for the box design for Radagast is exactly the same as we saw with wave one of the figures, for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The new figures differ in the graphics, as well as the coloring of the box. The images show the company climbing what I would assume is the Lonely Mountain, with another view of that same Mountain in the background. You also have a blue tone to the coloring, which suggests the darker turn the movie will take, compared to how wave one and movie one matched up.
On the bottom of the box you have a cardboard slip with the character’s name and a picture of the character all rendered in the same coloring. The back of the box has a great little breakdown of the second movie. They not only do this in English but also in French, which I have to say I really got a kick out of. You also get a look at the three 6” figures in wave two: Radagast, Legolas, and Azog.
Accessories/Articulation
Radagast is simple when it comes to the number of items you get with him; he comes with his hat and his staff. However, this matches exactly what we see him with during the movie, so you get to create the exact look of what we saw.
The articulation on this figure as a whole is really good. You have great movement in the hands, elbows, shoulders, and ankles. The only area which I found had any kind of limited movement is the head, but that is due to his beard. Overall, you can have some real fun with this figure, creating some of the craziness we could imagine Radagast getting into.
SCULPTING
I love the sculpting job on Radagast. I really think the likeness on this figure is pretty darn close to a dead ringer for what we saw on screen. Within the facial likeness, the little bird’s nest is also there and can be shown or not depending on if you have him wear his hat. The detailing doesn’t stop there, as his outfit has some amazing fine points in it, even with little things I didn’t notice in the movie when I’ve seen it several times. Radagast comes with a couple of extras, which are the hat I just mentioned, and his trusty staff with the blue crystal that he uses to save Sebastian the hedgehog.
PAINT
As I’ve said before in other reviews, the paint can make or break the sculpting work. I really think The Bridge Direct nailed the paintwork on Radagast, giving the character the proper ‘on screen’ look. The skin tone looks like his movie counter part and has a nice natural, alive tone to it. His hair has the proper brown and grey mix as we saw on screen. That’s not my favorite part, though, of what was done to his hair. One of the things I don’t care for with Radagast is the bird poop in his hair – it’s just something I really wish they had left out. Luckily, the way it’s painted on the figure it just looks like a large area of grey hair, and I love it. Much better than what we actually got! His outfit is also painted very nicely, allowing for all the sculpted details to come screaming through.
Overall
Radagast is a fantastic figure. You get a great sized figure and tons of detail. You can get Radagast exclusively at Toys R’ Us for $14.99, along with Azog, Legolas, and the Mirkwood 5-Pack. We want to thank The Bridge Direct for this chance to give our readers a look at this pretty cool figure.
I’m certainly no poster child for the Peter Jackson fan club, but a hatchet job review of the Extended Edition by Fred Topel over at CraveOnline is full of such over-the-top hyperbole that I cannot let it pass. It reeks of clickbait. And, as someone who makes a living working in advertising, I know clickbait pretty well. Yet its headline, and conclusion, is so at odds with the calibre of the evidence in support that I simply cannot let it pass without comment.
