To celebrate the release today (in some countries) of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – or perhaps to give some consolation to those who have to wait to bring home their DVD! – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have made some cute infographics. In addition to the EXCLUSIVE one we shared yesterday, here’s a little clarity for anyone still wondering just exactly which creatures are in those five armies: Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies home video released TODAY!”

hobbit-barrelrider-bofur-a2One of my favourite Dwarves has finally gotten his barrel rider statue.

Bofur the Dwarf, who was such a great character during the films, joins Bilbo, Oin, and Bombur as the fourth barrel rider.

This fantastic little piece is sculpted by Gary Hunt who you will get to know better through several reviews that are coming up.

Bofur comes in with a price tag of only $65 and is in-stock shipping from the New Zealand warehouse.

botfa dvd artIn the USA, from March 24th, the last in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies will be available for you to take home. (It’s been available in digital version in many countries since March 3rd; but from Tuesday you can get your hands on a ‘hard’ copy.)

Many fans, of course, like to wait for the Extended Edition release before purchasing a copy; but speaking personally, my collection isn’t complete unless I have the theatrical cut as well. I was thrilled to get my hands on a review copy of the Blu-ray Combo pack, which includes copies of the movie on Blu-ray, on DVD and a Digital HD copy – as well as various extras. Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies DVD/Blu-ray review – RELEASE DATE MARCH 24”

10862725_796487747095429_5513024793841096753_oAmazing artist Jerry Vanderstelt is back with some more great pieces.

Tonight, we’re pleased to let you know that he has created a series of portrait prints capturing The Nine Walkers, aka The Fellowship of the Ring. These prints are stunning and capture the personalities of the characters we’ve come to love so much.

As of now only Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin are up for sale. You can get them in either 12×16 at $39 or 17×22 at $69.

If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings films then these are a must have for your collection.

Update: Jerry has now added Strider and Samwise.

Bakshi LOTRRalph Bakshi will appear in person at a film retrospective of some of his most iconic animated films, presented by the American Cinematheque in conjunction with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The films will screen at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica on the last weekend of March. You can catch a double feature of “Heavy Traffic” and “American Pop” on Friday, March 27 starting at 7:30pm. There will be a discussion with director Ralph Bakshi between these two films and a clip will be shown from his new film “Last Days of Coney Island”.  On the following Saturday, March 28, there will be a double feature of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Wizards”, starting at 7:30pm, again with a discussion with director Ralph Bakshi between the two films.

If you have never seen this Ralph_Bakshiversion of LOTR, or at least never seen it on the big screen, you must try and catch this screening. The rotoscoping is eye-catching, to say the least, and brings a level of veracity to the more serious themes of this story, something that was not common with animation of it’s time. Bakshi Productions will be selling art in the lobby starting at 6:30pm each night, so get there early.

Staffers from TheOneRing.net will running about the theater as well, so do make sure to say hello if you see us. And what can only be called a cosmic coincidence, Tolkien Forever, the Los Angeles based smial of the Tolkien Society will be hosting Tolkien Reading Day earlier in the day on Saturday, March 28 in Downtown Los Angeles. You can find out more details about that on Facebook event page. Why not make it a true Tolkien daily double with some reading, some viewing and some Fellowship.

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The Aero theater is located at 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403, and you can buy tickets at the box office or in advance on Fandango. All the information you need can be found on the American Cinematheque Bakshi Tribute calendar.

hobbitbifura2The latest member of Thorin’s company has landed! Bifur the Dwarf is the eleventh of the company to be produced in statue form.

Bifur was sculpted by the insanely talented Lindsey Crummett who did a fantastic job of capturing one of my favorite looking Dwarves.

Bifur is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide, with a price tag of $249. If you’re like me and hate waiting, then you’re in luck, as he is an in-stock item and is ready to ship to your collection now.