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Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2012)

The Hobbit Trilogy! Really!? I can't imagine how hard-up some Hollywood movie makers must be to stretch a single book into three separate flicks. Good viewing? Absolutely. But all the eye candy in the world doesn't compensate for the fact that this is milking a text for all it's worth. Literally. I mean after all this a story that most of us Tolkien fans have read at the least a half dozen times. Has it taken any of us more than a few hours at most to get to Esgaroth? I really don't have anything else to submit. I did not do any research prior to going to the theater to avoid spoiling the experience. Suffice it to say, for me, it was a surprise ending. Will I dole out another 26 bucks (given the price of movie ticket doesn't go up, yeah right) to see Smaug finally get it? Of course I will. Does this ridiculous treatment of a classic irk me? You bet.