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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, January 4, 2013 · 12 An unexpected surprise: The Hobbit's first instalment reviewed By Robert Tollefson, Grade 10, T. A. Blakelock H.S. T he Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first instalment of Sir Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy was released internationally on Dec. 14, and being the Middle-Earth maniac that I am, I went to the earliest showing I could find. I must say it was one of the greatest films I have ever seen. It stays very faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novel. There are some differences that must be made when adapting a book to a movie, but the main difference (besides being a trilogy) is that the film is very much made for older audiences, while the book was written primarily for children. From climactic battle scenes including Jackson's signature beheadings to a very grotesque Goblin King, many children may leave the theatre very frightened. Many people disagree with Jackson's choice to make a movie trilogy from a book with only 300 pages, but once they see the first film, they will see he made the right call. Many actors from Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy return in The Hobbit, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Andy Serkis as Gollum, and Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett as the elves European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship 905.849.0266 "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" Elrond and Galadriel, respectively. Fresh faces include Martin Freeman as the title character Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield. All the actors, no matter how small their role, are superb. Freeman's quirky, comedic style is perfect for Bilbo's `fish out of water' personality. Blanchett is in the film for a short time, but stands out as the only female speaking-role. It is sometimes hard to tell who is playing the characters, as all are wearing prosthetics in some form or another. Most of the Dwarf actors have full facial prosthetics, with all of the Dwarf actors wearing fat-suits and hand prosthetics. The CGI in the film is excellent. There are a couple of shots that are a little under par but for the most part it looks incredible. Gollum looked pretty real in The Lord of the Rings but in The Hobbit, he looks even better. The 3D looks better than any other I've seen. The only issue I have is with the high frame rate. The 48fps was meant to make the film look more real, instead it looks like actors on a film set. I would recommend seeing it in 24fps first, and then again in 48fps. All in all, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is an excellent film with an ending sure to bring yells of "That's it?" from the audience. it all started when my baby stopped breathing... She was only three weeks old when Lexie suddenly stopped breathing in my arms. Within seconds, my beautiful, healthy baby turned blue and I was frantic. Once she was in the emergency department, the doctors and nurses took over and diagnosed Lexie with a respiratory virus. She was in the hospital for a week with monitors and oxygen devices helping her breathe, but today she is a healthy and proud big sister to her brother Liam thanks to the life-saving equipment in our hospital. Each and every year, our hospital needs hundreds of pieces of new equipment that will improve the lives of all of us here in Oakville. Every piece is critical and every piece needs to be funded by our community. It all starts here with your help. Please give generously. OakvilleHospitalFoundation.com Please call 905 338 4642 to make a difference by donating to the Oakville Hospital Foundation. Charitable Registration #: 13145-3490 RR0001 The Oakville Hospital Foundation is grateful for the generous support of our media sponsor, the Oakville Beaver. Lexie and Liam Evans in Erchless Park, Oakville Lemon Love Photography