Movie Review: The Hobbit

First I have to confess to reading half the book in 7th grade, 20ish years ago. Of course I don't remember anything from the book. Therefore, I have no idea if it was a good adaptation. I know that there were parts of the story added and parts elaborated on, which changes the story. To me, it was a wonderful movie.

What I liked:
I liked seeing familiar faces and places from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I thought this was very similar in certain spots, which was great, but i loved the unique moments too.

I adored the dinner party with the dwarfs - hilarious!

I enjoyed Gandalf and Bilbo meeting outside his house.

I adored Richard Armitage (since I saw North and South). There's something piercing about his eyes.

I enjoyed the banter between the dwarfs - they were funny, charming, and fierce!

The moment where Bilbo and Golem meet - Gollum was equally  entertaining and creepy.

The scenery was gorgeous - loved this scene and how it was filmed.

What I didn't Like:
The Stone Giants - that part seemed out of place - like it belonged in a Transformers movie

The camera angles at times made it hard to follow. Several occasions, the action was too fast to see. Before I could decipher what was happening, the action changed.

Not part of the movie, but the people behind us were Chatty. I wanted to pull a Kate Hudson on them or at least give them my best librarian shush. I did neither, silently seething and missing bits of the movie because I couldn't hear it.

Overall: I can't wait for the next installment!