In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

This weekend is Hobbit weekend. Some friends and I will be seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Saturday and then we'll be going to Denny's to have a nice meal from the Hobbit-themed menu. Second breakfast perhaps.

I'm a pretty big fan of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and I'm also a big fan of the book The Hobbit, so ever since seeing the trilogy, I've been wanting Jackson to make a movie of The Hobbit. Although I'm sure it would have been very interesting to see Guillermo del Toro's version, I was also glad that Jackson stepped in for the job when del Toro left the project, since he was the one I originally wanted to direct it.

I'm so excited about seeing Martin Freeman play the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. I'm not sure I have any longtime readers on this blog or even any regular readers, but if I do, you might remember the early posts about me wanting him to play Bilbo. Way before I even had a blog, I wanted Freeman to play Bilbo. I still can't believe it's actually happening, and I think we're all so very fortunate to get to see it. Ian Holm was great as an older Bilbo, but when it comes to a younger Bilbo, I can't think of anyone who could do the job better than Martin Freeman.

I have no problem with The Hobbit being three movies now. I just really don't see a downside to that, and I don't understand what has so many people upset. As for material being added to the movie that wasn't fully explored in the book, I'm really looking forward to seeing the White Council. For me, one of the most exciting aspects of seeing that is getting to see Christopher Lee play Saruman before his corruption.

I know there has been a lot of criticism about the format the movie was released in. I've put a lot of thought into how I want to see it, and I am planning on seeing it in 3D and 48 fps. Mainly, my decision comes down to artist intent. And much like when I saw Avatar in 3D, I feel it's something I have to experience on my own to decide whether or not I like it rather than to trust other moviegoers who have different tastes to tell me how I should see it. I'm thinking of it as an experiment or even an adventure.