I’m a fan of Tolkien writings, but I’ve always felt Jackson’s changes are for the best.
In this case, he was faithful enough for at least my tastes (though I’m not that much of a purist with this franchise), but there were changes necessary to translate the book into the screen.
Most of the changes, actually, mean including some information from the books appendices that isn’t in the original Hobbit novel.
Hey, good to hear you liked The Hobbit. I watched it recently too, in HFR (High Frame Rate). Looks kinda like the demos in HD TV displays. But I liked the adaptation, even though it felt padded at parts. I’m currently reading the first chapter of the book too, and I just love how they quoted the opening paragraph in the movie, along with Gandalf’s “What do you mean, Good Day?” line.
Question: In what sense was Hobbit the movie Avatar should have been? I ask because I love both movies but I was curious about your statement.
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My current fandoms:
Flashpoint (final season just ended, will download and start watching it 
)
As of a few hours ago, Wreck It Ralph (ooh, the fanfic and fanart possiblities are endless).
Sadly, because this country sucks, I couldn’t experience the HFR version, so I can’t talk about it.
The comparison with Avatar is because I think that blockbuster was unjustly praised. I think this film is a much better visual-spectacle ride and gave me the kind of experience I was expecting from Cameron’s overrated effort.
Yes, The Hobbit is long, but Avatar was just 5 minutes shorter, and at least the padding consisted in back-story (which some of us find interesting). Avatar’s padding was mainly characters walking around in Pandora as a shameless self promotion of what the technology could do.
And, talking about the technology, I find much more attractive the blend of CGI and real locations used by Jackson than the entirely computer generated stuff in Avatar. The art design by itself was also much better.
In fact, there’s no single aspect (musical score, performances by the actors, the script…) where I don’t prefer The Hobbit over Avatar.
Fairy 'nuff. Interesting to hear your thoughts, SoA. While I disagree on some parts (like the self-promotion bit and Avatar being overrated), I agree on your comment on the real-life-CGI compositing. While Avatar feels like a pre-rendered videogame cutscene at times (like John Carter of Mars, for me), it’s nice and more natural that Jackson used the beautiful landscape of New Zealand for The Hobbit’s outdoor scenes.
That was actually where the HDR feature shines, it really looks like you’re watching a nature documentary when Bilbo and the company were running from the Orks in the plains, for example. However, the indoor scenes made the props very obvious and the set looked very ‘fake’. Other than that, the actors moved like on fast-forward at some parts, so really, you’re not missing out much. I personally prefer 2D 24fps, since that’s the format most of us are used to. But, like most new technology, I think people will adapt to HFR eventually, just like how 3D movies are the norm in cinema nowadays.
I think the 3D was superb at 24FPS. It never looked fake in that format, but was beautiful, even in indoors sets. I don’t think I’m missing much either, but I wanted to have the experience of 48FPS so that I could came to that conclusion properly.
I do think that many of Avatar’s over-long bits were expressly made to show the audiences (and filmmakers and possible buyers) what could be achieved with the use of the technology. And listening to some interviews done to Cameron, I’m pretty much convinced that was the case.
Fandoms, eh? I’ve recently introduced myself into the Regular Show fandom. I’ve barely spoken to people who love the cartoon as much as I do because I’m still afraid I’m coming off as a weirdo. ;w; Anyway! It seems like a welcoming little fanbase, though I do wonder why there’s so much shipping going on. Mordecai and Rigby - its main characters - being all cute and fluffy together is really adorable, but at the same time it’s as out-of-character as I can’t even.
In the Donkey Kong fandom, nothing much has changed. The lack of new things in it pushed me to look for another fandom that’s more active. I elaborated on that in the first paragraph of my post. 
^I wouldn’t say I’m a member of the fandom, but I do like the Regular Show! Do they have their own forums or do you follow the fandom on tumblr or dA?
^ Only on DA and Tumblr really, I haven’t found out about forums yet. I’d totally join one, though!
I’m a big fan of Walter Moers’ novels. They are so full of great and awesome ideas, I love his books!
What I’m else fan of …
Harry Potter. Yeah, I love everything about that - books, movies, fan forums and fanart.
I also love - how could it be otherwise? - Disney and everything that has to do with it 
Are there any good Regular Show blogs on tumblr you could recommend me? I don’t see enough on my dash!
Yeah, I agree with everything of the above. I’m more used to 24FPS anyway, so I bet if I had watched The Hobbit in that format in 3D, I would’ve been more immersed into the film. The 48FPS kept jarring me out. But yes, by all means, give the 48FPS format a try (when it eventually comes to your “sucky country”, in your own words, heh heh).
Badger: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWPwfQcPS5sOooooooohhhhhhh…!!![/url]
Watched a few eps, can totally relate to it as the protagonists are about my age (actually, exactly the same - 23) and I’m experiencing that young-adult phase where they’re just beginning to be independent while still acting like kids. And, of course, I like their “bromance”. Thank goodness I haven’t seen any of that shipping stuff yet, because I haven’t really entered the fandom yet, so to speak.
Oh, speaking about Donkey Kong, have you created a thread, Badger? Thought you might wanna see this:
The K. Rool Way
And because I’m a fan of game glitches:
Drowning in air (Banjo-Tooie glitch)
Eve04 - Ooh, I’d love to get a box set of Harry Potter on BluRay one day. And all the books. I was so bummed as a teenager when my folks threw out my HP books. I even had the original Bloomsburry covers with Harry at the train station for Philosopher’s Stone (it’s called that in Commonwealth countries, I know US got “Sorcerer’s”, much like “The Golden Compass” instead of “Northern Lights”), Harry and Ron in the car for Chamber of Secrets and Harry and Hermoine on Buckbeak for Prisoner of Azkaban. Man, those would be collector’s items now! 
…
A show I’m starting on is the web series Bravest Warriors. I’m reviewing it next week for my paper.
I’m also looking to trying out Pendleton Ward’s other series (Adventure Time!), Littlest Pet Shop (which has a few V.A.s from MLP: FIM), the new Care Bears (only to see what the whole Belly Bros fanboys thing is all about) and Gravity Falls (which looks to me like Up in a serialised format).
^Interesting comparison to Up on Gravity Falls, although I don’t see an insane amount of similarity. Is it the children being friends with an elderly person?
Haha, I think so I’ve only skimmed the Wikipedia summary (I know offhand that it’s about two kids visiting a relative in a rural place and they encounter strange happenings) and heard one or two people rave about it. I haven’t even watched a clip or trailer.
Videogame fandom-wise, I’m a fan of the GTA series (I’ve only played GTA III and Vice City Stories on the PSP, but I plan to get GTA IV and GTA V when the latter comes out). I like the crime-themed storyline and the over-the-top humour and parodies of corporations and government agencies (like insurance agency Getalife and the SWAT-style N.O.O.S.E.). And, of course, what can beat a sandbox-style game where you can do anything you want whenever you want?
I’m also playing Saints Row The Third and Rockstar’s epic western, Red Dead: Redemption.
I have been getting into shoes like Teen Titans and The Powerpuff girls again lately.
At the risk of having my manliness questioned, I’m going to give Littlest Pet Shop a go. It’s by the same channel as My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and even shares some of the same voice actors! And that dog in the beret looks awfully familiar…
I was never a fan of James Bond, even though I know all about it, as a fan would.
Anyway, the release of Skyfall made me wonder if maybe I’m beginning to be.
tdit, I love Littlest Pet Shop toys, so I’ve been curious to try it myself! Also Pound Puppies…
I love Littlest Pet Shop! …The toys, that is. And then I mean the ones from like, eight years ago. Though still cute-looking, I think they’re a bit too overly stylized and pastel-coloured these days for my taste. (I still collect the skunks and crocodiles though, hah.)
Anyway! Heard some things about the cartoon but didn’t get to see it yet. Personally I’m a bit miffed that they gave such a big role to this Blythe character, who wasn’t even originally in the toy line to begin with. Kind of… makes my childhood cry, y’know? Because whenever I played with my LPS toys, it was just animals on adventures with no humans whatsoever. Blythe just sort of came outta nowhere in the toy line, almost as if Hasbro just threw her in to boost sales or something, and I never really cared about her. I thought the toys’ designs were just too different for them to collaborate.
However, Blythe’s design in the cartoon isn’t nearly as unsettling as the actual toys. I might just watch it. The fact they included a non-stereotypical skunk in the main cast is enough to win me over.
(But I still wish Hasbro would give the Fairy Tail Birds (the blue bird in my signature) a revival. I love those birds, dang it.)
Man, I ramble, don’t I?
I’ve recently gotten very much into Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji. It’s in a morally grey area for me 
. But I apparently like it enough to do a Ciel cosplay 
. So, here’s my new list:
The Incredibles
X-Men
Teen Titans
My Little Pony
Black Butler
Toph Bie Fong (Haven’t seen a whole episode of Air Bender yet, but I love this girl XD)
And, a list of my favorite characters …
Pixar/Disney(this includes a lot!)
Avatar(including Korra)
Studio Ghibli
DC
Marvel
Gargoyles
Star Wars
Harry Potter(I surrender. It’s addictive!)
Tolkein
Teen Titans(I don’t know about the new show. It’s a bit too comedic for my taste.)
MLP:FiM(Beginning to question this based on the season finale, and EG…)
I don’t really consider myself part of the “groups” though. I love these things, but I dislike their fandoms. They “Ship” and argue too much. They have these stupid opinions about things that don’t matter, or pairs that they created. And then they get explosive if you disagree.
