The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit hits all the expected marks as a very short dude with big hairy feet, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), is drafted by wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and 12 … no, 13 dwarves for a quest to reclaim a conquered kingdom. And retrieve some gold. Lots of gold. And of course there’s lots of walking in single file as the camera swoons across the New Zealand landscapes. And the 3-D is swell. The iconic battle of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum was fantastically realized, and the motion-capture technology is top of the game here, with Andy Serkis’ froggy li’l critter breathing real air. One has to appreciate the attention to detail director Peter Jackson and his crew put into realizing his overall vision. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.