The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

So where were we?  Oh yes, just coming out on the other side of the forest and flying off a cliff, naturally.  The mountain home of the dwarves looms in the distance, Gandalf the Grey is leading everyone in the direction of safety(?) and Bilbo Baggins (our hero) is discovering that he’s not as much of a homebody as he thought.   Large nasty looking bear/wolf/hog riding Orcs are chasing them and nobody’s sure that they’re going to make it to the next leg of their journey, much less find the big white stone they need to reclaim their home.  Meanwhile, back at the mountain, a large fire-breathing  gold-hoarding, razor-toothed, talking dragon is waiting.  As in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, we’re hanging on to the edge of our seats to see if the band of 14 makes it to their destination.  It’s a roller coaster ride with a lot of surprises around the corners (note to my friend Lisa, close your eyes after they enter the forest…you won’t like this).  There are a lot of dead-ends and a truly spectacular finale to this installment.  I’m so looking forward to the conclusion.  For those of you who missed Orlando Bloom as Legolas, he’s back and there’s a new character I think you’re really going to cotton to, Evangeline Lilly as Tauril.  Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins…just that simple.  Rating:  One ring to unite them all, 13 dwarves, one wiz of wizard, and a very brave hobbit.