There and Back Again
I saw the Hobbit this weekend; I liked it more than I thought I would, and I give it 11 of 14 members of Oaken Shield’s party. Originally I worried that the artificial lengthening of it into three parts would result in a diluted experience in the search for more money; I am pleased to say that couldn’t be farther from the truth. To discuss it in any further details would be to deal in spoilers, and we don’t do that here. No, today I wanted to talk about something else, related to my recent theater experience: trailers.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
These days they put commercials before trailers in most of the big theater chains around the country. These commercials are as universally reviled as trailers are universally beloved. Trailers are often one of my favorite parts of the whole theater experience, and the trailers in front of The Hobbit did not disappoint Quite the opposite, as high-end trailer after trailer raced across the scene I was left with the urge to see each movie that was displayed (except Die Hard 12 – I love one and three, as well as its perennial star, but the franchise is getting a little thin for me) so strongly, that when the feature film actually showed up, it was kind of a let down.
Now this isn’t the first time I have experienced this feeling, and I’m sure I’m not the only one with that particular experience. I’m not sure if it’s the newness of the trailer, or the unavailability of it, but something just clicks and instantly I want to see whatever it is that is being advertised by the deep voiced announcer and the epic music rather than the film that actually brought me to the theater.
In front of my most recent theater experience was:
- The latest Die Hard – Pass
- The Great and Powerful Oz – I wasn’t particularly interested in this movie until I saw the trailer, but its wonderful 3D and use of technicolor that borders on the psychedelic certainly tempts me, so I’ll withhold judgement for now.
- Star Trek into Darkness – This movie looks great, but I didn’t care for the 10 minute trailer they gave me. I want to see the movie when it comes out, and would prefer to be kept in the dark as much as possible until then.
- Superman – As a rule I’m not much of a Superman fan, but this trailer makes me reconsider. Until now, the only story line I really liked was Justice League’s Hereafter episodes, but I am certainly willing to reconsider. A knockdown drag out super brawl in the middle of town is certainly a good start.
The second two I certainly want to see as much or more than the Hobbit. It looks like 2013 is going to be a great year. What are you looking forward to?
Caffeineforge 
_The Hobbit_ was first published in 1937.
The Rankin/Bass animated feature came out in 1977.
It was published in comic book format in 1990.
And you’re worried about spoilers?! Anyone who would complain about spoilers of a 75-year old story needs to crawl back under their rock.
I get that. I meant spoilers what made this adaptation different than the previous tellings.
But to answer your question. I’m looking forward to Oblivion and Elysium, myself. Yay for original sci-fi!