How the machine works is difficult to describe, but I’m sure you get the idea from this illustration…

3D concept illustration is copyright to its respective owners and not me

Yes, we’re just back from watching The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey, and here’s a brief review (it containes spoilers so don’t read on if you’ve not seen it yet ;-))

The cinema in Penrith, Cumbria is fairly small, we’d booked our seats online as we didn’t know how busy it would be, and I’m glad we did as although the cinema wasn’t full (it was a Sunday lunchtime showing after all) we did ensure we got good seats.

This was the first film I’ve watched in 3D so I wasn’t sure what to expect, whether it was going to be little more than a gimmick which distracted from the film itself, it didn’t, instead it helped imperse me into Middle Earth in a way which I normally only experience in my head. I found the shots inside Bag End to be very well done, the views we had of it in the Lord of the Rings was excellent, but the 3D really drew you inside.

I was curious as to how they would start the film, and how they would introduce a younger Bilbo (Martin Freeman), the change from Ian Holme to Martin Freeman was seamless. When they first announced Martin Freeman as Bilbo I thought it was a good choice, and seeing him on screen you just know there wasn’t anyone else who could have played that part so well. In fact I didn’t have problems with any of the cast selected for the various parts in the film – though I did see a bit of Rossetti in Aidan Turner every now and then

The story was very close to Tolkien, yes there are bits added in, but then they very rarely make any book into film without changes, I didn’t see the additions and changes as a problem though. I’d heard a couple of critics complained about ‘slow sections’ in the film, and I came out of the cinema wondering if they’d watched the same film, or perhaps they have had their senses dulled years of constant action films with no plots.

Visually the film was a treat, and not only for Tolkien fans. I’m glad they got John Howe & Alan Lee back on board as concept artists, I can’t imagine anyone else taking those jobs on with such a level of dedication. When the film comes out on DVD I’ll be sure to play who sketched what It’s inspring to watch a film like this then consider how much work goess into creating it.

Highlights of the film for me would create a long long list, but returning to Bag End and the Shire on the big screen was a treat, as was seeing Rivendell again, and the views of Dol Guldur gave me goose bumps for some reason. As a fan of Tolkien I must say watching Bilbo and Gollum in a duel of riddles was excellent fun.

Did I have any negative views on the film, well, just one really, the mark Gandalf made on Bilbo’s front door was wrong, but I can probably live with that major issue

The Truth About Faeries from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Lord of the Rings

10th July 2010 to 12th September 2010 – Tullie House Art Gallery, Carlisle

“From the Golden Age of illustration from the 1860s to 1920s up to the present day, this exhibition explores the prevailing interest amongst story tellers, artists, film makers and illustrators in the world of fairies.”

When I first heard about this exhibition my intent had been to visit on day one, real life of course has a way of putting small hurdles in our path which means plans sometimes go out of the window Anyway, today we managed to visit this exhibition, and I’m glad we did. My main reason for visiting had been to see some of Alan Lee’s originals; I’ve been looking at his work in printed form for years but this was my first chance to see an original or two.

We’ve seen quite a few exhibitions at Tullie house now, some of them I had to leave fairly quickly before I fell victim to pretentious-crap-syndrome, that horrible condition where you start to think the artist really did have something in mind when the gathered together a load of old junk and called it art. The Truth About Faeries exhibition makes up for all the bad experiences we’ve had there.

What did surprise me was how some of the paintings affected me, I was looking forward as I’ve said the the Alan Lee originals, what I wasn’t expecting was how Brian Froud’s works would hit me. Staring at Brian’s Green Man and Bluebell Fairy made me realize how far I have to go with a paintbrush, I must admit that looking at Sword by Alan Lee gave me a slight sinking feeling that I’ll never be able to paint moving water in a way that I’ll be happy with now

As much as looking at the delicate works of Brian and Alan made me want to sit down with some watercolours and paint for the rest of the week, looking at The Source of the Anduin by Paul Raymond Gregory made me want to run out and buy some huge canvas and vanish whilst I found part of Middle Earth hidden there. When you enter the gallery to view this exhibition you are greeted by a combination of faeries and green men, turn to your right and look down the length of the room and you are faced with this huge canvas by Paul, it took a fair amount of self control to visit the paintings in turn and not walk straight to this oil painting.

So, why is this a must see exhibition, well really look at the list of exhibitors to start with and then if that does not stir you to action think back to your childhood, did you ever read a Ladybird book, The Elves and the Shoemaker perhaps, well tucked away near the doorway are a small collection of original illustrations from a number of Ladybird books. They are quite simply a delightful glimpse at the art that affected so many of our childhoods.

This is an exhibition we’ll have to visit again, it’s so rare to see art like this in the far North of England that to miss it would be a shame, and once you’ve seen it once you’ll want to visit again