There and Back Again...or Maybe Just 1/3 of the Way

Practically since we got to Oxford, Caitlin, Libby and I have talked about going to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when it came out in December. We ended up buying tickets online about two weeks ago and last night was the night. Amy has never read or even seen The Lord of the Rings (we have promised her a marathon when we get back to the US), and did not really understand our excitement, but she was a good sport and went along anyway.

Our first Tolkien reference of the day came in the form of a link posted by Libby on Facebook, The 13 Dwarves of The Hobbit, Ranked by Hotness. I am not sure how you could even go about ranking them, you can barely their faces under all of that hair. Caitlin, Libby, Amy and I all agreed that Number 2, Kili, was the most attractive. I have a bit of a problem getting past Number 1, Fili's braided mustache. The whole idea behind the article was strange, but very amusing for us.

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We went to dinner at a pub called The Eagle and Child. We have been meaning to go there for some time but last night was the perfect time to go. Why? Because this particular pub was a regular haunt for J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other writers of the time. The group called themselves the Inklings.

I was afraid that the pub would be very crowded with people who had the same idea as us: go to eat at Tolkien's hangout and then go to see The Hobbit, so we went early at 5:30pm. There ended up being many free tables and a very short line to put in orders at the bar.

The Eagle and Child, sometimes called The Bird and the Baby by locals, is long and narrow with many  sitting alcoves. The table were made of dark wood with half of the seating being squat wooden stools and the other half green padded benches. It was cozy and inviting. I can see why someone would want to spend a lot of time there.

Caitlin, Libby and I all ended up ordering the same meal of chicken and mushroom pie and a Rekorderlig cider. This was the first time I have ever ordered an alcoholic drink before. So far on this trip I have just tasted things the others have bought. I ended up getting the Strawberry and Lime flavor. These ciders are palatable to me because they barely taste like alcohol (only 4.0%), are fruit flavored, and fizzy.

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We got to the cinema about fifteen minutes early to collect our tickets and find our seats. I don't know if this the same in all British cinemas or just the one we went to, but we had assigned seats. That is just strange to me. In the US, it is generally "first come, first served" so you want to be there a little early. We were a bit annoyed to find that our spots were in the very top row of the stadium seating. I swear that the diagram online when we chose our seats showed at least two or three rows behind us.

I was amazed by how many seats, maybe about 1/3, were empty when the lights dimmed at 7:00pm. It was supposed to be a full theatre. And then a learned why so many people were not there yet...there are fifteen minutes of commercials before even the previews start. Obviously they all knew that and most all of the seats were filled by the time the previews started.

Most of the movie previews looked good (Les Miserables, Life of Pi) while others looked like they would probably be pretty bad (i.e. Pacific Rim which looks like an amalgamation of Clash of the Titans, Transformers and the trend for apocalypse movies).

The movie itself was very exciting with lots of humor, action, and a few very touching moments. I have read and seen all three of the Lord of the Rings, but I have never read The Hobbit, so the plot line was a surprise to me. All I knew about it was that the aim of the quest was to kill a dragon, and somehow Bilbo finds the ring of power somewhere along the way.

The picture quality was absolutely amazing and it did great credit to the expansive shots of beautiful scenery. I loved all the details of the costumes and hair ornaments (dwarves have a lot of hair to keep up with).

The movie was over at 10:15pm, just around the time we were expecting. We walked to the bus stop just in time to see the U1 pull away. The next bus would not come for another thirty minutes so we decided to walk. It was actually relatively nice outside. The day's constant deluge had finally stopped and it was slightly warmer than it had been lately (40s as opposed to 30s). Four months ago the thirty minute walk from the City Centre to our dorm would have killed me. Now, it is just a nice stroll.

On our walk back Caitlin and Libby (both have read The Hobbit) discussed what would be in the next movie since this first one ended about half-way through the book. It seemed like there should only be one more movie, but when we got back to the room and checked, there are actually three movies in the series. At this rate there will never be a new season of Sherlock with the main actors all busy with other projects (the actor who plays Bilbo also plays Dr. Watson, and the voice of the dragon is done by the actor who plays Sherlock).