The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

SF: Finally a Hobbit film I liked! Just like the previously two installments there are plenty of added extras that really have no place being there but most of them I could live with. The pace was good, I didn't fall asleep or notice the three hours. A visual feast and a nice recovery for the series. As a bonus the ending doesn't take twenty hours! If your a Tolkien fan you've probably already seen it but if you haven't them I pleased to say this is worth a watch. 7.5/10

50Eggs: I reckon this is my favorite of the Hobbit trilogy, just edging Desolation of Smaug. There are some fantastic fight scenes but the best bits were again the added exposition that didn't appear in the original book, which add much needed weight to the story. So that's the end of the road for the Middle Earth films, but there's one more I'd like to see...a 'what if' story showing what would happen if Smaug had killed Bilbo and claimed the One Ring for himself. 8/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall: 7.75/10

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

SF: On a par with the first installment. That is to say, from a cinematic point of view this is beautiful, has amazing effects, lovely scenery and the production value is excellent. The first hour was rather enjoyable, however I did find it dragged a great deal towards the second and third hours. However plenty of brilliant things about this (the effect of Thranduil's face) but equally many awful additions which made no sense to me at all (the love story) and didn't enhance the story in anyway. Dragon looks amazing! But wasn't thrilled by this movie as a whole. Of course I'll still see the next one 6/10

50 Eggs: I've just re-watched the first on DVD and, on reflection, it's actually fairly boring. This is much better though. All the things I was looking forward to seeing were in there, and I loved the 'extra' scenes scrounged from Silmarilion and Unfinished Tails, such as Gandalfs face-off with Sauron. I do agree with SF on one point though - the love story was ridiculous and unnecessary. The last act was the best, with Cumberbatch making an awesome Smaug. Credit to Freeman too - he is so much better than Elijah Wood ever was. 8/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall: 7/10

The Three Musketeers

SF: I had fairly low expectations before seeing this, because I love the books, and most of the previous movies (yes even the 1993 version with little resemblance to the Novel). So this really didn't have to try all that hard to please me. Sadly this film was like watching Pantomime. I didn't know whether to cry or just walk out. Even worse is the crime of having brilliant actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Christoph Waltz with barely any screen time. Not to mention the awfulness of Flying ships. I honestly wish I'd walked out but I hoped and prayed it would get better. 2/10

50 Eggs: A hodge-podge of bad ideas and rip-off scenes. Three Musketeers got my back up early when it stole a scene directly from a Clint Eastward film, where Dartanian suggests that his horse is owed an apology when insulted by a ruffian. It's bare-faced cheek and I don't like it. There is some fun to be had with this but even as a Sunday afternoon easy watching film it's less than adequate. Stick with Dogtanion and the Three Muskahounds. 4/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall - 3/10