Top Tuesdays: Top Tolkien Dwarves.

Keeping with my Tolkien themed Top Tuesdays.... Here are my top Tolkien Dwarves!

12. Nori.

The only reason I don't like Nori (and the only reason he's last) is his hair. I can't get past the fact that he looks like a star up in the sky.
I do like his actor, though. His actor seems like a nice guy. I'm sure Nori is a nice guy as well... I just don't like his hair.

11. Bifur.

Mostly I just put all these Dwarves in random order because most of them don't have epic personalities... Especially in the books. Peter Jackson did a good job giving most of them personalities in The Hobbit and I think they will have even more personality in the next movies.
Bifur, again, has a really cool actor who seems like a nice guy. Not sure what's going on with the mini-anvil in his forehead....

10. Dwalin.

Dwalin. Haha. He's like the brawn of the group. He's super tall (for a Dwarf) and likes head-butting people. He's cool.

9. Dori.

Dori is Nori The Star's brother. He seems very nice in The Hobbit; he offers tea to Gandalf (who, if I remember correctly, refuses him and asks for some wine). Dori seems like a nice Dwarf.

8. Thorin Oakenshield.

 

(This is where my actually opinions start to play a part)
The Dwarf king. I don't remember him too much from the books.... He's a bit too serious for me in the movie. But I suppose he is kind of preoccupied with saving his mountain from a fire breathing dragon (think furnace, with wings).

7. Gloin and Oin.

 

Gloin is Gimli's father and Oin is Gloin's brother. They are pretty cool. In the movie Oin has a hearing trumpet like Calculus.

6. Bombur.

 

(Hee hee, I couldn't resist.)
Bombur is my second favorite in the book, but is sixth in my top movie Dwarves.
He eats. Everything. One of my favorite parts in The Hobbit is when the other Dwarves have to carry Bombur after he fell into the river in Mirkwood. I can't wait to see what Peter Jackson did with that in the second film.
My other favorite Bombur moment is in The Fellowship of the Ring (at least I think that's where it is. It might be in the end of The Hobbit. I can't remember) when Gloin is telling Bilbo about the other Dwarves. He mentions that Bombur has to be carried around by a couple of young Dwarves because he's gotton so big. Hee hee.

5. Gimli.

 

"Just keep breathing, that's the key!"
I love Gimli. He's hilarious, especially when he's with Legolas. They are kind of like Odo and Quark from Deep Space Nine. They hate each other but then end up getting along (to some degree). Plus I love the guy who played him.

4. Fili and Kili (because you can't have one without the other. They even DIE together!)



They are Thorin's nephews and the youngest (in the books. In the movie, for some reason, Ori is the youngest...).
Fili and Kili were always pretty cool in the book and in the movie they are wonderful! Why do they have to die?!

3. Ori.

 

I LOVE Ori. He is SO adorable! And he's very polite and shy and I'm told that he carries around a sketchpad... Though it has yet to make an appearance. He's just too cute!

2. Bofur.

 

Bofur beats Ori by only a smidgen. He is so jolly and funny. And he has a cool hat. He's great.

1. Balin!

 

The Santa Claus of the Dwarves.
Balin has always been my favorite. I'm not sure why... He just always has been, ever since my dad first read me The Hobbit. He's the eldest, I believe, and therefore has seen much and has a lot of wisdom. He's kind of like the grandpa of the group.

Now some random pictures:

 

(Dori encouraging his little brother to try "green food")

 

 

(Balin and Dwalin looking like they are cooking up a plan.)

 

(I have this as a poster hanging on the wall of my room.)

And to complete this post I leave you with.....

May your beard grow ever longer.

A tag from Jack.

Jack has tagged all who follow her blog so I shall take part. Seems that all you have to do is share seven random things about yourself. Sounds fun to me!

1. When I'm cold I normally don't wrap myself in a blanket or pull on a jacket. Instead I slip my blue Starfleet uniform over whatever I'm wearing.

 

Yep, I'm a geek, but you already knew that.

2. This morning in church our pastor was using The Hobbit as a sermon illustration and he said that there were twelve Dwarves. Indignantly I went up to him after church and said, "You got something wrong. There are thirteen Dwarves, not twelve," and my friend added, "Yeah, the whole reason they needed Bilbo was because the Dwarves thought thirteen was an unlucky number and they needed an fourteenth member."
My pastor asked, "Are you sure?"
I proceeded to name all thirteen Dwarves off the top of my head.

Yep, I'm a geek, but you already knew that.

He laughed.

3. I am about to go Where No Man Has Gone Before. I had previously read the prologue and first chapter of Miss Jack's book (because once upon a time she posted them somewhere), but now I am at chapter 2... about to step into unknown territory. 'Tis exciting.

4. As long as I'm talking about friend's books.... I am SO curious about Kad and Kadet by my friend Jessica! I can't wait to read it! *hint hint Jessica!*

5. This is my first year reading A Christmas Carol, or anything else written by Dickens.

6. I should really go pack. We leave soon.

7. On our white board I have written, "Don't blink! Don't even blink! Blink and you're dead!" and "Run!" Because... well, I'm a geek, but you already knew that.

Live long and prosper!

 

The Hobbit.

Well, this is new. I have never done a movie review before!

Movie: The Hobbit Part 1: And Unexpected Journey.

 

Director: Peter Jackson.

Actors: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and a handful of Dwarves! Also, Andy Serkis and Sylvester McCoy.

Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit of the Shire, has lived a life of comfort, just as any other Hobibt. One day the wizard Gandalf comes a-knocking on Bilbo's door asking if he would like to share in an adventure. Bilbo says absolutely not, yet the very next evening, thirteen Dwarves and a wizard show up on Bilbo's porch, hungry for dinner.
Bilbo lets them in and hears all about their adventure. Years ago, a dragon named Smaug destroyed the Dwarves home and now they want to take it back again.
Bilbo decides to go with them to retake their home.

 

On the road they run into trolls which try to eat them.
Then they run into Radagast the Brown - a wizard who spends most of his time with animals. An evil has come back into Middle Earth.... A Necromancer.
After stopping off at Rivendell, the Last Homely House, Bilbo, Gandalf, and co. attempt to pass through the Misty Mountains where they are captured by goblins and brought far under the Misty Mountains into goblin town.
Bilbo is lost from the rest of the group and finds himself in the cave of Gollum, a creature who lives at the roots of the mountains.
Bilbo finds Gollum's "precious" and unconsciously sticks it in his pocket. Little does he know that it is The One Ring.
Gollum finds Bilbo and wants to eat him, but Bilbo puts off his fate by playing a game of riddles with Gollum. If Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him out. If Gollum wins, he gets to eat Bilbo whole.
Bilbo, of course, wins, but Gollum gets very angry and chases Bilbo out of the cave.

 

Bilbo puts the ring on and finds that he is invisible.
He is then reunited with the rest of the group, who have escaped the goblins.
The whole group descends from the mountains only to be attacked by a roaming group of Orcs with a personal score to settle!
Luckily, the eagles come and save them, dropping the group off at the Carrock. The Lonely Mountain is in sight! But there is still a long journey ahead of the Dwarves and Bilbo.
End part one.

What I liked: It is no secret that The Hobbit is one of my favorite books. I think that Peter Jackson did an absolutely stunning job turning the book into a movie! I can't wait for the next installment!
I loved all the Dwarves - Peter Jackson did a wonderful job of bringing them all to life! I especially liked Bofor, Fili, Kili, and Ori.

 

(Ori.)

"I don't like green food!" The quotes were amazing.
My favorite scene, the "good morning" scene, was perfect.
Also, all of Bilbo's confused looks. Hee hee... The cast was amazing and played their parts wonderfully!
The big plot changes fit perfectly. Most of them came right out of Tolkien's other works (mainly the appendixes at the end of The Return of the King). A number of other things were changed... (namely Azog the White Orc who does not appear in the book (except maybe in a flashback... I believe Thorin actually does kill him). I really liked how they included Azog... It actually gave the Orcs purpose for chasing the Dwarves and also added another dimension to Thorin's character.
All in all, THE MOVIE WAS AMAZING!!!!! And GREAT!! And like the book!!! AMAZING!!

What I disliked: A number of small things were changed which irked me, because they didn't need to be changed.
One was when Bilbo left to join the Dwarves. In the book, Gandalf bursts in on Bilbo's peaceful breakfast and says, "What are you doing? Did you get my note?" and Bilbo's like, "Huh?" and Gandalf's like, "You poor fellow, you really are out of sorts this morning! You haven't even dusted the mantelpiece! If you had you would have found my note saying that the Dwarves have left and that you need to leave right away if you want to join them!" So Bilbo runs out without a pocket handkerchief. In the movie, he makes the decision himself to leave and then runs to catch up to the Dwarves. I found this kind of odd because he didn't even know which way they had went.. Anyway, I like the book version better, but the movie version was alright! "Hey, Mr. Bilbo! Where are you going?" "I'm going on an adventure!"



The second part was in the Misty Mountains when the Dwarves are taken by the goblins. In the book, Bilbo is dropped by a Dwarf and forgotten. In the movie he's just left behind. As I said before, I like the book version better, but the movie was alright.
The only other complaint I have is that the Song of the Misty Mountain (the Dwarf song) could have been played a little less... It was like it was the only soundtrack they had for The Hobbit. It got kind of old after awhile, but since it was a beautiful song, I didn't mind too much. =)

Some people complain that the movie dragged and that there was too much action and not enough character development... I just want to say, the Lord of the Rings is very poetical. It focuses on description and at times, it drags. So really, the movie dragging, is capturing the book perfectly!
As for the character development... With 13 Dwarves and a moving plot, there isn't much time for deep development. The story is about Bilbo and it is fair that Bilbo gets most of the character development.
I think that Peter Jackson did a better job at giving the Dwarves personality that Tolkien did because he gave us something to look at. He gave them full beards and accents.... And fun things that made them them. For instance, Ori is polite and Oin has an ear trumpet (anyone notice that after the trumpet was squished, he grabbed it and tried o listen out of it at the end of the movie?).

Over all, I absolutely loved the movie and can't wait to go see it again!

Live long and prosper!

It approacheth

  

What are YOU doing to prepare?