The Fireside

  It was discovered that there will be two special editions of The Lord of the Rings being published on October 14, 2021 . So if you want either of them, use the provided ISBNs on Blackwell's one month prior to publication date at the latest. There will be a collector's edition (which seems to be unique: a kind of a mix between the 'usual' style, and the new ones for The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales .) First up, the collector's edition: ISBN: 9780008471293 Sumptuous slipcased edition of Tolkien’s classic epic tale of adventure, fully illustrated in colour for the first time by the author himself. Limited to a worldwide first printing of just 3,000 copies, this deluxe volume is quarterbound in leather and includes many special features unique to this edition. Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has...

  To me, Justice League (2017) was an average, run-of-the-mill superhero movie. If one has never seen any of the other DCU movies going from Man of Steel - Birds of Prey , there doesn't appear to be any problems with it, aside from the fact that it's generic. The problem(s) with it, if you have been watching since Man of Steel , is that many things that were set up in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman are either completely ignored, or glossed over. This is most noticeable with regards to Danny Elfman's score: why are the themes presentedin Man of Steel and Batman v Superman ignored, in favour of the John Williams Superman theme, and Danny Elfman's Batman theme from 1989?! It makes zero sense - Justice League is not connected to either of those films. But, again, this is not as much of an issue if this is the only film of the current DCU that you'll watch. I gave the film a solid, well-rounded 5/10. It wasn't very good...nor was it awful - taken complet...

 Well, it's been a while since I've actually written a blog post, opposed to just sharing news here. And with the recent publications, a lot of has been one-sided in the favour of Tolkien publications. I wanted to take a moment to write, and to momentarily escape from covid by writing. Hopefully you can find some slight escape by reading this post. TV SHOWS With the advent of HBO Max, a lot of Warner Bros. material (as well as the Max originals, of course) are making their way to Crave (I live in Canada, and that's how we get HBO here). There are different rights and contracts for different countries. That's why US Netflix may seem better than Canadian Netflix. Mark my words, though - I see everything that WB owns eventually making its way to Crave, once the licensing/deals expire elsewhere (ie, if Netflix signed a contract with WB to stream all the Harry Potter movies until 2022, then expect them to appear on Crave in 2022, or 2023). Speaking of Netflix, I've re-e...

Another quick Tolkien post! The details for the 2022 Calendar have been revealed. The official Tolkien calendar, this year containing twelve stunning paintings inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE SILMARILLION. Featuring breathtaking artwork by Ted Nasmith, with new and lesser known pieces unique to this calendar. The official Tolkien calendar has become an established publishing event, eagerly anticipated by Tolkien fans the world over. Previous Tolkien calendars have become much sought after collector’s items, and this year’s will doubtless be an essential purchase for Middle-earth fans everywhere. Featuring 12 full-colour paintings of scenes from The Silmarillion, some of which are new and unique to this calendar, Ted Nasmith explores Tolkien’s creation with greater depth than ever before. Ranging from the Elder Days of Middle-earth, through the Second Age and the rise of Sauron, to the end of the War of the Ring, the reader is drawn even further into the fantastical world ...