The Fireside

Today marks the 10th anniversary of James Cameron's Avatar (no, not the incredible Nickelodeon animated series, nor the crappy live action adaptation of it called The Last Airbender - which, I admit a better title to avoid confusion; though it's associated with that terrible film). The story should be the driving force of any film, and the story for Avatar .....well, it's been done before. Quite a few times actually. Cameron did a similar approach with Titanic - "Romeo and Juliet at Sea", essentially. So, looking at this film for the first time in...prolly 8 or 9 years (I saw it in the cinema, in glorious 2D ....) how does it hold up? Truth be told.....not that bad. Avatar was a technical marvel at its time, with the 3D aspect being a 'bonus.' In fact, virtually every major blockbuster from 2010 - 2017 (when 3D started to fizzle out) was made into 3D - usually converted in post-production after the films have finished shooting (in 2D). By today'...

HarperCollins looks set to re-publish the Tolkien illustrated editions. These have been in print ever since 1997, 2002 and 2004 from Houghton Mifflin (the US Tolkien publisher), though HarperCollins has discontinued these for a bit. Note these are the "UK editions" and as such, should be bought off of a UK-based bookseller: (Amazon UK, Blackwell's Waterstones, etc) to garuntee stock actually arriving to those retailers. There is no official cover art yet, but it looks to be very close to the 1997, 2002 and 2004 publications of the illustrated titles. The price seems to be indicative that that's the case. In that sense, they should all 'match.' I know that's important to some of you - myself included - so I'll be following this until it's published to see what the size dimensions are, and relay the info here. Images used are from the illustrated editions of the '00s. All titles are to be released May 14, 2020. Here are the ISBN #s - a direct ...

With Christmas coming up, we often 'give' and 'receive' gifts. With quite a few editions of each Tolkien book available, I wanted to showcase some - whether it's for you, or the giftee. There are a few other non-book items as well. I'm also providing links on where to get them: ~ THE HOBBIT (paperback edition) https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Hobbit-or-There-and-Back-Again-by-J-R-R-Tolkien-David-Wyatt/9780007458424 This copy is a great edition - whether you need a new one, don't have The Hobbit yet, or are looking to get someone you know into Tolkien. It's paperback, so yes, nothing special - however, it's size dimensions match the other HarperCollins paperbacks. Also, it includes chapter illustrations by David Wyatt, which can be presently found only in this edition. ~ THE HOBBIT (Collector's Edition) https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/0395177111/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9780395177112&qid=157142669...

I've always loved, and been inspired by various aspects of Tolkien's mythology: not only the in-universe lore itself, but how he came to create the tales. Even in the sense of 'prose' and 'verse.' I do not know much about epic poetry (beats? chanting?) I just enjoying reading them. I've always sort of been inspired to do my own Tolkien-esque poem...a 'lay' if you will. Somebody else, did just that. They didn't steal my idea, but this is what I would have liked to have done, or something very similar. The author is James Moffett. Many may know him best for his blog, "A Tolkienist's Perspective". This blog, my own, isn't a Tolkien specific one; however it's a key interest of mine so it gets lots of coverage. What follows is his blog post about the book, and the official description: Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Independently published (Nov. 2 2019) [as far as I'm aware, only available through Amazon] Language: English ...

A few days ago, the news broke that in Europe there is a listing for The Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit film trilogies coming to 4K. The date mentioned was June 2020, however 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring . The article mentions that both theatrical and extended editions would be arriving. Now, what would I like these release(s) to be like? Here are some thoughts on how I'd like to see these released on 4K blu-ray (or UHD blu-ray): - HDR & Dolby Atmos, possibly Dolby Vision as well - both extended and theatrical editions to be included in the same set : not one set for theatrical, and one for extended. - 3 releases: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, and a set with both - the packaging for The Lord of the Rings to be nearly identical to the 12-disc extended DVD trilogy set from 2004. The Hobbit extended trilogy on DVD also had similar packaging. The blu-ray release had some elements carry over, though it's not qu...

Earlier today, the prequel novel to The Hunger Games trilogy, titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was announced. Here is the official - as of now - description: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) will revisit the world of Panem sixty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games. It is to be published on May 19 by Scholastic, and will be 624 pages. I imagine many book retailers are now offering pre-orders, so providing an ISBN won't be needed - especially given the popularity of the series.

Earlier today, details from the forthcoming deluxe edition of Letters From Father Christmas have been revealed. Here's the info: ISBN: 9780008327729 "This beautiful, deluxe slipcased edition of Tolkien’s famous illustrated letters from Father Christmas to his children includes for the first time every letter, picture and envelope that he sent them, reproduced in glorious colour. The perfect Christmas gift for Tolkien lovers of all ages. This classic festive book of Tolkien’s amazing Father Christmas letters written to his children between the 1920s and the 1940s has been reworked into a sumptuous, new deluxe edition. It contains brand new high-quality digital reproductions of his wonderful letters and pictures, including a number them that have never been printed before, a revised introduction by Baillie Tolkien, and a special full-colour, foldout frontispiece. ‘My dear children, I am more shaky than usual this year. The North Polar Bear’s fault. It was ...