The Hobbit

Forged in the fires of Mount Doom, the Ring of Power was stripped from the hand of Sauron following the final battle with the Last Alliance and became of a keepsake of Prince Isildur. Now corrupted by the One Ring, Isildur fell in battle, losing the ring to the river. From there, “Isildur’s Bane” fell into the hands of the creature known as Gollum and from there, into the hands of the Hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins. It was only through the efforts of the Fellowship of the Ring and the brave Frodo Baggins that the One Ring was destroyed forever ... or so we thought. Because the ring has fallen into the hands of a young Texas boy, who was suspended from school for wielding such an accursed tool.

Having gone on an unexpected journey and endured the desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s bloated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ finally comes to ‘The Battle of the Five Armies,’ which is less of a climax to this trilogy than a distended epilogue. After spending two movies and 330 minutes building up the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) as the ultimate antagonist, he’s eliminated from the story completely in the first ten minutes. He’s literally gone before the title appears onscreen.

The final 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' trailer has arrived and, well, it looks like another 'Hobbit' movie. If your faith in director Peter Jackson's vision of Middle-Earth remains unshaken, prepare to get excited. If the previous two films have muted your excitement for the series, prepare to see...more of the same.

Think you're the biggest fan of "The Hobbit" series?  You've got some competition with these guys! "The Battle of the Five Armies" will be the final installment, and hit theatres on December 17th (my 40th birthday...coincidence? ;) )... ...

Back in 2012, some of the cast members from the 'Hobbit' films appeared in an in-flight safety video for Air New Zealand titled "An Unexpected Safety Briefing," and to coincide with the upcoming sequel 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,' they've made a different kind of sequel: "The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made." It is very epic indeed.

58-year-old Oxford Graduate Emma Orbach decided 13 years ago to shun society and live in a mudhut she built herself and named 'Tir Ysbrydol' or "Spirit Land" in Welsh. Emma keeps absolutely no technology or electricity in her home; even when her children visit, they are banned from bringing devices such as cell phones or laptops with them.

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1780 – American General Benedict Arnold commits treason by giving the British the plans to West Point (More info) 1792 – The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the monarchy (More info)

Another trailer for 'The Hobbit' has graciously been released, and it's a full two-and-a-half minutes long. Don't worry, knowing Peter Jackson, there's plenty of movie left unspoiled.

For a while there it looked like ‘The Hobbit’ wasn’t even going to get made, with the lawsuits and contract negotiations and all that. But it’s coming, and fans can now geek out over the first trailer for the next entry in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ saga.