This year, as I did both last year and in 2012, I am engaging in something I like to call the Year-End Dash. Basically, its the scramble to get as many eligible titles viewed as possible before the end of the year for the forthcoming BAM Awards.

The extemporaneous reactions to late viewing will be short, but they will be logged. So I thought it would also be a good idea to re-post in standalone form some of the more memorable films I’ve seen in the first few jaunts.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

When I discussed The Hobbit last year I spent a few too many words on the High Frame Rate because it was new. This time around suffice it to say I found the experience a bit better, however, still awkward at times. I don’t know if skipping on IMAX and sitting closer to the screen played a factor but it may have.

There’s an impressive thing that this one does is that even at quite close to three hours it does leave you wanting to continue. Sure, that has to do with where the “cliff” drops off, but no one was happy when The Devil Inside ended (save for the fact that it was finally over). There’s less filler here, which the first had a bit of but this one is unquestionably better, even to someone like myself who happened to like the first one just fine, and who still hasn’t read the book.

9/10