As a lifelong fan of Tolkien’s famous fantasy series, it was naturally that I was overwhelmingly excited when Peter Jackson’s LoTR: The Fellowship of the Ring movie hit theaters back on December 19, 2001.  Sure, I was a little nervous that the film wouldn’t live up to all my lofty expectations, but after a few minutes of watching I was completely won over and became a HUGE fan of the film trilogy.  (Heck, my home office became one huge Tolkien shrine for much of the 2000s with LoTR posters and memorabilia littering the walls.)  But I only say all this to set up the fact that when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hit my local cinema I was expecting great things!

I vividly recall being super pumped to take my kids to see the film.  They were not around to go see LoTR in theaters and weren’t into Tolkien like…