Last week a bit of an uproar broke out over the advance footage of The Hobbit that Peter Jackson screened at CinemaCon. The issue in question is that The Hobbit — the adaptation of the Tolkien classic that Jackson is splitting into two movies — is being shot not in the standard 24 frames per second, but in a revolutionary, groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind 48 frames per second. As E! helpfully explains, “Despite his declaration that the new frame rate would offer up hyper-real visuals with a clarity and depth audiences don't get at 24 fps, providing a richer, more immersive big-screen experience, several film exhibitors and bloggers felt 48 fps wasn't ‘cinematic’ enough in the vein of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, comparing it to the crisp imagery people find on a hi-def television set.” A round of preemptive griping and groaning ensued, and a nation of Tolkien obsessives waited, hopefully, for Jackson to bow down to their technical expertise and remedy the error of his ways. But nope. Uh-uh. Petey Jackson ain’t having it.

Dan Silver: After raking in billions of dollars at the Box Office, and winning numerous Academy Awards, it was only a matter of time before the Hollywood suits came back to search for their “precious.” But as the title states, The Hobbit took “an unexpected journey” -- through financial and studio turmoil, rights ownership disputes, and a lost director (all places worse than Mordor) –- back to the big screen. But there’s no reason to go into any further detail on the behind-the-scenes drama from the past because for the first time in nearly eight years, we’re finally given a peek at the return to Middle Earth.

For Ring fans, this trailer does not disappoint. It’s a perfect blend of the familiar with the unknown.

My Week with Marilyn Since moving on from the Creek, Michelle Williams has been slowing making a legit movie star out of herself with over a decades worth of solid supporting and fringe performances. In My Week with Marilyn she doesn’t just take the big “Above the Title” step, she throws down a the gauntlet by slipping into the skin of one of Hollywood’s most legendary icons — Marilyn Monroe. The film’s trailer is as affecting as it is shamelessly trolling for Oscars. Which is to say: A lot.
Verdict: Four and a half out of five facial moles

Today arrives the first full-length trailer for The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s lovingly motion-captured adaptation of a beloved Belgian comic. Our reaction? Creepy! (The reaction in Belgium? However you say “creepy” in French and/or Flemish!) For some bullheaded reason, Spielberg and Jackson have doubled-down on the Uncanny Valley-residing mo-cap technology that has transformed true believer Robert Zemeckis from an Oscar-winning auteur to a studio-killing crank. Sure, the visuals are superficially impressive, rich with classic Spielbergian action, and the cast impresses: Jamie Bell’s voice strikes the right note of boyish curiosity as Tintin, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost bumble serviceably as doltish duo Thomson and Thompson, and green-screen Hall of Famer Andy Serkis supplies a nicely sozzled Captain Haddock. But, mijn god, the look of this thing!