“It can be a lot of fun, but it’s not a game.” Twenty-first century sage Jim’s Dad speaks for us all; but is he talking about the time-honoured traditions of self-abuse, or the oeuvre of JRR Tolkien as projected through the slightly smeary lens of Peter Jackson? Our newest writer Will Donovan is risking the wrath of ten million Bilbo fanboys as he explains why our latest trip into Middle-Earth has more than a little in common with that time your mum caught you balls-deep in a microwaved watermelon.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is undoubtedly an event-movie, but can it overcome the ridiculously high expectations and accusations of technological awkwardness surrounding its release? Yes. Yes it can. All the criticisms leveled at the first film in The Hobbit trilogy might be justifiable, but Peter Jackson has still created a worthy prequel to the Lord Of The Rings. Big flashy set pieces, enjoyable and complex characters and an accessible yet captivating script add up to a movie you will be proud to one day have as the cornerstone of your DVD collection. You’ll never be so glad to return to Middle Earth.

Obviously Peter Jackson isn’t a fan of the phrase “less is more”

If this film had come out three or four years ago, it almost certainly would have sunk Martin Freeman’s career without trace – and even as it stands, he’d better hope Peter Jackson never gets wind of it. Crude, unfunny, technically negligible and featuring an unforgivable scene starring Mandy Moore and a cucumber, this is the worst British ‘comedy’ in years.

How to stop The Lord of the Rings prequels (aka The Hobbit parts One and Two) ending up as vastly mind numbingly awful as the Star Wars prequels, with a little help from George Lucas. Peter Jackson be warned- dwarfs, spaceships and politics just do not mix!

Bringing together the two worlds of climate change and violence-based Christmas entertainment is a dream shared by film-makers across the globe. But when Peter Jackson first announced his eco-festive Lord Of The Rings spin-off – A Very Orcy Christmas – the world was shocked not only by the decision itself, but the fact that he planned to make it an “animated erotic thriller”. So did the risk pay off? We’re happy to tell you that it did.

James Nesbitt has been cast as Bofur the dwarf in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. Hurrah!

After bloody years of speculation, Martin Freeman has finally been confirmed in the role of Bilbo for Peter Jackson’s much-delayed Hobbit project.

The Hobbit will begin filming in February 2011, unless a giant eagle comes and crushes Peter Jackson’s head on behalf of underpaid Kiwi extras. What? Only a wizard could delay one project for SO BLOODY LONG.

After all the boycotting and burning regarding The Hobbit, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has offered to intervene in the dispute between Peter Jackson and an actor’s union before he ups sticks and ships the whole production off to deepest, darkest Eastern Europe.