Movie Review --- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Totally, totally loved it and it was well worth the wait!  Such great story telling, and the characters and actors they are portraying are well developed -- you will definitely care what happens to them as the tale is told.
I have one little disappointment -- we went to see the 3D high frame rate version -- which I haven't seen before.  I was very distracted by the way the film looked - I thought constantly that it looked like I was watching a stage show.  Also, the special effects in some parts seemed less well done in high frame, specifically those dog creatures that the Orcs ride. Am I crazy?  Did anyone else see it this way? I wish I had gone to the regular 2D version, but the story itself was so good, its a small thing.
The movie is long, but I never felt like it...we were totally caught up in the movie and the time just flew by.
The dragon was perfection - well done. Very well done.
The only problem -- we have to wait a full year to see the final film in this series.
5 Stars -- I'm not kidding.