Not long now until The Hobbit premieres on Australian screens. I’ve already got my ticket. Have you?

I did concede, in a recent conversation with another Tolkien fan, that The Hobbit is light weight fare compared to The Lord of the Rings. In the latter, Frodo saves the world. In the former, Bilbo steals some gold from a dragon. Chalk and cheese.

Still, I imagine Peter Jackson has indulged in artistic license, and somehow upped the ante of Bilbo’s quest. Here’s the latest trailer.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world has had access to the spectacle for five days already. I know several people living in Europe who have already seen it, and judging from their Facebook reviews, it’s better than the critics suggest.

One such friend is Alice Mount, who is maintaining a blog while she’s working and living in France. She blogged about The Hobbit — sort of, if you appreciate that J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were friends and fellow Inklings.

Life, Knowledge and Love is a blog about everything and nothing, written by an intelligent and thoughtful young Catholic woman. I recommend it.