Are you planning on seeing The Hobbit over the holidays? For awhile I kept see-sawing back and forth about whether or not to go. On one hand, reviews say the narrative is stretched out like no body’s bizness.  The first movie is two and a half hours and that’s just part one.

Meanwhile, although I have a soft spot in my heart for Terry McDermott, in general I am not a huge fan of hobbits. Yes, they show a proper appreciation of the best things in life: tea, gardening, food, books, and cozy living.  At the same time those big furry hobbit feet freak me out.  Then romance writer Charlotte Stein tweeted about the elf king in the movie, named Thranduil who is played by hottie actor Lee Pace.

She had me at elf king.  I have blogged about hot elves before.  Is it wrong to be hot for both Legolas AND hot for Thranduil, who is, after all, Legolas’ father? Probably.  I don’t care.

Lee Pace himself, though perhaps a perfectly nice guy in real life, seems to really find his mojo playing a character with edge.  Here he is on the left working his hotness in Breaking Dawn, Pt.2.

Which is not to say that the elf king has cornered the market on sexual charisma in the Hobbit movie.  No, Thorin, head of the band of dwarves, is working some brooding magic of his own–and I don’t even like bearded men, usually.  I’ve seen Richard Armitage work his period magic before and  I hear that Thorin’s story has been greatly expanded in the movie, so I’m very interested to see how he does in this role.

We’ve known since the rise of Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent that dwarves can be quite attractive.  But Peter must have been busy shooting Game of Thrones when they were casting for The Hobbit.  I’ve always admired those writers who could make their heroes differently-abled and very sexy at the same time.  (I’m thinking J.R. Ward’s blind king in her vampire series.) So I’ve decided to go see the movie after all.  Not just for the elf king, but because I am always inspired by heroes who break the mold.