Winding his way back and forth across the expanse of Middle Earth, Peter Jackson brings us his second stab at “The Hobbit” with “The Desolation of Smaug,” the fifth film in the Peter Jackson Middle Earth Cinematic Universe. That’s right, we’ve come to understand more of Jackson’s intent with this film, and it’s place in his Tolkien saga. But the questions are plenty: did he best the first Bilbo with the latest? Did 48fps drive the same sense of seizureama as the last film? Will Tom make any off-color jokes that somehow, in spite of our best editing efforts, actually make it to broadcast? To know for sure, you’ll have to listen in as Steve Sarmento, Tom Metz, Andy Nelson, and Pete Wright convene the film board to take on Jackson’s latest journey into forced perspective.
