Trailer is now live http://youtu.be/JTSoD4BBCJc

I can't listen with sound at work unfortunately but thoughts? Just going on visuals they seem to be playing up slapstick style humour which was my least favorite part of the LOTR trilogy but I could be wrong, i'll have to check it out properly later.

Exhibs and press who gathered at Caesars Palace for WB's presentation -- including 10 minutes of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" -- were decidedly mixed over what they saw of the pic's 48 frames-per-second format, which James Cameron championed at last year's confab but won't arrive in theaters until the first half of Jackson's adaptation, due Dec. 14.

Exhibitors would need at least software-level projection upgrades to show the format, and while the footage presented a dark and intriguing vision for the "Lord of the Rings" origin story, not all were enamored of the look of the doubletime frame rate.

The "Hobbit" reel looked distinctively sharper and more immediate than everything shown before it, giving the 3D smoother movement and crisp sharpness, while losing the cinematic glow of the industry-standard 24 fps. The realism gave CG characters a distinct presence, but human actors seemed overlit and amplified in a way that many compared to modern sports broadcasts (as high as 60 fps in HD) and daytime television.

"It reminds me of when I first saw Blu-Ray, in that it takes away that warm feeling of film," said one owner of a midsized, Western-states exhib chain. "It looked to me like a behind-the-scenes featurette."

Jackson has eight months to address imperfections in what is sure to be a rigorous post-production, given what's at stake for public acceptance of faster projection.

I doubt the average movie-goer could tell you whether the movie they just watched was captured or projected in digital or film. The 48PFS will be the next closest step to having the live-action occur in front of you. Upconverting will not really be possible or necessary. Theaters will be able to toggle between 24 and 48 formats at a PC and not all movies will benefit from the 48.
Vexer, you'll benefit a lot. Your action movies will be action-ier.