8. The Song of the Lonely Mountain - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
A couple of this years most iconic moments involved carrying a tune. If there were two popular (and divisive) films that were required to provide at least one musical moment to remember, one of them would be The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. (The other, more obvious choice, is on the next list.) The world that JRR Tolkien created, and Peter Jackson has interpreted, has always thrived on music. Whether it be Howard Shore's lush orchestral score, or the songs that the characters themselves are involved in singing, the musical component of The Lord of the Rings saga has always been an important one; and The Hobbit is no exception. In this case, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) has been approached to go on a journey to help a band of Dwarves reclaim their homeland, which has been seized by the vicious and covetous dragon Smaug. Still unconvinced to join their quest, the leader of the Dwarves, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) starts to sing The Song of the Lonely Mountain. A mournful piece that laments the fall of their homeland, it is beautiful as it is melancholy, and it is ultimately Bilbos turning point for joining the quest at hand. Usually when someone's mind is swayed by song, it's in an animated film and it turns out being a cutesy sort of effort. The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings before it, have never taken that route though; and the result is a mash up between a recitation of an epic poem and a scene from a musical.