The holiday season brings more films than usual, and not one of them, as far as I can tell, has anything to do with Christmas.

For the seasonal spirit, one needs to reconnect with “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or even “The Christmas Story.”

Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” which is rated PG-13, is the last leg of the trilogy of film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece.  It appears that filmmaker Jackson wants to go out with a big bang, and he succeeds.
   
More than the previous chapters, this concluding segment is certainly explosive in terms of violent battles. 

“The Battle of the Five Armies,” which follows upon the conclusion of “The Desolation of Smaug,” adheres faithfully to the premise of its title.

During the fiery opening sequence, the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town are attacked mercilessly by the terrifying Dragon, Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), as he breathes fire upon the village, laying waste to everything in his wake, even though Bard (Luke Evans) proves heroic.

Seeking refuge at the Lonely Mountain, the Lake-town refugees find that the King Under the Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), has succumbed to what Tolkien called the “dragon-sickness,” a condition of greed that causes Thorin to hoard his vast resources of gold and other treasures.

Thorin and the Dwarves of Erebor must now face the consequences of desperate people fleeing their homeland. 

Worse still is that Sauron, the Dark Lord (he’s the really ugly one), has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.

Our Hobbit hero Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is flustered that he can’t get Thorin to see reason.  Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends as five great armies go to war.  Even the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is helpless.

For the nonbelievers, “The Battle of the Five Armies” might be the best of the trilogy for the relentless action scenes. 

The Tolkien faithful at least get the end of the continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before “The Lord of the Rings.”

 

Family entertainment is comfortably obtained with “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” rated PG and the third and final installment of the comedy series about a night watchman at New York’s Museum of Natural History who deals with exhibits that come alive after sundown.

Ben Stiller’s Larry is still working the night shift at the museum, but trouble looms when a big gala dinner event turns to disaster and the museum director (Ricky Gervais) loses his job. 

But even bigger trouble is afoot when Larry discovers that the deterioration of an ancient Egyptian tablet puts all the exhibits into jeopardy.

This is also the last film for Robin Williams, reprising his role of the wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, who as a result of short-circuiting from the malfunctioning tablet starts quoting other former presidents, even those succeeding him.

The fate of the New York museum wax figures appears to rest with another exhibit at the British Museum in London. 

So Larry packs up his crew, including the roughrider chief executive; Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as the miniature cowboy and Roman soldier, respectively; Attila the Hun; and the Capuchin monkey, and they head for England.

Once inside the British Museum, after Larry convinces the bored night guard (Rebel Wilson) to open the gates, the hunt is on for Ben Kingsley’s Egyptian pharaoh, who may possess the key to reversing the tablet’s disintegration.

Naturally, new mayhem is unleashed, especially from less than cuddly animals.

The most amusing new wax figure is Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens), who once animated becomes obsessed with finding Guinevere. 

His opportunity comes when he storms the stage of a West End theatre showing a production of “Camelot,” starring Hugh Jackman and Alice Eve.

Let’s just say that he’s very insistent in his claim to the stage version of Guinevere and wants to slay Hugh Jackman’s King Arthur.

“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” is familiar turf, though Stiller adds a new dimension to the comedy by also playing a Neanderthal who proves irresistible to Rebel Wilson’s security guard.

The third installment lacks any pretense; it’s just simple fun and amusing entertainment.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.