I don't care about the geography (though I don't disagree about that) because I've accepted that PJ's geography and history are not always the same as Tolkien's and are more fluid.

However, storywise, it seems to me that the Rhudaur sequence should come after the White Council at Rivendell, just like there is so obviously a scene missing when the Dwarves enter Thranduil's realm.

He can gallop unexpectidly quick at times. And he might have been riding a Mere!

After Legolas brings the captive Dwarves into Thranduil's underground halls and the door shuts behind them, there is that great gradual reveal of the Elf King watching as the Dwarves are brought towards him through the huge cavern. IIRC, we then see the Dwarves being tossed into the cells and then go to Thorin and Thranduil.

I always felt there was a scene missing, that the way the sequence was shot suggested that the Dwarves would appear before Thranduil prior to being locked up. It's mentioned in the extras that such a scene was shot but PJ eliminated it even from the EE as being superfluous. I can't really argue with that but something about the flow of that whole sequence seems off to me as a result. Plus I would have enjoyed the snark.

My feeling about the Rhudaur scene is that it works OK where it is if you ignore the geography but makes more sense right after Rivendell.

I always ignore canon geography, history, timelines and common sense in these movies. The movieverse is what it is.

To me the geography/travel makes more sense in Jacksons version than the suggested use of the High Fells. To me it seems heavily implied that his High Fells more in the same kind of area as Angmar/Gungabad, certainly the landscape to me seems similar being harsh and more northerly.

In that respect Gandalfs travel there makes a lot more sense I think as the distance is similar but he has considerably longer to meet up with the Dwarves as there traveling further.

Story wise as well I think Jackson probably wanted Gandalf to have a reason to turn away from the quest at that specific point hence having him discover more info that makes him near certain of Saurons return.

I'm not sure what you mean. The High Fells would have been a little south of Angmar and Gundabad. It;s location remains pretty much the same in the original conception and in the actual films.

It makes sense to have Gandalf completely backtrack to the Misty Mountains and then head north to Rhudaur? Maybe it does to you. To me it is far more sensible for Gandalf to investigate the tombs immediately after leaving Rivendell and then catch up to the company.

]Gandalf does still have a reason to leave: he needs to investigate Dol Guldur. The difference between this and the book is that there he always intended to leave the company after crossing the mountains so he could rendezvous with the rest of the White Council and deal with the Necromancer, It is unclear if Tolkien imagined Gandalf returning to Rivendell or if the Council (then described as a council of white wizards) was to gather elsewhere.

What does Jacksons film tell us? That the Witchking was defeated and buried by the men of the north, it doesn't really mention any more than that and he could have been buried quite close to Angmar. Really the main guide we have is the look of the area and to me it clearly looks similar to Gundabad.

In terms of time and distance I think it makes more sense, if he travels all the way north whilst the Dwarves leave Rivendell then getting back in time to save them from the Goblins would be rather questionable and generally seem a little too convenien for me.

The big difference though is that in Jacksons film we have a much more direct window into the doings of the wise than in the book. Dramatically I think it makes more sense for Sauron's return to be revealed more gradually and for Gandalf to have a reason to back out of the quest at that specific point

We are specifically told that the High Fells is in Rhudaur; and, the borders of Rhudaur are known. If we assume that the High Fells are near the source of the River Hoarwell then that places it about 100 miles or so south of Gundabad, and about the same distance north of Rivendell. However that is a very rough approximation and the tombs could have been closer to Rivendell.

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." Gandalf catches up to the Dwarves in time simply because he is Gandalf.

Perhaps, but we learn little at the High Fells that we don't already know. We and Gandalf are already aware that the Ringwraiths are about and that at least one has been encountered by Radagast at Dol Guldur. Mostly what we do learn is that the tombs were broken from within. By the time that the company reaches Mirkwood, that is a long way to retrace for little new information. It makes more sense to me that Gandalf would have looked into the tombs right away after leaving Rivendell (as he was originally intended to).

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We do not specifically know any of this in Jacksons film, its merely suggested that its to the north of middle earth.

Gandalf isn't definitely aware that the Ringwraths are about, he knows that the Mogul blade has been found but he only knows they've returned when he sees the empty tombs. This info also of course gets the council as a whole to take action which would not have happened otherwise.

Including this scene in the second film allows Jackson to reintroduce the threat of Sauron across that film making Gandalfs decision to enter Dol Guldor more dramatic for me.

In a two film Hobbit I suspect that the High fells scene probably wouldn't exist at all and indeed I think Jackson would likely have needed to cut back on the story as a whole a lot more than a lot of people seem to believe. I'm not just talking elements he introduced but the Dwarves travels would IMHO have needed to be streamlined greatly to get to Lake town in one film. This IMHO was likely the main reason for the shift to three films plus perhaps the feeling that the latter Thorin story with the Elves is less heroic and better setup for his faults at the lonely mountain.

After Gandalf's first encounter with Radagast in An Unexpected Journey he suspects much but can prove little beyond the recovery of the Witch-king's Morgul-knife (which is recognized as authentic by Galadriel). Gandalf strongly suspects that at least the Black Captain is loose and possibly the rest of the Nine; he might even know it in his heart to be true. However, the Grey Wizard has no proof that Saruman will accept at face value and Elrond is seemingly too cautious to side with Gandalf and Galadriel against the White Wizard without more evidence. And as Head of the White Council, Saruman seems to have the authority (based on the evidence of the books) to overrule the others regardless of how many disagree with him, Or perhaps he possessed two votes to one vote from the other members (we don't know what the bylaws were adopted by the White Council).

Originally, Gandalf would have caught up to the Dwarves and stayed with the company until they reached Mirkwood before leaving for Dol Guldur. I think the conversation between Gandalf and Radagast at the High Fells about abandoning the others might have been a new scene filmed in re-shoots. In fact, I'm fairly certain of it.

Our disagreement is just a little quibble over how the sequence works best.Just a matter of different opinions.

Again I suspect a big issue was that Jackson actually wanted AUJ to play out as a more Bilbo centric adventure akin to the book. If Gandalf is always planning to leave the party to take part in white council action against Sauron(or even to go to Dol Gulldor alone) I think that naturally shifts the story in that direction.

That is only true if Gandalf's intention is made explicit early on. As long as it is kept from the audience until the reveal at the eaves of Mirkwood it does not shift the attention off of Bilbo. However, in the book, Gandalf is open right from the start about his having other business after leading the company over the Misty Mountains. He never reveals the details of that mission until after he and Bilbo return to Rivendell on the way back to Hobbiton.