ibe98765 Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 My two cents: "7" Return Of The King - Overall, I enjoyed the movie and think it is worth seeing. The movie was a bit slow in parts, seemed somewhat disjointed in construction, the acting was somewhat wooden and the film was really anticlimactic. We know the "good guys" are going to win, so the job of the filmmaker's had to be "how do we make this as suspenseful as possible?". I don't think they succeeded in creating the element of suspense. However, the special effects and scenery shots were quite stellar. But I felt the movie was kind of tedious and just too long. I was aching for it to end 30-40 minutes before it did (and it wasn't because I had to use the facilities). The young kid (about 15?) sitting next to me went through 2 big bags of popcorn and fell asleep for about 30 minutes in the middle . There should have been an intermission somewhere in the middle. In the end, about half of the audience clapped. The rest, just headed out the door and there wasn't much buzz. I left feeling a bit flat, not elated or excited, just sort of glad I had seen it and that it was over. I found this feeling to be a bit of a let-down for such a grandiose project with so much promise in the first two installments of the trilogy. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Although i have not seen the last one yet, i also thought the first two were way too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxdude32 Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 It would've been better if he had been done as more than three movies. There's just way too much to cover in three movies. Hmmm... Lord of the Rings, the television series? Maybe someday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owyn Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Scheduled to see it tomorrow night. Family tradition, see the latest Lord of the Rings Xmas night.Hope I don't fall asleep. I have a bad habit of snoring. Loudly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Enjoy Owyn! I am really looking forward to seeing the last one myself! Thoroughly enjoyed the first two!We will be waiting for the DVD* to come out though.* We prefer to watch movies in our own "home theater" where we can buy inexpensive food and drinks from the grocery and/or have the type of beverage of our choice (in my case probably a Toasted Almond or Mud Slide and beer for Jim), not get cramped back and knees, and won't have to pry our feet from the sticky floor ... oh, and be able to pause the movie if necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 (edited) Although i have not seen the last one yet, i also thought the first two were way too long.Ha! The third one is 3 hours 30 minutes long from start of the previews.If you don't want to miss any of the movie, you might want to visit here first: :whistling:Link removed as inappropriate for this forum. Edited December 25, 2003 by Jeber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil P Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I saw Return of the King (starting at 11:15 PM Friday night....didn't get out until 3ish ) and I think I could have watched another hour of it. I was enthralled from the beginning. Absolutlely loved it.I hear the Extended Edition is going to (possibly) be 4+ hours. I would love that, if it turns out to be true. I feel a lot was cut to keep the movie short (lol...3hr 20min is short ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 My brother, who is not a stoner despite what you may think after reading this, has become an addict of this LOR cult. His computer room has become a shrine to it. Posters, books, figurines, screensaver, is there anything I could have possibly forgotten?...He's got it. Nor is he young enough to be excused for innocence. He just turned 60. It's all too frightening.I, for one, shall resist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Not me ... I do promise not not go as far as your brother >_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Not me ... I do promise not not go as far as your brother but I do want to get the full set of DVDs ... so I can watch them all at my leisure I'm with you and SFFL!!!I got hooked on Tolkien when I was in 6th grade. I've read LOTR at least a dozen times over the years and never get tired of it. Especially having read many of the other works J.R.R. wrote concerning the History of Middle Earth. In addition to "The Simirallion" and "The Book of Lost Tales"...There is a multi-volume compilation (J.R.R.'s tomes of manuscripts, fleshed out by his son Christopher) on the History of Middle Earth.It's extremely difficult for one who has not read the books to truly enjoy the movies (IMO), especially since there is so much left out of the Theatre versions.As far as ROTK goes... I'm waiting until this weekend to go. And for anyone who thinks it goes on to long??I guess you can at least be glad the movie ended where it did. The book goes on quite a bit longer and includes the return to The Shire... the havoc Saruman has wrecked there... and then Bilbo's departure to Valinor, ("The Undying Lands")All in All, though... I think it comes down to whether one is, or is not, a Fantasy buff. (This coming from a 49yo man, one of whose favorite movies is... "The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen") Submit!, Jeber... Submit!!!... The Eye of Suaron compels thee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Well done movies are a wonderful extension of great books (and these are the best ever done of any of Tolkien's books ... they did an amazing job on the ones I've seen already and I know I will love the last one too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 And for anyone who thinks it goes on to long??I guess you can at least be glad the movie ended where it did. The book goes on quite a bit longer and includes the return to The Shire... the havoc Saruman has wrecked there... and then Bilbo departure to The Undying Lands I didn't read the books, but at least two of the items you mention below are included in the movie (not sure about your reference to the "the havoc Saruman has wreked there [The Shire]). It seemed in good condition at the end although I might have been staring at my watch to intently and missed something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil P Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 And for anyone who thinks it goes on to long??I guess you can at least be glad the movie ended where it did. The book goes on quite a bit longer and includes the return to The Shire... the havoc Saruman has wrecked there... and then Bilbo departure to The Undying Lands I didn't read the books, but at least two of the items you mention below are included in the movie (not sure about your reference to the "the havoc Saruman has wreked there [The Shire]). It seemed in good condition at the end although I might have been staring at my watch to intently and missed something. Nah they left that part out. Saruman had taken over the shire so to speak, he brought "Big People" (Men) in and was running it. Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo came back and routed Saruman, taking the Shire back.I for one was looking forward to that part of the movie (and hoping at least for it to be included in the Extended Edition) but apparently it was never even filmed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 There is rumor that the Extended version will be around 5 hours long. SWEET!!!I for one think that even though it may be a little slow in parts, this set of movies can afford that because they are classic. If this was just another action flick or even a chick flick, dead parts are bad for a movie. I think that the slower parts play a very important role in a sweeping epic of this type.BTW, I loved the movie.....despite Shelob the room-sized spider....going to see it again tomorrow for my birthday, which is Sunday. Gotta whole weekend without the kids, thanks to my sister. WOOHOO!!Oh and yes they left some parts of the movie out but it's incredibly difficult to make a movie with all the parts in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Can hardly wait for the DVD to be released! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Share Posted December 30, 2003 One person's comment on the movie sent to the SF Chronicle. It's interesting how virtually anything can be over-analyzed. IMO, this person tries to apply current standards to an interpretation of a fantasy story written 40 odd years ago... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...DDGVL3V7RC1.DTLThe good and the ugly of 'Lord' The widespread adulation of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies would not be so disturbing if we as a society were less apt to conflate fantasy and reality. In fantasy, the line between good and evil is crisp, the good guys are recognizable by their good looks, and the bad guys are very, very ugly. In reality, our world is textured by ambiguity, and yet we have a president whose simplistic moral absolutism is met not with laughter but with nods of approval. "The Lord of the Rings" is not, of course, a political allegory. However, it does mirror our society's desire to reduce a complicated world into good versus evil. Jackson's orcs have working-class Cockney accents, and the only appearance of nonwhite humans in all three films happens to be that of savage men allied with the forces of evil. This is not to say that the "Lord of the Rings" movies are classist or racist; it's just that Jackson has no problem exploiting stereotypes and prejudices to entertain us. By employing every cultural convention and archetype available, we can immediately recognize Eomer's nobility, Arwen's virtue and Wormtongue's duplicity. The literally dehumanized orcs are homogenous and hideous, mirroring our real-life tendency to cast our enemies as less than human and less than individuals. The orcs are convenient because they allow us to delight in head chopping and limb hacking without transgressing a PG-13 rating. The martial heroes of "The Lord of the Rings," like those of "Braveheart" and "The Gladiator," don't want to fight but are reluctantly dragged into their grisly duties by the incorrigible brutality of their enemies. Thus our upright heroes can in heart be lovers of peace, but we can still revel in the violence. This is hypocrisy. "The Lord of the Rings" is an exceptional piece of entertainment, but in many ways it is like any other blockbuster movie in its glorification of violence. The throbbing score, the sweeping landscapes and the teary slow-motion scenes bordered by white halos all coalesce to form a spectacle as subtle as a jackhammer. We cannot accept its crude shock-and-awe effects and totalizing vision with the unblinking praise heaped on it by most current film reviewers. Its militant subtext should prompt a wince or two, some shuffling of the feet and even a few questions about our culture, our heroes and our values. RUDDY WANGSan Francisco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Share Posted December 30, 2003 Alternative authors' versions of Lord of the Rings http://www.flin.demon.co.uk/althist/auth.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 One person's comment on the movie sent to the SF Chronicle. It's interesting how virtually anything can be over-analyzed. IMO, this person tries to apply current standards to an interpretation of a fantasy story written 40 odd years ago...Precisely what I was thinking, ibe.Why not just enjoy it for what it is? A really good fantasy story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Well, Folks...I just returned from the Tues. afternoon matinée on the magaplex "large" screen.ROTK is GREAT!!!. Even if I weren't a Tolkien fan, I would have enjoyed it. There was never a dull moment. Or boring. (With all respects to ibe98765 ) I will probably go at least once more while it's still on the largest screen.And it was definitely not too long. Should have been at least another 30-45min. Hopefully in the extended. Owning the extended versions of both FOTR & TT... IMO, the extended versions should have been the Theatre releases, with another 45min. added for the extended I'm also glad to have found that I was wrong in one regard. ROTK does treat the journey to Gray Havens, with Bilbo and Frodo's departure for Valinor.The only two faults I find in Jackson's treatment of this last book are: Glossing over Saruman's downfall Not dealing with Sharkey's pillaging of the Shire The return to the Shire was just a wee bit too "And They All Lived Happily Ever After"But, all-in-all... I Loved it. And Highly recommend it to anyone who is a devotée of the Fantasy Genre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Awesome! I can hardly wait till it comes out on DVD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebkens Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Went to ROTK over the Christmas break with Dad, husband & kids. Loved it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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