Rating: Summary: Beautiful! Review: I absolutely loved "Lord of the Rings"! The first time I saw it, I had a hard time following some of the story, and the significance of some of the relationships. Visually, the film was so gorgeous and unusual that I think it might have just been too overwhelming to all take in at once. My difficulty following the characters might be because I never read the trilogy when I was growing up. Perhaps I had a strange childhood. When I was growing up, "The Lord of the Rings" books always seemed to be checked out by the guys in my school whose glasses were held together with tape, and who carried pencils in pocket protectors. I had read "The Hobbit" in a grade-school English class, but then discovered other genres, and didn't continue reading much fantasy. I thought the movie was well-paced, with some peaceful moments among the elves that allowed the audience to catch its collective breath. Even the second time around, I was on pins and needles as the Fellowship faced down its menacing enemies.
Rating: Summary: Wow Review: I have seen this movie six times. It never got old. The acting and casting were great; there were no cliches; the sets were good; the whole thing was spectacular. I love fantasy in general, but I'd never read the books before. After my first three times of seeing the movie, I bought the Lord of the Rings complete book set. I would recommend this to those ages 12 and up, because there are some parts that might be scary to the younger ages.
Rating: Summary: I was wonderfully surprised! Review: I've waited until I thought the time was right, but now feel I must speak. People who have read my reviews know that the writings of JRR Tolkien are and have been very important to my life. Thus, I have eagerly awaited the release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". I award the movie a very solid 4+ stars. Things I liked: Item: Most of the casting decisions. Gandalf, Bilbo, Saruman, Gimli and Sam all get 5 stars; Frodo, Boromir, and Strider all get 4. All in all, brilliant choices were made by Peter Jackson and crew. Item: The Shire. Bag-end was wonderful! I'd move there tomorrow. The hobbit-holes were very well done. Item: The cinematography. Spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. Orthanc, Moria, The Gates of Argonath, Amon Hen. Just WONDERFUL! (While noting one glitch, namely the view of the mountains from the Shire. This was a continuity problem which should have been caught.) Item: The Soundtrack. Again, wonderful. (I'm listening as I write this review.) Item: The special effects. Again, wonderful. From Gollum, to the Orcs, to the Nazgul, to the huge battle scenes. Truly a tremendous effort. Item: The relationship between Frodo and Sam. Wonderfully filmed, wonderfully acted. Absolutely splendid! Things I would have liked to have seen done differently: Item: A better indication of the time that passed between Bilbo's party and Frodo's departure. Item: More time in the journey from Hobbiton to Bree (including Tom Bombadil!) Item: Arwen's replacement of Glorfindel. I know why it was done, but I'm enough of a purist to wish that it hadn't been! Item: Better character development with Elrond and Galadriel. These characters got short shrift, in my opinion. Item: Over-the-top special effects. Yes, the effects were spectacular. In a couple of cases, though, I thought that there was too much. The Watcher in the Water was far more scary in the book than in the movie (when all you saw were tentacles). The giant multicolored octopus from hell was a little much! Ditto with the cave troll sequence. Ditto again with the final departure from Moria. But I'm nitpicking here. Overall? I understand and respect the Tolkien family's hesitation to endorse this (or any other) attempt to visually portray "The Lord of the Rings". But Peter Jackson has done well - indeed, he has exceeded my expectations considerably. I will immediately purchase the DVD when it becomes available, and (like last December) will be in line at midnight to see the opening of "The Two Towers".
Rating: Summary: The best movie ever Review: This movie is the BEST picture EVER made (IMO). They made the whole fantasy so real and life-like I felt as though I was there. This is the only movie I have gone to see three times. You have to read the books first to appreciate what an awesome movie this really is. I can't wait until the next one!!
Rating: Summary: Waiting for the sequal. Review: The movie was great and the best fantasy movie out with great special effects. I can't compare it to star wars. The movie draged on and on as you could feel the movie unfolding slowly. I was real upset about the ending becuase the movie was about two hours plus. Left you hanging for the sequal. Nobody at movie theater claped at the end, only when the guy took the orc's head off. I hope for more testosterone in the sequal. So now I have to wait...
Rating: Summary: Incredible Review: This was and is one of the best movies of our time. The cinematography is better in this movie than I have ever seen. I am very positive with reliable sources that this movie is up for best picture among other awards. Just imagine every one of your child hood fantasies coming true on screen. This movie is for all ages a like, the young and young at heart. You will be amazed at the costume designing, lighting and soundtrack throughout this movie. The acting is superb, and Peter Jackson (director/writer/producer) made sure that every detail of JRR Tolkiens fantasy was brought to life and put onto the big screen, it will thrill you, touch your heart, and maybe even make you cry. Best of all, all of the series of JRR Tolkiens books have already been filmed, meaning that each series will follow eachother one year at a time. There will not be any two to three year waits for the next one! In conclusion, if you have time to go see this movie in the theatres, please make time too, even if you have not read the books you will be blown away.
Rating: Summary: A Worthy Portrayal of the Book Review: This movie eclipses all previous attemtps at filming the what I consider to be the best novel I've ever read. The technology has finally arrived to portray the great armies of orcs, cavernous domains of the dwarves, and the hidden woodland realms of the elves. The actors filled their roles admirably, and the direction was exquisite. My only objection is that the movie at times deviated signifigantly from the book itself, but not to the point where it irrevocably changed the story; hence my award of 4 instead of 5 stars. Altogether a movie well worth seeing.
Rating: Summary: Lotr:fotr delivers it all! A MUST SEE!!! Review: let me just say that I've seen Lord of the rings 13 times, I've read the books 2 times and I'm madly in love with Elijah Wood. First of all, Lord of the rings is awesome! You smile when you see the cozy Shire. You cry when Gandalf falls. Your teeth chatter whenever orcs appear. The acting is marvelous! Elijah Wood is perfect as Frodo. His fear and love seem so real. And, might I add, he makes huge hairy feet beautiful. Ian Mckellan Is profound as Gandalf. He is passionate about his role and acts astonishingly. Sean Astin is great as Samwise Gamgee and Billy Boyd is halarious as Peregrin Took. The music is enchanting! I cry whenever I hear "in dreams" by Edward Ross. Enya has a wonderful voice and Howard Shore is a great composer. Middle-Earth is bewitching. You feel that you can actually travel to the fair valley of Rivendell, the hidden forest of Lothlorien, the fearsome gates of Moria. The characters are stunning. The hobbits are so kind and care-worn.The elves graceful. The wizards powerful. I agree that Galadriel should have been a little more kind. Tom Bambodil wasn't such a big loss. You have got to see Lord of the rings: Fellowship of the ring. It's absolutely breath-taking. You won't regret it. 13 times isn't enough and yet, even after a hundred times you'll still be craving for more. Peter Jackson has truly outdone himself this time.
Rating: Summary: BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR IN MY OPINION!!!!! Review: Saw the Fellowship of the Ring three times in the theater and each time I saw it, I saw more of the movie and the characters. Never in my life have I ever saw movie enriched with so much compassion, romance, mercy, empathy and most importantly unconditional love. After seeing the movie the first time, I read the LOTR novel and I'm reading it again for the second time. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were EXCELLENT!!!! Reading the books is a strong recommendation to learn more about the characters in JRRT's novel and the character's left out of the movie line. JRRT wrote this epic and makes the serious reader believe that the characters, Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gilmi really exsisted--that's real talent that's not easy to master. Can't wait for the second and third movie!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: DARK! DARK! DARK! Review: Why do directors insist upon filming using artificial light! This movie is very dark (I mean it is very hard to actually see some of the scenery and costumes, etc...) They also turned it into a "dark story". I don't consider this suitable for children. There are classics like Willow and Princess Bride. For those movies, if you look at how they were filmed, many scenes were filmed in very bright light. I read LTR in seventh grade many years ago, and I never considered it a "dark and gloomy" story. Where's the tongue-in-cheek dialogue that makes all the great movies great? (Star Wars, Princess Bride, Willow, Indiana Jones etc....) They concentrated too much on "wowing" us with stupid special effects, that they completely forgot about engaging dialogue and bringing us in with emotions. Too scary for the preteen set. Take the PG-13 seriously on this one. Lighten up directors, what are you trying to hide? Also, work on your dialogue....try and make it more memorable. I can't remember one line from this idiotic movie. Usually a good sign for me whether or not a movie was good. Think about it. For you critics out there that disagree with me. Special effects are all good and dandy, close your eyes and "listen" to this movie, it is really pretty bad without the "special effects".
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