Rating: Summary: Have some cheese with your WHINE Review: Okay, if there's one thing I am sick of, it is die-hard Tolkien fanboys trashing this series of movies. Yes, the movies are not like the books-I will gladly concede this point although they only Tolkien book I have read is 'The Hobbit.' And, given what I read there, if you were to make a movie exactly like Tolkien's books, NO ONE BESIDES YOU WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO WATCH IT. Yes, he's clever, and erudite, and somehow manages to seamlessly blend both mythology and the picaresque tradition, but not every word on the printed page can, or should, be written and shot. And when you're dealing with a world of so many supporting characters, tangential characters, background, folklore, and history, something's got to give. Adapting anything into a film is a very difficult business-much harder, I think, than starting with an original idea. Yes, there are lots of good things to take from the orignal work-and lots that should never see one frame of finished film. So, the filmmaker looks at where the story truly lies-what the drama is. Where the conflict as at its sharpest. In some cases, that's easy to find. In some cases, it's not there, and you have to invent it yourself. I'm continually astounded by the length of the Rings films-not only how big they are, but how much story is there, and that the majority of it is actually WORTH being there. For the non-purists, these films are a treat-all told, you're getting over six quality movies' worth from three films. For the purists, your answer is simple-go buy the rights to do your own remakes, write your own scripts (without deleting one scene or character, in fact, just copy the text from the books straight into the screenplay), get some studio to finance it all, and produce your own trilogy-otherwise, we don't care to hear it any more. Most of the rest of us are happy with the ones Peter Jackson is doing.
Rating: Summary: Best film of all time !!!!!!! Review: This film is the greatest film of all time, and the DVD is by no means average. Packed full of extras and fantastic documentaries this is a must for all Lord of The Rings fanatics. Jackson is a genius and the acting, plot and action sequences are breathtaking. I recommend you definately BUY IT !!!!!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: Book vs. Film Review: Its impossible to turn a one thousand page book into a film without some pages getting torn out. So get used to it. You have to forget about the book (as good as it is), and look at the film for what it is: action and adventure. Now, with that in mind, do any other movies even come close?
Rating: Summary: Sam Cable is not a true LOTR fan..... Review: ...pay him no mind, he is a simpleton who cannot comprehend the greatness of this theatrical translation of one of the greatest fantasy stories of all time, and make no mistake about it, Peter Jackson has made the legendary words of Tolkien into a legendary visual and virtually amazing trilogy that will live on in cinematic greatness for years to come....
Rating: Summary: This is the EXTENDED VERSION Review: The extended version of The TT is going to be a lot better then the theatrical version (as was The FOTR). The Two Towers is a big book, and to put it into a 3 hour timeframe is hard to do. The extended version will hopefully make up for some of the scenes left out (the disgruntled forest for example). If you have the non-extended version DvD, make sure to check out the preview for the extended version, it will show you some nice scenes. On the other hand though, there is little excuse for the stuff which was added to the film (Arwen Saga, wargs, Helms deep accounting for a third of the movie). But then again, you want to keep the movie somewhat exciting, and Tolkein can lecture on in some parts. If you have not read any LOTR books you will like the movie a lot more then if you haven't, but if given the choice read the books first.
Rating: Summary: The best most beautiful art ever envisioned Review: If you don't like this movie, it is because you are a bitter critic who wishes you had thought of it first. The first and the second movie are masterpieces that will never be equaled. All hail Peter Jackson and crew for going beyond the limits of human reality and potential. I have never met a happy, adjusted person who did not love this movie as if it were her own. We all yearn to be a part of the magic, and this movie transports us there a bliss-filled few hours.
Rating: Summary: Tin ring. Review: The good points? Gollum is fantastic, probably the best-realized character in this movie version of the Trilogy(so far). The scenery and settings, both digital and real, are incredible; you DO feel like you're in Middle Earth. The bad points? Everything else! Why, why, WHY did Peter Jackson and his co-writers feel a need to "improve" upon the original material with new plot devices that manage to spoil the suspense and dialogue that makes George Lucas' STAR WARS scripts read like, well, J.R.R. Tolkien by comparison? The only thing I was left with at the end of THE TWO TOWERS was a sense of dread, scared stiff by the thought of how Jackson's going to mangle THE RETURN OF THE KING! I don't care a bit if my opinion is in the minority: based upon what's been released so far, the only thing that could have been worse than this version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is if Walt Disney Studios had tried doing it instead.
Rating: Summary: Middle movie syndrome but still fantastic Review: Few movies are able to overcome the middle-movie syndrome, i.e., the second installment in a three part movie. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back comes to mind as the few movies that succeeded. The Godfather Part 2 gave us insights into the origins of Vito Corleone and was an excellent 2nd movie. The trick really is to tell a story in the middle movie without it seeming as an excuse to get to the third movie. Really the Matrix Reloaded was a prime example of a movie that was just an excuse to get to the third movie. The Two Towers (TTT) does admirably here in continuing the story setup in the first film which was about a little hobbit's quest to destroy the one ring in the fires of Mount Doom. But more importantly, The Two Towers introduces the viewers to the real story of the LOTR and that is the slow but sure rise of Aragon to his rightful place as heir to the throne of Gondor and the redemption of men. This aspect is really important and therefore it deserved a movie to weed it out and sets the tone nicely for the Return of The King. More action than the first film, and with much less fantasy elements and Gimli the dwarf providing comic relief, TTT succeeds on all counts what it started out to do and tries also to bring some sort of continuation to the Arwen and Aragon love story and throwing a triangle in the mix with Eowyn who will play more important parts in the third part. The film seemed slightly rushed with certain parts of the story not fleshed out properly. (Faramir's behaviour and background) The extended edition should fill in the gaps properly as long as you are willing to sit through 3 hours 42 minutes of it. The film ends with the grand battle at Helm's Deep between Saruman's forces and the human forces with a surprise ally that really serves to tug the heart-strings a bit. But I guess the biggest bone of contention was that my heart-strings were not tugged as much as when I saw the first movie, where there were moments of encouragement, inspiration and life lessons to be learnt along the way. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: GOOD BUT LET'S HOPE "RETURN OF THE KINGS" IS BETTER Review: After thoroughly enjoying Fellowship, I was excited to read the rave reviews here that suggested this installment to be even better than its older sibling. I read review after review of Two Towers with people saying this was the best film ever. Seriously? I loved the eponymous books, despite not being much into the fantasy genre in general (exceptions: T. Pratchett, D. Adams), so the liberties with the original story were already something that I was not terribly happy about. But even aside from that, this sequel just does not cut it in terms of excitement. If it weren't for the climactic "Helms Deep" battle, it could perhaps have been the worst excuse for a 3 hour long film since the first 2 hours of Titanic. Come to think of it, even this grand finale epic battle is interrupted by the character which epitomizes the slowness of the rest of the film, Treebeard. The romance, or attempted romance, between Viggo Mortenson and Liv Tyler is so irksome + pointless I wonder if it is included because Liv complained about getting a short shrift in screen time. There certainly wasn't any need for her character in this film because their romance is distinctly uncaptivating. Golum etc are all created pretty well, and deserved the Oscar for effects, but it was hardly surprising to see this film skipped from all other major categories. I sincerely hope "Return Of the King" will be a return of the LOTR as we all hope to see it!
Rating: Summary: Amazing, isn't it? Review: I find it amazing how this DVD has already received over one thousand reviews, and it hasn't even come out yet! It's obvious that what we are rating here is not the DVD but the theatrical version of The Two Towers. I plan to wait till I see the DVD (which, if the FOTR extended DVD is anything to go by, is promising to be a work of art) to review it in November. For now, I will succumb to the temptation of putting in my two cents' worth about this movie. I'm not going to say that it's better than the first, simply because I regard it as a continuation of the same story. I won't try to persuade the disgruntled purists to lay off and realize that it is a film, a different medium and should be judged on its own merits. Many reviewers before me did a wonderful job expressing this point. I would like to appeal to those who, like myself, have loved the movie but have found some changes hard to accept, namely Faramir, Aragon's fall, etc. I must say I was quite shaken by the change in Faramir when I saw the movie for the first time. It took me a while to realize that what Peter Jackson and his team did here must have a reason, just like any other changes that they chose to make. The more I thought about it, the more I came to understand this choice. And this is where the Extended DVD will come in! Many of us know that with the extra 43 minutes of footage will come more character development. Faramir's relationship with his father will come to light. In all fairness, would it be realistic to expect that Faramir, who had such a great desire to prove himself to his father and to save his city, would pass up a chance to acquire The One Ring? I think that, once we see the extended film in all its glory, we will understand this and other changes much better. Remember how it was with the extended version of FOTR! And this is precisely my point: let's wait until the Extended TTT DVD comes out to really appreciate it (and don't forget the excellent bonus documentaries that are sure to please us fans!). Let's give Peter Jackson and his team the benefit of a doubt and an allowance for creative changes; surely they deserved at least that for sharing their talents and giving us the gift of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy!
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