Rating: 
Summary: My Blue Screen Heaven!
Review: Obviously you have to be into the whole Fantasy thing to truly be an Uber Geek about this movie and the other two. I haven't been into the whole "Fairies, Gnomes, Goblins and Elves" thing, so maybe I don't have the correct perspective to give this a great review. Personally I don't think it was worthy of all the accolades it received. It's definately not an "Actors" movie since all of the ones that were in the trilogy were low grade actors (except for Cate). That's also apparent if you look at the Oscar nominations this year. Although if you're going to see these movies you probably aren't going for the acting but, for all the dazzling CGI effects and other assorted idiot lights. In a few years from now you're going to see a lot of movies that are going to be made stictly in front of a blue screen (reference "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" starring Jude Law which is coming out this year. It is filmed entirely in front of a blue screen). Anyway if you're interested in the Fantasy or Dungeons & Dragons genre you'll love this. If you you're looking for gritty realism or a story of the human spirit look elswhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Saving the Best for Last
Review: Beautifully done as ever. Definitely falls under the 'masterpiece' category. Peter Jackson, the cast and crew have truly outdone themselves.While I would've preferred more with Legolas and Gimli (including mention of their sailing together for Valinor) and Faramir and Eowyn, it leaves me something to look forward to in the DVD. Arwen wasn't nearly as annoying of a distraction from the main storyline as she was in TTT (even though the whole 'she's dying' bit was cheesy and unnecessary, it can easily be overlooked). I've never been much of a fan of the Hobbit storylines, but even these kept my interest this time around as they were compelling, heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once. The love and loyalty between these characters was never more apparent than in this film. This is the first movie that has ever captured my heart enough that I've sat through it 8 times in a movie theatre and would gladly go 8 more times if they brought it back to my town.
Rating:
Summary: A look into the future through the portals of the past . . .
Review: What is the true meaning of Frodo's errand? No less than the redemption of humankind. Indeed, we do live in what is almost the day of the Orc. Is our world today that much less a hell than the burning plains of Mordor where the all-seeing eye of Sauron ever torments?
Inevitably, the overwhelming threat of doom (which we in fear, and greed, and obsessive heartlessness of a Gollum or any other maker of Evil have created) will have to be faced. Probably, in this generation or the next, the climactic battle will occur.
For this reason, if not for many others, this film demands to be seen. Do you share enough in the vision of peace, the humility of the Shire, the courage of Aragon, to allign with the forces of Good? For not the armies of the dead shall claim this victory, but those of the living.
For over four decades people attempted to covert Tolkien's masterpiece into the great cinema which we all knew it could be. Peter Jackson et al have done a commendable job with very challenging material and the usual monetary and temporal contraints.
Rating: 
Summary: Four and 3/4's from the Lord High Executioner.....
Review: I initially vowed not to watch this movie. The second had me so offended by everything that Peter Jackson had embellished, and truth to tell, I nearly walked out on the Fellowship of the Ring during the Rivendell sequence. The reason for this is I could give an hour long synopsis of the history and story of Middle-Earth ten years after I was dead, or so it seems, and I have memorized longer passages of the Lord of the Rings than I have of the Bible. (Yes, that is tragic.) That tells you how much of a geek I was.
It should also tell you how much I know of the story, and how important precision is to me, when we are talking of the Lord of the Rings. I hated the whole men-are-weak theme that was in this story from the first of Peter Jackson's films, nor did I care for the manifold other changes that the two movies preceding this one had, and I was, I admit, very angry at the end of the Two Towers, so angry that I decided not to watch this movie, and I will not purchase the Two Towers. After all, I know how the story ends.
This oath to myself, chiefly made to keep me from spending another seven dollars just to get angry, set off a long debate in my mind, a debate that also occurred in my circle of friends and family who have read the books/would be interested in this kind of movie. Their vote was unanimous: see the movie, they said. Yet the debate continued until this very week when I finally relented.
I am glad I did. This was the truest of all three films, and the dialogue was perfect, every signicant line being derived in one fashion or another from the books. The most drastic change from the written work was how the Paths of the Dead sequence was done in the film, and that change was easily forgiven. As I said of the first film, the film was editted for integrity, and this film was more so than the other two combined. Not to say that there were no differences between Peter Jackson's film and the written work, but they were forgivable, and none of the scenes were completely fabricated, or ripped out of the Hobbit, as I felt several scenes were in the second film, or changed excessively, unnecessarily, or counterproductively, as I felt several scenes had been in the first.
The best thing about this production, though, was the goal. For all his embellishments, Peter Jackson did not commit the travesty of trying to do anything different with the ending, nor did he try to add some message to it that was his own and not the intention of Pr. Tolkien. John Huston could not resist doing that with the made for television version released in 1980, and that production was just horrid. This production ended just exactly as it should have, and Peter Jackson's attention to detail was such that the last line of the film was the last line of the book. The entire movie was that true to the story, and Peter Jackson was entirely consistent with how he told it, meaning that he never contradicted himself. Four things only did I note about this production, and only people who have studied this series as much as I have would have even noticed (some of) them. First, the scene inside Mount Doom, once they reached it, was lengthened just a bit for dramatic effect. Secondly, the last time Frodo dons the Ring, he puts it on the wrong finger. Thirdly, the final conversation on Mount Doom's slopes makes no mention of Gollum. Finally, the Elvenship mentioned at the end is called the very last elvenship. Still, none of these detract from the story itself and I only mention them because to me they were incredibly obvious. After the second film, I had passed a death sentence on any possibility of watching the third, but the Lord High Executioner granted a pardon, and was not disappointed. Four and three quarter stars or even four....out of four.
Rating:
Summary: An epic masterpiece.
Review: Some people give a movie 5 stars, some give it 1 star. Often it doesn't deserve the 5 star, or it is better than a 1 star. But not this movie. It deserves the 5 stars i am giving it. The return of the king is a spectacular blend of drama and action. The action doesn't overshadow the plot, nore is it just a slow paced drama. ROTK is a perfect blend of the two, like the nice blend of fudge and vannilla in vannilla fudge swirl ice cream.
Let me tell you the joys and reasons why no movie equals ROTK.
Acting- Everey role is perfectly assigned. Just picture the disaster that would have occured if the wrong actor was cast. Normally i dont like Orlando Bloom (Legolas) (no matter how hot you say he is), he seems kindof vacant. But he fits legolas perfectly: calm, handsome, quiet, etc. Then there is Elija Wood (Frodo) who is a magnifecent actor. When i watched the movie, i literally felt the physical and emotional pains he was suffering. Sean Austin (Sam) was perfect. You senced how much Sam cared for Frodo, and how he stopped eating, so Frodo would have enough to eat. I found Sam among the most emotional chacters in the movie. Ian McKelin was also wonderful, he had a nice sagely feel to him, he had a serious yet cheerful tone to him and i he is a great actor. Viggo Mortenson (Aragorn) was amazing, he had a wonderful knack for conveying emotions wonderfully through his face. Andy Cerkis (Gollum) was amazing. He didn't do just the voice as many say, actually he drove the charactars movements in a motion capture suit and made the facial expression. He put every ounce of his strength into making a good character; bashing himself on the rock, dragging himself on the ground and tearing his throat apart with that incredible voice acting.
Visual Effects- They were stunning, people may say, but i say they were not stunning. That is what made them great. They were so real that you did not think they were special effects, and that is what you want to go ofr, not some stupid lightshow (Star Wars II). They spent 2 years designing Gollum. Gollum was not a ball on a stick, he was not immaterial. The actor Andy Cerkis did his voice, movements, and facial expressions. Gollum was a real carachter. Andy Cerkis was there the whole time, performing a wonderful dramatic display. Andy Cerkis was there, making film history. And the rohan army was massive, it required digital horses and soldiers. You could definitely not tell wich soldier was real or not before they were tossed into the sky by the nazgul. Thhe nazgul's dragons were spectacular with massive flapping wings, but regardless of the fantasticness of this, it does not seem fake or out of place at all. The visual effects are not stunning. The visual effects are great.
-Music- Just listen and you will be blown away. The great vhoruses at mount doom and minis tirith, the carefree shire theme, and the Rohirrim theme, which i find strangely nostalgic. The theme to the white tree of Gondor has a wonderful sence of growing danger. The music is beyond beutiful.
-Direction- It is a miracle. Peter Jackson filmed 13+ hours of film consecutivly. The entire crew put heart, soulf, and life into this production. If Peter Jackson does not win best director, i will really go insane.
This is a legendary masterpiece. The Return of the King will be considered one of the greatest movies of all time. The emotion, the action, the sorrow, the whole feel of it is incredible.
Rating:
Summary: Six stars - the best film of th year
Review: The entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy is by far the most outstanding film experience you can image. I saw Return of the King on a Sunday, following special screenings of Fellowship of the Ring on Friday, and then The Two Towers on Saturday.
This last film of the Trilogy, does not disappoint. It ends the Trilogy in a manner that is worthy of the first two films.
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortenson and the rest of the cast fit their characters perfectly. With a cast that works perfectly together, and the amazing direction of Peter Jackson, this is the one movie this year that you do not want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best of the three
Review: Up until now while Two Towers had its merits I maintained that Fellowship was the better film. I felt this way mainly because of two reasons: First off there were less derivations from the original text. Secondly, Fellowship simply felt more Middle-Earthy. It was more intimate and it introduced you to this magical world with tremendous depth. You were enraptured in just seeing Jackson's visualation of Middle-Earth in all its wonder. On the very first viewing truly a gratifying experience.
In all fairness, the Two Towers theatrical release was a war movie as the focus was mainly on the storyline of Helm's Deep and in this respect I applaud Peter Jackson. The hopelessness of the battle is so intense you feel as if dawn will never come. The changes to the story were necessary to allow this film to stand as a separate work as well as a part of a larger story. But it still wasn't the Two Towers! After seeing the extended version my opinion of this movie completely changed. The intimacy was restored in the added character interaction and the magic was restored simply by flushing out the Ent storyline (bizarre, ancient and wondrous - the Ents are my favorite part of the entire three books). Return of the King however is a whole new experience altogether and as the final chapter of Jackson's opus it makes its predecessors even better by context. It is dramatic and complex and gets better with each viewing. It pulls you through such an emotional roller coaster that by the time the movie is over you feel exhausted. It moves you in ways you cannot even explain on so many different levels. The acting is superb- five star performance by all. The visuals - simply breathtaking. Too many endings? Hogwash! You take out one ending and it is a lesser film. It was an impossible and thankless task to edit this film to a reasonable theatrical cut and Jackson was judicious in his selection. He left what should have been left. The special effects- all I will say about that is that I have already seen this film several times and each time as I'm sitting there I'm thinking to myself- No one has ever seen stuff like this on the big screen before! Truly revolutionary. Yes there are story changes but so what? I finally got over those gripes after the second film because it was hindering my enjoyment of this magnificent cinematic experience. To see your favorite story realized with such passion- Yes I, like all lovers of Tolkien's mythology, have my own vision of Middle Earth and nothing will ever touch that- but Jackson has courageously shared his and what a vision. These films are truly a labor of love. They could have been so much worse but they weren't. My expectations have been exceeded. I will always have Tolkien's text and now I have Jackson's films to enjoy for years to come. The extended release of this last installment will only be the finishing touches on what I consider a pinnacle of movie-making art. Yes it is sad that it is all over. But for me there is great happiness in knowing that this story was deftly handled with such care. I can breath a sigh of relief. The epic has ended as it should. These are films for the ages. Thank you Peter Jackson. May you win best director Oscar for this unparallelled achievement! Like Tolkien you have made magic.
Rating:
Summary: Epic Story, Amazing Battles, Great Performances & Direction!
Review: Yes, there are some parts missing, some (such as the final battle of the wizards) are rumored to be saved for the DVD. Still, this is a great movie, and the focus was meant to be on the hobbits, and it was. One of the most difficult things to do in these movies, was to make them have some semblance of being self-contained. Yes, movies like Star Wars original trilogy managed it, but those stories were created to be broken down in that manner. In fact, the final part of that trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, was little more than a redo of the first film, but with the head baddies killed off. LOTR is a true trilogy; each part builds upon each other, until the epic finish. It contains all 12 parts of the classic "heroes journey", in a depth and detail rarely seen in modern literature. The movies captured this in a way most of us, would not have thought possible. The special effects of this movie blended seamlessly with the live action, to create an experience, like none I've ever felt before. The only missing elements, which I can only hope was filmed, to be later restored on the DVD, were the wizards battle, and the 11th element of the "heroes journey" called the "resurrection". This was the part in Tolkien's book where the hobbits returned to the "Shire". They found it corrupted, taken over by ruffians, who were led by the evil Saruman, and Wormtongue. Unlike the time before, when they first departed on this great adventure, they were now seasoned, savvy fighters. They could now overcome this great evil, without the help of Gandolph and the others. The movie skipped that element, and went right to the "return with the elixir" part. This is where they all said their goodbyes as the elves sailed away to whatever. (Maybe to bake cookies in a hollow tree!) In the movie, even this part added, probably made the film a bit long, but at least it gave the viewer a chance to wind down. I bought the first two movies in the simple, inexpensive packaging. I'm going to guess that this one comes out in some sort of ultimate collectors edition. It will appear as a box set, that includes all three movies, and which should be well worth getting. This movie was somewhat better than the middle in the trilogy, as the characters stood out this time, over the still spectacular, action sequences. Perhaps it was easier to make this evident, as there were ample opportunities. The madness of the temporary ruler of Gondor, the battle with the "witch king", the "ring bearers" hardships, the reforging of the "kings sword", and many other great moments. If you missed it on the big screen, try at least to catch it on a big TV. Despite the worldwide billion plus dollars these three movies have pulled in, I sincerely doubt we shall ever see anything done in this grand a scale again anytime soon. At least I wouldn't expect to see it again in my lifetime! It will be a crime not to hand out some Oscars, for this last in the great LOTR series! Now lets talk about "The Hobbit"!
Rating: 
Summary: NOT A GOOD LORD OF THE RINGS MOVIE AS I THOUGT
Review: IT WAS SO HORRIBLE I COULDN'T SIT IN THE SEAT FOR 3 IN AHALF HOURS.I'VE SEEN MOVIES LIKE "THE HULK,MYSTIC RIVER AND PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN" THAT WAS BETTER THAN THIS. THE FIRST 2 WERE MUCH BETTER THAN THIS.
Rating:
Summary: Lordy, Lordy, I Loved It, I Loved It, I Loved It !!!!
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King For those of you who have skipped the first two movies (I can't imagine who hasn't seen the first two) and figured you'd catch up on the finale, do yourself a favor and rent or buy (you may as well buy because you'll buy eventually), "The Fellowship of the Rings" and "The Two Towers", for you will surely be lost if you don't. As our trio approach Mordor, Gollum plots to lead Frodo and Sam into a trap with Shelob, a giant man eating spider. Sams hears parts of the plan as Gollum talks to his wicked other self and confronts Gollum who twists things around on Sam and makes Frodo believe he is the danger. Gandalf finds out that Sauron plans to attack the Gandor, fortress city of Minas Tirinth and hurrys to warn the Royal Steward, who is insane and grief stricken and will not undertake the defense of the city. Finally Gandalf usurps his authority and starts to organize a defense. In the meantime, with Pippens help and without the Stewards knowlege, Gandalf manages to light bonfire beacons and send word to Rohan of Gondor's plight and Rohan's King Theoden rounds up his army. Aragon is with Theoden and together they realize that Rohan's six thousand men at arms will be pitifully small against the combined might of Sauron's dark armies. Enter Elond, known to some as agent Smith but thats another story, who hands Aragon the rebuilt sword that destroyed Sauron two thousand years ago and implores him to take his rightful title as King Of Gondor. Yes, Aragon, our hero, is a descendant of the Kings of Gondor. If things are getting complicated, stand by. Elond strongly suggests that the only hope to defeat Sauron's army is to go into a haunted mountain, into the Paths of the Dead and get the spectres to honor a pledge they broke in antiquity. Gollum springs his trap on Frodo and he's cocooned by Shelob but Sam, who had been sent away saves Frodo but before he could free Frodo, Sam has to hide from approaching Orcs. Will Aragon recruit his mystery army? Will Sam free Frodo? Will their Quest succeed? I invite you to see the movie. Conclusion If they don't give this an Oscar, I'm boycotting future Awards. It was thievery in 2001 and again in 2002 and this would be a travesty. Director, Peter Jackson should also get an Oscar for this 200 minute masterpiece. It was so tight and the story flowed so well it seemed like half of that time. The actors were great. After three movies you really get to appreciate these guys and gals. Despite the morose subject matter, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan tended to lighten things up with comedic antics and tongue in cheek humor. Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood and
Ian McKellen had the parts of a lifetime and they ran with it. And for me, a great part of the movie was Sean Astin's portrayal of Sam. I am disappointed that at least one of them is not up for an Oscar but you know the Acadamy. And lets talk about the art direction and sets. Whether the sets were physically created or done by computer they were wonderful. Rivendell, Minas Tirinth, I, as a home designer am in awe of what I've seen. And speaking of Awe. Wasn't the choice of New Zealand Awesome. What scenery, what majesty. I can picture L.O.R. pilgrims making pilgrimages to the set locations in the future and even if not, tourism will certainly be jumping in the future and here's the good part, no terrorism. Do I recommend this movie? If I've yet to make that clear, let me say this. I know this movie is not for everybody and you know who you are. For the others this and the two predecessors, each individually and collectively are the real greatest movie and story ever
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