Rating: 
Summary: Good movie. Notice Tolkien's name is not on it!
Review: Tolkien's name is not on it because the Tolkein family took it off when they realized just how many changes Peter Jackson was doing to it. Many Tolkien purists are alarmed at the additions and changes and cuts. Sure you have to cut something. I agree. But why do you have to add things? Why do you have to change things? This is a masterpiece your talking about here. You don't hand the Mona Lisa to Hollywood, they will put a gun in her hand and have her blow stuff up. Some key things were changed: Frodo does not let people play with his ring! He doesnt drop it or toss it around. He rarely takes it off his neck. The ring is possesive. Gandalf never touches it, he doesn't even want the temptation. That's just one thing that bothered me. Frodo often clutches it in the book, but under his shirt. Glimli does not attack it with his axe?! Galadriel has a ring of her own but you wouldn't know it watching this movie. By the way she has one of the Elven rings which is shown breifly at the beginning of the movie. Arwen does not save Frodo at the river crossing. I could go on. In these days of MTV and short attention spans and snappy commercials, I would have liked to see the movie paced out more. Its a long and difficult journey, not a car chase scene. Its supposed to be a very long adventure with action at certain parts. Its about bravery and strong friendships and betrayals and fierce enemies. You get to know the land and the people and you feel as though you are there, inside Middle Earth. The movie was lacking in these areas. Having said that, I must admit the casting was excellent, the effects mostly good(some computer effects were odd), the sets and scenery very good. Acting was decent. So I loved it and hated it at the same time. It put me into middle earth, but it was certainly not quite the middle earth I have previously visited. See the movie, but PLEASE read the book! The Lord of the Rings is perhaps the best adventure tale ever written. Even when you mess it up when making a movie, some of Tolkien does come through. So 3 stars from me.
Rating: 
Summary: So Enchanting! I had no idea!! !!!
Review: Yes, I am one of "those". I have my head buried in the ground. I read the "Hobbit" but did not continue on with the box set I own. So here's my hand ...SLAP IT! I have learned my lesson well. Countless fans of the series have shamed me for not reading the books. "Holly, do you have any idea what you are missing out on! The series of a century!!" So here I hide...I went and borrowed a VHS tape of the movie and after watching 20 minutes of "The Fellowship of the Ring" I drove staight up the rode from my house and purchased it on DVD.
It's THAT good. The movie reminds me of many favorites I have seen over the years..."The Neverending Story", "Legend", or even "The Dark Crystal". I am entranced. I am still recovering from from jaw pain as my mouth hung open while I watched the DVD three times in a row. I coudn't get enough of Rivendale, the Shire, or the Orcs and Goblins. So now I am part of the "In Crowd", I plan on reading the entire series the minute I finish writing this review...don't expect a new review anytime soon...:)
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Tolkien is rolling in his grave now!
Review: It's sad how people rave about how 'good' this movie is. I've seen it twice - once in the theatre and once at home. The time at the theatre, I think that my mother had more fun watching my facial expressions (Shock, dismay) than from the movie; and the only reason I watched it the second time was to prove to my father that it barely even followed the storyline. Mind you, both me and my father have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (My father has read the book anywhere between 25-30 times in the past years, possibly more; and will read it many more times in the future, same as I will).
Throughout the whole movie, my father was steadily swearing at our television and saying,"THAT'S NOT IN THE BOOK!" There is barely any relation to the book, as I have already said. Some examples are:
-It said nothing about Frodo moving to his other house before he left on the quest.
-It skipped Tom Bombadil entirely, which I found highly annoying.
-At the inn, Frodo did NOT mention that he knew Gandalf. He also didn't disappear for no reason either.
-Arwen did NOT save Frodo, it was her brother.
-Etcetera, etcetera, I can go on forever. And that's only, let's say, the first half of the movie?
And there are people who hate the movie and have NOT read the books, refusing to do so now because they think that the book is as bad, or worse, than the movie. And it scares me even worse to see the people that have read the book say that the movie follows the book to a 'T'. Poor Tolkien is rolling in his grave by now, poor man. It's sad that such a classic should have been butchered so badly. I will most definately NOT see the following two, nor let my father see them for fear that he would most likely destroy the television.
In my view, I don't recommend the movie, I do recommend the books though.
Rating:
Summary: The best Jackson could do.
Review: Alright, I agree: there dozens or even hundreds of alterations from the first book here. IN the scope of TOlkien's imagination, it would be almost impossible, even with one three hour film made for each book, to put everything exactly the same say. So, Jackson and his pals were forced to make some choices. First of all, being this a fantasy film and knowing a lot of people who did not read the book would see the movie, they chose to increase pace and action (so, of course, the songs and the Tom BOmbadil chapter were the first to go...). Other than this, let's not forget that we'll have a four-DVD edition coming in November, with an extra 30 minutes of new scenes edited into the original movie. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING is so touching for one simple reason. It's clear that everybody involved did their best, with respect for Tolkien's work. It's not like when you're going to shoot a super-gero adptation, for example, and the studio hires a hot-shot director who, sometimes, never even read a comic book from that hero. No. Here, the case is totally different: JAckson, the director, wanted to shoot the movie desperately: it was a deram, and HE went after the studios for backing him up. This is the secret of the magic of this movie.
Rating:
Summary: "One Ring to rule them all..."
Review: "The Lord of the Rings" Part 1 is a truely amazing film, and even more amazing on DVD. This might do for a 'PG' rating, but then again those Orcs are pretty freaky. I liked how Sauron looked, he was kind of like a Medieval Uber-Jason or something, but I don't think the guy who played him was credited, unless it was an animatronic model. Ian Holm plays the cheery and kind Bilbo, and he also played Jack the Ripper in the Hughes Brothers' "From Hell". Elijah Wood is Frodo, and he does a really good job, I don't think anyone else is as good for the part as him, as is no one else meant for Samwise Gamgee but Sean Astin. Pippin and Merry, the two friends of Frodo and Sam, are comedic and get into a lot of mischief, and the man behind Aragorn was really good, too. Gandalf was pretty cool, and I think my favorite scene was when they battled that huge Fire Demon. Christopher Lee (Star Wars 2, Sleepy Hollow) portrays the evil Saruman, who surprises us all by asking Gandalf to also join the side of evil. The fight between Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White was okay, it was kind of odd because two old guys grunting and kickin' the ... out of each other. I was kind of sorry that they didn't show much of Gollum (Andy Serkis), but he appears quite a bit in "The Two Towers", I think. The Ringwraiths were especially scary, and the fight between the first five and Aragorn was pretty cool, but I didn't it was all that epic. Personally, I think that "The Lord of the Rings" deserves a spot in anyone's collection, but I also strongly recommend it on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: They did it!
Review: Being a Tolkein fan for years and having read the series several times, I was very pleased with the movie. Even though they could never get everything in the movie that was in the book, I felt they did a superb job in covering all the main events. I did not go to the theater until I heard the reviews, not wanting to ruin my love of Tolkein and of course after seeing it in the theater, I pre-ordered my copy and have watched it several times and am currently re-reading the book again. Job well done!! 5 stars from me!!
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as expected
Review: I had great hopes for this movie, although I only vaguely remembered the books (I read them back in the 60s I think). However, I was quite disappointed. It dragged on and on, with an endless parade of monsters which, though showing off the film makers' incredible technical special effects skill, did not move the plot along. It all became tedious and unrelenting, taking itself far too seriously (with almost no hint of humor to break up the 'suspense'). I was tempted to fast forward through some sections merely to "get on with it." Also, since there was not even the barest attempt at character development, I found myself wondering why anyone would care who got the ... ring! Granted, it was an immense challenge to please both the "Ring" fans who know the story inside out, and those of us who have only a slight recollection of the story line and characters. Obviously, I'm in the minority here! But I'd have to give this one a thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: The Absolute Best Movie Ever...
Review: This is, by far, the absolute best movie ever! And Getting it on DVD makes it twice as good. Now, I'm not going to go in to a big long speech on why it's so good. I'm just going to go strait to the popular list of reasons.Disc 1 Features * The Theatrical Version of The Lord Of The Rings. (Who needs a second disc?) Disc 2 Features * Documentaries such as Welcome To Middle-Earth, Quest For The Ring, and A Passage To Middle-Earth.
* Lordoftherings.net featurettes including Finding Hobbiton, Hobitton Comes Alive, Believing The World Of Bree, Ringwraiths: The Fallen Kings, Rivendell: The Elven Refuge, Languages Of Middle-Earth, Two Wizards, Music of Middle-Earth, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchette, Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen, and Weathertop: The Windy Hill.
* 10 minute preview of The Two Towers.
* TV Spots
* Enya "May It Be" Music Video.
* Preview of the video game The Two Towers.
* And Special DVD-ROM content for your computer. So I'm just gonna' say, if you liked the movie in theaters, GET IT ON DVD!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wunderful
Review: This movie is very well done. I think it's better than the book personally. The story is about a young hobbit who is swept to a world of horror and danger. How he is swept to that world is, his uncle Bilbo, had found a powerful ring. Bilbo was leaving on a "holiday" just after his birthday party. He left the ring there for Bilbo. The wizard Gandalf told Frodo the horrible past about the ring, and told him to go o a quest to destroy the ring in the only place he can, Mt. Doom. His two clumsy Hobbit friends come with them, Gandalf told them he would them later, thus begins this great movie. The special effects are amazing. That's a really good way to make the story clearer and alot more interesting. This movie has some humor, but it's not to funny. The writing is excellent. This is definetly a must see.
Rating:
Summary: 100000000000000000000000000000000 stars!!!!!!
Review: This movie is a modern master piece,in my whole life i havent seen a movie that could top this one in any way.Let me start out with the scenery, it is so excellent it makes you belive that there actually is a rivendell,shire,lothlorien and so on. The scenery looks so absolutley genuine its hard not to get caught up in it and miss the movie. Then the charactors and acting, as hard as it is to pick favorites when the acting is so incredible, i had to pick legolas, the charactor is such a warrior and so brave,whenever they are being attacked, he is the first to start deffending them all. Liv Tyler is barely in the movie but the few scenes that shes in are some of the best. And now for the music,every song seems to go with the moment in the movie so well and Enyas may it be makes the ending seem quite sad.
Theres only so much i can explain to you, just take my word for it and WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!!!
|
