Rating: Summary: Horror Writer Review: It was so amazing! THere was never a dull moment! The only part I don't like is the characters who die! It's so sad! The monsters were great! I don't like how Gandoff sacrificed (kind of) himself. Buy it or rent it soon!
Rating: Summary: Fantastic! It's worth more than 5 stars! Review: It was the most promising film of the year. It promises to pleasure you and it promises to impress you. Just like Gone with the wind and Ben-Hur, the movie is just as good as the book. The film couldn't have been made any better. It's for fans of all kind of interests. Even if you aren't a fantasy film fan, this movie will thrill you. It's for everyone who likes adventure, comedy, thrill, horror, love, hope, and of coarse fantasy. The film has used what would be the best example of cinematography I have ever seen. It couldn't have been made any better. Whoever set up the cast did a great job. And of coarse the musical score and sound effects couldn't have been any better. They were just right to put an audience at the edge of their seats. Liv Tyler did a great job as well as the rest of the cast. Also the movie is for audiences of all ages, though it may frighten youngsters. Cate Blanchett also did a great job, just like she did in Elizabeth. The movie is positively one that has more than one theme to its plot. An adventure like this hasn't been seen since probably Jurassic Park and Independence Day. It's also for everyone who enjoyed watching the Star Wars trilogy. It is definitely the year's most thrilling fantasy adventure. I did think Harry Potter was the film of the year but now, Lord of the rings takes the title. The movie is also for all Narnia fans. I haven't seen a film this good in months. For once a movie has been made in which every penny spent on it is worth it. This Jackson flick is one that helps to recreate one's imagination. The movie is probably the best fantasy film of the century.
Rating: Summary: even better the 2nd time Review: it was weird for me when I first walked out of the theatre I was a little disapointed thought I liked it then I went over the movie again in my mind and liked it even more the more I thought about it the more I liked it then I was it a 2nd time and loved it I enjoyed evrey scene. They may have changed key scenes but their wasn't much they could have done it was 3 hours long already so they don't need to leangthen it! I found the movie much funnier than the book to (though I'm not done the book) especially merry and pipen! I'm very glad they didn't include the singing the books had and they shortened the council of elrond though they included many of the stories told there before it happened. The only thing I wish they did diffrent would be to make the ringwraith chase scene more accurate
Rating: Summary: Now I've Visited Middle Earth Review: It was worth the day of leave I took to see this movie. I've been a long time fantasy fan and the world of Middle Earth has been at the top of my list for decades. Having been a past FRPG gamer that cut his teeth on Middle Earth and spent countless hours playing the PBM version of it too, all I can say is it was wonderful to see the world come alive in front of my eyes. When the Shire came into view it was like I had been there before, which I had in my many adventures of the imagination in Middle Earth. As the adventure unfolded, more and more places I was familar with popped onto the screen. It was just a wonderful film. Highly recommended even if you don't know what Sting is or where Bree is located.
Rating: Summary: I'd go with Harry Potter myself.... Review: It wasn't a patch on the book. 3+hrs of mindless drivel, that suceeded in numbing my brain better than 1000mg of Codine. If you must buy the Lord of the Rings, well at least you're looking at the Special collectors edition (Hence 1 Star rater than 0). It seams that film makers have decided that the only thing you need nowadays is an epic scale, special effects and John Williams-esque sound track. Personally I'm sticking with J.K. Rowling, at least Tolkien wasn't arround to witness the Bastardization of one of the Litery greats of all time. I judge a good film by whether you notice the time going in, unfortunately both I and my [...] where painfully aware of the time passing.
Rating: Summary: Heaven comes to Tolkein fans Review: It would not be possible to capture ALL of Professor Tolkein's great work on one film. Thus challenged, the makers of this film sought to bring it to life, and if they could not put on film exactly what he wrote, they would film what any fan of the Tolkein universe wanted. So far, they have won. Right from the start, when the history of the ring is being explained, and the brutal war in front of the gates of Mordor at the end of the Second Age of Middle Earth is being shown, the detail and spirit of this great work hits the viewer in all its intensity, darkness, and triumph. The pace is maintained throughout Fellowship, so much so that any real fan is left breathless by the time the Fellowship ends and the story takes its first great turn. One can always niggle at this or that technical problem or some part left out (Tom Bombadil, for example), but once you have seen Gandalf confront the Balrog--if that didn't get to you, you are probably brain dead and unable to read this review. Sheer delight! Ken Heimer
Rating: Summary: KES Evenstar Review: It's a fantastic movie. Possibly the best in existance. It's a story of love, friendship, and sacrifice for what you hold dear. Members of all the peoples of Middle-Earth join together to destroy a magic ring that holds the power of the world. The ringbearer is a human-like creature called a hobbit. A fellowship of elves, dwarves, humans, hobbits and a wizard travel through this incredible world facing horrible monsters who serve the villian, Sauron, who created the ring. There is a sense of destiny in this. The courage of the smallest person will shape the future of the world. The extended DVD has four discs, an Alan Lee artwork box, and two statues of ancient human kings. Two discs have the movie. The other two discs are full of interviews full of entertainment, filming clips, and photos.
Rating: Summary: Not nearly as good as [..]Harry Potter[...] Review: It's a puzzle that people are even comparing this movie to [..]Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone[..] because even though it's supposed to be fantasy, this movie isn't nearly half as good as the Harry Potter movie. My number one criticism is that it is WAY too male-dominated...only two female characters appear throughout the entire film! And on top of that, they're both skinny and look like models (in the Harry Potter movie, females are fairly & equally represented). Secondly, there was a lot of violence & the same old trite battles with all-male troops on medieval horses slinging arrows and killing each other. I started to get really bored in the last hour with the hobbits and Gandalf slashing this evil villian, which is this huge black creature from some lagoon (why couldn't they make the villians look more "regular" for more suspense?). The only character I really liked here was Bilbo Baggins; I remember seeing him in *The Hobbit* & thought Bilbo was a cute, funny little thing. There is one funny scene in this movie where Bilbo is at his birthday celebration and he plays a prank on a huge crowd with the ring & "disappears." But sorry, his nephew Frodo wasn't as enjoyable. He was a little superficial and not very interesting. Harry Potter is definately more real than Frodo In one scene, Frodo's supposed to be crying over the loss of a friend (of course a male friend lost in battle), he doesn't quite convince me that he's really grieving; all's you see is crocodile tears run down his face, but there's an absence of real emotion (in the Harry movie, Harry is near tears in one touching scene & Harry's emotions really show through; you can see his brows twitch & real sadness in Harry's eyes). So, this is not a movie I'd write home about & I'd better warn your kids about the violence and sexism in this movie. I'm sticking with the Harry Potter movies and am eagerly waiting for [..]Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets[...] to be released in theaters soon.
Rating: Summary: Simply Splended Review: It's a wonderful thing to have a piece of literature like The Lord of the Rings made into a series of epic movies. It is even more wonderful when a director like Peter Jackson takes the time, the blood, the sweat, and the tears to make that movie one of the greatest movie adaptations I have ever seen. There wasn't a character cast that I felt didn't fit the role, and the wrighting that adapted the original Tolkien text was so well crafted it did nothing but pay homage to its author. The cinematography is surpurb, and with the additional footage laced carefully thoughout, a true fan or a novice fan will have no problem appreciating it for what it really is. A masterpiece.
Rating: Summary: "They have a cave troll..." Review: It's about time a film like this be made. The book is the greatest piece of fantasy ever written. It has influenced every modern work of the genre to come after it. It deserves to be made into a film. But besides that, I don't think people realize how much we sorely need a truly good, original fantasy film these days. There have been so many attempts at it, and all have failed. Ron Howard failed with Willow. Rob Reiner failed with The Princess Bride. Steven Spielberg failed with Hook. Ridley Scott failed with Legend. Chris Colombus failed with Harry Potter. Now, finally, where all these filmmakers have failed, director Peter Jackson has succeeded. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a group of men, dwarves, elves, and hobbits who try to destroy the One Ring, a magical artifact forged by the dark lord Sauron as a way to channel his power and control Middle-Earth. It is from this simple premise that the film takes off, and what ensues is a very enjoyable, very epic tale. There is something to be said for "using your imagination" to conjure up images while reading a book, but nothing compares to the grand, unbelievably striking images and visuals that fill this adaptation. The direction is nothing short of amazing: the art direction and visual aspect of the film is some of the best I've ever seen. The settings and scenery are vast and you never see the same type of land twice. Valleys, mountains, snowy peaks, caves, forests, riverbeds, it's almost too much to keep track of. The sets are huge and varied, and the massive amount of detail in them reminds me of films like Gladiator. They have a great quality of consistency, as well: the architecture and style of buildings changes as you travel throughout Middle-Earth and enter places inhabited by different cultures. Seeing how each culture has its own style in everything from architecture to weaponry is a sight to behold; it makes this fantasy world real. The story has a soul, and what a soul it is, full of character development and themes of friendship, courage, sacrifice, and unlikely heroes. At its core, it is a study on one thing: power, as represented by the One Ring. Through all the characters and situations we encounter, a new facet of the responsibility of power is shown. Virtually every character in the story has to, at one point, make a decision regarding what they would do with the ring - no one is left unscathed, so to speak. It creates a blanketing, all-encompassing theme, one that isn't merely discussed here and there, but is rather brought up all the time as the story unfolds. The excitement is in watching each character's reaction to the notion of power in the form of that tiny little ring. Elijah Wood stands out as Frodo; his unnaturally large eyes project the innocence of Frodo's character. But the most impressive actors are Ian McKellan and Sean Bean, because of the different dimensions they bring to their roles. McKellan inhabits his role as Gandalf, and it's a wonder that, at one point, Sean Connery was once considered for this part. McKellan is a great actor, and here he not only projects majesty but also makes Gandalf a very human character at the same time, capable of great compassion and temptation as well. Sean Bean rivals this with his portrayal of Boromir, and it is such a crucial role too; he convinces the audience he is a good man, just one with a tragic flaw. It's probably the best performance of the film, and one of the best of the year. Action-wise, the first part of the film is made up of the Black Riders looking for the ring and chasing the hobbits, and it simply does not work. The Riders always, always appear where the hobbits are going. They're an omnipresence, and it ruins any suspense we may feel because we realize there's no point to the film having the hobbits try to hide from them -- they'll pop up anyway. There are also examples of very poor choices made during some of the chases, such as using extensive slow motion during a supposed fast-paced pursuit scene. Why the filmmakers decided on this, I don't know. However, the rest of the film contains much more entertaining and ambitious kinds of action. The prologue contains glimpses of the kind of colossal-scale battles we'll be treated to in the sequels, camera flying over the vast armies to give us a full sense of scale. The other major action sequences are much smaller-scale versions of this, but they work very effectively. The Mines of Moria action sequence is intense and claustrophobic and is the first time we get to see the members of the fellowship fight in battle. The finale is an extended sequence that contains violent, intense action (this is one of the most graphic PG-13 films I've ever seen) and very satisfying emotional thrills, as well, as certain characters reach the heights of their development. Despite some weak action as well as rushed editing and pacing problems in the first half, this is a great movie, a three hour long movie that I honestly felt was two hours long. It is, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous films ever made. They have created Middle-Earth. Each frame of the movie is like a painting in itself, everything is set up so perfectly yet so naturally in the environments. Even the most mundane shots of a forest or a glade seem so perfect. FOTR is probably the best straight-out fantasy film I've ever had the privilege to see. Like Star Wars, it takes you away to a different world. To see FOTR is to see the heights to which cinematic visual artistry can reach. To see it is to become a living part of Middle-Earth. And we still have two more to go.
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