Rating: 
Summary: One of the best movies ever
Review: The title says it all, really. I really liked the books when I read them, and this movie has captured the magic that was present in them in a very impressive way.
Rating:
Summary: The Rings...
Review: The Triliogy of the Rings were the first books I can remember reading that made me really think about what I was reading. They were the first books that made me feel something, they stirred something deep inside of me. To prepare to watch this movie I did everything in my power to isolate myself from the hype of the movie and refused to re-read the books before seeing it so I either "wouldn't be disappointed" or "wouldn't wind up mentally spouting dialog along the characters as I did with Harry Potter". I refused to watch trailers, I ignored comericals dealing with the movie, and even didn't read any of the reviews posted on other websites, blogs and journals. I can't even tell you how much it grossed on opening night. I wanted the experience to be new, and different. I wanted to be totaly "naive" going into the movie. What I didn't expect was to be moved like I was. The movie started off slowly, but you could tell the director was taking the time to pay attention to every detail. The Shire was incredibly well done, and as a result the acting was better than some of other parts of the movie where the characters were obviously trying to interact with CGI generated scenery. Disclaimer here...the characters interacted fine with the CGI animated characters, but not with the generated scenery there is a difference. Despite that I found the beginning of the movie to be slow and ponderous, but that may have been because I was trying to force myself to enjoy the movie. I wanted to enjoy it...but it seemed the harder I tried to enjoy it the further I distanced myself from the movie. Until the flight to the ford... Racing through the tree's Frodo clasped in the elf princesses arms on a white horse while the Shadow Wraiths chased them. That's when it hit me. The scene was exactly like I pictured it while I had been reading so many years ago. The panting of the horses breath, the frantic dodges, the sounds the texture, all of it. Only in the movie it was shorter. At that point I let myself go and enjoyed the show. Then came a scene that brought about some unexpected feeling, emotion that changed the movie from just a movie into something else. The Fellowship stands separated on a broken stairway, a stairway that is crumbling slowly tilting its way into the abyss that it spans. And suddenly the only thing I could think of was the WTC. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but for some reason the images of the twin towers collapsing leapt strongly into my mind. Of course the Frodo and Strider make the leap as the stairs finish their tumbling, and the Fellowship is rejoined. But I still couldn't shake that feeling, that odd emotion that welled up inside me. Just a few moments later it happened again. Gandolf stands at the edge of the broken bridge facing the demon and he says something along the lines of "It stops here, you will not pass. Return to the fires of evil that spawned you." And all I could think of were the passengers on United Flight 93, the plane upon which the passengers stood up to the terrorists. The plane that crashed in the Pennsylvania country side, and part of me wondered if their last moments were like that. Giving all they had in defense of themselves and their own. Knowing hope as they almost succeed in overpowering their captors completely only to feel the despair well up again as they feel the demonic claws drag them down into the abyss. The movie ends with a quote that I'm going to need to look up and see if its in the book or not. Frodo is standing alone on the beach preparing to strike out on his own, the "One Ring" clenched in his hand, and you hear him thinking (paraphrased) "I wish the ring had never come to me" and then you hear Gandolf say "Everyone born in times like this make that wish, but it is up to you to choose how you will live in these moments". I also feel compelled to make one warning before recommending this movie. It is as graphic and at times as scary as the books were. It doesn't shrink from showing death and destruction in all its cruelty (though it avoids gore) and as such you might want to think carefully before taking your nine-year old daughter I as did. Let me stress this point. This is not the action/adventure comic strip violence so common on tv and movies. This is bone chilling trample the gatekeeper behead the mayor in dark shadows violence. With that said, let me encourage each of you to go see this movie...and most importantly let yourself enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Extras, Extras, Extras!
Review: The two discs of extra features are incredible! I haven't even gotten half way through and I feel like I've become an expert on The Lord of the Rings! I was interesting to find out how they made Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood)look much smaller than Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen). What they did was set Frodo's seat 2 feet behind Gandalf's and that way it still looked like he was sitting side-by-side with Gandalf but was just smaller than him! I think that's incredible...I would never have been able to come up with something like that. If you really want to know what it takes to make a movie look as good as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, then take a look at the extras...it will take you through every inch of Middle-Earth!
Rating:
Summary: RINGS Done Right
Review: The two-disk set of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING will satisfy those who enjoyed the film in the theaters and want to own it in their home collection. It will wet the appetite of the fanboys who are waiting for the deluxe/extended DVD edition in November and THE TWO TOWERS in December (theatrical release). The film looks great here. I think DVD looks superior to VHS any day, but I must confess that some of the transfer looks like the compression shows. The title and some of the blacks look pixilated to my eyes. This is a small complaint. I'm not all that technical either, but I did notice the digital quality in some places. The bonus disk features a preview of the extended DVD - I've watched it several times. There is also a TWO TOWERS preview/behind the scenes featurette. Incredible! FELLOWSHIP, as a film, is excellent. Peter Jackson opens the film with a flashback to the First Age - the visuals here are awe-inspiring. Seeing it in the theatre, I had heart palpitations: thousands of elves meeting legions of orcs on the slopes of Mount Doom is the most incredible sight I've seen on film! And then Jackson puts the fans over the moon with a glimpse of Gollum and a quick view of Bilbo finding the ring in the Misty Mountains. And this is still the FELLOWSHIP prologue!! The rest of the movie is very faithful to Tolkien's book, although in my opinion it's an overly-caffeinated Tolkien. I understand that film paces differently than literature, and I accept the differences here. Jackson succeeds in casting, art direction, special effects, and (most importantly) story-telling/script! Notice how George Lucas has lost his story-telling ability in the new STAR WARS trilogy (Lawrence Kasdan's script contributions in the first trilogy were invaluable). Peter Jackson knows that Tolkien the story-teller knew what he was doing and Jackson follows suite. So ... here's to Dec. 2002 and 2003 and the continuation of the RINGS filmatic trilogy! Thank you Peter Jackson for doing it right!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Hollywood film of all time!
Review: The ultimate battle between good and evil! Even better than Star Wars in efforts of a battle between good vs. evil.
Excellent storyline. The movie is three hours long(in the theatre version) and you never lose interest in the movie, it's that good!
Parts of it can be scary and a little frightening, the bad guys are pretty ugly. No nudity, no violence, no sex, and no bad language, but does have some battle scenes. Saw it three times in the theatre, best movie I've ever seen!
Rating:
Summary: Where is Tom Bombadil?
Review: The was only one thing I hated about Fellowship of the Ring as I viewed the movie for the first time--I knew how it was going to end!
Rating: 
Summary: Wanted more!
Review: The way I measure a film is if it ends and you still want more! For the size of the task at hand, Jackson had only 2 solutions, success or failure. He suceeded in bring a gigantic book to the movie screen. There are people who are not happy that certain aspects like Tom Bombadil didn't make it but somethings had to go. The stuff left out is ok in that they are minor to the whole overall affect of the story. It is a great cast and they did a good job portraying their characters. Unlike Harry Potter, you don't have to read the books inorder to follow the story line. The DVD has interesting stuff and a worthwile purchase. It looses a star due to the fact that after I bought it, they announce the "collectors" edition which has even more stuff. Both should have been released at the same time. Major fans like myself would have opted for the big set rather then this one. I am waiting till after the Return of the King as I am sure there will be a set for all movies!
Rating: 
Summary: Exceedingly silly, bombastic nonsense.
Review: The whole time I was watching this, I expected the Monty Python crew from "Holy Grail" to pop out and say "We are the knights who say nee!" or "Merely a flesh wound!" I mean, this movie is just ridiculous, melodramatic nonsense. Granted, the set design is cool, but basic cinematic necessities - a coherent narrative, for example - are missing.... How these actors recited their preposterous lines without cracking up is beyond me. ... Two stars is being generous. Enjoy "Two Towers," folks. I'll be in the next theater seeing something worth my time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Not even close to the books, but very enjoyable
Review: The world of J.R.R. Tolkien: anything you could possibly wish for is inside it. Romance, action, comedy, tragedy, discussion, ethics- the list goes on.
This movie captures that. It captures the depth. It makes you want to know more. It definately makes you feel, and brings many of us to tears.
However, being an avid Tolkien fan- okay, beyond avid- obsessive Tolkien fan, how could I not want more? Yes, yes, I would have rate the theatrical version 3 stars, so the extended and new scenes do help tremendouly, yet some of the feeling is still missing. None of the characters are as noble as they are in the books. Peter Jackson seems to think you must make a character all evil to be corrupted, or all twisted to be a little off, or almost a god to be simply a good guy, or a complete clown to be funny at times.
So, to conclude, I was pleased with the epic feel to this movie, yet dissapointed with the missing details. I know what I am looking for is impossible to do, yet how could one not be?
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Be Fooled By The Hype Machine
Review: The worst film I've seen in years. A dumbed down version of Tolkien's magnificent work made to appeal to a mass audience. In other words a typical Hollywood film. Don't be fooled. There isn't an ounce of Tolkien's spirit in this film. The compositions and editing are at best pedestrian. In this film Mordor looks more like Mortal Combat. The musical score is derivative. The performances, with the exceptions of Sir Ian McKellen and Ian Holm, are wooden. The usually wonderful Cate Blanchett is completely miscast as Galadriel. Wait until you see her turn into a screaming blue meany. Blanchett honestly seems stoned. Elijah Wood whines more than Luke Skywalker. If this film were true to Tolkien's spirit, Director Peter Jackson wouldn't have allowed Elijah Wood to be carried across the Ford of Bruinen by Liv Tyler. In the book Frodo crosses the Ford of Bruinen alone and turns to face the Black Riders by himself. This is a key sequence in the book because Frodo is allowed to show his courage. He defines why he will be the ring bearer. This moment is pure Tolkien. "The average fellow turning to face terrifying odds in the face of great adversity." Having Frodo carried across the Ford of Bruinen by Liv Tyler reduces Frodo to a weakling. It destroys rather than enhances Tolkien's ideas. It is a given in adapting a novel to film changes must be made for the over all improvement of the film. However, if Peter Jackson gave Liv Tyler this scene for no reason other than he wanted to insert a romantic angle into the story, (The character she plays is barely in the book and not even in the Ford of Bruinen sequence) he certainly wasn't making changes for the better of the film or for that matter being true to the spirit of Tolkien. I'd rather watch a Gamera film. At least Gamera will be entertaining and not pretend to be anymore than it is.
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