Rating: 
Summary: Too Many Dark Scenes
Review: I read the books and I was really pleased that a live action film was being made. I kept thinking, hey the film is beautiful--gorgeous--and the characters are just how I had imagined--but the computer generated effects were too hard to see and the film is too darned DARK--literally in the visual sense. It is a pet peeve of mine.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Review: I read the books for the first time 25 years ago as I awaited the birth of my third child. I was no child coming to the trilogy and brought an adult perspective to that first reading. At 52, I am still entranced by LOTR. Peter Jackson has done a superlative job of translating the work to cinema. Throughout the movie, I found myself saying over and over "This is perfect." The casting- perfect. Bagend, Rivendell, Lothlorien -perfect. He has captured the heart and spirit of the work but has not lost sight of the fact that, at its core, it is simply a ripping, gripping tale. Sean Bean turns in a heart-wrenching performance as Boromir, a character that has always eluded my understanding until this film. The film is a revelation. Even my friends who have not read the books have come away from the movie with a sense of awe. In all my years of movie-going, I have never seen audiences as engaged and absorbed as they are in "The Fellowship of the Ring". It is going to be very difficult waiting for "The Two Towers".
Rating:
Summary: Outrageously beautiful; moving
Review: I read the books two years ago, and was enthralled -- I've been waiting anxiously for the movie ever since. It exceeded my expectations, to say the least. The material was lovingly handled, and I was in awe the whole time -- three hours felt like one to me. Next year seems like an eternity to have to wait for the next installment!
Rating:
Summary: Best Adventure Movie Ever!!
Review: I read the books when I was a kid and I thought they were great. But when I saw the movie I loved it and say it 4 more times. The movie has almost everything in the book and I think it's a masterpiece
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated...VERY Overrated.
Review: I read The Hobbit a few months ago, and I liked it. Then I got to The Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring, and it totally bored me. Tolkein makes no sense at all in that book! So why is the movie so popular??? It's nothing more than a PG-13 version of Harry Potter! This has to be THE most overrated movie I have ever, ever seen in my life. I'm so tired of people saying, "The Lord of the Rings is so awesome" and "I can't wait for the sequel!" and other things like that. Please, people, realize that this movie [is bad].
Rating:
Summary: impressive attempt... but I retain a few qualms...
Review: I read the hobbit when in grade school, but didn't get around to reading the trilogy until high school, and now that I've just seen the movie for the 5th time, I can truly say that I'm a middle-earth fanatic. But about the movie:The omit of Tom Bombadil just shouldn't have been. (Although, when the hobbits are with Aragorn, just before Arwen comes they are standing in front of the tree that pulls them(literally) into the Bombadil tail). The interpretation of Galadriel and of Lothlorien as this darkish place was truly saddening. In the books, Lothlorien is a place of light, described as an expansive, beautiful forest, where no one wanted to leave even after they had spent months there. The focus on the battle scenes(which in the books take only a page or two) instead of the conversation and journey really irks me. But all in all, I liked it. The director managed to capture the essence of the books... the pure heroism and honor of the characters, and the true depth of the evil. As a note: do not take small children to this movie. They will either be scared, bored, or both intermittantly, annoying absolutely everyone else in the theater. Also, did anyone else notice that the statue up on Amon Sul(Weathertop) that the camera shows right before the nazgul make it up there migrates to the forest(seen when Legolas is explaining that it's not the East side of the shore he's worried about) and is behind Boromir as he makes his last stand?
and the tear on Frodo's face, as he looks out on the lake, knowing he is leaving everyone and going to his doom? It's a truly touching moment, until the camera pans back and the tear has switched sides? (for the first the left side of his face is dry and on the right side there is a tear, the second being exact opposite).
and the Orc that is supposed to be dead but watches Aragorn as he runs to dying Boromir? Every time I see the movie, the story is fresh and the characters believeable. Believe me, I'll see it again before it comes out on video.
Rating:
Summary: A 30+ year wait
Review: I read the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit for the first time over 30 years ago. I never thought they could be made into a movie that would really tell the story. It has been a long wait, but the result is definitely worth it. The only complaint I could possibly make is that I have to wait for the next part of the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpectedly perfect!
Review: I read the Lord of the Rings years ago and loved the books, but I never thought someone could successfully tackle such a large undertaking. Peter Jackson did and he created a masterwork of our time. People from all walks of life were excitedly talking about how amazing this movie was as we left the theater. I have not seen such a strong reaction since viewing Schindler's List. The movie is approximately 3 hours long, and people were complaining that it wasn't enough...they wanted MORE. Excellent acting and wonderful effects which simply enhance, but do not overpower this production. PLEASE see this movie!
Rating:
Summary: Brings back memories
Review: I read the trilogy when i was around 12 or 13, and digged the fantasy fiction scene at that time. But it's been a long time - at least 12 years - since I've much thought about this book & the trilogy. Reading it was, in itself, a seeming lifetime of experience. Now i'm thirty-something and I didn't even know this movie was coming out until a week or two ago! I've just returned from seeing the movie, and oh my goodness, it was really amazing. It brought back deep-rooted memories of the emotions I had when I was reading the book all those years ago. The emotions about ringwraiths, elves, orcs, men, and hobbits, (the result of Mr. T's tireless descriptions of each race) and the time in the caves and when the fellowship broke up, and the ring's psychological effect on people. And always the sense of Frodo and Gandalf (separately) getting into, and out of, one impossible situation after another. I was deeply stirred by the movie, as if i'd remembered a forgotton part of my childhood... Sure, there will be those fanatics out there who think they would be able to direct a better, more accurate movie and that this wasn't the same or that wasn't the same blah blah blah. But in the film's three hours, the plot was more or less intact and the spirit of the film was the same as the spirit of the book. There's something for everyone in this movie. For the people who have read the book, there's a lot they can pick up on that are glossed over and not well-explained (on purpose?) in the movie. For the average movie-goer, there's decent action and a plot that can be understood - destroy the ring before the big bad guy gets a hold of it. For the complete [novice], there's some incredible scenery and unbelievable aerial shots of it. And for the fanatic, there's enough to complain about to satisfy his superior and well-developed ego. Is this the greatest movie ever made? No. Is it the best escapism entertainment around lately? Yes. Go see it and live another life for a few hours. It was SO...MUCH...FUN!!!!
Rating:
Summary: How Dare You?????
Review: I read this book and the trilogy in the late sixties when I was nine or ten. I still can vividly remember how I imagined the charactors. I never thought anyone could make a movie which depicted the saga or "Epic" if you will. When the animated version came out, yes, I was disappointed, but also pleased that someone had any type of imagination to try to reproduce the intensity of this masterpiece. I have not yet seen this movie. I am taking my family to see it as a Christmas present. All of my children LOVED the animated version, and my 18 year old daughter has read the books at least three times. How dare anyone say that TLOR is silly. "1984" (George Orwell) came and went. A scary thought. "2001: A Space Oddessy" came and went. "Star Wars", "E.T.", "Never-ending Story", ETC., have all came and went. All of these are awesome classics in their own right. I am sure that there will be a couple of disappointments, but what an "awesome" undertaking; to attempt to indulge our imaginations. I will write again after seeing the movie, but, I for one, will enjoy entering into someone elses imagination for the "Adventure of a Lifetime". Never mind the "racist, sexist, childish, silly" comments. GO SEE IT. At the very least, it will entertain you and you might even enjoy it. I myself, CAN'T wait!
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