Rating: 
Summary: The Road Goes Ever On...
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a fine movie. Too bad it didn't win best picture. It could have kicked off an Oscars run similar to The Godfather trilogy.Alas... Academy voters have always been blind. For instance: Can somebody please tell me why Jackson was not the best director? His vision of was the one thing that rose above the bland mire that was last year's Oscar crop. The only other decent movie released during Oscar season was The Shipping News (which Oscar completely neglected). Can someone please show me an Actor who gave more to his movie than Ian McKellan? His Gandalf is pure genius. Who else could have made such a character believable, much less likable? Where oh where has Viggo Mortensen's supporting actor Oscar gone? These questions left aside, there are flaws in the book's translation to the screen. I still can't see what is gained by having Liv Tyler rescue Frodo. Poor Glorfindel. The beginning of the movie, while being a wonderful piece of cinematic exposition, horribly compresses some things. Again--poor Tom Bombadil. Finally, I understand this is to be in the "director's cut" of the 4 disc DVD, but why on earth did they not put Gimli's falling in love with Galadriel in the publicly released version? --Kind of important for characterization. However, none of these flaws should really stop someone from watching this great movie. There are too many things that are dealt with with excellence: -The Shire. Jackson has captured the beauty and wonder of the Shire and its fascinating Hobbits. -Weathertop. Though this too gets condensed (and we lose Aragorn's all important tale), Jackson has captured the fight on Weathertop just as I had imagined it. -Moria and the fight on the bridge. Moria is wonderfully imagined. Gandalf's talk with Frodo is another great piece of exposition. The flight across the bridge and Gandalf's stand against the Balrog are scary as can be. -Kate Blanchett is perfect as Galadriel. -The two scenes at the end, between Boromir and Aragorn, and Sam and Frodo, are as moving as anything that's been on the screen in the past twenty years. They leave the viewer waiting expectantly for the next film. Which is where I am. In the meantime, I give The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings my highest recommendation. This two disc DVD version has a lot of cool extras, but I'd recommend springing for the four disc version which is going to have a whole lot more.
Rating:
Summary: It is one of my fav movies
Review: I love this MOVIE!!!Yet i also like harry potter the time machine,spiderman,star wars,spy kids and The count of monte cristo! But this is AWSOME too!!!
Rating:
Summary: Gory, Exciting, Great Acting
Review: A wonderfully made film, that is worth having in anyone's collection, except for those folks with little kids. Scared me at the movies, and shocked me at home. The kind of story telling that was once available in ones imagination, now alive because of todays special effects magic. Take all that away, and you still have a great cast with some unknown names. A bit too dark at times, but hey, not all fairy tales are about pinnochio.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Lame
Review: I HATE HATE HATE HATE this movie. Most of all, I hate how it gets such great press for being such an outstanding masterpiece and yet real pieces of cinema get no recognition. This 3 hour [stuff]-o-thon is boring from start to finish. Not reaching even so much as a bit of a conclusion at the end, the movie takes us on a pointless and boring quest to take some stupid ring to wherever. Of course it fails because there are 2 other ... movies that are coming soon. I think I would rather spend three hours at the dentist than sit through this piece of absolute garbage again. I don't care if it's based on a book, a movie should feel like a movie. No other movie in a trilogy in the history of cinema has an ending even approaching how lame this one's is. You could at least make me feel like I haven't wasted my time, money, and energy. I actually saw this stupid [stuff] in the theater. I can't believe that anyone would buy that special edition with artwork or whatever. These guys obviously see you coming big time. I am obviously not planning on seeing the second one.
Rating:
Summary: Sheer Sweetness
Review: This is a beautiful film. The cinematography and film score are some of the finest ever done. The acting and the special effects are amazing. Neither detract from the other. While I am not a huge fan of anything cute and cuddly (read:hobbits), these story elements are not overly done to make them too annoying. The action is very well done, some of the best in any fantasy movie. The D&D geek in me, marvelled at the swordplay and archery in the fight sequences. The ending does feel very abrupt, but that is to be expected of the first part of a planned movie Trilogy. I cannot wait for the Two Towers...
Rating:
Summary: In the Fullness of Time...
Review: Our parents read these books to us from the earliest age we could understand them. The courage and the creed of the Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves and the Men of Numenor have shaped our lives from first memories. Now this masterpiece of fantasy has finally made it to the silver screen, presented with a perspective that is as fresh as the morning of the world.
Rating: 
Summary: An epic start to the trilogy
Review: Astonishing fantasy epic about young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Woods) of the Shire who sets out on a quest with eight companions to reach the treacherous land of Mordor to destroy the great ring of power which possesses a deadly threat to the inhabiting beings (men, elves, hobbits and dwarfs) of Middle-Earth. Director Jackson (filmed in his home country New Zealand) is the perfect candidate to bring J.RR Tolkien's ever famous trilogy to life in this visually compelling, well cast, entertaining and emotional tale; rich with out-of-sight visual effects, beautiful photography, eye-popping art direction and some of the most realistic battle scenes filmed in cinema history. Note worthy performances by Ian McKellen as the mighty wizard Gandalf and Viggo Mortensen as the hard-boiled ranger and king Aragon. Howard Shore composed a masterful music score, which is aided by Enya's two songs (written for the film) Aniron and May It Be. However, the battle scenes could have been more brutal and chaotic.
Rating:
Summary: Singularly great film
Review: This is the first of three films in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The ring was a convenient plot device when it first appeared in the short but enjoyable adventure, "The Hobbit", a trinket that allowed its founder, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, to become invisible while battling goblins in his quest to return Thorin Oakenshield, the Dwarf King under the mountain, to his throne. In "Fellowship" we learn that the ring was crafted 25 centuries earlier as one of a group of rings - the others handed out lords of Elves, Dwarves and even men. Those rings offered power, but turned their bearers into wraiths, lifeless slaves of their crafter - the thoroughly evil Sauron. The ring found by Bilboa Baggins, however, was "the One", the ring worn by Sauron himself, the one that bound the others and held Sauron's power firmly in this world. Narrowly defeated 2500 years earlier, the evil sorcerer only appeared vanquished, waiting for his servants to reclaim the ring for him, so he could arise and again drown the world in his shadow. The One Ring, however, had a mind of its own, seducing those who found it and who have known better than to think they could bend it to their will. All of this is artfully explained in a voice over in the first few minutes of "Fellowship" for those of us who never read most or any of Tolkien's books. We then cut to "The Shire", the home of those notoriously unadventurous creatures called Hobbits, especially Bilboa Baggins (Ian Holm) who found the ring, Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mckellen, never looking quite so tall) the sage wizard and his old friend, and Frodo (Elijah Wood, who looked taller when he played younger roles years ago) who will have to carry the ring to the fires of Mount Doom in which it was forged. If you've got little experience with Tolkien's books, you'll still enjoy this film which briskly brings the saga to life without feeling the slightest bit abridged. Fast camerawork and a great script brings each scene to epic life, touching on major themes - the weakness of men, the nobility of the elves, the pervasive evil of the orcs and their dark lord, the love of Arwen and Aragorn (powerful enough to overcome her elvish immortality) and the collusion of the once noble Saruman with the cause of evil. This was the epic that the newer Star Wars movies couldn't be - a monster story never losing sight that it was about people rather than great effects and battles. Despite demons of fire and shadow, huge armies of orcs and one evil sorceror who sees all from an eye wreathed by fire, the story never lets you forget that this essentially the story of a band of heroes joined by some singularly undefined loyalty, the sort of folly that causes great evil, but here is used for good - which is why the characters seemingly walk on the edge of a blade (as Gladriel says; will Boromir succumb to the call of the ring? Will the noble Aragorn fall to the self doubt stemming from the critical weakness of his ancestors? And how can a hobbit hope to contend in the Land Of Mordor with an evil that had once swept men aside like gnats?) The script also excels in the way it surgically inserts the comprehensive lore of Middle Earth into its lines without slowing the pace or otherwise appearing to skimp on Tolkien's extensive continuity. At slightly over three hours, this is a flick that doesn't wear out its welcome, though just how many sweeping vistas and cool settings can you see? Also, Elijah Wood spends much of the film looking terrified - embodying neither the Hobbit traits of indolence nor his uncommon Baggins love of adventure, while Viggo Mortensen allows Aragorn's self doubts to keep him from becoming much of a person at all. Yet, by the end of the film, these faults are overcome. Though one of a series, Jackson matures his characters - Frodo continues into Mordor alone (with Samwise, but without the unerring elven bow of Legolas, the relentless dwarvish axe of Gimli, the sword of Boromir or the direction of Aragorn; even Sam's companionship was unexpected). The Fellowship is in other words destroyed, but something even stronger takes its place. I caught this flick on video, but don't intend to make the same mistake when "Two Towers" roles into theaters.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF KIND
Review: This is one of the very few big-budget blockbusters that unqualifiedly deserves its success, and all we can do now is look forward with excitement to the release of "The Two Towers" in 2002 and "The Return of the King" in 2003. Like the books they came from, these three fillms will be cherished by future generations
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.
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