Lord of the Rings : Return of the King Box Office / reviews

[Marcus Telcontar]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLordoftheRingsTheReturnoftheKing-1127213/

There are some spoilers in those reviews - but the fast summary is that the whole critical world is taking a collective circle jerk.

Can someone please find a negative review??? I cant find one so far.

Oh and Box office, 330million is looking on. 900 WW as well. Even if it is 3h20.

[Jedieb]

Wow, there's little doubt which modern day trilogy has won the battle of the critics.

[JMK]

I think that battle was over when FotR was such a hit with almost everyone. It came around and reminded us what many SW fans believe they should have gotten. Then AotC came out and gave SW fans some hope, only to have TTT pull the rug from underneath it, critically anyway. With RotK there's little room left for debate. Of course there's the question of whether or not the 2 trilogies should be compared in the first place but apparently people will compare the 2 and the winner in the minds of most critics is pretty clear.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't think its fair to compare them really I sure don't I keep them way seperate.

[JMK]

I guess it's up to each individual, but there are similarities which will draw comparisons that are warranted. Corruption trying to control the world/universe, swordfighting/lightsaber duels, use of magic/the force...

[Figrin D'an]

Comparisons are inevitable. People will do it without even realising it. Just another example of competitive human nature.

That said, I've enjoyed both immensely. It's a good time to be alive if your a fan of film. (Regardless of what some people might say.)

[Jedi Master Carr]

especially fantasy you have the three greatest fantasy films going on right now LOTR, Harry Potter and Star Wars. Unfortunely LOTR will be over this month. SW has one more film left. and ho knows what is going to happen with the Harry Potter Movies.

[JMK]

That said, I've enjoyed both immensely. It's a good time to be alive if your a fan of film. (Regardless of what some people might say.)
Exactly. I'm loving both series' of movies and they've made a fan out of me for life. I'm not going to complain, except for the odd gripe about wooden acting. ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

It's amazing to be a LOTR fan for so long - that to get such great movies as what we've had. And then, even after the theatrical editions, we get the even better EE editions.

I can still remember the feeling of sheer amazement after seeing FOTR. And if ROTK is genuinely better.......

:D

[CMJ]

The buss around town is very positive from early screenings. This will win BP almost assuredly. It's biggest rival is it's own inevitablilty. If it goes down it will be something akin to the upset of "Saving Private Ryan"(ie everyone says it lost because it was the frontunner for SO long people got bored with it and voted for something else).

[Sin Vamel]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
It's amazing to be a LOTR fan for so long - that to get such great movies as what we've had. And then, even after the theatrical editions, we get the even better EE editions.

I can still remember the feeling of sheer amazement after seeing FOTR. And if ROTK is genuinely better.......

:D

Quoted for great truth on my part. I've been a shameless fanboy of these movies from the start and after going to the theatre to watch FOTR:EE and planning on catching TTT:EE before Wednesday is top of my priorities list. I'll be getting my tickets for ROTK tomorrow. On the whole SW vs. LOTR trilogy talks, I have to admit although I'm an out and out SW fan, these prequels don't hold a candle to Jackson's masterpiece.

[Charley]

I liked FotR better than TPM, but AotC better than TTT, so we'll see how it all pans out.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
I liked FotR better than TPM, but AotC better than TTT, so we'll see how it all pans out.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt if we get in to the comparrison business. That said, I hate comparing the series'.

[Jedieb]

CMJ, do you really think that ROTK has a chance at Best Pic? I mean, only the GF had a sequel win best pic, and it had the first one's win going for it. It would be pretty amazing if a sequel could win that award after the previous entries fell short.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
That said, I've enjoyed both immensely. It's a good time to be alive if your a fan of film. (Regardless of what some people might say.)

Then I guess I won't speak. :)

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Dutchy
Then I guess I won't speak. :)


Good. Then I won't need the duct tape.

;)

[CMJ]

Eb, simply put...the feeling around town is ROTK will win. Upsets do happen, but this has some serious momentum right now. Remember, I'm not the world's biggest LOTR fan(though I am a fan to a degree) but everyone is talking about it. The Academy screenings so far apparently have done REALLY well.

[Figrin D'an]

Here's (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=790&e=2&u=/ap/20031211/ap_en_mo/film_review_lord_of_the_rings) a review that, while not negative, doesn't completely gush over it like some I've seen.

[JMK]

You've gotta believe that the series is going to walk away with at least 1 significant award. Not since ANH has a fantasy/sci-fi movie been so embraced by fans and critics as LotR. I think Jackson is assured Best Picture or Best Director, possibly both and personally I'd like to see him get it.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by CMJ
Eb, simply put...the feeling around town is ROTK will win. Upsets do happen, but this has some serious momentum right now. Remember, I'm not the world's biggest LOTR fan(though I am a fan to a degree) but everyone is talking about it. The Academy screenings so far apparently have done REALLY well.

I don't know I read some stuff on a few sites where people are gushing over Cold Mountain. My gut tells me that will sweep the main categories. Films involving war and a love story seem to do well at the Oscars (etc Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, The English Patent just to name a few)

[Marcus Telcontar]

I dont know, some of the reviews of Cold Mountain have been slamming of it.

I feel that if ROTK gets one of the two big prizes, it will be Director. I think Jackson's proved he absolutly deserves the prize. If ROTK gets Picture, it'll have to be on the back of a sweep. Which is possible I suppose - after FOTR got done in by A What-was-That-Movie-Called-Again-its-on-the-edgoe-of-my-mind, I can see anything happening. Unfortunantly.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
I feel that if ROTK gets one of the two big prizes, it will be Director. I think Jackson's proved he absolutly deserves the prize. If ROTK gets Picture, it'll have to be on the back of a sweep. Which is possible I suppose - after FOTR got done in by A What-was-That-Movie-Called-Again-its-on-the-edgoe-of-my-mind, I can see anything happening. Unfortunantly.

A Beautiful Mind.

Which I personally thought was not worthy of even a Best Picture nomination. Good, sure. Great, no way. And, for a film that was supposed to be a dramatic biography, it sure glossed over and skipped some pretty significant parts of John Nash's life, for the sake of being politically correct.

[/rant]


If ROTK is as good as being claimed, I'd love to see it win one of the big awards. I'm not going to hold my breath, though. If it gets anything, it'll be Best Director for Jackson, as kind of an acknowledgement by the Academy for what the entire trilogy has achieved.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
I dont know, some of the reviews of Cold Mountain have been slamming of it.

I feel that if ROTK gets one of the two big prizes, it will be Director. I think Jackson's proved he absolutly deserves the prize. If ROTK gets Picture, it'll have to be on the back of a sweep. Which is possible I suppose - after FOTR got done in by A What-was-That-Movie-Called-Again-its-on-the-edgoe-of-my-mind, I can see anything happening. Unfortunantly.


I haven't read any bad reviews of Cold Mountain, yet all I have seen has been glowing reviews.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I went to RT and I see the bad reviews you speak of. I don't count them. Slant magazine hardly ever gives anything a postive review and the rest are internet review people and I don't count them because they could be any joe. The two main stream reviews on their The Hollywood Reporter and Variety give it 4 star review and basically call it the best film of the year.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Go to Rotten tomatoes, you'll find some there.

And Ummm yes, i know what beat FOTR - I was tryign to be sutle in a backhander that a) It wasnt worthy and b) It's been forgotten :p

[Jedi Master Carr]

I saw them they aren't mainstream reviews and I have never heard of any of them except Slant and they guy that runs that sigh is a moron. I say the Oscar race is between ROTK and Cold Mountain but that is just my opinion.

[CMJ]

Well, of the 5 nominated films in 2001, my favorite won(ABM was my #3 of the year). I know lots of folks who loved that movie. It has not been forgotten. :p

As far as "Cold Mountain" goes....I'm not listening to the reviews right now. I'm going by the buzz around town. Apparently it's a wonderfully made flick - that makes you feel cold. If it's a ROMANCE and leaves folks cold - I can't see it winning the top award - I just can't.

[Marcus Telcontar]

The general public and time are forgetting ABM, and they count I think more. It'll become a trivia question, like Annie Hall has.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/12/film.oscars.reut/index.html

Like a bet on the Oscars?

[CMJ]

I'd put my parents in the general public category. They own ABM, so I doubt they're forgetting it. :p

On a side not...why are we fighting a battle we fought two years ago? Alot of people enjoyed the movie, it won best picture. Let it go folks. ;)

[Jedieb]

I liked ABM, but I certainly didn't think it was as good as FOTR. I think it had a lot of things going for it, hot actor, voters split on a couple of other movies maybe, etc. I don't think it'll end up being forgotten, but I don't think it will age as well as the LOTR films.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well CMJ I don't know about the cold part but I think the movie is more than just a romance and it could be a tragic romance like Gone with the Wind and Casablanca I guess we will have to see. I guess I just don't see a fantasy sequel winning. There is too much anti-fantasy establishment in the academy.

[CMJ]

Well CM will have it's champions, but I doubt it will win. At this point I think "Mystic River" will be the strongest challeneger to a ROTK victory. Those three movies are widely considered locks.

Really though, right now it's nomination frenzy. That's what everyone's talking about. With basically three locks, we have two spots available. THESE are the interesting ones to Oscar predictors everywhere. That's where we'll find out who's right or wrong.

Afterall the other 3 are on practically everybody's prediction lists. ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

UI'm pretty much agreeing with you after reading more reivews and reactions to Cold Mountain - I cant see it winning, tho I could see Mystic River doing it.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1127787/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1227708

Always liked this critic. He's always been pretty good. When he doesnt hold back, I tend to listen as his tastes seem to match mine.

Got my tickets! WOOHOO!!!

[CMJ]

The one big thing MR has going against it is boxoffice. Even though people always slam the Academy for awarding "small" or "art" films, the winner of the BP prize is usually a good sized hit at the boxoffice.

I don't think this is done or purpose, but it shows that in general, if a film is liked by the average joe then it's likely to be enjoyed by members of the Academy. I think the last BP winner not to hit 100M domestically was "Braveheart" and that was still a decent sized success back in '95.

[Figrin D'an]

Here's a nice little compilation site that some obsessive fan did, comparing the reviews for all three films, and monitoring the "Tomatometer" for each.

http://home.earthlink.net/~dlelash/LOTR_reviews.htm

[Marcus Telcontar]

The NY Critics society voted ROTK best movie, whit I understand is a real shock.

I for one am finding it hard to believe the fan boy type gushings from even hardened critcs. The reviews are jsut reading too good to be true. There's no "well it was good but...", there's hardly anything other than Great with a few issues that dont detract.

As I cant comphend a movie being that well recieved, it's easy for me not to get hyped up. However, i refused to believe the good reviews FOTR got and was shaken just how good it was.

[Master Yoghurt]

Got my tickets for thursday noon. I can report all the wednesday screenings are sold out on Oslo's movie theaters. Thursday is quickly getting sold out as well (should be sold out by tomorrow). Guess its time to plan/schedule ahead the ROTK movie marathon for december :)

Hurry up and get your tickets now if you have not allready!

As far as reviews goes, ROTK seems universally better received by the Norwegian critics than FOTR and TTT, even though that seemed an impossible feat. Norwegians love Tolkien and the LOTR movies, but the first 2 movies, especially the first one was one of the most critical acclaimed movies ever.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
The NY Critics society voted ROTK best movie, whit I understand is a real shock.


No kidding. The NYFC are notoriously high brow. I mean 'Far From Heaven' won their last year for crying out loud.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Here, in scenes of quiet emotion,devastating violence, sweeping chaos and tranquil hope, is a profound conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy -- the best American trilogy ever made" Steven Snyder
Greater Milwaukee Today / Zertinet Movies

American?? :lol

[CMJ]

American money was behind the production.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yes yes, I know. Still, seems funny to call it American. But then I suppose they don't call AHN a Tunsinian movie. ;)

[CMJ]

Or "Matrix" an Aussie movie..."Titanic" a Mexican movie...etc.... :p

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1127787/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1227708

Always liked this critic. He's always been pretty good. When he doesnt hold back, I tend to listen as his tastes seem to match mine.


Yes! Berardinelli rules. He's my fave critic.

And, yes, his taste and mine match a lot, too.

[Figrin D'an]

Well, we've got our first bad review.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLordoftheRingsTheReturnoftheKing-1127213/


Personally... after reading his review... he hasn't a clue what he's talking about, particularly in reference to book/film comparisions.

[Marcus Telcontar]

That wasnt a review, that was someone trying to .... to...

what the hell was he trying to do? I could hardly understand a word of that. All I got was he's having a bout of stupidity

[TCM'74]

Looks as though he was just too stupified to formulate comprehendable review. In few instances I understood him because he seems a tad fed up with today's standards of movie-making.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by CMJ
Or "Matrix" an Aussie movie..."Titanic" a Mexican movie...etc.... :p
El Titanico! :D

Anyway, the bad review. I don't know which you're talking about, there's two now, but I'm looking at the Star Ledger one.


Well, it's the new way of story-telling, and we only have the success of Peter Jackson's trilogy to blame for it.

The three parts of "The Matrix," the two "volumes" of "Kill Bill" -- directors no longer seem capable of telling an adventure without stretching it out over several parts and many years. What might be told in three hours is now told in four -- and then split in half, to stoke the filmmaker's ego and further fuel the merchandising.

Lucas did it before LOTR, get the credit right! :)



Because, like all the other installments in the saga, "The Return of the King" is part of a good movie, but only mediocre on its own, full of awkward pauses and redundancies
May be true. TTT was pretty meh for me, but if I see it as a middle segment might work.



Little fact for you: Vin Diesel tried for Aragorn, and apparently was quite good.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Vin Disel as Aragorn? :eek The mind boggles...

I can't imagine him with the hair. I just can't do it.

[ReaperFett]

Have we ever seen him with ANY hair? He's been cueball every time I've seen him :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't think I've ever seen him with more than perhaps a five o'clock shadow on his head.

In other news: less than 8 hours until I see RotK!!!!! :crack

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
Anyway, the bad review. I don't know which you're talking about, there's two now, but I'm looking at the Star Ledger one.



Yeah, that was the first one that went up. I just tend to discredit reviewers that try to sound knowledgable by discussing the source material, but get things blatantly wrong, or twist them to serve their own point of view. If he didn't like the film, that's all fine and dandy. I just think reviewers who don't know/understand the books should just stay away using them in any arguement for or against. It makes them look plain ignorant.

[Figrin D'an]

Just got back from the midnight show. I'm kinda tired, and I have to get up again in a few hours, so I'll save my full review for later.

The short review is simply this:

Believe the hype.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Believe the hype

!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D

Early B.O. total guess = 375 million. 250 million fo that before 4th Jan.

[Droo]

Three hours left, Goddamnit!!! :D

[Zasz Grimm]

I'm gonna go see it at about 7 my time. I don't want to see it alone; but from how it looks i'm driving an hour to do so. =/. But that's alright.

[Taylor Millard]

My short review is this:

Wow...wow...

And Sean Astin had better get a Best Supporting Actor nod.

[JMK]

5 hours left for me....

[Nevlonniel]

I saw it last night at 10pm PST (for the Trilogy Tuesday) and all I gotta say is...

Oh. My. Gawd.

And to add to that... I am going through such a serious withdrawal right now. I MUST go see it again!


EDIT: For more info, see HERE (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33536).

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Incredible...simply amazing.

From the beginning sequences to the very end, this was an incredible experience.

And now, spoilers.

The opening scene with Deagol and Smeagol were surprising, because I wasn't expecting it. However, the transformation we were allowed to witness because of it...the degredation of Smeagol into Gollum was fantastic. It really brought home that perhaps this could be Frodo's fate as well...as well as the true twisting and evil nature of the Ring itself.

The battle sequences were breathtaking...and the eagles were fabulous. I love the eagles!! My favorite part is almost certainly when the eagles swoop down and beat up the Nazgul.

No, scratch that...my favorite part was the entire movie. I loved it. It certainly rounds out the trilogy into one of the best of all time.

Go see it NOW, if you can. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

I saw it and I loved it, great film, I agree with you LD great way to round out the trilogy.

[Hunk]

Even better than I expected it to be. I've been waiting 17 years for this movie, I couldn't be happier right now.

Who wants to go with me and see it again?

[TCM'74]

I just saw it. Simply amazing. Awesome. RotK could very well be my 3rd alltime favorite movie of the last 17-20 years of cinema (and FotR one step behind it).

I thought FotR could not be outdone and boy was I very wrong. What a great movie. Very well put together with alot of great emotional lows and highs.

Never mind the Saruman confrontation and the Razing of the Shire. These portions would have actually detracted the power of the film. It would have created a distinct distraction to the flow and resolution of the story itself. I loved details in Shelob, the Eagles, the Sworn Dead of the Pass, and the Witchking of Angmar. All them were beyond my expectations. Friggin awesome movie!!!

[Droo]

One step behind Fellowship for the greatest film I've ever seen. I love these movies down to my very bones and it will suffice to say that I can't really describe why and how I love them so much, it's just a matter of fact. I've never been so teary in any film before, the last hour and maybe more was so moving that I was constantly welling up and had to just hold back from showing it. Wonderful stuff. I think my favourite bit has to be when everyone kneels to the four hobbits, that is probably my favourite bit of any film ever. Rather than spoil it with a review, I'll be content to simply discuss and share my thoughts and opinions here as this thread progresses.

Side note, I honestly believe the Lord of the Rings trilogy to be the single greatest film saga ever made, it is my generation's Star Wars, only better. Sacreligious? Maybe. But honest, definately.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Dru
I've never been so teary in any film before
CLEARLY you never sat through Tears of the Sun. I was teary, good gravy I was :)

[TCM'74]

Originally posted by Dru

Side note, I honestly believe the Lord of the Rings trilogy to be the single greatest film saga ever made, it is my generation's Star Wars, only better. Sacreligious? Maybe. But honest, definately.

Two sagas come to mind as my favs, LotR and The Godfather Saga. Despite a relatively weak sequel in the TTT, it takes very a little away from the achievements of the saga overall. The whole last hour, the audience was deathly quiet, save for an occassional cough and dozens upon dozens of sniffling noses. No kidding. Visually the movies are breathtaking, emotionally the movies pack a punch, and the production, editing, and direction are absolute ace much to the appraise of Peter Jackson. He is this generations Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Lucas and the Wachowski brothers combined do not hold a single lit match to what he accomplished.

[Figrin D'an]

I'm going to attempt to review this. It's not going to be tremendously objective because, in short, this film causes completely sensory overload, even more so than the first two.


As I said before, the best way to describe Return of the King is simply "Believe the hype." I'm being completely honest in this statement. All of the positive reviews, the gushing over the conclusion to the trilogy, the awards potential... it's all justified. This is the best of THE definitive epic of the last 20 years. Take the character and plot elements of FOTR, combine with the action of TTT, toss in an incredibly emotional closing sequence, and you'll discover one of the truely great films of our time, and a chapter of cinema history being written.

The biggest reason why this film succeeds, and even surpasses it predecessors, is because of a truely character driven story and script. The battles and the CG effects will wow you, but it is clear from the first scenes that ROTK is about the characters, their trials and tribulations, their victories and defeats, and how they will all be changed in some manner by what they have experienced. This was the driving force that made Tolkien's text such a wonderful read, and Peter Jackson has successfully made a complete transferance of this to the screen.



Some specific thoughts:



- The Siege of Minas Tirith... oh my good lord.

- The charge of the Rohirrim into the orc army on the fields of the Pelennor is something to behold.

- The Witch King leading Sauron's army out of Minas Morgul while Frodo, Sam and Gollum are climbing the stairs is almost as impressive.

- Eowyn and Merry slaying the Witch King was perfect.

- I was so afraid that the Paths of the Dead could be so easily screwed up, but it definately worked. No Dunedain rangers, no sons of Elrond, but the entire sequence worked just fine.

- Gollum destroying the elvish waybread and cleverly blaming it on Sam was a really nice addition. It served to make the Shelob sequence more dramatic.

- The intro flashback and the corruption of Smeagol was well done. Nice to see Andy Serkis in a scene in which he isn't digitally replaced.

- Sam fighting Shelob... Samwise the Brave. 'Nuff said.

- Sam "storming" the tower atop Cirith Ungol to rescue Frodo... see above.

- The Palantir... the explanation worked, but I really look forward to seeing if the Saruman scene on the DVD will make it more complete.

- We really get to see just how close Pippen and Merry are. You can tell they've been best friends since they were very young, and that they had never considered the possibility of being apart, much less perhaps never seeing each other again. This is oh so evident in when Gandalf and Pippen ride to Minas Tirith.

- Faramir's suicide mission to attempt to retake the western shore of Osgiliath (with the voice over singing by Pippen)... wow. Talk about heart-wrenching.

- Denethor... John Noble nailed the character, IMO. The only missing aspect... showing why he was so mentally broken, perhaps with a scene of him gazing into the palantir.

- Gandalf and Pippen's conversation about death as the orcs prepare to break into the second level of the city was great. Another meloncholy moment that adds to the emotional impact of the film... not necessarily at that specific moment, but definately later on.

- The final climb to the door of Sammath Naur was pulled pretty much verbatim from the book, even down to Sam's famous line, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!"

- Frodo claiming the Ring, Gollum taking it back, and the fall into the Fires of Doom... terrific.

- The waterworks really seemed to start for a lot of people during Frodo and Sam's conversation about "the end of all things," as the lay trapped on the ruins of Mt. Doom. I think Sam talking about Rosie Cotton was what put it over the top.

- Aragorn to the hobbits, "My friends, you bow to no one," was perhaps the best single moment in the film.

- The departure at the Grey Havens was handled very well. Another heartbreaking scene, but it, and the film, ended just at it should have, with Sam arriving back at Hobbiton to be with his family.
(If you look closely enough, you can see the Three being worn openly by their bearers. Thank you PJ for being such a stickler for detail.)



My only real complaints:

- The pacing between the end of the Battle of Minas Tirith and the arrival at the Black Gates was off. Just way too fast, cutting out some nice bits about the actually journey.

- The journey across plateau of Gorgoroth was too short (same problem as above). Frodo and Sam got to Mt. Doom pretty quickly.

- No Mouth of Sauron (thank you Extended Edition DVD)

- No Sharkey, but it actually worked out better than I anticipated. I can see now why Jackson was concerned with pacing regarding a lengthy Isengard scene. Still, I look forward to seeing it on the EE DVD.



This is the fastest three and a half hour film you'll ever see. It's chocked full of everything that is great about Tolkien's books and filmmaking in general. The only drawback to this is there is no time to really let sublty sink in. Only after it's over will you think back and recall little things that made certain scenes all the better. Multiple viewings are a must. Trust me... you'll want to head right for the counter and purchase a ticket to come back the next day. I'm generally not hasty about adding films to my personal "Best Films" list, but this is going to be placed somewhere in my Top Five. I'm not sure where yet, but it will be there.

Like Dru, I'm interested to hear what others think, then get some discussion going on the finer points.

[Hunk]

This is the fastest three and a half hour film you'll ever see. It's chocked full of everything that is great about Tolkien's books and filmmaking in general. The only drawback to this is there is no time to really let sublty sink in.

I think this hits the nail on the head for me. 3 hours into the movie and I felt I had only been sitting down for an hour. I think my favorite three moments in the movie were:


Eowyn and Merry vs the Witchking
"You shall bow to no one"
Sam carrying Frodo up Mount Doom.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Good review Figrin. I'm much encouraged, especially about Sauruman.

Here's to Dec 26!

BTW, first numbers out. ROTK did 8 million in 12am showings.

[Sean Piett]

Just.. epic. It was awesome. Minas Morgul was sweet, same as the Witch King. I really enjoyed Merry and Pippen. Legolas and Gimli didn't get quite as much screen time, but it really worked. Loved the Haradrim.

The score was great, as always. While the ending was a bit drawn-out, I really liked how they got back to the Shire, where the people are totally oblivious to how much they accomplished. That was probably my favorite part.

Overall, it was super.

Sorry this is so scattered.

[Ace McCloud]

Woot woot! Just got back. All I can really say is that I loved the whole damn thing. Well, most of it. I think I'll just leave the review to Firgin but give my own takes on a few things. I think the real problem with the movie (but it couldn't be helped) was that it was so fracking long. It's hard to remember in great detail of what happened. I wish I could have written a review while I was sitting there watching it.

That might have been the only bad thing really, besides the ending. It seemed to go on for ever and ever. I figured it would be over after Frodo closed the finished book. But nooo. On and on it went. Then, as I was about ready to leave as Frodo and company got onto the boat, but there was another 5 minutes after that! It was irritating to some minut degree. At first I was kind of upset because I didn't have the same feeling I did during the amazing battles at the end, but it didn't take me long to take it all in.

Besides all that, I thought it was great. Well, the movie anyway. I don't see why people have to clap in the middle of a battle scene. Sure, its great, but when people start clapping it kinda takes away the adreniline rush. There was one guy clapping at every little thing about 4 rows down from me. I almost threw my bottled water at him. Shew. I was pretty soar afterwards.

Oh, (eh, kind of jumbled, you'll have to excuse me its 1 am :D ) and it took me about an hour to get used to all the characters rather than Dasquian and Marcus and Helenais and Agent Smith.

But other than those few things, it was probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. Tops Star wars ten fold.

[JMK]

Is PJ kidding me? Did he really just do that? This movie is utterly stupefying. Not that I've never played football, but I think I can safely say what a quarterback feels like after being blitzed, sacked and hit 30 times in one game.
Just when you think you've seen it all, when you think nothing could top Helm's Deep, well make space for RotK. Make ALOT of space. I could go on giving my favorite moments, but I think there were 200 great moments in this one. I'm not going to give my review because basically everything that needed to be said has been said and then some. What I will say though is that through the urgency and impending doom of the movie, PJ didn't forget to give us several moments of well placed (and much needed) humor. My favorite laugh: When Legolas single handedly brings down an Oliphaunt, dismounts, lands, whereup Gimli yells out "That only counts as one!!!" You know, because they love counting how many kills they get.

Just a wonderful movie and I can't wait for the chance to watch all 3 films consecutively. Jackson & co deserve every award and every bit of credit they deserve and surely will receive.

[Zasz Grimm]

I loved it; I'll post an in depth review later...

I agree with Taylor; Sean Astin deserves an oscar nod and win. He stole the show, IMO.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

JMK, I loved that part as well, and did you notice when Legolas climbed up on the Oliphant and he was shooting the Southron's, he was counting. "20, 21, 22..." Hilarious.

This movie takes the relationships started in FotR and shows just how close the Fellowship got to each other. Sam carrying Frodo, Merry and Pippen being separated - and then finding each other again... and Gimli and Legolas "dying fighting alongside a friend." Too many great moments. The flashback in Pippen's mind to Boromir's death was touching as well, and really explains how he comes to be in the service of Denathor.

Ahhhh I love this movie! Sean Astin is my Best Actor of the Year.

[Hunk]

All hail Samwise the Brave!

Of course, it's to be expected. We Sam's regularly rock. Mr Gamgee, me, Sammy Davis Junior...etc

[Sejah Haversh]

I thought it was great how Legolas Fred-Flintstone'd down the oliplaht's trunk. But I somehow kept waiting for the snowspeeders and tow cables to come into the picture.

All in all, it was a great, great movie, and I loved it. Dang it, now I have to battle between it, and The Last Samurai for my favorite flick of the year.

[TCM'74]

I am with JMK here. No review, because everything I could say has been said and then some. I am still stunned, a movie so detailed and epic in scale maintaining an overwhelming level of intimacy with the characters is quite an feat. The LotR saga is now over but it concluded beautifully and powerfully, and will remain one of my top favorite films of the last two decades.

Top Five, nay! Top Ten, nay! Top Fifty, maybe?

[JMK]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
JMK, I loved that part as well, and did you notice when Legolas climbed up on the Oliphant and he was shooting the Southron's, he was counting. "20, 21, 22..." Hilarious.

Ahhhh I love this movie! Sean Astin is my Best Actor of the Year.

I did notice that LD, it was too funny. I laughed pretty hard and if I had a coke, it probably would have come out of my nose. :p
The Sean Astin part was quoted for great truth. I feel so justified in saying that Sam was my favorite character after seeing FotR. By that point I hadn't even read the book (I had read it before TTT came out though). Astin was amazing throughout. To me he was the greatest member of the Fellowship.

[Garrett Blade]

Well I wouldn't call it a review, this is just my thoughts on the best movie of the year, and possibly all-time in my opinion:

The opening sequence. I really wasn't expecting it to start with Smeagol and Deagol on the river.. I thought that shot of the ring in Deagol's hand, all muddy and filthy, was great. After the struggle, it was more or less spotless, as if it had cleane ditself. Very nice indeed.

There were sometruly spectacular cinematic sequences and shots in this film. To name but a few: The lighting of the beacons of Minas Tirith - I thought it was very very very nice indeed - showed that despite their perceived closeness Gondor and Rohan are on the map, Minas Tirith and that hill town place (dunno the name) are quite far away (3 days according to Gandalf). Also, when Faramir looks around during the assault on Osguiliath, showing all the orcs and Nazgul as the camera pans and rotates with his gaze. Just brilliant! And the opening sequence of Minas Tirith was quite spectacular for me - very impressive. And possibly one of the best shots in the entire film was when the Black gate opened to reveal the hordes of Mordor, as well as the Eye of Sauron in the distance looking at it all. At that point, I thought "Wow!".

Eowyn kicks butt. Nuff said. My mate David had to "gimme five" when she slayed the Witch King. I thought it was cool to see Gandalf laying the smacketh down on all those orcy asses, and then Pippin killing another just as its about to give Gandalf a new orifice.

And I agree with the others who have said the part where Aragorn says "My friends. You bow to no one." and the entire courtyard bows to the Hobbits was one of the best moments in the movie. And again, Sams "I can't carry it for you - but I can carry you" was very touching - all the more for me since I haven't read any of the books yet.

Oh yeah, another great shot was when Sam and Frodo are asleep some way up the cliff face, and they're right on the edge, with Minas Morgul below. In fact. everything about Minas Morgul was just brilliant!

Up their with some of the most impressive shots were the revelation of just how huge the army assaulting Minas Tirith actually was. But for me, what was even more impressive was how huge the counterattacking army of Rohirrim Riders actually was - I wasn't expecting it to be that big!

Putting impressiveness and coolness points to one side, it was nice to see the return of Bilboa in the closing minutes of the movie, as well as that scornful Hobbit guy back at the Shire when the Hobbits return - it made me smile. And the Hobbits really did look like heroe's on their return to The Shire - I thought that was pretty cool.

And finally, I wasn't expecting Gollum to die. Nor was I, at that point, expecting Frodo and Sam to survive Mt. Doom's destruction. But then along comes Gandalf with the Eagles (not the band! :p) and saves them. However, one thing, which Dru mentioned last night. When the Fellowship was reunited, I don't think Frodo seeing Gandalf again was given the attention I think it both needed and deserved. Remember - Frodo believed Gandalf was dead right through The Two Towers and Return of the King.

And the biggest hero of the entire film?

My bladder!!!

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

While not a huge LOTR fan, one of my girls has seen all three and has gone to the last two on opening night (complete with the trivia at the beginning).

She liked this one but felt it disappointed in some ways.

1. She thought Frodo came across as a bit wimpy

2. There was too much of Pippen, Merry and Sam

3. Not enough of Aragorn

4. Not enough of Legolas

I havent seen it yet but will go this weekend to compare with her.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I can't wait until tomorrow!

Just a couple of cartoons, one of which I posted in the other LOTR thread:
http://www.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/images/comics/dorktower303.jpg
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/index.php?t=archives&date=last

:D

[AmazonBabe]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
BTW, first numbers out. ROTK did 8 million in 12am showings. [/B]

Just to add to that...

http://boxofficemojo.com/articles/news/?id=031217lotr.htm


'Return of the King' Rakes in $8M at Midnight Screenings
by Brandon Gray
December 17, 2003

HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo) - As the journey ends, the record-breaking box office run begins.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King raked in an estimated $8 million from its midnight Wednesday showings at 2,100 theaters that capped off "Trilogy Tuesday," according to distributor New Line Cinema. That's double the $4 million that The Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring each reaped from their midnight showings.

The Two Towers went on to ring up $26.2 million on 6,633 screens at 3,622 theaters for its full Wednesday debut and Fellowship $18.2 million on 5,700 screens at 3,359 theaters.

The Return of the King hit 7,205 screens at 3,703 theaters on Wednesday, the second-widest release ever after X2: X-Men United's 3,741 theaters.

The Return of the King is now well positioned to break the $28.5 million Wednesday record that Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace set on May 19, 1999.

Two Towers's December opening weekend record of $62.0 million will also likely fall, just as it had eclipsed previous champ Fellowship's $47.2 million.

[Dutchy]

$34.125M for its opening Wednesday, beating TPM's now old record easily.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/days/?page=wed&p=.htm

[ReaperFett]

First, funny thing. Had a trailer for scary movie 3, said "IN CINEMAS EVERYWHERE OCTOBER 24th" :)


First, no idea how anyone could say Astin should get an Oscar. He wasn't even the best actor in the movie! All he did was shout angrily, cry and give a speech. Meh.

Still, better than Frodo/Elijah Wood. Good grief was he wussy! It just got annoying. And his facial expressions when the spider got him? I smiled :)

Battles were better, especially since there was less of Legolas playing little Ms Fancypants. Fights felt more grandose.

Barring a few iffy parts, CGI was great.

Humour was good.

Hated how they removed Saurumon. It just felt like they had rushed a conclusion in.

I thought it took too long to end though. There were a few great places to end, and it just kept going and going before ending on....nothing really.


Overall though, very good. DUnno if it's better than FOTR: EE, but better than TTT (Which isn't saying much).





Were the lines "Im going to save you" "You already have" or similar in the novels? Sounded familiar ;)

Oh, and I think I caught the Willhelm :D

[TCM'74]

Umpf! Well, there you have it, words from the mighty Reap! >D

[Ace McCloud]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
JMK, I loved that part as well, and did you notice when Legolas climbed up on the Oliphant and he was shooting the Southron's, he was counting. "20, 21, 22..." Hilarious.
[/spoiler]

Ahhhh I love this movie! Sean Astin is my Best Actor of the Year.

"That still only counts as one!" Hahaha, I love Gimli. He might be my favorite character.

I loved the King of Rohan(sp?) too. He could be the greatest king/actor for a king I've ever seen.

I wanna see it again! :crack

[JMK]

I wanna see it again! :crack

I've never had the urge to see a movie again so soon after watching it for the first time. And especially considering that watching this movie basically eats up an entire afternoon or night, depending on when you see it. It's unbelievable, I haven't been able to get it out of my head since last night.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

My boyfriend and I want to see RotK again and also The Last Samurai...but they're both 3 hours or more long... It takes so much time to see them!!

But my nephews have yet to see RotK, so I'm sure we'll get them out to see it. Oh darn I'll have to watch it again... :p

[Master Yoghurt]

Tonight I had the most amazing movie experience in my whole life.

My short review is: Dont believe the hype! It is BETTER than the hype! :D

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:lol And I have to agree with Garrett, the true hero of the movie was my bladder. :p

[Ryan Pode]

I just saw it..


I like gollum's expression when he goes in.

[JMK]

Was your bladder also the star of the Last Samurai? If so, do you need an agent? ;)

[Zasz Grimm]

bad thing was, i had to use the restroom an hour in the movie...

i managed to hold it for 2 hours and 35 minutes. my bladder was a hero.

[ReaperFett]

I've never been to the toilet in a cinema. Bladder of STEEL! :D

[JMK]

I refuse to give into my bladder during my first theatrical viewing of a movie. After that, it's all good. Chances are that if I saw it twice in theaters, I'll see it 3 times so I can pick and choose my spots. :D

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Actually I held it through The Last Samurai as well. As well as an agent, I think my bladder deserves a medal. ;)

In fact, the only time I've ever had to pee during the middle of a movie was the S.E. showing of Return of the Jedi, believe it or not. But after waiting for hours in line (I think I went before the movie, can't remember to be sure ;)) I drank a large soda and then had to run out right before Chewie grabs the meat in the trap on Endor. The movie was loud enough that I could hear it in the bathroom however. :D

[Garrett Blade]

During the pre-movie adverts and trailers, we got a Pepsi advert. In it, this indian guy (from India, not a Red Indian, sitting bull kinda indian) and he says that since he was young he had a power over elephants. Basically, he could make them reach for the can of Pepsi. So you see shots of him having just one of them reach for it, then him on top of a house and two on top of each other reaching, then he's on a tower and three are balanced. Then, you see him in a huge circus tent, all grown-up, and he makes this huge elephant tower of about 6 elephants all reaching for this can of Pepsi in a string. Then, a kid in the crowd opens a can, and disaster strikes as the elephants fall to get it. The tent is ruined, the crowds flee, and he realises his career is over. Next, you see him near a waterhole, contemplating what to do with his life. He then opens up a can of Pepsi, causing a hippopotamus to leap into the air and somersault over the rock he's sitting on. A group of nearby women applaud his 'trick'. He stands, satisfied, saying "I think I'm back!".

Now, imagine my fit of laughter when, during the battle at Minas Tirith, as Legolas slides down the Oliphaunt's trunk to land, and my mate David whispers to me "I think I'm back!". :p

[Marcus Telcontar]

57.4 million world wide opening day. Not bad at all :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

2 hours!! :crack I can't wait! :D:D:D

[Charley]

I'm seeing it on a matinee today. Should be fun :)

[JediBoricua]

I hate myself...I had been dreading entering this thread since Wednesday at midnight.

It's not the movie, I swear it's me...but the experience was totally wrong. I don't know why. I was with good company, the movie did everything I expected it to do. It was epic, grand, emotional, heartwarming...but I just left the theater and went home withougt even talking about the movie.

There is no withdrawal, no urgeny of seeing it again, I don't even feel the urge to buy it on DVD 10 or 11 months from now. And why????

I have nothing bad to say about the movie, in fact is freaking amazing...yet...I feel empty. I was distracted throughout the whole movie, I couldn't quite grasp the scope of the battle scenes...argh this sucks.

Really this is horrible, for the first time in my life I have absoluety nothing to say. I can't explain how I feel. It must be other stuff in my life, I'm under inmense ammounts of stress, that must be it. Maybe is a case of astronomical expectations, but I doubt it, EP1 taught me that.

Fact is, I'm going to watch it again on a quiet matinee show by myself, possibly after christmas when I'm usually in better spirit.

[Jedieb]

I snuck out of the house last night and managed to catch an 8 o'clock showing. It was a remarkable film. I think PJ did an amazing job of adapting these books. Moving certain scenes from one film to the other, (Boromir's death from TTT to FOTR, Shelob from TTT to ROTK), cutting certain elements of the story that would have been difficult to keep in the film (Bombaldi sp?, the scouring of the Shire). It's a rather remarkable accomplishment.

There's a certain sadness that I've often felt when I've watched these films. LOTR was given the treatment that I had expected the Prequels to receive. I'm a victim of my age I suppose. I grew up with the OT and part of me expected SW to keep growing with me. Years ago a generation of college students discovered LOTR and helped to make it a historic piece of work. To me, PJ has made these films for young adults and college studens. While the Prequels are still being made for an audience of 12-year olds (and this is a famous quote from GL's own mouth.) It's not that the prequels have been wretched, they've had their moments. But damn, I just don't see the same kind of adoration from OT fans for the Prequels that I see Tolkien fans for these films. There have been major complaints (Saruman in ROTK for example) but for the most part, these people have gotten what they wanted. A great epic has been made for ADULTS.

It was so long and there was so much going on that it's going to take awhile to sink in. I don't think I'm going to be making any more trips to the theater though. I'm going to wait for the EE and then enjoy multiple watchings in the comfort of my home. That'll be the version I'll let sink into my memory.

On the whole, I see this as the best trilogy of this generation. Far above the Matrix, the Potter series, and the Prequels. If not for my emotional attachment to the OT I'd probably throw it ahead of them, but there's just too many childhood memories there for anything to supplant that.

[JMK]

Originally posted by Jedieb
On the whole, I see this as the best trilogy of this generation. Far above the Matrix, the Potter series, and the Prequels. If not for my emotional attachment to the OT I'd probably throw it ahead of them, but there's just too many childhood memories there for anything to supplant that.

I agree 100%. Nothing ever will get made that will take the #1 spot from the OT from me. LotR is as close as it's going to get, it's a distant second, but that's still saying alot because before these movies I wouldn't even entertain the thought of the OT being approached.

[TCM'74]

I have four sagas basically vying for the number spot, they are Star Wars Original Trilogy, The Godfather Saga, LotR Saga, and the Universal James Whale Frankenstein duology.

Yes, Frankenstein, one of the most endearing monsters ever to grace the silverscreen. Universal is famous for giving it's monsters a sympathic or tragic treatment, none so much as Karloff's monster. There were exceptions to the rule (a la Dracula). But everybody loves Frankie and both films were so imaginative.

The Godfather saga could have concluded with part two. And part three is largely looked upon as nothing but a shoddy cash-in on a very remarkable series of movies. But the film has much merit.

Star Wars OT has long been my standby and LotR represents the next generation for the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I think it will be quite a way aways until movie-lovers are served another dish like these two. So enjoy it while you can.

:)

[ReaperFett]

I feel LOTR is some way from the OT because I kept feeling "I'd understand this better if I read the book or saw the EE".

[JMK]

I wonder just how long it will be before anyone tries to create a new sci-fi/fantasy trilogy? Certainly not anytime soon, not while LotR is setting new standards. After Episode 3 comes out? What else is left to be made? Are there any great epics left to me put to the big screen? I know Troy is on the way and that will be great, and The Gormenghast was made into a mini series or something, what else is there?

[TheHolo.Net]

I saw a teaser for an "I, Robot" movie at my second viewing of RotK last night. Issac Asimov and Robert Heinlien have some works that could be translated to film well, that could be amazing if done right.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I saw the I, Robot teaser as well. It wasn't long enough to get me totally interested, and I haven't read the Robot books by Asimov yet, although my sister's read nearly all of them and says they're great.

Bicentennial Man was based off of one of them, isn't that right?

We didn't get to see the Spidey 2 teaser either. :cry

[ReaperFett]

You didn't? Dang, even we did. And Mask 2 :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I got awful trailers! Runaway Jury, Last Samurai, and that was it. :\

[ReaperFett]

Didn't get them :)


Oh, we had Cold Mountain or whatever the name was. Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well we still have 5 Harry Potter movies if they ever can complete them all (which I think would be an amazing feat especially if they can keep most of the same cast) The only thing I can think of left is Narnia which could be huge if done right and like Potter there are seven books in that series. Personally I can't compare the SW movies, the LOTR and the Harry Potter films, those are my favorite films of Sci-fi fantasy out there and I just don't like comparing them, but that is just me.

About trailers we got Mask 2 (it looks like an awful film) Harry Potter 3 (looks awesome), that Vin Disel flick (looks like a bomb to me), Hidaglo (not sure about), the Butterfly effect (it looks like it has been done before), and the rest are hazy which might be a sign about how weak they are. No Spiderman though I was surprised about that myself.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Narnia would be awesome. The old live action one needs to be redone, badly. Since it was awful. ;)

I don't think that all the HP books will be made into movies.

[Figrin D'an]

The Chronicles of Narnia are in the planning stage as we speak. WETA Workshop has been contracted to work on them. I don't think they will match Jackson's LOTR adaptation, but if done right (as others have commented), they could be very entertaining.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

O yay! :crack

I wonder who they'll cast.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Narnia would be awesome. The old live action one needs to be redone, badly. Since it was awful. ;)

I don't think that all the HP books will be made into movies.

Well it was for the BBC so it wasn't that bad. About the Potter books I think it could work out, but only time will tell. They are starting producion on the fourth book now The Goblet of Fire and the kids (Radcliff, Grint, and Watson will be back) filming will beginning in April I think. The question is how fast will Rowling turn out 6 and 7? If 6 comes out by the end of 2005 it won't be a problem because then you can have Book 5 come out summer 2007, book 6 Winter of 2008, and Book 7 summer 2010. I am certain they will make it to book 5 but it won't work IMO if they can't keep the kids. If the trio make it to book 5 they will finish the series and they will finish them. I hope they do I hate to see them end the series of the fifth book which is a real downer. Or even the fourth book which leads a lot of questions unanswered.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Narnia would be awesome. The old live action one needs to be redone, badly. Since it was awful. ;)

I don't think that all the HP books will be made into movies.

You might be interested to know WETA are booked to do the effects for Narina

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah Fig I heard rumors about 2005 I doubt it will get made that early I bet 2006 right now it will come out. That way it won't have to compete with HP 4.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
You might be interested to know WETA are booked to do the effects for Narina


Originally posted by Figrin D'an
The Chronicles of Narnia are in the planning stage as we speak. WETA Workshop has been contracted to work on them. I don't think they will match Jackson's LOTR adaptation, but if done right (as others have commented), they could be very entertaining.

:mneh

That would be totally awesome though :)

[ReaperFett]

I loved Chronicles of Narnia as a kid. The early ones, where you had bigger fights. They went meh-y by the end.

[Figrin D'an]

I remember watching the animated version of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" many many times.

[Jedieb]

I can't think of any future big name trilogy's to get me excited. Actually there's one, SW: Episodes 7-9! But that will never happen.

[JMK]

I hope it stays that way too!

[ReaperFett]

Most companies don't like to commit to trilogies. Imagine if FOTR had sucked badly, and scraped through the box office. They're already commited to two more, and no chance to improve them.

[JMK]

Fair enough. Good point, though I suspect that with the mind boggling success of LotR and to a lesser extent the Matrix trilogy companies may be more willing to gamble on trilogies.

[Jedieb]

If LOTR had tanked New Line probably would have gone under. They couldn't have stopped the other two films if they'd wanted to because of the way the production was done. NL really took a gamble with these films.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That was a huge gamble, I don't think there is anything in production right now that is like that.

[TCM'74]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
I remember watching the animated version of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" many many times.

Excellent animated film! Loved it! Really cut me up when I was very young watching the Lion laid out on the alter with his head shaven.

[Charley]

Saw RotK, and it was good. Much better than TTT, and even better than FotR. Good way to end the trilogy.

Loved the:


Character development (usually coincides with Gandalf screentime and pipe smoking. Well done)

Use of Merry and Pippen (sp). They finally came into their own.

Samwise was great, but slightly hammy.

Same for Gollum/Smeagol.

Oliphant battle rocked. Love the little shredder things on their tusks. Nasty stuff.

Rohan cavalry charge. Probably the best bit of cavalry I've seen in a movie ever.

Eagles!

That one orc that looked like Sloth from the Goonies.

Trebuchets! Gloriously nasty trebuchets.

Palantir

Men of the Mountain

Saurron's endgame (nice shockwave!)


Hated the:

Grrl power line from Eowyn when she "kills" the Witch King

Lack of Saruman (YES, his character needed closure)

INCESSANT ARWEN LKJFDSALKJFDSA!!!!

Horribly drawn-out ending

Wasting of Faramir's character (ok, so he's a jerk in TTT and then a nice guy, and then he gets shot and almost burned alive...GEE that's important?)

The WTF way that the orcs manage to chain-reaction slay everyone in the castle that Frodo and Samwise are in. Yes, they're stupid. I got that. No, this is still insane. Otherwise, they'd constantly be wiping themselves out over friendly fire. I hated this part very much.

Gandalf is the most powerful wizard in the land. His big power is...making a shiny thing to scare dragons? Thanks a lot Gandalf. When the Chinese import sparklers to Middle Earth, you're unemployed. Get used to being useless.


On the whole though, very enjoyable. I'd recommend it. Ties with Last Samurai and behind Kill Bill on my list for the year.

[Hunk]

In regards to Gandalf, when he took human form and was sent over to Middle Earth by the Valar, he, along with the other wizards, were forbidden from revealing their true power. They were mainly supposed to work behind the scenes to get the people of middle earth to take care of the problem themselves.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
Loved the:


That one orc that looked like Sloth from the Goonies.

That's EXACTLY what I thought :D

Loved when was showing off rock dodging :D


Hated the:

Grrl power line from Eowyn when she "kills" the Witch King
Yeah, I cringed. Had the Hobbit killed him, I'd have liked that. But for it to be "No men can kill me, not meaning man as in human but the gender!" was just tacky IMO.


Lack of Saruman (YES, his character needed closure)
Agree. It was as if Lee was ill on the last days of shooting and they had to rush an ending in.


Horribly drawn-out ending
Definately. Maybe for the book readers it was nice, but for me the non-reader it felt like they kept missing great endings.


The WTF way that the orcs manage to chain-reaction slay everyone in the castle that Frodo and Samwise are in. Yes, they're stupid. I got that. No, this is still insane. Otherwise, they'd constantly be wiping themselves out over friendly fire. I hated this part very much.
THe fact they had a fight didn't bother me greatly, but it was very convenient only four survived in the entire place


Gandalf is the most powerful wizard in the land. His big power is...making a shiny thing to scare dragons? Thanks a lot Gandalf. When the Chinese import sparklers to Middle Earth, you're unemployed. Get used to being useless.

Are Wizards meant to be powerful in Middle earth? They did seem very weak when you think what Gandalf actually did.




Originally posted by Hunk
In regards to Gandalf, when he took human form and was sent over to Middle Earth by the Valar, he, along with the other wizards, were forbidden from revealing their true power. They were mainly supposed to work behind the scenes to get the people of middle earth to take care of the problem themselves.
He can tell people to ignore their king but the moment HE has a choice he refuses to break some old rule? Wow, thoughtful of him :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Oh! I also loved Pippin singing! How sweet. Brought tears to my eyes :)

[JMK]

He actually has a very good voice. I was surprised.

[Figrin D'an]

At the moment, ROTK is at #4 on the IMDB Top 250 list, with TTT at #5 and FOTR at #9.

Pretty impressive to have all three in the Top 10.

[ReaperFett]

Was it definately his?

Oh, a question. Am I right in remembering there was a fountain on the top of Miras Tireth?

[Charley]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
At the moment, ROTK is at #4 on the IMDB Top 250 list, with TTT at #5 and FOTR at #9.

Pretty impressive to have all three in the Top 10.

IMDB's fanboy effect.

[Hunk]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
Was it definately his?

Oh, a question. Am I right in remembering there was a fountain on the top of Miras Tireth?

You are correct

[Zasz Grimm]

i nearly missed the very beginning of ROTK. It was supposed to start at 6:50, so I went to hastings and finished christmas shopping. I went ot the theatre at about 6:15-20. I get there, like 4 people go to buy tickets. I hear: "Sorry, LOTR is sold out."

Imagine my face. I drive an hour to see the movie, and i won't be able to see it!? I go up there..I say.."Lord Of The rings?" with like a confused look...ticket seller: "You here by yourself?"..."Yep..".."Here ya go, 5 bux."

Imagine my face. so I'm like..GG! I walk in, and there's like no one for the showing of ROTK. why are they sold out? I go get my sour patch kids and my extra large mountain dew with easy ice..and someone says.."Ya, there starting it early so it ends before 10"..

...
...

I get my stuff and i go to it,..it's PACKED. So the last trailer is ending ( i missed all the trailers)...I go to sit down in this ENTIRE empty row.."Sorry, this ROW is RESERVED"...I'm like...WTF..PHIL SMASH!...so I go to the back of the theater and get a seat in the VERY BACK.

Well, upside is I was right underneath a speaker, had a comfy seat. and i couldl ean my head against the padded wall...

But I almost killed ppl.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Hunk
You are correct
So, The king runs out the door on fire and manages to run a distance far enough to have a LARGE crowning ceremony, dodging the fountain as he went. Dang, fire doesn't affect him much ;)

[Hunk]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
So, The king runs out the door on fire and manages to run a distance far enough to have a LARGE crowning ceremony, dodging the fountain as he went. Dang, fire doesn't affect him much ;)

Yes, I found that part, while more dramatic, less satisfying than in the book. THere, Faramir is taken down before the fire starts, Denethor gets scolded by Gandalf, and Denethor reveals he has one of the palantir (of the original seven, only three remain: his, Saruman's, and Sauron's). THis is the reason he was so pessimistic--Sauron had been feeding him lies about how hopeless things were through the palantir for years. Then he finally cracks and grabs a torch, jumps on the pyre, and sets it on fire, then lies down holding the palantir and roasts upon the open fire, much like a chestnut.

[ReaperFett]

That does sound a lot better.

[TCM'74]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
At the moment, ROTK is at #4 on the IMDB Top 250 list, with TTT at #5 and FOTR at #9.

Pretty impressive to have all three in the Top 10.

Obviously people need to see more movies. Like Charley said, fanboy effect is flooding IMDB.

[ReaperFett]

So, has anyone else heard the Willhelm yet??? :)

[Charley]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
So, has anyone else heard the Willhelm yet??? :)

Yup. I look for it in every action movie.

[Ryla Relvinian]

Trebuchets! Gloriously nasty trebuchets.

You're my new best friend, Charley. :)

Ok, saw it last night/this morning and oh my dear lord. Wow. While there were some portions that left me a bit iffy, I happened to love this movie to bits.

Here's the breakdown:

Good: The opening scene with Smeagol and Deagol was totally unexpected and very nice, especially the fact that they went right to Frodo after showing exctly how Gollum was made, as if suggesting Frodo might take the same path. In that same vein, I liked the end lines between Frodo and Bilbo. "I should like to hold it one last time." Really shows the connection there, and it was so sad to watch.

I looooved the Witch King's armor/crown, and especialy loved how they showed his demsie at the hands of our favorite plucky girl scout. Yeah, Eowyn is annoying to some degree but I was greatly relieved that they kept that scene direct from the book. Take that one up with Tolkien, not PJ. Anyway, the way the Witch King just kind of... implodes. Rox0r.

Merry and Pip were excellent! I see people reaving about Sam and yeah, I guess he was good. I guess that he was just exactly as heroic as the book details it out, and his scenes were very nice. The unexpected treat was really Merry and Pip, for me at least. I happened to love the one scene between Pip and Denethor, and then again when Denethor looses his marbles and drowns himself in canola oil.

Faramir: For all that I hated that they made him evil-ish in TTT, they way they resolved his character, and that scene on the pyre... wow, I seriously got chills watching it. Also, the way they end it, with Eowyn and Faramir together was a bit subtle for me. I would have liked just a touch more of a sign that they were together. Anyway, lovely.

Legolas taking the entire elephant down and then "That still only counts as one!" Brilliant. ;)


Iffy (I won't say bad): Longing Hobbit looks. Yes, I know this is a male-bonding book and thus a mail-bonding movie. It just feeled that there were some glances that justy dragged oooon and oooon...

[Anbira Hicchoru]

^_^;

Well, anything able to fling an entire section of a building at somebody is pretty awesome.

[Ryla Relvinian]

*sigh* I wish mine was still working. :(

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
So, has anyone else heard the Willhelm yet??? :)

:huh -lost-

[ReaperFett]

Willhelm - A scream that appears in many movies.

[Charley]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
Willhelm - A scream that appears in many movies.

Was in Kill Bill at least twice.

Most commonly used sound byte in cinematic history. Originates from an old cartoon back in the 1950's, where a cowboy named Wilhelm gets shot in the butt with an arrow. The scream he makes (kinda like "Aaaaawgh!") has been used in movies ever since. You can hear it in things like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, etc.

For instance, when Han or Leia (forget which one) shoots the AT-ST driver who's halfway out of his walker's porthole in RotJ, the dying driver's scream is a Wilhelm.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Ahhh, right :)

Did they use more football/rugby crowds chating in ROTK? Certainly sounded like it :)

[Charley]

What

[ReaperFett]

The screams in...TTT I think were recorded at sports matches.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Originally posted by Dasquian Belargic
Ahhh, right :)

Did they use more football/rugby crowds chating in ROTK? Certainly sounded like it :)

Yes they did. Cricket match actually, Aust verses NZ.

[Droo]

Marcus beat me to it. I think they got the crowds to chant a few things in the Black Speech but although I doubt it was one of the crowd recordings; my favourite chanting was the arrival of the orliphaunts. That was awesome.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The WTF way that the orcs manage to chain-reaction slay everyone in the castle that Frodo and Samwise are in. Yes, they're stupid. I got that. No, this is still insane. Otherwise, they'd constantly be wiping themselves out over friendly fire. I hated this part very much.

You missed the fact that they were Mordor orcs, and Isengard's Uruk-hai. The Two Towers started with an argument starting between the Uruk-hai and the Orcs, and they probably would have ended up killing all of each other, except that the Riders of Rohan showed up and they had a common enemy.

They didn't show enough of the fighting in the tower, and so it sort didn't look like there was enough time for the Uruk-hai and the orc's to kill each other. But it was totally feasibly IMO.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
You missed the fact that they were Mordor orcs, and Isengard's Uruk-hai. The Two Towers started with an argument starting between the Uruk-hai and the Orcs, and they probably would have ended up killing all of each other, except that the Riders of Rohan showed up and they had a common enemy.

They didn't show enough of the fighting in the tower, and so it sort didn't look like there was enough time for the Uruk-hai and the orc's to kill each other. But it was totally feasibly IMO.


Keep the book out of it. We're talking about the movie, in which this stuff wasn't explained.

[Droo]

She didn't mention anything about the book, I thought it was self explanatory really, they look nothing alike and given the Uruk-Hai backstory laid down previously (FOTR) and the evidence of their aggression with orcs (TTT), one would assume that a fair amount of time had passed by the time Sam arrived at the tower to find it almost entirely empty.

[Charley]

Not at any bit were the Uruk-Hai ever explained to be exclusively from Isengard, nor were regular Orcs explained to be exclusively from Mordor. The conflict in TTT seemed more of a draconian disciplining than anything else. They really didn't go into that whatsoever.

[Droo]

I don't think the fact that one species are from Isengard and the other Mordor has any relevency really, not in the films at least, that's just an extra tidbit of information. It's clear that they are different species and it is clear that both are aggressive species and I think an Uruk-Hai/Orc confrontation didn't need any backstory or extra reading to explain why it took place, it's just in their nature.

Edit: You made a point about Gandalf and what you percieve as his uselessness. Personally, I love what they did with the wizards, particularly Gandalf, in the way that their power was implied rather than displayed. There was something very spiritual about Gandalf the White, after his rebirth as seen in TTT. His charge with the Rhohirrim into Helm's Deep and his coming to the aid of Faramir and his men as they flee Osgiliath is accompanied by Ben Del Maestro's angelic singing. The light he exudes in the Golden Hall at Edoras also, it's all very spiritual. Gandalf's power in the films is based largely on reputation, whenever Uruk-Hai or Nazgul see the White Wizard headed for them, it instills fear and I prefer that to having him ride a broomstick and waving a wand around, casting spells all over the show. The subtlety with which they dealt with Gandalf's power was really impressive.

[Charley]

It definitely needed an explanation. Otherwise, you'd be inclinded to think that the entire orcish army could be beaten by one man punching an orc, and telling one next to him that he did it. It's stupid.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
Edit: You made a point about Gandalf and what you percieve as his uselessness. Personally, I love what they did with the wizards, particularly Gandalf, in the way that their power was implied rather than displayed. There was something very spiritual about Gandalf the White, after his rebirth as seen in TTT. His charge with the Rhohirrim into Helm's Deep and his coming to the aid of Faramir and his men as they flee Osgiliath is accompanied by Ben Del Maestro's angelic singing. The light he exudes in the Golden Hall at Edoras also, it's all very spiritual. Gandalf's power in the films is based largely on reputation, whenever Uruk-Hai or Nazgul see the White Wizard headed for them, it instills fear and I prefer that to having him ride a broomstick and waving a wand around, casting spells all over the show. The subtlety with which they dealt with Gandalf's power was really impressive.

Ok so he has presence. Big deal. Explain the reasoning he's restrained or the impression is that of a watered-down wizard. I like Gandalf and all, but he didn't use nary a magic missile, even. Hell, Yoda lifted an X-wing. Do something, or explain why he doesn't.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
It definitely needed an explanation. Otherwise, you'd be inclinded to think that the entire orcish army could be beaten by one man punching an orc, and telling one next to him that he did it. It's stupid.

They're stupid or at least that's how it appears; driven by impulse and aggression. As mentioned earlier, the only thing that stopped them from tearing each other to pieces in TTT was that they were ambushed by Eomer and his men, they had a common enemy. As in the great war, that explains why they don't fight each other in that instance, besides, I try not to ponder on things like that: "What if?" scenarios really irritate me - like the argument as to why Elrond didn't take the ring from Isildur and throw it into the fire himself.

Why? I'll tell you why - because there wouldn't be a damn story otherwise! Grrr.

Similarly, if the orcs, Uruk-Hai and Olog-Hai wiped each other out that would make for a pretty lame War of the Ring.

[Hunk]

If I remember correctly, Holly's wrong. The confrontation is between a tribe from Cirith Ungol (where Sam found Frodo bound), and one from Minas Morgul (the green glowy city).

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
As mentioned earlier, the only thing that stopped them from tearing each other to pieces in TTT was that they were ambushed by Eomer and his men, they had a common enemy.

No, that's you seeing the scene through the book's rose-tinted influence.

They didn't explain that. It looked like they were simply cannibalizing one of the subordinates. There is absolutely no backstory given between the Orcs and Uruk-Hai to make this assumption.

The trap was fallen into. The scene was set up with an assumption that the viewer read that scene. It didn't work.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
Explain the reasoning he's restrained.

If I did that I'd have to refer to the books and that is an invalid argument which is inapplicable to the movies in such a way, it's a point that has no place here really. It's a question of style and hardly anything else; you want a Gandalf shooting lightning bolts from his fingertips and I want a Gandalf whose presence is legendary and inspires courage in his allies and instills fear in his enemies. The fact that his arrival (backed by the Rohirrim) terrifies the Uruk-Hai into retreat at Helm's Deep and his presence does the same to the Nazgul certainly says something about him. It is all implied and subtle and in my opinion, far more fitting in the Lord of the Rings series. What you're talking about would be better suited in the Harry Potter films.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Hunk
If I remember correctly, Holly's wrong. The confrontation is between a tribe from Cirith Ungol (where Sam found Frodo bound), and one from Minas Morgul (the green glowy city).

To be honest, I don't remember thinking they were Uruk-Hai either but they definately looked different.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
you want a Gandalf shooting lightning bolts from his fingertips

No, I want a Gandalf that at the very least explains why he isn't going to unleash his full and amazing power to aid Middle Earth. I just want a simple explanation. Doesn't have to be long. Could last 30 seconds. Cut an Arwen scene, and splice it in, or something.

It certainly is not implied, so no, I'd like to see some direction.

[Hunk]

Well it is a fight between Uruk-hai and snaga (the lesser orcs), but the Uruk-hai aren't from Isengard. The movie confused things a little there. Uruk-hai aren't an invention of Saruman. They fist appeared in the second age, created by Sauron

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
No, I want a Gandalf that at the very least explains why he isn't going to unleash his full and amazing power to aid Middle Earth. I just want a simple explanation. Doesn't have to be long. Could last 30 seconds. Cut an Arwen scene, and splice it in, or something.

It certainly is not implied, so no, I'd like to see some direction.
I would too actually. As this thread shows, neither of us knew he COULD use more power until Hunk said.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
No, that's you seeing the scene through the book's rose-tinted influence.

The trap was fallen into. The scene was set up with an assumption that the viewer read that scene. It didn't work.

I think this has nothing to do with it. What this is about is the difference between how you and I look at movies, if you want to delve into all the probable outcomes of every fallable scenario in a film then that is your choice.


Otherwise, you'd be inclinded to think that the entire orcish army could be beaten by one man punching an orc, and telling one next to him that he did it. It's stupid.

I personally find that kind of thought trail to be an excercise in futility; enjoy the film what it is and what it gives to you rather than pondering things like what I've just quoted above. If you want to believe that the entire army of Mordor could be defeated by one man punching an orc....etc. that's your doing, I try not to analise films in this way.

Like I said, what if Elrond took the ring and threw it into the cracks of Doom - no film. It's just a pointless way of thinking in my opinion, the orcs and beasts in the tower wiped each other out because that's part of the plot and by that, I mean film plot. Perhaps more time should've been allocated to that feud just to reveal that they were really intent on killing each other in order to explain that outcome but I really don't see it as neccessary - the film is long enough.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Dru
Like I said, what if Elrond took the ring and threw it into the cracks of Doom - no film.
So make it so he couldn't take the ring :)

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley No, I want a Gandalf that at the very least explains why he isn't going to unleash his full and amazing power to aid Middle Earth. I just want a simple explanation. Doesn't have to be long. Could last 30 seconds. Cut an Arwen scene, and splice it in, or something.



Hang on, I don't know how powerful you might think Gandalf is but he's hardly any more powerful than what you see on the screen, if at all. That's a MIddle Earth wizard - that's just how it is. They aren't famous for their magic or power or tricks, I'm of the opinion they are respected for their wisdom.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
I personally find that kind of thought trail to be an excercise in futility; enjoy the film what it is and what it gives to you rather than pondering things like what I've just quoted above.

The concept of suspension of disbelief is paramount in storytelling and in movies. Without due explanation, it fails here.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
The concept of suspension of disbelief is paramount in storytelling and in movies. Without due explanation, it fails here.

That all depends on how deeply you analise the film though. I like to draw a line before I venture into, as I've said, what I consider thought which is irrelevent and futile. I can understand how you might be dissatisfied with the fight between the orcs in the tower but personally, I think given the species - the bad guys, the guys who burn trees and kill things for fun and want to destroy Middle Earth and all it's people, etc. etc. - I think an in-fight is perfectly feasible. Just a matter of opinion.

[Charley]

It certainly doesn't cripple the movie. I love it nevertheless. It's just a moment of intense lameness. I was over it a minute after it happened, since it wasn't a major sticking point. Pretty much, it's the "I don't like sand" of RotK. Intensely annoying, but not really harmful.

[Doc Milo]

Not at any bit were the Uruk-Hai ever explained to be exclusively from Isengard, nor were regular Orcs explained to be exclusively from Mordor. The conflict in TTT seemed more of a draconian disciplining than anything else. They really didn't go into that whatsoever

We see the creation of the first Uruk-Hai in the FOTR. Saruman "perfects" the Orc. This is shown and explained in the movies. The first Uruk that emerges actually kills an orc. And the TTT shows them at odds with one another...

[Charley]

Originally posted by Doc Milo
We see the creation of the first Uruk-Hai in the FOTR. Saruman "perfects" the Orc. This is shown and explained in the movies. The first Uruk that emerges actually kills an orc. And the TTT shows them at odds with one another...

Seeing Uruk-Hai at Mordor kinda negates this. They don't explain it whatsoever. Besides, the Uruk-Hai are vicious, like orcs. This still isn't explained.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
It certainly doesn't cripple the movie. I love it nevertheless. It's just a moment of intense lameness. I was over it a minute after it happened, since it wasn't a major sticking point. Pretty much, it's the "I don't like sand" of RotK. Intensely annoying, but not really harmful.

Interestingly enough, although it is my second favourite of the series, ROTK had a moment which made me cringe a little, something which neither FOTR or TTT have managed to do. The scene in which Frodo wakes up after being rescued from Mount Doom, when everyone walks in one after the other in that dreamy sort of way; that was bad.

[Droo]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
Seeing Uruk-Hai at Mordor kinda negates this.

That's just it, I don't think there were any Uruk-Hai at Mordor. I don't think I saw one in ROTK at all.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
Interestingly enough, although it is my second favourite of the series, ROTK had a moment which made me cringe a little, something which neither FOTR or TTT have managed to do. The scene in which Frodo wakes up after being rescued from Mount Doom, when everyone walks in one after the other in that dreamy sort of way; that was bad.

:lol

There's something intensely amusing and homo-erotic going on with Frodo and Sam. This definitely iced that cake!

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dru
That's just it, I don't think there were any Uruk-Hai at Mordor. I don't think I saw one in ROTK at all.

Who got killed at that castle then?

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Dru
Interestingly enough, although it is my second favourite of the series, ROTK had a moment which made me cringe a little, something which neither FOTR or TTT have managed to do. The scene in which Frodo wakes up after being rescued from Mount Doom, when everyone walks in one after the other in that dreamy sort of way; that was bad.
When Gimli walked in, I expected him to jump on too :)

[Charley]

Think about this...

Sailing ships
Lots of skeletal dead people
Gold jewelry
Bad guy from the Matrix in it.
Bad guys seeking said gold jewelry
A little Sean Astin
Sloth-like Orc commander

This wasn't RotK. It was Goonies 2. :cool

[Hunk]

Goonies isn't Goonies without Data

[Charley]

Originally posted by Hunk
Goonies isn't Goonies without Data

He was on one of the Gondor trebuchets ;)

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
So make it so he couldn't take the ring :)

He couldn't take the Ring. Elrond carries one of the Three, just like Galadriel and Gandalf. If he gave into the temptation, it would have been a result similar to if Galadriel or Gandalf had taken it. Being that Middle Earth would be toast.

[ReaperFett]

I never knew this though. All I saw was Elrond watching the man king not destroy the ring and leave. Surely this is a pretty important point?

[Figrin D'an]

I suppose. It depends upon if you feel that explanation is needed, or if you can accept that future Elf/Gondor relations probably wouldn't have been too good if Elrond had done something unscrupulous to Isildur to destroy the Ring.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

If you can't realize it from watching the three elves who have the Three rings of power in the VERY beginning of FotR, and then see Galadriel's response to the ring...

Oh heck. Who cares? I love the movie. And if they weren't Uruk-hai, sue me. :mneh I was merely trying to give a movie based explaination to the point Charley was complaining about. I do think that the scene should have been drawn out a bit more, as it was suddenly cut back to and Sam was entering and everyone was dead.

[ReaperFett]

Oh, and didn't Boromir say Mordor's air was poisonous or something? I don't remember, but didn't he?


I like picking on things, gives you more reason to rewatch :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am not sure he did but did he mean literaly? It could been figuretively or he was trying to talk them out of it. It is impossible to tell if he was telling the truth there.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
Oh, and didn't Boromir say Mordor's air was poisonous or something? I don't remember, but didn't he?


This was likely in reference to the ash and gas spewed out of Mt. Doom. Volcanoes spit out a lot of nasty stuff besides magma.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
If you can't realize it from watching the three elves who have the Three rings of power in the VERY beginning of FotR, and then see Galadriel's response to the ring...



Yeah, but at the beginning of FOTR, and as is accurate according to Tolkien's writings, the original bearers of the Three were Galadriel, Gil-Galad and Círdan. Gil-galad entrused his to Elrond before he died, and Círdan gave his to Gandalf before taking a ship into the West. So... it's not completely obvious in the film just whom has the Three (besides Galadriel). (Although one of Gandalf's lines in FOTR greatly hints at it).

[Hunk]

Correction: Cirdan gives his to Gandalf when he arrives from the west. Cirdan stays at the Havens at least until the ringbearers take their boat across the sea

(So sue me, I'm a nerd)

[Figrin D'an]

Yeah, you're right. I was going on memory, and I re-read a passage from The Silmarillion that discusses it. My mistake.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I've never read the Silmarillion. ^_^; I tried to read the book of Unfinished Tales once and just about died. I might attempt again.

[Figrin D'an]

The Silmarillion is pretty dry... it's much akin to a cross between a history text and a religious tome. It has some interesting stories, if you really want to know about the full backstory to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but it's far from being an easy or a suspensful read.

It's actually almost more useful as a reference book... on occasion, I will read a passage in one of Tolkien's other books, then find my paging through the Silmarillion to find some more info about some aspect.

But then again, it's been long established that I'm a Tolkien geek. Most people probably don't give a rat's behind. *shrugs*

[Master Yoghurt]

Aye, I agree. Silmarillion is not that easy to read on its own. Its great as a reference work, or reading it parallel to LOTR for better perspective.

[Darth Viscera]

Hey...wait a second. Isn't Arwen Aragorn's cousin? Elrond's brother was Peredhil, first King of Númenor, from whom Elendil was descended.

Also, it might have been a good idea for Sauron the Deceiver to invest in a lock for the Sammath Naur. I mean, the dwarves of Moria were smart enough to build a lock. That's one dumb Ainu.

[JediBoricua]

Just returned from my secdond viewing.

Happy to inform that it was great. Much better than the first time, quiet theather, just my brother and me, no stress, college's over.

Freaking good movie. My favorite part is Theoden speech just before the Rohirrim charge...DEATH!

Such sense of duty and honor, I had goosebumps since he began hitting the spears of the men with his sword.

[Marcus Telcontar]

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/articles/news/?id=031221lotr.htm

245 million WW 5 day. That just shouldnt be possible for a movie this long.

[ReaperFett]

Maybe this will end the myth that long movies will make less, meaning less cuts :)

[Master Yoghurt]

Who thinks it may have a shot at 1 billion worldwide? I do :)

I really don't believe that longer movies make less. If they are popular enough, people will go see it. Did Titanic's running time stop it from making 600? Nope. It is true though, the running time limits the opening, but in return, they tend to have better legs. The box office run is spread out more in time.

And yeah, I believe the trend is longer movies. 10 years ago, 2 hours movies were rare. Now they are the standard. 3 hour movies are getting more common.

[Charley]

Slim shot, maybe.

[AmazonBabe]

This might have been said already, but I think it's time for those that have not read the books to read them (instead of belly-aching that "this wasn't explained in the movie" blah blah). Not everything will be explained from a book as large as the LOTR Trilogy. And that's why the books are there... to read.

Trust me when I say it will answer a HECK of a lot more than what can be put into a movie.

(Example: Those that have not read the books would have been all WTF about Denethor being such a butt-head and despairing left and right, while in the book it is explained and there is some story about Denethor having a Palantir and being shown lies of Gondor's fate by Saurron (someone mentioned this earlier). Though as I recall, this scene was shot and will be placed in the DVD (it better be, at any rate).
Anyhoo, that's just one example of what can be explained in a book but overlooked in a movie due to time contraints and budget.)


(*pant pant* Sorry, mispelled "spoiler" and had to edit really really quick O_o)

[ReaperFett]

...WHAT EXAMPLE? :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Saw it for the second time today. Still love it. :D

[AmazonBabe]

Oh, and for the record I can point out several Uruk-hai in ROTK. Having seen it quite a few times already, you tend to notice different things here and there.

And I thought of another example for my previous post: The Corsair ships. As much as it bugged me to no end, they cut out how Aragorn and his pals and the bazillion dead basically walked all over the pirates, and that's how they ended up with the ships for the battle at Pelenor Fields.

[Charley]

Originally posted by AmazonBabe
This might have been said already, but I think it's time for those that have not read the books to read them (instead of belly-aching that "this wasn't explained in the movie" blah blah). Not everything will be explained from a book as large as the LOTR Trilogy. And that's why the books are there... to read.

Trust me when I say it will answer a HECK of a lot more than what can be put into a movie.

(Example: Those that have not read the books would have been all WTF about Denethor being such a butt-head and despairing left and right, while in the book it is explained and there is some story about Denethor having a Palantir and being shown lies of Gondor's fate by Saurron (someone mentioned this earlier). Though as I recall, this scene was shot and will be placed in the DVD (it better be, at any rate).
Anyhoo, that's just one example of what can be explained in a book but overlooked in a movie due to time contraints and budget.)


(*pant pant* Sorry, mispelled "spoiler" and had to edit really really quick O_o)


You're missing the point entirely. I shouldn't have to require the book in order to make the movie work.

[Lady Vader]

Your loss then.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

I plan on reading the books. That still isn't the issue. The issue at hand is the movie itself, which needs to stand separate from the book. Anything included within needs to have enough context to allow it to be supported.

[Zeke]

Today I was forced through TTT in preparation for a viewing of ROTK in the near future. TTT wasn't enough to sway me away from my adamant opposition to LOTR, and I doubt if ROTK will do it, either. Especially if I'm going to have to read the books to understand. Its no good if I don't get it without the book for reference...but hey, maybe I can get the scoop on what I'm missing from the fanatics that will no doubt fill the theater.

[Charley]

Zeke, its a good movie. What we're nitpicking are pretty minor details. Whereas its pretty easy to peg the "I don't like sand" line in AotC to crappy writing, its harder to peg the stuff in LotR.

Go see it, its definitely worth it. Best of the three.

[Ishan Shade]

Yeah it was definatly worth my money, though it was quite long.....my bum hurt for like 15 minutes afterwards....

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

You wimpy girly-men and your pathetic buttocks. Mine are hard as tuttle shells from years of good, hard sitting. Oh yes, be in awe of my manly theatre buttocks, people.

[Marcus Telcontar]

ROTK gets 250(!!!!!) million first five days world wide. Yeah right, it's only got a slim chance of making 1 billion WW. It's got a great chance.

Also of note TTT is now only 200,000 behind TPM's world wide gross.

[ReaperFett]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
Also of note TTT is now only 200,000 behind TPM's world wide gross.
Including the EE releases?

[Charley]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
ROTK gets 250(!!!!!) million first five days world wide. Yeah right, it's only got a slim chance of making 1 billion WW. It's got a great chance.

Also of note TTT is now only 200,000 behind TPM's world wide gross.

Earn you some statistical exponential degradation. Yes, it's doing very well. No, that doesn't mean it will break the mark. It's much too early to bet on anything except precedent.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Earn you some statistical exponential degradation.

You. Attitude. Door. Out.


Including the EE releases?

Probably. Although, I suspect it's not inclusive of Trilogy Tuesday, as fas as I know, no numbers have been adjusted for that.

[AmazonBabe]

Seeing as how Trilogy Tuesday sold out within a few hours (and in some states, under an hour), I'd say it'd be interesting to see how much the movies brought in on that day.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Marcus Elessar
You. Attitude. Door. Out.

A river. Cry. For me.

[ReaperFett]

How about both of you stop it?

[Droo]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
How about both of you stop it?

Agreed. I've had enough of this new breed of poster that so many have devolved into - this new kthxbye generation. Stop wasting your time typing attitude onto the internet and use it in real life, we don't come here to put up with it.

No more hijacking here, for God's sake.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Well.

Well, well, well.

Impressive.

Very impressive. Was that really 3.5 hours? Didnt feel like it. Definatly one of the best movies I have ever seen. Felt more like a EE. Definatly the best one, probably by some considerable margin.

[Jedieb]

Friday estimates are $20.8M. That's only a 4.6% drop from the previous Friday. That's pretty impressive. The previous 2 films had drops close to 12% for their first Friday.

I was just looking at the Domestic and International numbers for our favorite trilogies. Just by the numbers, LOTR has outperformed SW by a large margin (Over $200M). I didn't count ROTK's numbers just to compare the first 2 movies of each series. AOTC's domestic and international numbers were such a sharp drop off from TPM's that EP3 would have to bring in TPM like numbers just to even up the numbers.

Just money, take it for what you will.

[AmazonBabe]

Hey all!!!! Check this out!!!!!!!

Remember how waaaaaaaaaaay back in my post how I placed a link to a thread I'd started in OOC stating how I'd gone to Trilogy Tuesday and I'd gotten interviewed by the theater?

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll... I'm now FAMOUS!!! (Or at least on the big screen :D)

At AMC Theaters (not sure if it's nation wide, but it's certainly here in So CA), they have placed a section of time before RotK where they have bits of the ppl that were interviewed, and I'm one of the one's featured! (:lol In my Arwen costume, saying I'm getting a hotdog and nachos.)

So if any of you get an itch to see if I'm in any AMC's across the country (assuming you have one near you), then go check it out and see if you see me. :)

[TCM'74]

:lol You bigscreen hotdoggin celebrity Amazon. I will have to check the local theatre listings. Is it during the movie trailers?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

There are no AMC's in Oregon. Only Regal cinemas, and a few Century. :( But congrats!

[Zeke]

ROTK is tomorrow. I'll try not to watch with my ungodly anti-LOTR bias, but don't count on it.

[AmazonBabe]

It's only being shown in AMC theaters (and like I said, I'm not sure if it's even nation wide). The clip of us LOTR nutcases being interviewed is shown just before the movie starts (prob between trailers and movie, or it could be before trailers as well).

Just get there early and keep your eyes peeled! :)

(Pssst... Holly, maybe when you're out here we can go see the movie and THEN you can see me on the big screen! :D)

[Zeke]

ROTK sucked.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Zeke
ROTK sucked.


I know this has been discussed before, and forgive my forgetfullness regarding this... but why, again, do you have such a bias against these films, or Tolkien in general?

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
I know this has been discussed before, and forgive my forgetfullness regarding this... but why, again, do you have such a bias against these films, or Tolkien in general?

I'm tired of hearing all the hype it gets. I've heard so much ceaseless praise for the series that I could implode. There wouldn't be all this irritating overhype if not for the creation of these movies, and so I hate them for it. But aside from that, I also disliked ROTK for these reasons.

It's too long winded, not unlike the books. The characters made a few hundred stupid moves. For example: Aragorn dismisses his invincible ghost army and then turns and decides to fight the 10,000 orc army at Mordor. Rohan King Guy charges at the giant elephant things with just his horses and foot soldiers, then gets made into roadkill. Gandalf could magically dispose of a few hundred orcs at once by waving that staff of his, but instead fights them one at a time with a sword.

That, and a few sections were so pitifully predictable that there was none of the suspense FOTR had when I saw it.

[Figrin D'an]

I can understand being annoyed by the hype. There's a point at which I myself cringe at certain aspects of the fandom regarding the films (and I am a rather large fan of Tolkien's work, and have been for years.)

I generally disagree about the plot issues you pointed out, but I think debating that would be futile.

Beyond that... it's just personal taste, I suppose. It's too bad you weren't able to enjoy it, but just like any other film, it's not necessarily for everyone.

[Zeke]

I'm pretty sure that once it all dies down and people move on to the next most awesomest thing in the whole wide world, I'll be able to watch the trilogy without bias. It worked on the first Matrix, at least until the sequels came out.

[TCM'74]

I wouldn't go so far as to say it sucked, I rather enjoyed it but I am not even sure this is a movie for repeated viewings. I enjoy movies with a nice twist or kink in them among many other factors but, alas, the LotR trilogy provides none of that. I feel Hollywood is on disturbing direction, more and more, it seems there is undeniable signs of style over substance. Tinseltown is now feeding average young moviegoers perhaps what they want --- by saturating the cinema with flicks consisting of megadollar FX, visuals, and action.

[JMK]

Whatever inflates the bottom line dude.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I enjoy movies with a nice twist or kink in them among many other factors but, alas, the LotR trilogy provides none of that.

Don't blame Hollywood for that one, blame the source material to which the movies were *very* close.

[Sonja Gealica]

My experinece SUCKED.


Me and my other sister (not Dae) went an saw ROTK last night, I like the movie, slightly disappointed in it missing a few things at the end Like Merry and Pippin being all hero-y-ish and riding around like Rangers and stuff.

The only sucky bit was about 2/3s of the movie had passed and a bunch of stupid idiots came walking in, not even trying to be courtieous of the fact that they're VERY late, and sit in front of me, and had too much perfume on (I almosted gagged), and the girls in this group had the nerve to stand up, not once, but TWICE, during the film, and since my sister was there I couldn't kick the back of their seats or spit my caramel Juniors in the one guy's inch high hair!

Other then that, I like it, my knees hurt after we got out of the theatre too.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Originally posted by Zeke
ROTK sucked.

:rolleyes Geeee, would never have guessed that would come from you. Why the hell did you bother?

And after not being in the loop for a week, I come back to see LOTR:ROTK has made absolute absurd amounts of dollars everywhere. 512 million WW or something like that?

[Marcus Telcontar]

No chance of 1 billion WW?

After 22 days, LOTR:ROTK is now 676 WW. 291 domestic, 385 Intl. ROTK is showing some sort of staying power. USA domestic, the final total is going to be north of 360 million. It will be the No 1 movie of 2003 in about three weeks time.

It's looking like it has a great shot at 1 billion. If it fails, it will be very, very close.

[Figrin D'an]

As another quick note, if ROTK gets just under $5 million on each of Monday and Tuesday, it'll beat Spiderman's record for fastest to $300 million gross in the US.

[JMK]

That will be incredible. I think it has a great shot a billion.

[Loki Ahmrah]

Fingers crossed then. And tomorrow night I'll be going to see it for the third time. Yay!

[Wei Wu Wei]

I rather enjoyed Return of the King. I heard the ending of it was completely different from the book, though. I heard the book was much gloomier than the movie. On the whole I enjoyed it. The only part I didn't like was my dad's comments throughout the movie. So I'll probably go see it again. Or wait for DVD so I can watch it all by my lonesome.

Gimli was pretty cool. Merry and Pippin were awesome. They finally did something worth doing. And Sam was great too. Much better than Frodo.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
As another quick note, if ROTK gets just under $5 million on each of Monday and Tuesday, it'll beat Spiderman's record for fastest to $300 million gross in the US.

It wont. It will be close, but it wont happen. Still, pretty amazing a 3.5 hour movie got so close.

[Marcus Telcontar]

ROTK is at 710 million WW. Mojo are predicting a 670mm Intl total (390 million right now). That's very likely. 700 isnt out of the questions.

a likely 380 million in the USA. could be more, but.... 382 is my prediction. I'd love to see it beat Spiderman!

On another note, TTT has only to make less than 1 million WW to beat TPM.

[JMK]

So you're still calling your shot at a billion WW?

[Jedieb]

ROTK still hasn't opened in Italy, Japan, and a few other smaller international markets. It's got some big money in front of it before it starts to crawl toward the $1B mark. I would be surprised if it DIDN'T outgross TTT and that was pretty close to $1B in the first place. ($924M)

[ReaperFett]

Okay, ROTK hit 300m before TTT did, but is now dropping quite sharply.


As for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," it has now earned $312 million after four weekends. It passed the $300 million mark on Friday, outpacing its 2002 predecessor, "The Two Towers," by 10 days. However, the new film lost 50 percent of its audience from last week, a steeper drop than suffered by either "The Two Towers" (41 percent) or 2001's "The Fellowship of the Ring" (30 percent) in their fourth weekends.