ObeeKris
Bill Anderson <billanderson601@yahoo.com>wrote:

Bill Anderson
C'Pi wrote:

C'Pi
Pleasurable to see. Entertaining to watch. All the emotional depth of

Kleenex.

ObeeKris
I'll have you know that I've known some wet Kleenexes (Kleenexi?) that can get very emotional. Of course, some of them have a tendency to post here. :)

C'Pi
I hope they do The Hobbit. Give me Gandalf and Bilbo and forget

else.

ObeeKris
Including the dozen dwarfs they go running around with?

Bill Anderson
Yeah...but throw in Legolas shooting those arrows, and Hobbitkids

ObeeKris
And the father Hobbit laughing along with them till his wife comes up.

Bill Anderson
and lovers in the moonlight,

ObeeKris
I envy Viggo Mortenson.

Just saw the movie again last night (3rd time). Just some of my general thoughts about the whole thing. What the heck, I'll seperate by likes and dislikes. Likes first (in no particular order): I love the introduction. The voice-over does a wonderful job setting up and explaining things. Cate Blanchett was a great choice to do it. Ian Mckellan as Gandalf. I really hope The Hobbit gets made, because I want to see him in the role again. (Yes, I realize there are still 2 more movies to go.) Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn. I thought he did a wonderful job with him, making him even cooler than in the book. I envy him for the kiss with Liv Tyler. Merry and Pippin, especially Pippin. They provide a good job of providing the comic relief. And Pippin's a shorter, less hairy version of a Wookie, ie: "Great Chewie, always thinking with your stomach." "I don't think he knows about second breakfast Pippin." :) No Tom Bombadil. "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" The elves and elvish archery. Considering the other recent big screen "movie" to feature elves (D&D, I use the term 'movie' loosely), the elves were 500% better here. And the classic elvish archery. Pull (from quiver), nock, fire, hit a target every time. Beautifully done. Gandalf versus the Balrog. I think they captured it from the book excellently. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

The music was very well done too, though kind of overpowering at times.

The giant stone trolls in the background. I think the costumes were very well done. Normally the costumes don't stand out unless they're designed to (Amidala in TPM comes to mind), but they were excellent here. Gandalf really looked like the architypal wizard that he is. The Hobbits rustic, farmer type clothes. Boromir's outfit for the almost royalty that he is. Aragorn's weather-beaten and lived-in clothes. (I understand the Viggo did most of that himself, even going so far as to sew it up himself if it were ripped.) There are a ton of other things, those are just the tip of the iceberg.

The dislikes (A much shorter list): The way the Hobbits leave the Shire. I think they could have done it just as shown in the book, with a few judiciously used captions. It also would have shown why Sam is so devoted to Frodo. He's been working with and for Frodo for a few years, and they're very close. It comes across somewhat in the movie, I guess, but not as good as the book, I think.

The way they leave in the movie works for the movie, but I just wish they had stayed closer to the book on it. When Frodo and Sam leave at the end. In the book, they sneak off and nobody knows about it. In the movie, everybody just kinda waves and says "See ya later." I especially think it betrays the character of Aragorn. It betrays the oath he made to Frodo in Rivendell: "If by my life or death I can serve you" etc. It goes against how protective he is of Frodo through out the entire movie. Save for Gandalf, he knows best what dangers S&F are facing on the road to Mordor. "Their destiny lies along a different path." Well dammit, walk the path with them.

Other random stuff: In the battle at the beginning, why the heck wasn't Elrond wearing a helmet of some sort? *Everybody* else is except for him. Frodo, slight tip for ya: you've got a sword, use it. The only time I saw him swing Sting at anything is when he's facing the cave troll. The rest of the time he's either falling down or looking helpless. Which brings us to... With as much as Frodo is falling down and getting injured and whatnot, it's absolutely amazing that he and Sam make it to Mordor and actually destroy the ring. It shows exactly how incredibly lucky they were. I'm looking forward to the return of Gandalf. I can't wait to see some reactions about it. One of the people here at work has never read the books. She went and saw the movie and we were discussing it one day. She made a comment about how she couldn't believe that Gandalf died. It was all I could do to keep from giggling and going "Guess what? Wanna know something? He's not dead, he's coming back." I can't wait to see her reaction when she finds that out. I think they should have done something to indicate that the movie is going to be continued in "The Two Towers." At least a comment or something right after the shot of Sam and Frodo, but right before the credits. Because I have heard a couple of comments along the lines of "That's it? What happens next?" They should have done something for those who aren't aware that it's the first part of a trilogy.