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THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Return of the King (spoilers)

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The only word that i can think of the discribe this movie is Breathtaking.

This is by far the best of the three movie PJ has done a fantastic job of creating the Lord of the Rings.The actingis extemely good, i could see sean astine winning best actor, the movie is the the best that i have seen this year keep in mind thou i have not seen Master and Commander yet. the special effects word un mistakenly the best i have ever seen (shelob Best spider ever created). the score was brillent, the cinamatography is unriveled, story stuck the the book for the most part, PJ only took out what he absolutely had too, all of this stuff will be in the EE of course. overall the film was nearly flawless. the eyes expression at the end were great.

i would personally like the thank him and congradulate him on how prefectly stuning these movies were. Good JOB PJ

the one thing that kinda bugged be was that the entire battle of MT was supose to be in darkness cus of some thing that sauron did.
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i have also just got back from the movies and was going to write a long review on what i thought but i will say this...

I went in with my expectations through the roof... and wasn't dissappointed with one aspect of the film..
best of the three movies.. and definatly best of 2003...
totally agree on Sean winning the award too!


there i have said my peace.
hope you all see it!!
"Never. I'll never turn to the darkside. You've failed your highness. I am a jedi, like my father before me."
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My expectations were mixed because I was let down by TTT, and ROTK is my least favorite of the books, however at the same time every review says its brilliant so I was really hoping it would eb good, but what movie ever lives up to hype like that?

This one does.


Magnificent. Defintiely the best of the trilogy. Book wise I like TTT best, then FOTR and ROTK a distant third. But movie wise its the complete opposite. I like ROTK the best, then FOTR and then TTT.

I feel like PJ must of been tired or something making TTT or he just wasn't as in to that one, because I have trouble believeing it was made by the same guy. Don't get me wrong, TTT is in and of itself a great film, but IMHO it doesn't measure up to the other two.

Back to ROTK:

I loved that the hobbits were center stage again. I love how they got it so close to the book and yet excluded all the right stuff, which is why the fellowship movie worked so well.

I was so swept up it never felt like a long movie.

Oddly enough, and I may change my position in a couple days, but as much as I liked it, I don't feel compelled to run out and see it again. I have to soak it up for a while, really absorb the whole expirence. It was just so big and amazing that I need some time to recover.

it wasn't quite as sad as I thought it would be, both FOTR and TTT had me close to tears at the end, but Frodos departure in the final scene felt more like a happy ending then I thought it would, and Theodens death (which actually DID may me cry when I read the book) was sad, but not as heartbreaking as I thought it would be. That really a minor complaint though.

The gollum scene that opened the movie was wonderful, the colour looked amazing, as it did in the final scene, infact in general this is the first LOTR film where the colour really jumped out at me as amazing. The arrival at the destroyed Isengard at the beginning was also quite noteworthy.

The lighting of the beacons scene, and Gandalf and Pippin arriving in Minas tirith were two of my favorite scenes. But then again there wasn't one scene I didn't really like.

Things I'm looking forward to in the EE:

-saruman's demise
-Merry being knighted by Theoden
-Faramir and Eowyn in the house of healing
-the Orc general meeting his demise, I'm hoping Gimli takes him out
-the mouth of Sauron


The Faramir/denethor stuff was heartbreaking


If I had any real beef with movie, I thought that the eye of Sauron suddenly becoming a cartoony lighthouse was a bit too silly, and the eye bulging and freaking out in some parts looked a little silly. However, its still one million times better then what I heard they were doing, which was having Sauron come back to life and fight Aragorn at the black gates. I read a PJ interview where he said they were doing that, thank god he changed his mind.

The only other thing that kind of seemed weird to me, but this was in the book so I can't really complain, it was more just something I thought they would modify, which was that Gollum fell in the lava by accident, I would of rather he sort of redeemed himself by doing it on purpose, that he summoned the strength to destroy the ring and himself in the final moments, isntead of Frodo pushing him.

Shelob looked great, and it was a great moment for Sam, but I thought the spiders in Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets were a bit more real looking. Again, a very minor thing. I knew Shelob was working well when I saw my wife covering her eyes (she's terrified of spiders)

All and all, a damn perfect movie, and likely the best picture winner this year. What else could beat it?

Here's my top movies of the year in no particular order:

-Return of the King
-Finding Nemo
-Master and Commander
-X-men2
-28 days later
-Kill Bill Vol. 1

and the two that Ihaven't seen yet that I really want to are Last samurai and Lost in translation.

And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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the only movie that io have seend that could beat it is the last samurai, it was a damn good movie. but i really dont think it will , it could thou.
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hey guys

wow! what a week i've had!

Return of the King on Wednesday......OMG! what a film!!!!!!!! I was absolutely mesmorised from start to finish! Don't know about you guys but I could defintely have sat through at least another 45 minutes of that film without needing a break! Roll on the Extended Edition!

Shimraa, it's funny you should mention the Orc Commander....Did anyone else think he looked like Sloth from the Goonies? I kept expecting him to shout "HEY YOU GUYS" at any moment! Had me in stitches!

Anyway personal thoughts on the movie......

It was great to see Gandalf cetral to the plot a bit more, I felt he was too far removed in TTT.

Faramir/Denethor.....absolutely awesome (can't wait to see if they involve Denethors dabbling with the Palanthir in the EE, it would help explain his madness & eagerness to obtain the ring a little more plus finalise Boromir's story).

The Siege of Minas Tirith had me on the edge of my seat, the sweeping rollercoaster ride of the winged Nazgul was breath taking.

Samwise.......need I say anymore. THE TRUE HERO of the Lord of the Rings, stead fast, honour bound, he truely brought a tear to my eye many a time during the final parts of the film.

On leaving the theatre I was absolutely shellshocked! It took me about an hour to finally say what I thought of the movie to the friends I went with. I kinda felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. A sense of unwanted closure filled me until I realised that the theatrical edition was little more than a 3 1/2 hour trailer for the Extended Edition! hehehe

One of the finest movies & definitely the finest conclusion to a film series I have yet to witness! I've said it before to my friends but the Gauntlet has yet again been thrown down to George Lucas. Can he possibly out do the Lord of the Rings with SW3? would love to say yes, but in my heart I know it can't!

Today (Thursday) I travelled to London to visit the Lord of the Rings movie exhibition. I dont know if any of you guys know anything about this exhibit but its essentially a collection of prints, sketches, props & costumes from the making of the film. I wandered around the exhibit for about 2 hours absolutely taken aback by the amount of detail that had ben put into the making of this movie. You can kinda get a feel for it watching the Weta Workshop documentaries on the EE dvd's but tell you nothing compares to seeing these exquisite items up close. The detail put into the costumes is unbelievable. I dont think you were meant or allowed to touch any of them but I just couldnt resist! Standing next to a full size movie prop costume of Saurons armour & not being able to feel the care & love that had been poured into its creation & construction, as an artist, was beyond me. so naughty boy that i am, i touched everything that I could! there was so much there that i couldnt even begin to list what I saw. clay pipes, orc spoons (they even made these?????), gandalfs ring, moria goblin arrows, a clear perspex box crammed full of an assortment of hobbit ears, hobbit feet, orc teeth, orc masks, orc feet all showing an incredible amount of wear and tear!

for those like me that love arms & armour, there were costumes of all the major races....

Uruk Hai weapons and armour
Prologue Elves
Helms deep Elves
Prolgue Gondor Soldiers
Gondor Soldiers from Minas Tirith
Harad foot soldier (my personal favourite but only after seeing up close, damn those men wore woven rope as armour)
Moria Orcs
Mordor Orcs
Warg Riders
Gondor Rangers
Rohan Royal Soldier
Rohan Foot Soldier

The list could go on but I fear I'm boring you! If anyone wants me to write a full review I would gladly do so!

The only downside to it?

No camera's allowed inside...now this would normally be ok at a museum exhibit..there are souvenir guides to purchase after aren't there?

Unfortunately someone (either in the museum or involved with New Line) didnt think that far ahead so i have to consul myself to memories & a few sneaky piccies my girlfriend took of myself standing next to the Arganath with a few friends (hehe Gandalf & Strider)

After leaving the exhibit I wandered across London to Forbidden Planet (a kind of Sci-fi geeks movie merchandise & comic book retail outlet). Upon arriving there I noticed a considerable amount of people hanging around the front of the store. Curiosity got the better of me & i felt compelled to ask why so many people were lingering outside (being a shy type this sort of thing does not normally occur), I was rewarded with the answer

"Andy Serkis, Gollum, is signing copies of his new book in 15 minutes"

I nearly died, living ovee the other side of the Country this is not something that would have been advertised. what a stroke of luck & what an incredible end to an amazing day. so after queuing in the cold for 2 hours I got the chance to meet Gollum in the flesh, had my photo taken with him, got his scribble in my book, the chance to share a Halls Soother (a throat sweet) with him, after cunningly suggesting "It Might Help With That Throat Of Yours" to which he laughed wholeheartedly, thanked me & shook my hand & I was then courteously shown out of the shop door!

What a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Evil dude: "You do not no pain, you do not know fear. You will taste MAN FLESH"

Evil ugly dudes: "YIPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
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What... A.... MOVIE!!!!

For the first ten to twenty minutes, I had my mouth hung wide open. I had to tell myself to close my mouth so I wouldn't drool on myself.

I can definately see this film getting a huge recognition for Oscar. It's pretty obvious that Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyen getting Best Adapted Screenplay awards!

I personally am very eager to see the EE of this Movie. The EE of TTT redeemed much of the film IMHO, but this one's just gonna make it that much better!

I can't wait for them to do the Chronicles of Narnia. And i expect them to do it the right way as well! No belittling material because it's Christian Allegory.
"Who's scruffy-lookin'?" - Han Solo
"I wish my lawn was emo so it would cut itself." -sybeman
"You know, putting animals in the microwave is not a good idea. I had to learn that one the hard way." -seanwookie
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I'm worried about the narnia films. I heard they are changing the title of the lion the witch and the wardrobe to "the 100 year winter"

and with the badguys in much of the series being bad arab stereotypes its going to be hard to pull Narnia off correctly.

I hope they do, but I have a bad feeling they will severely botch it up.


HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy is what I'm realy eager to see.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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well rebel the 100 year winter was one of the idea lewis had for the nameing of thei book. (i Think)

i dont see them doing a good job on narnia it would take 7 or at least 6 to do it properly, and i just dont see any movie company making that gamble. 3 maybe but not 6.
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they did TV movies of them a while back, but they only did tLtWatW, voyage of the dawn treader and the silver chair I think.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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they did the fourth one too. i remeber thous i watched all of them.
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they were done pretty well.

I've heard that New Line is focusing its attention on HIS DARK MATERIALS after LOTR, but I don't see how they are going to pull it off. They are going to have to find another Peter Jackson, someone really passionate about the material to make it happen.

Then there is the problem that for every human in the film there must also be a photorealistic talking/shapeshifting animal, whose acting has to equal that of the humans. Thats a lot of CGI

Not to mention that the whole series is basically saying that religon is evil, and ends with pre-teen sex, yet will probably be marketed as a kids film ala Harry Potter.



If they can pull it off I'd be very happy, because I loved these books, but I'm gona be surprised if they can.

Has anyone seen the trailer for the Polar express? Thats the way they should do HDM, animate like that.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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I'm not sure which LOTR thread to post this in, so this one is as good as any,

so we opened our christmas presents a bit early since my wife and I will be working and running around a lot over the holiday and I finally got to see the TTT:EE.

I think its kind of hit and miss, which is how I see the TE of TTT as well. The added Merry/Pippin/treebeard stuff is great for the most part, as is most of the frodo stuff. The last thing this movie needed was more aragorn/Eowyn, infact most of the scenes with them in the middle of the movie should have been cut IMHo and left for the EE.

The boromir flashback is alright, though parts of it seem a bit contrived that Denethor would actually mention how the ring corrupts weaker men, it just seemed like they were trying to be too ironic knowing what happens, I like the Gondor men better when they are ignorant of the Ring's real power. Still the scene for the most part is good. I like most of the scenes in the first hour of the movie, alot of the others I can see why they were cut. The new ending is okay, but it kind of feels choppy, where as TTT:TE was the one film of the trilogy with a really good efficient too the point ending, I feel that is kind of lost now.

Oh well, still neat to see, and I love the special features. Tonight I'm going to have to sit down with some rubbing alcohol and use my wife's hair dryer to try and remove the annoying back label from the box without ripping the case.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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i am sorry to say that my opinion of the TTT EE was exactly opposite yours for one think i loved the deathenor scene, you may nto know this but the reason he became corrupted was because he had a palentir, so he would have known the power of the ring. i also felt that the movie flowed alot better with all of the extra footage. and i a still scratching my head on the reason they did put the trees into the TE, it was like 30 extra fottage and it showed how sarumans army was really distroyed.( i am takng about the forest that creeps up on the battle at helms deep. that forest is full of bad trees, its these tree which the ents heard, and they are the ones that kill the orcs.)
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Originally posted by: Shimraa
i am sorry to say that my opinion of the TTT EE was exactly opposite yours for one think i loved the deathenor scene, you may nto know this but the reason he became corrupted was because he had a palentir, so he would have known the power of the ring. i also felt that the movie flowed alot better with all of the extra footage. and i a still scratching my head on the reason they did put the trees into the TE, it was like 30 extra fottage and it showed how sarumans army was really distroyed.( i am takng about the forest that creeps up on the battle at helms deep. that forest is full of bad trees, its these tree which the ents heard, and they are the ones that kill the orcs.)



I've read the book and I know all about that stuff. As much as I was looking forwrd to the tree scene, it did kind of disrupt the ending and hte pacing, I can see why it was cut.

And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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Originally posted by: Rebel Scumb
they did TV movies of them a while back, but they only did tLtWatW, voyage of the dawn treader and the silver chair I think.


I REMEMBER WATCHING THOSE YEARS AGO. THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD, BUT I THINK THEY REALLY MISSED A LOT OF THE POINTS THAT WERE BEING MADE IN THE BOOKS. BTW, I ACTUALLY HAVE ALL OF THE BOOKS STILL.

"I'VE GROWN TIRED OF ASKING, SO THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME..."
The Mangler Bros. Psycho Dayv Armchaireviews Notes on Suicide

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Originally posted by: Rebel Scumb
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Originally posted by: Shimraa
i am sorry to say that my opinion of the TTT EE was exactly opposite yours for one think i loved the deathenor scene, you may nto know this but the reason he became corrupted was because he had a palentir, so he would have known the power of the ring. i also felt that the movie flowed alot better with all of the extra footage. and i a still scratching my head on the reason they did put the trees into the TE, it was like 30 extra fottage and it showed how sarumans army was really distroyed.( i am takng about the forest that creeps up on the battle at helms deep. that forest is full of bad trees, its these tree which the ents heard, and they are the ones that kill the orcs.)



I've read the book and I know all about that stuff. As much as I was looking forwrd to the tree scene, it did kind of disrupt the ending and hte pacing, I can see why it was cut.


They had it in the extended edition, and it worked just fine. all i am talking about is just the one 2 sec part where you see the orc run into the woods and then see the woods shake.
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I still haven't seen the whole thing (the staff screening ran way too late, and I was offered the chance to see Paycheck and a free movie pass instead... I'm no dummy), but what I have seen looks great. Planning to see it on Friday, before work.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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They had it in the extended edition, and it worked just fine. all i am talking about is just the one 2 sec part where you see the orc run into the woods and then see the woods shake.


No I know, but because of that, the quick moment of Aragorn and Eowyn gets displaced and has differnet music behind it, and doesn't work as well IMHO. Its not a big deal, its a cool scene, all I'm saying is I can see why it was cut.

In fact having seen ROTK now, I actually agree with cutting the saruman scene, I think it works well without it and the pacing would be a bit off with it in. I like elements of the EEs but I agree with PJ that the theatrical cuts are superior. One day I'm gonna do a blend of the two.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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ya actually i agree the scene with ewyen and aragorn does distrupt the flow of the movie.
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Finally saw RotK last night. While I enjoyed it, I found a couple of elements to be a bit off. Those would be the idea of connecting Arwen's fate to how long the ring lasts (silly) and the orc who bears more than a passing resemblance to Sloth from the Goonies. Both of these briefly took me right out of the movie, but overall, it was fun. I'm still of the opinion that Fellowship is the best of the 3.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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i loved the orc he was great. but your right the arawen thing was just a bad idea, i dont know who came up with that.
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agreed, though I wish we'd seen the orc general get killed onscreen. I think Gimli should have the honours so that he could have a hero moment.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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One more thing that has bothered me from the very beginning, and I think I've mentioned this before: why leave the reforging of Anduril until the 3rd film? I admit that it seems more "cinematic", but the idea of having the shards in Rivendell and waiting until film #3 to bring the sword back into the story seems wrong, especially when it is Aragorn's possession of Anduril that proves to the Riders of Rohan just who he is in TTT (the book).

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.