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First Review Of Return Of The King
dipfan writes "Newsweek has a first review of the third instalment of LOTR - and gives it two thumbs up: "Judging from a recent Newsweek screening in New Zealand, The Return Of The King is a sure contender for best picture. More than that, it could be the first franchise ever that didn't, at the end of the day, let audiences down--either because of laziness, pretension, greed or other phantom menaces. This is an especially poignant possibility at a time when we can all still smell the smoke from the wreckage of The Matrix." Fingers crossed. There's also an entertaining piece on LOTR gaffes with comments from Peter Jackson (such as 'Well, it's too late to fire anyone,' and 'We didn't think Elijah looked very good with pus')."
There's the hobbit blade Sting and, right next to it, two versions of the kingly sword known as Anduril, one shattered, one whole Frodo, you dont have to put up a red light, I'll send an S.O.S to the Shire, I'll send an S.O.S to the shire I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, message in a bottle.....
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
We don't need a good review to know that this film is going to be good. The first two of this trilogy were so good that non-fantasy lovers are now buying Dragon Lance books. I mean, cmon.
Secrets of 'The King'. Can't break this hobbit: Will Frodo destroy the ring? Will Aragorn wear the crown?
Yes, those are well kept secrets.
After getting Peter Jackson's comments on around ten different blunders in the movies, Jackson says "[ Pause ] You've got pages and pages there. And those are all mistakes they've spotted?"
Mr. Jackson, you must be new around here.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
>I love it when the cool thing to do is bash popular movies, this dude will probably be the first person in line to say RotK sucks, whether it does or not.
...
This dude is the Newsweek reviewer, and he said incredibly positive things about ROTK. OF course, don't let that get in the way of your point
I even had a date, with my wife's blessing
Where can I get a wife like that?!
Obviously the happy medium is to read the review *while* seeing the movie. People always bitch at me for bringing in that reading lamp, though.
and by the same token, whats the point of reading the review after watching the movie? The deed's been done. Why dwell on it?
Quite a conundrum, ain't it?
More than that, it could be the first franchise ever that didn't, at the end of the day, let audiences down--.
Actually, I think the Debbie Does Dallas franchise did a pretty decent job of keeping its audience up.
Tolkien wrote his works for a narrow literate audience
You've just inspired me. I am going to try the opposite strategy and write a book for a large illiterate audience. Looks like I just found calling.
Do what I do - read the review and *pretend* you've seen it. Certainly helps me save money.
<bitterness>
"from the they-like-it dept." indeed - next Slashdot will be telling us Gollum doesn't get the girl.
</bitterness>
</irony>
-- "Peace in Ireland is an issue Goodbye bombs, we're gonna miss ya" - Electronic
Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
What tools do you use to help you decide which movies to see?
A nickel.
Heads we see Daddy Day Care, tails we go home and pound nails through our hands.
Elijah Wood will switch between his two vastly different facial expressions (wide-eyed shock and wide-eyed fear), Gimli (too lazy to find out how the actor's name is spelled) will endure three hours of short jokes, Liv Tyler will stand still and move her lips to dialogue generated by a totally unconvincing speech synthesizer, and the entire thing will reach a climax of sorts with a CGI-overloaded battle scene filled with lots of quick cutting and handheld camerawork so you'll know it's edgy and modern while at the same time making it next to impossible to determine exactly where the combatants are in relation to one another. THE FILMMAKING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM!!!!!!! The New Zealand Tourist Commission sure got their money's worth.
> First franchise not to let fans down?
Great movie, but he was talking about franchises. When we see TMWWBK VII we can revisit this issue.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Did you ever stop to think that The Matrix IS deep, and that perhaps you just didn't understand it?
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
the problem with LOTR is that each movie is made with a sequel in mind. I mean, walking out of the theater after fellowship of the ring, you knew they would make a sequel. Just like the loud mouth sitting behind me said at the end " man, they so set that one up for a sequel". Same thing with part 2. Heck, im sure that part 3 will be end like tht too. Part 4 will probaby be something like "Battle for the Shire" then they will want to milk the cow even more and come out with a prequel like star wars. Probably call it "The Hobbit" or something like that.
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
"In episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder."
(It's from the Poochie episode of the Simpsons, for anyone who didn't get it immediately.)
-"It seems like you're trying to exploit a security hole. Would you like help?"
For the love of god, please, please, tails....
D'oh, damned dirty nickel!
I was a bit lost in the middle of FOTR because Glorfindel got replaced by some chick (AFAIK, we weren't told she was Arwen until later). It then bothered me when Elrond, the most enlightened dude in Middle Earth frowned when Merry & Pippin intruded on the Council.
This was minor compared to Treebeard being easily tricked and Faramir being yet another selfish man.
I recovered in the first film, but I didn't REALLY enjoy TTT until the DVD came out.
Some of the changes are forgiveable. If there are any similar bloopers, I'd like to know about them ahead of time, so that I can be prepared.
Having said that, the films are still incredibly good and Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar.
So what did you think of Gigli?
The next Star Wars movie is going to eat dick just like the last two have.
It could be 90 minutes of George Lucas taking a giant dump and fans would still flock to see it. which incidentally is quite a funny coincidence.
You've just inspired me. I am going to try the opposite strategy and write a book for a large illiterate audience. Looks like I just found calling.
So, you want to work for Playboy...
> his masterpeace hollywoodized for the consumption of the illiterate masses.
If LoTR was produced by the usual Hollywood crowd...
- Hobbit "Merry" would be a faggot with a penchant for saying things that made everyone else in the movie think he was "Gay", though the audience would know better.
- The ringwraiths would be top-secret robotic soldiers with lasers on their heads, taken over by a "hacker" (Sauron).
- The flight from the Shire to Rivendell would be a car chase.
- The barrow wights would be drug dealers, angry because the car chase crashed through the warehouse right when their big deal was going down.
- Strider would be a 6'1" Brazilian lesbian who wore a chainmail bikini and prefered kickboxing to broadswords. The camera would linger lovingly at the appropriate places, and she would give Arwen a hot kiss in the trailer.
- When the Hobbits first met Strider at Bree, there would be a pole dancer in the background while they talked.
- After the skirmish at weathertop, Elven paratroopers would drop in to rescue the heros just after they had driven off the ringwraiths and didn't need help anymore.
- At the Ford of Isen, the flash flood would be caused because one of the Bad Guys' Henchmen set off the charge and blew the dam a few seconds too late. The cars washed down the river by the flood would go over a waterfall and explode in mid air.
- There would be an enemy mole in the Fellowship, motivated by jealousy over somebody or another.
- The tentacled thingy outside the Gates of Moria would drag the mole to his death. Papers found on his body afterward would tip the Fellowship off that he had been a mole.
- The orcs in Moria would be more drug dealers, angry because the Fellowship interrupted another big deal. Or maybe terrorists planning an attack on the Shire, angry at being discovered before carrying out the plot. The Fellowship would kill about 900 in hand-to-hand combat before they had to flee.
- Ms. Strider would wrestle the balrog while the others fled, losing her top duing the fight but having it CGBra'd back on to preserve the film's rating.
- Lots of explosions in the Moria fight, even though everyone was fighting with knives and crowbars.
- Everyone would get laid at the visit to Galadriel's haven. (Except for Merry, who would spend the evening putting off the advances of a Gay Elven Warrior who came out of the closet due to Merry's charms.) Frodo and Strider would rate a threesome with Galadriel herself.
- Lembas would give the heros Amazing Powers, which would fade just when they needed it most.
- Boromir would break up the Fellowship by making a pass at Merry, never previously having a queer urge in his life. Merry's dignity would be saved by a timely Orc raid.
- ...
Somone else can take it from there...Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
If it means not having to hang around 300 rabid Slashdot nerds in a dark theatre, you can add me to that list.
> There is plenty of Tolkein left in its pristine unfilmed state, the Silymarilyn
The heartwarming tale about the foolish Marilyn vos Savant of a parallel universe? I hope they make a movie out of that one, too!
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Sashdlot - news for Dysgraphics. Tsuff that satterm.
No one would want to film one of those...
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
Just take the one you have now and threaten her with 10 hours of the Lord of the Rings for Christmas.
What makes TOLR so much better than Star Wars is that the TOLR has a timeless story to tell; its story actually has a meaning that people can relate to.
TOLR? The of lord rings?
sig?
I liked the cartoon. Sure, there's a terminal case of 70s hair, and they probably couldn't have bought a 70s Toyota with the budget they had to work with, but it could've been worse. Gollum kicked ass, anyway. If you're going to get all pissy about little things like the Balrog looking like an epileptic Cowardly Lion with a tent stapled to his back, then you'll never be happy.
The Silmarillion isn't that tedious, really. Some of the other stuff that doesn't have the LotR references to string you along can be bad, but my 10 year old nephew did Silmarillion without much trouble.
I guess this means that all RotK items are going to rehash The Matrix Re: sequels until RotK is released?
I mean, didn't the last RotK item also quickly degenerate into a debate on the merits of The Matrix sequels.
WHAT?!?!??!?!?!
Man! I knew I should have seen the second movie! ;)
"Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
"Mr. Baggins. It seems you've been leading two lives. On the one hand, you lead a simple, pleasant life. You have furry feet. You even help your uncle Bilbo take out the trash. On the other hand, you carry an evil that breaks every law of nature we have. One of these lives has a future, Mr. Baggins. The other does not."
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
I only have one thing to say about this...
*best Samwise impression* PO-TA-TOES!
An unknowing visitor at the airport would get a hell of a sock at the warriars and dragons etc. leering down at them.
Warriors and dragons are handing out clothing now? It better be really evil clothing, or else its not even worth it. I can get normal clothing at trade shows and cons, and the people there are usually not dressed up as warriors or dragons, although it might be an improvement for them.
You can mod your friends, you can mod your nose, but you can't mod your friend's nose.
>> IMHO reviews are not worth the time and effort to read. Go see the film yourself and decide. That's the only way.
So what did you think of Gigli?
Those weren't reviews, those were obituaries.
But that Return of the King cartoon is worth viewing just for the scene of the orcs singing "when there's a whip, there's a way!" while flogging Frodo and Sam on a forced run in Mordor.
Let's see if Peter Jackson has the balls to include that in his fancy shmancy live action mega-movie. HAH! (It also better be on the soundtrack.)
Yes, you are The One.
Ade_
/
Big Bubbles (no troubles) - what sucks, who sucks and you suck
You left out the major video game marketing ploy. Man, that pissed me off.
What happend to Niobe's ship? Find out in Enter the Matrix, only $29.99 at your favorite video game store.
What did the Oricale say to Niobe? Find out in Enter the Matrix, only $29.99 at your favorite video game store.
They may as well had Niobe give Morphous a copy of the game and say, "Play this game, Morphous, and all your questions will be answered."
Quote from Amazon.com : "Game script written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers' as an integral part of the entire Matrix experience--the movie is incomplete without the game, and the game is incomplete without the movie"
Bastards....