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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')."

30 of 757 comments (clear)

  1. Quote... by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 4, Funny

    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?
  2. Yea by mao+che+minh · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

    1. Re:Yea by dswensen · · Score: 4, Funny

      Of course, based on the success of Lord of the Rings we can probably expect a truly God-awful movie adaptation of Dragonlance to roll into production pretty soon.

      I can already see it now... Keanu Reeves as Tanis Half-Elven, Tara Reid as Laurana, a CGI-reduced Kris Kristofferson as Flint and Pauly Shore as Tasselhoff... okay, I have to stop, I'm making myself sick.

    2. Re:Yea by los+furtive · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can already see it now... Keanu Reeves as Tanis Half-Elven, Tara Reid as Laurana, a CGI-reduced Kris Kristofferson as Flint and Pauly Shore as Tasselhoff... okay, I have to stop, I'm making myself sick.

      As long as there aren't any Baldwins in it.

      --

      I'm a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it. I don't buy software, I grow it.

  3. Secrets? by mattjb0010 · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

    1. Re:Secrets? by stevesliva · · Score: 4, Funny

      Surprised? They want to be surprised? Right-- Sauron wins and Middle Earth plunges into darkness forevermore. No effing way does anyone, whether they've read Tolkien or not, expect Frodo not to be successful.

      --
      Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
  4. Gaffes interview ending... by nacturation · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.
  5. Re:Typical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    >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 ...

  6. Re:I hope the kids can wait to open their presents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I even had a date, with my wife's blessing

    Where can I get a wife like that?!

  7. Re:Is it just me or.. by Croaker · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  8. Re:Is it just me or.. by Quixote · · Score: 3, Funny
    What is the point of reading a review before watching a movie?

    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?

  9. Franchises by splaytree · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  10. Re:It was already written for a different audience by flynt · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

  11. Re:Reviews are useless... by dswensen · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

  12. Re: Have to say it... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny


    > First franchise not to let fans down? ... You wanna see great film making go rent a copy of "The Man Who Would Be King" or one of the other thousands of classic movies out there you don't even know about.

    Great movie, but he was talking about franchises. When we see TMWWBK VII we can revisit this issue.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  13. Re:The matrix. by Progman3K · · Score: 5, Funny

    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
  14. The first thing I thought of... by Ancient+Devices+King · · Score: 5, Funny
    when I saw that article was this:

    "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?"
  15. Re:Reviews are useless... by bastion_xx · · Score: 4, Funny

    For the love of god, please, please, tails....

    D'oh, damned dirty nickel!

  16. Re:Reviews are useless... by AvantLegion · · Score: 4, Funny
    >> 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?

  17. Hollywoodized LOTR by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    > 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
    1. Re:Hollywoodized LOTR by TheFlamingoKing · · Score: 5, Funny
      The ringwraiths would be top-secret robotic soldiers with lasers on their heads, taken over by a "hacker" (Sauron).

      Sauron: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have ringwraiths with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!

    2. Re:Hollywoodized LOTR by CommieLib · · Score: 4, Funny

      That was the plot of Highlander 2, wasn't it?

      --
      If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
  18. Re:So.... by TheFlamingoKing · · Score: 4, Funny

    If it means not having to hang around 300 rabid Slashdot nerds in a dark theatre, you can add me to that list.

  19. Re:LOTR - Best Trilogy by big_groo · · Score: 5, Funny
    TORL?

    Sashdlot - news for Dysgraphics. Tsuff that satterm.

  20. Re:LOTR - Best Trilogy by fenix+down · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  21. The Matrix vs. ROTK by MuParadigm · · Score: 4, Funny


    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.

  22. Re:Sometimes it doesn't matter by breon.halling · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... Nearly everyone in the audience knew damn well he was fine and would return ...

    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."
  23. Re:5 Potatoes in a 4 Potato bag by Lachrymite · · Score: 3, Funny

    I only have one thing to say about this...

    *best Samwise impression* PO-TA-TOES!

  24. Re: LOTR - Best Trilogy by kwazy · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.)

  25. Re:Matrix was not THAT bad by ader · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes, you are The One.

    Ade_
    /

    --
    Big Bubbles (no troubles) - what sucks, who sucks and you suck