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Return of the King Leads Oscar Nominations
PurdueGraphicsMan writes "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the final chapter in Peter Jackson's directoral masterpeice is leading the 76 Annual Academy Awards with 11 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Next in line with 10 nominations including Best Picture and Best director is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Here is a full list of the nominees in all categories."
Could Return of the King be the first fantacy movie to win an Oscar?
...until the outrage over the exclusion of Andy Serkis will be heard in here?
You can compare the actual nominations to Roger Ebert's predictions. He was pretty on point for Best Picture, Actor, and Supporting Actress. Its surprising to see the well liked but little seen roles getting nods. Alec Baldwin in The Cooler for one. Likewise it's interesting to see Keisha Castle-Hughes for her work in Whale Rider. Many were predicitng Charlize Theron would run away with her work in Monster but Castle-Hughes could pull an Anna Panquin upset. That role was powerful AND beloved. Something that might worka gainst Theron.
Jude Law's nod is interesting since I don't remember anyone really talking about his performance (as compared to what Sean Penn, Bill Murray and Johnny Depp did this year). Ebert picked Russell Crowe's in Master and Commander which, likewise, didn't seem to have a big impact.
Strangest one is that City of God got three nominations... although it had its NY/LA debut in December 2003 (Ebert made specific mention of it in his Top of 2004 to explain its absence). But here its getting nods for Cinematography, Direction and Writing. It probably only has a chance in Cinematography where RotK is (strangely) absent.
RotK will probably run away with Makeup, Music(Song), Sound, Writing (Adapted), and Costume Design. Of course those are the second tier ones that end up as consolation prizes for a lot of folks. The interesting thing will see how it does in the big categories (which I guess Adapted Screenplay is one).
What is music when you despise all sound?
There is no suprise that this movie gets this kind of attention. I know I dreaded seeing it, just because I didn't find the other two movies very facinating. But in the end, I walked out of that theater with a smile on my face, happy with the fact, I didnt feel ripped off.
I know I am not the only person that got caught up in the same kind of situation. It was just good.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
Is it's about DAMN time.
Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
... or did "Big Fish" just get screwed?
most wooden delivery of lines.
kind of sad when the best actors in the movie are a cgi and the asthma kid from goonies.
*insert Krusty the clown quote about the academy being out of touch here.
feel free to mod me as a troll or a big meaney or whatever -- I still love you unconditionally
hopefully it will win best picture. But since the other two parts didn't win i guess it wont this time either
Every other Tim Burton movie stinks. This was not his year for a good one.
I think it's very interesting to see that (IMHO) the two best movies to be nominated for best director are ROTK and Lost in Translation. One is a huge epic with a billion setpieces, thousands of extras, and a weaving storyline; this is an extreme challenge to direct. On the other hand, Lost in Translation features very few actors, very few locations, and some of the best low-key directing I've ever seen.
I'm glad that the Oscars are nominating directors who are working from such completely different directions, but both achieving such brilliant results.
This is immensely funny, please mod up accordingly.
What about nominations from the cast? ZERO.
Granted it's probably because the characters are actually co-dependant and everyone was fantastic but still...
I saw Lost in Translation at a pre-screening and while I thought it was "entertaining" I certainly don't believe Bill Murray was any better in that one than any other movie he has been in.
Depp's character was fantastic and he really led the movie and he probably deserves the award out of the list IMHO.
But why not at least NOMINATE an actor for best supporting from LOTR?
The NYT website front page, arbiter of all that is good and important, is touting the splendor and Oscar success of "Lost in Translation," so I can't imagine that any film could have done better than that one. You'd better check your facts.
taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
That's why Titanic must be the greatest movie of all time. *cough*
Go see "City of God" and see if you still think Peter Jackson should get best director. I definitely think TRotK deserves an oscar for Adaptation and Art Direction, but City of God was really powerful, and it was mostly kid actors.
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
No-one with a half a brain gives a shit about the 'Oscars'.
Oh wait, you're all American aren't you?
Master and Commander is a sleeper of a movie. My son and I went to see it on a lark and were blown away by it... I have always loved sailing ship books and movies -- and have not seen one done as well as this one. RotK is definately number one on my list, but Master and Commander is a close number two.
[Of Note: There was NO love interest at all! Doesn't that break some unwritten rule of Hollywood?]
For every problem there is a solution that is simple, obvious and wrong.
hi all (george here)
i have NO idea what the academy is SMOKING here!! god!! return of the king was about the WORST movie i saw all year!! for starters we got to the movie about ten minutes LATE because it took my god damn wife so LONG to shovel the snow out of the driveway and then when we FINALLY got there the idiot at the ticket booth did not accept the tickets i printed out from fan dango because he said that the effing NUMBER was INVALID!! god!!
so then we get to the concession stand and this MORON puts too much butter on my popcorn which gives me gas, but that didn't matter because then my wife spilled the WHOLE god damn BAG as she was carrying it into the theater, also she spilled our sodas, god!! how can i sit for THREE HOURS without soda!! and then during the whole movie this slut in front of us was talking on her CELL PHONE about how her next door neighbor's shit zoo had just given birth to puppies, now what in the hell, PUPPIES, who effing cares!! turn off your god damn phone you hippy
then there was this baby next to us that kept CRYING, now if you have a loud baby take some advice from me (george) and leave the god damn thing at HOME now do you got that!! have a little bit of courtesy for your fellow man now do you got that, all in all it was the worst moviegoing experience of the year and i cannot understand these nominations
your buddy
-gbd
While most here will likely be commenting on Return of the King I would liek to say I am extremely pleased to see that Master and COmmander is getting praise.
I loved the effects and story line. I actually haven't seen Return of the King but just by the prevews I have seen it looks like it deserves all the praise it has received.
shurely the matrix reloaded wins that one hands down?
Anyone else surprised that Master and Commander got so many nominations? I mean, the costumes and effects were great, and even the acting was decent, but all the characters felt like stereotypes. By the midpoint of the movie I was bored stiff and just waiting for more stuff to blow up (thank god he made us guys easily amused).
Who would have thought a Jerry Bruckheimer produced Film based on a Disney Ride would have produced a nomination for best actor - but it was a brilliant Keith Richards-esque performance by Depp - well deserved - However I think Bill Murray will win the Oscar he sould have got for Rushmore
It's hard enough to remember my opinions, never mind the reasons for them..
Has someone made a film of the Tolkien book? Amazing! I must try and get hold of a copy. What a challenge to have taken on. Just the mere thought of how to represent a character such as Tom Bombadil on screen would scare me off.
While I gave high marks to Master and Commander for their coverage of the tiniest technical details of period naval warfare, and while I thought the foley work of the battle scenes was truly visceral, and while I enjoyed the basic setting and premise in which the characters found themselves, I was really let down by the movie.
It's a thirty minute plot, at most. It can be summed up as "whups, I guess we fucked THAT up, but let's not let that happen again..." about five times in a row. That's it. We blundered, let's move on. Oops, again. Ouch, let's try to avoid that. And oops, we didn't think of that.
It's like the premise behind Moby Dick. Have you read it? Incredible details, no plot. But a movie can't capture these details to a tenth of the degree that print can. You need story. You need arc. You need something to advance and change.
[
I really don't think any of the two Matrix movies deserved anything, but someone had to say it.
Let the 5,000 posts comparing trilogies begin!
I'm a bit upset that Sean Astin didn't get nominated for best supporting role (I didn't care if he won or not, but he should have been at least nominated).
On the bright side, RoTK got the Golden Globe for best picture, so maybe the oscars will take not and follow suit?
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Why did you even bother to read this Oscar item if you don't care?
Irony is Disney getting nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Finding Nemo...
And truthfully, while it was another exceptional movie for Pixar, I didn't find it all that entertaining. Give me Monsters Inc. or a Miyazaki movie any day.
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
Honestly, I'm not trolling, but I thought LOTR:RoTK was by far the worst of the three. My feelings were that they would get the nominations and have the best chance of getting awards this year because the awards organizations knew they could put off throwing Jackson et al a bone due to the way they made/released the three films.
although it had its NY/LA debut in December 2003
That should be 2002 as taken from this: "So true that City of God was No. 2 on my list for last year. The film played in every major festival in 2002 and was a candidate for year-end awards, and although it did not open in Chicago until January, I didn't see the point in waiting 12 months to put it on a best 10 list when putting it on the timelier list might do it some good."
What is music when you despise all sound?
I hope Jackson gets an award for creative writing for the changes he made to the story line. All the movies were entertaining, but they should have a tag: loosly based on "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy." When did Legolos ever kill an elephant in the books?
Will Tolkein get any credit or award from the Academy?
Of all categories, I expected to seem them nominated (and win) in this one. The cinematography was easily the best I've seen in years. Without that ROTK wouldn't be nearly as good -- it added to the tone tremendously.
Actually the only other movie I saw on the list was Lost in Translation. The closer you look at the film itself the more flaws you see. The script is full of cliches (particularly when you think who the director is) but thankfully spends most of the time observing the characters being themselves - and Bill Murray put in what is without a doubt the finest and most honest performance in his career. He totally deserves best actor.
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
I propose: The Eddies!
Which editor is most in need of a spell checker? Which one obviously doesn't read the front page? Whom would you most like sent to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison?
Post your nominations here!
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
That was one area where I was sure ROtK (or in fact the whole trilogy) was going to win.
I can't believe Andy Serkis wasn't nominated for best actor as Gollum... after seeing the TTT extended edition it amazes me just how much work he put into that character... i think he deserves some credit for that. Oh well, once again the Academy doesnt agree with me
10. Biggest scifi/fantasy genre movie WITHOUT a character that looks like the Oscar statue (Bye, C-3PO!)
9. Best performance by mountain beacons
8. Biggest elephants
7. Best Evil Lighthouse in any movie in all of 2003.
6. The National Cherry Tomato Board would like to make sure that John Noble is nominated for best actor for his work as Denethor.
5. "Most Costumed Geeks in Theatre since Star Trek 6"
4. Best use of recycled pointed ears left over from collapsed "Star Trek" franchise.
3 rings for the elven kings
2. Best title ripped off from that of 3rd "Star Wars" film.
1. Those cheesy green ghosts didn't get nominated for "Eddie Murphy Haunted Mansion". Let's nominate them for their ROTK cameo instead.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Totally agree. The 1998 Best Picture category was definitely a tough one. IMHO, LA Confidential is probably one of the best movies of all time. How Titanic beat it is still beyond me.
Free XBox, PS2
master & commander was overrated
the cinematography was gorgeous, the cat and mouse game had potential, but the plot was flaccid... in the theatre i was in, people were sleeping through it on the opening weekend
that's not good
no matter what you thought of the rest of the movie, they really could have spruced up the plot, a lot
hollywood should pay screenwriters tens of millions of dollars and spend hundreds of thousands on special effects
unfortunately it is the reverse, and it shows in so many movies
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
If you were somehow involved with the making of the Lord of the Rings, then this is something to be excited about? But why should fans of the movie give one damn whether or not it's nominated, or especially wins? I mean, if you like something, then enjoy it. You shouldn't have to have your beliefs somehow validated by a panel of judges. Have confidence in what you like, you shouldn't need anyone to confirm that what you like is somehow 'good' enough.
Very disappointed that Sean Astin (sp?) didn't get a nomination for best support. I haven't seen anyone play a role as well as that for a long time - certainly better than some of the lead actor nominations!
Let's run down them, shall we:
;)
Neo: "Whoa!"
Neo: "I love you too damned much!"
Neo: "I need you..."
Trinity: "I need you too..."
The Architect: Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you, inexorably, here.
Truly a masterpiece of unparalleled proportions!
At least it was a fun "beat 'em up!" movie
Lucifer will catch a cold before a movie like LOTR wins any of the "serious" oscars. Before any of you people get your hopes up, you might as well accept it RIGHT NOW: fantasy movies aren't serious enough for "real" Oscars in the eyes of the voters. We'll always get the token costume and special effects awards, but that's it. Fantasy, sci-fi, that's Kid Stuff. Not worthy of adult accolades. I haven't watched the Oscars in years, and don't plan to again this year. It's a forgone conclusion that the movies I give a damn about will be largely ignored or given consolation oscars (which is what FX, etc really is).
Unless you have "adult" themes and/or biting social commentary, forget it. If Gandalf had invited a cross dressing Hillary Swank along for the ride, and maybe brought Toby Maguire to do abortions on the trip, well, maybe we'd stand half a chance in hell.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
...is that Sean Astin was passed over for Best Supporting Actor. After his turn in RotK--particularly the scenes on the slope of Mt. Doom--he really deserved at least the nomination. I can't believe they left him out.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
That was a fantastic first post. I applaud you, sir.
If the oscars goes to ROTK it will be only to compensate the money it cost. It isn't a good movie, not even a good adventures movie.
Sadly Clint Eastwood will remain without the oscar.
Is there no performance of any kind, male, female, supporting or main in ROTK that is worthy even a nomination? Once you accept that it is fantasy, I think the actors did fine jobs. Hard to pick any single outstanding "oscar moment" though. The best "acting" scenes are in the other movies IMHO.
Can't really think of anyone in LOTR that would deserve a nod before Depp though, so I guess it doesn't matter.
Even stranger is the lack of a nomination for Cinematography. I must have misunderstood something, how can ROTK not get one for that?
Undeniably the success of Jackson's epic has left Hollywood with a slight case of egg-on-face. This was a trilogy shot right outside the establishment orbit; filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand and funded by the independent New Line Cinema after original backers Miramax demanded that the entire story be condensed into a single two-hour movie.
In the view of many experts, The Lord of the Rings was shaping up to be the biggest disaster in cinema history. Now it has gone down as one of its greatest triumphs. Evidence suggests that February 29 will be the date of Hollywood's official mea culpa. Assuming that Return of the King wins best picture (and you'd be a fool to bet against it), it will in effect be an award for all three films. The same goes for Jackson's probable nod as best director.
I've finally got around to changing my sig
No anime in the best animated picture category. Nemo will win, allowing Disney another "me too" moment at the Oscars.
Meanwhile, anime yawns and breaks the $4 billion mark.
Disney's response? Brother Bear.
That about wraps it up.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
Then become an open source developer. He'd fit the part perfectly!
Johnny Depp!! A Keith Richards-inspired glam rocking pirate, going purposefully over the top for every line reading. And he gets the nomination. This is much more monumental than the 13 noms for ROTK.
And where is the love for Peter Sarsgaard for Shattered Glass? Easily the best performance (lead or supporting) of the year.
Man, you must be the most unpopular guy in the universe. A slashdot reader who hates nerds. I mean, wow. What peer group does someone like you belong to? Did you like, not make the chess team or something, and now you're out for revenge?
How could ROTK get 11 nominations and then be passed over for cinematography? You're telling me City of God had better cinematography then ROTK? Maybe I'm just biased, caused I loved the movie, but that seems a little odd?
It's possible that RotK could win Best Film and Best Director. Best Director seem almost obvious, until you consider that no woman has ever won the Best Director award before. In fact, only two women have previously been nominated, Lina Wertmuller and Jane Campion.
This raise the question of whether women in the Academy will vote for Coppola, to see a woman get the award for once and set a precedent. It's not as if Coppola doesn't deserve it either, she made a delightful and semi-profiund film on a 3 million dollar budget.
Of course, Jackson's achievement with The Lord Of The Rings is amazing and probably the largest single project a director has ever taken on, so he deserves it too.
All I'm saying is don't be too surprised if there's an surprise upset, for Coppola, in these two categories. Coppola has a strong chance, especially since RotK may be considered a "boy" film by female members of the Academy.
Could somebody tell me why the Oscars need to be the benchmark of what's "best" in movies the past year?
-C
Also, I find I can save a lot of money if I have the wife bring drinks and snacks into the theater under her skirt or dress.
You certainly would have been within your rights to ask the ushers to eject the rude patron with the cell phone, as well as the baby daddy and mommy.
A. Rightmann
Hmmm....I thought it was really well made, and Bill Murray's performance was great, just pipped by Sean Penn.
But I noticed Lost in Translation got nominated for screenplay as well, and so I expect it to win it. Every year a movie I respect for craft, but who's screenplay I think is manipulative cheap toys (yes yes, all movies are manipulative, but I'm not supposed to see the strings DURING the movie...) wins.
But if you liked Lost in Translation, I suggest you all go out and rent a Wong Kar-Wai movie, start with Chungking Express. Very similar, with a greater sense of fun- a different kind of cool though. More leather jackets and sunglasses, than NY east village a la Lost in translation.
...for Sean Astin? :-(
oh well, the Oscars are full of sh*t anyway.
... Annie Hall will win best picture. Get over it.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
I was disappointed that this movie had nothing to do with Gary Larson.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
It's interesting that they basically ignored Cold Mountain... when it came out everyone was crying "Oscar bait!" I mean, if a decent Civil War epic love story, featuring a host of Academy Award winners and nominees, directed by the same man as a previous Best Picture, and released by Miramax can't even get nominated, what does that say about the Academy? Maybe they aren't so shallow after all...
-3Suns
~~~~
The Revolution will be Slashdotted
"With Bill Murray, this is the first time he's actually gotten arround to playing somebody other than Bill Murray."
You obviously didn't see Rushmore. It was a great film, and Murray was wonderul in a supporting actor role.
They should really rename that sucker the "Until Miyazaki makes another film, let's just hand it to Pixar" award.
What an objectionable person you are...
so lets see now..
"movie about ten minutes LATE"
That would be your fault then
"because it took my god damn wife so LONG to shovel the snow out of the driveway"
Oh and you are sexist to boot
"concession stand and this MORON puts too much butter on my popcorn which gives me gas"
Clearly rude to the people serving you
"but that didn't matter because then my wife spilled the WHOLE god damn BAG as she was carrying it into the theater, also she spilled our sodas, god!"
Selfish and sexist again....maybe she was exhausted from all that snow shovelling - I expect she washes, cleans cooks and wipes your arse for you 'cos your too lazy to do it yourself...
"how can i sit for THREE HOURS without soda"
Dunno and dont care...
"movie this slut in front of us"
Life as sad single old man coming your way IMHO
"was talking on her CELL PHONE about how her next door neighbor's shit zoo had just given birth to puppies"
What was that Gandalf said about pity staying Bilbo's hand...I guess pity is what I feel for you..
Nah on second thought lets take your head fling it into Minas Tirith....
"little bit of courtesy for your fellow man"
Some dead white guy said "manners maketh man".. something you could clearly learn George...
For the first 20 years of Oscar's history it was traditional for the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars to be awarded to the same film.
Then in 1948, they split for the first time with the Best Director Oscar going to John Huston for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and Best Picture going to "Hamlet".
Since 1948 the two Oscars have split only 11 more times in the 75 years of Oscar's history. The past 20 years have seen only 4 splits.
This year I suspect there will again be a split with Peter Jackson being awarded the Best Director Oscar and "Lost in Translation" getting Best Picture. There's no way they will allow Jackson's achievement on his 3 fabulous LOTR movies to go unrecognized, but I think it's generally thought that "Lost in Translation" is the better film. So it would seem reasonable they'll split the awards in an effort to recognize both films.
Only time will tell.
Imho, the WORSE best picture winner and the crappiest movie i've seen.I'd give credit to Winslet for that nudie scene though. :P
"I find I can save a lot of money if I have the wife bring drinks and snacks into the theater under her skirt or dress."
Maybe I don't want to know, or maybe it's a personal question, given that we're talking about your wife, but, if this stuff is under her skirt, umm, what's holding it up?
Yeah, I know it's really long, but check out this review from Ain'tItCool News:
----snip----
HOBBIT-MAN: THE KING RETURNS
Whenever cool movie series get to the third movie they suck dicks like they're trying to become Emperor of Dicksuck-ylvania. George Lucas had Star Wars, and then Empire Kicks Ass, and then all of a sudden it's Planet of Furry Faggoty Fuckheads. Then he had to make two more to feed the Suck Demon that was holding his children hostage, and those movies went beyond gay to where they're paying old people to take a dump on them.
Even this summer, with MATRIX: SUDDENLY GAY and TERMINATOR: I LOVE COCK, the Rule of the Suck-y Third Movie got re-proven. If the third X-Men movie had come out this summer it probably would have been some crippled crock of crap where Wheelchair Charlie traps Fuck Yeah Wolverine in an illusion mind-trap where Wolverine thinks he's a time traveler from a hundred years ago romancing Meg Ryan in right-now New York. Of course, the X-Men movie would try to redeem itself in the third act by having Wolverine realize it's a mind-illusion and cut Meg's head off and play dodgeball with it, but it would be too late and here comes my extra large Sprite at the screen.
But guess what? One movie series turned that rule on its head. One 3-movie series said, "Wait a minute, we're going to make the 3rd movie SO tits it will make the FIRST two movies look gay."
I just saw HOBBIT-MAN: THE KING RETURNS and that's the movie I was talking about in the last paragraph. This movie will make you forget that if you stick a knife in your belly you'll bleed to death so do not bring a knife to this movie.
It's also, thank fucking God, LOUD. Even if you bring an iPod so you can listen to VH during the Elf parts you'll take it off because I swear to fucking Roth you do NOT know where the next big bang is going to come from, or when something big is going to crunch someone's skull while you picture that person getting their skull crushed is really your neighbor upstairs that plays Dido all day or that dude at the Starbucks who's always reading and looking all smart.
Oh yeah, the movie is also 3 hours and 20 minutes, and I think it's almost four hours if you sit through all the credits (it was all pencil sketches of the characters, which I think means they ran out of money). So if you bring some chick who's all like, "I have a spinning class tomorrow" or "I'm thirsty" tell her to go home and watch Gay Dudes and the Straight Guy because this movie takes fucking commitment. I saw the one dude in front of me who was with this girl, and the President of Warner Brothers came out and said, "This movie is three hours and twenty minutes," and before I could say, "So what, gaylord" the chick says to the dude she's with that she has to GO. And he LET her go because this movie kicks so much ass you can SENSE it even before it starts. And this chick was a stone fox, and he probably could have made out with her, but he was like, "I'm going make out with this movie," that's how good it is. See ya, hottie.
This movie starts with the origin of Golem - that creepy guy who looks like Iggy Pop and wears Tarzan pants and wants the invisible-ring. He's still on a quest with the two hobbits - Rudy from the film RUDY and Fredo - to throw the ring into a volcano (this is like a serious version of JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO). The ring is also evil but you keep thinking, while you watch it, that someone should put it on and check out some boobs. I have a feeling those scenes will be in the DVDs.
At the same time, the two other midget-men and the giant hippies have seriously fucked up that one evil guy's tower (he was Count Duke in Star Wars: Every Cock in the Universe Up My Ass Part II), and they hook back up with Magneto, and also that chick with the bow and arrows and finally the Giant Midget with the Axe. Oh, and also that I Don't Want to be the King/I Am Destined to Be the King Dude is with them, and he has this whole other story where he pretty much decides to be the
sig?
is making me dizzy.
Com'on mods, give this post some nods.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
(Yes, telepathy is possible, just very expensive - read last year's news if you don't believe it.)
While it can be very entertaining to have the whole world revolve around you (including politicians and hollywood stars) the ultimate goal of this kind of game is to kill the player.
My interest is not purly academical: I'm trapped in a street game right now and you might see why I very much want to break out of this one.
If you're wondering what a street game is like: It's like being trapped in The Matrix and The Game, with a bit of The Truman Show and Being John Malkovich thrown in.
The game is wasting a lot of money around me to annoy me and surprise me, but it's more like a cat playing with a mouse it intends to kill sooner or later.
If you want to help me break ouf of this game you can make 25.000 Euro, which is my offer for anybody who explains to me what this matrix is, I'm trapped in.
I'm not sure I can be reached by internet or by phone and even if you reach somebody it might be somebody pretending to be me (so don't waste your time on that). The only way I recommend (without really knowing what's going on, of course) is to get close enough to me that the game has to pay your for your cooperation. Since my offer is 25.000 Euro you should be able to get this money from the game if they need you to cooperate.
Please make them pay this amount as I really would like to see them run out of money!
You can find me in the following places. (please have a look at my homepage and/or my journal for updates to this travel plan):
Addis Ababa: just getting thrown out by the police.
Addis Ababa: just getting thrown out by the police...
Berlin, Potsdamer Platz, 28-29 January 2004.
New York, Central Park, 01-03 February 2004.
Chicao, ?, 04-06 February 2004.
Los Angeles, 07-12 February 2004.
Sydney, 13-15 February 2004.
Tokyo, 16-18 Feburary 2004.
Bombay, 19-21 Feburary 2004.
THIS ACCOUNT IS NO LONGER IN USE, PLEASE DELETE.
usually I could care less about award shows like this, but I am sincerely outraged that a masterpiece of a documentary like Spellbound doesn't even get NOMINATED for an award. I found that movie to be the most dramatic, suspenseful, and real movie I saw in ALL of 2003 - and it didn't get a nod for best documentary.
absolutely ridiculous.
Hey, you have to be nominated to win. No Matrix nominations at all. Not even for effects.
Lasers Controlled Games!
Actually, I thought the best performance in RotK was Bernard What's-His-Name, the guy who played Theoden. That scene where the Rohirrim line up pat the edge of the battlefield, and you just know it's gonna be brutal and deadly, and he gives his pre-battle speech...
Damn, I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.
Why are there no nominations for Kill Bill Pt1? Are they waiting for this year's Pt2? It was my fav of 2003 and its cinematography, music, and even acting are top notch.:)
Is this a sigs-optional kind of place? 'Cause I am totally down with that if you know what I mean.
I thought that that beefcake Rohan guy - you know, Miranda Otto's cousin - deserves some nod. He floored me with his "furrowed eyebrows" method of acting (much like Anna Paquin.)
Bah, Sean Astin? Please. Performance not powerful enough to merit a glance from Oscar.
Intelligent Design: because MATH is HARD.
if i recall, songs nominated for best song have to be created specifically for a film.
'triplets of belleville' is stretching that. i love the song, but it's a really heavy rip of an old Django Reinhardt song. it's plainly obvious.
so in other words, if you're making a song for a film, we'll reward you if you 'borrow' a tune cleverly. (and i would think his song was still under copyright, too.) but if you want to paint disney figures on a nursery wall, forget it.
i realize i'm comparing apples and oranges, but hopefully, you see the point. hypocrisy lives, here as elsewhere...
stored on computers from birth to the grave
What blatant screwage - the biggest flaw of this film was that it opened so close to when ROTK opened.
ROTK has perhaps no more than two or three memorable scenes while Big Fish is a beautifully shot, extremely imaginative piece of art.
Perhaps it will indeed take the route of Fight Club and become a cult classic in the years to come.
...And that's because you've been watching nothing but DVDs of Star Trek and of Episodes 1-2?
Points for being Loyal Friend on Long Journey, and for being kinda cute, sure. Points for acting? Andy Serkis beats Patty Duke's son, hands down.
Intelligent Design: because MATH is HARD.
I would have to disagree. While I will admit that "Big Fish" was technically excellent, and it had some nice scenes, I found it difficult to make it through the movie -- it was boring. I found myself sympathizing with the son, frankly tired of all the hot air his father was spewing.
If they had done a better job of motivating why the father felt compelled to tell such tall tales and focused less on the tales themselves, I think it would have been a much better movie.
As it is, in my book, ROTK beats Big Fish hands down
I almost submitted this the other day, when the preview trailer showed up at Pixar.
Obviously, it's showed up on screen sometime in LA before the end of last year- but does anybody have any information on where/when it's going to be used next?
Hopefully, we don't have to wait until the Incredibles to see it.
stored on computers from birth to the grave
What I want to know, is how can Sean Astin (Sam) NOT be up for Best Supporting Actor!? He did a phenomenal job in that film. Heck... Sean's also a member of the Academy... figured he might be able to pull some strings...
---- It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told.
OK, I speak for every red-blooded male when i say she's f***ing amazing. Everyone seen Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation? No? Go see them :) Seriously though, she was by far my actress of the year... this one will go far.
This is my Sig, this is my Gun. One is for Slashdot and one is for Fun.
it lost out to 'bowling for columbine'
stored on computers from birth to the grave
These are always a sure bet regarding best of the year films.
City of God is the greatest movie of the recent fiction-as-documentary brazilian productions. Other good title are Central do Brasil (Brazilian Central) and Bicho de Sete Cabecas.
It tries to show the life in the favelas in the 70's and 80's. Although it is a fiction story, historical facts are mixed with the narrative, and, well, it could be true. Everyone who knows about the brazilian reality up the favelas, would ever doubt about its veracity (if it was true).
It is amazing to know that all actors (except for one) were amateurs, and most lived in the favelas. The tape has a lot of action and pleases the action-inclined types and also the deep-thinking ones.
You can get out of the cinema excited at the first moment, but soon will get sad because you know that is the reality for many people. And that was 20 years ago. And problems are still here (and maybe worse). About 3 months ago one of the actors of the movies (the one that is shot in foot by Dadinho) was arrested stealing a purse in a bus, to buy food.
City of God is only a movie. A really good one. The real world is not so cool.
I know this may come as a shock to you guys, but your favorite little nerdy thing will never win a huge award. There's a reason it's considered a nerd thing, only nerds seem to enjoy it a great deal.
This doesn't make the Academy wrong or stupid or ignorant for leaving out your little niche thing. It just means your favorite thing has limited appeal. The only reason the mainstream like LOTR are the action scenes. There are no interesting characters or great acting. Just well filmed action scenes (supported by CG of course). Everything else will only be appreciated by tolkien-lovers who already know the background for all the characters and can inject their own knowledge into the movie, making the movie seem better than it is in aspects in which it fails.
This is just one example (LOTR), but it applies to just about any complaint you guys have. (anime? please, get real.)
(no, I'm not trying to say all slashdot posters have the same opinion, this rant is only aimed at the ones who obviously suffer from such delusions)
I mean come on! Where are the Matrix movies? I mean...Trinity...dying...that performance alone deserves a nomination. Or what about the costumes...dirty torn good will shirts in a cave! AMAZING! I mean I could keep going on this, but I am just to mad at the academy...those fools!
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
- Hackneyed "good vs evil" plot
- overlong, sappy, soap-opera of middle earth
- paint-by-numbers acting
- every cliche in the book (they actually "sailed into the sunset" people! and don't get my started on "'no man can kill me' -- 'i'm no man.. i'm a woman!'")
- but great special effects!
=- Best picture?
I sure as heck hope not. It was a fine movie if you like that sort of pap, but hardly best picture material.There are good comparisons to be made to "Gladiator", arguably the last questionable best picture - but gladiator benefitted immensely from a strong performance by the lead wheras LOTR just had typecasting. Oh yes, and Gladiator had a plot.
That said, finding a substitute is not easy. Lost In Translation won't win though just to shut the fanboys up I'd be thrilled if it did :)
Anime is just plain awful. No wonder it never wins any awards. To do that it would need actual facial expressions, decent motion animation (or any at all, really -- having a flashing background behind a stiff character is NOT motion), and far less annoying voices. Strongbad was right.
...I guess Tuesday isn't the official MPAA Hate Day any more. Anyone know what day of the week it moved to?
I thought it was:
Monday: SCO
Tuesday: MPAA
Wednesday: HP
Thursday: Microsoft
Friday: ATi/nVidia (pick one)
Saturday: DirecTV
Sunday: big business in general
Of course, on Slashdot, it's always a good day to hate RIAA.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Yeah, it seemed to be about 15 minutes, cuz I passed out watching the thing. Certainly wasnt 3.5 hours or anything. My ass fell asleep for an entirely different reason I'm sure.
Enough said.
Gollum was the first CG character I've ever been convinced of. RotK would deserve the best FX award even if the whole movie was of him.
And I really think Andy Serkis should get nominated for something. I saw a split-screen of him acting as the body model of Gollum, and the performance just about exactly matched the final CG shot; it almost would've been believable if they'd just used that!
c-hack.com |
That was the stupidest plot I have ever seen! I bet you thought Gigli had an excellent plot and should have been best picture. May carrions feast on your large intestine.
FYI--There were in fact two anime films that were potential candidates-- Millenium Actress (Dreamworks) and Tokyo Godfathers (Sony).
Mod parent up! I don't think I've EVER seen a Wong Kar-Wai recommendation on this site and you deserve Karma until your dying day for that! Everyone should have the honor to experince such fine filmmaking and you deserve to go up to a +5 underrated just for your last paragraph.
...and now I want to go buy another WKW movie! Thanks!
Alright, enough asskissing. I have work to do
fs
The movie was so crappy and drawn out, I'd fucking flush the film down the toilet if it were up to me. Forty minutes of looking at each other, hugging, kissing and smiling in the end - that was just a disaster. I thought my head would fucking explode - that's how drawn out the ending was.
I don't get it. Really, I don't. I don't understand all the hubub around this movie. It was good. That's it. The acting wasn't all that great folks. Take off your fanboi glasses and look at it for what it really was.
I have never read the books, nor should I to fully appreciate a movie - after all, movies are never as good as books. That being said, here are a few observations about ROTK that you probably haven't heard...
The outcome was pre-determined. I knew what was going to happen, I could tell how it was going to end. It was predictable. Remember, I didn't know the story.
The whole thing where you think that Gollum was killed, then he comes back right at the climax - cheesy.
I found the Hobbits to be very annoying, especially Sam. They were just too corny for me.
Battle scenes - ugh. Sure, they were fantastic, but bordered on cheesy. Oh no, we are about to be defeated AGAIN. Whee, here come some eagles to save us. It just got a little tired.
I know a lot of people hold this story very dear and may take offense at my comments (I am sure I'll be modded appropriately), but I am looking at the MOVIE with no pre-conceptions. If anything, I watched the trilogy to see what all the hype was about. I still really don't know.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Personally I thought that Sean Astin, Sir Ian McKellen, Bernard Hill and Andy Serkis all did excellent jobs. One problem is that a studio can only put one person from a film forward in each category for consideration.
Serkis got to really act in this one (so no arguments about it being only CGI). I guess McKellen wouldn't be bothered about more awards, and that Sean Astin and Andy Serkis are too early in their careers. Bernard Hill (Theoden) would have been a good nominee, he essentially played a Lear, but did so extremely well, however he is British and that is always a small minus.
Others have recognised the cast and recognised them as an esemble, which is probably the best. I don't think the time that any of the cast spent on the LOTR would be wasted career-wise.
Boy, was that the shocker of Oscar season! Technically, it should have been party to last years Oscars having debuted in LA and NY in 2002, but since it was 'forgotten' last year, I was very happy to see it pick up the Director nod. I was horribly dissapointed it didn't get the actors a couple of nods and am now torn for Cinematography and Directing.
I'd like to see LiT win the Big Four, but City of God and Fernando Meirelles deserves a LOT of recognition for the Visual Vibratio (a phrase I coined explicitly for this movie). After just 15 minutes of this movie, you'll understand exactly what I mean. For those interested in a take on the drug world 'Gangland' movie, go get this film!
fs
Only three animated feature nominations this year- a modest Brother Bear, a cute French cartoon, and of course, Finding Nemo, pretty much a shoe-in. No Anime.
The 2005 feature animation Oscar should be more competitive with Pixar and Dreamworks contenders.
The fact that Titanic remains the highest grossing film in history would seem to corroborate that.
Just because YOU don't like a movie (and hell, I don't like it either) doesn't mean it's not a great movie.. There are a LOT of people that rank Titanic as the best movie they've ever seen after all.
Turn s60 photos into awesome videos with mScrapbook for all S60 3rd edition phones!
Admit it. If Neo had rip-foo'ed the Architect's liver out through his nostrils right after the word "assiduous" you would have forgiven the rest of the film. If he'd followed with 50,000 monitors flying off the walls and imploding the archetect's dead, mangled body, you might have even voted Keanu a special Oscar for best "Woah!"
Who is John Cabal?
Mod me down as a troll but personally, I think LOTR sucked big time. Exactly what is it about LOTR that makes people go goo goo ga ga is impossible for me to judge. Is it those paper orcs who lose each and every battle to 3 foot nothing elves. Is it those countless slow motion close ups of Frodo ? Is it the lame plot? Have to sink a ring. Fight many battles and Frodo sinks the ring on the sly. Theres nothing more to the plot than the above two lines. And all the characters seem to be carved out of plastic (except Gollum maybe - and he was actually plastic !!!). At least in the Titanic there were far fewer cardboard characters and the ship sinking did convey the atmosphere and effect of impending doom. No such thing with the LOTR. The orcs just keep losing left right and centre. An army of penguins would have been more ferocious. Mod me down as a troll if u wish but can some one please explain to me what was so special about LOTR except special effects (which was also tacky at times). Why does LOTR receive so much slashdot attention but a sea-biscuit or Memento doesn't.
I can sum the whole Trilogy in less time:
...that's not to say I didn't enjoy myself.
9 hour story about a MacGuffin to showcase grand battle sequences, vast landscapes and pretty clothes.
fs
I demand that ROTK wins all eleven oscar it was nominated for. Or else, the academy will be punished in appropiates, painfuls and very Middle Earth way, which doesn't come to mind right now.
The special effects were decent but the CGI was horribly obvious in parts, and often over-sensationalized most of the time. The directing was typical James Cameron, i.e. all action and special effects, no emotion. The man's an overbearing ****, and it shows in his direction.
My opinion of Titanic has nothing to do with it being a love story. I really like love stories in movies. I found myself laughing at all the supposedly "romantic" parts of Titanic though. Just pitiful.
"No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
Giving a movie a good review because of a quick titty flash by an over-rated actress? Is it that hard to find porn? No wonder the women are beating the men on "The Associate." There's so many guys like you that turn into mush when presented with just a little flesh.
Well, there was the time he played Hunter Thompson aka Raoul Duke... (Where The Buffalo Roam)
- (0:30) "Tumor", Orc General: "The time of men is over. The age of Orcs is at hand."
- (1:15) Tumor: "Take the city, leave no one alive." OK...
- (1:30) Tumor: "What about the White Wizard?"
- (1:45) Witch King: "Take the city, then kill them all." Yes, we've figured out that's your strategy!
- (2:00) Gandalf: "The trolls, shoot the trolls!"
- (2:30) Theodon (fighting oliphaunts): "Bring him down, bring him down!" I see the West matches Mordor in terms of tactical sophistication.
- (2:45) Tumor: "Leave no one alive." Alright already! Storm the city, and instead of bringing in the UN to hold elections, kill everyone inside. We get it already!
And there's lots of other stuff too. Jackson & Company seem to really have it in for the "Stewart" family, because the character assasination Denethor undergoes in this film makes what happened to Faramir in "Two Towers" look trivial. In the book Tolkien says that Denethor is of much nobler lineage than most men who are kings, and that Theoden looks like a simple, kindly old man by comparison. Yet the encounters in the film between Gandalf and Denethor look like something out the Three Stooges...Witch King: "I will break him." Thanks, Dolf Lundgren!
Filthy? Is that you?
Are you...Are you some kind of genius?
No, ma'am, I'm just a regular Slashdot reader.
Found this review which presents an interesting counterpoint in perspective to those enjoined by most of the press. Read it and... weep?
You forgot the most important element of directing...STORYTELLING! Amount of time filming be damned! (Traffic: 53 Days vs Gangs of New York: Technically 23 years to make yet both are INCREDIBLE works of art)
...whatever award goes to cars over a Porsche?! Hell, maybe that's not even a valid analogy. Anyone less disgusted by the parent care to come up with something more clever?
Doing them all at the same time?! THIS is your judgement for Oscarworthy?! Jesus Christ, I'm glad you're not voting. By your jugement, the Trois Colour trilogy deserve SHIT because they were filmed at seperate times!
Relying on CGI who wasn't there? This is qualification for a Best Director? Well, it may not have been CGI, technically, but Rober Zemeckis got robbed! HAH!
Logistics? Elaborate. Please!
Overall Grand Scale?! So Lawrence of Arabia is an Oscar worthy film and Casablanca isn't?! Your logic seems to dictate that. Ye Gods, man, I cannot BELIEVE you got modded up!
No, he's not less of a coach, but we're talking SPORTS vs ART! Hardly a valid analogy. If I spend 20 years turning a trashcan into a very beautiful piece of machinery that can haul 10 people around, do I deserve to win
fs
If the Academy'd had any balls or vision, they'd have nominated Andy Serkis and the Weta Digital Animation Department for Best Supporting Actor. (What?!? A performance is by a single heroic actor, not a team!)
Some day we'll see that, but it won't be until many great performances have been passed over.
Look again at what ROTK got nominated for:
Art Direction - THROWAWAY #1
Costume Design - THROWAWAY #2
Directing
Film Editing
Makeup - THROWAWAY #3
Music (Score) >
Music (Song) > Between them, ONE counts as THROWAWAY #4
Best Picture
Sound - THROWAWAY #5
Visual Effects - THROWAWAY #7
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - THROWAWAY #8
Of the list of 11 nominations, only THREE are not in throwaway categories - that is to say, the crap categories the Academy came up with after the Star Wars debacle so that in the future, much-beloved films could be pointed to with a "but it won an Oscar for visual effects, we're being nice by letting you have that".
COMPLETELY FUCKING IGNORING THAT WITHOUT THE ACTORS, ROTK AND LOTR IN GENERAL WOULD HAVE SUCKED.
Come on. Sean Astin's Samwise Gamgee was BRILLIANT. Ian McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf, an incredibly difficult role to hold up to the scrutiny of those who have read the books inside and out and KNOW Gandalf, and yet he pulled it off.
Andy Serkis's Smeagol/Gollum. Three times now they have dissed him.
I would like to FUCK the ACADEMY, for being COMPLETELY FUCKING WORTHLESS AND IRRELEVANT.
Congratulations to the "winners" in the actor categories. Your "award" is only worth the chocolate that's wrapped up inside that gold foil.
Titanic is the highest grossing movie of all time because teenage girls went to see it over and over again. How that qualifies it to be the best movie ever, I cannot imagine.
To be the best movie ever it has to be compared to the great films of all time...Kurosawa made several masterpieces better than Titanic. Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Godfather [1|2], among others were all better. Very few of the millions who made Titanic the highest grossing film ever have seen these films and therefore cannot be qualified to determine what is the best film ever.
Titanic was a good film (I might even say I liked it), but best ever??? Please. Besides, if you were to account for the difference in ticket prices between the releases of the two movies, Gone with the Wind would have out-grossed Titanic.
Its high time they saw the bigger picture(haw haw) and nominated something that really deserves an Oscar.And not some weeping tom movie that people will only see after its won an oscar.WTG Oscar team and now do us proud by making ROTK win!
Lord of the Binges.
.. a lot of people in the tolkien newsgroups seem to think that Return of the King was lost in translation..
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Reconsidered; in this context, BOTH musics are throwaways. that's why the lack of a #6; I forgot to fix the numbering above.
Sean Penn is politically correct in that he hates the United States and loves Saddam Hussein.
....of British rights' case - Winnie the Poo. I wonder if the British ever....
I must have missed this episode of South Park. Is he supposed to be the sister of Mr. Hankey?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Come on, there are so many holes and ridiculous situations, it makes The Phantom Menace look well written.
All Gandalf had to do was tell the eagles to fly Frodo to Mount Doom and the movie would be over in a couple of minutes. If the eagles were willing to fly by an erupting volcano to recuse Frodo, they would have been willing to help destroy the Ring in the first place.
Yeah, it's disheartening how so much of Japanese anime gets overlooked Oscar time. Take La Blue Girl, for example. Miko Mido definitely deserves an oscar for her portrayal of a young woman struggling with the issues of getting good grades in college, leading the Miroku ninja clan to greatness, and keeping tentacles away from her privates!
Yaku deserves a nod for her realistic portrayal when she was getting screwed by that monsterous toad demon in Episode 3. She really looked like she was going crazy with all those slimy appendanges working their way inside her!
And Nin-Nin adds much comic relief to an otherwise serious story of overly-endowed girl sex ninjas fighting off monsters. Definitely Oscar-worthy.
It's not so cut and dried with the Eagles.
Let's say they flew Frodo to the Mountain. They would have faced attack by those fell-beast things, not to mention the full unpleasant stare of the Eye. There's too high of a chance they would have failed, leaving the Ring to Sauron.
Also, the eagles, as servants of one of the old Middle Earth gods, were not given to major intervention in matters. This would have been a major intervention.
Rescuing Frodo and Sam AFTER the mission was over, as they did, had no impact on the affairs of Middle-Earth.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
What the parent desired would have failed anyway in the context of the story.
If the eagles had flown Frodo, and only Frodo, to the Cracks of Doom, there is no reason to believe that he would have not still "pulled an Isildur" and taken full control of the Ring while on the brink.
The eagles would have had to have flown Gollum there (and maybe even Sam) along with Frodo for the destruction events to occur. And just imagine them at Rivendell saying "OK, Frodo, Gandalf's pet taxibirds are going to take you to Mordor. Guess what, Gollum's going too!"
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I love all the LOTR movies, and they all look great, but if ROTK wins an Oscar for Best Editing the Academy needs to be lined up and shot. My one and only reason for saying this is the HORRENDOUS editing during some of the fight sequences. The Action sequences overall in all the movies look great, HOWEVER, whenever someone pulls out a sword and starts fighting in close the movie changes to Attack ofthe Shaky-Cam. Quick cuts, shaking cameras, and allowing the viewers to absolutely not be able to see anything that's actually happening. This annoyed me in FOTR, didn't seem as bad in TTT but it came back with a vengence in ROTK. If this 'technique' was used sparingly, I'd concede that the shaky-cam crap was done intentionally to 'simulate the confusion of battle' or something. But since it happens so often in these movies, I can only conclude that the close-in sword fights were all shot by the fifth-unit 2nd assistant director, or something, and when it came time to put the movie together Jackson and the editors just did the best they could with what they had, I think the movie should have at least received a nom for Cinematography, but Best Editing? No Way.
-------- In Soviet Russia, "Soviet Russia" sigs hate Slashdot.
Have you seen "Heavenly Creatures"? Peter Jackson directing, Kate Winslet starring? Very good film, and a real departure from the shlock horror he'd started with. :)
deus does not exist but if he does
I love fantasy and sci-fi movies, but even as a huge fan I have to admit that they are generally lacking a certain type of humanity that makes them relevenant.
Contrast LoTR with Monster. One is epic with magic and elves and dark lords. The other is all cheap hotels and prostitutes.
LoTR gives little insight into its characters and their motivations. The characters play flat cartoon characters who suffer from faux anxiety they always overcome for no apparent reason to go onto victory.
Monster's characters on the other hand are real. Like people you really know. Then movie provides insights into the mind of a serial murderer and leave you with a deep understanding not of a monster, but of a human being.
Leaving monster gave me a deeper feeling of having done something worthwhile than all 3 rings combined. I think mainly because the characters are so well done you feel like you really go to know someone, rather than just watch them on stage waving swords about.
11: Best documentary
I'm pissed off that RoTK didn't get nominated for Best Documentary.
I mean, some of the scenes are re-enacted, but warning the audience about it would sort destroy the flow of it, wouldn't it?
Maybe some of the stuff didn't really happen exactly like they portray it, but that's how documentaries are supposed to be. What, don't you think some of what they say on Faux News is made up too?
The most important thing to realize about media is IT IS ALWAYS A FABRICATION OF REALITY. Everything short of actually witnessing an event in person is the act of viewing someone's interpretation of it.
Consider the fishing scene. You're arguing that Deagol cannot simply dive in and pick up the Ring. But does that change the fact that getting a ring is possible? Who cares if it's not the specific ring or whether he had to wait 4 weeks? The truth is that the ring is enticing people to serve by providing powers. Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater here!
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
This is my Sig, this is my Gun. One is for Slashdot and one is for Fun.
What, don't you think some of what they say on [Fox News Channel] is made up too?
No, it's a lot more accurate. It is much more centrist and balanced than the left-wing US networks like CNN, ABC, etc. The left wing was comfortable having a media monopoly for years. When something like Fox, which is centrist and shows diverse opinions as well shows up, they want to censor it.
It's funny: Laugh!
Compare with the email from Robbin Ward here.
If Bowling for Columbine is a contemporary documentary, then RoTK is a historical documentary.
"A young girl kills a woman, then kills her sister" -- The Wizard of Oz
Its a shame that Evan Rachel Wood wasnt nominated for her role in Thirteen. Her acting was truely superb as was the movie. I highly recommend it to everyone, especialy those of us with teenage (or soon to be teenage) daughters. It could be educational for both you and your daughter.
I've just finished slogging through this battery of responses, and I can't help but feel a little bit disturbed by some of the remarks made in vague attempts to pass oneself off as knowledgeable, or to demonstrate that [insert name of movie here] was better than RotK 'just because.'
Folks, I realize that I may be offensive to some of you when I say this, but it looks like an astounding number of you are forgetting that RotK was, first and foremost, a book. Much (admittedly not all) of that book was conserved in the transition to film, within the context of one person's vision rooted in the text. How's abouts cracking open that illustrious tome every now and again to see if that which you disparage as horrible screenwriting or acting did or did not, in fact, originate in Tolkien's text -- itself the famous source much of the audience hopes the film will respect in its adaptation? Just how is it that so many people feel adequately prepared to comment on the validity of the construction of the film (itself an adaptation) without demonstrating a proper familiarity with the source? There's more here to consider than only what's in the textbooks to "Introduction to Film" and its ilk.
A woeful demonstration of this would be the people who have problems with the adaptation, yet have not read the book. Listen, people, I have some bad news for you -- Lord of the Rings, in general, is not meant to be a Cliff's Notes film or book. You do have to set up more than a few postsynaptic potentials to catch all that is going on. There are details in the films, true, that people who have read the books will pick up, while a general viewer who hasn't read the books will not. The solution to this seemingly widespread dilemma is either to view the films as someone putting together a puzzle and trying to discern what might be justifying what's happening on screen within the context of the story, or to haul thy carcass to the nearest library or bookstore, get the book, and read it. Contrary to popular belief, PJ and company didn't make this film simply to pander to the James Cameron/I-can't-believe-the-ship-sank generation -- take a look at the structure of Two Towers (particularly its opening) if you need evidence. Silly as it might seem to any stuffed shirts in the crowd, much of the intention behind a lot of this film was to get the audience to think, or short of that, to read. Can't stand the idea of being sent after a book by some movie at the multiplex? Aww. Poor baby. Perhaps Return of the King wasn't meant for you in the first place -- might I suggest a riveting Will Farrell tale instead?
I saw one post concerning a comparison between RotK and Monster that left me wondering. Point one this author made in his argument that Monster consisted of "what RotK lacked" was something to the order of the difference between one movie centering about elves and magic (not quoting directly, admittedly) vs. another revolving around prostitution -- ostensibly itself a film centered on 'reality,' at least in the modern history sense.
Uh, OK.
Let's, for one moment, forget the whole "apples and oranges" thing. Maybe I misunderstood, but is that 'modern angst' element of Monster supposed to be an essential component that RotK "lacks" to its loss? Listen, if poor souls dealing with prostitution in whatever context is important in your preferred kinds of films, fine. Have at it. Enjoy. Please, however, don't point to the absence of a gritty prostitution/drug/crime/name-yer-poison element in Lord of the Rings as some manner of general shortcoming. We are, after all, talking fantasy here -- even in the germane sense of Wizards'n'Elves fantasy. If I wanted a story that looked like something out of City Confidential or Cops, I'd be watching that. Lord of the Rings, either on the bookshelf or at the theater, was not meant to be anything of the sort. Nature of content alone,
"What's the use in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes?" --Fourth Doctor, "Robot"
...but when do we get the nomination screener?... not that i would want it... ha ha
Liberalist geek watches a copy of BfC that he downloaded through a Torrent! Thinks he's intelligent for his thievery! Thinks that deception is a good way to gain populist opinion! Thinks he understands Constitutional law in its entirety! You've got it all figured out, my college-dwelling ivory tower friend! I applaud you for having such an open mind to those who pander almost exclusively to emotion! Bravo for your man, Mike Moore, who endorses a baby killer for president. We all could learn a thing or two from you! *smooch*
when will you cocks ever learn the real definition of the verb "to troll"? Ape.