I am a winded warrior...
I've opened the majority of the X-mas gifts I received from friends...yes I know, I'm a cheater, but hey, oh well....I love ALL my gifts, my friends are awesome, but one stands out for this particular blog because it actually segues into the last section of my blog. I got a replica LOTR Ring!!! That's right baby!!! I am a bearer of the one ring...too bad my ring finger on my right hand swollen because I think I might have authritis in it or tendinitis or something...but when it goes down, I'll put it on. Maybe I can wear it on a chain in the meantime! :) HELL YEAH, I'm practically hobbit-sized anyway...too bad I can't take a picture of it...cuz it would go right here MUAH HA HA HA!!!
Half days of work prior to the holiday off are completly worthless because you already know you're only working half the day, so you feel like it's pointless and do no work...so here I am, having eaten cake, doing a lil work, just talking to people, e-mailing, yada yada yads...and now, counting down the time...so to kill some...I have decided to be Lou's counterpart and be Ebert...or Roper(spelling? who cares), whichever it maybe...so here's the disclaimer...if you haven't seen Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers yet...do not read:
I enjoyed the movie, but also had my own concerns, some that are on par with my counterpart and some...notsomuch.
Let's start with the shortcomings...not many, in my opinion. But w/ each I have a possible explanation, except for the first. As with popular opinion, I too felt that Gimli, son of Gloin, was too much of a comic relief character and lacked the strength portrayed throughout the novel. There were also missing characters in this film(namely, the Huords), as with the missing Tom Bombadil from the Fellowship, but is understandable with condensing an epic into a 3 hour time frame. The difficulty in movies is character development, and it is very hard to develop your main characters when there are hundreds more that you need to involve, so sometimes, cutting out is a necessity to keep up. Faramir's character is changed in the film, which disappointed me, but again, is understood. Faramir was always compared to his brother by his father, and thought less of him than Boromir. So naturally, Faramir is determined to prove his worth, and if the ring can do that, he would, but soon sees that it is "folly" and releases the two. I also feel as though the viewers(who did not read the book) miss out on the development of the friendship between elf and dwarf, there are glimpses, such as when Legolas defends Gimli from Eomer and the Rohirrim, but not much else...but again, time restraint is a factor here. And the ending of the film, before Gollum takes Frodo and Sam to see "her." Again a mini disappointment, but it is my belief that it will be used to add more suspense and action to the finale of the trilogy. The films do not seem to end at the ends of their respective novels, because the first film actually ended into the second and the second prior to the actual ending of the two towers. There are many more, but they are quite minor, or else I would have already talked about them. Like I think how Frodo was able to hide sam in the rocks w/ the elven cloak might need a lil explanation.
With every shortcoming, triumphs are made. First of all, remember how difficult it is to create a visual representation of a literary classic such as LOTR, or any story, that remains completely parallel all throughout. One of the characteristics that will always separate a movie from a book is the lack of a time restraint. A book does not have the restrictions that a movie does...the entire story must be told within a resonable time frame...and for LOTR, even that stretches towards those limitations. Books, there is no timeline... But more important than anything else, reading a book involves the participation of the reader's imagination. In a movie, it is the director's imagination that we are looking through, so every picture is painted according to his eyes. And lastly, a movie needs to be independent of the book. It is not a supplement, because it should make sense for a spectator who has never even heard of the books. Rather it should be a compliment to the reader and a new experience for those otherwise. So in my opinion, Peter Jackson did an incredible job bringing the second segment(and I mean segment) of the trilogy to the big screen. Gollum was for lack of a better word, a masterpiece, exactly the way I had imagined him. The continued portrayal of the Elven kind being so completely awesome was only too satisfying. Everyone wants to be an elf. And the opening of Gandalf's battle w/ the Balrog was actually a pleasant surprise. Overall, I thought the film was great...but also take into consideration that I am a LOTR Freak...so there. A great movie and a THUMBS UP in my opinion. Can't wait for the EXTENDED DVD to be released!!!
Merry X-mas eve all!!!
I've opened the majority of the X-mas gifts I received from friends...yes I know, I'm a cheater, but hey, oh well....I love ALL my gifts, my friends are awesome, but one stands out for this particular blog because it actually segues into the last section of my blog. I got a replica LOTR Ring!!! That's right baby!!! I am a bearer of the one ring...too bad my ring finger on my right hand swollen because I think I might have authritis in it or tendinitis or something...but when it goes down, I'll put it on. Maybe I can wear it on a chain in the meantime! :) HELL YEAH, I'm practically hobbit-sized anyway...too bad I can't take a picture of it...cuz it would go right here
Half days of work prior to the holiday off are completly worthless because you already know you're only working half the day, so you feel like it's pointless and do no work...so here I am, having eaten cake, doing a lil work, just talking to people, e-mailing, yada yada yads...and now, counting down the time...so to kill some...I have decided to be Lou's counterpart and be Ebert...or Roper(spelling? who cares), whichever it maybe...so here's the disclaimer...if you haven't seen Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers yet...do not read:
I enjoyed the movie, but also had my own concerns, some that are on par with my counterpart and some...notsomuch.
Let's start with the shortcomings...not many, in my opinion. But w/ each I have a possible explanation, except for the first. As with popular opinion, I too felt that Gimli, son of Gloin, was too much of a comic relief character and lacked the strength portrayed throughout the novel. There were also missing characters in this film(namely, the Huords), as with the missing Tom Bombadil from the Fellowship, but is understandable with condensing an epic into a 3 hour time frame. The difficulty in movies is character development, and it is very hard to develop your main characters when there are hundreds more that you need to involve, so sometimes, cutting out is a necessity to keep up. Faramir's character is changed in the film, which disappointed me, but again, is understood. Faramir was always compared to his brother by his father, and thought less of him than Boromir. So naturally, Faramir is determined to prove his worth, and if the ring can do that, he would, but soon sees that it is "folly" and releases the two. I also feel as though the viewers(who did not read the book) miss out on the development of the friendship between elf and dwarf, there are glimpses, such as when Legolas defends Gimli from Eomer and the Rohirrim, but not much else...but again, time restraint is a factor here. And the ending of the film, before Gollum takes Frodo and Sam to see "her." Again a mini disappointment, but it is my belief that it will be used to add more suspense and action to the finale of the trilogy. The films do not seem to end at the ends of their respective novels, because the first film actually ended into the second and the second prior to the actual ending of the two towers. There are many more, but they are quite minor, or else I would have already talked about them. Like I think how Frodo was able to hide sam in the rocks w/ the elven cloak might need a lil explanation.
With every shortcoming, triumphs are made. First of all, remember how difficult it is to create a visual representation of a literary classic such as LOTR, or any story, that remains completely parallel all throughout. One of the characteristics that will always separate a movie from a book is the lack of a time restraint. A book does not have the restrictions that a movie does...the entire story must be told within a resonable time frame...and for LOTR, even that stretches towards those limitations. Books, there is no timeline... But more important than anything else, reading a book involves the participation of the reader's imagination. In a movie, it is the director's imagination that we are looking through, so every picture is painted according to his eyes. And lastly, a movie needs to be independent of the book. It is not a supplement, because it should make sense for a spectator who has never even heard of the books. Rather it should be a compliment to the reader and a new experience for those otherwise. So in my opinion, Peter Jackson did an incredible job bringing the second segment(and I mean segment) of the trilogy to the big screen. Gollum was for lack of a better word, a masterpiece, exactly the way I had imagined him. The continued portrayal of the Elven kind being so completely awesome was only too satisfying. Everyone wants to be an elf. And the opening of Gandalf's battle w/ the Balrog was actually a pleasant surprise. Overall, I thought the film was great...but also take into consideration that I am a LOTR Freak...so there. A great movie and a THUMBS UP in my opinion. Can't wait for the EXTENDED DVD to be released!!!
Merry X-mas eve all!!!
posted by lil jay at
12:38 PM
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