I was planning on rushing home after the movie and posting my first thoughts on it. . .but, I'm really conflicted. I loved the movie, and it was Middle-Earth, but with all my preconceptions about what it was going to be and such threw me off track and I really need to see it again to truly appreciate Jackson's work. . .

It's just really weird. I loved it but it just felt odd at times, because of what I had expected to happen and because of reviews I had read. It just threw me off as I watched this truly amazing work. . .I loved it, but. . .I dunno, I can't explain it. I think I was just in denial about seeing the movie I had waited over 3 years to see. I might also mention that the projector fucked up with about 10-20 minutes left in the movie, which pissed me off supremely. I did get a chuckle from the audience when I suggested we riot, apparently they were in the same frame of mind. . .

But, you know, regardless of my personal feelings about the movie, which won't be cleared up until I'm able to see it again without my preconceptions about it and such, and just appreciate it for what it is: An amazing movie. But regardless of that, let me just tell you what worked.

The casting was dead on. . .Gandalf did a great job of recreating his role from the book. I dunno how they got him to do the film. . .but they did. Ah, I'm kidding. We know it's Ian McKellen, but it just doesn't seem like him up there. . .Ian is Gandalf! But I love the entire cast. Elijah Wood as Frodo perfectly captured the emotions of this young hobbit, he was so great. Astin as Sam, well. . .he doesn't really get his breakthrough yet, but I can't wait to see what he does with the character in TTT and RotK. . .he's great, too. Okay, I guess, let's just get the other hobbits out of the way. . .Bilbo. . .Ian Holm, so wonderful. I'll get to the emotional side of things in a bit after I get done saying how much I loved the cast. . .

Merry and Pippin were great, the audience along with me loved them. They're funny, intentionally, but we're not talking Jar Jar steps in poo tee hee humor here. They're very funny and Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan make them very likeable. For instance, in this one scene after the hobbits meet up with Aragorn, Pippin tries to get a fire going to fix breakfast. Aragorn makes a comment about him already having breakfast, and then Pippin goes off on a tangent wondering if Strider knows about "second breakfast", and "brunch, lunch, tea-time, supper, dinner", etc. . .all these meals and such which perfectly encapsulates Hobbit ideals I think. I just loved it.

Now for Aragorn and Boromir, the men. . .Viggo's just so frickin' cool as Aragorn, but there's a lot of warmth and compassion there as well. He does a great job. Boromir is a very moving character as well, in one scene where he's teaching Merry and Pippin how to sword-fight. . .it's just very happy but sad at the same time. . .and when Boromir. . .well, I guess most of us have read the books here but I guess I shouldn't talk about it anyway. Let's just say the scene where him and Frodo talk towards the end is very sad and Bean makes Boromir an honorable, if ultimately flawed, man.

Legolas and Gimli are great for the short time they are there, wish I could have seen more of them. Gimli is just so very dwarvish it's amazing. . .hard to believe it's Rhys-Davies under all that hair, and standing at only 3 or 4 feet, no less.

That brings me to another thing, the effects. The shrinking of the hobbits and dwarves is great. . .you forget about it after a while. The first scene where Gandalf rides up in his cart and Frodo meets him there is not only technically amazing, but very emotional. You see these two friends staring each other down trying to be serious and then they both start laughing, and Frodo leaps on Gandalf to hug him, it's very happy. . .even more so when Gandalf gets to Bag-End and Bilbo sees him for the first time in so long. I'm usually not emotionally phased at movies but the Ians make us believe these two are really old friends, and we can't help but feel for them. As for the other effects, they vary. The cave troll is great, the Balrog is magnifecently monstrous, and the locations such as Moria and Rivendell and Isengard are astonishing. A lot of things, like Rivendell exteriors, were large scale models, but you'd never tell as they are so beautiful and amazing. And New Zealand is just absolutely gorgeous, I mean, my God. . .I didn't know a place like that existed. It's so beautiful.

There are some things that don't work, though, digitally. . .some of the things that come to mind are Gwaihir the Eagle, I dunno, just looked sort of cartoony to me. Gollum also looked a bit iffy, I dunno, I really need to see it again, it's hard to take in so much detail and still remain level-headed. I hope I am wrong about both of these things, especially Gollum, who'll have an actual role in the coming films.

The only a few other things that don't work for me was the fight between Gandalf and Saruman, it was just very odd. . .I dunno, I think the word is embarassing. I love this movie to death despite my inner conflicts in regards to it, and my need to see it again to really know how it stands, but to see such a sequence amidst an otherwise wonderful film is just not right. I dunno, it just was. . .I mean, Christopher Lee as Saruman was great, despite his kind of Cher-like hair, he has such a presence and his voice is perfect for Saruman. He was great. I should have mentioned him before. And we already know what I think of McKellen. . .so, here we are, they're both wonderful in their roles. But, the fight, it's just them knocking them down with their staffs, it's just. . .I don't want to say cheesy, and maybe I'll feel differently after another viewing, but it's just Gandalf fall down, Saruman fall down, Gandalf fall down, Saruman fall down, etc. . .I just didn't like it. The only other thing I can think of at the moment that was really jarring was our first glimpse of Sauron at the beginning, I mean, with the prologue about the history of Middle-earth. I mean, I don't know what it was, but goddamn he looked fat. It was like Sauron had a fucking beer belly or something. I loved his armor and stuff and it was great to see him in physical form long ago, as that won't happen in the trilogy again, but. . .I dunno, it just surprised me. I'm trying to be honest here. I think I loved the movie, but that just surprised me. A fat Sauron. I dunno, I probably just didn't really pay enough attention, it just seemed to me sort of weird. . .I know I'm seeming overly nitpicky and I don't mean to be, but I loved the film, or at least I think I do, I don't know. . .I'm just a rush of emotions right now. It's a great movie, but some things don't work. I'm not going to lie and say it's perfect, I mean, because I would have done some things differently. I understand why PJ did them, but I would have done them differently. The only other beef I have is the subtitles, as I had to read them and didn't have the chance to really hear the beautiful Elvish language. . .I wouldn't mind not knowing what was said, as the actors, including Liv Tyler, who has most of the Elvish lines, did a great job of conveying emotions and I could have got the gist of it. It would have seemed less "movie-like", if you get my drift. . .text at the bottom of the screen just really pulls you out of the film if it's all of a sudden (I'm not talking about foreign films, as the subtitles are there and you expect them all the time).

The only reason I spend so much time talking about what didn't work for me is because I really want to cherish this movie and I want to love it, but without addressing those things I can't be sure where I stand. Right now, all I know is I need to see it again and just take it in as a movie. . .

I do want to talk a bit about the emotional impact of the film though. This involves spoiler stuff, so read at your own peril.

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SPOILERS I GUESS
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5

4

3

2

1

0

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-2

That's enough. Well, the film really knows how to make you feel. When Gandalf falls in Moria, I mean. . .that didn't hurt as much as seeing Frodo witness a dear friend of his die before his very eyes. I nearly cried. The emotion is all up there with Elijah, and it made me think about how I would feel if that happened to me, and it was so sad. I know Gandalf comes back in the next movie, but goddamn it was so sad seeing Frodo's face after they leave Moria. Him wandering off, and Aragorn trying desperately to get them moving, and Boromir's plea to let them have a few minutes to grieve for pity's sake. . .my God, that was so wonderful. I really did come close to tears here, very real tears. . .and that, let me say, is EXTREMELY HARD TO DO. I am very rarely moved like this at movies. I do not feel like this at most movies. But on more than one seperate occassions I got close to crying. . .when Frodo and Gandalf hug, that just got me right in the old heart, and when Bilbo and Gandalf meet again. That was just so happy. I know it sounds sappy but I am a usually quite unemotional person when it comes to a film, and for this to do it to me is highly unusual. And when Gandalf falls in Moria, that was, well. . .I already talked about that.

And when Boromir tries to get the Ring from Frodo, but then realize what he's done, you feel sorrow and pity for him. . .he just wants to help his people, he doesn't want to hurt Frodo. . .the way Bean plays this character, he seems to have a very warm feeling towards the hobbits, despite misgivings about destroying the ring and feeling threatened by Aragorn. . .and. . .well, I dunno, just a very emotional movie.

PS: I forgot to mention originally the scene where Bilbo sees the Ring again in Rivendell. Now, I can't remember if it was really covered in the movie how long it was when Bilbo left and when Frodo was told of it's true history. I know in the books they were some years apart, but in the movies I'm not sure. I would think they would be a while apart. Even if they're not, or if they are and the audience just doesn't get it. . .it really shows some of the power of the Ring.

When Bilbo leaves after the party, he seems very young and lively and such. When we see him in Rivendell, he is old. So old. He seems frail and his hair is much whiter, with the Ring gone and none of it's youthful powers and blah. Well, anyway, see. . .when Bilbo sees the ring again on Frodo's neck (when Bilbo is offering Frodo his mithril shirt and Sting) it's another very emotional moment. Well, I dunno, goddamnit, now I'm just remembering all these emotional moments. But, the power the Ring has over Bilbo is very heart-wrenching. . .it's sad. His face distorts in rage and he nearly attacks Frodo for the Ring, and then he catches himself, and. . .he apologizes for that, and for the Ring, and for everything, and starts weeping. And it's very sad. I know I keep saying it, but it really was emotional.








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END OF SPOILERS I GUESS
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Well, I guess I can give a final review when I get to see it again, completely, as a movie and not as anything else. One thing I might mention is the emotions and stuff I've been going through the past month or whatever. I'm getting into a personal thing here, so, you know, if that sort of thing ain't your "bag" or whatever, then you can just skip the rest. But I think this might have affected my thoughts and feelings going into the movie, and ultimately the final outcome of what I think of it.

You see, there's a girl at school, her name is Tiffany. We're friends. We have the same Chemistry class and, you know. . .I really like her. I mean really like her. And, despite the fact I've been waiting for this movie for over 2 or 3 years, my thoughts have lately been concentrated on her, and continue to be there. Yesterday I finally found the courage to tell her how I felt, though I knew her feelings were not the same. She likes me, of course, but just as a friend. And I knew that's how it would be. She was very sweet about it, and kind, and I think in a way that makes me like her even more. . .but. . .hmm.

I dunno, I just think this had an adverse affect on my thoughts on the movie. I just couldn't get into my head that I was going to see "The Fellowship of the Ring" today with my thoughts on her. . .

I know you don't care, but I just need to say this stuff for myself more than for you, because I went into FOTR expecting so much and not quite sure what I got back. I loved it dearly, but I just don't know.

I guess we'll see in a few days when I go back to see it completely. At least the theater gave us re-admission tickets, but. . .damn. . .it really pissed me off that I missed the end. Pissed everybody off, really, this one guy even threw a chair out in the lobby. . .LOL. . .I dunno, everyone was complaining and the lines from the people waiting to get into the next show and the people waiting in line to talk to customer service for new tickets just merged somewhere and there were crowds of people and it was clear the theater people had their heads up their ass, didn't know what they were doing and. . .*sigh*

Oh well, I'll save my actual review until I finally see it again, without my preconceptions and without any emotional baggage, hopefully.

Christ, I've been writing for over an hour now. . .well, goodnight, folks.
"God isn't dead - he's just missing in action." - Phil Ochs