Just saw Lord of the Rings --No Spoilers --

“Before I begin, the movie was three hours long and Treebait and I got maybe four hours of sleep last night. I'm feeling kinda loopy.

I am a Tolkien fan and love the genre but this was one of the best movies I have ever seen.

First off it was visually stunning. The attention to detail was supurb. All the characters were in proportion to each other. IE. the hobbits were short and the elves were tall and at no point did they mess it up. The special effects enriched the movie instead of becoming gratuitious eye candy.

The outdoor shots will make you want to quit work and go hiking right now.

Those of you familiar with the original illustrations will see that they were used in the movie. The cities of the races were very detailed and believeable.

The actors were perfectly cast. Sauroman and Gandalf were just as I imagined them.

IMHO anything they changed from the book improved the movie. Even though I have read the books and know what was supposed to happen, but when things happened it was as if I didn't know it was coming. The SF and CGI work was nothing short of brilliant.

I'm spent and I still have to work. I don't want to post much more out of respect to those who want go in cold and I'm sorry it's just a teaser.

If anyone wants more detailed info please email me and I'll spill. Just keep in mind that the email in my profile can be accessed from here so responses will have to wait until evening (If I'm still awake.)

Oh yeah, if you wait until video you should be shot.

Coffee!!!!!!!”

“>The outdoor shots will make you want to quit work and go hiking right now.

Oh, like it takes a lot to do that! ;-)

Seriously, though, thanks for the review! Sounds like Peter Jackson pulled it off. I'm dying to see it!”

“I saw it last night and I'm here to spoil it for all of you:






















Bruce Willis was dead all along!”

“YOU BASTARD!

LOL”

“Rosebud was the sled, *G*


Can't wait to see it.”

“I am sooooo excited! Human, you are a total tease. Oh man, I can not wait. I hate work.”

“YOU SHOULD BE SHOT, HUMANPACKMULE!

I have tickets for the 6:15 show today. How the heck am I supposed to keep my mind on my work now? THREE HOURS! Oh joy, oh bliss.

I thank you for not giving away anything about the movie.”

“You know, I wish they would have made the hobbits look more like hobbits. I guess they needed some good young actors to draw in some money. I am definitely going to take this baby in when I git time!”

“So you think they did a good job in proportion to the different races of Middle Earth? Didn't the hobbits have hairy bodies?
I loved Tolkien too - took me awhile to finish Fellowship, but I was in college at the time so...”

“This has got to be some movie. I've heard two raves reviews on the radio and read two. People who usually seem to be harsh skeptical critics are gushing with praise. It seems like the risk they made in spending nearly 300 million to film 3 movies at once paid off brilliantly. (the capitalist financiers involved definitely deserve some credit!)

Who wants to organize (and finance) a TT trip to New Zealand to hike the mountains that are see in the movie?”

“Ped, there was a good article in Backpacker, some time ago, about New Zealand. I've wanted to go there ever since. There are some awesome trails on the south island. And the Milford Track would be a nice warm-up/cool-down. Won't be able to make it this year. We're doing the Na Pali coast in Hawaii. Darn!”

“Arc I just finished updating some stuff & had to pick my favorite photos of the last few years...

Na Pali coast, hands-down. You're in for a treat if you haven't been there. Best hike of my life, visually.”

“Arclite I'm suffering for it today. It was a 12:01am showing and after I dropped off my friends I got home at 4:00am and still had to work.

The hobbits could have been a little fatter but yes the big hairy feet were there. I don't remember them as being all that hairy other than the feet.

I had my ideas about the height of the races and I'm not sure who is right them or me but there is an obvious difference and a big effort to be sure maintain that difference.

Most movies I feel insult my intellegence and attention span. This one captivated me.

It was also the most well behaved crowd I have seen in years.

TT trip to New Zealand? I'd be willing to move there!”

“Umm, not all the reviews were so good.”

“YOU SHOULD BE SHOT, WANDERER!

How the heck am I supposed to keep my mind on my work for the next six months now?”

“i just got through seeing it. galadriel freaked me out a little, but damn, that was a tasty flick!

if you miss the first 15 minutes, give up. you've missed something incredible.

great film!

and alot of it is backpacking!”

“You shouldn't be in a dark theater, Rad,what's wrong with you? GET OUT AND HIKE!”

“better there, then sitting at work! ha HAA!!!!”

“i gotta go see that tommarow.. you just don't know. I didn't know so many "Mature adults" were into Lord Of The Rings. Geez.. i guess i fit in better than i thought :)”

“We're mature? Hey, can I get that testimonial in writing for my relatives? They have other ideas about my maturity level...”

“I heard the same things, Human; excellent reviews on CBC who can be difficult (Cdn PBS) - appropriate effects, details etc.

About the spoilers: I think most people - uh - know how it ends. LOL.”

“LOL true true

Some folks hate too much detail so I tried to respect that.”

“DOH! Posted as my wife again!

Eventually I'm going to learn to check before I post.”

“I read the trilogy when I was 15 and my son is reading it now at 16. He has finished the first book, so we're going to head off and see the movie. I'm looking forward to the visual experience.”

“PedXing, the money people deserve some credit--but as I understand it, the way it was done was Peter Jackson's idea. He realized that a) they could film in NZ for about 1/2 the cost, and b) if they filmed all three movies simultaneously, it would save an enormous amount of money (tearing down & rebuilding sets, actors' contracts, etc.). So they basically got $600M+ worth of movie for $270M. I have to admire that kind of ingenuity.”

“also, the argument over what 'pipeweed' they were smokin'... pot? tobacco? ...is settled in this flick.

pot all the way, dude!”

“Did anybody else cry when Boramir died? Just asking. I want to watch it again.”

“Just got back from the theater. I hadn't read this thread before going, just not to get anything in my head before hand. But I had the same impression as rad -- this is one of the best backpacking films ever. Those hobbits just swing on their packs and hit the trail (and they clearly count pipes as essential gear for campfire entertainment). But carrying sausages must be a bit heavy -- and no waistbelts, so those must be the original rucksacks.”

“lol, I thought the same thing about the sausages!”

“my sausage adds an extra 10 pounds. i have no ultralight gear in THAT department.”

“Playing with his sausage again.”

“all the time!”

“Well *ahem* I guess someone has to.”

“We've gotta wait to see the film (and Rad's sausage) until the 26th.
So I was a little nervous about reading this thread.”

“Enjoy! I know I did.”

“What? Rad's sausage?”

“LMAO!



No.”

“Laughing something something something?”

“Laughing My Ass Off”

“she loved it.”

“No.”

“can i have MY head back? heh heh.”

“"Me thinks she doth protest too much."”

“Ok, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have to be able to type in order to post and I can't type when I'm laughing that hard.”

“...with one hand.”

“(ducking and running for cover behind the most convenient available defense) *best Mom voice* Shame on you both! It's Christmas, after all.”

“But he started it!”

“whoa! kinda gives a whole new meaning to BMF!”

“***drags mind out of gutter...



whew! this is better.














NOT!”

“Belowzero and I went and saw LOTR on Fri. It was soooo cool! The scenery alone is worth paying to see it. Awesome. I am impressed, they did a good job. Legolas looked exactly as I had pictured him in my mind.”