Patterns

Warren Mitchell’s “Beyond the Basics” photography class met again last night. This week’s assignment was to take photographs of patterns. Though I’ve learned a lot about photography during the past week, I didn’t feel my photographs of patterns turned out especially well. It’s difficult to take good photographs of patterns. Still, I liked these:

Click a thumbnail to open a full-size version in a new window

[photo of a gas meter on bright red wall] [photo of mossy bricks] [photo of wallball courts]
[photo of aluminum siding] [photo fungus on stump] [photo of car in woods]

I love the bright red wall in the photo of the gas meter: it’s the side of the Les Schwab tire store in Canby. I need to determine how far the red extends so that I can use it as a background for future photographs. I also like the photo of the old car, Sputnik. Perhaps Virginia can comment on its history, since she and my Uncle Stan used to own the vehicle. (Technically, they probably still do own it.) Also: I suspect that many readers of this weblog spent long hours near those yellow walls — how many of you recognize the location?

While Warren looked through my photos, I mentioned that I’d just acquired a 20mm wide-angle lens and a 105mm macro lens. “Ah, you’ve caught the bug,” he said.

Warren continued to look through the class’ pictures, giving advice on how to improve our compositions. He recommends carrying a ladder in order to alter the camera’s point-of-view. He recommends carrying clippers in order to remove unwanted leaves and branches. He recommends carrying various filters to alter the color cast of the exposure, portable reflectors to enhance lighting, a spritz bottle to dampen certain subjects. Photography is not a hobby for somebody on a budget.

“You’re trying to get me to spend more money, aren’t you, Warren?” I said. “How can I afford all that?”

“Get a second job,” he replied.

Comments

On 24 January 2003 (06:21 AM),
Paul said:

JD,

I know those yellow walls but in a different capacity than most of the readers. I bet to some readers the walls look much smaller now than they used to.

On 24 January 2003 (07:50 AM),
joelah said:

My vote’s for the shroom stump; very arresting image.

On 24 January 2003 (09:29 AM),
Jeremy said:

I recognize the walls also. Although I never attended school there. The stump is definitely the coolest.

On 24 January 2003 (10:06 AM),
tammy said:

Mercy! I had no idea sputnik was still in grandpas woods! Oh the hours spent playing in that thing! A childhood forever gone!

On 24 January 2003 (10:22 AM),
J.D. said:

Yes, Sputnik is still in grandpa’s woods, but time has not been kind to the old beast.

As you can see from the photograph, a tree fell across the car’s front end sometime during the fall. (The car was tree-free when I was back in the woods last summer.) The doors have rusted off completely, and there’s moss growing on them. A sapling of some sort has taken root inside the car.

I ought to find a photograph of Sputnik from the mid-70s so that the non-Roths can see the thing in all its regal splendor. Such as it was.

On 24 January 2003 (12:27 PM),
Virginia said:

I’m sitting in a cold family room after Tammy called with a command “you’ve got to see JD’s web site today” Rushing to the computer before the fires were even started for the day, I looked at JD’s web site. Oh, the memories. I enlarged sputnik and called to Stan to “Come look” I didn’t tell him what it was and his first comment was “that looks like a Warren Mitchell special…That’s Sputnik.” If you look at Warren’s note cards you will see why Stan called it a Warren Mitchel special. Anyhow, Sutnik was purchased by Granpa Roth for a work rig. The family car at that time was a 1939 plymouth, replaceing an old Ford that you could see the road passing by under it as you drove to Zion every Sunday morning. Sputnik was a 1937 plymouth and was thus called Sputnik because it had a wiring problem. You see everytime you put on the brakes the headlights would come on, so you could blink your way down the road and look like … well, Sputnik who at that time was circling the earth. I think the headlights worked well otherwise. Stan purchased it in 1960 to haul chittum in and at that time he was employing a small brother-in-law (Steve) to help peel bark. Steve’s envolvment in the drug harvest industry was related to the comment Steve made to one of the teachers at Canby High School. It seems Steve had a very high IQ and one day the teacher asked him what he was going to do with his life and he answered, “be a bum and peel chittum” GROAN… By the way, if Warren wants to photograph Sputnik, tell him you want a finders fee. :)

On 25 January 2003 (09:02 PM),
Virginia said:

I really like the maple stump. Did you find that in grandpa’s woods?

On 27 January 2003 (12:27 PM),
Virginia said:

Where are you? I am in the habit of reading these things and now you don’t change it for a couple of days. I’m thinking there will be som great pictures when you return. :)

On 29 January 2003 (10:30 AM),
Rexs13 said:

Nice fungi pic. You found a Tramates species possibly versicolor. Members of this genus are used for medicinal purposes.

What If?

What if all of these intelligent, witty people I know — people who like to write and who wish they wrote more often — what if all of these people had some sort of communal outlet for sharing their creative output? (And for sharing other art: drawing, photography, etc.)

What form would this forum take? Non-critical, to be sure; low-pressure — just a place to share what has been created.

I’ve nothing in mind; I’m only wondering aloud.

Simon is fascinated by the dog next door

[photo of Simon looking out window]

Comments


On 18 January 2003 (03:00 PM),
Dana said:

Well, you could organize it as a sort of virtual gallery.

Each of your friends could have a “wing”, which would consist of a blog-like interface where they could post and archive comments, text, pictures, mp3s, or whatever.

The main page could contain a general introduction and perhaps a “most recently posted” sort of scroll, aggregating the individual “wing” posts (or perhaps just a summary or excerpt).

That’s just one possibility, of course. You’d probably also want some assurance that people would contribute.



On 18 January 2003 (07:00 PM),
Tammy said:

I’d go for it. I thnk that sounds like a cool idea. I’m not very computer savvy so it would have to be fairly easy for me to move around in. sigh! I’ve been begging my husband to teach me how to put pictures on the internet so I can email them to my friends but he hasn’t got the time! I secretly think that he’s not totally sure how to do it either! Shhh! Don’t tell him I said that! We have a digital camera but it sure isn’t doing us much good!

By the way, JD, is that a yellow wall in your house or is my computer color off. It sure apppears yellow. Just wondering. After having been to my house I’m sure you know how I like yellow! tee hee



On 18 January 2003 (10:25 PM),
Virginia said:

Sounds like a great idea, only problem is are you going to give lessons to some of us who want to do big things, but can’t. I am impressed by your pictures. I think your going to do great. Maybe you will be a celebrity too some day. That way I won’t know what to click on when I type in
J. D. Roth for a keyword.

Beyond the Basics

Last night was the second session of Warren Mitchell’s Beyond the Basics photography class. Mackenzie is in San Diego, so I was without a partner in crime.

Warren has been discussing important pieces of photographic equipment. Last week he stated that “photography begins with a tripod.” That’s fine. I have a tripod. This week he advocated nice tripods. I don’t have one of those, and shooting during the past few days has helped me understand the ways in which my tripod is barely adequate.

Last night, Warren also stressed that “lens hoods are absolutely essential“. I don’t have one of those, either.

J.D.: “Photography kinda seems like an expensive hobby.”
Class: Knowing laughter

So far, I find the class rather overwhelming.

When I took computer classes in 1999, the assignments sometimes intimidated me. We’d get an assignment like “implement an address book C++ using a doubly-linked list and appropriate classes – use inheritance” and my heart would sink. How could I possibly complete the assignment in a week? Linked lists were scary!

(Of course, linked lists became less scary with time, and as each week progressed I developed a solution to the problem in time to complete the assignment, and usually earned an A.)

These photography assignments are equally daunting. The final project especially so: we’re to develop a two-minute-seventeen-second slide show to accompany Louis Armstrong’s version of “It’s a Wonderful World”.

At the end of last night’s meeting, we shared the prints we took last week. Our assignment was to photograph trees. Here are four of my photographs (click a thumbnail to open a new window with a larger version of the image):

[photo of root shaped like alien] [photo of a tree in a muddy pond] [photo of woods with newly green field] [photo of mossy oak bark]

Our next assignment?

Warren: “I want you to get closer this week.”
Student: “What do you want us to shoot?”
Warren: “Patterns.”
Student: “That’s it? Patterns?”
Warren: “Patterns. And rain.”

At least I have more photograph ideas involving patterns than I did photograph ideas involving trees.

As I was driving home from the photography class, KMHD played a haunting, beautiful rendition of “Autumn Leaves”. “Autumn Leaves” isn’t one of my favorite standards, but the singer, Eva Cassidy, had a strong, clear voice that spoke of heart-ache, of love lost, never to be regained. The acoustic guitar accompaniment was perfect.

Autumn Leaves
(English lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

The falling leaves drift by my window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold.

Since you went away the days grow long,
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song,
But I miss you most of all, my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.

I’ve heard of Eva Cassidy before, but I’ve never paid her much attention. Perhaps I should.

Comments

On 17 January 2003 (08:30 AM),
Paul said:

JD,

Eva’s huge here. I think she lived in the D.C. metro area and her CD’s are everywhere. If you have a hard time finding them I could get them easily for you.

I enjoy hearing about your adventures in photography. It makes me ache a bit to get back into it. Amy Jo is (was) quite a photographer but hasn’t done any for a few years–she’s a wiz in the darkroom (especially B & W printing).

What format are you using? 35mm? For me I really like the high fidelity large-format stuff. I’ve got an old 4 x 5 camera sitting in a box somewhere. My dream is to have a huge darkroom and make large prints from 4 x 5 or 8 x 10 negatives. Then the hobby gets really expensive.

Take care,
Paul

On 17 January 2003 (06:32 PM),
Vitginia said:

J. D. Don’t know your personal email so this will have to do. Your pictures are great. Makes me jealous that I can’t be in the class. You see you might ask Warren Mitchell if he ever gave a class called Your Art on Note Cards or something like that. Small World!!!

On 18 January 2003 (01:15 PM),
Aimee said:

JD …

Would you ever consider sharing your photgraphy??? I am especially interested in Mossbark and Alien Root …

Aimee.

PS. By ‘sharing’ I naturally mean selling and/or giving …

On 19 January 2003 (08:42 AM),
Jeremy said:

The photo of the tree is fascinating. It was Jennifer’s favorite. How much can you blow it up? Can you make a nice 8X10? I really like the one of the field and the one with the bark. Excellent work. Your new nickname is Ansel.

-jeremy

On 19 January 2003 (12:07 PM),
J.D. said:

I’m flattered by all of your compliments. Thank you.

Yes, I can make enlargements of these photos. If you want one, just let me know. I’d be happy to give you one.

I feel like I should be paying people to take them.

Something Awful

A couple people have asked, “Whence the shaved cat?” To which I belatedly reply: Something Awful.

I don’t often mention politics in this forum because:

  1. I’m not passionate about the subject, and
  2. Nobody is likely to agree with my political positions, anyhow.

(Dana says that I’m a small-l libertarian. I say I’m a small-i independent. I’m really a social liberal and a fiscal conservative.)

Still, to take a page from Jeremy‘s book, I thought I’d stir the pot a little. Just for fun. (Also for fun, I’m going to start linking to Jeremy‘s non-existent web page until he posts something.)

National politics, in particular, don’t excite me. I’m more passionate about local issues — the new megamart built on good farm land to the north of town, the Canby city budget, local land annexation ballot measures, etc. — than I am about national affairs.

Presidential politics leave me cold.

Reagan? He was okay, I guess. Bush the First? Okay, too, but a bit daft. Clinton? Smart fellow, but lacking personal discretion. Seemed to do a good job.

Ask me about our current President, though, and I’ll tell you that I think he’s as dumb as a post. Jeremy‘s brother-in-law is a native Texan who assures me that Bush the Second is a Good Guy. He may be a Good Guy, but this doesn’t make him a Good President.

Before the attacks on 11 September 2001, Bush had essentially done nothing. The economy had begun to collapse, but that’s about it. After the attacks, the President found his footing, went into war-monger mode, and his job approval rating shot through the roof.

It’s a year later, and Bush’s job approval rating has fallen substantially (it’s down to 58%) because he’s squandered his “mandate” in a series of clumsy missteps. The economy is in tatters, the country is on the brink of war (on multiple fronts), and the White House has mounted a campaign against personal liberties that is, to my mind, truly frightening.

Bush blames the Clinton administration for many of the problems he faces now. For example, the Bush administration maintains that the Clinton years produced the escalating North Korea crisis, yet the Clintion staff admonished that good relations with North Korea needed to be maintained. Doesn’t it seem possible, even probable, that North Korea is riled because our current President labeled the country “evil”, signaling an end to the movement toward reconciliation? Bush doesn’t seem to know how to play nice; he’s most comofortable when engaging in confrontational diplomacy.

The administration’s belief that the best way to fight terrorism is to promote democracy is evidence that they just grasp the global socio-political climate. It is this relentless advocacy of our way of life that fosters global Anti-Americanism. Promoting democracy isn’t likely to quell terrorism; it’s likely to promote it.

Really, which country poses the greatest danger to world peace in 2003?

The Department of Homeland Security scares me. Marvin Minsky simply thinks its impractical, an example of poor arithmetic.

I’m not one to espouse conspiracy theories, but I do find the White House’s penchant for secrecy disturbing. The Bush Administration has decided that the Freedom of Information Act doesn’t suit its purposes and, so, has chosen to ignore it. I guess we don’t need a government that is accountable to its constituents — accountability just clouds the process of governement, right? The White House has even started killing reports it doesn’t like.

Orwell is more relevant every day.

The 06 January White House press briefing was interesting:

Bush is using his political capital to renew the abortion debate (more detail) and to promote a top-heavy economic-stimulus package (a package, incidentally, to which I am not actually opposed). I only hope that his support dwindles soon enough that he cannot do more damage than he already has.

Comments


On 13 January 2003 (01:19 PM),
said:

Hello, Cthulhu is old hat, I’m afraid. But yes, I did enjoy it :)

I find this troubling, too, for different reasons.

And, of course, there’s this:



On 13 January 2003 (01:20 PM),
Dana said:

JD,
you need to fix the ‘preview’ page — it’s style isn’t matching the rest of the site, and it’s losing at least the ‘Name’ field.



On 13 January 2003 (01:38 PM),
joelah said:

Yeah, I thought “Hello Cthulu” was pretty funny. It would’ve been a funnier and more extreme juxtaposition, however, if the fads of pubescent girls weren’t as strange and otherworldly to me as they are.



On 13 January 2003 (01:48 PM),
J.D. said:

Hm.

I see what you mean about the preview page, Dana, although I’m not sure how it’s losing the name. It lost Tammy’s name the other day, too.

I didn’t even know there was a template for the preview page; I’ll have to rummage around til I find it…



On 13 January 2003 (01:49 PM),
J.D. said:

I have an hypothesis.

I’ll bet the preview page loses the name only if you refresh the preview (for example, after correcting a typo).

Hm. Nope. Still there.



On 13 January 2003 (02:50 PM),
Dana said:

Hurm. This is not what I saw earlier (when I went to the preview page, after hitting post, I noticed the field was cleared), but it’s another data point:

1) Do not have personal information saved.
2) Put in name only
3) Type a post.
4) Hit preview.
5) From preview screen, hit back button.
6) Post is intact, Name field is cleared.



On 13 January 2003 (02:54 PM),
Dana said:

Oh, I’m using a build of Phoenix, a Mozilla-based browser, from Windows 2000.

Shrug.



On 13 January 2003 (03:07 PM),
Jeremy said:

It just so happens that I like the look of my web page :) !!

Found the multiple links to my web page (in all it’s naked glory) very humorous.

-jeremy

No Longer Tired

I can’t sleep.

Earlier this evening, it was all that I could do to stay awake. We took dinner to Kim and Sabino and Diego, and I was drowsy the entire time. When we came home I took a hot bath; I fell asleep while soaking.

Now it’s midnight, the time when I should actually be sleeping, and I’m wide awake.

The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible: While I don’t disagree with most of the annotations, I feel that people who do this sort of thing:

  1. Are at least as annoying as those they’re criticizing.
  2. Are preaching to the converted.
  3. Have too much time on their hands.

There was a time when I would have been all over this, though, because I needed affirmation for my beliefs.

Frodo has failed.

Mac and I are taking a photography class on Thursday nights. Mac has photography training and skill; I have none. He commented last night that I seem to lack confidence at this endeavor. He’s right. I look at his photography, and that of the other people in the class, and I feel like a rank amateur.

I am a rank amateur.

Still, this is an opportunity for me to develop a skill. Though I’m anxious, I’m also excited.

Our first assignment is to take a roll of photographs of trees: the branches, the bark, the buds, the lines and form, etc. We’re to right down stats on every frame we shoot.

When Kris and I drove to Portland this afternoon, I wasn’t paying attention to the road. I was looking out the window at all of the trees. Mostly they’re boring, but there were a couple of times that I lost my lane because I saw something interesting in a tree’s branches.

I managed to take four photographs this afternoon, though they’re not going to turn out well. Four photographs. Out of thirty-six on the roll. Yikes. I’d better shoot some more tomorrow…

Comments

On 12 January 2003 (08:32 AM),
mac said:

3 words for you: “shoot, don’t think!”

On 12 January 2003 (03:26 PM),
drew said:

you know you might keep valerian and melatonin around for those sleepless nights. use as directed.

On 12 January 2003 (10:03 PM),
Dana said:

Sorry, Andrew — I don’t understand why having a character from a book by Gene Wolfe around would be helpful…

(Oh, I crack me up. Ha Ha.)

I Hurt Myself Laughing

I'm sorry -- you simply must be able to view images to get today's weblog entry

Comments


On 10 January 2003 (07:49 AM),
Joelah said:

Can’t… look… away!
Gotta tell ya Roth, I preferred the daily comic panel posting to all this pet morbidity.



On 10 January 2003 (08:02 AM),
J.D. said:

Patience, my friend.

And for the record: this photograph cracks me up. I think it’s hilarious.

Kris was concerned that it might be the product of some psycho pet-owner shaving his cat and then posting the photos on the internet.

I don’t think this is the case.

The green thing in the background seems to be a cat carrier. I think this cat has returned from surgery at the vet, and that the owner found the poor cat’s state as amusing as I do.

But, you have my pledge: no more pet morbidity for at least a month. :)



On 10 January 2003 (08:29 AM),
Dana said:

I think it looks photoshopped, actually. The transition from ‘shaved’ to ‘furred’ on the legs looks a bit airbrushed to me.



On 10 January 2003 (09:25 AM),
J.D. said:

I don’t know, Dana. It looks pretty natural to me.

I think part of the (furred) tail is visible behind the cat, which is a detail that would probably have been overlooked if this were photoshopped. Also, I don’t see the airbrushing that you do.

There is one part of the photograph that was photoshopped. I removed one element of the photo before posting it. Can you tell where? (It’s actually not difficult.)



On 10 January 2003 (10:42 AM),
Shawn said:

Lower right.



On 10 January 2003 (04:15 PM),
Dana said:

Well, maybe it is just me. Where did you get it? Gooogle images failed me with ‘shaved cat’ as the search terms… :/



On 10 January 2003 (07:25 PM),
said:

Hey I hate cats! I say enough of the cats! I really like how you have your weight posted there on the right. Good luck on your loss.Now you are accountable to all of us you know. Keep up the good work but pllleeeease get rid of these ugly cats!!!



On 10 January 2003 (07:28 PM),
Tammy said:

Uh the above was posted by me. Somehow my name was omitted. Didn’t mean to annonymously blast the kitties in this world!



On 04 September 2003 (12:22 PM),
that girl said:

nice.

Diego Fiesta!

I’ll incorporate this birth announcement into the weblog so that people can leave messages to Kim and Sabino, and to each other. The information below is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate. Please send me corrections or additions.

Hola, Diego Manuel!

[photo of Diego bawling]

Diego Manuel Arredondo was born on 06 January 2003 at 9:25 a.m. He weighed seven pounds, three ounces, and he was twenty inches long. Diego arrived seventeen days early, catching everyone by surprise. His grandparents Kropf were still on the East Coast; they had expected to be back home in plenty of time to be present for his birth.

[photo of Diego asleep

On Monday morning, Sabino rose at 6:30, his normal hour. He went to work, but Kim called him soon after and announced that they had better get to the hospital. Sabino asked Julie to babysit Antonio, and then he sped Kim to Willamette Falls Hospital in Oregon City. They left the house at 8:30.

When they arrived at the hospital, Kim was disappointed to learn that she wouldn’t be receiving an epidural. In fact, the labor progressed so quickly that Diego was born at 9:25, after only five minutes of pushing.

Stephanie visited Kim, Sabino, and Diego, soon after the birth and took all of the photos that you see on this page (and more!).

click a thumbnail below for larger image (opens new window)

[photo of Sabino holding Diego]  [photo of Kim and Sabino by Diego's bedside  [photo of Sabino videotaping Diego]  [photo of Diego's first bath]

By the early evening, friends and family had begun to pour into the hospital room and out into the hall and into the lobby. Antonio had joined his family, but, according to Sabino, didn’t comprehend what all the fuss was about. Fortunately, someone (Trina?) had thought to bring Thomas and his friends, so Antonio was happy.

[photo of Kim and Sabino holding Diego]

Sabino surmised that Diego chose to be born this particular day in order to bring the MNF group together for one extra Monday past the end of the football season. Sabino declined the traditional MNF father dinner at the Outback, but the rest of the gang went anyhow. We ate enough food to compensate for his absence.

Comments

On 07 January 2003 (07:17 AM),
J.D. said:

Congratulations, Kim and Sabino! May Diego lead a long and happy life.

Antonio has a year or two to learn to share Thomas and Friends, I guess. :)

On 07 January 2003 (07:22 AM),
Steve Masingila said:

Congratulations!!! proud Mon,Dad and big brother

On 07 January 2003 (08:03 AM),
Jeremy said:

Way to go! Kim, we wish you a speedy recovery. Sabino, we wish for you a smooth tax season so that you may assist your wife in caring ofr Diego. Antonio, we wish for you patience to incorporate Diego into the family. And Diego, we hope your infection goes away very soon so you can begin to pester your brother!

Jeremy, Jennifer, Harrison and Emma

On 07 January 2003 (10:24 AM),
Lucy said:

Congratulations!
Now enjoy…

On 07 January 2003 (10:43 AM),
Jackie Sande said:

Congratulations on such a fine addition to your family. No wonder the audit didn’t take as long as expected: Arredondo’s are early!

On 07 January 2003 (11:39 AM),
David Hoiland said:

Congratulations on your new boy. May the SLEEP be with you!

On 07 January 2003 (12:27 PM),
StephanieRoth said:

Congratulations on the new little golfing buddy!

On 07 January 2003 (12:45 PM),
Jennifer Gingerich said:

Two kids… yeah I know what that means. Twice the mess, double duty on the diapers, two on one wrestling matches (watch out dad!), doubled over with laughs (what else can you do), twice as much fun, and quadruple the amount of love! Congratulations on the new family dynamics!

On 07 January 2003 (02:28 PM),
Patrick Leaman said:

Hey hey! I feel priveleged to be included in the email. ‘Bino and Kim, you both look wonderful. Through this site I got to Bino’s work site. Nice update. I have heard it said from a parents perspective that when you transition from two children to three, you go from a “man to man” defense to “zone”. Be careful.

I am forwarding this to Mark Sawin!

On 07 January 2003 (02:55 PM),
Bev Landen said:

Congratulations to both of you, Sabino and especially to you Kim as the one who did all the work. I look forward to meeting your two little ones sometime.

On 07 January 2003 (03:49 PM),
Fay said:

Congratulations on your new addition. You will have so much fun with two little brothers so close. Kim, you’re still the queen of the home. Get their respect and help!! I’m so excited. Thanks for including me on your EM list. Fay

On 07 January 2003 (04:32 PM),
Kelly Thompson said:

Kimmy!! Can’t believe the little guy dropped in just the next morning after talking with you!! Sounds like you guys barely made it. I’m sure Antonio will adjust just fine…what fun! Jim’s excited cause now you’ll be able to make this weekends annual beach trip – ha!! We can’t wait to meet him, hope to drop in after the rush!! Much love and many hugs from all of us – Kelly, Jim, Rachel & Jake

On 07 January 2003 (06:03 PM),
Kara, Ron & Daphne said:

Yippee!! I can’t wait to play with my new baby cousin!! ~Daphne

Congratulations Sabino, Kim & Antonio! What a beautiful boy! We love you bunches! ~ Kara & Ron

On 08 January 2003 (08:05 AM),
Claudia said:

Kimmy, Woweee! Hey five minutes of pushing can’t be all that disappointing huh?! I am sure you were plenty organized ahead of time anyway if I know you!!!
Sabino, Take it easy on the only girl in the family now. Don’t you three gang up on her too much.
Congratulations you two. Can’t hardly wait to see you. I will let the primary school all know.
Love and kisses, Claudia

On 08 January 2003 (08:34 AM),
Dan Davis said:

Congratulations! My sons birthday was the day before!

On 08 January 2003 (08:35 AM),
Linda said:

Congratulations! Welcome Diego. What a beautiful baby boy. So happy for you and your family. Kim, you still have the glow and look great, Sabino, what a proud Dad. God bless you all. Thanks for the photos. See you soon. (If there’s anything we can do, please call) Love ya, Linda

On 08 January 2003 (08:39 AM),
Leah Feller (Sanders) said:

Conrats Kim and Sabino. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your beautiful family.

On 08 January 2003 (08:48 AM),
Lori Lawrence said:

Congratulations on a BEAUTIFUL new little one. I’m sure he will be one of those babies that sleeps through the night by 6 weeks, no? :) Give him an extra snuggle and kiss from me, will you please.

Love,

Lori Lawrence

On 08 January 2003 (09:08 AM),
Cathy Flachsbart said:

Kim and Sabino- Congratulations! What fun boys are! Thanks for sharing the good news and the wonderful pictures. He is beautiful. Cathy

On 08 January 2003 (09:20 AM),
Dan said:

Way to go Diego! He must have been in a hurry to join such a great family. Kim and Sabino, have fun on your 12 weeks of maternity leave!

Big Gringo

On 08 January 2003 (10:18 AM),
Kathy Kenyon said:

Congratulations and best wishes. He’s adorable.

Have great fun with two boys.

Kathy

On 08 January 2003 (10:31 AM),
Grandpa & NanaGrandma said:

We have just met you at the nursery show in Baltimore via internet! Thanks to JD! I have told approximately 100 people here in MD that I am a new Grandma!!! They can tell my ear to ear grin. We are coming home in a couple hours. Can harldy wait to hold you and yes Antonio I have some Thomas books to read to you while while I am holding Diego. Love, Nana Grandma

On 08 January 2003 (12:17 PM),
Alice said:

Congratulations! He is beautiful! Have fun with your two little guys!

Alice Dudon

On 08 January 2003 (12:51 PM),
Karin said:

Congrats Kim and Sabino! Glad to hear everyone is doing well. 17 days early and 5 minutes of pushing! We won’t even compare stories because you definitely win! :-) Thanks for the email note so I could check out the pictures. Maybe one of these days we can get Jonathan, Diego and Alexis together for a party. Who would have thought we’d all have kids less than 2 weeks apart?!
Love to all, Karin

On 08 January 2003 (01:54 PM),
Matthew Wilding said:

Felicidades! Welcome to the 2 boys club. Three months into it we are loving it. Hope you are all well and that you are able to squeeze in a bit of rest here and there.

-Matthew

On 08 January 2003 (05:56 PM),
Stacy, Tracy, Taylor and Drew said:

Great pics! What a beautiful family. God chose such a wonderful home for Diego! We are so happy for you. We will miss you ALL this weekend…..is it too late to reschedule so you can come? :) Much love! Tracy, Stacy, Taylor and Drew

On 08 January 2003 (07:17 PM),
Ken Perinchhief said:

How wonderful for you to have two boys, the second of which was born on MY 68th BIRTHDAY!
Congratulations to the parents, best wishes for a healthy and properous life by whatever measuring tool he wishes to use. He and Mom and Dad take flattering pictures — something he cannot count on 68 years from now!
Read to them early and often — their very best gift from you, except for hugs and love.

Ken Perinchief

On 09 January 2003 (09:42 AM),
Norcom Bunch said:

Congratulations!! Diego looks healthy, and he was obviously excited to see the world. We wish you all the best. Get lots of rest and we look forward to seeing Diego at the office soon.

On 09 January 2003 (09:49 AM),
Shaun, Keeli, Carson and Griffin said:

The pictures look great! Everyone is smiling, healthy, happy….and you should be. Congratulations!!! By the way, Sabino, you look like the birthing thing was noooo problem. I’ve got a hot coffee waiting for you when you get back to work.

On 09 January 2003 (12:32 PM),
Cindie Brack said:

Congratulations! Diego is awesome! The second one is easier. Enjoy! Love Cindie

On 09 January 2003 (12:57 PM),
Dayna & Michael Rich said:

Kim & Sabino,
Congratulations, He is beautiful. We look forward to watching what wonderful things God has planned for him and you. You are in our prayers.
May God Bless you family

On 09 January 2003 (01:32 PM),
Michelle Harrington said:

Congratulations Kim. 2 boys, I know how wonderful that is. Diego is beautiful. Take care of yourself.
Michelle Harrington

On 10 January 2003 (10:45 AM),
Mark Metzler Sawin said:

Hey ‘Bino & Kim,

Congrats! It’s great to see your family — you all seem happy and well. Take care and remeber Sabino, that Pat and I are still willing to support you for a Presidential run. You’ll soon be 35 so I’m expecting big things from you in 2008.

Mark

On 11 January 2003 (11:43 AM),
Hearth Classics Crew said:

Congratulations from everyone at Hearth Classics on the new addition!!! Two beautiful boys! More really is merrier.
Best wishes for sufficent sleep, patience and diapers. We would include wishes for lots of love, but we can see al the love that shows in the pictures.
A beautiful family!

The crew at Hearth Classics.

On 11 January 2003 (01:42 PM),
jennifer lyn gingerich (the OTHER jennifer…) said:

pretty cool!! congratulations and may you be filled with love and joy, and lots of support. :-) wish i could be there to see Diego in person.

On 13 January 2003 (09:17 AM),
Randy & Seanette Smith said:

Congratulations!!! May God bless your new addition :0). Randy, Seanette, Alex & Brock Smith

On 13 January 2003 (06:48 PM),
Tonya Harmelink said:

Congratulations on your new addition. Kristin sent me the update on your family. Best wishes as you become a family of four. Great pictures!

On 15 January 2003 (07:20 PM),
Carolyn Jackson said:

Kim and Sabino,

Wow! Diego sure knows how to announce his arrival, congratulations! Cudos to the photographer on the opening shot, it’s a great one. You all look fabulous. Kim, you’re just amazing, 5 minutes of pushing, you do win!

On 16 January 2003 (01:44 PM),
jewell said:

Beautiful. I’ll try and come for a visit next week. We had a good time at the beach, but missed you. Love, Jewell

On 17 January 2003 (07:53 AM),
Jana Petersen said:

Hey Congrats, I hear you’ve already adapted to having a new little one around. I enjoyed the pictures and the run down on the special event. Enjoy every moment while their young!!! I know you will! Can’t wait to meet the little guy.

On 20 January 2003 (05:46 AM),
Michelle Miller said:

Kristin also sent me the site to get a look at the new addition to your family. Congratulations!

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom

When I was a child my family did not own a television. For this I cannot thank my parents enough. (The destructiveness of television is a topic for another weblog entry.) At the time, though, we kids felt cruelly deprived of our right to watch Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Wide World of Sports, and Saturday morning cartoons.

Many Saturdays we’d bike the half mile to Kurt Gunderson’s house where we’d sprawl on the orange shag carpet in the living room, where we’d eat sugared cereals (another right of which we were unjustly deprived by evil parents) and laugh at the adventures of Bugs Bunny and Road Runner, or puzzle at the completely foreign world of Fat Albert and his gang. (We were white kids raised in rural Oregon; what did we know of impoverished black kids in New York?)

Our babysitters had it easy: they simply had to bring along a portable 9″ black-and-white set and we were tamed from wild maniacs to sedate zombies, staring blankly at the screen. With us so easily subdued, the sitter was free to gab on the phone for hours at a time or to invite a friend (sometimes a boyfriend) for a visit.

Family vacations were a treat; the hotels rooms always had televisions. Mom and Dad would try to convince us to go to sleep, but it was useless if there was anything good on TV. And by good I mean: a war movie, a science fiction program, Happy Days, The Six Million Dollar Man, or The Bionic Woman. (ch – ch – ch – ch – ch – ch Look at my bionic jump!)

I remember loving two shows as a child: The Wonderful World of Disney and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (with Marlon Perkins).

I only saw a handful of Wild Kingdom episodes, but the show left its mark. The locales were exotic, the animals fantastic. I could not get enough. Marlon Perkins, despite his age, lived a thrilling life, meeting wild and fantastic animals up close, daring danger without a thought. He was a heroic figure to an eight-year-old.

There are those of us who believe that animals are far more intelligent than most people credit them. Kris and I like to find new studies and new anecdotes that support this belief. Yesterday she pointed me to this article on orangutan culture.

(The article refers to a study published today in the journal Science. The study can be found here, but requires free registration. The study was conducted, at least in part, by a member of Orangutan Foundation International.)

I believe that if you have never had a close personal relationship with an animal, have never witnessed an animal exhibit profoundly intelligent behavior, then this says more about your intelligence than the intelligence of animals.

One of my favorite animal photographs:

[Koko cradles the kitten, All Ball]

Koko and All Ball

And another (a repeat):

[A baboon checks a cat for fleas]

Assorted animal intelligence links:

While composing this entry that I realized that Toto, my cat, has exactly the same personality as Gandalf, the parakeet I had when I was twelve.

This cat clock is pretty cool. It’s even cooler than you think. Look closely at the cat’s paws. [via Very Big Blog]

There are weblog awards? Somebody ought to do a study on they psychological motivation to give awards for anything and everything!

Comments

On 03 January 2003 (11:01 AM),
J.D. said:

Well, I did it: the orangutan culture link has become my first front-page post to Metafilter. I can’t believe I’m so nervous about it…

On 03 January 2003 (11:39 AM),
jeff said:

Speed Racer was one of my favorite cartoons that we never got to watch.

On 03 January 2003 (02:15 PM),
Dana said:

Although we had a TV, it was black and white till I was about 6, and it was in the UP of Michigan, where we really only got about 2 stations (plus a UHF one), till I was 9.

My neighbors had cable, and they all got Speed Racer. I think I saw about three episodes of it when I was growing up, and it seemed awfully neat.

What I did get, however, were Battle of the Planets (with G-Force and the rather R2-D2-esque 7-Zark-7) and Thunderbirds are Go!(in Super-Marionation!), both on the aforementioned UHF channel.

Are there still any low-budget UHF stations broadcasting weird syndicated programming?

On 07 February 2003 (07:45 PM),
Ryan Reynolds said:

I had a parakeet with a vocabulary of over 800 words and I began a website where I was posting his audio recordings. The more I posted and listend to them, the more I found him starting to talk in context. As a result he ended up being able to converse on almost any topic. You can hear some of the incredible recordings on his site. http://www.talkingbudgie.com Hope to see you there.

On 20 August 2003 (08:05 AM),
diane said:

I wish more shows like this were available for this generation to see.

It’s a Wonderful Life

Over the past decade I’ve become something of a Scrooge at heart, never rallying much enthusiasm for Christmas; Thanksgiving is my holiday. This year has been different.

I’ve been attempting to become a kinder, gentler person, one less critical of others and more willing to praise and to share and to enjoy the moment. This new attitude is already paying unexpected dividends: I’m happier than I have been in five years. Couple this new, improved attitude with a surfeit of cash and the result has been a holiday season in which I’ve actually enjoyed giving gifts, have looked forward to doing so. It has been easy to find things to give my family and friends.

It’s a Wonderful Life was one of my favorite films when I was in high school and college, but it’s been several years since I watched it. Kris and I snuggled up on the couch one night last week and watched it together. It was a wonderful. It felt as if I were watching the film for the first time.

Even the Roth family Christmas pleased me this year. We Roth boys see each other every day at Custom Box Service so that seeing each other for Christmas usually feels anticlimactic. But I enjoyed myself on Tuesday night, playing with Tony’s kids, eating pizza, burning the hot fudge, unwrapping Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on DVD.

We spent a relaxing Christmas Day with Joel and Aimee. We lounged around the Christmas tree, reading, chatting, and playing Bohnanza and Dutch Blitz. Their cat, Nine, entertained us by throwing her superball around the room and stalking Hedgie, the hedgehog.

Joel got a whole stack of Patrick O’Brian books. His affliction must be deeper than I had suspected. (I’m one to talk: I haven’t even begun reading the series yet, but already own the first three volumes.)

We had planned to prepare a lamb recipe from Caprial, but the lamb had turned green and blue. We improvised, adapting the recipe for chicken instead. The improvisation worked, thanks largely to the splendid wine-peppercorn sauce (for which we used a bottle of St. Josef’s Cabarnet Sauvignon (1987) that Jeremy and Jennifer had given us for Christmas).

In the evening, the four of us saw Gangs of New York (which one might call Martin Scorsese’s Helms Deep). My three companions hated the film. Aimee, in a fit of generosity, offered to grade it a D because of Daniel Day-Lewis‘ presence. I didn’t dislike the film as much as the others; in fact, I enjoyed the first half. The last hour of the movie is awful, however, an indefensible, convoluted mess. The final twenty minutes are particularly wretched, with an amateurish voice-over reading telegraphed reports of rioting in the streets of New York. Scorsese‘s ambition has got the better of him in Gangs of New York. He tries to tell too many stories, and the film is worse for it. I’d recommend waiting for video if you’ve considered seeing this. (Update: This review of Gangs of New York is spot-on, though the review’s evaluation is ultimately a bit more positive than mine.)

Tonight, Kris and I will have dinner with Paul Carlile and, perhaps, catch another of those films we expect to be in Oscar contention.

Best in show from the gifts received department? Without question, the gift from my parents-in-law: the beautiful, information-packed Atlas of Oregon. Wow!

Peter Jackson’s Helm’s Deep

Note: foldedspace.org died recently, and is gradually being reconstructed. This entry has moved. The 72 comments from before the move can be found here.

I saw Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep twice on Wednesday. Though I liked the film better the second time, I was still disappointed. Much of that disappointment is a result of baggage that I bring as an audience-member and not a result of Jackson’s filmmaking; nearly every other review I’ve read or heard has been glowing.

I was going to write a proper paragraph-based review with nice transitions, etc. etc. etc. but I’m not up to the effort. Instead I’m going to provide a review which uses lots of bullet points. Warning: spoilers ahead!

Please keep in mind that I do not hate Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep; I’m just disappointed by it. I was also disappointed by The Fellowship of the Ring last year, though I’ve warmed to it after multiple viewings. Most of my review focuses on the negative aspects of Helms Deep, but that’s only because all of the other reviews are glowing and you can read them to find out about all that is good about the film.

Here are some disappointing features shared by The Fellowship of the Ring and Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep:

Intrusive music
Howard Shore‘s score isn’t bad, but it’s omnipresent, and sometimes overwhelms the action on the screen. Maybe this is a problem with me as an audience member. Perhaps others like it. I don’t.
Moving camera
I was sick last year when I saw The Fellowship of the Ring. The always-moving camera made me feel even more nauseated. Peter Jackson (and his unit directors) don’t seem to have enough confidence in their framing to allow a simple static shot. The camera pans and sweeps and soars and zooms and never stays in one place for long. It’s dizzying.
Elves
Yes, elves are wispy and mystic. But these films play them in such a languorous fashion that they nearly put me to sleep whenever they appear. The elves speak s-l-o-w-l-y. They move s-l-o-w-l-y. It gives the intended other-worldly effect, but it also slows the pacing. Rivendell and Lothlorien are the two slow points in Fellowship. The Arwen/Elronod/Galadriel section slows Helms Deep. I’m not suggesting that these scenes should not be in the films, just that they should have been done differently.
Glossing
Because The Lord of the Rings is a huge story, it’s impossible for Peter Jackson to put everything on the screen. It’s inevitable that some things have to be cut. Tom Bombadil? Yes, I love him, too, but he’s not essential to the story. However, I don’t understand why essential bits were cut (or glossed over): Galadriel’s gifts in Fellowship (which, fortunately, are restored in the extended DVD), Merry and Pippin’s experiences with the orcs, the Ents, etc. Merry and Pippin are give rather short shrift in Helms Deep, which is unfortunate.
Battles
My least favorite parts of these films are the battle sequences. The book has battle sequences, and they are integral to the story. I am not opposed to battle sequences, even long ones, if they are done well. The battle scenes in these films are not done well. They’re long and nonsensical. Jackson spends a lot of time establishing that the orcs, especially the Uruk-Hai, are threatening, yet when they enter combat, they’re surprisingly ineffective. They’re like Star Wars stormtroopers with swords instead of blasters. In Ewoks Attack, pint-sized teddy bears are able to take out trained battle troops with rocks. In both Fellowship of the Ring and Helms Deep, Merry and Pippin take about trained battle troops with rocks. We’re supposed to find these villains threatening?

Here are my specific comments regarding Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep:

Negatives

  • Despite the movie’s three hour length, things felt rushed. Important plot points are glossed over in favor of the epic final battle scene.
  • Some plot points, especially those related to the battle sequences, are ludicrous. From the sheer stupid:
    • Where do Merry and Pippin get the stones that they throw while perched upon Treebeard’s shoulders?
    • Why are they throwing stones again? They did it at the end of Fellowship; it was stupid then, it’s stupid now: these hobbits are hefting and throwing stones so large, and throwing them with such accuracy, that they kill orcs? Give me a break.

    to just silly on an abstract level:

    • If Saruman is such a mastermind, if he’s going to the trouble to mass ten thousands of orcs, then:
      • Why doesn’t he give them a little training so that they don’t fall like matchstick men at the first hint of combat. These Uruk-Hai are supposed to be tough and scary, yet they’re so delicate that two hobbits can hold off dozens of them. That’s not very scary. They’re no better than rats.
      • Why doesn’t he provide them with combined arms? The only weapons the Uruk-Hai seem to have are spears and those funny pseudo-carpenters squares. That’s fine for close combat, but it kind of sucks when your opponents have longbows, you know? At Helms Deep, there are two Uruk-Hai with crossbows, but they’re seen only briefly for dramatic effect. They certainly aren’t around when they’d actually be useful (as when Gimli and Aragorn are scaling the wall of the keep).
  • Wormtongue moans, “Where will we find an army large enough to storm Helms Deep” and Saruman takes him to the window to see tens of thousands of Uruk-Hai massed outside Isengard. Give me a break. What? Wormtongue doesn’t know anything of Saruman’s master plan? And somehow thousands of orcs managed to gather outside in hushed whispers and tiptoes? This is an example of the filmmakers choosing the nonsensical simply for dramatic effect.
  • Another example of the nonsensical in the service of the dramatic: as the Uruk-Hai march to Helms Deep they make an impressive thump-thump-thump marching-in-unison kind of sound. That’s great, except they are obviously not marching in unison. What we should hear is a chaotic shuffling of feet, but that just wouldn’t be as fun now, would it?
  • Gollum has no dangly bits where his dangly bits should be.
  • Theoden should speak in iambic pentameter.
  • People have complained that Gimli is relegated to comic relief. He certainly serves that purpose in Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep, but I don’t mind. I’m more miffed that Legolas doesn’t play a larger role. Legolas rocks. Also, Merry and Pippin’s story has been truncated. (Though I suspect we’ll see more of them in an extended DVD.)
  • Our heroes are girding themselves for battle. Gimli is in the middle of trying on a chainmail dress when elven archers march through the gates. Everyone rushes to greet them. When Gimli lumbers down the stairs, he is now clothed for combat. What? What happened to the chainmail dress he was just wearing?
  • Gandalf and the Rohirrim charge down an impossibly steep slope. Any horse galloping down this embankment would, in reality, lose its footing on the first stride and tumble headlong into the waiting army of orcs. The scene looks silly.
  • Theoden and Aragorn’s final charge knocks over orcs on the bridge as if they were bowling pins. These orcs look completely computer animated in the way they march exactly alike, the way none of them stand aside to let the riders pass, the way they’re simply there to be pushed off the bridge. It’s silly.
  • Did I mention I don’t like it when Merry and Pippin throw stones?
  • I don’t mind Peter Jackson making changes to the story to improve how it plays on the screen, but some of the changes seem to serve no purpose. Why have Faramir take Frodo to Gondor? What purpose does it serve? None that I can see. Worse is Aragorn’s faux death? Is this simply so he can enter a fugue state in which he dreams of Arwen? This side-plot seems contrived and unnecessary. (Indeed, it literally is contrived and unnecessary.)
  • Not to beat a dead horse but: the battle films are overlong and poorly staged. (And this is the primary reason that the other bits need to be glossed over). Yes, I know I’m a minority voice here. Most people love the battle scenes, especially Helms Deep. I’m not one of them. The final battle in Fellowship (the movie) is drawn from two pages in the book, yet lasts twenty minutes on screen. The film version features Merry and Pippin finding stones on the floor of a forest (problem one) that they heave (problem two), toppling orcs (problem three, especially since the orcs are, seemingly, killed by the throws). This is typical of all the battle scenes in both films so far. On Weathertop, Aragorn throws a torch at one of the Nazgul and it goes up in flames. What? did he bathe in kerosene? The battle of Helms Deep is rife with these kind of errors. I can’t help thinking that if Saruman had thought to construct more than two ranged weapons. Really, the battles are my biggest beef with the films. The other gripes I can forgive. It’s not even a problem with the script. I don’t mind battle scenes, and they could still follow the same script but just have the action on screen be more consistent, less preposterous, better edited.

Positives:

  • It was clever to merge Gandalf’s voice with Saruman’s when Gandalf the White first appears. I like that.
  • The acting is uniformly excellent, especially that from the supporting players. Grima, Theoden and Eowyn are fantastic, almost Shakespearean. This is the element of the books and the films that I love: the literate epic drama, not the fantastic battle scenes. Pare down the battle scenes and give me more intrigue with Theoden and Grima and Saruman! Give me more acting, less fighting. This would make a better film. (For me.)
  • Generally, I’m not a fan of horses; they’re big clumsy beasts that step on young boys and scar them for life (literally and figuratively). However, I think horsemanship is a skill that transfers well to film and I want more. The little that is on screen is great, but give me more more more!
  • Wormtongue rocks. Well done!
  • Arwen has fantastic lips. Very kissable. They’re the best part of the film, really.
  • Gollum has no dangly bits where his dangly bits should be.
  • Jeremy says: “Those rocks actually fall like rocks instead of Styrofoam blocks.” (This is true of the bigger pieces, but the smaller “stones” in close-ups still fall like Styrofoam blocks.)
  • Treebeard: “That doesn’t make any sense to me. But, then, you are very small.”
  • Gollum’s internal conflict plays well on the screen. It’s written and performed well.
  • The song that plays over the end credits is by one of my favorite obscure artists, Emiliana Torrini. It’s great!

I like nearly every portion of Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep in isolation. If you were to show me any one scene, I’d like it. However, when the scenes are strung together into a film, something seems to be missing. The whole is less than the sum of its parts.

Remember: I do not hate this film. It’s above average in fact, meriting a 6.0 on J.D.’s Patented Move Rating Scale. I had hoped for more.

One of my favorite bits from Tolkien:

Frodo
If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring.

Galadriel
You offer it to me freely? I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this.

In place of a Dark Lord you would have a queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!

I pass the test. I will diminish and go into the west and remain Galadriel.

Comments

On 20 December 2002 (10:47 AM),
Dana said:

You and I frequently like or dislike the same things, but for vastly different reasons. In a surprising turn of events, I pretty much agree with your reasoning completely.

The presence or absence of Gollum’s dangly bits aside, he’s an amazing piece of work, and everybody involved with him deserves recognition. He’s pretty amazing.

I know that there is destined to be no Scouring of the Shire, too, in the third film, and I think this will rob the conclusion of a needed closure.

The Saruman/Gandalf blend was indeed quite neat, but I thought it would have worked much better if the previews hadn’t given away that Gandalf returns…

“Your talk of snuffling riders with invisible noses has unsettled me.” — Pippin, FotR

On 20 December 2002 (03:25 PM),
Dave said:

I have to take issue with some of what you bring up. Specifically:

* Where do Merry and Pippin get the stones that they throw while perched upon Treebeard’s shoulders?
-I believe that we clearly see Treebeard handing them rocks.

* these hobbits are hefting and throwing stones so large, and throwing them with such accuracy, that they kill orcs? Give me a break.
– My recollection is that the hobbits threw the rocks, knocked the orcs on the head and then Treebeard stepped on them, but I admit that this was a fairly small part. I did think that the rocks were fairly good sized for hobbit-sized folk, however. And by the way, have you ever been whacked in the head by a flying rock? Ask the Israeli’s why they wear helmets when dealing with rock throwing Palestinians. In addition, aren’t hobbits supposed to be really good with rock throwing?

* Why doesn’t he give them a little training so that they don’t fall like matchstick men at the first hint of combat. These Uruk-Hai are supposed to be tough and scary, yet they’re so delicate that two hobbits can hold off dozens of them. That’s not very scary. They’re no better than rats.
– Talk to Tolkien about this. In the book the hobbits do exactly as they did in the movie except that I don’t recall the chase into Fangorn Forest. Of course, in the movie the hobbits only survive because Treebeard squashes the orc first rather than the hobbits.

*The only weapons the Uruk-Hai seem to have are spears and those funny pseudo-carpenters squares. That’s fine for close combat, but it kind of sucks when your opponents have longbows, you know?
– Of course, it could be that none of our fair heros happen to be standing in places where orcs with crossbows are at and we therefore don’t see them. In other words, simply because we don’t see them doesn’t mean that they’re not there.

*What? Wormtongue doesn’t know anything of Saruman’s master plan? And somehow thousands of orcs managed to gather outside in hushed whispers and tiptoes?
-Why would he know of how many orcs Saruman has? He’s a soothsaying spy that just got tossed out on his ear, presumably rode hard to get to Isengard and probably has no idea how much strength Saruman has amassed.

* Gollum has no dangly bits where his dangly bits should be.
– His loincloth went underneath the whole way. I checked it out because the dangly bits thing bothered me, too. Hmmm, should I really be admitting that I was checking out Gollum?

* Gandalf and the Rohirrim charge down an impossibly steep slope. Any horse galloping down this embankment would, in reality, lose its footing on the first stride and tumble headlong into the waiting army of orcs. The scene looks silly.
-Oh yeah, you’re right on there. Of course, cavalry charging pikes usually doesn’t work out well for the first line of horses, either…

*Why have Faramir take Frodo to Gondor? What purpose does it serve? None that I can see.
– In The Return of the King, Faramir goes back to Minas Tirith and then goes out to fight the battle at Osgiliath. I think that Jackson compressed this into 2T’s in order to allow for more room in TROTK but still set the strategic stage for Minas Tirith being in jeopardy, allow for the siege of Minas Tirith, allow the hobbits to hook up with the Rohirrim, etc.

* Worse is Aragorn’s faux death? Is this simply so he can enter a fugue state in which he dreams of Arwen? This side-plot seems contrived and unnecessary. (Indeed, it literally is contrived and unnecessary.)
-Right again.

* Theoden and Aragorn’s final charge knocks over orcs on the bridge as if they were bowling pins. These orcs look completely computer animated in the way they march exactly alike, the way none of them stand aside to let the riders pass, the way they’re simply there to be pushed off the bridge. It’s silly.
-Right again. If it was that easy, why didn’t they do this at the outset?

I also agree with Dana’s assessment of the Scouring of the Shire. When I read the trilogy again this summer, I found that the Scouring was the portion that I liked the best, perhaps because of the obvious political undertones that it had. I remember thinking while sitting in the movie, “Damn, they’re going to skip the Scouring of the Shire, aren’t they?”

On 23 December 2002 (04:53 PM),
Tracie said:

Re: Faramir. I noticed but didn’t mind most of what was mentioned above. I agree with it, but it didn’t bother me too much (just a bit). But where I really was bothered wasn’t so much in Faramir taking the hobbits to Osgiliath, as Faramir initially “failing” the test of the ring–which he passed with flying colors in the book. Jackson gives the impression that Faramir is nearly JUST LIKE Boromir–he has to be bonked on the head by seeing the peril of the ring before he can understand it. BIG disservice to the character Tolkein created. When he says in the film that this is a test of his quality, he then decides to bring the ring to Gondor! FAILED! In the book, he gives Frodo and his companions safe passage through the land! As far as needing to get them to Gondor to meet up with the Rohirrim…Am I missing something? Why do they need to meet the Rohirrim? Frodo and Sam HAVE to move on to Mordor after this, and Merry and Pippin will meet Theoden in Isengard–as written by Tolkein, I would assume? Meanwhile, if Faramir does his thing at Osgiliath, then we won’t ever see the strain between him and his father–because that is what PROMPTS his riding out to Osgiliath–from which he comes back unconscious and seemingly dying. So, the character set-up and drama between Gandalf, Faramir, and Denethor won’t occur. PLUS, why would Denethor favor Boromir over Faramir now anyway? Since Jackson’s Faramir is just a Boromir clone…? I like your site! Thanks!

On 27 December 2002 (11:05 AM),
ME said:

I’ll tell you what bothers me about this review: the movie is called THE TWO TOWERS and not PETER JACKSON’S HELMS DEEP!!! You sound like a mouron everytime you say it, DJEEZES!!!

On 30 December 2002 (08:47 PM),
Rory said:

Does it really matter what he calls it?

I agree with about 80% of your points. Details such as the omnipresent music don’t bother me much, but I think it depends on the viewer. I will admit that I too was swayed by the Helms Deep battle scene, but even the badass-ness of it all doesn’t cover up the sheer unrealistic qualities. I understand that this is a fantasy, but you can’t take it to the point of imminent disbelief.

On 30 December 2002 (10:47 PM),
Gordon said:

Ok. I have seen the movie twice. I don’t mind the changes that Peter Jackson made to it. Except for Helms Deep. There were no elves at Helms Deep. They are too busy getting ready for Dol Guldur which is clearly stated in the book.

So Peter Jackson can’t afford the special effects of having the Huron’s do away with the Orcs (which is why Gandalf really went away from Rohan). He wants to have shiny silver men gallop to the rescue. I can live with that. I just don’t think the elves would even show up at Helms Deep even if they could. All they are doing is covering their asses as they head West. Why do directors insist on putting their mark on movies? He was doing such a good job of more or less accurately portraying the story.

On 30 January 2003 (11:49 AM),
Turbonut2003 said:

I don`t understand why Saruman,with tens of thousands of orcs at his disposal doesn`t keep any in reserve as home guard for Isengard.The film only shows about 50 at most.
Also,the second film is called “The two towers”,this is presumably a reference to Saruman`s dark tower and the white tower of helm`s deep?
But they don`t actually feature very strongly.
I can`t recall seeing either tower in it`s entirity……….
……….Perhaps it`s just me,I don`t know.

On 04 February 2003 (09:24 PM),
Bob said:

In reference to the actual “two towers”, Tolkein never stated what two towers the book was named after. In the movie the two towers that were mentioned were Orthanc and Barad-dur (Saruman states this while looking in the palantir or standing on the top of orthanc, i dont quite remember). Tolkein actually considered many of the towers in middle earth: Orthanc, Barad-dur, Minas Morgal, Cirith Ungol, etc…He never choose two specific towers…

Moving cameras? If you feel sick, you should have stayed at home. I feel haveing these constant moving camera shots, you get the feeling that the cameras are actually there and are not restricted; its like you are there and obversing the action as it happens. I feel it makes things more beleivable, as if you were just there, floating above the action.

The elves are great. I feel they are the best part of the movies and the books. The way Jackson and the writers decided to portray the elves is done is such a way to make them more knoble. They seem to demand more respect. They are so graceful and elegant. If they would have moved faster or talked faster, they would have lost this element. The elves would seem just like men, but with pointy ears and straight beautiful hair.

As for “Glossing”…Jackson was told by the producers (or someone along those lines) to make the movie under three hours. He had to cut the scenes that were not crutial to the plot. He did make an agreement with them though. He said he would take the scenes out as long as the extended version was out befor “The Two Towers” was released in theaters.

The quiest Orc army? Of course they didn’t have to tip toe to gather in front of Orthanc. Grima and Saruman do not actually hear the orcs until they reach the window in the tower. I guess the tower is sound proof….

Marching in unison? Of course you cant make that many orcs march in step. But what would have been better to hear, the orcs marching with a very “chaotic shuffling of feet” or the menacing thump-thump-thump? Think about it.

At Helms Deep, The Uruk Hai did have more than “spears and those funny pseudo-carpenters squares”. If you notice, when the orcs first charge the walls, many elves are hit and fall from the walls. There are more than just two crossbows at helms deep. You not only see then there, you also see them when the orcs break down the door. After they brake a portion of the door down, they began to shoot at those trying to baracade the door.

I know everyone is entitled to their opinions, as I am, but alot of the other comments made by jdroth are ludacris. Get over the rocks. Hey, they’re hobbits. They’re simple. Stick to simple things. Alot of the timing issues can be looked over. They dont ruin the story line. They are not even that noticable.

Over all I loved the movies. Both “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers”. The only things I feel they should not have added was the Ents (not gathering the hourns) and taking Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath. By taking them, Jackson took them far out of their way and he also totally changed Faramir’s character. He was more cruel in the movie and I dont think it was something Jackson had to change from the book.

On 05 February 2003 (01:43 AM),
M@TT said:

Has this guy ever read the book the two towers I mean he sounds like he’s winching about how poorly the scenes were staged. I mean what else do u expect ok they F*cked up with the characters and the film but that doesn’t mean this A*sshole can wine about it. So if anyone think the film sucked then read the book u clowns it’ll make sense i’ve read the a couple times and i saw the film 3 times and it’s better than the last one.

NOTE: read the return of kings if u think two towers sucks

On 08 February 2003 (05:47 PM),
Bob said:

DAMN RIGHT!

On 08 February 2003 (10:41 PM),
J.D. said:

Because the last two commenters seem concerned that I’m unfamiliar with Tolkien: in the past twenty years, I’ve read the trilogy probably ten times. I’m by no means a detail geek (that’d be Dana), but I’m plenty familiar with the work.

I have no problem that Peter Jackson wants to change certain things with the book; I just want the changes to make sense, and to work on screen.

Also: Matt and Bob, I never said I disliked these films. They just didn’t live up to my (admittedly high) expectations, especially Peter Jackson’s Helms Deep. Just because somebody doesn’t worship a film that you think is great doesn’t make the other person wrong…

On 15 February 2003 (12:55 PM),
kingbridge said:

nice little debate lets talk about how jackson made and ruined certain characters king theoden whay is he such a wimp in the books he was a war monger wishing to go to his forefathers and not be embaresed by their deeds .then u have farimer the weak willed. ah dont get me wrong i liked bolth movies but these characters bugged me

On 14 March 2003 (06:14 PM),
heather said:

this is not about the movie but i need peter jackson’s e-mail address, if you happen to have i would love to have it i have to ask him a very important question! thanks

On 18 March 2003 (05:47 AM),
Susie said:

M@tt and Bob, you should be ashamed to post on the internet. I’m surprised you were even capable of reading the book! It’s just a shame you were apparently unable to learn anything about effective punctuation from Mr Tolkien.

And as for “me”, what kind of moron can’t even spell the word?

On 30 July 2003 (04:00 PM),
shooka said:

okay..this like 1 million years later…but first things first..

dude, quit griping about the movie. if you dont like it..dont watch it. :)

second…elves at helms deep..this wasn’t due to the fact that PJ didn’t have any money for the Huorns..in fact the Huorns are in the film.

last…dude, you’re a little too obsessed with Gollums bits…

On 03 August 2003 (11:01 PM),
frodofanatic said:

Ok, I don’t know why you did not like the music so much. It added to the battle perfectly, blending violins and bass instruments in splendid harmony. You must be deaf to think the music overdramatized the battle. You must have not listened to the way the music builds as the fight scened become more gruesome until Gandalf and the Rohirrim charge down the slopes. If you still don’t believe me, listen to the cd, without the battle. You will know what I am saying. You’re sick to be talking about Gollum’s-er-dangly bits. For likng the movie so much, you sure do like to post negative things about it.

On 04 August 2003 (07:12 PM),
dowingba said:

In frodofanaticism land it’s only possible to like 100% of something or hate 100% of something. Criticism is not allowed. One may only say “I do not like it” or “I do like it”; any variation is punishable by death, as well as every single other crime.

But I do agree the music is amazing, in both LOTR films so far.

On 07 August 2003 (06:49 PM),
Eric said:

It is quite clearly stated by Tolkein that the two towers were Orthanc and Minas Morgul. Minas Morgul, also know as Cirith Ungol was not even in Peter Jackson’s film. Further, in an interview, I heard him state that the two towers were Orthanc and Baradur…gah…he didn’t even know which towers were being referenced by the title of the book(s) he was making into a film. He isn’t qualified for this endeavour…Being as he only used one of the two towers in his film adaptation, I tend to refer to the second movie as, “Peter Jackson’s One Tower” It was an okay, if somewhat disjointed movie, with silly dumbed-down more modern dialouge and a lot of flashy effects in the big battle sequence, but I’m afraid the battle itself bored me…I agree very much that it wasn’t well done. Beyond that, there is the fact that because PJ played with the timeline and combined events (specifically–the refugees and Eowyn travelling with the King and his army to Helm’s Deep) that the battle of Helm’s Deep COULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED AT ALL! Theoden and his riders set out, rode hard (a forced march) and got to the keep just barely in time to be attacked. And that was only possible because it was a mounted force not burdened with any wagons or refugees on foot…..hence, Theoden and his forces would not have gotten there in time. Their travel time would have been easily doubled, if not tripled….and the orcs would have caught them in the open and slaughtered them…..in short, PJ’s depiction of the military campaign for Rohan (due to all his meddling with events, ignoring the timeline, and even geography)is intellectually insulting if you know even a little about medieval war and a good amount about Tolkein’s writings on the subject. The things he had happen in his movie are not possible given the structure and setup he used…

On 05 September 2003 (12:02 PM),
Ben Mead said:

Can you give me Peter Jackson’s e-mail address cos i’d really like to speak to him. I think the films are the best films i’ve ever seen.

On 13 September 2003 (03:06 PM),
Imrahil said:

Um, Eric? The tower of Cirith Ungol and the City of Minas Mogul are totally separate! Cirith Ungol is the name of the pass you idiot! Not aother name for Minas Morgul! By the way, the Uruk-hai pretty much kick the defenders @sses until Gandalf arrives. I agree about Faramir’s character being screwed up and about the Eomer and Gandalf charging down the hill. BUT, the causeway Theoden and his men charge down is barely wide enough for two horses, so the Uruks couldn’t get out of the way. Also, when the Rohirrim charge down the hill, the Uruks are blinded by the sun coming down the hill! It’s kind of hard to spear a horse when your blind. Yes, they could still have braced the pikes, but the horses could ride around them. And the sudden rising of the sun behind the hill would have suprised them so much they might have forgotten to brace their spears. As for the actual story, the Huorns and much more scenes w/Faramir will be in the extended edition dvd. Those dvds are for the purists who are whining because Treebeard has the wrong kind of moss beard! Oh, and for the record, the elves have composite bows, not longbows. Big difference.

On 26 September 2003 (05:14 PM),
jess said:

lord of the rings is a big loser movie, okay!!!!!!!!its dum!!!!!!!!!!!

On 26 September 2003 (08:56 PM),
dowingba said:

Remember that Orcs hate sunlight, too. Now, the Uruk Hai don’t hate it as much as normal Orcs, but they hate it nonetheless.

On 29 September 2003 (06:54 PM),
LegolasFan said:

When I saw Helmdeep, I wondered how they made it. I wanted to know if I could have a blueprint. You see some friends are working on a prodject, A movie, they wanted to know how to make Isengard, Mordor, Helmdeep, Rivendell, The Shire, Rohan, Gondor, and all those kinds of things, they are actually going to try and make a kids version of Lord of the rings, they will call it Prince of the Rings. No they aren’t going to copy all of it, They just like how Peter Jackson made the book come alive and they thought they should make a kids version of it. Have auditions and everything. We loved how he espesially made rivendall and helmsdeep.
Things that I thought needed allittle work:
nothing
Things that I loved about the movies:
Everything
Arwen (Liv Tyler) Awesome, I loved the way you talked in Elvish teach me.
Legolas (Orlando Bloom) I loved the way you said Elvish in The Two Towers while talking to Aragorn at the very end of the sentence.

On 24 October 2003 (09:25 AM),
Kyadoshi said:

I suggest you quit analysing story details and do what Sartre suggested.

Suspend your disbelief.

If the movie doesn’t do that for you, then I’m sorry. Go listen to rap.

On 25 October 2003 (09:33 AM),
Sandor jun. Simon said:

Hello.
I’m from Germany and my Englisch isn’t very good. I admire Peter Jackson and the Lord of the Rings is really fantastic. I want to write a letter or an e-mail to Peter Jackson. Is this possible? The Lord of the Rings has change my life and I cannot stop thinking.

Thank you
Sandor jun. Simon
sandor1989@gmx.de

On 12 November 2003 (03:24 PM),
championangel121 said:

First of all, Sandor jun. Simon, for someone who’s moved here from Germany your English isn’t at all bad. You probably can write to Peter Jackson and get something back, even if not directly from him. Perhaps some others can help?

Now for the rest. First of all, I’m someone who actually likes the battle scenes and stuff. That said, I agree with many points, but disagree with some:

This is a fantasy movie. It may seem unrealistic, and in parts it is, but that’s because you’re looking at it from a 21st century person’s eye, not experiencing it from a pre-medieval viewpoint. Have you any idea just how powerful a few horses can be? The causeway is narrow; a bunch of thousand-pound beasts running much faster than humanoids can, and mounted men with swords; think about it. All they have to do is nduge them a few feet. Its overdone, but if it’s going to have that Shakespearean feel to it, then it needs to be overdone. From realistic viewpoints, its overdone. From the movie, pretty good. It was worth it, at least to me.

Throwing rocks: Well, duh it doesn’t kill them. They’re rocks. Still, even hobbits throwing rocks can knock people out. They actually didn’t throw rocks in the 1st movie, only in the EE. Remember the Hobbit? Hobbits are good at games, and Bilbo was “dangerous” with stones. I’d bet Merry and Pippin are even stronger than him and had larger stones. Again, maybe overdone and not really necessary, but pretty realistic.

Wormtongue: Well, probably not. That is pretty ignorant.
Marching: I’ve often wondered about this. Again, its supposed to be imposing. I don’t know what a massive horde marching sounds like, so I can’t really comment well.
I’m not even commenting on dangly bits.
Elf and Dwarf: Yes, Gimli is changed to comic relief in the movie, which is a prime complaint from many. Orlando Bloom is a great actor (not to mention really hot from a girl’s standpoints) and he has yet to have a starring role. Not even PotC really worked. But you have to keep attention where it belongs-like you’ve been saying over and over again. About the chain mail, all he has to do is slip it off; he doesn’t actually wear it, or I don’t remember the movie well enough.
Faramir: This was one of the worst changes in the movie from the book. They’ve changed Faramir from strong helper to obstacle. I think that they’re trying to build up his character, which you’ll see in TT EE and ROTK: how he’s always been second to Boromir and nearly despised by his father. How he’s pretty much banished to the backwoods with a small group of men and left to do whatever. How he’s still a proud man of Gondor who could control the Ring and who doesn’t know its true potential. Still, I disagree with what they did in this film.

Aragorn’s fake death: Again, I agree with you. Come on. VM broke his toes for this scene! They really didn’t need it, it probably fooled hardly anyone, and it took away valuable time.

Uruk-hai: I disagree entirely here. Just watch the movie: Orcs are guarding Isengard, not Uruk-hai. And the Uruk-hai aren’t being defeated easily; they’re trading nearly one to one with the Elves and Men of Rohan. They didn’t need crossbows, of which they almost certainly had more than the two seen; you can even tell from the number of Elves hit! Why use bows when you can just send massive amounts of troops through a blasted breach and over a wall? The Uruk-hai were doing very well, and didn’t at all tumble like matchstick men.
Horse Charge: One of the top two or three epic scenes in movie history. Enough said,
Music+Camera: If it was any other way, the movie would probably be worse. You can’t do much better.
Elves: Maybe so. But its worth it to gain insight into them. You have to build up the story and provide some background.

Enough. See my drift? Good comments, good positives. Arwen is awesome! Anyway, signing off. I’ll try to find PJ’s or the LOTR effort’s e-mail and/or mailing address. See ya!

On 16 November 2003 (02:46 PM),
Billy said:

Enough about the two towers, it’s time to tackle the problem of Christopher Lee’s character being dropped from the RotK. Sign the “Put the Saruman scene back into the Return of the King” at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/smanrotk/petition.html

On 01 December 2003 (12:53 AM),
JJ said:

VM broke his toe when he kicked the orc helmet at the orc funeral pyre, that the rohirrim (?) made, thinking that the FS had failed to save the hobbits.

My interpretation of the Gandalf charge into the orcs was that at the last moment, Gandalf cast a blinding light against the Orcs, causing them to lose their line in the confusion and bewilderment.

Hated the Legolas surf board. That was just pandering to box-office.

Agree on Faramir subversion. That just did not make sense.

On 01 December 2003 (02:30 PM),
Ruthie;-) said:

Hey ya’ll….

Just a few little comments I’d like to make. I am by no means a *LOTR Fanatic*, but I do love and admire the books and love and admire the movies. But really…lighten up!! I mean, you don’t have to take it so seriously! First of all, it’s a fantasy. It doesn’t exhist!! Yeah, it’s a great book, and yeah, they changed some crucial stuff in the movie, but who honestly expected the movies to live up to the books anyway?
I agree mostly on the Faramir stuff. Don’t get me wrong…Faramir is my favorite character and I was extremely disapointed when I first saw the movie, but I can see what PJ was trying to do. It’s hard to show the inner struggle on the movie screen, and I think he was trying to bring that out a bit more. No, if I’d been in charge, I wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of doing it that way, but it’s not ALL that bad. It’s actually pretty good in the EE, because Faramir has all these flashbacks and extra conversations with Frodo and Sam. (Ok, I’m probably gonna get yelled at pretty bad now, but hey;-)
One last thing…Arwen’s lips the BEST part of the movie? Oh…wow. Right. Can you run that by me again? Arwen’s lips the…best…part of the movie. Sure. (Having a hard time grasping this here.) Personally, I think that’s the WORST part of the movie!! Woo…just thinking about those whoppers makes me feel a little sick! They must weigh 5 pounds each!! Did she get an injection or something? Wow.
Alright, I’m done.
Overview: I liked the movies a lot. They had flaws. They weren’t as good as the books (duh!) They were a little corny at points. They went a bit too fast at some points. SO WHAT?? I still love them;-)

On 01 December 2003 (06:19 PM),
Kevin Cheberenchick said:

I Love The Lord of the Rings. I’ve read all of The Lord of The Rings books. I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN ACTOR IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I have all of them on on DvD with nothing taking out and I always watch the movie before I see the next one. And I ALWAYS watch the Speical Features. Peter Jackson I say you should make “The Hobbit” since they dont have The Hobbit with people acting in it the have a cartoon Hobbit. You should use the people that acted in the the others movies like Gangdalf and if you need any other people that are only in “The Hobbit” YOU CAN ASK ME PLEASE (I put my e-mail)

On 01 December 2003 (06:19 PM),
Kevin Cheberenchick said:

I Love The Lord of the Rings. I’ve read all of The Lord of The Rings books. I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN ACTOR IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I have all of them on on DvD with nothing taking out and I always watch the movie before I see the next one. And I ALWAYS watch the Speical Features. Peter Jackson I say you should make “The Hobbit” since they dont have The Hobbit with people acting in it the have a cartoon Hobbit. You should use the people that acted in the the others movies like Gangdalf and if you need any other people that are only in “The Hobbit” YOU CAN ASK ME PLEASE (I put my e-mail)

On 01 December 2003 (06:22 PM),
Kevin Cheberenchick said:

Sorry I posted so many it to a while but Please still read my and if you do make “The Hobbit” you can choice me.

On 11 December 2003 (02:52 PM),
Adrimal Ardvark on board the Bolivian Navy Ships (currently on manuvers in the South Pacific) said:

Give me a break!?! Please!!
You’re ‘review’ is complete lies man! Yes the movies that Peter Jackson made are not infalliable but who the hell can make PERFECT movies, espically when you’re dealing with the greatest story ever told. The books were sublime and of course the film adaption won’t be as good, it never could but Jackson, Walsh, Boyens ,TAylor et al have done a brilliant job in adapting them.

I do see where you’re comin from cuz the uruks fell like little girls but it wuz needed, remember it was our heros that threw them! And as for how they got the rocks… use you’re imagination! Treebeard gave them to them.
All in all the movie is worth well more than a 6.0, 9.5 at least.

When citing it’s fault remember that the movies had to make money so they had to appeal to those that haven’t read the books and this justifys why (although I really disliked them both) Faramir being such a dick and Aragorn’s faux death.

I am completley confident that RotK will clean up at Oscars 2004. It couldn’t not. Can’t wait for Dec 17th.

On 16 December 2003 (07:03 PM),
Rachel Nipper said:

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
PJ did his best ( and his best was great!). I am in love with the movies and the books, and that does mean I may give it a little more credit. Not that I don’t agree with you at all, but I loved the movies (the books are better though). Here are my opinions (jeeze you guys are going to be yelling at me aren’t you?)

Moving Cameras-If the movies make you sick forget about watching them!The moving camera (like someone else said but I forgt, sorry) makes it seem like you are in the movie! It was awesome.

Actors- I agree with most of you there, the actors made a brilliant performance. (Although the whole “Arwen’s lips being the best part” thing was just stupid!) And why are you so obsessed with gollum’s dangly parts (kind of strange)?
Battle Scenes- I thought the battle scenes gave it something extra, I don’t want to go 2 indepth but dude, use your imagination about all those stuff, it is a fantasy movie.
Well I really could go on, and on, and on, but I’d rather not. Wait, before you move on to the next posted mail pleeeeeeeeeeeeease give me Peter Jackson’s address, e-mail address, anything that I could write to him on! I NEED to say something to him. And on Ruthie and the Kevin guy’s post, I am so dreaming of being in one of those movies too! Anyone have his address, anyone?

On 16 December 2003 (09:25 PM),
Courtney said:

I disagree with a lot of what you said.

No movie can ever live up to the book. When you read a book “your” imagination runs wild. Everyone’s imagination is different and therefore we get different interpretations about the book. However – P.J. did stray from the story, especially with Arwen and a few other things.

About the music. I think Howard Shore is an amazing composer. I remember watching TTT for the first time and hearing the music when the elves came to the battle of Helm’s Deep. The way Shore took the theme from Lothlorian and added a snare drum (among a few other things) to it to make it more warish was awesome. I’m a music person, so that just made my day because of his cleverness. I’m totally stoked about the ROTK’s soundtrack.

Also – you have to remember that the first two movies never reach the climax that is in the thrid movie. It’s all exposition and rising action.

And – I think P.J. has accomplished a great deal with what he’s done. No one else could have created a world that makes you feel like you could take a trip to. Considering Tolkien’s world was fantasy, P.J. has made it real. Imagine if the movie was made while Tolkien was alive. It would have been horrible and you probably would have thrown up, but not because of the camaras. They could not have made this movie then.

Congratulations to P.J. and the amazing cast and crew and to Howard Shore. I wish I could have been an extra or played in the orchestra for these amazing monumental movies.

Don’t knock things – especially if you can’t do any better or if Tolkien wrote them (i.e. the rocks and such). Just get over it.

On 22 December 2003 (09:35 AM),
Shane said:

I have to greatly disagree with some of what Courtney says. She’s is taking the role of an apologist and tries to deflect any criticism by saying that if you can’t do any better, don’t knock things.

No.

People have all the right in the world to “knock” things. I do not have to be a computer engineer to know that an old 486 chip is slow compared to a new Pentium 4 or AMD processor. Just as I do not need to have skills matching or surpassing those of the inventors of these computer chips in order to understand this, I do not need to have skills matching or surpassing those of various directors or authors to notice failings or successes. Your way of arguing is a deflectionary method which is not worth anyone’s time. You yourself are knocking the opinions of people here by writing your comment. Are you equal or beyond them in their skills?

No. We will not get over it. We care about and love the books. If we see people perverting the very nature of the characters in the book or just simply notice a character wearing something different seconds later, that is not wrong. We are not simply discarding all the amazing work that has been done in the rest of the films but are only seeking to point out flaws in our never-ending quest for excellence. If you do not want to search for excellence then don’t, but please do not tell us to “get over it”.

Oh and there are plenty of people in the world who could have done worse, as good or perhaps even better than Peter Jackson. There are so many people in this world that you can never elevate one man and say that nobody else could do that as well. This is simply inaccurate. Not many who could have? That would have been likely but there are certainly others.

My own thoughts? I loved the movies in so many ways that I could not explain them all right here. The positive sides to the films are so great and obvious that we tend to not mention them as often as the flaws but there are there just the same. I was very, very disappointed with how they ruined the character of Farimir and reduced his honor and wisdom by making him falter to the degree that he did with regard to the ring. I disliked Peter Jackson going on a tangent with “Aragorn’s Death” and dream. I loved the scenery and the acting. I thoroughly enjoyed the costumes and was extremely impressed with the sight of Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. Very nicely done to say the least.

I think Jackson and the cast and crew of the films should be saluted for their superb job. It was an excellent rendition, far surpassing those of the past. By no means perfect or without glaring flaw but excellent all the same. I commend them for their hard work and wish to drive others onto greater work by pointing out areas of improvement, rather than ignoring them and simply settling for what is. I will always remember these movies as a high quality benchmark for excellence but I cannot simply ignore they utter ruin they bestowed upon the very character of several individuals either. (Faramir’s ring-lust & Frodo being tricked by Gollum regarding Sam for example.)

On 27 December 2003 (09:24 AM),
Michael Hamill said:

after viewing the return of the king, i had to wonder WHY jackson ever left out bombadil of the whole trilogy. in the films i believe a character such as bombadil is required, i fully understand the concept of time and that the movie has to appeal to die hard fans and the less enthuastic tolkien followers but this was truly the biggest error leaving out bombadil (in my opinion).

On 05 January 2004 (05:17 PM),
Emily said:

Ok, I read all the stuff up above, but what i am really looking for is Peter Jacksons email or address or a site where i can write 2 him or something! If u have info please mail me at jt2111ENGLISH@msn.com. This is my moms email because mine is not working, so put To Emily under the subject. Thanks!

On 05 January 2004 (05:17 PM),
Emily said:

Ok, I read all the stuff up above, but what i am really looking for is Peter Jacksons email or address or a site where i can write 2 him or something! If u have info please mail me at jt2111ENGLISH@msn.com. This is my moms email because mine is not working, so put To Emily under the subject. Thanks!

On 18 January 2004 (02:42 PM),
Tulkas said:

I think Peter Jackson is to Lord of the Rings, what James Cameron was to the ship “Titanic,” i.e. he turned the story into a corny action chick-flick, but not even that much in that the characters in “Titanic” actually would have looked better in “Lord of the Rings” than the geeks cast as elves, kings, great warriors, wizards etc; in fact, Kate Winslett was originally supposed to play Arwen, but she was replaced by Olivia Tyler to shut up her screaming tantrums, when her dad, the lead guitarist for “Aerosmith,” used his connections to gave his little groupy-goof what she wanted– and to make all that plastic surgery pay off.
And speaking of Arwen, who the hell made the virgin goddess into Xena? Thank New Zealand for that!

Furthermore the entire movie looked like it was filmed in miniature, and in a cesspit with dirt and crap all over everything; people who read the books might like it, but people who UNDERSTAND the books should hate it.

On 28 January 2004 (04:45 PM),
I LOVE ELIJAH WOOD!! said:

hey well I think that PEOPLE should appreciate the movies and how much work was put in to them. come on, Peter Jackson worked for over 5 years on these!

On 07 February 2004 (01:20 PM),
Emily W. said:

First of all i disagree with many things that you said were “bad”.

“If Saruman is such a mastermind, if he’s going to the trouble to mass ten thousands of orcs, then:
Why doesn’t he give them a little training so that they don’t fall like matchstick men at the first hint of combat. These Uruk-Hai are supposed to be tough and scary, yet they’re so delicate that two hobbits can hold off dozens of them. That’s not very scary. They’re no better than rats.”
-First of all, in the books (of which this movie was written from) there’s no reference that Saruman gives training to his Uruk-Hai. Now i can see how they could have just “added” it in there, but it’s not that important or essensial to the movie. Remember, they were trying to focus the movies around the ring bearers journey. They didn’t have enough time to go into great detail.

“Where do Merry and Pippin get the stones that they throw while perched upon Treebeard’s shoulders?”
-is that really essential to the movie??!! who cares how they get the stones! That’s reading way too much into the scenes.

“Gandalf and the Rohirrim charge down an impossibly steep slope. Any horse galloping down this embankment would, in reality, lose its footing on the first stride and tumble headlong into the waiting army of orcs. The scene looks silly.”
-yes, some of that may be true, but the music combined with the climatic entry of the Rohirrim is just magnificent! Look past the impossiblities and just enjoy the scenes.

Now to get that over with, (i had to say my opinion!) i want to comend Howard Shore for his magnificent score!!! Bravo! When i saw the 1st movie i was thrilled with the music (i always pay attention to the music in films b/c i am a music person who plays the trumpet). The 2nd movie was kind of a let down compared to the 1st movie. The “theme” of TTT music seemed to be quite war-ish, alittle too war-ish for me (i think the battles in the 2nd movie were a little too long. They didn’t seem that long in the book!). But when i saw the 3rd movie i was thrilled! The brass parts were magnificent (oh and of course the other instruments were good too! lol :)) It topped the trilogy off well. Bravo Mr. Shore!

On 11 February 2004 (07:49 PM),
Sammy said:

I’m weirded out to see that you can find so many negatives in such a great film. Even if you see things you don’t like, try to focus on the positive more..I mean, c’mon…PLEASE! And what’s with this “battles scene were not well done” thing. Think YOU could have done a better job?
Doubt it.

On 12 February 2004 (06:43 PM),
Jacob D. said:

I have the first lord of the rings on vhs and the two towers on dvd. I think that they are brilliant movies! If you hate the storyline, they it is easier to see whats wrong with these movies! I enjoyed the plot and the graphics are very well detailed! I could barely spot all the mistakes that everyone posted online. I am not complaining!!! Could you get me the e-mails of orlando bloom, Viggo Mortensen (played Aragorn), and some others! they are my favorite actors! the movie is just a masterpiece!!! Thanx SO MUCH!!!!!! jsnicks@nc.rr.com

On 13 February 2004 (12:52 PM),
Jacob said:

I am desperate for the Emails please!!!!!!!!! I want them so badly!! please respond to this anyone with info on viggo mortensen or orlando bloom please send them to me!!!!!!!!!

On 14 February 2004 (09:37 AM),
Emily W. said:

Hello Jacob! I love those characters too! I’m sorry i don’t have the e-mails of them, but i do have mailing addresses. If you’re looking for them to respond back, it’s probably unlikely seeing as i sent them a letter like 2 years ago and…. zip. Anyways, i did ask for an autographed picture from Elijah’s company thing, and they sent one back (the autograph is probably copied but it made my day :)). So here are the mailing addresses to some people.

Orlando Bloom:
c/o Artists Management group
9465 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 USA

c/o Chris Andrews
ICM
8942 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211 USA

Viggo Mortensen:
c/o The Rawlins Company
3933 Patrick Henry Place
Agoura Hills, CA 91301 USA

Elijah Wood:
c/o Willam Morris Agency
151 El Camino Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 USA

Sean Astin:
P.O. Box 57858
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413 USA

If you need anyone else’s i’ll be happy to give it to you! untill then, hope you can use these.

-Emily W.

On 14 February 2004 (10:01 AM),
Emily W. said:

P.S.
(one of my favorite scenes in TTT)

Frodo:”I can’t do this, Sam.”
Sam:”I know. It’s all wrong. By rights, we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was… when so much bad happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will sine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you…that meant somethin’. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories… had lots of chances of turnin’ back, only they didn’t. They kept goin’…because they were holdin’ on to somethin’.”
Frodo:”What are we holding on to, Sam?”
Sam:”That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. An’ it’s worth fightin’ for.”

-I LOVE that scene!!!

On 19 February 2004 (03:44 PM),
Vaessa said:

Emily can you get Foromire’s adress(sp?) for my friend?

On 24 February 2004 (02:10 PM),
Emily W. said:

Hello Vaessa,
I’m sorry it’s been a while but i wanted to get a post up on here. You probably won’t get a mail address from me this week because i have like a bajillion and one things i have to do for school, so once the week-end comes i’ll search a little harder. So far i’ve found nothing. It will be hard to find his mailing address seeing as he’s not an actor from the usa. Thanks so much for you understanding. I’ll see what i can do :) I really only have the addresses for the fellowship but i’ll try. cyaz!

-Emily W.

On 28 February 2004 (01:41 PM),
Emily W. said:

Hey Vaessa!
After much searching i found David Wenham’s (Faramir) mailing address! It’s through a company so i’m not sure if you’ll get a response. But here it is anyway!

David Wenham
c/o Artists Independent Network Vanessa Pereira 32 Tavistock Street London WC2E 7PB United Kingdom

There ya go! I’m glad i could help!

-Emily

On 01 March 2004 (05:51 AM),
TolkFanatic said:

So many of the comments here are like those on Amazon — if you don’t give a movie 5 stars you suck. The reason I didn’t like the movies is the destruction of the secondary charachters. The only one they got right was Boromir. Theoden, Faramir, even Eyowen were all de-emphasized for the sake of the primary characters. The other reason I was so pissed off was not that I can’t accept change between the books and the films, but that Peter Jacksopn et. al. made such a big deal about how “accurate” his portrayal was. I’m sorry, but you can’t make such claims, unless you’re going to try to be accurate.

In response to some posts above:

1. “* Why doesn’t he give them a little training so that they don’t fall like matchstick men at the first hint of combat. These Uruk-Hai are supposed to be tough and scary, yet they’re so delicate that two hobbits can hold off dozens of them. That’s not very scary. They’re no better than rats.
– Talk to Tolkien about this. In the book the hobbits do exactly as they did in the movie except that I don’t recall the chase into Fangorn Forest. Of course, in the movie the hobbits only survive because Treebeard squashes the orc first rather than the hobbits.”

Two things — Sauruman didn’t know which hobbit had the ring, so he told his orcs to capture, without harming or searching them. In the book, Merry slices off several of the orcs’ arms and hands before they’re taken. See, Merry and Pippin had swords, which they got from the wights after meeting Bombadil. So that got cut. Tolkein writes that Boromir is pierced by many orc arrows before he dies. I got the impression from the way Tolkein writes that most, if not all orcs carry bows. also, the Isengard Uruk-Hai were joined by orcs from Mordor.

2. *What? Wormtongue doesn’t know anything of Saruman’s master plan? And somehow thousands of orcs managed to gather outside in hushed whispers and tiptoes?
-Why would he know of how many orcs Saruman has? He’s a soothsaying spy that just got tossed out on his ear, presumably rode hard to get to Isengard and probably has no idea how much strength Saruman has amassed.

Wormtongue was in and out of Isengard many many times in the books, Gandald guesses. Like over years’ time. He must of known of most of Sauruman’s plans and plots.

3. In reference to the actual “two towers”, Tolkein never stated what two towers the book was named after.

It’s helpful if you understand that Tolkein’s inital publisher named the three books and he hated the titles.

4. nice little debate lets talk about how jackson made and ruined certain characters king theoden whay is he such a wimp in the books he was a war monger wishing to go to his forefathers and not be embaresed by their deeds .then u have farimer the weak willed. ah dont get me wrong i liked bolth movies but these characters bugged me

Theoden was ruined. In the book, all Gandalf did was shake the dark out of his eyes. But in the movie, he’s this naysayer all the way into the ROTK. In the book, Gandalf tells him to hide with his people in the hills, but he says – you don’t know your own strength, Gandalf, I ride to war. In the ROTK, he’s ready and willing to aid Gondor, and doesn’t pout about “they’ve never helped us.”

What kills me is the books was all about how the main charchters were sources of inspiration to the 2ndary charachters. They helped them past their doubts and returned them to their previous glory. Faramir, Theoden, Treebeard are all perfect examples. But that was too subtle for Jackson. He had to have people nag them to death about what was right. It was so surface it sickened me.

5. This is a fantasy movie. It may seem unrealistic, and in parts it is, but that’s because you’re looking at it from a 21st century person’s eye, not experiencing it from a pre-medieval viewpoint.

All movies have to live up to the reality of their own framework. What I mean is, if a movie is about dragons, fine, I’m not going to complain that they can’t fly because they’re too heavy. But if the dragon gets killed by the first arrow, then it’s unreal within its own setting. See? For great fantasy, watch Conan the Barbarian. Conan, though a highly-trained and strong warrior, is still just a man, and can only take on 1 guy at a time. The scene in ROTK with Sam and Shelob was so unispriring I almost laughed. Shelob was supposed to be the queen of all spiders, and all she can do is push him around on the wall? C’mon. I felt like I was watching the muppets there.

6. I will always remember these movies as a high quality benchmark for excellence but I cannot simply ignore they utter ruin they bestowed upon the very character of several individuals either. (Faramir’s ring-lust & Frodo being tricked by Gollum regarding Sam for example.)

I could have forgotten all the above and still enjoyed the movies, except for the way Frodo betrayed Sam. Always in the books, whenever the dark greed fell on Frodo, he quickly recovered and it bonded the two hobbits more closely. Having Frodo trust Gollum over Sam was absurd. I alomst walked out of the movie after that. It was Jackson’s final failure.

On 05 March 2004 (02:30 PM),
Emily W. said:

Hummm… So many things you said above were, well really harsh. I would’ve like to see if you could have done better. I agree with the part about how Frodo betrays Sam. It wasn’t in the book and the point?? But still, it wasn’t a failure! Look at the massive job that these people take on and it’s amazing that they even finished the movies. No, the movies weren’t perfect, but they were still a masterpiece.

On 17 March 2004 (08:00 PM),
Krishan Bhakta said:

Heelo can u e-mail me back 2 busy rite now thank you

On 18 March 2004 (04:46 PM),
gemma said:

hey im wonderind if i can please have Peter Jacksond address im am going to audition for a part in his next movie cause i thought that he maid three other great movies and i wanted a chance in being in king kong i have been in productions before and i realy want to send some information to him about me and i have looked everywere for his address and then i found this
pleeez can i hav it its important to me

On 18 March 2004 (04:57 PM),
gemma ward said:

the lord of the rings triliogy was the best movies that i have ever seen in my whole life i dont no why some people say harsh things about it. the first time i read the book was when i was 6 now im fourteen and desperate to be in his next move i have been in plays and productions before and i would appreciate it if you could send me peter jacksons address to my email. it would be great if i could just send him my info and i cant do this if you dont give me his address CAN YOU PLEEEZ SEND ME SOME INFORMATION ON HIM AND WHEN THE AUDITIONS ARE. IT WOULD BE A GREAT HELP THANK YOU SO MUCH DONT FOR GET

IT IS REALY REALY REALY IMPORTANT THAT I GET MY INFORMATION TO HIM REAL SOON BE FOR IT IS TO LATE

On 09 May 2004 (01:15 PM),
Emily w said:

Hey i don’t know if this will help but i only have his mailing address.

Peter Jackson
c/o ICM 8942 Wilshire Blvd. #219 Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1908

It was the best i could do. Hope you get your chance in king kong!

~*Emily*~

On 09 May 2004 (01:19 PM),
Emily w said:

By the way, it doesn’t show your e-mail, Gemma. You have to type it.

On 29 November 2004 (08:43 AM),
Jessica said:

when are the audtions for the Hobbit going to be and where will they be held???

On 14 December 2004 (12:31 PM),
someone said:

Dear god, you people are pathetic. Half of you cannot spell good enough to pass third grade, and the other half are most likely IN third grade.
1. I like the movies, and I can see his points
2. You will NOT get a part in Peter Jackson’s next movie.
3. You will NOT get a personalized reply from any of the actors

On 14 December 2004 (03:08 PM),
Joel said:

Er, someone (if that is your real name), shouldn’t it be “Half of you cannot spell WELL enough to pass third grade…”?

On 27 December 2004 (02:56 PM),
Ezri Bloom said:

Hey SOMEONE Joel is correct so maybe you are the one who needs to go back to third grade and learn correct grammar!!

On 13 January 2005 (01:51 PM),
Emily W. said:

hahahaha!!! Y’all are so strange! :) Be happy! Hey the extended 2nd movie is out! And it shows i think the running into Fangorn forest. Remember, they couldn’t put EVERYTHING into the movie, it would be just way too long! Although, I wouldn’t mind if it were like 5 hours! lol :)

On 16 March 2005 (05:19 PM),
marcia said:

PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAASE HELP! I NEED PETER JACKSONS ADDRESS! I HAVE BEEN ON THE COMPUTER FOR HOURS ON END AND TO NO AVAIL! THENKYOU SO MUCH IF YOU CAN HELP! IF THE CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS COMES BACK I WILL SEND SOME EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS! THANX AGAIN!

On 02 April 2005 (08:52 AM),
Ruben said:

i need Peter Jakcsons e-mail realy bad can you help.

Ruben

On 23 April 2005 (10:39 AM),
Murray MacDonald said:

Dear Peter Jackson. My name is Murray MacDonald Im 12 years old. I am a Autistic boy and I live twelve miles from Oban in Scotland. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan I have seen both origanal and Evtended edition’s of all three films on DVD. Please could I have your Email Address because I was wondering if I could come down to New Zealand with my parents and my two brothers who also like the trilgoy and meet you and some of the cast members who live there. Hope you are well from Murray MacDonald
Phone number 01631 750 231
Email kenny.macdonald1@tesco.net
Address
Alder Cottage West
Ardchattan
Connel
Argyll
PA37 1RG
Scotland

On 23 April 2005 (10:39 AM),
Murray MacDonald said:

Dear Peter Jackson. My name is Murray MacDonald Im 12 years old. I am a Autistic boy and I live twelve miles from Oban in Scotland. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan I have seen both origanal and Evtended edition’s of all three films on DVD. Please could I have your Email Address because I was wondering if I could come down to New Zealand with my parents and my two brothers who also like the trilgoy and meet you and some of the cast members who live there. Hope you are well from Murray MacDonald
Phone number 01631 750 231
Email kenny.macdonald1@tesco.net
Address
Alder Cottage West
Ardchattan
Connel
Argyll
PA37 1RG
Scotland

On 23 April 2005 (10:39 AM),
Murray MacDonald said:

Dear Peter Jackson. My name is Murray MacDonald Im 12 years old. I am a Autistic boy and I live twelve miles from Oban in Scotland. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan I have seen both origanal and Evtended edition’s of all three films on DVD. Please could I have your Email Address because I was wondering if I could come down to New Zealand with my parents and my two brothers who also like the trilgoy and meet you and some of the cast members who live there. Hope you are well from Murray MacDonald
Phone number 01631 750 231
Email kenny.macdonald1@tesco.net
Address
Alder Cottage West
Ardchattan
Connel
Argyll
PA37 1RG
Scotland

On 13 July 2005 (11:43 AM),
whodyanikabolokov said:

You all need to get a funkin life especially the sad old fuke who was moaning about not seeing gollums ‘dangly bits. Love to see you make a better film you tosser.

Me, myself and gollum

On 14 July 2005 (10:06 AM),
Will said:

Hi,
I am a huge lotr fan and am even planning on going to live in NZ. I think Lotr is fantastic and I don’t know why people hate it so much as to make a web site about how much they hate it!
To be honest I think that any one who dislikes lotr should look at all of the facts.
– Lotr took a total of 6 years to complete, including all of the designing processes.
-Filming took 14 months.
-PJ hired the best cast to play the parts of all the characters.
-The best composer ever was making the music-Howard Shore.
-The best visual effects, prosthetics e.t.c producers were hired- WETA Workshops.
-Lotr won a total of 11 OSCARS. The world record.
so some one must like it!

It sad to think that it was nearly 2 years since lotr was finished and every one has calmed down about it. But one day, hopefully peter Jackson will make The Hobbit then all of the madness can start up once again.

From Will, Gollums twin.

On 27 August 2005 (03:24 PM),
Cassandra said:

I have been a huge fan of LOTR ever since i picked out the Hobbit picture book for my dad to read to me when i went to bed when i was four. Sure, some parts of the movie are a bit unessecary, but look at it this way… the orgins of this book started almost a hundred years ago when Tolkien enlisted in WWI. Guess were the dead marshes came from? The bodies in the water-filled trenches on the battle field. Tolkien had one of the most imaginative minds that I believe there ever was. It’s taken us almost a century to catch up with it. Because the master himself cannot preside over this project, Mr. Jackson did the best he could. It was a HUGE risk to take on this movie… and i believe he pulled it off very well. Your not supposed to pay attention to slightest detail and then rip on it. It’s the movie as an overall. It’s wonderful, it draws you in toward the characters, makes you feel for them. I believe a movie is not only about the camera angles, shots, and graphics, but how well the movie engages the audience. How it pulls them in and says, “Your in it now, too.” I’m rather fond of Legolas too, and was disappointed that he wasn’t it the movie as much as he should, but his time on screen was well managed and forgiving because of the “importance” of other characters at that moment. Mr. Jackson did an amazing job, much better than we could ever dare to dream. and if ur still disappointed, in about another 60 years, YOU re-make it and see how hard it is to translate the un-translatable onto the big screen without complains from fans like us.

On 08 September 2005 (08:11 AM),
RAGHAVAN said:

PLEASE IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME PETER JACKSONS EMAIL ID PLEASE MAIL IT TO rahul_01_2000@yahoo.com I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO HIM PLEASE I WOULD REALLY BE GREATFUL TO YOU THANKS

On 08 October 2005 (06:30 PM),
Hillary said:

Hey i love Lord Of The Rings its my “ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE” I hope that Peter Jackson pusses through and makes “The Hobbit Movie” iam waiting for this movie to some out and hopr it does!!!!!! Thanks alot *Hillary*