ooooh.....
Dec. 18th, 2002 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaydeefalls
I am zonked out of my mind. Haven't checked e-mail or LJ since Monday. Got two and a half hours of sleep last night. Need to crash, desperately. But, TTT notes, now.
I've seen this movie twice in the past 24 hours. Midnight showing, and 4 pm today. The first time, I was far more critical. Mainly trying to keep track of all the changes and noticing the bits that irked me. Second time was much better -- looking at the movie as a whole rather than the sum of its parts.
I can't say it's better than FotR, because they're too different to compare. Um, I guess I'll go through my main problems with TTT first:
1. Not enough hobbits. Not NEARLY enough hobbits. Merry and Pippin were fucking cheated, even more so than in FotR. I want to see them DOING shit, not riding around on trees.
2. Still can't stand Arwen, thanks. I took a lovely little nap during viewing #2, i.e. whenever Arwen came onscreen. It's not so much that she's bad as....boring as fuck. Yeah. I don't give a shit. And her romance w/ Aragorn is NOT doomed, thankyouverymuch.
3. Not the greatest editing job. Some scene transitions were too abrupt, some scenes too rushed, some too slow-paced.
4. The ents didn't thrill me. They looked all right, but...I dunno. Just didn't thrill me.
5. Sam's big climactic speech was adorable, but cheesier than Velveeta. But I'll forgive it for the cuteness factor.
Wow, that's about IT with the criticisms. The rest kicked much ass. Like, ever so much ass. Highlights:
1. GOLLUM. I loved him in the books, I fucking adore him in the movie. AUGH! He's SO COOL! Yeah. Insert incoherent babbling here.
2. I love love love the Frodo/Sam interactions. Lydia thinks there wasn't enough touching. Okay, fine, but the dialogue was brilliant. Big note to fanfic writers out there: they don't have to be shmoopy and sappy to be soinlove. They can argue. They can disagree. They can even be occasionally indifferent. But the chemistry between them? Magic. Just magic.
3. Scariest moment ever: Frodo. Frodo. FRODO. He had a Mount Doom moment! He freaked the living shit out of me! And pulling Sting on Sam -- THUD. Perfect. Brilliant. I wanted to cry.
4. LEGOLAS HAS A PERSONALITY. Dude, I'm stunned. I can actually see where the fangirls are coming from, now. Orli, I apologize for my past indifference.
5. Okay, maybe they take it too far, but I like comicrelief!Gimli. With a film this dark, you need it.
6. I actually like what they've done with Faramir. He was passive and boring in the books. Here, he's a real guy.
7. I never thought the Man!StoryArc would capture my attention, but oh, it does.
8. The general acting level of the cast has risen about twelve billion percent. Wow. I'm grooving on absolutely everybody. Except Arwen.
9. Well, shoot me, but I love Haldir's death sequence. I'm not moved because it's Haldir, per se, but I think it was handled perfectly. The elves coming to terms with death. Oh, man. Good stuff.
10. DOM. Doesn't do nearly enough, but positively shines with what he's given.
11. THE ENDING IS THE BEST THING EVER. EVER. Genius. Sheer genius. "SHE'll know what to do..." Just. Thud.
Countdown to RotK: TOO FUCKING LONG.
I really need to get some sleep....
I've seen this movie twice in the past 24 hours. Midnight showing, and 4 pm today. The first time, I was far more critical. Mainly trying to keep track of all the changes and noticing the bits that irked me. Second time was much better -- looking at the movie as a whole rather than the sum of its parts.
I can't say it's better than FotR, because they're too different to compare. Um, I guess I'll go through my main problems with TTT first:
1. Not enough hobbits. Not NEARLY enough hobbits. Merry and Pippin were fucking cheated, even more so than in FotR. I want to see them DOING shit, not riding around on trees.
2. Still can't stand Arwen, thanks. I took a lovely little nap during viewing #2, i.e. whenever Arwen came onscreen. It's not so much that she's bad as....boring as fuck. Yeah. I don't give a shit. And her romance w/ Aragorn is NOT doomed, thankyouverymuch.
3. Not the greatest editing job. Some scene transitions were too abrupt, some scenes too rushed, some too slow-paced.
4. The ents didn't thrill me. They looked all right, but...I dunno. Just didn't thrill me.
5. Sam's big climactic speech was adorable, but cheesier than Velveeta. But I'll forgive it for the cuteness factor.
Wow, that's about IT with the criticisms. The rest kicked much ass. Like, ever so much ass. Highlights:
1. GOLLUM. I loved him in the books, I fucking adore him in the movie. AUGH! He's SO COOL! Yeah. Insert incoherent babbling here.
2. I love love love the Frodo/Sam interactions. Lydia thinks there wasn't enough touching. Okay, fine, but the dialogue was brilliant. Big note to fanfic writers out there: they don't have to be shmoopy and sappy to be soinlove. They can argue. They can disagree. They can even be occasionally indifferent. But the chemistry between them? Magic. Just magic.
3. Scariest moment ever: Frodo. Frodo. FRODO. He had a Mount Doom moment! He freaked the living shit out of me! And pulling Sting on Sam -- THUD. Perfect. Brilliant. I wanted to cry.
4. LEGOLAS HAS A PERSONALITY. Dude, I'm stunned. I can actually see where the fangirls are coming from, now. Orli, I apologize for my past indifference.
5. Okay, maybe they take it too far, but I like comicrelief!Gimli. With a film this dark, you need it.
6. I actually like what they've done with Faramir. He was passive and boring in the books. Here, he's a real guy.
7. I never thought the Man!StoryArc would capture my attention, but oh, it does.
8. The general acting level of the cast has risen about twelve billion percent. Wow. I'm grooving on absolutely everybody. Except Arwen.
9. Well, shoot me, but I love Haldir's death sequence. I'm not moved because it's Haldir, per se, but I think it was handled perfectly. The elves coming to terms with death. Oh, man. Good stuff.
10. DOM. Doesn't do nearly enough, but positively shines with what he's given.
11. THE ENDING IS THE BEST THING EVER. EVER. Genius. Sheer genius. "SHE'll know what to do..." Just. Thud.
Countdown to RotK: TOO FUCKING LONG.
I really need to get some sleep....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re:
Date: 2002-12-22 05:06 pm (UTC)...admit it, it would've been far worse if they'd included Shelob. I really, really wouldn't want to see Lydia exploding on a daily basis, let alone personal trauma.
Re:
Date: 2002-12-23 07:24 am (UTC)...Tari