It's been ten years already?!

[eastmen]

The Fellowship was barely OK, the next two films were atrocious.

I don't know , the wealth of information in the books certianly couldn't be crammed into 3 three hour movies.

You should watch the extended verisons. They are much better films though very long. We bought tickets the day of return of the king and got to see the first two extended into the third one at midnight. We paid $100 per ticket but all food and drinks were free. It was a really really good time.

 

[Florin]

Loved the books, thought the films were about as good as anyone could've reasonably expected them to be.

All things considered, they probably shouldn't ever have been made - what's seen is seen, and I can't read the books again without seeing the likes of Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom, and that just sucks.

 

[Mariner]

Regarding King Kong, for me about 90% of the nonsense from Skull Island could easily have been cut and, if it had gone, it would have made the film a much, much better proposition.

Watching an hour of CGI-ed and completely unsurvivable chases/escapes got pretty tedious for me. I did, however, think the finale in New York was reasonably well done. Just a pity the preceding hour had irritated me so much.

 

[Grall]

what's seen is seen, and I can't read the books again without seeing the likes of Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom, and that just sucks.

Well, considering Bilbo in the original books is pudgy and friggin' FIFTY years old when he sets out on his quest, I think most people have a somewhat easier time identifying with Elijah Wood as a hero than say...Dennis Franz for example. *cough* Ok, I know Dennis probably couldn't do a fake english accent if his life depended on it, sorry, but I just can't think of any others in sort of the right age span and with a suitable body type...

 

[NRP]

I thought the LoTR movies were stunning visual presentations back then. I never read the books, but I did enjoy the movies quite a lot.

 

[WhiningKhan]

Well, considering Bilbo in the original books is pudgy and friggin' FIFTY years old when he sets out on his quest, I think most people have a somewhat easier time identifying with Elijah Wood as a hero than say...Dennis Franz for example. *cough* Ok, I know Dennis probably couldn't do a fake english accent if his life depended on it, sorry, but I just can't think of any others in sort of the right age span and with a suitable body type...

Danny De Vito wouldn't even need midget stand-ins.

 

[Mariner]

Bear in mind, however, that Hobbits are pretty long-lived.

So 50 in Hobbit terms does not equal 50 in human terms - more likely the equivalent of late 30s.

 

[Grall]

Even so, how would you explain this in the context of a movie? There's enough that audiences have to take in and digest - including a disembodied spririt playing the part of the ultimate badguy - without also having to try and convey the differences in aging between humans and hobbits...?

Thus it's much much easier to just hire a young pretty lad like Elijah to play the role of the hero. The movie industry is pretty darn shallow after all!

 

[zed]

Umm, you just forfeited all rights to film criticism. Please go die in a horrible fire.

Have u seen the 1933 version recently? I think your fondness is coloring your judgement
Some of the acting is the worse ever commited to screen, eg Bruce Cabot (one of the main actors) made paris hilton look oscar worthy
The FX were good (for the time) esp the gate scene, but played out to long in places, i.e. we've spent lots of cash on the FX we better get our moneys worth.
The pacing of the film wasnt that good either.

 

[Mariner]

Even so, how would you explain this in the context of a movie? There's enough that audiences have to take in and digest - including a disembodied spririt playing the part of the ultimate badguy - without also having to try and convey the differences in aging between humans and hobbits...?

Shouldn't take more than 30 seconds to a minute of dialogue to indicate Bilbo is not too old in human terms. If it was me writing the script, I'd have Gandalf giving him a dressing down for getting old before his time.

Ideally, to play Bilbo, you'd want an actor who was in his late 30s/early 40s and perhaps a little overweight. You could then watch him getting thinner as his adventures progressed. Method acting required!

 

[Grall]

Not knocking method acting at all, but considering they were filming pickup shots a year, two years, even three years after main photography, it would be difficult for the actors to achieve the required physical shape to mesh with scenes previously shot. If you examine the movie, you'll notice the two main hobbits don't really shrink even towards the end in blackest morrrrrr-dorrrrrrr...

*Edit:
Oh and while I still remember, this is what I meant about "10 years"; the movie was shot during 1999, with the following year in post-production as I recall. So it's a while still before it's 10 years since the return of the king in particular premiered, but these movies were a loong long time in the making. Peter Jackson's kids will soon be all grown up and stuff by now!