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Return of the King : 9:15 p.m. : December 24, 2003

OK. FROM HERE ON IN IS CHOCK FULL OF SPOILERS AND GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RETURN OF THE KING. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT, I WOULD ADVISE THAT YOU NOT READ ANY FURTHER. ALSO, THIS IS FULL OF MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, AND IF I SAY SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE OR SOMETHING YOU DON'T AGREE WITH, THEN TOO BAD. I AM JUST STAING MY OPINIONS.

FOTR = Fellowship of the Ring

TTT = The Two Towers

ROTK = Return of the King

PJ = The great man himself, Peter Jackson.

EE = Extended Edition DVD

Now that I've got that out of the way, I can finally get around to writing what I thought of Return of the King. Ok, here goes.

First of all, it was somewhat different from what I expected. A little bit rushed, a little bit squished, but considering that they HAD to cut it down to 3 1/2 hours, it was amazingly good.

I feel that one of the strong points of the whole trilogy was the casting. Not because they are "hott" or whatever, but because they are perfect for their roles. The only character which I thought was weirdly cast, but it didn't matter because he didn't talk much, was Celeborn. Also, I though Rosie didn't really look enough like a hobbit - too sophisticated. Gorgeous though, and very sweet. Not a horrible choice, and when the cast was 99% wonderful, I really couldn't care less.

I though Aragorn was well-cast. (This has nothing to do with my personal affection for Viggo Mortensen. My dad said that the name Viggo sounds like one of those brawny hitmen or a Mafia member or something.) I saw a picture of Stuart Townshend, who was originally cast to play Aragorn, but didn't because a) They had cast the part too young, and b)his views and Peter Jackson's views differed on the role of Aragorn. Anyway, so about the actual Aragorn - Viggo had a very strong sense of the character, and I really respect hiim as an actor. I think he caried the part very well, and I doubt whether anyone could have done it better.

I loved so many characters in the movie that I can't really say my opinions on all of them right now. Maybe another time. I loved Eowyn, with her buttkicking, er sorry, Nazgulkicking scene. Bloody fabulous. BUT, I though that they should have done the Dernhelm thing, like in the book, and hept her secret until she actually took her helmet off. In the movie, Merry recognizes her at once, but it would have been better if they had kept it a secret.

I was so mad that they cut the Houses of Healing scenes - they cut out two very important points. First and foremost, the whole point about Aragorn being fit to be king is that he is not only an amazing fighter and a strong leader, but a healer as well. We get a tiny glimpse of that when he tends to Frodo with the athelas, or kingsfoil in the FOTR, after Frodo gets stabbed at Weathertop. But the Houses of Healing were very important, because he heals Merry, Eowyn, and helps with Faramir. I have heard that it is most likely going to be on the ROTK EE. I hope so. Second of all, the point that they cut out when they cut out the Houses of Healing was the Eowyn/Faramir romance. In ROTK, we only get a few short glimpses of Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Faramir (David Wenham) being in love, at Aragorn's coronation, gazing lovingly and smilingly into each others' eyes. Cute, but not enough for me. Hopefully, we will get more of this in the ROTK EE.

I LOVED the numerous singing events. First, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) dancing on a tabletop and swigging ale in Edoras, singing yet another hobbit drinking song. (The first was in the FOTR EE, at the Green Dragon.) The second occurence of gorgeous song was when Denethor was eating, and he asked Pippin to sing a song. Pippin sings a hauntingly beautiful song (comes in the middle of Track 5 on the soundtrack) which plays over scenes of him singing, along with Faramir and the men riding to battle on Osgiliath. And the third song was at Aragorn's coronation, which Aragorn himself sings. It is some kind of Elvish song - does anyone know the words/translation? I want to find out.

I though Shelob was well done. Great "fight scene" with Sam.

Speaking of Sam. We see so much of hum in ROTK. I would be very surprised if Sean Astin doesn't get at least an Academy Award nomination for this. It was amazingly done. Poignant, sweet, painful. A wonderful job. Sam (literally) carried his part of the movie wonderfully.

Gollum (Andy Serkis) seemed much more "human" in ROTK. And the scenes at the beginning, which chronicled him descent from Smeagol into Gollum, were well done. I hated the shot where it showed him biting into a fish, but it got across the point that Gollum/Smeagol was a truly tormented and twisted character(s).

One perfect moment was the Aragorn/Arwen scene at the coronation. Oh my GAWD that was a perfect kiss. Wow. Makes me shiver every time I see it.

The fangirl in me makes an appearance now as I say that during ROTK, it became more and more apparent to me how attractive Faramir and Eomer (Karl Urban) were. Wow. Mmmm.

Anyway. The end was wonderful. When Frodo held the ring over the Crack of Doom, I could see the internal battle going on as he struggled with himself and the Ring. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it was for Elijah Wood to come to the set every day and portray a character that was so tormented. Props to him.

Just wanted to say I cried at the end, when the hobbits said goodbye. Both times. I've seen it twice and I cried both times.

I also loved how Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) always seemed to be laughing inside at some personal joke. It was a little twinkle that lit up the screen every time there was a shot of her.

Just a short mention of the costumes, as time is fleeting and I must go. Arwen had beautiful dresses, as usual, Eowyn finally wore her much-anticipated Shieldmaiden gown, and there were so many beautiful clothes that i can;t even describe them all. Being a costume junkie, but also being unable to make any of them because of my lack of sewing skills, I am indescribably jealous of all those people out there who are making their own LOTR costumes. I salute you all.

Well, must run. I think I'm seeing Mona Lisa Smile tomorrow, as it is Christmas, I am Jewish, and nothing is open on Chrimbo except the movie theater and Chinese food. Mmm. Makes me hungry. I will try to say more about the movie after I get back. Tata for now!

London - Thailand

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