[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Hiya guys(& gals) I just discovered this cool forum in this dark dank hole where people air their opinions on everything in LOTR. Well, here's my two cents on the movies:<P>FoTR:<BR>As a Tolkien enthusiast(Who isn't?), I am generally content with the changes...except for some unremovable ulcers. The Arwen-Aragorn cutscenes bored me, but I guess they are necessary. Somehow, Gimli HAD to Hack the ring with that axe of his... Bothersome. What REALY disappoints me, however, is not Arwen, or the overkilling Legolas, nor even the jokers Merry and Pippin. It is the Nazgul... Every time I picked up and read the LOTR, I would get goosebumps on the back of my neck when I read about the Nazgul. Prof T knew that the Nazgul are the embodiment of Sauron himself, practically his nine fingers. They were indestructible, and who don't love villains that are invincible? The movie showed them to be nancy cultist boys who scream for mama the moment they see a bit of fire or sword. I mean c'mon! You won't know the power of Sauron unless you see what his servants can do to you. Having Arwen/Aragorn fighting them is still alright with me... just don't make them into wusses! The Balrog is very cool, but not cool enough to quell my annoyance with those rag dolls they called Nazgul. One of the scenes I really missed was Frodo escaping from Boromir. Much as I like how Boromir was portrayed, I am very disappointed that Frodo did not sit on the High Seat and surveyed the entire world... I mean, Prof T created that scene really exceptionally and it described the situation really well. But I guess they can't show that in the movies because Aragorn needs to make out with his lover.<P>TTT<BR>This, in my opinion, is really the best of the series, even though there seem to be major loopholes to be taken care of. The battle at Helms Deep is great. They kept the battle in the Dark Night, and the atmosphere was Excellent. One thing that interests me is that with the dark night, it doesn't really prove that Urak-hai are super orcs. Now, I feel that Theoden should not be possessed; since that would mean that Saruman could have all of Rohan in his grasp even without waging war. I am somewhat disappointed that Eomer is given so little a role... Banished, and then suddenly popping up with Gandalf in the lead. On the other hand, those reinforcements led by Gandalf do seem a bit too many... I mean, first throw 300 against 10000, and then all of a sudden 6000 appear to save the situation?!? By the way, I don't think I like to see those elves coming down at Helm's Deep. I would indeed have prefered seeing the dwarves and the elves fighting and defending their own cities. The Ents were really quite excellent in the siege of Isengard, but Pippin and Merry never grew any taller. Now we come to what everyone hates: Faramir. I don't think I want to repeat what everyone had to say. The thing that disturbed me however, is the scene where Frodo tried to offer the ring to the Nazgul of winged beast. Let me assure everyone that after the incident of Weathertop and the river, the Nazgul NEVER came into close contact with the ring for once. If I am that Nazgul on the dragon, I would not have waited so long for Frodo to show me the ring. I would have grapped him at once and left. There are NINE Nazgul, and they were SO close to the ring... And they bailed out because of a few arrows?!? I am so utterly disappointed with this scene that I left for the restroom to recover from my shock. <P>RoTK:<BR>By now I knew what to expect from our esteemed director when it comes to the Nazguls. The third movie, I guess, couldn't be worse. I was not disappointed by the Nazgul this time (though they are still wusses). Saruman! Just where did Saruman disappeared to?!? Treebeard did not say he is dead, Gandalf just said that he had no power. But WHERE is Evil Wizard that every one loves? Those of us who read the book knew that Saruman was killed by Wormtongue in the Shire, but the rest of the audience are going to think that there would be a sequel to this book just because they did not see Saruman die. Now, if I remember correctly, the director said that the action is going to be even more full then the TTT. I do not think so, unless you considered the closeups of rocks slung by trebuchets to be exciting. The Oliphaunts were good, but the Riders of Rohan are definitely stupid. I had no problem with the undead or even Elrond riding and giving Anduril to Aragorn. I was however, extremely disappointed to not see the parley scene between Gandalf and the Witchking. (Yet another slap on the face for the Nazgul) In actual fact, I am very much shocked to see that Gondor is so unprepared for invasion in the very first. Why would Boromir go down to Rivendell if not to seek allies in war? Why would his brother be ambushing Oliphaunts if Gondor is not prepared for war already? It may have been just me, but I really feel that there was something fundamentally fake about the whole war... Denethor refusing to light the war beacons, the way he send Faramir off, and Faramir just charging back to battle with twenty(?) horsemen?!? That would probably do wonders with the audience if you are targeting uninformed junkies, but even the atmosphere is wrong... I remembered that a cock called after the Witchking broke the gate down... which showed that it saw light amidst the darkness. Why do they managed to portray the darkness in Helm's Deep but want light for the Pelenor fields? Now, interestingly, the duel between the Witchking and Eowyn with Merry is excellent, and in my opinion the best scene in the entire show. Aragorn's invincible ghost army simply didn't cut any ice with me, I'm afraid. If they must portray the undead Nazgul as sissies, I don't see why the ghosts can be so powerful. I feel that Shelob is the second best scene in the film but Gollum should appear more in the scene to show his involvement. The history of Gollum, by the way, is another most memorable scene. Now after all is said and done, we had the grand finale... in which Frodo claimed the ring and stuff. They just couldn't let evil disolve itself: Frodo HAD to be a hero and shove Gollum down the volcano. I guess Hollywood hate to see bad guys die by their own hand... After this last insult, I am pretty much bored with all the dallyings and dillies. The Shire is intact; not surprising. Saruman just vanished into thin air. But nobody explained why Frodo could go across the sea with Bilbo and the Elves. By that time, though, nobody cared...<P>I guess I am a little too harsh on the film-makers. I am not really in control: this input is made at 4.30am... I have not slept yet. So, if I had offended any with my opinion, I beg you all a thousand apologies! Me a newbie after all!