[Arathiriel]

When I first saw FOTR, one of the things that impressed me the most was Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey because I thought at the time "They couldn't have casted Gandalf better if that had <B>tried</B>!" I mean he truly brought Gandalf to life in a way I had always imagined the wizard to be after reading the books!<P>I also remember being impressed by the performances of Sean Astin (oh he's the <B>PERFECT</B> Samwise Gamgee!) and Elijah Wood (He <B>IS</B> Frodo Baggins in my eyes) and Viggo Mortensen (Again he brought Aragorn to life in the way I had imagined the long lost King of Gondor to be!) but I have to say one of the performances that impressed me the most was that of Sean Bean as Boromir.<P>I'd like to go on record now as saying I <B>did not</B> like Boromir before watching FOTR and I certainly didn't understand him! But Sean Bean's performance - Oh my gosh - he <B>humanized</B> Boromir for me and for the first time I understood why Merry and Pippin held him in such high regards! I mean that scene where Boromir fights and dies absolutely had me in <B>TEARS</B> it was so well-acted! I also came to pity Boromir a little because in his pride he didn't realize how <I>evil</I> the Ring was and so it ensnared him way too easily - in his pride he was too much like his father Denethor!<P>Other things I liked was the Shire - was that not beautiful and just as innocent as we had all imagined it? And what a joy to see all those hobbits!<P>I also loved seeing the Elves and I admit I was just like Sam, I wanted to <I>see the Elves more than anything else</I> and wow it was wonderful to see Elrond and Arwen and Legolas and Galadriel at last! I also loved beholding Rivendell and Lothlorien for the first time!<P>Oh and before I forget it - my jaw was on the floor when we beheld the Dwarf Realm of Dwarrowdelf in Moria - the size of that place was absolutely awe-inspiring and breathtaking!<P>LOL - if you're still reading this - one of the sequences that impressed me the most was the Fellowship's flight to the Bridge of Khazad'Dum (not to mention Gandalf's confrontation with the Balrog) - I'm serious in saying that I wish I could buy another copy of FOTR DVD and mail it to George Lucas and said on the movie "Here watch this and take notes - This is the way to make a movie!" - anyway everytime I watch this scene I am impressed in that the enviroment they're in was computer generated and yet I am hard-pressed to find any real evidence of such!<P>And lastly since I need to close and go do other things - I absoloutely adore the soundtrack as it's wonderful and fits the moods of the movie(s) wonderfully. It moved me as much as any of the performances of the cast did!<P><I>*sighs*</I><P>I <B>truly truly truly</B> love these movies and I anticipate ROTK greatly!