[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

If the <I>Daily Telegraph</I> is still calling itself a quality newspaper, then it needs to buck its ideas up about what constitutes a good review.<P>That article (and it is one article - I'm sure the two journalists collaborated in its production) is clearly aimed at getting the paper well and truly onto the <I>Return of the King</I> bandwagon from well before the word 'go'. If we amateurs are not to judge the film until it's been released, then surely such speculation should be avoided even more assidiously by professional journalists writing for a reasonably respectable broadsheet. This is the sort of opinion reporting I'd expect from the <I>Mirror</I>.<P>That said, one can hardly blame the <I>Telegraph</I> for trying to use the rabid hype of the <I>Lord of the Rings</I> films to increase circulation. What we can do is avoid making the same mistakes with less reason. I've been an outspoken critic of the adaptations since <I>The Two Towers</I>, but I shall be reserving judgement on the last film at least until I've seen the cinematic release. To put forward an opinion of a film one has never seen is as foolish as to publish comments about a book one has never read.