Skip to content

lord of the rings

Oscars Comments

Just a few quick remarks. I was happy, on the whole, that Lord of the Rings did so well. The awards were for all three episodes, really, since it is one very long film in essence, the same as Tolkien’s story is one long book, merely split for convenience. I can’t imagine a project of this scope being done again anytime soon, so it needed to be acknowledged.

I felt a bit sorry for Bill Murray, but Sean Penn is great and deserved to be fourth time lucky.
Read More »Oscars Comments

Convert to the Ring

Well, much to my surprise, mom did finally decide to give Lord of the Rings a fair hearing. We watched the first two episodes recently. Not on the same night, okay! 🙂 She hates this kind of thing normally, but all the hype and good reviews weakened her resolve. Of course, she ended up thinking they were terrific, and we plan to see the final part at the cinema soon. (Not right now; we’re both suffering from yet another cold virus at the moment. Lovely.)

Watching The Two Towers a second time helped resolve some of my own reservations about it. I’m told the extended version has better editing, but on the whole, I enjoyed it better than the first viewing. Look, I won’t forgive Jackson for the Christopher Lee thing in a hurry, but that doesn’t mean I don’t admire this work on many levels. It’s a genuine achievement.
Read More »Convert to the Ring

Saruman No-Show

This is slightly old news, but I wanted to comment on the exclusion of Christopher Lee’s footage of Saruman in The Return of the King.

It seems amazing that they would go to the trouble of having Christopher fly out to film extra footage (his last day of shooting was back in July) only to not use it in the theatrical release—sure, it’ll show up on the extended DVD eventually, but it seems to me these things ought to have been planned out long ago. Such last-minute decisions doesn’t create an awfully good impression. Mr. Lee will not be attending the premiere, and I can’t say I blame him. He deserves more respect.

Saruman Fellowship of the Ring 2001
Read More »Saruman No-Show

Stuck in the House

Terrible, rainy weather today. I’m not really stuck in the house, but I had a couple of non-urgent errands that this wretched downpour has dissuaded me from doing today. (Okay, I’m a wuss. Sue me.)

I had plans for last Wednesday. Saruman himself, Christopher Lee, was signing his autobiography, Lord of Misrule, in London at Forbidden Planet on Saturday and Borders on Wednesday. I thought I’d go for Wednesday. Alas, irrevocable transport problems put the kibosh on my plans… I did finally make it into Brum, but too late to get an affordable train that would’ve been on time. My only choice was a Virgin train for £30. I was forced to admit defeat.

Lord Of Misrule 2003
Read More »Stuck in the House

That is the Question

Here’s how interesting the scenery out and about today was:

West Bromwich November 6 2003

Well, I went to Brum yesterday (and Merryhill Wednesday), which was slightly more riveting, but I think I wanted a really boring photo to capture the true West Midlands spirit! Can you identify this spot? I picked a more obscure area/angle to make it harder.
Read More »That is the Question

Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

So, Lord of the Rings. The first episode, that is. It’s funny to think back, because two years ago I was really hot to see this at the cinema. I even re-read the books in anticipation of it. But it never happened, and my interest sort of waned.

Since getting a DVD player—we were probably at least two years behind most people there—my interest revived. (My interest in buying films on the whole has revived; I’d become entirely disillusioned with the horrors of VHS.) Last Thursday, I spotted a copy at Asda for a little under eight pounds. That clinched it.

Fellowship of the Ring 2001
Read More »Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Goodbye Chrimbo

YES! Christmas is over. Should I be glad? Don’t really know. Anyway, I wish everyone a great New Year.

It wasn’t the worst Christmas ever… I’ve spent a lot of time (maybe too much) re-reading Lord of the Rings, which I had not experienced since… oh, maybe 1985. I figured I should do this if I plan to see the film sometime, as I don’t remember all that much about it and, if I have criticisms, I’d like them to be well informed.
Read More »Goodbye Chrimbo

After the Hiatus

What can I say? I’ve been stranded without a computer for a whole month, which is the longest I’ve gone offline/disconnected… for a few centuries. My computer died, poor old thing. And not gracefully. It belched and seethed and just kinda gave up the ghost. Poof! Bye-bye! Etc.

Actually, it was probably the CPU, which had apparently been running without a fan for a few months—so that was what those funny noises were! And odd how they stopped a while back. Erm, yes. Well, I can’t have looks and brains. Ahem. So, seeing as the thing was generally in a crummy old state anyway, I quickly lost interest in getting it patched up… and £250 I can by no means afford later, I now have a decidedly average but adequate refurbished thingy. It’ll do for a while, anyhoo.
Read More »After the Hiatus