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"The Two Towers" is released!
YodaMan
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2002 - 01:23 PM UTC
Got back from seeing the movie a little while ago.
My review can be best summed up in one word: Wow! :-)

Yes, some scenes are different from the book. Yes, the move focuses on the 'big people' more than the Hobbits. Yes, Faramir is changed to a power-hungry man (unfortunately...)

-But ... for sheer moviegoing enjoyment, and a summery of the book, it's amazing.
The opening scene of "the fall'" was breathtaking! I can't say too much about it without spoiling it.
-I liked how Gollum was brought into the movie relatively quickly. It was rather well established that the Fellowship was being followed by him in the first movie, so there was no need to emphasize that here. Speaking of Gollum... WOW!!! By far the most amazing CG I've ever seen! The scenes with Gollum arguing with himself were breathtaking, humorous, and completely believable!
-We don't get to see a whole lot of Merry and Pippin here... but when we do see them, it's at the essential story points. The Ents were pretty dang cool... Somehow, they looked exactly as I imagined them. More footage of them would've been awesome!
-One of my favorite scenes in the movie occurs when Frodo, Sam and Gollum are near the Black Gate. In this scene, one can see just what the two hobbits are up against. (lots!)
As I previously mentioned, Faramir was unfortunately changed to a power hungry fool. In the book, the trust (to Frodo) and restraint (from the Ring) he shows is reassuring to the reader that not all men are corrupt.
-Helm's Deep. Wow. Though some people here didn't, I felt there was a well-portrayed sense of danger in these scenes. There's no way I can describe this part of the movie and do it justice. As mentioned by other members here, the count between Gimli and Legolas was a nice touch! The humor was great too!
Gimli: "come Aragorn, we can take them"
Aragorn: "it is a long way" ~looks over gap between them and the bridge~
Gimli: "Aye" He pauses for a moment "Toss me!
Aragorn: ~looks at Gimli in an amused way~
Gimli: " ...just don't tell the Elf"

In Summary: I loved the movie! This earns a 9 out of 10 as a rating. While diehard Tolkien fans will have a few issues with the movie, it is a great epic which never loses sight of it's focus: the characters. Very rarely will a movie capture your attention and hold it for so long. I recommend The Two Towers to anyone who liked "Fellowship", the books, or anyone who just likes good movies.

There will be more detailed comments posted after I see the film again!

YodaMan
staff_Jim
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2002 - 01:34 PM UTC

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I went and saw it Friday night and liked it very much. While there were things different from the book, I think the movie still portrayed what Tolkien wrote. The CGI was totally awesome as well as the fight scenes.


Bryan,
Lol...a little better than K-19 The Widowmaker eh?

Jim
Tin_Can
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Posted: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 - 10:39 AM UTC

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Bryan,
Lol...a little better than K-19 The Widowmaker eh?

Jim


You're right there Jim! lol!
Tanks
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Posted: Wednesday, December 25, 2002 - 09:37 AM UTC
Having seen the movie I thought it a mixed bunch. The Ents were amazing, Faramir a disappointment, Gollum was so much better than I could have imagined him. From a military standpoint the "impregnable" Helm's deep had no drawbridge and no moat, though a river was only yards away. And cavalry charging pikemen? no way! Still all in all a great film. Can't wait for the next one. A Merry Christmas to all here! (:-)
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Posted: Thursday, December 26, 2002 - 03:59 AM UTC
I saw it on the premiere, here in Sweden. I thought that the film was very good (9/10), it had its bad jokes, but I can live with that .
YodaMan
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Posted: Monday, January 06, 2003 - 02:29 PM UTC
I thought the LotR fans here would be interested in reading this: 101 observations about The Two Towers

There are a bunch of nitpicks... but there are also a few valid points about the movie (Vs. the book)

Happy reading! :-)

YodaMan
mrs_selrach
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Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:28 PM UTC

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I wanted more Ents. More character development.


I agree, I was hoping for more character development, in that I was disappointed. I did enjoy the movie overall though and the battle scenes were very cool. I do think the first movie was better than the second though and think a bit more time should have been spent on the characters and character development and their journeys.



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The whole Ent thing was underdone. Their attack on Isenguard was the best part of the movie, and was too short (I mean, in Entish it would be a long tale ). No mention of Entwives either. If 50% of the battle was eliminated (orcs die, humans die, other creatures die, nobody runs out of ammo, 'run away', repeat), there would have been LOTS of time for some 'slow' stuff that makes up the meat of these two books.


Yes! The Ent thing WAS undercone. Although I have not read the books, and I do intend to very soon as the movies have been most inspiring, I would love to see the development of the minor characters and their integration into the whole storyline. The Ent scenes were just enough to want more, but not enough to satisfy.



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Gollum was cool. Very well done, and along with the Ents, the watchable part of the film.

Yes, they did a great job on his development, and the battle between his "good" side and "bad" side was very well done and thought out. I would have liked to have seen more of Gandolf and more character involvement, the battle scenes were great but I think the characters of the storyline are what will keep the interest and the fans coming back for more.


The reviewers are giving the movie a 10/10?! I don't think it deserved that, although I'm a LOTR diehard fan. A 9/9 maybe, but not 10/10. The Fellowship took that by a landslide and I agreed with that one 100 percent. I am hoping that the third book, Return of the King, pulls it all together and emphasizes the characters rather than battle scenes. I would like the third movie to leave me breathless and wanting more like the first one did.


I have the extended DVD set as well, with the extra footage that was cut out of the screenplay intact. In some ways I think they should have left those scenes in, answers a few questions, and again I think important to the movie. But then, it would have been an extra 45 minutes I think.


Overall, LOTR: Twin Towers, was great, but I'd like to see the extended DVD version to see what they cut out that would have made a difference. Not as good as the Fellowship, but certainly still the best movie yet for this year.


plastic_widow

Okay, arm phasers, I'm ready...

Andy

PS ...and don't get me started on Star Trek: Nemesis. THAT movie really sucked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote]

mrs_selrach
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Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:34 PM UTC


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SOME SPOILER INFO BELOW!!!!

As to the battle of the Hornburg, it takes most of a chapter I believe and there are actually parts missing from the movie (Gimli's falling back into the caves and fighting two pitched battles - one for the caves and one for the keep, and also the forces that actually completely destroyed the army of Saruman. The trees of Fangorn (which mysteriously travel to Helm's Deep and basically swallow up the orcs).

Cheers,
Jim



See, now that's why I want to read the books! Darn it! I want to see it all! In epic proportions!


Oh, to get models and be able to work on them! Ents, elves, orcs, Naz-gul, now THAT type of modeling and painting I could get into!


plastic_widow

mrs_selrach
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Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:42 PM UTC

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On a seperate note, for those of you who have the extended DVD, is it worth getting if I just have the reagular DVD? Thanks.


Yes! The Extended version is great. I think 45 more minutes of additional bits and pieces here and there. It really blends into the movie well and adds to the understanding of the story as a whole. Also more detail for character development. I think its well worth the money spent on it, and you can most probably find it new or used on Amazon.Com by independent sellers (not auctions, but third party sellers.. is how I get my books.. got Diablo II for like $12.00 with shipping and handling tho its going for $30 at Wal-mart).


plastic_widow

YodaMan
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Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 - 05:06 AM UTC
Hey, welcome to the site, mrs_selrach! :-)
Good to see another LotR fan here!

First bit of news: There's some rumors going around the the first DVD release of The Two Towers (theatrical edition) might be coming as early as June.
If the regular DVD comes out in June, I think that means the extended edition will get here (possibly) between late August and September.
For the extended version, I've heard that there may be as much as 45 minutes of extra footage - and a lot of it requires VFX work, suggesting more Gollum or Helm's deep. (or Ents! )
There is no 'official' realese date yet, but I sure hope the rumors are true! :-)

One other question: Has anyone else seen the pictures that shows Arwen ant Helm's Deep? A while back on TheOneRing.net three photos were posted that clearly showed her riding out during the king's charge against the Uruk army...


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I am hoping that the third book, Return of the King, pulls it all together and emphasizes the characters rather than battle scenes. I would like the third movie to leave me breathless and wanting more like the first one did.


I've read the book (RotK), and I'll have to say there's a lot more of battles and character development. (early reports are saying the movie could possibly be 3.5 to 4 hours long)

I don't want to say too much and spoil it, but Helm's Deep looks like a minor skirmish copmared to what's to come. :-)
The last half of book III focuses a lot on Frodo and Sam. Again, cant' say too much about that either. (but it's really interesting!

YodaMan
YodaMan
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Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 - 08:23 AM UTC
If anyone's interested, here's a desktop wallpaper I made last night:
Helm's Deep wallpaper

Let me know what you think!

YodaMan
mrs_selrach
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Posted: Monday, March 10, 2003 - 01:24 PM UTC

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Hey, welcome to the site, mrs_selrach! :-)
Good to see another LotR fan here!


Big fan! And this has become my favorite forum.


Quoted Text

First bit of news: There's some rumors going around the the first DVD release of The Two Towers (theatrical edition) might be coming as early as June.
If the regular DVD comes out in June, I think that means the extended edition will get here (possibly) between late August and September.
For the extended version, I've heard that there may be as much as 45 minutes of extra footage - and a lot of it requires VFX work, suggesting more Gollum or Helm's deep. (or Ents! )


Oh? Wasn't there 45 minutes extra in the Fellowship? I'm looking forward to it, have got to get the extended version. I think more of anything from LOTR would be very cool. I think I've watched the DVD of Fellowship like 6 times since I got it a month ago.


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I've read the book (RotK), and I'll have to say there's a lot more of battles and character development. (early reports are saying the movie could possibly be 3.5 to 4 hours long) I don't want to say too much and spoil it, but Helm's Deep looks like a minor skirmish copmared to what's to come. :-) The last half of book III focuses a lot on Frodo and Sam. Again, cant' say too much about that either. (but it's really interesting!

YodaMan


Although the battles were awesome and certainly breathtaking, I have to admit I'm biased, I'm an elf lover (though I have to admit, Aragon is my favorite character, after Gandolf) and fantasy lover too. Lothlorien and Rivendell were beautiful, especially on the big screen at the movies. The first time I saw the scenes of these two elven cities I fell in love. That is how I imaged elven cities to be. I would have liked to have seen more involvement with the elves, in general, and perhaps more about Elron and the history of the elves of Middle Earth. I'm sure there is more in the books, but I'm a big movie fan and I think there just aren't enough movies about elves. Especially not of THIS proportion!

But am waiting for baited breath for the Return of the King, and am very sorry that that will be the last movie (unless there are plans for movies about Tolkein's other books?????).

plastic_widow
mrs_selrach
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Posted: Monday, March 10, 2003 - 01:27 PM UTC

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If anyone's interested, here's a desktop wallpaper I made last night:
Helm's Deep wallpaper

Let me know what you think!

YodaMan


I love the wallpaper! You know, I've wandered online for desktop wallpapers and sets, and the one complaint I have is that when these people create the wallpapers, they don't think about how the icons and lettering underneath the icons just are going to be difficult to read. Very well thought out and nice layout. I downloaded it btw. Two thumbs up!
YodaMan
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Posted: Monday, March 10, 2003 - 02:28 PM UTC

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Oh? Wasn't there 45 minutes extra in the Fellowship? I'm looking forward to it, have got to get the extended version. I think more of anything from LOTR would be very cool. I think I've watched the DVD of Fellowship like 6 times since I got it a month ago.

New reports since my last post indicate that we will see much more of the Ents in the extended edition. I forget the exact words, but a guy said the focus of most of the new scenes will be dailogue - not action.
He also said we didn't see even half of the Ent footage made for the movie! (and that hopefully means there's more in the DVD)


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Although the battles were awesome and certainly breathtaking, I have to admit I'm biased, I'm an elf lover (though I have to admit, Aragon is my favorite character, after Gandolf) and fantasy lover too. Lothlorien and Rivendell were beautiful, especially on the big screen at the movies. The first time I saw the scenes of these two elven cities I fell in love. That is how I imaged elven cities to be. I would have liked to have seen more involvement with the elves, in general, and perhaps more about Elron and the history of the elves of Middle Earth. I'm sure there is more in the books, but I'm a big movie fan and I think there just aren't enough movies about elves. Especially not of THIS proportion!

If you liked those cities, I think you'll love what's in RotK! One of the main locations is a city called Minas Tirith.
You can see this city in Fellowship; it's the city Gandalf goes to to learn more about the ring.
Here's two pics:
picture #1
Uh... I can't find the second picture. But if you get to that part of the movie, you'll see a great shot of the city right after the frame above.
Umm... you can kind of see it in the banner I made here:



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But am waiting for baited breath for the Return of the King, and am very sorry that that will be the last movie (unless there are plans for movies about Tolkein's other books?????).

There is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy called "The Hobbit". I think it's about Bilbo, and his involvement with the ring.
Initially Peter Jackson said he wasn't going to make a movie out of it, but Ian McKellan and some of the other cast members are trying to get him to do it.
We can only hope!

If you're looking for two good fan sites, check out TheOneRing.net and WaroftheRing.net

Thanks for the comments about the wallpaper! This is hopefully the first of many! (is there anything you'd like to see, specifically?)

YodaMan
hworth18
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Posted: Monday, March 10, 2003 - 04:45 PM UTC
Great Background Yodaman!!! I set it as my background as soon as I saw it.
BTW, Does anyone know when TTT will be out on DVD??? I am anxiously waiting for it.
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Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 05:12 AM UTC

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Great Background Yodaman!!! I set it as my background as soon as I saw it.
BTW, Does anyone know when TTT will be out on DVD??? I am anxiously waiting for it.


When did Fellowship come out on DVD?I think TTT will come out at the same time, with the extended version probably arriving a bit later.

They have to wait until its done with its theater run. Also, they want it to come out to boost ROTK box office.

Steve

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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 01:14 AM UTC
They sell lord of the ring figures at gamesworkshop in the cherry hill mall
:-) :-) :-)
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