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Linford of the Rings

LOTR stuff.  See the movie first.  Which is good.  It's a good time. 
It's big and scary and grand.  3.5 stars, I think.  And the series as a
whole might still garner a full 4 stars.  That's the short review.  Other
comments:

1.  Acting moment: Frodo at the Council says he'll take the ring. 
Gandalf closes his eyes sadly.  Great moment.  I saw a vid of McKellan
doing MacBeth when he was 25 years younger.  Or 30.  He's a good actor,
y'all.  (Same production features Dame Judi Dench as Lady MacB.)

2.  Action moment: Legolas stabs orc with arrow, then shoots next orc
with same arrow.  Cool, man.

3.  Action moment two: Saruman spinning Gandalf like a top.  Funny, but
it works.

4.  Perplexing element: Time line of Gandalf's imprisonment and Frodo and
co leaving the shire is all messed up.  There's a rush feel to the whole
thing, but maybe it feels rushed to me b/c these books were so epic and
massive to me when I read 'em at the age of 12.  They took forever to
read.

5.  Observation: Jackson went for people of good against the world of
evil over individuals against the world of evil.  There's more
"fellowship" than individuals, so we lose some bits of character
development, interpersonal development, etc.  Thus Boromir is overdone,
Pippin and Merry are underdone, Legolas and Gimli are underdone,
Galadriel and Gimli are underdone.  The interpersonal meal's just a bit
raw.  Maybe he works out it by #3.

6.  He should've made six two hour films and released them every two
months for a year.  Probably wouldn'y make financial sense, though, eh. 
But it would've been cool like Gandalf.  Also should've had David Mamet
write one of the scripts, just so we could here Frodo say the other F
word.  Just kidding.

7.  It was a good time, and that's good.  It lacked things, but it also
had enough things.  

8.  Hey, Tom Bombabil, Tom Bombadillo.  At that point in the book, as a
friend of mine pointed out, Tolkien is still casting about for direction.
 Is it the Hobbit?  Is it something darker?  By the end, tone and all
have shifted upwards.  At the beginning, it's a little round green door
and big feet story.  Not at the end.

9.  Elrond wasn't so hot in the Council maybe, but he looked good at the
Cracks of Doom, man.

10.  Yeah, Lothlorien was too short, not dreamy enough.  Galadriel
definitely seemed witchy.  Prancing Pony was also no fun, as it could
have been, except for the "It comes in pints!" line, which was funny but
also excessively naive.

11.  The orcs, my friends, are scary orcs and not to be trifled with.  

12.  How the heck did Gandalf get his staff back from Saruman?

13.  That is all.

14.  Fred.
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