Hello! My name is Chie. I am likely to be the girl you'll see whose eyes would bulge out of their sockets at the sight of a book store and be seized by waves of epileptic shock whenever there is a book bargain. I'll probably be the one pushing you out of my way to get through the book bargain bins and tediously combing through the pile. (I forget my manners when it comes to books). I am tone deaf and have two left feet. But I would endure the embarrassment of a performance in exchange for books (terms and conditions apply). I have created this blog in order to find kindred souls. Those who would gladly share the same passion for books and reading because although reading is solitary task most of the time, it's no fun having no one to ramble to after..
Cast: Elijah Woods (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Sean Bean (Boromir), Sean Astin (Sam), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry)
Directed by: Peter Jackson Release Date: December 19, 2001 Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Basedon: The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Distributed by: New Line Cinema Ratings: 4.5/5
Plot: This film sees Frodo Baggins begin a journey to destroy The One Ring, that he received from his Uncle Bilbo Baggins, and destroys it in the fires of Mount Doom, and destroy Sauron once and for all. He is joined by The Fellowship of the Ring, which consists of his Hobbit friends, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck, as well as the Wizard Gandalf, who originally set him on this journey, Aragorn true King of Gondor, and Boromir, from the race of Men, the Elf Prince of Kirkwood, Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin (who featured in The Hobbit)
Review: I was inspired by a co-blogger to start a Books That Comes To Life feature on this blog. I was thinking to do this a month ago but sadly, I now barely go to the cinemas due to my busy schedule at the uni. And I also have to think and stick with the theme of this blog, book review. Because most of the films that I am watching weren't from a book. Moving on.. this was a brilliant film and I have alot to thank it for, as it was this film that got me into Tolkien's work, and all things related to The Lord of the Rings. I've always been a fan of things that are unusual, and have loved fantasy films, and books all my life, so this film was a natural choice for me. The way this film starts so light heartened, and how the characters become even more desperate, and distressed, just in the events of this film is enough to know that you're in for some brilliant story telling.
The cast in this film was brilliant, and think that it helped that most of the main cast were relatively unknown actors. I have more recently learnt that more well-known actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowd, Vin Diesel, and Liam Neeson had all been asked to play the role in the film to succeed. The cast were all brilliant and suited their respective roles brilliantly, with Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen being the ones that stood out the most to me.
The Fellowship
The Fellowship itself is one of the big things throughout all three films, although it has more effect in this one, and it's the only film where the entire Fellowship is together. When you have a character like a Hobbit, which is innocent and very vulnerable as the main character you need many people around them, and what better way than to have a group of nine people (including Frodo) that has all different ally races in it. This is in my opinion what really brought Tolkien's mythological world together, as you have all these different races that usually barely coexist, if at all working together. The way Legolas and Gimli's friendship grows over this film even is probably the most interesting out of all, as elves and dwarves usually hate each other. The characteristics in all characters was also shown very well, and the way they reacted to certain events throughout was brilliant and made the film more dramatic.
Sauron forging The One Ring
The main antagonist throughout this film series is Sauron. Although he's the main villain he doesn't have much of a physical presence throughout the film, and none during the main story. It's interesting that someone can live due to an object they created, and this kind of reminds me of Voldemort from the Harry Potter books/films, although Sauron did this first literature wise. I actually found the great eye of Sauron intimidating that his physical form in the flash backs as it gives a more sinister feel, as well as the knowledge that he will know where Frodo is if he wears the ring.
Saruman with an Uruk-hai
Although Sauron was the main antagonist, Saruman was the villain that did most of the work and was of valuable help to Sauron. The casting of Saruman couldn't be any better, as who else but Dracula himself Christopher Lee could do a better job. I've always enjoyed anything that Christopher Lee's been in and especially when he's a bad guy, and his presence always makes a film even better whether it's already a brilliant film like this was or something that wouldn't be as good without him. I also liked how Gandalf didn't see this coming, as it shows that no matter how wise someone is, they can't see all that lies ahead.
Frodo wears The One Ring
The One Ring itself is probably the most interesting thing, and although it doesn't get as much screen times as the battles it's still hanging over the story, showing that it's evil, and there is a lot at stake. Since watching the first part of The Hobbit adaptation, I feel that I can appreciate these films even more than I used to, as there are lots of things that happened in The Hobbit that are either re-told in this film, or have an impact on this film. I could appreciate The Ring itself more, as well as the Mithril armour, or Sting (Frodo's sword, originally Bilbo's)
Nazgûl
I also loved the Nazgûl in this film. As they embody everything evil about The One Ring, and how greed can corrupt people. We get back story about Sauron creating other Rings of Power, seven for dwarves, which Sauron couldn't control properly, three for elves, who never used them so couldn't they get controlled. And nine for men who are greedy. It's nice to see how this affected the world around, and how that affects this story. Although you don't see much of them unless Frodo's wearing The One Ring, they are still very menacing looking, and add more dread, and desperation to Frodo's quest, especially in the earlier part.
Strider (Aragorn) in the shadows
Aragorn's development throughout this film, and later films is probably the most interesting, or at least in my opinion, as he starts off as a simple ranger who is tasked by Gandalf to watch over Frodo (this is mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings novels) and how he is destined to become the King of Gondor. The lighting in the earlier scenes to feature Aragorn was very well done, as he was in the shadow alot of time, which adds mystery to the character. I also liked that Aragorn shows that he has a good heart, as even though he abruptly removes Frodo from the tavern, he still shows kindness.
This was a very good film, and a brilliant start to a tremendous film trilogy. It has given me a great joy over the years, it's a good adaptation, and fairly honest to the book . I would highly recommend this film, as you are bound to love it.
Cast: Elijah Woods (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Sean Bean (Boromir), Sean Astin (Sam), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry)
Directed by: Peter Jackson Release Date: December 19, 2001 Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Basedon: The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Distributed by: New Line Cinema Ratings: 4.5/5
Plot: This film sees Frodo Baggins begin a journey to destroy The One Ring, that he received from his Uncle Bilbo Baggins, and destroys it in the fires of Mount Doom, and destroy Sauron once and for all. He is joined by The Fellowship of the Ring, which consists of his Hobbit friends, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck, as well as the Wizard Gandalf, who originally set him on this journey, Aragorn true King of Gondor, and Boromir, from the race of Men, the Elf Prince of Kirkwood, Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin (who featured in The Hobbit)
Review: I was inspired by a co-blogger to start a Books That Comes To Life feature on this blog. I was thinking to do this a month ago but sadly, I now barely go to the cinemas due to my busy schedule at the uni. And I also have to think and stick with the theme of this blog, book review. Because most of the films that I am watching weren't from a book. Moving on.. this was a brilliant film and I have alot to thank it for, as it was this film that got me into Tolkien's work, and all things related to The Lord of the Rings. I've always been a fan of things that are unusual, and have loved fantasy films, and books all my life, so this film was a natural choice for me. The way this film starts so light heartened, and how the characters become even more desperate, and distressed, just in the events of this film is enough to know that you're in for some brilliant story telling.
The cast in this film was brilliant, and think that it helped that most of the main cast were relatively unknown actors. I have more recently learnt that more well-known actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowd, Vin Diesel, and Liam Neeson had all been asked to play the role in the film to succeed. The cast were all brilliant and suited their respective roles brilliantly, with Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen being the ones that stood out the most to me.
The Fellowship
The Fellowship itself is one of the big things throughout all three films, although it has more effect in this one, and it's the only film where the entire Fellowship is together. When you have a character like a Hobbit, which is innocent and very vulnerable as the main character you need many people around them, and what better way than to have a group of nine people (including Frodo) that has all different ally races in it. This is in my opinion what really brought Tolkien's mythological world together, as you have all these different races that usually barely coexist, if at all working together. The way Legolas and Gimli's friendship grows over this film even is probably the most interesting out of all, as elves and dwarves usually hate each other. The characteristics in all characters was also shown very well, and the way they reacted to certain events throughout was brilliant and made the film more dramatic.
Sauron forging The One Ring
The main antagonist throughout this film series is Sauron. Although he's the main villain he doesn't have much of a physical presence throughout the film, and none during the main story. It's interesting that someone can live due to an object they created, and this kind of reminds me of Voldemort from the Harry Potter books/films, although Sauron did this first literature wise. I actually found the great eye of Sauron intimidating that his physical form in the flash backs as it gives a more sinister feel, as well as the knowledge that he will know where Frodo is if he wears the ring.
Saruman with an Uruk-hai
Although Sauron was the main antagonist, Saruman was the villain that did most of the work and was of valuable help to Sauron. The casting of Saruman couldn't be any better, as who else but Dracula himself Christopher Lee could do a better job. I've always enjoyed anything that Christopher Lee's been in and especially when he's a bad guy, and his presence always makes a film even better whether it's already a brilliant film like this was or something that wouldn't be as good without him. I also liked how Gandalf didn't see this coming, as it shows that no matter how wise someone is, they can't see all that lies ahead.
Frodo wears The One Ring
The One Ring itself is probably the most interesting thing, and although it doesn't get as much screen times as the battles it's still hanging over the story, showing that it's evil, and there is a lot at stake. Since watching the first part of The Hobbit adaptation, I feel that I can appreciate these films even more than I used to, as there are lots of things that happened in The Hobbit that are either re-told in this film, or have an impact on this film. I could appreciate The Ring itself more, as well as the Mithril armour, or Sting (Frodo's sword, originally Bilbo's)
Nazgûl
I also loved the Nazgûl in this film. As they embody everything evil about The One Ring, and how greed can corrupt people. We get back story about Sauron creating other Rings of Power, seven for dwarves, which Sauron couldn't control properly, three for elves, who never used them so couldn't they get controlled. And nine for men who are greedy. It's nice to see how this affected the world around, and how that affects this story. Although you don't see much of them unless Frodo's wearing The One Ring, they are still very menacing looking, and add more dread, and desperation to Frodo's quest, especially in the earlier part.
Strider (Aragorn) in the shadows
Aragorn's development throughout this film, and later films is probably the most interesting, or at least in my opinion, as he starts off as a simple ranger who is tasked by Gandalf to watch over Frodo (this is mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings novels) and how he is destined to become the King of Gondor. The lighting in the earlier scenes to feature Aragorn was very well done, as he was in the shadow alot of time, which adds mystery to the character. I also liked that Aragorn shows that he has a good heart, as even though he abruptly removes Frodo from the tavern, he still shows kindness.
This was a very good film, and a brilliant start to a tremendous film trilogy. It has given me a great joy over the years, it's a good adaptation, and fairly honest to the book . I would highly recommend this film, as you are bound to love it.
