The Fellowship of the Ring

This review will be focused on Peter Jackson’s first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. The film was released in 2001 and is based off the first book by Tolkien of the same name. Most of the landscape in the film was from Peter Jackson’s homeland of New Zealand. The plot of the film is the main character Frodo Baggins (played by Elijah Wood) inheriting a ring from this uncle. It is later revealed to be the One Ring and is tied to the fate of the world and he must travel to Mordor where the ring was forged and cast it into Mount Doom because it cannot be destroyed any other way.

The film starts off strong with an epic battle 3,000 years before the start of the film where the forces of good comprised of Men and Elves against the forces of evil made up of monstrous orcs. The scene has excellent camera work with wide shots of the forces and great use of color. The film has very nice set pieces. The scene when the group enter Moria the scene is a long shot of the city it is beautiful with an excellent music in the background that helps to immerse to viewer.

The acting was top notch as well. Sean Astin’s portrayal of Samwise Gamgee is the best in the film. His loyalty to Frodo in the film was admirable, considering how Frodo was going to leave everyone behind so the ring will not corrupt anyone else. The film has many close up shots of the ring when the characters are looking at it to signify the temptation and allure of the ring and occasionally the ring “speaks” to the characters an example of this is when it tries to tempt Aragorn into taking the ring.  

The most memorable moment in the film is towards the end of the film when the Fellowship are attacked by the Uruks. It is here where Boromir proves himself, he sacrifices his life for the hobbits. In the scene he is hit by multiple arrows each time he gets hit he takes down two or three enemies, proving his valor. He does this as penance for trying to take the ring for himself. Sean Bean’s portrayal of Boromir was excellent, it’s a shame that he dies in nearly every one of his movies though.

The film is not without its faults. The first fault is the glaring plot error. Instead of walking all the way to Mordor from the other side of Middle Earth they could have flown to Mordor on the Giant Eagles. This becomes apparent even before the journey starts, when Gandalf is being held captive in Isengard on the top of the Orthanc, a Giant Eagle swoops down and rescues him. In the film it is not even discussed. Another fault like the rest of the trilogy is the length of the film, an average movie would probably lose interest since it is just painfully lengthy. Other than that the film is one of the best films of all time and helped to encourage more fantasy films to hit the big screen. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring earns a 9/10

O.S

The Shawshank Redemption

This film is arguably one of the greatest films of all time.  It’s based on the Stephen King novel, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.  It stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton.  It was directed by Frank Darabont.  Darabont has worked on many other Stephen King novels that have been brought to film, such as The Mist, and The Green Mile.  The movie tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a man wrongly convicted of killing his wife and her lover after finding them together.  We then follow Andy as he goes to Shawshank State Penitentiary, and see how he deals with the struggles of prison life.

The best part of this movie is the acting.  All the actors in this movie do such a great job portraying their characters.  This doesn’t just pertain to the heavy hitters like Morgan Freeman.  For example, Clancy Brown, one of the most underrated actors in my opinion, plays Captain Byron Hadley, the chief of the guards, a smaller role in this film.  The way that Clancy pulls off being a complete hard ass, but still somewhat likeable is truly impressive.  The best performance in the film though was Tim Robbins.  This was one of Robbin’s first big roles, and boy did he hit it out of the park.  He does a great job of showing how Andy Dufresne is changed by prison, it’s amazing to watch his character evolve throughout the film.

This movie didn’t do very well in theaters.  The budget for the film was roughly $25 million, and it only made $28.5 million over 10 weeks. (Wikipedia)  Though Shawshank Redemptions wasn’t a commercial success by any means it was met by great critical reception.  Roger Ebert, who is probably the most famous film critic of all-time, gave the film 3 ½ out of 4 stars.  Mr. Ebert said that, “If the film is perhaps a little slow in its middle passages, maybe that is part of the idea, too, to give us a sense of the leaden passage of time, before the glory of the final redemption.”

I agree with Mr. Ebert completely.  I love watching The Shawshank Redemption, but there are some parts towards the middle of the film that definitely drag.  Whether it’s Andy dealing with the library, or trying to help one of his fellow inmates get his high school diploma, these scenes really do make the movie a little lengthy and dry in parts.  With all that said, those lengthy scenes make the films ending so much better.  When Andy finally escapes Shawshank and we see this intricate plan he’s concocted over almost 20 years start to take place it feels so much more rewarding because of those scenes.  As a viewer you feel like you’ve been a prison this whole time too. 

After watching The Shawshank Redemption again, before writing this paper, I have to say it’s one of the greatest films of all time.  It perfectly encapsulates everything that’s great about a movie set in a prison.  From the ruthless guards, and inmates, to how daunting the high walls in the courtyard are.  This film easily gets a 10/10 for me.     

     

D.L.  

The Two Towers

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Two Towers is the second of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film was the second highest grossing of the trilogy at the domestic box office. The film continues where the Fellowship of the Ring left off with Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continuing on their journey to destroy the one ring in Mordor. The film also centers on the members of the fellowship that are preparing to face off against the forces of Mordor.

The film starts off strong with a battle between Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria that wasn’t seen in the first movie. It’s an amazing set piece. Peter Jackson nailed it. Gandalf and the Balrog are falling through the mountain and are fighting each other at the same time with a nice wide shot right when they are about to hit the subterranean lake at the base of the mountain. The scene really does set the tone for the entire film. The film also has some other great set pieces with great shots of mountains, gorges, and valleys when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are looking for Merry and Pippin. Peter Jackson’s decision to shoot the film in his native New Zealand was a great idea.

The lighting in the film was spot on when Gandalf arrives with the cavalry there is a ray of light coming from behind him signifying that the reinforcements of the army of good have arrived in stark contrast to when the Isengard armies arrived, all they brought was darkness and rain. The cinematography in the film was very well executed as well with close shots when Frodo is being controlled by the one ring and nearly gives to ring to the enemy.

The film's climax is the Battle of Helms Deep. The people of Rohan a human kingdom go to an ancient stronghold to protect themselves when the armies of Isengard attack. It is a great battle scene in the rain with a great soundtrack and action. This is where Aragorn starts to become the leader that he was born to be. When the king is injured he rallies his men to charge at the enemies that have broken through. It is a great moment Aragorn is the first to charge through the lines signifying his bravery in battle. In the third movie the king even states that he wasn’t the cause for them winning the battle.

Another good conflict of the story is the conflict within Frodo the ring bearer. He soon starts to realize that he will most likely die in his quest and he also starts to lose faith in what he is fighting for. The only thing that brings him back is a speech by his companion Sam and he states that there are some things that are just worth fighting for renewing his resolve. In my honest opinion I believe that Sam is the star of the entire trilogy.

The film has very few faults. The first is the length of the film as are the other two films of the trilogy. The second is the storyline of Merry and Pippin, there storyline only gets interesting towards the end of the film when they finally accomplish something great. All in all “The Two Towers” is a master piece and will go down as one of the best fantasy films of all time. I would rate the Two Towers a 9.5/10. 

O.S

The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

One of my favorite films of all time is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. A fantasy film that is the last part in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film was released in 2003 and was directed by Peter Jackson and is the film adaptation of the book of the same name. It is the only fantasy film to have won the Academy Awards for Best Picture. The film is a continuation of the main character Frodo Baggins a hobbit, on his journey to destroy the one ring.

The film is, in my opinion is the best out of the trilogy. Peter Jackson has managed to bring Tolkien’s Middle Earth to the big screen with that appeals to a wide audience. The character interactions are excellent especially those between Frodo and Gollum who was the previous ring bearer who like Frodo is a hobbit. This is important because Frodo can see firsthand what the influences of the one ring can do, it is basically looking into a mirror. The CGI work for Gollum’s appearance has held up even to this day.

The film also has great set pieces. The Battle for Minas-Tirith also known as the Battle for Pelannor Fields was a well shot battle, with wide angle shots of Mordor’s armies which numbered over 10,000 and the charge of the Rohirrim was well shot as well, with a ray of light coming from behind the army to signify the arrival of the forces of good and ominous dark clouds for the army of Mordor.

The acting was top notch as well with Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn went from a lone ranger to the charismatic leader who took the mantle of king, his battle speech at the end of the film was inspired. John Noble’s Denethor was well acted, after the death of his son Boromir at the end of the first film he became a broken man who lost faith in everything including his youngest son Faramir played by David Wenham. I wished there was more interactions between Denethor and Faramir hoping for them to bury the hatchet so to speak.

The film is not without its fault. The first is the length of the film. The Return of the King clocks in at 200 minutes that is more than 3 hours. That is more than the average movie watcher can stand. Another fault is the Army of the Dead, it seemed unfinished they appeared in the film and then left within one scene basically and the special effects were actually very bad not at all “ghostly”.

Other than those two problems, I believe that The Return of the King is an excellent film that has very few faults. With great acting, lighting, set pieces and great special effects for Gollum. It will go down in film history as one of the greatest films of all time. I would give The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a 9.5/10.

O.S