There are four main “good” races that reside in Middle-Earth. There are four main houses at Hogwarts. Is it possible to sort the four races into the four houses categorically? Granted, sorting into houses ought to be done individually, because even twins (i.e. Padma and Parvati Patil) are not always sorted into the same house.…
This review is positively riddled with spoilers, so I would recommend seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug first, before reading this. You’ve been warned. Upon leaving the theatre on the evening of December 13th, having just seen the second Hobbit movie, I forced myself to hold back the deluge of disappointment. I calculated in my head that…
December 13th simply cannot come soon enough. With this new (third) trailer, we see much that we’ve already seen in the previous two trailers. However, we are given more tidbits that we haven’t seen or heard—tidbits that maintain our excitement for the upcoming film. We at first hear Bard reciting an adaptation of the song…
There is no question that The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King is an incredible movie. Simply look to the 2003 Academy Awards for proof. Return of the King won 11 Oscars, which means that they tied the record held by Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997). While Titanic—as well as All About Eve (1950)—holds the record for most…
As a Language Arts teacher, I often use Lord of the Rings (specifically Two Towers and Return of the King) as an example when I teach about the three main points of view. While Fellowship of the Ring tends to mostly follow Frodo, making it third person limited, the latter two books (and movies) in…
With the release of the second trailer for the Desolation of Smaug, it’s fitting to dedicate the next three Thursdays (Throwback Thursdays I suppose) to some thoughts regarding the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Please note that I will write these articles while watching the only true way to watch the trilogy—that is, the extended…
The second Desolation of Smaug trailer was released today. In it, we see and hear many things that we’ve already seen and heard from the previous trailer, in addition to, of course, many things that we’ve never seen or heard before. In it, we see Thranduil warn Tauriel not to get too attached to his…
I’m not sure why I was so stupid, but I was not expecting an extended edition. Extended editions for The Lord of the Rings films were absolutely necessary, because there was so much that had to be cut in order to make the theatrical release more manageable. These days, I don’t know anyone who chooses…
While I didn’t have quite the same reaction as Fili and Kili from Happy Hobbit, I did have to pick my jaw up from the floor. Let’s not kid ourselves. New Zealand scenery is breathtaking. Any excuse to see more of it is a good excuse. The Hobbit cinematographers deserve every cent they get, especially…
A title worthy of this film. As we tread on sticky floors in a noisy theater towards empty seats, our minds are filled with expectations. Sometimes our expectations are met, sometimes they are surpassed, and sometimes we are met with the entirely unexpected. When I found my seat, my own mind was expecting a journey…