# Two Towers



## tarabos (Dec 19, 2002)

very good...saw it last night. better than the first i would say. i would give a review but i think i should see it again in about a week...here's the reason:

there were too many distractions while i watched the movie. in front of us we had two potheads making strange noises. behind us was the worst however. three young girls who were knitting blankets before the movie came on (don't ask me:idunno: ) proceeded to scream and convulse every time legolas had a little dialogue or simply just appeared on the screen. laughing for no reason at things, having to hold each other for comfort...give me a break...have some consideration for other people. then there were the guys next to us who smelled like that horrible cologne that people wear that smells like nothing that i can describe. it smells horrible to me. maybe you know what i'm talking about.

anyway...if i can still enjoy a movie through all that crap, i know it's good. i'll review when i can take it in without so many distractions...


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## tarabos (Dec 19, 2002)

one thing i can say right now though...good god...that's some good special effects in that movie. cgi was almost perfect...

george lucas should take some notes...and get some talent while he's at it.


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## Baoquan (Dec 19, 2002)

Actually, Peter Jackson and his digital crew were taken to Skywalker Ranch and told to go nuts with GL's toys....they had a lot of help from the Skywalker crew - but it does seem to be a case of the student outdoing the master, huh.....


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## tarabos (Dec 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Baoquan _
> *Actually, Peter Jackson and his digital crew were taken to Skywalker Ranch and told to go nuts with GL's toys....they had a lot of help from the Skywalker crew - but it does seem to be a case of the student outdoing the master, huh..... *



yes...i know...and later on the guys from the LOTR crew said even though the Lucasfilms special effects equipment and software costs an incredible amount more than the equipment they use, somehow the LOTR cgi looks totally believable, whereas the star wars effects look like total crap.

face it, Lucas overdoes the special effects thing to the limit. he would replace the actors with cgi actors if he could.


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## Baoquan (Dec 19, 2002)

Couldnt agreee more...Lucas should have just stopped doing ANYTHING in the mid-eighties.....


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## tarabos (Dec 19, 2002)

as you can tell i have a deep hatred for lucas for what he has done to star wars. he takes it way to seriously now. he's completely ruined the name, the series, the myth, everything. 

he insists on putting himself into the director's chair for each of these prequels, and the man can't direct actors to save his life. he may know a thing or two about special effects...but when it comes to human emotions, he doesn't have a clue. 

but then again...how are actor's supposed to act well when all they have in front of them is a big green screen and a tennis ball hanging from a string? they don't even have a real backdrop throughout the whole filming. almost every freakin' thing is cgi and it's painfully obvious. it's ridiculous. 

oh and i just want to get episodes 4-6 on dvd so badly, but i can't now...i have to wait for lucas to release them. and when he does he plans to release every stinking one together in a boxed set. you have no choice. you WILL buy all three prequels...it is unavoidable.


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## Baoquan (Dec 19, 2002)

Preaching to the perverted here, brother....the best thing Lucas ever did in eps 4-6 was take himself outta the chair, and let Lawrance Kasdan write the screenplay for ESB....


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## tarabos (Dec 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Baoquan _
> *Preaching to the perverted here, brother....the best thing Lucas ever did in eps 4-6 was take himself outta the chair, and let Lawrance Kasdan write the screenplay for ESB.... *



amen...preach on...


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## fist of fury (Dec 20, 2002)

Yes I agree LOTR is much better the these new Star Wars movies.  The Two Towers was a great movie i was suprised at how well gollum turned out. I hear some people trying to compare him to Jar Jar Binks 
Jar Jar should've been shot he was an annoying an useless character. Peter Jackson did out do Lucas on the cgi effects.


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## tarabos (Dec 20, 2002)

i was dissapointed that Ian McKellan (sp?) was not on screen as much as he was in FOTR, his preformance in that movie should have netted him the oscar, but he was robbed. Unfortunately I don't think he had a big enough role in Two Towers to warrant even a nomination. Even when he was on the screen, his delivery was different, it didn't seem as passionate. Perhaps he was trying to convey the fact that Gandalf was no longer Gandalf the Grey, but Gandalf the White, and was therefore a slightly different being. He was not familiar in the movie, and i think that's what they were going for. Hopefully he will be allowed to shine again in Return of the King. I believe he will.

still, i'd rather watch 10 hours of a horrible preformance from Ian McKellan (not that is was...still great by all means), than watch even one second of that kid that played anikin skywalker whining and crying like a little girl. i watched about 5 minutes of AOTC in a local Tweeter, and I had to just walk away, it was so....bad.


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## tarabos (Dec 20, 2002)

yes...gollum was truly amazing to behold. there were only a few spots where he seemed "cgi" when the lighting was a little off on him, but that was it. 

just the way he was able to interact with the other actors through the use of the motion capture suit that the actor that potrays gollum wears. very well done indeed. 

btw...did you notice gollum bust out a little BJJ on Samwise in their first confrontation?


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## fist of fury (Dec 20, 2002)

No I missed the bjj golem used I'll look for in my next viewing. 

So what bothered you about the movie? My only gripes were:
Legolas "surfing" down the stairs. 
The arwen love/dream sequence should haved shortened.
They should have extended and done more with the Ents as  in the original story.

and of course the movie should've been at least 3hrs longer


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## Aikikitty (Dec 20, 2002)

I saw The Two Towers on the 18th.  It was incredible!!!!!!!!!  I LOVED it!!!!  I was disappointed in how they made Faramir but I loved the Ents and everything else!  When the movie ended, my mom and I barely talked to each other for the next hour or so.  I felt like I was in a daze (we both were) and we just had to wait for everything to sink in before we could talk about it.

Our theater was very crowded but it was a pretty good audience.  I'm SO sorry that you had such annoying people around you,  Tarabos!   That would have made me so mad and  ruined the whole experiance for me.  I hope you get to just watch and enjoy (with nobody bothering you) the next time you see it. 

Robyn


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## Bob Hubbard (Dec 20, 2002)

Saw Movie....Loved Movie.

Have few complaints.  

Saw movie, Loved Movie, will see movie as many times as budget says I can. 


Minor issues: 
Where with FOTR they spilled a bit into TT, in this case, they seem to have only used about 70% of the book in the movie. Many scenes were rearanged compared with their placement in the book. This is not necessarily a bad thing, in that the rearangement didn't really matter due to events happening at same time, but not effecting each other. A few other scenes were altered in ways not appearing in the book. 

I expect ROTK to deal with the Spider within the first 30 min. 

Visuals were stunning, effects excellent, only complaint here is minor, as the battles were very realistic. In this, I mean hectic, frantic at times, and insane. As if you were right there with them. This causes a problem in following things at times. 

Theres a few other points I'd mention, however they will wait until a few days go by so as to not spoil things for anyone. 

Concerning the dream sequence, all I can say is, nice dress. Pay close attention to it...thats all I'm saying. ;D


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## tarabos (Dec 20, 2002)

> _Originally posted by The Opal Dragon _
> *I saw The Two Towers on the 18th.  It was incredible!!!!!!!!!  I LOVED it!!!!  I was disappointed in how they made Faramir but I loved the Ents and everything else!  When the movie ended, my mom and I barely talked to each other for the next hour or so.  I felt like I was in a daze (we both were) and we just had to wait for everything to sink in before we could talk about it.
> 
> Our theater was very crowded but it was a pretty good audience.  I'm SO sorry that you had such annoying people around you,  Tarabos!   That would have made me so mad and  ruined the whole experiance for me.  I hope you get to just watch and enjoy (with nobody bothering you) the next time you see it.
> ...



don't worry...i'll be seeing it again as many times as my schedule will let me. and yes, i do think those people ruined the experience a bit for me. maybe some people could drown that kind of thing out, but not me.


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## tarabos (Dec 20, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz _
> *Saw Movie....Loved Movie.
> 
> Have few complaints.
> ...



i agree....the battles were a bit rough on the eyes at times to figure out what was happening...not as many "oh, that was cool" moments because you just couldn't see what was happening...

as for usage, i think jackson may be saving up some of the good part towards the end of TTT for ROTK to make it the grand finale of the trilogy that it should be. i expect ROTK to be epic, doesn't mean it will be...but i still expect it.


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## Elfan (Dec 23, 2002)

> btw...did you notice gollum bust out a little BJJ on Samwise in their first confrontation? [/B]



Ya I caught that, thought it was pretty neat.




> Concerning the dream sequence, all I can say is, nice dress. Pay close attention to it...thats all I'm saying. ;D



hehe ya that was an... interesting dress...


Now on to the movie...

it was *horrible*.  Fellowship was the most exciting cinematic experience of my life this was the worst.  O well everyone will see it anyway.


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## the_kicking_fiend (Dec 25, 2002)

All I can say is that it was worth seeing a second time just to see Legolas get on that horse in that god damn sweet flip cartwheel type thing (whatever it was).  God dam it that was good!

your friendly fiend,
D


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## J-kid (Dec 27, 2002)

Great movie! Cant wait til the 3rd and final part of this awsome movie set comes out.   I went to a huge movie theater down town to see it and payed a little more but it was well worth the money!  I give this movie 3 thumbs up


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## Aikikitty (Dec 27, 2002)

I only just saw The Two Towers for the 2nd time today.  I hope to see it many more times but I must say that I enjoyed it even more than the first time I saw it!  This time I was able to just sit back and enjoy everything since I knew what to expect.  I think Peter Jackson did a wonderful job!  You can't please everyone and it is a shame about what he changed and left out but the movies are excellent considering how it could've been done.  He's done an awesome job with developing all the characters.  Of course, the special effects and music are incredible too.    

Rant alert!:disgust:  
 One thing that was SO annoying while I was watching the movie this time was a couple of rude, inconsiderate parents brought at least 4 too young kids into the theater and they talked almost the ENTIRE time!  They were a few rows back but you could still hear every single "Is it 2 hours yet?" and "That's MY popcorn!!!".    I wanted to get up and smack those kids and especially their parents for bringing those little kids (the youngest was about 2 years old and the oldest was about 7), who apparently can't sit still and be quiet for 10 minutes much less 3 hours in there. :angry:  My mother almost went and got the manager but she (and nobody else that they were obviously bothering) did because no one wanted to miss anything on the screen.  I was partly able to tune them out but one thing that did help carry me through was that I remembered all the annoyances that you had Tarabos, so this didn't seem quite as bad.  Still... !  End Rant :disgust: 

For the record, there were many other kids (7 years old and up) that were VERY WELL behaved!   I give my undying gratitude to all the parents out there who teach their kids to NOT TALK (not to mention fighting and arguing) in movie theaters and also those parents who don't bring their tiny kids to movies like this when they know they can't sit that long.:asian: :asian:


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## tarabos (Dec 27, 2002)

> Rant alert!:disgust:
> One thing that was SO annoying while I was watching the movie this time was a couple of rude, inconsiderate parents brought at least 4 too young kids into the theater and they talked almost the ENTIRE time!  They were a few rows back but you could still hear every single "Is it 2 hours yet?" and "That's MY popcorn!!!".    I wanted to get up and smack those kids and especially their parents for bringing those little kids (the youngest was about 2 years old and the oldest was about 7), who apparently can't sit still and be quiet for 10 minutes much less 3 hours in there. :angry:  My mother almost went and got the manager but she (and nobody else that they were obviously bothering) did because no one wanted to miss anything on the screen.  I was partly able to tune them out but one thing that did help carry me through was that I remembered all the annoyances that you had Tarabos, so this didn't seem quite as bad.  Still... !  End Rant :disgust:



you know....you are allowed to turn around and tell people to silence their children. it usually works for me and my buddy when we go to a movie we've been longing to see. you're a young one though aren't you?...you may not be hardened enough and have been pushed far enough to the edge to do something yet...


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## Aikikitty (Dec 27, 2002)

> _Originally posted by tarabos _
> *you know....you are allowed to turn around and tell people to silence their children. it usually works for me and my buddy when we go to a movie we've been longing to see. you're a young one though aren't you?...you may not be hardened enough and have been pushed far enough to the edge to do something yet... *



I know.  There's no way I could silence those kids though.  They were a few rows behind me so I'd have to get the manager and I was too stubborn to leave the movie.   Can't let those brats 'win' after all.   Yes, I'm young (21) but I'm not "hardened" in dealing with annoying people.  I'm more likely to get mad and emotional which would just make things worse. 
When I read your first post on this thread, my first thought was 'why didn't you just change your seat or tell them to be quiet?'.  I figured the theater was too crowded so you couldn't move someplace else.  Anyway, I'm tired of being bothered in movie theaters by inconsiderate people (who walk all over people like myself).  Hopefully, next time I'll get up the courage to at least go find the manager!  I still really enjoyed seeing the movie anyway, of course.  Despite the annoyances. 

Robyn :asian:


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## Cthulhu (Dec 28, 2002)

I have the advantage of being a mutant freak, so I can usually just turn to the offending party and give them the ol' evil eye.  Works pretty well.

Cthulhu


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## KenpoTess (Dec 11, 2003)

#3 comes out in the states December 17th, Guess we shall be watching the first 2 this weekend before heading to the Theater.  I've enjoyed the series immensely


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## michaeledward (Dec 11, 2003)

> #3 comes out in the states December 17th, Guess we shall be watching the first 2 this weekend before heading to the Theater. I've enjoyed the series immensely


If you have the extended version of the DVD's (Special Edition or something like that) ... many of the things that were left out are added back in. 
* Merry & Pippen get pipe-weed in Isengard. A very intersting play on the chapter 'Flotsom & Jetsom'.
* Old Man Willow, from the omitted Tom Bombadil scenes, makes an appearence in Fangorn forest (Merry & Pippen get eaten by a tree).
* There is a bit more with Faramir, including a scene with Boromir from the time before Boromir went to Rivendell.



> All I can say is that it was worth seeing a second time just to see Legolas get on that horse in that god damn sweet flip cartwheel type thing (whatever it was). God dam it that was good!


This may count as a SPOILER ... so beware ...

I hear that during the Battle on Pelanor Fields, Legolas does an even more amazing 'god damn sweet flip cartewheel type thing' ... but this time, instead of mounting a horse, he gets on an Oliphant



> I expect ROTK to deal with the Spider within the first 30 min.


SHELOB!   
<chuckling> "the Spider" ??? Wasn't he the superhero in last years big movie?

By they way ... I have tickets already for the 10:30 AM show on Wednesday ... and also for the 7:00 PM show (with the family).

Peace - Mike


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## 2fisted (Dec 11, 2003)

I definatley loved the first two LOTR movies.  My one complaint is that they made Gimli into comic relief.


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## Blindside (Dec 11, 2003)

If you haven't seen the extended version, you definately want to get it.

Extended version spoilers ahead..




The huorns do show up at Helm's Deep, (though they only call them "the trees."  

Not only does Old Man Willow show up, but Treebeard uses one of Tom Bombadil's lines.  Nice reference to the excised portion of the Fellowship.

The Boromir/Faramir flashback really shows Boromir as a leader of men, something that wasn't really emphasized in Fellowship.

And Gimli is still comic releif, that really bugs me, but at least it shows him beating Legolas in the Orc Contest.  Pansy *** elf. 

Lamont


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 12, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Blindside _
> *If you haven't seen the extended version, you definately want to get it.
> 
> Extended version spoilers ahead..
> ...



woot! rock on! whee! hehe! (in that order to the spoilers above )

I can't wait for ROTK. There's a nice lil theater nearby me that's about $3.50 w/ student ID (which i so conviently have), and I'm sure my friends would be willing to go. Maybe we'll see some hobbitses...we did when we went to see TT *grin*

mmm...legolas...yummy...


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## Aikikitty (Dec 13, 2003)

I've already seen The Two Towers Extended Version on DVD but yesterday I got to watch it on the BIG screen!!!  So awesome!!!!  The Return of the King opens on Wednesday!!!  Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

Robyn opcorn:


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## KanoLives (Dec 13, 2003)

> _Originally posted by The Opal Dragon _
> *I've already seen The Two Towers Extended Version on DVD but yesterday I got to watch it on the BIG screen!!!  So awesome!!!!  The Return of the King opens on Wednesday!!!  Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Robyn opcorn: *



I'll second that.


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## satans.barber (Dec 13, 2003)

Two tickets in my pocket for Thursday morning 

It's gonna be good!

With regards to the Legolas jumping on the horse thing someone mentioned up there ^^ somewhere, I really wasn't impressed with that! There's a bit on teh DVD where Weta talk about how it was one of the most challenging bits of CGI to create (if anyone thought he really did that jump then wake up!), so having recognised the challenge I'm surprised it got out of the render farm looking so poor! Not only is there a really obvious change when it morphs to CGI (he positively blurs) it's just a really unnatural movement.

But then this is the problem with having CGI as a hobby, you can't help picking fault! Same as poking holes in fight scenes, and I know we ALL do that! hehe

Ian.


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## michaeledward (Dec 13, 2003)

> it's just a really unnatural movement.



Yeah ... but it is still so very very cool. I mean, I know his arm should be ripped out of its socket when the horse runs by ... but then he flings and flips himself onto the horse ... Woo Woo .... 

No doubt, it is the centuries of building up the Chi in his body that allows him to do that ... in fact, didn't I see a similar move in the Discovery Channels Xtreme Martial Arts special?

OK .. I got a little bit out of hand in posting from other topics :wink2:

Mike


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## rmcrobertson (Dec 13, 2003)

Yeah, but so far, the ONE moment in these movies that's made me wish I was there with a Barrett .50 (OK, OK, and knew what the hell to do with it) was Legolas snowboarding down the steps and firing arrows...is it just me, or are all the moments in these movies that a) suck, b) make one wonder about racism, c) raise homophiliac question, occuring between the elf and the dwarf? The only moments that make one wonder who's been screwing around with one too many focus groups? ( I think of Geo. Harrison in "Help:" "You'll like this. It's 'fab,' it's 'gear.'")

Oh well. Could be worse. Could be Lukas. And in the context of racism, as a friend pointed out today---and I'm not kiddding--the japanesy Trade Federation is obnoxious enough, but why is the one character who sits in back, carries a shotgun, can't speak English and wears crossed bandoliers named, "Chuy?"

Then there's the fact that he took the awards ceremony at the very end of the very first movie straight out of Leni Riefenstahl...

I need to go back and see, "Meet the Feebles," and "Bad Taste."


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 14, 2003)

I'm goin to see ROTK w/ my sister and her friend Eve on Wed.!  Watch out, ye who thinketh Orlando Bloom is not a hottie, for we three think other than you!

*grin*




...speaking of hot and not...the dude who plays Aragon is hot IN  makeup...out of makeup, however, bleh!


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 14, 2003)

> _Originally posted by rmcrobertson _
> *raise homophiliac question, occuring between the elf and the dwarf? The only moments that make one wonder who's been screwing around with one too many focus groups? *




Take it to Mr. Tolkien! They're like that in the books! Hell, Sam says that he loves Frodo, but I'm just assuming its love for a master that a servant can have. More of a deep caring for his well being.


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## KenpoTess (Dec 14, 2003)

Oh Good grief... *RME*


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## rmcrobertson (Dec 14, 2003)

Didn't mention Frodo, though of course these master/servant relations are--or should be--repugnant to Americans. They're just voices from the past, or more exactly an imaginary past, perfectly enjoyable for what they are.

I'm talking about the way that the ONLY times the spell got broken, for me anyway, there was something stupid going on between that elf and that dwarf...some ref to dwarf-tossing or whatever....which brought in the modern world, which brought out some of the weirdness of their relationships to a modern viewer.

Hey, ya think ya hated that one...we REALLY want to pass over the issue of race in these books and movies.

Still, could be worse...could be Lukas.

Now let's all go back and read, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics."


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 14, 2003)

Yeah, yeah. I'll just shut up now! No need for comments from the fan-girl peanut gallery!


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## 2fisted (Dec 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Blindside _
> *
> And Gimli is still comic releif, that really bugs me, but at least it shows him beating Legolas in the Orc Contest.  Pansy *** elf.
> 
> Lamont *



WORD


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## Cryozombie (Dec 15, 2003)

WHAT I WANNA KNOW...

Is why the most girly, effeminate, prissy character in the films is the one all the girls go nuts for?  (Leg-o-lamb)

Is there something latently, er... well... yeah, I'll just let that thought die here.


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 15, 2003)

Cuz he's pretty!!!


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## Bob Hubbard (Dec 15, 2003)

http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/fanq/c/h/christiane2/leggy_comic.jpg.html

Enough Said.


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## Bob Hubbard (Dec 15, 2003)

The sequels almost ready too....

Looks good!


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## TheRustyOne (Dec 15, 2003)

I think that explains it all, Kaith!


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