The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Film Review

And we come to the end. Finally, Frodo (Elijah Wood) must face the final part of the journey as well as himself, but as ever, Sam (Sean Astin) is by his side. And the others are all involved in all manner of fighting, running, joking and generally being pretty darned awesome.

It’s just so much fun, excitement and aceness. And this time, I didn’t even mind the multiple endings. I felt that the wedding of Sam seemed to be there solely to calm people’s concerns that Sam and Frodo were more than friends. To that I say just get over it – but then, it was only a couple of minutes of my life. If it makes people happy, then good on them.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Music – Original Score, Best Music – Original Song (Into the West), Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Film Review

The journey continues, but now the Fellowship are split up. Frodo (Elija Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue toward Mordor to destroy the ring, now accompanied by Gollum (Andy Serkis). Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) have been kidnapped and Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Aragon (Viggo Mortensen) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) race to save them. Somewhere along the way, Pippin and Merry have found Treebeard and the other giant ancient tree creatures. And Gandalf (Ian McKellan) who we last saw fighting against a giant fire demon creature, has come back and continues to be awesome.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. It is exciting, fast yet long, with a fabulous battle and my favourite character in a long time; Treebeard. What a dude.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won Oscars for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Art Direction – Set Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Film Review

Having watched the first two hobbit films, I wanted to revisit The Lord of the Rings. All I really remember is that the last film had about seven endings and drove me nuts (especially as, being such a long film, I was desperate for the loo) and that it was all pretty epic.

So this, the first one. Wow. It’s everything I remembered. Big, loud, strong, violent, funny at times, full of heart and with both Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom looking more attractive than in anything before or since.

So, Frodo (Elijah Wood) has to take the evil ring to the fires of Mordor to destroy it. In this film, he joins with a bunch of humans, elves, hobbits and a troll, and (of course) Gandalf (Ian McKellen). I couldn’t recall the whole story, and so it was as exciting as the first time. I’m making this a movie marathon. Wonderful.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring won Oscars for Best Cinemaography, Best Makeup, Best Music, Original Score and Best Effects, Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Art Direction – Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Song (May it Be) and Best Sound.

Sin City (2005) Film Review

 

Based on the Frank Miller graphic novel of the same name and filmed almost entirely against green screen, Sin City takes a dip into the sordid world of Basin City. This is a world with pedophilia, prostitute wars and corrupt cops.

Along with general action films, I really like the genre of films made from comics and graphic novels. Sin City takes this to a whole new level. The entire look of the film is like a dark comic strip, with lots of dark shadows and limited use of colour. What’s more, it is extremely and horrifically violent, but in a way that, even though it is clearly fake, it is uncomfortable to watch. I think this is a truly wonderful film, and I’m very excited to see that another Sin City is due to be released next year.