I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Didn't you love that part? And the battle? And the horses? And...yeah.

That pretty much sums it all up. As mentioned yesterday, I decided to skip the hoohah and not catch the midnight show, and instead caught the 2p matinee. Since that still means I've seen it before a good 96% of America at this point, I'm still a bit smug. I left the theater watching at least 100 people in line at 5:30 for the 7 & 7:45 viewings and felt mildly superior--at 2p, there's no line. In fact, the theater's pretty empty at 1:15. It did fill up by 2p, but that's to be expected. We had previews as well, and I must say that, with the exception of The Mask Too (Jim Carey as a 15 month old? Riiiight), I was the ideal demographic. Beginning with an Ashton Kutcher film The Butterfly Effect(he might win me over yet, this might be his chance), a Vin Diesel movie The Chronicles of Riddick(big woo!), a Josh Duhamel movie Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!(guilty pleasure), a horse movie Hidalgo(the Snowy River of 2004), and Harry Potter Azkaban(um, hello? Hogwarts sweatshirt owner over here) all sound better than what the midnight crew suffered thru! (Angelina Jolie can't save every/any movie, and The World of Tomorrow is no exception)

Right. So, the verdict:

The Return of the King ties up all the loose ends and plots of the first two installments of the trilogy, complete with battles, blessings, new friends and old alliances...and the end of that pesky ring. Although it runs a hefty 3h 20m, more could have been added and I doubt anyone would complain. Well worth every penny to see on the big screen a few times, simply to take it all in. All in all--a good movie for the cold winter months.

Unless you've been a hermit for the past 2 years, you know the plot. Hobbit finds ring, hobbit gets caught, wizard sends hobbit's nephew on a mortal quest that ensnares 8 more brave souls to help destroy the ring once and for all. Well, all that and some wild animals, crazy battles, and the usual assortment of white hats (and the black hats who hate them). The audience is truly lucky to have Peter Jackson at the helm because the man has *vision*, and that vision is backed by Bob & Harv's deep pockets. I realize that I'm in the vast majority of the moviegoing public when I admit that I haven't read the 1216 pages that make up the movie's origin, and therefore shouldn't feel guilt. I started it when a youngster, but I got bored and had enough other books to read (ie Dune) that I didn't miss anything. I'd read it now just to fill in a few gaps, but not to learn Entish or debate the exclusion of certain characters. I'm watching it spoiler-free (in every way), and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Nothing seemed to be missing--no holes, gaps, loose ends, nothing. Ignore the furor over Christopher Lee getting cut out, and just sit back and relax. It's a no-holds-barred stomp thru Middle Earth that will leave you alternating gasps of surprise with laughter. And there's nothing like the righteous wrath you feel as the good guys mowing the orcs down with their horses. Stunning. Simply stunning.

The story ended, the lights came up, and we all waited in respect and awe as the credits began to roll.

I tell you, that's the kind of audience that you want to be with. (Of course, it could be that all our joints didn't work after such a long time, but I'm an optimist.)

~~~~~

Tomorrow: Girl with a Pearl Earring.