I should have known. After all, it was half price night at the "Dollar Movies." But I really figured it would be me and some diehard fans in the theater last night. How was I to know so many other folks wanted to see "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers?"
It was packed!!! I got there late because I bought some bottled water and chocolate covered raisins to take in with me. It may be called the "Dollar Movies" but they make the money back at the concession stand. So it started at 7:45 and I arrived about 7:52. As I got in line a lady asked how many seats were left and I just smiled expecting to hear "Are you kidding, I've only sold 6 tickets so far." Nope. They guy said "Fourteen, but that may not be accurate because that doesn't count sneak-ins. It is probably full. You can go take a look if you want before you buy," and she did. I walked up and as I bought my ticked the guy said "There may not be any seats left." I asked if I would get my .50 back and he just ignored me and gave me my ticket.
I walked in and indeed it was a packed house. I looked and looked, and did find one seat in the left corner, center row. It wasn't bad, but if I had gone with a friend or loved one, we would have sat apart or on the front row. No way am I doing the front row thing. That is reserved for tweens, once you hit about 16 it isn't fun anymore. I looked around and saw some people even standing in the back, leaning against the wall. It was literally, standing room only. Amazing!
Now, on to the movie....
First off, pardon me for not knowing the names of most of the characters. Other than the Hobbits and Gandalph (sp), I just don't know them. Heck, I only saw LOTR one time (although I do own the extended DVD which I need to see).
I really liked it. I wasn't blown away by it (like the Matrix Reloaded) but maybe that was because I'd seen the Big Battle in TV clips so many times. Or maybe it was the fact that on second-run theaters the screen quality isn't that great. The images weren't as sharp, and the movie was projected on a smaller screen than the other theaters. The Big Battle scenes weren't jaw-dropping, and I think they should have been. I blame the theater I saw it in for that, but otherwise, it was impressive.
It is pretty sad that they built that King's throneroom on that hill just for the movie then tore it all down. When you look at the detail, it is hard to believe that they didn't at least move it somewhere for folks to tour or something.
Did I miss something? What did LivElf decide to do? Go with her Agent Dad or stay and wait for the stubble-y warrior to return to her? He seems to have eyes for the King's niece anyway.
Where did Gandalph get all those soldiers? The King's nephew didn't have that many soldiers when the Fellowship met him in the field.
Kinda odd that they called it "The Two Towers" when the Two Towers in the movie didn't get much screen time.
The CGI character Gollum was great in the sense that he almost didn't look CGI (unlike that troll thing in the last Harry Potter movie). After about 5 minutes, I totally forgot he wasn't there when they filmed the movie. But Gollum really got on my nerves after a while. I realize he is essential to the movie, but it didn't take long for him to wear on my nerves.
Most amazing thing about the movie? I didn't have to get up to pee once!
All in all, I really liked it. I would have rather gone with someone I could visit with about the movie instead of going alone. But, it was either go solo or wait for the DVD. I bit the bullet and went.
It was a good evening, and I made it home and into bed by 11:30pm. Heh, I am showing my age with that last comment, ain't I?
So, now I can finally go back and read all y'alls reviews on the movie. Post a link here if you care to, I am interested to join the discussion (6 months later).
You mean all that "my precioussss" stuff got on your nerves? hee
/comfort
Read the LOTR book, preferably the one that is the trilogy all in one. You will enjoy it more than the movies and you will understand it better.