Film Reviews
- 1. Film Reviews
- 3. Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Brooking no argument, history should quickly regard Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship Of The Ring as the first instalment of the best fantasy epic in motion picture history. This statement is worthy of investigation for several reasons. Fellowship is indeed merely an opening salvo, and even after three hours in the dark you will likely exit the cinema ravenous with anticipation for the further two parts of the trilogy. Fellowship is also unabashedly rooted in the fantasy genre. Not to be confused with the techno-cool of good science fiction, nor even the cutesy charm of family fare like Harry Potter, the territory of Tolkien is clearly marked by goo and goblins and gobbledegook. Persons with an aversion to lines such as, “To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!” are as well to stay within the Shire-like comforts of home (their loss). With those caveats in place, it bears repeating: fantasy does not come finer. There are electrifying moments — notably the computer-assisted swooping camera through Isengard as it transforms into a factory for evil — when Jackson’s flight of fancy approaches the sublime as the romantic poets would understand it: inspiring awe. Leaving aside the thorny issue of Tolkien die-hards and their inevitable gripes — “What no Tom Bombadil?” — Jackson’s screenplay (written in collaboration with Fran Walsh and PhillipaBoyens) is both bolder and more judicious than Steven Kloves’ surprisingly timid retread of Harry Potter. In particular, rescuing the romance of Arwen and Aragorn from the footnotes and the elevation of Saruman to all-action bad guy actually has a corrective influence on Tolkien’s often oblique and female-sparse source material. There are problems, though. The three-hour running time is high on incident and low on discernible form. After successive detours to Elf habitats Rivendell (the watery home of Elrond) and Lothlórien (the forest home of the Lady Galadriel), the uninitiated might well ask why these crazy Elf kids can’t just live together and spare us all this attenuated dramatic structure. More importantly, the action clearly climaxes in the desperate flight from the Mines Of Moria, where the largely seamless SFX is showcased in the best possible light — total darkness — but the narrative demands a different, downbeat ending. Indeed, but for some fine emotional playing from Bean, Mortensen, Astin and Wood, the final fight might feel like a particularly brutal game of paintball in Bluebell Wood. But then, the real battles are yet to come... Reviewer: Colin Kennedy Empire Magazine Rating: 5 stars
- 4. Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Unlike so many big budget productions, the first movie instalment of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth trilogy doesn't condescend to a teenage audience, but creates a sophisticated universe which abides by its own laws: a primordial world older than history and legend, back in the realm of myth. Here young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Wood) comes into possession of the ring of power - a talisman of evil so potent it corrupts everyone who touches it. Under the guidance of the wizard Gandalf (McKellen), Frodo escapes the clutches of the fearsome ring wraiths along with his faithful friend Sam (Astin), and heads for the kingdom of the elves, where they hope to thwart the encroaching forces of doom. Mostly, the film makes light work of Tolkien's richly Celtic imagination. You don't so much admire its virtuoso camerawork as lose yourself in the grandeur of the Gothic design, the bucolic Shire and mountain ranges riddled with mines and fire pits. Granted, there's a sermonising element which invites parody, but it never wants for menace (parents should probably steer young children clear). In unveiling the Holy Grail for action- fantasy aficionados, director and co-writer Peter Jackson has begun a series to rival Star Wars in the pantheon. Reviewer: Time Out Film Guide IMDB Rating: 5 stars
- 5. Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring A band of hobbits, elves, dwarves and men endeavor to destroy a magic ring that could bring down the world and reinstate the dominion of an evil overlord. Its whereabouts were unknown for 3,000 years, and then the ring fell into the possession of Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), a well-to-do hobbit who had set out for parts unknown, a rare move among the peaceful, home-loving people of the Shire. On his "eleventy-first" birthday, Bilbo bequeaths the ring, which was forged to "control all others," to his nephew, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). To keep evil at bay, Frodo must return the ring from whence it came, Mount Doom in the fearsome land of Mordor. Frodo, accompanied by loyal companion Sam Gamgee (Sean Astin), embarks on a long odyssey. Others join the crew along the way, which is fraught with perilous clashes against monstrous foes. The opening sequences on Mount Doom — juxtaposed with the bucolic world of the Shire — are breathtaking. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn has the best role among Frodo's crew — though in the book, where it initially was unclear whether he was heroic or villainous, he was more intriguing. Ian McKellen has the gravity and right magical touch as Gandalf, the good wizard who mentors Frodo, and Christopher Lee is frightening as Saruman, the great wizard gone bad. Liv Tyler plays Arwen, an elf princess, but she has such a minimal part that she is virtually forgettable. The only other female is Galadriel, a queen of the elves, played commandingly by CateBlanchett. One filmgoer's reaction to the meticulously designed epic — "It bored me, but I thought it was really good" — is contradictory but not far off the mark. The movie is beautifully realized. The production design is a marvel, and the special effects are dazzling, notably a wizardly fireworks display and the enchanting elf town of Rivendell. Rings has moments of edge-of-the-seat excitement, too, such as when the dark riders come looking for Frodo. But it's occasionally tedious when it should be captivating. The battle scenes are presented more like video games than fierce clashes. Ultimately, this morality play will resonate powerfully in these post-Sept. 11 days. What's more, there's little doubt that the movie will be the lord of the box office this week, running rings around the competition. Reviewer: Claudia Puig USA TODAY Rating: 4 stars
- 8. Get Out! – My review Unlike a large amount of short films that I have seen before, the French animation ‘Get Out!’ has an incredibly original and psychological plot; it challenges the audience’s expectations in the way that what we think we are seeing is a man with severe agoraphobia when in actual fact we are witnessing a very intelligent interpretation of the human birthing process. Undoubtedly the most gripping part of this short is the unexpected ending, even the most brilliant minds would not have been able to foresee the conclusion to this creative piece of film. Overall I feel that this short film has been produced exceptionally well and would recommend it to anybody.
- 9. Online reviews In my opinion, online reviewing is more important that conventional channels such as TV, magazines and newspapers because we not only get a professional opinion but we get a review from the perspective of film fans. Personally I would tend to trust an online review more because they can be posted by anybody, therefore the review is less likely to be biased.