ROTK ROCKed :)

Having said in an earlier post that I didn't feel the same overwhelming excitement to go see ROTK on opening day as I have for the last two films and that I would probably wait a day or two before going to see it, I completely negated that statement by going to the midnight premiere with my daughter. Turns out that on the Tuesday before it opened, I caught a whiff of that excitement and made a total last minute decision to go. I am so glad I did. It was worth feeling like a zombie the next day because I didn't go to sleep when we came home. I knew if I did, I'd never get up for work and I couldn't miss a day so close to xmas. So I just drank coffee and flitted about online.

Anyway, neither I nor my daughter felt tired or restless during the 3 and a half hour film because we were mesmerised from the very opening image. This was, for me, a culmination or anticipation, excitement and complete faith that Peter Jackson would make it exactly right for devoted fans. Did he ever. I've never followed the journey of a film as much as I have this trilogy. I've never delved into the filmmaking process as much as I have with this either thanks in large part to the bountiful extras included on all of the DVDs. I feel in some small way, a part of these films and they'll always be a part of my life just as the books are.

I knew I would cry during ROTK, I just didn't know what elements would do that to me. Well I sobbed like a girl pretty much through the entire last hour of the film. The majesty of the moments, the emotional courage and strength shown by even the smallest of people. It was simply incredible and such a joy to be in some small way a part of this magnificent undertaking. We've been to see it twice now, and I'm sure we'll go at least a couple more times after the crowds die down. I was taken out of the moment now and again by some absolutely horrible wanker teenyboppers sitting behind us who thought this was a Rocky Horror event and proceeded to crack jokes between dialogue. It was the first time in my life I've ever been angry enough to turn around and hiss, 'Shut the FUCK up!' at someone in a cinema and I think I scared them. I got an apology anyway. So please, if you're in a cinema seeing a film, just watch the fecking movie and save any snide/rude comments for after it's over. Don't talk during it. Turn your damn mobile phone off, most of all, don't sit behind me if you're prone to any of the above. I'll kick your ass. :)

Anyway, I've already seen the nitpick threads appear in a few forums online, mostly written by anal bookpurists. Argh. I can't understand how one cannot simply let go of the purist in themselves and just enjoy the spectacle of accomplishment that's been done with turning those wonderful, but somewhat convoluted, full of a million different characters, and thousands of pages long books. I always say to one particular purist I know, 'When you're a filmmaker, you go right ahead and turn those books into films yourself and see if you can do it better. Oh and be sure to have a film studio breathing down your neck whinging about the length of your true-to-the-book films, the money you're spending, execs who want to add completely irrelevant plotlines to hook that coveted 18-25 year old male demographic, etc etc.. Until then you do all of that, shut the fuck up and enjoy it already, sheesh.'

I've mentioned before I love the books. I've read them over and over for years and years. But I don't understand why it's so hard for some book fans to comprehend the monumental tasks involved in turning something like Tolkien's work into films. Why the hell hasn't it been attempted before now? Because it's fucking hard, that's why. Why is it so hard for the purists to grasp that single, simple factor? Sure we've all got favourite bits in the books we would have liked to see brought to life. But at the end of the day, everything that did make it into the film was so grand, and so wonderful, that that is enough for me. I would have liked to see Eowyn and Faramir fall in love too, but hey, it's a separate plotline that would have made the film even longer than it already is. We got a glimpse of it anyway during the crowning sequence. Let go your anal ways you wacky purist types.

Well I dunno why I went into a rant there. I guess because it just irks me that people would rather rip something wonderful apart than actually sit back and think, 'Hey you know? That was a pretty cool film.' Why would anyone want to spend their lives looking at the negative stuff? How... sad.