Once a LOTR Fan, Always a LOTR Fan

I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring in the theatre in January 2002, about a month after it came out. I hadn't read the books at that point, but I knew I'd probably like it since I was a big Harry Potter fan and this seemed similar in some respects. I had no idea, however, just how much I'd love not only the first movie, but the following two. Well cast, well acted, fairly true to the books (which I did read, btw), with some of the best fight scenes ever filmed and wonderfully quotable lines ("Don't talk to it; don't encourage it" has been our mantra about the elder daughter since seeing The Two Towers). Anyway, TNT is showing the trilogy this weekend, beginning tonight with Fellowship of the Ring (Jeff's favorite), followed by The Two Towers tomorrow night (Hannah's favorite), and concluding with Return of the King (mine and Katherin's favorite) on Sunday. And yes, I'll be watching all three again. And I'm sure once again I'll be amazed at Peter Jackson's vision and ability to bring to life a world I wish I could inhabit.

~taminator40

There and Back Again Review

I recently read the next book on tbr_challenge list (see side bar), Sean Astin's There and Back Again. I'd looked forward to it because I'm such a huge fan of the movies and the books, and I was suitably impressed by Astin's work as Samwise Gamgee in the movies. Unfortunately, his book really could have used a good editor; the book itself spends an inordinate amount of time on the filming of Sean's other films, which would have been fine if the book didn't bear the title it does. While there were some redeeming moments in the book, and I loved the idea of glimpsing behind the scenes, overall I'm mighty disappointed. Here's the link to my amazon.com review:

http://tinyurl.com/3ys9wp

At least I've knocked out another book that's spent way too long living in Mt. TBR, and I did indeed finish it, which I consider quite an accomplishment, actually.

Now I'm off to finish my current brain candy book, Kilgannon. Ah, romance...something you don't have to think about at all.

~taminator40