The Lord of the Rings (1978) – Ralph Bakshi

The summer of ’84 was one of the defining summers of my life. It saw a lot of changes in my life, and was also the first time that I read The Lord of the Rings. I was swept up in the world, and was delighted that I’d read all three books so quickly, and…

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – Peter Jackson

  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a love letter to and for Tolkien fans, and it was a joy to walk the lands of Middle Earth again (and yes, I got weepy eyed when I found myself back in the Shire, and in that comfy hole in the ground known as Bag End). Non-fans…

There and Back Again: Remembering The Return of the King

The Return of the King… oh… I cried… And I know people often complain about how many endings the film seems to have. Personally I was ok with that, because I never wanted to say goodbye to any of them. I never wanted to leave Middle Earth. It was also recognized by the Academy as…

There and Back Again: Remembering The Two Towers

The Two Towers… The thing I was most looking forward to in my return to Middle-Earth with this film was the rumor that the battle of Helm’s Deep was supposed to run for a good 40 minutes! That was insane, a single on-screen battle running half the length of most action films? Wow. And of…