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: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) – Peter Jeackson

  From the off Peter Jackson’s second installment in The Hobbit trilogy feels like a stronger, more confident picture than it’s still enjoyable predecessor, An Unexpected Journey. Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, the characters have already been established, as well as a large portion of the journey has already been undertaken. Threats have…

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…