Category: Directors

It came to me…

While TTT news flies fast and furious (stills, songs, and even the film’s opening are now available online), the extended version of Fellowship breaks today (expect updates around here to go way down.) To be honest, I flipped through most of the new stuff last night after a midnight madness sale, and I’d say 25 of the 30 new minutes are great additions. [Spoilers in next paragraph.]

The Galadriel/Lothlorien stuff works much better now, with both Galadriel and Celeborn taking on the flavor of Tolkien’s tome. Moreover, all of the underutilized members of the Fellowship – Boromir, Gimli, Merry, Pippen, and even Samwise – are given more characterization. And it just seems to take longer to get from place to place, which might take away from the film’s dizzying pace, but definitely captures more of the feel of the book. The only insertion I don’t like at the moment, other than Isildur‘s death (which seems unnecessary), is the additional Shire stuff at the very beginning. The cut to Frodo reading after the voiceover was a powerful one in the original version, but now there’s more filler about hobbits in between, courtesy of Bilbo. Perhaps it’ll grow on me (it’s a bit jarring to see a new version of a film you’ve seen fifty times, particularly when people are saying the same lines in a different take), but at the moment the “Concerning Hobbits” segment seems a bit leaden. (I dig the Green Dragon scene, though.) All in all, I love a lot of the stuff in here, and particularly the restored Lothlorien. Definitely worth a look-see…I’m having a few gatherings this week to show to friends, and I’m curious to see how first-time viewers react to the longer film. I suspect that this version is less accessible to non-Tolkienites than the original cut, which, on its own terms, is probably the better film.

On a side note, I also picked up the Episode II DVD (more out of dutiful resignation than of anything else) and, however strange some of the hobbit additions may seem, they’re infinitely better than some of the thankfully deleted scenes on this disc. It’s hard to figure out what’s more embarrassing – Lucas’ awful “Amidalas around the dinner table” dialogue or Natalie Portman’s stilted, wooden, and grotesquely bad delivery in every scene. If you buy one DVD this month, buy Fellowship.

Space Ghost, Earth Nazi.

Anyone else feel like taking a trip off-world today? George Clooney laments what have been in the Internet exclusive trailer for Solaris. Also in the trailer bin is this first look at Max, starring John Cusack as a German art dealer and Noah Taylor as his not-so-promising student, Adolf Hitler. Update: You can go ahead and add Daredevil to the mix as well…cheeseball Affleckisms and lame wire work have quashed any hopes I had for this project for the time being.

Books, Bagginses, Belluccis.


A slew of teaser posters for long-awaited flicks have hit the web in the past few days, included the one-sheet for Adaptation, four more character-oriented TTT posters, and this first look at the lovely Monica Bellucci as Persephone in the Matrix sequels. (Notice her head isn’t cut off as in the first six preview posters…as it turns out full versions of each of them can be seen at the official site.)

Foundations of Stone.

With a little more than a month to go (better start boning up now), TTT news is coming fast and furious. The soundtrack listing is out, meaning beaucoup spoilers for how the movie starts and ends (don’t go if you don’t want to know), along with a number of new pics. (My friend on the inside told me Bjork was going to be on the soundtrack, but I suspect he confused her with fellow Icelander Emiliana Torrini.) If you’re getting annoyed with all the LOTR coverage here, by the way…I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse.

My Precioussss….

The official poster for TTT debuts….looks like no love for Merry and Pippen this time, or Eomer, Faramir, Theoden, Treebeard, or Wormtongue, for that matter. Nevertheless, we’ve got less than two months until the big show, and exactly two weeks until the extended Fellowship…it’s a good time to be alive. Update: Are PJ and Sir Ian thinking of The Hobbit?

Way Out of Sight.


The official site for Solaris goes live, with a number of stills (basically George Clooney and/or Natasha McElhone running around the elegantly designed space station.) I was hoping to catch the original at the Film Forum but it’s already gone. If Soderbergh is right when he describes the remake as “2001: A Space Odyssey meets Last Tango in Paris,” it sounds like the premier date movie for the fanboy/fangirl nation (this side of The Two Towers, of course.)

A new power is rising.

Treebeard! Gollum! Balrog! Oliphaunt! Wargs! The Two Towers trailer has arrived, and it looks absolutely amazing…It’s a thing of beauty, and the Requiem for a Dream theme fits nicely too. I’m not sure how I feel yet about what PJ’s doing with Elrond (And where are he and Aragorn having this discussion?), but he’s earned my trust thus far. Update: Take it frame-by-frame.