(well, I spent the first hour flipping back and forth between it and The Frighteners on SciFi)

That must have made for an interesting combined movie....

It was only the second time I've seen The Frighteners, and the first time I've seen most of the first hour, but I keep on missing the introduction of the whacked-out FBI agent played by Jeffrey Combs. What's with his obsession with the Michael J. Fox character? Anyway, it's a decent flick that gets better as it gets more serious, like LotR does. Fox really does a good job playing the increasingly stressed out Frank. Oh, and another question: during the FBI agent's questioning, he asks Frank why Frank's shaking, and assumes that Frank is pulling some kind of mojo on him. Was the shaking part of Fox's Parkinson's Disease, or part of the script?

Was the shaking part of Fox's Parkinson's Disease, or part of the script?

I'm sure it was the script -- that's about as abject as the character gets, being accused of murdering his wife and unable to express his horror and fear. I thought it was incredibly effective, showing his shaking hand over his face rather than the standard big whooping sobs that you'd ordinarily see.

That was a very strange movie, pingponging between the terrible and the hilarious. I did like it, but I never quite know how to feel about it as a whole movie; I can only describe it properly as a series of good moments.

Which, I think, works better in really long movies than in short ones.

Also, a friend of mine heard that RotKEE might be coming out really early -- like in May. . . have any of you guys heard that one?

Oooh, if it's true, that's good news. But I've also heard that the RotKEE is going to clock in at 5 hours, and if that's true (which I hope it is), I don't see how they could possibly finish it that soon.

Actually, I'm guessing that this is the same misunderstood quote that's happened every single year that these movies have been out.

It goes like this, PJ, in an interview, most likely with a NZ paper or something, gives a quote about the next movie being out "next summer."

Somebody in america (where very large numbers of people just don't know that the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere) reads the quote, and thinks the next movie has been pushed up to come out in July, or something.

I suspect it's something similar again here. PJ said something about the ROTK EE being released "next spring" or something, and he meant November.

Look! LotR Valentine's Day Cards!

(well, I spent the first hour flipping back and forth between it and The Frighteners on SciFi)

t utterly fails to come up with a clever way of mentioning that PJ directed that too

Actually, I'm guessing that this is the same misunderstood quote that's happened every single year that these movies have been out.

Hmph. Spoilsport.

Hmph. Spoilsport.

Sorry. Sorry. I take it back.

utterly fails to come up with a clever way of mentioning that PJ directed that too

Yep, I was making my own Jackson semi-double feature! I did pretty good in the last half of 2003--saw three Jackson movies for the first time (Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures, and RotK). Still have not seen his early stuff (Brain Dead/Dead Alive or Meet the Feebles), and to be quite blunt, am not too sure if I want to.

Oh, and in 2003 I also tuned into the first part of the remake of Psycho (turned it off after Anne Heche went belly-down on the side of the tub--color and the lack of Anthony Perkins completely ruined this movie), as well as saw A Walk on the Moon, A Perfect Murder, and most of GI Jane (loved the first, meh on the second, really meh on the third) for Viggo.

I tried to watch Dead Alive, and didn't make it past the first half-hour -- it was making me so very, very nauseous. I haven't made it through all of Meet the Feebles yet either.

A lesser-known (but available on Netflix) PJ that I highly recommend is Forgotten Silver, a mockumentary he did for NZ public television. It's the most brilliant thing EVER.

Sorry. Sorry. I take it back.

t returns to bubble of denial where the EE comes out in May and is 5 hours long and is delivered to my house personally by Billy Boyd

It's the most brilliant thing EVER.

Probably helps if you're familiar with film history including Who Are The Lumiere Brothers? and Why Should I Give A Shit About that Klan-luvin' D.W. Griffith?