I just couldn't leave the poor thread so deserted after it was opened.

On topic: my baby brother won't get to watch RotK before his leave from the army is over. He wanted to, so much, but he's one day too short, and he doesn't know yet when is his next free weekend, so he doesn't know when he's going to get to see it.

There was just so much to see that my mind didn't absorb everything.

This is me.

It is 6:55 - I am at work - the movie finished at 4:00. I went home and tried to go to bed but I could.not.sleep.

I've had the flu for the past three days so I was majorly hopped up on meds for the movie. Didn't help that PJ made me CRY MY EYES OUT. I loved it but I can't wait to see it again on Friday mostly because my crowd SUCKED. It was movie theater employees and the girl I was with wasn't into it and nobody cried or cheered or clapped - or stayed for the credits! People who don't obsess puzzle me.

If I wasn't crying I had chills. Or my mouth was hanging open. I can't decide who made me cry harder - Billy Boyd or Sean Astin. They were both amazing. And I didn't think it was possible for New Zealand to be any more breath taking than it was in the first two movies, but it was. I had issues - but I can't seem to remember most of them now.

It's still dark out and I'm at work. This is just strange.

eta: a tiny bit of spoiler font that is probably unnecessary anyway

posting from the hospital, waiting for Hubby to go in to surgery. Net connection in the lobby, why not?

Wonderfully glorious, but I can see the choppiness. I wonder if I'd feel the same way if I didn't know the books and I wasn't waiting for all my favorite bits. So much stuff got left out, esp. re: how characters wind up. Eowyn was wonderful, her moments were such a revelation to me when I first read the books in my teens, such a "Wow, girls can kick ass too!"

Still hate Arwen. Maybe if they hadn't had breathless-baby-doll-coo Liv Tyler playing her. She's not even that pretty. Well, maybe she's pretty and I just hate her.

And I am a cradle-robbing evil person, because I kept staring at Elijah Wood's belly-button and thinking "Play! Play with pretty pretty boy!" Damn damn damn, that's one gorgeous bit of male person. The whole last push up the mountain, gosh. And Sam was as wonderful as I'd hoped.

Will have more coherence after I've slept. And hopefully I can see it again soon, now that I know the Arwen scenes--er, bathroom breaks.

He's so pretty, I could cry.

When Legolas walked into Frodo's sick-room at the end, there was an audible gasp from the entire crowd. It was lovely.

3 hours of sleep is not enough. I want more.

(so not getting any work done today)

Jess, that earned a cheer from our crowd last night. There were some smaller cheers before and after it, but there was the most awe in that one.

I liked the crowd vibe, except it was intensely irritating to have to hear people's irritation with the length of the movie. Problem's kinda inherent to the books, and as was pointed out in the previous thread, they left at least one ending out anyway.

I wish it hadn't been that long, but I don't think there was enough to lose, and so much was missing!

Billy Boyd and Miranda Otto definitely made me cry, both times, but thankfully less the second time. I appreciate what an incredible job Sean Astin did, but they weren't my issues.

I also fell quite in love with Theoden, I realised. I'm not sure when that happened.

Legolas? Still the prettiest, still mine.

I too have issues, again mostly with the writing and the choices of what to show and what not to show. But day-um! My eyebrows climbed into my hairline at the muster of Rohan, and didn't come back down.

Our crowd was great, as you'd expect from people who'd fought for Triology Tuesday tix and stood in line for hours in costume. Legolas had several iconic moments, and they were all met with roof-raising cheers. Towards the end, the theater was filled with sniffing and gasping as everyone quietly sobbed.

There won't be another sequel, Pip.

All in all, PJ didn't do all things the way I'd have wanted, but ... that's very much back seat driving on my part -- it's not like I have a license.

I respect his attitude towards the books, even where it diverges from mine, because his love and intelligence and passion were so evident. I wish for bending of time rules to have fitted more in, for some magic way to seamlessly transcend the difference between book and movie.

But if it had all been up to me, the screenplays would have sucked.

Question: Was PJ in this? We spotted his kids twice, but not him.

PJ was the big guy with the whip on the deck of the Corsair ship.

Our crowd was awesome for the films--and there were so many crowd-cheering moments in the film that when I wasn't crying, I was smiling.

I didn't manage to spot PJ in this one.

We got a cool Trilogy Tuesday gift from WETA--a small molded frame with a single piece of film from each movie. Mine has Bilbo at the Party, Aragorn killing an Orc and Gandalf and Pippin entering Denothor's chamber. So fucking cool.

I also won the battle of my pregnant bladder--I made several trips during the first two films but was so engrossed in RotK that I didn't have to go a single time. And that was on top of the giant soda with free refills the whole night!

PJ is like a god to me.