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.

Ah, right. I remember. More hair and makeup than normal.

I'd also like to note for the record that LieseS is a goddess for selling me her Trilogy Tuesday tickets. It is an experience I will always cherish.

There's no doubt that PJ's sense of humor, etc, is more in tune with the viewing audience than mine, and if I compare movies to books, then yeah, I would've done it differently. Maybe not better, but differently. But from a completely movie-only standpoint, I felt the screenplay had some weaknesses. Like Jess said, these will probably be rectified in the EE, but I think that's cheating.

For example: (spoiler font, GO!)

What happened to the other 8 Nazgul? They didn't just run home like the troll or fall into a chasm.

Why the big buildup for Faramir with no real resolution?

How did Merry go from dying on the battlefield to riding to the Morannen?

The whole story arc with Arwen made not one bit of sense. She's suddenly tied to the ring? She's suddenly actually dying and not just mortal? If that's true, shouldn't she have married Frodo or Sam, since they took direct action against the ring?

What happened to the one-eyed piggy orc commander?

Some of these may be actually answered in the movie, and I just missed it because it had been a long day. Fortunately I get to see it again Friday!

I do think that the ultimate message was that good leaders have beards.

Oh, and my little frame thing had Frodo, Gandalf and the Gang of Three in Fangorn, and Pippin on the balcony.

You are all making me so jealous. I'm so sad I have to wait for my 10-year-old nephew to "surprise" me with RotK tickets for Christmas!

Ah, right. I remember. More hair and makeup than normal.

More hair than normal? How could that be possible?!