I got the extended DVDs of FotR and TTT for Xmas. Very happy.

I watched the first X-Men movie last night, and I was somewhat traumatized that Gandalf could be such a bad guy. I think I have trouble letting go of characters.

Because of the order I saw them in, I have no problem with Gandalf being Magneto. Legolas can be whoever he wants, as long as he kills people. Aragorn should only be himself.

Theoden? I actually screamed at The Scorpion King (which I liked well enough). Bernard Hill must never act again.

Legolas can be whoever he wants, as long as he kills people.

I had no problem with Legolas in the Big Gay Pirate movie, because his hair was totally different, and he got dirty, which clearly proved he was no elf. Plus I think that with dark hair, he looks WAY too much like Luke Perry.

Granted, Ian McKellen's hair is totally different as Magneto, but it still bothered me. I think it's because his voice is so distinctive.

I was surprised at how not distracted by Gandalf I was watching X2 a few days ago.

Also (watching Alias S2 DVDs), I've decided that I want Ian McKellan to do a movie with Victor Garber and Hugo Weaving. (This can be the same movie as the one where Hugo Weaving, Adrien Brody, and Peter Gallagher are all in a gang together. They can intimidate people with their eyebrows.)

I watched the first X-Men movie last night, and I was somewhat traumatized that Gandalf could be such a bad guy. I think I have trouble letting go of characters.

If you think that's bad, you should see APT PUPIL or RICHARD III. Or not. shrugs

If you think that's bad, you should see APT PUPIL or RICHARD III. Or not.

Or Macbeth where Sir Ian plays the lead role with Judi Dench as his Lady M. He's also shirtless occasionally, something I really didn't feel the need for with Gandalf. I think it's easier for me to separate his work in this role vs. Gandalf because McKellan is so much younger here.

Since I found out my brother is a newly made LotR geek, I bought him a better suited and only slightly belated Xmas present last night - the Weapons and Warfare book. Which, of course, I read.

I liked it a lot and my love of Richard Taylor and his staff grew leaps and bounds if that is even possible. I didn't know that Narsil was FIVE FEET LONG! Dude. That's a big sword.

I have to admit to you all where I get the heads up on the interviews - this really fantastic and crack-like Dom fansite no one i think is in my tree. My secret is out.

I didn't know that Narsil was FIVE FEET LONG! Dude.

Okay,wait, I know we had this discussion before, but... how do you draw a sword that is belted at your waist, if the sword is five feet long? I mean, it has to clear its sheath, so the hilt of the sword has to be five feet above your waist, right? And you hold the sword by the hilt, because (a) cut off fingers and (b) it looks really silly drawing a sword hand-over-hand down the blade.

So to draw a 5-foot sword from a sheath -- okay, take me. I'm 5'6", but 36" at the hip. So I've only got 30" of body above the waist, and of that probably 20" is hip-to-shoulder. How long is an arm? Say, another 30"? I don't think I could physically draw that sword unless it were belted around my knees. (I mean, yeah, luckily Viggo is taller than I am, but not that much taller.)

Is Narsil/Anduril just unsheathed the whole time we see it? I mean, it's in Strider's (or Elendil's, or Isildur's) hands a lot, but do we see it drawn, ever?

Also, if you see Gods & Monsters where McKellen macks on Brendan Fraser, you'll have a little bit of Gandalf-identity-crisis....

The five-foot length could include a foot of hilt, easily. It's also not unusual for long swords to be sheathed over the back....