Julia wrote: > > I really enjoyed the movie proper. I cried a bit at the end. (That was > the second time I cried a bit, having finished _Ender's Shadow_ that > arfternoon.) I'm hungry for the next installment. > My whole family went to the movie Wednesday at 3:30 (including my "adopted" daughter Neli from Zambia. We know Neli because my daughter Amy met her in Zambia when she went on a mission trip and because her mother has gone to seminary in Austin TX last year. Neli is now going to Austin College, the same school that Amy is in, and she comes home with Amy for holidays.) During the first half of the movie, I was aware of how it fell short of my epectations.
However, I had read a number of overwhelming reviews, and my expectations were sky-high. I was somewhat distracted by the fact that I knew the story backwards and forwards. I _really_ admired the book because I have a feel for the 30 years of work developing the legends that support the story and how it is the definitive piece of work in this area. Since I am a sped redder, I tend to re-read the LOTR every year or two, so I know it fairly well. So, there were no surprises at all, which made it harder to appreciate the plot and the character development. Indeed, during most of the movie, I was comparing my vision with the directors. I think his was good, but the differences were distracting at time. Having said that, I still think it was a great movie. I will probably go see it again after Christmas, when the crouds are lower. One humorous moment was at the end when Neli said "that's terrible" at the end of the movie. She didn't realize that she was going to be left hanging for a year. Dan M.
