Movie Aesthetics

Despite the amount of spirits you claim to consume each day and er night, despite the supposed crankiness of your temperament, I am terribly impressed by the strength of mind in your posts, always well thought out and oddly enough, making buckets of sense. I have to agree that these seemingly not to be bothered about detours from the book are in fact big. Because like a glass filled with refreshing cold and very clear water, only one drop of dirt mucks the whole thing up. And Petty, since reading your brilliant stories a while back I cannot help thinking that you are in fact , while not afraid to tell it like it is, you are in fact gentle and sweet and longsuffering in many things. And that is a most honorable Shire -ish- quality. Don`t you think?

Nice to see you back again Leelee.

A friend of mine likens LotR's to a tapestry, if you start to pull on one thread the whole thing unravels its so intricately bound.

"you are in fact gentle and sweet and longsuffering in many things"

Longsuffering most definetly!

"always well thought out and oddly enough, making buckets of sense."

I keep telling people buckie is a tonic drink! That's the effect of the 0.001% miruvor.

I find Petty crass, vulgar and ill-informed - also he drinks too much - but for all that I love him too, leelee.

Ah, Orwell, that almost brought a tear to my eye, eyes, well nearly. Or was it those blasted white onions again?

Yes, you can call me Petty's true friend. You can always count on me to point out the good and the bad about him, and that kind of sentimentality nearly always brings a tear in my experience - with or without the onions. Call me a softy, for that's exactly what I am when it comes to that Laddie!

Now that's enough of that. Buckie can make a hobbit a tad emotional from time to time and we don't want any of that sort of thing going on now do we?

Leelee always makes me maudling, Eru Bless her. It's funny in a way, how she finds all the good in you, when I can only see the bad. I'm not sure what that says about us? Different personalities? Mind you, variety is the spice of life. As Eru says (or should say, I guess): "Not everyone goes to Valinor."

Orwell wrote: It's funny in a way, how she finds all the good in you, when I can only see the bad.

Bad in Petty, surely you are joking Or. you must be in jest. For whatever strong opinions he has or how many times he loses his way home, there is never anything malicious or cruel, no he has nothing 'bad in him to report." But alas our poor poor Odo, his little head is being eaten up by hypocrisy. So sad now, his very words have made little crusty places on his strange little head. I do pray fervently for him, for I should have like to have seen him as a wee babe, innocent, beautiful..............................unable to talk.

"I should have like to have seen him as a wee babe, innocent, beautiful..............................unable to talk."- leelee

I can't imagine a time when Odo couldn't talk. In fact I suspect he spoke his first words immediately upon being born and they were probably "Well that wasn't a very respectable entrance!".

I bare a strong resemblance to those remarks, leelee, and, therefore, find them totally unrespectable! As to you, Mr Tyrant, I've always thought you a tyrant... and of the most vulgar kind!

I am a little concerned about these views on Odo. Look, we all know he is an old and painful humbug, but he is one of the most loyal supporters of Forumshire. Indeed, he tells me he was instrumental in saving many lives in the Bad Times when folk here were all refugees with no Leader but him to lead them to this (after a fashion) Promised Land. He tells me he actually started this forum up - or at least had some kind of hand in the making... his humility, prevents him from claiming too much of the glory, or so he tells me. He blushed a little when he was telling me - which shows, I think, how uncomfortable he was in telling how he saved you all. He actually asked me not to tell you all what he has told me - but I think such a heroic person should have his deeds proclaimed, don't you? Come on, guys. Don't you think we should show him at least a modicum of kind regard - and thanks?

Erm.. thank you, Orwell - but I assure you I'd be most happy if folk weren't to make too much a fuss of this... What I told you, I mean, in total confidence... well, one doesn't want to take things.. err.. further than.. well, let's just not make a fuss... things are easily misunderstood... they are... really truly...

Odo leads from the back Orwell don't let that Banks nonsense fool you!

Orwell wrote:I am a little concerned about these views on Odo. Look, we all know he is an old and painful humbug, but he is one of the most loyal supporters of Forumshire. Indeed, he tells me he was instrumental in saving many lives in the Bad Times when folk here were all refugees with no Leader but him to lead them to this (after a fashion) Promised Land. He tells me he actually started this forum up - or at least had some kind of hand in the making... his humility, prevents him from claiming too much of the glory, or so he tells me. He blushed a little when he was telling me - which shows, I think, how uncomfortable he was in telling how he saved you all. He actually asked me not to tell you all what he has told me - but I think such a heroic person should have his deeds proclaimed, don't you? Come on, guys. Don't you think we should show him at least a modicum of kind regard - and thanks?

No.

How unkind!

Mmm.. Leelee seems to be given you the same amount of respect that everyone else here gives you, Odo. And, I must say, you do seem to have earned it...

Didn't want to start a new thread on this, because that would seem too pedantic of me. I'm only starting this thread because of a video RA posted in the Humor thread. And this seemed the best place to post my thoughts about this.

Anyway, so I saw the joke video RA posted and it looked ridiculous to me (not meaning, of course, the jokey aspect, which is meant to be ridiculous); but, since it's a parody, I felt it was only fair to check out the actual un-parodied scene on YouTube. It still seemed ridiculous and seems worse to me than it ever did

1. Seriously, can these orcs be any more incompetent? Attacking Legolas one at a time? One orc seems to actually be trying to run away, or else I don't know what his strategy is. The Orcs dropping from thrown stones?? I know hobbits are good at aiming and stuff, but stones are ineffectual against armor and helmets (or should be unless perhaps fired by a ballistic weapon). I couldn't help but be reminded of Return of the Jedi and its equally incompetent Stormtroopers (And let's not forget Sam's Mighty Frying Pan in Moria!) There is that one orc who appears to be giving Aragorn more trouble than Lurtz did until Super-Elf rescues him
   
2. I can't help but note that there are no orcs around Boromir when he's struck by an arrow; then they come out of nowhere when Boromir gets his second and then third wind. I don't think slow motion is a good enough explanation. And while Lurtz was shooting Boromir, why didn't the hobbits pelt him with their mighty ballistic stones? Might have broke his concentration a little, if they didn't outright drop him with their awesome mightiness. Then when Lurtz is about to shoot the killing arrow, Aragorn comes barreling out of nowhere. Neither Lurtz nor Boromir could see or even hear his approach?
   
3. Around 2:24 in the video, can someone tell me what those orcs are doing in the background?
   

I think the correct criticism of #2 is that there is no orc bodies around boromir when his busy getting struck by arrows - and there should be because he just flippin' killed them.  As for them popping up just when he's in the mood to fight, I think it's more like he hears them coming, so pops up and does his thing.  At 2:24 they seem to be running towards him.  Not to worry, he'll jump up and get them.

But yeah, orcs are like storms troopers.  Can't hit anything right in front of them, can't dodge a blow but are more than happy to wait mid swing while you duck, etc. Can you imagine how short movies would be without these lumbering types of bad boys?

halfwise wrote:I think the correct criticism of #2 is that there is no orc bodies around boromir when his busy getting struck by arrows - and there should be because he just flippin' killed them.

That too! Good point!

At 2:24 they seem to be running towards him

.
They look like they're fighting (or play-fighting) to me

fuckin' a. At least they're outside in the forest, a REAL forest!

True

I'd hate to see what Jackson would have concocted for the departure of Boromir in a post-TH LOTR film.

Watch the shot from 0:19 to 0:38.

That's an amazing tracking shot. The lighting is great, the way the camera moves from a level shot to a birds eye perspective is interesting.

Good and creative things can be accomplished when you are limited by your resources. Now Jackson has unlimited freedom in regards to his camera, and it's getting out of hand.

Agreed. Good bit of filming there.