Yeah, that’s why Martin takes ten years between books. It’s all about the sales. It’s fine to prefer Tolkien. He pretty much invented the modern fantasy epic, but you don’t have to make pejorative, and completely wrongheaded, comments about a writer who, for all his many, many faults pours his heart and soul into the world he created, which has a lot more dimensions than Tolkien’s. Maybe Martin will finish, or maybe not, but Game of Thrones is a very significant work of art.
I just assumed that he was blocked. I have no interest in Game of Thrones. I've tried to watch a few episodes, and it was just repulsive to me.
The films definitely hold up for me. I have some very minor gripes about the interpretation, and a few of the choices, but no new gripes ever appeared since back then. I think the films look great, the SFX hold up fine for me even if imperfect in places - I continue to see cheaper and worse CG in many of today's lesser films, nearly twenty years after. I also far prefer the Extended Editions, even if ROTK drags a bit in a few places, because The Two Towers is far improved in its longer version. The first film, Fellowship, remains my favorite and is really the best of them I think, though obviously it can't stand on its own without the others.
Can I ask what was the reason it was repulsive to you? I’m curious, but I remain pretty ambivalent, overall, in terms of the overall opinion, but I am interested in yours.
I know I'm in the minority.....cheesy and cliched. I think the cinematography is good, but can't stand the movies themselves.
I heard all these folks talking about it, and I tried to watch the first episode and it was so grimy and repulsive that I didn't bother to finish it. Later, I heard that a particular actress was in it, so I sought out that episode - only to see her character beaten to death at the order of a psychopathic child. There are some things that I just don't want to see, and popularity has absolutely no influence on me, so I didn't bother to investigate it further.
“Repulsive” remains a verb you’re really not clarifying (at least, for me) satisfactorily. If you didn’t like it, fine. You don’t owe me, or anyone else, any explanation. You didn’t like it; enough said. Frankly, I really don’t care that much either way. Later.
It is possible that someone could present a case to me as to why I should watch it, but for the most part all I've heard is variations on "You should watch it because everyone else watched it" which tends to work against me. I did watch and enjoy Breaking Bad, so it's not about seeing ethically compromised characters, and that was some incredible writing and acting. For instance, right now, I'm watching and enjoying the HBO series Barry, so it's not that I have a problem with killers. But the episodes I've seen, and the trailers I've watched, none of them made Game of Thrones appealing.
That’s fine. I’m not going to be one that tries to convince you to watch something you don’t like. The world turns in many different ways for its populace.
Ehhhh... you never know the fine details in Hollywoo marriages. It was clear to me from the 90-minute interview with Howard that Orlando Bloom is at peace, happy with his life, glad to be working, appreciative of the people around him, and very philosophical and spiritual of the world in general. He came across as a surprisingly thoughtful, down to earth, Buddhist guy. Very much willing to face up to his past mistakes, take responsibility for his life, and deal with life day to day. One of Orlando's secrets is that he had terrible health problems in the past, including a badly broken arm, broken ribs, a broken back, several concussions, all kinds of stuff. You would never know from all the action movies and fight scenes he's been in.
I actually like the extended versions the best. There are some parts I could quibble with, as a book-centric fan, but I allow Peter Jackson some license to make changes in order to make the story more palatable to the masses. The Ralph Bakshi/Hanna-Barbera cartoons were awful, so I'm grateful for what Jackson did with LOTR. Now, Jackson's "The Hobbit" is another story...……..
Another major Tolkien fan here... took me a while to accept certain adaptations omissions etc. but now that I’m there, it’s a wonderful visual addition to my middle earth. The scores are breathtaking and I regularly enjoy them while reading at night
Calling any story written by Tolkien "cliched" definitely gives me pause. In many ways, he created the cliches of epic fantasy as we know it. His work was an influence, whether intended or not, on pretty much all fantasy that followed it.
And I disagree with your assessment. Every Harry Potter book is an excellent read and the first two books are wonderful. She is and has always been a truly special writer. Her skills got better and better as she had more experience, but each book is bursting with creativity, humor, warmth and wonderful characters. There is absolutely no way to overstate the influence that J.K. Rowling had on my generation (specifically mid-period millennials born in the late '80s and early '90s) in particular. We have literally been referred to as the "Harry Potter generation." She shaped the lives of millions, including me.
A long-term fan of the books, I have significant problems with certain elements of the LOTR films, especially the last two, and the film adaptation of The Hobbit. Though I didn't realize this thread would morph into a Rowling-bash. But the same general idea goes for those film adaptations; loved the first two.
I never even watched The Return of the King. I watched the first two but didn't feel any emotional involvement with anything that was happening on the screen, and never felt any impetus to watch the finale. It's probably a "me" thing, since I didn't particularly like the books, either, when I read them in high school. After the first book, it was just a slog. I may go back and give the books another try sometime but life is short.
Mileage varies. I wish she had been in the position of being able to revise the earlier books after her skills had improved - and maybe re-think Quiddich with the assistance of someone who knows sports. That said, I enjoy HP fanfic, particularly the author known as "little0bird".
The trilogy has held up extremely well. Amazing acting, screenplay, music, lighting, effects, story, etc. My favorite is the 1st one but the other two are equally fantastic.
Take a look at the Music Forum part of this site. The first page of that subforum is enough. There you can see how 4 guys from the UK seemed to have shaped the life of many. Even after more than 50 years they can't get enough of it. And that just by writing some songs.
The question is meaningless in my case. Movies are not something I watch again and again, in the manner in which I might listen to a favourite music recording. Being a book person who does not think it necessary to make a movie out of a book in order to enjoy the story, I could have lived without the movie trilogy, but it was done well enough I suppose.
