TTT...

[cairistiona]

Watched TTT last night... Dink didn't like it as well because she doesn't like all the battle scenes, but she did stick with it and laughed in all the right places, and we had to pause the movie for a considerable amount of time as we discussed the whole Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond tension. She has decided she does NOT like Elrond. I did tell her, in poor Elrond's defense, that he's not quite so cranky and mean in the books and that mollified her a little. But she still ranted quite a bit about him convincing Arwen not to marry Aragorn. And then she announced, with the certainty that comes only when you're 15, that she would NOT let HER daughter fall in love. I simply told her, "Yeah, good luck with that." And she laughed, since she has fallen in love (though not on a timeless Aragorn/Arwen scale), at least three times in the past year.

She briefly became disillusioned with Aragorn when he stopped Theoden from killing Wormtongue, but she kind of understood why, after he said, "Enough blood has been shed on his account." But she still wants to see him die. I have a rather bloodthirsty child, apparently, for all that she doesn't like battle scenes. Individual assassinations are okay, I guess. :/

We also discussed a question hubby brought up: why didn't Gollum age immediately like Bilbo did as soon as he lost the Ring. Much debate, no real conclusions, and I didn't have much to offer as that's not really something I've thought about when I read the books so nothing immediately sprang to mind. We discussed Gandalf and who he really is, and I tried not to go into Silmarillion-level extensive detail, though it's *hard* not to. We also, on a side note, discussed how LOTR is not allegory, so though Dink might feel like Caring-is-Sharing-Mon is Satan... he really isn't. (And I will never be able to think of Saruman as Saruman again.) When Gandalf reappeared to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimle in Fangorn, she observed, "So basically Gandalf died and then Eru gave him an upgrade and sent him back."

Yep. Good an explanation as any. Also, he is now Gandalf 5-S, because Dink is obsessed with getting the new iPhone.

Rohan--Dink mostly was irritated Eowyn.  As she put it, "God, she needs to quit annoying and pestering Aragorn. 'Where'd you get your necklace? How old are you?? Here, have some horrible soup while I insult you because of your age!'" The whole soup thing had her rolling. But mostly she was annoyed because she thinks Eowyn asked too many rude questions. And here I thought she'd like her because she was, you know, a shieldmaiden who wants to fight and all. Dink despises damsels in distress who don't fight (don't ask about Sleeping Beauty or she'll go on a rant for months), so I'd have thought Eowyn would be right in her wheelhouse, but not yet, apparently. There's never any predicting how Dink will react to characters. We'll see what she thinks after the whole Witch-king "I am no man" scene in ROTK.

Somehow she missed seeing Aragorn get dragged off the cliff (the battle boredom kicking in... she was probably checking twitter on her phone at that particular moment), so when he came floating down the river, we had to pause and explain why he suddenly seemed to go for a swim. She was completely enchanted with Brego's kiss on the Aragorn's nose and subsequent rescue. "Will horses really do that???"

She also loved the Ents... and since we'd just went to see Guardians of the Galaxy in the afternoon (yes, again), she kept muttering, "I am Groot!" under her breath. And when the Ents went to war, she sat up and fist pumped as she chanted, "TREES! TREES! TREES!" She also greatly enjoyed Merry & Pip's discovery of the food at Isengard. She's at the stage in life where she has the appetite of six hobbits, so she can really relate.

Oh, and even though she tends to be oblivious in real life to pretty scenery, at one point she remarked, "You know, that's really pretty scenery."

Overall, she mused that though the movies are "soooooo looooooonnnnngggg", it's really a fascinating story and Tolkien "must be some sort of freakin' genius". Yep. No arguments there. (She also was impressed that I had only read the books after the movies... she figured as much as I knew about them I must have spent my entire life sequestered in a closet studying them. Erm. Not sure that was entirely a compliment, considering how she rolled her eyes when she said it, but I'm taking it as one anyway. So there.)

Tonight or maybe even this afternoon since it's a rainy day, will be ROTK.

Comments

[shirebound]

the movies are "soooooo looooooonnnnngggg"

LOL, she might enjoying reading this humorous summary of "The Two Towers" so she knows we all have a sense of humor about it:

"It's a very complicated story, with numerous subplots and something like 11,000 major characters..."

http://shirebound.livejournal.com/2104802.html

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Bwa ha ha! I love that one. I'll show it to Dink eventually, but I don't want to taint her experience until she's finished watching the whole trilogy. :)

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

I love hearing about people's first reactions to LotR (be it film or book) :-)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

It's so fun. And it's making we wish I could do the "first time seeing it" all over again. *sigh*

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

I need to find time for a rewatch

[ellynn-ithilwen.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen LOTR movies for... uhm... 4 years? something like that, I guess. Or maybe even 5.
Your posts make me want to watch them with someone who hasn't seen them - sounds like great fun. :)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

It is a lot of fun, especially given my daughter's wacky sense of humor. LOL

[mikononyte.livejournal.com]

Why doesn't Bilbo age immediately?
Because he didn't. Not even in the film. What does not come thru in the movies, because Movie time is always short it seems, is just how long it took for Bilbo to get to Rivendell, how long for Gandalf to get to Gondor, come back and then back to Isengard and how long it took the Hobbits to get to Rivendell as well. *sigh* Even I figured it out but then, I've read the books.

And Dink's idea of killing one over killing many is a good one. Less clean up when it's over. LOL

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

And Dink's idea of killing one over killing many is a good one.

In some cases*, I totally agree. But in general, I lean more toward Gandalf's philosophy: “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” I think that's more in keeping with Aragorn's character than killing Grima would have been. And given Dink's rather cut-and-dried, all-is-black-and-white teenage tendency to Judge Others And Who Cares If You Get Judged Yourself, I felt compelled to steer her toward consider a wider range of viewpoints when considering what to do with an enemy. LOL

*child rapists, just for one example on my list of 'kill these wastes of skin out of hand'

[mikononyte.livejournal.com]

child rapists, molesters, rapists in general... I'm right with you on that one.

[bluegerl.livejournal.com]

I agree with Dinks. Eowyn is a silly crushgirl! Like me if I ever met Arag/er/ Viggo. And agree with the individual killings - all those computer armies were... yah..right click and delete stuff.

And she's my girl with the Ents! ADORES trees that walk and talk, even if you have to wait for HOURS to get a reply to a question.

I think Groot told me that Gollum didn't age AFTER we met him as he had done that BEFORE we met him when he had the Ring, and so as he hadn't got it after he stayed the same. Poor Gollum was so old anyway by then.

And Wizards NEVER age. They were never young - so that's why they're so bossy and opinionated! (teehee)

And PJ could have cut a bit more out of the computerised battles and stuff.. I thought they go on a bit longtime. Apart from Legolas leaping on elephants' trunks and changing his size from trunk to back to floor!

I think watching with Dinks is terrific fun, and having it on dvd does mean you can pause and go back... not as it you're driving everyone bonkers in the cinema!!!

Bless the child! XXXX to Dinks.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I confess, I kinda like all the battles. I'm bloodthirsty that way, I guess. LOL But I can understand it when others find them tedious. They just appeal to the part of my brain that likes to think about the larger pictures of battle strategy juxtaposed against the smaller portraits of individual bravery and struggle (and sometimes failure).

Poor Eowyn... she gets such a bad rap for doing exactly what 98% of us Aragorn fangirls would likely do in the same place. LOL

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

Actually I always thought Gollum was too disfigured too age. He had the ring much longer than anybody else. Also in the end he dies, no chance to age further.

Then again I thought that the influence of the ring got stronger when he came to Bilbo and Frodo. Gandalf mentions that the ring has woken and wants to return to his Master.

Another reason might be that Gollum never had worn the ring on his finger at least not so frequently as Bilbo and Frodo did. This again I think has to do with the ring growing stronger.

On the other hand Gollum doesn't grow younger when he regains the ring in the end.
Definitely fodder for thought.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

It really is interesting to think about. You bring up good points--the Ring and its influence and strength definitely wasn't a static thing, but changed over time because it was sentient and infused with Sauron's spirit. Which is so incredibly creepy that I think I need to go hide in a closet now...

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I thought the ageing once you give up the ring would take time - that Bilbo just begins to age again once he gives it up, and Gollum probably did, too - but that the pace of ageing is related to how well pickled the ring made you. So as Gollum had it for longer he aged more slowly without it than Bilbo.

But once the ring was destroyed Bilbo aged much more rapidly and Gollum would have done so, too.

I see her point with Éowyn rather, too. I wonder what she will think of her rapid transfer of affection to Faramir?

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

how well pickled the ring made you.

And now I'm imagining a cartoon of a jar of Ring Pickles.... *facepalm* I really shouldn't do LJ before the morning coffee has set in.

But that's an interesting thought, that the Ring's "preservative" powers waned more slowly if it'd been working on the bearer longer.

I wonder what she will think of her rapid transfer of affection to Faramir?

I wonder, too! That has to be one of the most abrupt change of romantic allegiances in literary history...

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

OMG, sorry, I had to giggle so much while reading this.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

No need to apologize! That's exactly why I'm posting her reactions. :DD

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

If and when she reads the books, I think Dink might enjoy them. Methinks, she's taking the right path.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I wonder if she'll ever read the books. Right now, I don't see the movies grabbing her by the heart hard enough to make her, gasp, pick up a *book*, let along three that add up to 1000+ pages. Maybe when she's older. *fingers crossed*

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Aww, no appreciation for a good battle scene? Ah well, maybe it'll come with time... *g* It is so fun to hear about her reactions to things, though. Brings back so many fun memories of seeing them in theaters (and later, the excitement of the first look at the extended versions). There's a special enjoyment that comes from familiarity and long appreciation of something like that, but man... that first experience is something special. :)

I wonder if Gollum didn't age because there wasn't a lot more physical aging possible for him at that point? (I can't remember now... seem to recall his life being bound up in the ring because he was a bearer, so he couldn't die, but having been one so long that "stretching effect" would've had a lot longer to take him to the furthest logical conclusion given his physiology and overall life-toughened condition... hmm.)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Aww, no appreciation for a good battle scene?

I know! *pouts* But she did at least appreciate most of it enough to stay with the movie, which is a first.

having been one so long that "stretching effect" would've had a lot longer to take him to the furthest logical conclusion given his physiology and overall life-toughened condition... hmm.

That kind of goes with curiouswombat's point about how long the Ring "pickles" someone.