The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

“Probably my favorite scene in all of cinema. It's certainly why, despite how good the entire trilogy is, I think Fellowship of the Ring is the best of the three. I love how tender it is. Often cited as a peak example of positive masculinity. Both Elijah Wood and Sean Astin should have been nominated for Oscars on these performances alone. I hated at the time of the movie's release people would make jokes about how "gay" their friendship appeared to be. Thank god people have finally turned around on that. The emotions hit you one after the other. Frodo’s face as he remembers Gandalf’s words; I love how long the camera lingers as his expression subtly shifts from fear and grief to courage. Sam's quivering voice as he tells Frodo that he won't leave him. The most authentic sniffling and sobbing that you've heard because you only recognize those sounds from having cried your own heart out. Sam swallowing deeply as he regains his composure and catches his breath. And that's not even saying how beautiful Howard Shore's score is. It still brings me to ugly tears to this day.”

“Copied from my Letterboxd review: I avoided these movies for 25 years because of an ex (long story, not meant for Letterboxd) and now, I'm giving them a shot. I'm also going to word this review carefully, so I don't upset all the nerds (complimentary) who have loved this movie for years. TL; DR: I liked it more than I thought I would. A great DUDES ROCK movie. It is a cultural cornerstone. I understand 2000s culture much more, and many memes make sense to me now. Thankfully, the movie doesn't look 25 years old. The worlds are beautiful (even Mordor is the right kind of nightmare-ish but stunning, if that makes sense). Frodo is a great, well-rounded hero you want to root for; Elijah Wood is also that kind of actor. Peter Jackson sure knew what he was doing with these thirst shots of Viggo and Orlando, giving girls (and gays) quite the early 2000s sexual awakening. And with that, Jackson made this a four-quadrant movie (barely). I love Samwise. I fell asleep during Rivendell three times. It took me 16 days to watch this movie, but I think it was worth it. See you next for the Two Towers.”