Seraphim Falls

This is a film that came out much earlier in the year (on IMDB.com it says it is a 2006 film, but it didn't hit theaters around here until February of this year, and even then only for a couple weeks until it left and came to video). It has two real actors, and the rest of the cast is window dressing, at best. In Seraphim Falls, Liam Neeson plays an ex-Confederate soldier named Carver, who seeks revenge on ex-Union soldier Gideon played by Pierce Brosnan.

There really isn't much to say about a film like this, because the whole thing feels like you're on the edge of something that could be cool, and by the time you're pushed over, you don't much care about what you get. You know that Carver is hunting Gideon, and you might be able to guess why, but really you don't know what the hell is going on. The subtitle at the beginning says it's 1868, and you can guess that you're in the American West, but other than the exact same snippet of history, a very short flashback that shows only fire, you don't know what the history of these characters is, you don't know why one is running and one is chasing, you don't know anything until they explain it all in a giant exposition at the end. The first 30 minutes was exciting, but at that point I really wanted to know what was going on, and it was frustrating to watch a 90 minute chase scene until I finally received answers.

The acting was alright I suppose. Frankly I don't think much was asked of them. There isn't a lot of dialogue, and barely any between the two main actors. It's mostly them running or riding around, trying to survive the elements, one running the other chasing. Mildly interesting at best. Also they don't try very hard to mask their Irish accents. It was like a really, really dramatic version of one of those Discovery Channel specials where they drop someone in the middle of the wilderness and he has to survive.

The oddest part of the movie? Probably Angelica Huston. She appears in the middle of nowhere towards the end and acts as a ex deus machina to provide weapons to two men who want to kill each other and were otherwise weaponless. There's maybe some interesting ambiguity about what she is, whether she is real or mirage, or as the behind the scenes special suggests, a representation of the devil (which I think tries to make the character a lot deeper than she really is). The best part? The scenary is truly beautiful. The snowcapped mountains are stunning, and a flashback scene featuring a treelined lane with leaves changing to fall colors is stunning. But a drive through Michigan in the fall will accomplis the same effect for less money and more enjoyment.

All in all? Be glad you didn't have a chance to see it at thaeters, you might have accidentally paid for it. Don't buy it, you probably won't watch it more than twice. Rent it if you are really curious, but skipping it won't hurt you. Skip this one, or better yet, go see Cold Mountain. It's a better version of this, with an actual plot.

The Brave One

Anchored by Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle & Flow, and many, many others) and Jodie Foster (...Contact?), The Brave One is a new take on the vigilante genre of action dramas. It's the story of a woman who has her life, and her sense of safety, stolen from her one brutal night. Her boyfriend murdered, her German Shepard dognapped, this formerly confident and secure radio show host is suddenly transformed into a mourning, fearful woman who can't even leave her house. And then she buys a gun. Once she finally manages to get out of her apartment and gains that small, metal piece of security, she begins a transformation. She used to be oblivious to the darker side of the city, but after the attack, she becomes a citizen of it.

Much of this movie is split between two themes. One, the transformation of a normal woman into a cold, but shaken creature of the night. Two, a cop facing a similar feeling of helplessness and abandonment but for totally different reasons. Somehow they find each other in a world gone mad and find a bit of comfort, perfectly platonic but much needed comfort. How it ends isn't really a surprise, but I think it's well done, and Howard plays his conflicted morality off extremely well.

Foster does a good job, though frankly I think the best performance of the show is easily Howard. Really the biggest thing Foster has to do is control her voice (which is surprisingly inviting with a smoky, veteran flavor), and have a steely cold gaze on her face, which she does. I don't want to take credit away from her though, she had a line to walk, between a little bit crazy and being terrorized, and she stepped over that line several times. Howard on the other hand is very, very good at looking strong while sounding vulnerable, which I think summarizes his character well. The man is hurting from a recent divorce, stymied at his job by a criminal he can't nail down, and looking for some satisfaction, and relief. Over the course of the movie, as evidence starts to mount on Foster, he begins to face a growing moral conflict over what to do, and I think his acting of a man who has to walk this moral line is compelling at the very least.

This is a good one to see, and I won't ruin the ending (I have more to say but it'll stay in a spoiler warned section below) but it might not be your cup of tea. There's not a ton of Die Hard style action, it's really mostly cold blooded killing, and other than that it's really just walking and talking, a lot of it. The one thing I really didn't like about the movie was the character of Josai. I suppose the actress, Ene Oloja does a well enough job playing the role, but come on, an African immigrant woman who can empathize with Foster because she knows about war and who previously was cold and distant but all of a sudden displays her nursing and philosophical knowledge at the drop of a hat? I didn't like the character, and I thought she was a far too convenient crutch. But meh, I can live with it.

SPOILER



When you distill the plot, it's about a woman who is made a victim, never wants to be a victim again, and then goes looking for trouble. She's out for revenge against those who hurt her, and takes out a lot of other bad guys along the way who have nothing to do with her. The other main character, a cop who wants to get his man but can't doing things the legal way, finds out that his new friend is the killer, and he can either help her, stop her, or ignore it. He chooses to help. Frankly when you distill the plot it sounds like the distilled plot of cult favorite Boondock Saints. Only the music isn't as good (though I did like the repetitive Sara McLaughlin song), the action isn't as good, there's no comedy (whereas Boondock Saints is hysterical at all the right times), and a limited cast. So I guess my REAL recommendation? Go watch Boondock Saints. But that's not totally fair, this movie really has a much different tone. In Saints, the main characters never felt victimized, they felt galvanized. Foster plays a woman who brutally tries to retake hold of her life, and often has bouts of doubt that lead to some irrational emotional outbursts. So yes, distilled they are quite similar, they take different tracks entirely. Perhaps I shouldn't have made the comparison at all, but being part of the same genre, Saints is the movie you buy and watch over and over. The Brave One is the one you should see once in the theater, or at least definitely not miss when it comes out to rent, but you could easily save the money and not buy it.

PS. Though Naveen Andrews really has only a bit part in the movie, I liked those parts. The director does some eye catching artsy stuff after he's beaten to death and she's in the hospital, contrasting a lovemaking scene to the two of them being worked on by ER doctors. I know it sounds weird, but it's quite emotionally stirring on screen. Subsequen scenes where the Sarah McLaughlin plays what you'd have to call their love theme are also very tender, and though it's all rather heated (I mean, they were engaged and all), it's a very good window into what her life with him was life, and gave as a very real understanding of what it is exactly that she'd lost.

3:10 to Yuma

So I've finally managed to make my way back to the movies after a couple weeks away.

I thought it was a fantastic movie. Bale and Crowe did very well indeed. Logan Lerman, who played Bale's son did a good job I think. His character was skeptical of his father, and much of the movie was as much about his views towards his father as it was about the actual train to Yuma. And from the intensity in his gaze to the quivering in his hand when he held the gun on Crowe, I think he was extremely convincing. It was at least as good as your average western, though I have to say it probably had the most realistic looking bullet hits I've seen in a western, they didn't pull any punches.

Frankly, I think the most surprising performance of the movie was Ben Foster as Charlie Prince. The last fewthings I saw him in, X-Men, Hostel, The Punisher, and Flash Forward were all either child or teen oriented roles. Flash Forward has him as this awkward skinny kid, Hostage has him as a greasy, very, VERY disturbed psycho (and he died btw in that movie in what I'd call the best imitation of a classic Hollywood scene I've seen in quite some time, watch it to see what I mean). His role in the Punisher was as a helpless dweller of a hovel who needed protecting. And of course many will remember his role in X-Men as Warren Worthington III, but let's be honest, he was playing a teenager in a bit part. He was totally different in this. Ruthless and cunning, and very much graduated from the kid he usually plays, he was one of the best villains I've seen in quite some time. I really got into it, and I think without that character, the movie wouldn't have been half of what it was. He was the counterweight to the conflict going on between Bale and Crowe, who while good, really didn't do anything new. Bale did what Bale does, he speaks softly, slowly, very little, and he stares a lot. And Crowe I think played the role he generally plays too. Also speaking somewhat softly, clever, a little alluring though not necessarily in a romantic way (though there's an obvious confusion in whether the outlaw is in fact romantic or not). Kudos to all of them, but most of all to Foster, as his performance was a surprise. Alan Tudyk was also very enjoyable in his small role as the doctor, but for an expanded view on his role, you'll have to go below the fold for a spoiler.

A short word on the two women of the movie. Vinessa Shaw played Emmy Nelson, who was almost useless as a character. She was there to provide the seed for what would eventually be the growth of Crowe's humanity in the movie. But as a character in her own right she was useless. Shaw did what she had to do, but it was otherwise not noteworthy. Gretchen Mol on the other hand played Alice Evans, Danny's (Bale) wife. Bale and her worked well together. Clearly she loved her husband and her family, and their well being was foremost in her mind, but there was a clear conflict between what Danny saw as his role as a father and provider, and with how Danny felt Alice felt towards him. Their relationship didn't see a ton of screen time, but in the short time they had, it was like we understood them entirely. I credit that to good writing and better acting.

Spoiler ahead

First of all, Alan Tudyk. Tudyk had a very good performance. I was almost hoping to see him play a gunslinger rather than the role he played. I like to see actors try new things (it's why I like Viggo Mortensen so much), and frankly I thought he played what Wash would have been if he'd been alive in the 1860's. He was a doctor, but more, he was the voice of reason and morality, the counterweight to the baser human instincts towards violence. And it was a bit sad to see him die almost the same way he died in Serenity. "I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I-" BAM! and "Did you guys see how I hit that guy with a shovel back-" BAM! A little intentional tugging on our heartstrings, and I suppose his character had to die, didn't he? Frankly I don't even know why the hell he was still there. The doctor never wanted to go to begin with, he only went because the Pinkerton that Crowe tossed off the cliff, Byron McElroy went, and he was injured. But once the McElroy got tossed off the cliff, wouldn't the doctor have gone back to town? He wasn't a gunhand, for heaven's sake, they proved that when he was doing his best to shoot the brush to pieces outside Bale's house. But it still worked as it was, and Tudyk was of course, great, so I can't really complain. I really didn't think that he was necessary at that point, and they could have sent him back to town, leaving me much more satisfied. He wasn't the real story, or the real reason why Danny was risking his life to put Wade (Crowe) behid bars. It was all about his family, and especially his son. They didn't need icing on that cake.

Luke Wilson was a big surprise, I didn't know he was supposed to be in the movie at all. I recognized him immediately, and thought his scene was a great chance for Danny to, if not bond, certainly flex his moral muscle when he freed Wade with the others. You could tell it wasn't just about the money for him. This was dual purpose: He needed Wade for the money for his family, but he also wanted to show his son how important doing the right thing was.

End Spoilers

In conclusion, it was a great movie, and if this is what we can expect from the future of Westerns (if the genre makes a comeback at all), then I'm really looking forward to seeing what Hollywood has to offer. And I'm looking forward to Ben Foster's next movie. I'd never pegged him as that kind of actor before, rough and fierce, or I should say, as someone who could in any way carry a movie. But now (though his role for 30 Days of Night doesn't look totally compelling), I'll be paying more attention.

Stardust

I know it's been awhile since I've posted a review, but I've had a very eventful and enjoyable summer to keep me busy. Hopefully now things will settle down (and at the same time speed up) so I can get into a more regular routine of posting. The last movie I saw was Stardust, a movie based on the book by Neil Gaiman. This will be a two part review, as after having seen the movie I immediately ordered the book and read it in a single sitting cover to cover.

Stardust hardly had a star studded cast. Certainly there were big name actors in the film though. Michelle Pfieffer as Lamia, one of the Witch Queens of the fantasy world the movie takes place in was fantastic. Claire Danes as Yvaine, the fallen star was both literally and figuratively luminous. Robert Dinero in the much expanded role of Captain Shakespere was hilarious, almost unecessary, but hilarious. Ricky Gervais on the other hand was unnecessary, and that's that. And Peter O'Toole's almost cameo role as the dying King was enjoyable.

The surprise performances that really shine out are the actors who aren't big names. Most notably is the actor who played Tristan Thorn, Charlie Cox. He was really quite good. Starting off as a lovestruck doof, and turning into a reluctant hero who always had it in him seemed to come naturally to Cox, whose transformation from bumbling shopboy to starsaving hero is pulled of fantastically. He really made the character come alive.

There were also great performances from the seven brothers, Mark Strong as Septimus was especially good.

The story is what gets the highest marks from me though, beyond all these great performances and the now standard fancy special effects (which thankfully in this movie were all appropriate, not overly wrought, and sharply presented) , at the heart of this movie was a great story...which leads me to the book.

At 250 pages long, it's not huge. On the Tolkien Scale of book size, I'd say it's maybe a four, and compared to Tolkien it's a million times easier to read. Much of that is because Gaiman doesn't really go into extreme details in his magic world. He doesn't do a whole lot in the way of setting, and zips through a lot that could be expounded upon, but that's really only nitpicking from someone who wishes he had more to read of the story. It tells the tale of the young Dunstan Thorn, who crosses over the Wall and makes love to a young slave girl (totally the girl's choice, I'd say she took more advantage of him than him of her). He ends up with a baby in a basket that she's named Tristran (which I'd say the moviemakers did a good job of renaming Tristan). We see a little of Tristran's home life, and it's established that he is ridiculously in love with Victoria, a girl that is beautiful but totally wrong for him.

Then he ventures beyond Wall into Stormhold in order to find a fallen star to being it back to Victoria. He instantly befriends a local, who helps him get to the Star, who turns out to be a beautiful girl by the name of Yvaine. Everyone is racing to get the Star for different reasons. The sons of the dead king want to get to her at first to claim the jewel she carries, which knocked her from the sky and will also make them king if they get to it. The Witch Lamia wants her to cut out her heart to make her immortal, and soon the princes do as well. But in the middle of that Tristran finds himself protecting her without at first knowing why, he does it by instinct. The situation neatly resolves itself without much violence, much of which is added for the sake of the movie.

I don't think the movie had to add the climax scene at the end, but I can see why they think they needed to. I like that they expanded the role of the pirate captain, and even goofyied him up a little. It made some of Tristran's emotional advances seem a bit more lifelike, and really brought more life to the growing love between him and Yvaine.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was one really out of the blue swear word, and two unnecessarily graphic sex scenes that don't jive at all with the more kid friendly tone of the book. One slight part of one of them might seem useful, but still not really needed. Still I found the book as a whole to be extremely enjoyable, and I was sad when it ended. Likewise I found the movie to be excellent, and more than most movies I have seen in recent years it was an extremely faithful adaptation of a book. It really made it come alive.

Go read the book, then see the movie.

Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard

It's been awhile since I've been here, for which I apologize to my two readers. I've been busy lately planning a Road Trip, with work, and a lot of other little things. But I haven't been slouching off on my movie watching. There's been a flurry of movies released recently, with dozens more to come in the next few months, but the two I'm most excited about in the last couple weeks are the title of this Independence Day review.

Transformers

Now I'll admit up front that I have a bias towards this movie. I loved Transformers as a kid, and seeing it rendered live action on the big screen is something I've always wondered about. Though that could really cut either way, given the expectations I have for this movie. But I've spent the last couple months getting ready to hate this movie. I knew they were changing some of the characters around, and the plot wasn't really going to be recognizable as anything I've seen, it was going to be Transformers started from scratch. So I was ready for them to steal everything I loved and make a bad movie with it. But I was pleasantly surprised, and I was wrong.

The movie centers around the human characters, in this case Sam Witwicky, who is an amalgam of a few different real human characters from the comics and cartoons. He gets his first car, who ends up being Bumblebee, and it turns out that his grandfather discovered Megatron buried in some ice a hundred years ago, and now all the Autobots are protecting him while the Decepticons search for him so they can find a giant life giving cube that America has locked away some where. So like I said, it wasn't what I expected. But the action was beautiful. Seriously if they don't win an Oscar for visual effects I will have no faith in that establishment anymore, which will destroy the TINY amount of faith I have left. The movie was fun! It took all the boyhood excitement I had for this franchise and ran with it. The dialogue for most of the characters was spot on, even the little bit of sniping between Megatron and Starscream. I won't go on ad naseum about how great this was because I don't want to ruin it, but I'll give this my highest recommendation that you go see it soon.

That said, it wasn't without a couple problems. The Transformers themselves needed a lot more dialogue. They have a complex past, and the conflict between the different groups needed to be explored a lot more than just some good vs. evil mantra. The hokey dialogue from Optimus was exactly his character, I loved it, and if anything I wanted more of that and less of him and his cohorts stomping around the yard smashing up land gnomes. There was a lot of extraneous, goofy stuff in this movie having to do with the humans that should have been cut to give more screen time to the Transformers themselves. I know it would have been more expensive, but they should have done it, to make the movie right. It's something I can forgive for this movie, but for the sequels that have already been greenlit I will expect more exposition and less doughnut eating throwaway characters, and less goofy super secret government agents.

Die Hard

Now Die Hard followed almost the exact plot formula as the previous three movies. There's a complex plot that is never what it appears to be on the surface, but is instead layers within layers within layers that John McClane always somehow gets himself caught up in. But anyone who has ever seen and loved a Die Hard movie knows that you see it for only a couple reasons, and those are stunning action scenes, shootouts, and McClane's racy comedy. You don't go see it for believability, you don't see it for a masterful plot. It was funny, especially with the addition of Justin Long as his sidekick, even if I do miss Carl and Sam Jackson. Long was funny, though he needs to learn how to grow facial hair. The action was intense, non-stop, and eye popping. Yes, it edged on the side of ridiculous when he was driving a semi up a ramp that had just been destroyed by an F-35, then jumped onto the F-35, which was then damaged and crashed, and then jumped off the F-35 and slid down the ramp that was just destroyed as a fireball rushes after him, and then dusts himself off, runs across the street, and saves his daughter. But those are what Die Hard is all about, outlandish, outrageous, unapologetic awesomeness. If you want to talk yourself out of having a good time, then analyze this movie to death. If you want to enjoy it, and you liked the first three, put yourself in that same frame of mind and enjoy the ride.

If anything I thought this movie lacked the swearing the first three had. Usually I'm never one to say a movie needs MORE swearing, but it seemed really out of character for John to be swearing so little when it was clearly his favorite set of words in the first three movies. PG-13 be damned.

..

I won't have a ton more reviews, but you can expect a review of both the next Harry Potter movie and Deathly Hallows when it comes out later this month. And when I finish it, a review of Al Gore's new book will also be reviewed.

Children of Hurin

Children of Hurin (or Narn i Chin Hurin if you prefer the Sindarin), is the newest published complete Tolkien story since The Silmarillion in 1977. Edited and released by Christopher Tolkien, son of JRR, it joins a pantheon of books released after Tolkien's death, such as The Unfinished Tales, and The Histories of Middle Earth (all 12 volumes). Anyone who loves the Lord of the Rings has probably tried to read the Silmarillion at some point, but many who try find it too boring or dry, and lose interest before getting to the good stuff. Though this isn't a review of the Silmarillion, it's good to have some background on it in order to understand how great the Narn (that's shorthand for the Children of Hurin used by Tolkien geeks) is. The Silmarillion is a creation myth, and covers the First Age of Middle Earth to its end, and touches on major events of the Second Age such as the Last Alliance and the forging of the Rings of Power. The style of storytelling is archaic, it was written in the 1920's, and there isn't much dialogue, it almost reads like a history book (which it quite literally is). Personally I love it, but then again I'm an History Major, so I have a natural advantage.

Now enter the Narn. One of what Tolkien considered to be the three great stories if the First Age of Middle Earth, the Narn tells the story of Hurin's children, Niniel Nienor and Turin Turambar. The tale is tragic, rich, dark, and beautiful, and none of those descriptions is bestowed lightly. Tolkien's stories make it impossible not to admire or love the characters he's writing about, but this time in Middle Earth is dark, when all of Beleriand (west of Eriador where the Shire is, these lands did not survive to the Third Age) was under the shadow of Morgoth, creator of Balrogs and master of Sauron.

The story is cobbled together from a shorter version written in the Silmarillion, a long poem written by Tolkien that was not included, and pieces taken out of the Book of Lost Tales and Unfinished Tales. Chris Tolkien added little to nothing of his own words, this is purely a JRR Tolkien story, fully completed. Those who fear it is as dry or boring as the Silmarillion have no fear, for it flows easily and begins immediately with tragic action. The dialogue matches the archaic narration, but it adds a power to the words you don't find in today's often simple or clever dialogue. One might even use the word majestic to describe it. The best part, which anyone who has read Tolkien might fear, is that the story never drags, as Turin, whom the story focuses on, is always on the move.

During the story Turin will face a dragon, fight mighty battles, live amongst outlaws, kill both friend and foe alike, both in anger and in haste. He falls in love, and falls out. Never is there nothing happening in this story. And for anyone who loves Tolkien and the wonderful world of Middle Earth, this is a must read addition to your reading list.

A great bonus to this printing is the original artwork done by Alan Lee for the initial release (samples provided below). Alan Lee did much of the original artwork for the Lord of the Rings over the years, and it was on his drawings that most of the LOTR movies were based. The man is simply amazing when it comes to taking an imaginary world and giving it actual form for us to see. Many of the drawings are exactly how I pictured the events in my mind, and it's great to see this special bit of richness added to the book.

I will say this, in warning: The depth of the stories includes a cavalcade of names. It isn't uncommon to find a single character who has a half dozen names throughout the story. Turin himself gives himself a half dozen different names through the story, depending on his mood and what role he is playing. Also the Elven habit of naming kids after their parents means you get a very important family with very similar sounding names (good luck parsing out Finwe, Finarfin, Finrod, Fingon and Fingolfin). In the back of the book there is a guide to the names of the different characters, places, and items in the book, which is a very handy reference guide for a first time reader. Personally, it took three read through's of the Silmarillion to get all the names straight, but many of these characters do not play a huge role in the Narn, so it shouldn't be that big of a problem, just be ready for it.

For anyone who is wondering, Tolkien considered the greatest tales of the First Age to be the Lay of Beren and Luthien, the Fall of Gondolin, and the Children of Hurin. A short form of all three can be read in the Silmarillion, and one hopes that some day Chris, or perhaps his son Adam, might finish those three stories for us all to read in their entirety. Beren and Luthien were the first union of Men and Elves in marriage, and it is from them that Elrond of Rivendell, Arwen, Gil Galad who died in the Last Alliance, and Aragorn himself are born (yes that's right, Aragorn and Arwen are related, 64 generations removed). The Fall of Gondolin tells the tale of Tuor (Turin's cousin) son of Huor (Hurin's brother), who came to Gondolin, last free fortress of the Elves, hidden away in a vale of mist and mountains, finally discovered through the treachery of a jealous Elf, and destroyed, ending the last domain of Elves in Middle Earth. Tuor was the second marriage of Elves and Men, he married Idril, daughter of Turgon (lord of Gondolin). Their marriage was also responsible for the birth of Elrond, Arwen and Aragorn (among many others) as their child, Earendil, eventually marries the granddaughter of Beren and Luthien, Elwing.

Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings

I was initially both apprehensive and excited when I found The Fellowship of the Rings: The Complete Recordings. I should start this by saying that I am a great lover of soundtracks. Soundtracks can make or break a movie or TV show. Recently the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean have been the most oft played in my CD player, with other standbys like Gettysburg and Glory, and the world's best workout music: Rocky IV. Loving these masterpieces as I do, and even more so, being a huge fan of the Extended Editions of the films, I always decried the lack of a soundtrack for all the extra music written for those added minutes. I'm sure many of you as well wish you could have easy access to the Houses of Healing song by Liv Tyler, or Eowyn's Lament for Theodred, or smaller scenes like Gandalf singing "The Road Goes Ever On." Well rest assured, these extended soundtracks have all of that, and perhaps more. The part that made me apprehensive was the price. This four disc set (3 CD's and 1 DVD) weighs in at a whopping $60, which is actually more expensive than the Extended Edition DVD and the regular soundtrack ($30 and $20 respectively) combined. Recently however a good friend of mine introduced me to the "Used" section on Amazon, and I realized there is a whole new world of things to buy out there, for a much better price. Personally I purchased this boxed set for $40, "used" (though really it was still in the factory issued packaging), including shipping.


First of all, this is a beautiful boxed set. The CD's themselves are nicely designed, ornately even. The case itself is very sturdy, and again the design of the case is in keeping with I would call Elven styling. They look very professional, and though case and CD design aren't usually the reason we buy CDs (generally I think that'd be for the music), I found them to be of a higher quality than your average CD, or even your average box set.


The other major addition to this set is the very informative and extensive booklet. Lord of the Rings features a style of music called "leitmotifs." You've heard them before, even if you can't identify them, in works such as Peter and the Wolf, and the more easily recognizable Star Wars. The idea is that individual music lines serve as a sort of theme or anthem for specific ideas, characters, and locations. If you remember the Imperial March from Star Wars you've heard one of the more famous (in recent times) examples of this style. The booklet gives a summary of the process Howard Shore used to come up with the style of music for Fellowship, his inspirations, what instruments he chose to represent which characters and cultures and why. He also includes a section where he specifically points out the leitmotifs of characters and cultures, even gives a bar of music to tell you what it looks like, where on the tracks you can find the music, and explains why this music was chosen. It's fascinating to get into the head of the composer, and even more I love hearing why he chose the Maori choirs and literally football players to represent the guttural chants of the Dwarves in Moria, or why he chose the more ethereal eastern sounds for mournful Elvish music.

But on to the music itself. Disc one opens as the movie does, with what Shore calls "The History of the Ring" theme. The end of this track is a short but delightful snippet from Ian McKellen singing "The Road Goes Ever On," and like so many songs in the movies, it takes the words directly from the novel. The music rises and falls, like the beginning of the movies does, until you get to track 10, "The Passing of the Elves," the music from an extended scene in the movie that shows elves leaving Middle Earth and heading to the Grey Havens for Arda. Samwise and Frodo spot them, and Sam comments "I don't know why, but it makes me sad." Hearing their song, one could only feel that way. It's one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. The lyrics are Sindarin, one of Tolkien's languages created specifically for the novels, and are translated by David Salo from the actual poem written by Tolkien for the book. The track is amazing. One wonders when reading the book, "how would that really sound in real life?" Translated into Sindarin, you get a feel for Elven culture, for the sadness of their leaving but their yearning for home. I sit mesmerized listening to this track, and it's perhaps the most rewarding of the new music from the extended edition. This track is longer than the one even in that version. The final track on the CD, "The Nazgul" features Viggo Mortensen singing the "Lay of Luthien," whose words were written by Phillipa Boyens, but the tune was created and the song suggested by Viggo himself. It's a testament to his skill and dedication as an actor that he would get that much into character, and would care enough to even suggest such a thoughtful thing. It's short, but it's also some interesting insight into Aragorn's character, and the weight he carries on his shoulders. It's sung acapella, quietly, secretly, but with obvious emotion.

Disc two features much repetition of previous themes. Track 7, "The Council of Elrond" features a mixture of stirring, contrasting music that shows off the arguments taking place on scene. What's really interesting is to hear the different voices that portray The One Ring itself over the course of the film. It's voice changes for Aragorn, where is sounds sweet and inviting (and the same for Faramir in Two Towers). It sounds dark and brooding when it entices Boromir. But the sound is specific for each character who it tries to ensnare. One of the new tracks, from the extended scenes is track 9, "Gilraen's Memorial." This scene in the movie features Aragorn speaking with Elrond about Gilraen, Aragorn's mother. This is another haunting track, like many of the Elven tracks are in the first film. It's one to be sure to listen to. The last three tracks of the CD are the pounding sounds of taiko drums and Maori chanting. It's powerful and exciting music that on screen is the driving force of the scene.

Disc three finishes off the soundtrack. The second track, as in the original soundtrack, features Elizabeth Fraser singing the "Lament for Gandalf." Like all Elven styled music, it has an ethereal quality. The rest of the music reads much as the original soundtrack did, and it is all great music. The Uruk-Hai music especially I can't wait to hear on a high quality stereo, to get the full power out of the horns that Shore exhibits.

The fourth disc is a DVD that features all the music of the soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. I have yet to listen to this disc, as I don't have a stereo capable of playing it and doing it justice. But I imagine the pounding sounds of Moria, and the reverberations of Elven laments would sound amazing in such quality.

All in all this is an amazing set. I should add that I have one complaint about it though, and that is the color of the casing. Stylistically, I think it's meant to match what the cases look like for the LOTR Extended Editions, and it does. The problem is that the Fellowship of the Ring is green, and this is red. The Two Towers DVD case is red, and the soundtrack is blue, whereas the third movie is blue and the third soundtrack hasn't been released yet, but I bet a million dollars it is green. I'm just surprised that for all the work that went into these, they didn't bother to match that up. But I plan to purchase the soundtrack to Two Towers as soon as I am able, and look forward to hearing Eowyn singing her lament for Theodred. Return of the King's soundtrack is due to be released at the end of the summer.