tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250269071385467004.post6920249425911169724..comments2024-01-23T19:26:48.882-05:00Comments on Julian Perez Conquers the Universe!: Where there's a whip, there's a wayJulian Perezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276143599750947248noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250269071385467004.post-84550212515113650972014-11-06T06:33:12.499-05:002014-11-06T06:33:12.499-05:00I realize I'm responding to a rather old entry...I realize I'm responding to a rather old entry, but I only just discovered this blog, so forgive my being late to the party. For the most part, I find your writings entertaining, insightful, and informative, but your above comment that "it's better to watch the movies first" is something I simply have to disagree with.<br /><br />Watching the movies first would likely be a disaster. Peter Jackson's Rings is a twelve-hour episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (or perhaps Xena: Warrior Princess, not that there's much difference between the two). It's full of campy, over-the-top antics with humans and elves who are impossibly badass, dwarves who exist to be goofy, and hobbits who Jackson clearly thought of as "loads" who were weighing down the cool mary sue badasses he'd rather make a movie about. I'm honestly surprised he didn't have Frodo die and Aragorn become the new ringbearer, since he clearly had more fun with the humans and elves (who, after all, are the ones audiences want to have steaming hot sex with).<br /><br />So imagine the fifteen-year-old testosterone-laden lad who sees the movies, sees elf chicks dual-wielding longswords which they twirl flashily before dismembering an orc, and they say "Yeah, I wanna read that book! It must be so badass!" Then they pick it up and find paragraphs longer than three sentences, evocative prose and poetry that mentions times long past and things yet to come, and not once does Legolas walk up a troll's arm. He's likely to throw the book in a trash pile and go back to watching the latest explosion-filled summer blockbuster.<br /><br />I'm not saying Tolkien is impossible to do right on film--the animated The Hobbit and Bakshi's version of Lord of the Rings rather felt like they were in tune with Tolkien's spirit, despite their shortcomings, and a person introduced by those films would go in with a decent idea of what to expect, whereas if your introduction is Jackson then you will probably hate the books.<br /><br />On that note, I'm not sure why you say "with the boks you had to fend for yourself." Every piece of information presented in the movie's prologue is also featured in the second chapter of the novel, the chapter titled "Shadow of the Past." Besides, I thought you said in a previous entry that new readers <i>like</i> being a little lost because it makes them feel like they stepped into a rich and interesting world? Or something like that. It was in your article "Comic Fans Say the Dumbest Things." Why take the opposite stance here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250269071385467004.post-12148729208772004152010-01-01T21:58:30.508-05:002010-01-01T21:58:30.508-05:00Thanks Julian. Now that song is stuck in my head. ...Thanks Julian. Now that song is stuck in my head. And just when it appeared I've recovered from New Years.<br /><br />The song is catchy but i still so hate you now.eduardo m.http://www.myspace.com/edfreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250269071385467004.post-35886398086334245162010-01-01T14:02:46.622-05:002010-01-01T14:02:46.622-05:00That is a pretty memorable song, isn't it?
I...That is a pretty memorable song, isn't it? <br /><br />I'm a little surprised you missed the Jackson version of Lord of the Rings, considering what a huge pop culture event they were.<br /><br />The Lord of the Rings movies are actually one of the few examples I can think of where it would be better to watch the movies <i>before</i> reading the books...simply because the movies made it ridiculously easy and idiot-proof to follow the at times complex and necessary backstory of certain elements of Middle Earth...for instance, who Isildur was, the forging of the Great Rings, and so on. <br /><br />The ten-minute prologue that spoon-fed the backstory of Middle Earth at the start of the first film presented it all much more clearly than anything else. After watching that, I was like, "hey, that's who Isildur is!" With the books you had to fend for yourself.Julian Perezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16276143599750947248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250269071385467004.post-78796670126390382652010-01-01T09:38:52.573-05:002010-01-01T09:38:52.573-05:00Wow, I remember that song! It's popped into m...Wow, I remember that song! It's popped into my head at various points over the years but never would I have figured out its origin. I saw that film in the theater on its release. Still haven't seen Jackson's.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13840878272493564209noreply@blogger.com