An e-mail exchange between Eric and I a few days ago:
(Me) >Also, have you seen ROTK yet? What did you think?
(Eric) Man, that was stunning. Best of the trilogy, definitely. And I think I’ll probably designate it as best film of the year. And that’s saying a lot — there have been some unbelievably, outstandingly amazing films this year.
Though I’ve seen nearly 150 films this year, probably only half of them were actually released in 2003. That being said, I don’t have the kind of authority Eric has on the subject. However, out of the movies I have seen released in 2003, Return of the King was by far the best.
There is so much I want to say about this movie. I just don’t think I could do it justice until it is viewed a second time.
On an off note, I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately on what movies mean to me. It’s no secret that I at least like nearly every movie I see. It’s very difficult for me to say a movie is actually bad. Even when a movie utterly fails at expressing any kind of believability or has plot holes big enough to drive an Earth Mover through, I can still find many things to enjoy about it.
Take, for example, the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
On its face, this movie was predictable, illogical, wholly unbelievable, full of gaping plot holes, and went to great lengths to insult our intelligence. (A car racing through the streets of Venice?).
But, you know what? In spite of all that, I actually thought it was a pretty good film. The characters, while flat, were entirely likable. The whole scene in Venice, while completely contrived and foolish, was rather exciting (once you suspended your disbelief). The actual cinematography of the film was also pleasing to the eye. I particularly enjoyed the Dr. Jeckle/Mr. Hyde transformation sequences. But, more than any of this, I liked the film because it simply reminded me of being a kid again; pouring over old Boys Life magazines or reading about old Captain Nemo or watching the Rocket Suit serials that used to play before the Saturday Matinee. Ah, good times.
Sure, it would be so easy to hate this film, and that’s fine for some.
However, as Captain Nemo said “I walk a different path”.
