Talkie Tuesday: The War of the Rohirrim

 

"Forth Eorlingas!"

 

Hello everyone!

 

Or should I say Westu hal?

 

Either way, welcome, welcome, to tonight's blog post of choice.

 

I was THRILLED to discover that, since it's release in December 2024, this particular movie has now been more widely distributed among streaming services, because although our country's Netflix is pretty good about releases, honestly, I was still kind of waiting on this particular one.

 

Not that I was going in SUPER excited, mind you. I've been hella cautious since Rings of Power came out and started botching things up so badly it's insane.

 

But I was cautiously optimistic that there MIGHT be something good to find in the anime that I chose to watch this weekend.

 

So buckle up, get those swords polished, and make sure you're ready to ride. Because we're about to see just what was good and what wasn't so good in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

 

Tome Thursday: The Return of the King

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, we made it.

 

Against all odds - mostly because I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to make this possible, given I was so sick at one point I felt like I was coughing up vital organs along with my sanity - we've finally reached the end of the road.

 

At least, for the time being.

 

Like I mentioned in Tuesday's post, I'll still be having a look at The War of the Rohirrim, just to see whether or not it's worth the watch, and possibly it'll find its way onto the blog post at some point or other.

 

However, that's going to have to wait, because lo and behold, tonight's post is the very last "regular" of this calendar year.

 

Advent begins this weekend, and if you've been following my blog for some years, you know what that means.

 

For now, let's take the road less-travelled, as they say, and make sure we end things right, in The Return of the King.

 

Talkie Tuesday: The Return of the King

 

"One Ring to rule them all ..."

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome back to the conclusion of our journey to Middle-Earth.

 

Well, alright, I'm probably not saying goodbye forever, that's just not going to work out for me seeing as I spend a lot of my waking (and sleeping!) hours in that particular fantasy world.

 

But so far as the movies go, for the time being, this is going to be the end.

 

I do in fact plan on watching War of the Rohirrim, although I'll admit I'm going in very wary, mostly because it feels like they're trying to shove another girl-boss down our throats when they didn't actually need to do it, but I digress.

 

I'll be seeing that eventually, but for tonight, we need to see just what the Companions of the Ring are willing to sacrifice on this last leg of their journey.

 

How far are all of them willing to go?

 

There's only one way to find out: we have to dive deep into The Return of the King.

 

Tome Thursday: The Two Towers

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back.

 

You've probably figured out by now, if you're a casual reader of this blog, that I'm covering The Lord of the Rings in both movie and book form on here for the remainder of this autumn season.

 

Of course, if you've been paying attention and are a long-time follower, you know I love ANYTHING Tolkien that I can get my hands on.

 

Lord of the Rings? My favourite of all time.

 

So really, this sequence of events was a no-brainer.

 

In fairness, I might eventually look at other book-to-movie things and review them side-by-side if I can, or if I feel like it, but for now let's stop dallying, shall we?

 

It's time to make further steps towards Mordor, and we won't be able to do them unless we actually get to it.

 

Here's to The Two Towers.

 

Tome Thursday: The Fellowship of the Ring

 

Hello everyone!

 

Saw this coming, didn't you?

 

If you didn't, then you should have.

 

It makes the most logical sense to cover the movie trilogy and then ensure that the book will be standing right alongside it, just because.

 

And also for all the differences that came from adapting the text onto our screens!

 

Peter Jackson did a wonderful job, but we have to remember that it was Tolkien who first started all of this and wrote an epic saga that we continue to be drawn to years after its initial publication.

 

For me, personally, I read these books once a year, without fail, and have done so for over a decade now, but I STILL discover new things each time I read.

 

I also cry every time I read, that too.

 

So without further ado, let's hop right into The Fellowship of the Ring.

 

Talkie Tuesday: The Battle of the Five Armies

 

"In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit ..."

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome to the conclusion of the epic prequel trilogy Peter Jackson served us with in true George Lucas style.

 

I mean, usually you'd film the first movies first, chronologically, then continue on with the story to the end that the author's written, right?

 

Well, like I said, USUALLY.

 

But both Lucas and Jackson ended up filming the conclusions FIRST, before circling back to the beginnings (I'm not looking at the Sequels in any way, shape or form at this time).

 

So without further ado and more chatter from me, let's check right back in, because last time we left a royally pissed-off dragon heading straight for some unsuspecting, vulnerable and squishy humans to deal with them.

 

Smaug may suck at interior decorating, but he sure does know how to deliver death and destruction in The Battle of the Five Armies.

 

Saturday Snippet: New LOTR movies?

Not sure how I feel about this ...

LINK 

xx

*image not mine

Rings of Power: Alloyed

 

"One will always corrupt, two will divide; with three, there is balance."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, we finally made it.

 

The season finale is behind us, and with it, the mostly lackluster first season as a whole.

 

You may find this a harsh sort of criticism but, considering the incredibly high budget that Amazon threw at what I think they wanted to consider their flagship fantasy series purely because of the name attached to it - Tolkien - it really didn't deliver as much as it could have.

 

I've seen shows with a five time lesser budget do SO much better!

 

It felt as if, BECAUSE of the budget, the show creators thought they could do anything and people would love it precisely because of the money.

 

Newsflash, we don't watch shows for the money. We don't watch them for politics, either. We watch them for good, quality storytelling. 

The Rings of Power didn't achieve most of its goals, so let's look at the finale, Alloyed, to wrap it all up.

Rings of Power: The Eye

 

"Every war is fought both without and within." 

Hello everyone!

Well, only one more episode to go, and, dare we say a lot of us are feeling relieved?

Yes, yes, I'm sure you're wondering, but why are you still reviewing this if it's obviously a bit of a slog?

I'm a perfectionist and dislike not finishing what I start. So there.

I'll be seeing this through right to the end, though you will definitely also be getting some House of the Dragon thoughts from me when the time comes and THAT series comes to a close.

Not to mention possibly a few others.

But I'm certainly getting ahead of myself, as I first need to finish this one.

If you're wondering what you need to survive a volcanic explosion, I have to disappoint you by saying: you probably won't.

A lot of characters in Rings of Power did, though, as The Eye shows us.

Rings of Power: Udûn

 

"New life, in defiance of death."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Two more episodes to go in this show and we are done with the first season.

Will we return for a second? Remains to be seen.

Obviously we already know Amazon is committed to this project with five whole seasons, though granted I'm not entirely sure how they'll continue to excuse it if it performs poorly.

Or, maybe it won't perform poorly, not that I'm convinced it's doing well either.

It feels more like, the amount of views it's getting is that macabre sort of showing that people are only watching because they want to see the next version of a train wreck!

But maybe I'm being too harsh. However, I will say that after six episodes of barely anything happening, it's difficult to really argue against the fact that the season has just not been as gripping thus far as it could have been, and arguments of 'it'll be spread out over 5 seasons you have to be patient' are moot point as we have to wait for a long time between seasons. That doesn't translate well into the waiting period, trust me.

However, we still do have a review to get through, so here it is. The Rings of Power: Udûn.

Rings of Power: Partings

 

"Sometimes, to find the light, we must first touch the darkness."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I know I keep saying this every single week but, after watching a couple of videos about the topic, I can cheerfully say I probably know or have nailed down some of the reasons this show isn't getting the kind of universal acceptance Amazon might have wanted for it.

 

Then again, it has the misfortune of airing next to House of the Dragon.

 

ANY show, unless firing on all cylinders, would have been judged and found wanting in comparison to that!

 

But I digress, right off the bat.

 

I'll definitely go into more of the reasons once I recap what happened during last Friday's episodes, but honestly I BESEECH anyone watching this to actually pick up the books and read them.

 

I have nothing against fan fiction - I write it myself - but fan fiction doesn't usually masquerade as something official.

 

Rings of Power: Partings FINALLY gets the show moving again, at least.

 

Rings of Power: The Great Wave

 

"The Faithful believe that when the petals of the White Tree fall, it is no idle thing."

 

Hello everyone!

 

And we're back once again to dig a little deeper into Amazon's huge budget blockbuster show - I mean, we all know just how much money the company threw at this, right?

 

I feel like I keep repeating myself every single week, but I will say that, for the amount of money spent, I don't really see the results being executed all that well YET, and at this point we're halfway through the first season, which is slightly concerning.

 

I'm not the only one thinking like this, either, as there is a fair number of people who share my views, but we digress in any event.

 

Regardless of all of the above, we did witness SOME plot progression this last episode.

 

Not all of it was completely bad, and certainly not all of it was completely good.

 

Besides, the visual effects remain rather stunning no matter what one thinks with regards to the writing and characters, so you know.

 

Rings of Power's fourth episode, The Great Wave, gives a lot of pomp and substance, but the core of it is still somehow ... hollow.

 

Rings of Power: Adar

 

"If Sauron has indeed returned, the Southlands are but the beginning."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Alright, alright.

 

So I said initially I wasn't going to do this.

 

I changed my mind. I'm allowed!

 

And also, a few of my friends have said they'd really love to keep on reading these weekly dissertations of mine which are no more and no less than me just spinning yarn about my thoughts, really.

 

Which means here we are, and here we will stay until the season ends.

 

Last week may have been an introduction that blew hot and cold, but this week brought us something a little more tight in terms of writing, and some answers to the mysteries we're being introduced to.

 

Hopefully Prime continues in this vein, because we're headed to the halfway point of the season, so some answers are welcome!

 

The Rings of Power episode, Adar, at the very least gives us some of them.

 

Rings of Power: Introduction

 

"Without a sword, what am I to be?"

 

Hello everyone!

 

So I would have done something else entirely for Tuesday's review if not for the fact that last Friday dawned bright and clear ... and brought us the premiere of what people have been both anticipating and dreading at the same time.

 

I don't plan on going into too much detail, as I might just wait for the season to conclude before I do so, but I couldn't say nothing. It's not an actual review of the two episodes, and I'll do a breakdown of the season as a whole after we wrap up.

 

However, I did want to share some of my initial thoughts because ... well, I have thoughts.

 

Who doesn't?

 

Considering the fact Amazon has literally turned off the reviewing option because of the reactions, and you have to ask yourself: is it because they just can't stand so many positives? Or are they afraid the house of cards will come tumbling down with all the negatives?

 

Your call.

 

But Rings of Power is here, whether we like it or not.

 

Saturday Snippet: Rings of Power Impressions

 

Thus far ... unconvinced. We proceed.

 

xx

*image not mine

Saturday Snippet: The Rings of Power TEASER TRAILER

 

YATATATAAAAAAAAA 😍

 

xx

*video not mine

Saturday Snippet: The Lord of the Rings POSTERS!

 

I can't wait for September!

(Pssst ... click on the image to be taken to the hi-res versions.)

 

xx

*image not mine

Saturday Snippet: Wheel of Time OFFICIAL TRAILER

 

Woop!

 

xx

*video not mine

Saturday Snippet: Frodo Baggins

 

I hear you, Merphy.

I salute you.

 

Frodo Baggins = 💙

 

xx

*video not mine

The Chronicles of Narnia (Booktober)

 

"Further up and further in!"

 

 

 

 

Who among us hasn't at least seen the cover page of this book, or at least for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? This beautiful collection of all seven Lewis' novels brings us the world of Narnia like never before. Journey through Narnian history and see how the world was formed, then take your place next to the High Kings and Queens as they battle adversaries and ensure the magical land under Aslan's protection may live ... forever.

 

 

 

 

 

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? For the past fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a land where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations. 

(from Goodreads)

xx

*image not mine

Atlantis (Booktober)

Origin (Booktober)

Quo Vadis (Booktober)

Death on the Nile (Booktober)

The Little White Horse (Booktober)

The Sign of Four (Booktober)

Harry Potter #2 (Booktober)

Troublemaker (Booktober)

The Lord of the Rings (Booktober)