HAHHAHA *laughs over Sauron's firewall* how appropriate.

i didn't know they had made a documentary. where can i find this?

I got Frodo from that test . That was not what I was expecting .

About liking LotR: Well, the characters are great and you start really care for them. Also the described scenery is magnificent, and the stories are so... deep, if that could be said of a book. There are some very funny moments and characters, which are balanced by serious things.

All in all, the stories catch one's imagination.

Ditto to all your reasons for loving LOTR . The girl I'm talking to (over on LibraryThing) has started reading it, and I think she will like it better this time. It isn't a story to rush through.

I've been enjoying my FotR audiobook read by Rob Inglis. But boy, this is going to be a long haul . I've been listening for almost two weeks and we have just left Bree.

A friend actually gave us that Ringers DVD. I'm ashamed to say I have not yet watched it

Where can I find Ringers?

It's about 5 years old, so it won't be on the front shelves. Any major bookstore or entertainment outlet that sells DVDs should be able to order it. Amazon.com has the ISBN number if you need it for ordering.

Cue ominous music.

"The world has changed. You can see it in their faces. You can read it in the papers. Much that once was, is lost. But many still live who remember it. They are called ... RINGERS!"

Wow, that really motivates me to get it out and watch it! Thanks TOM I'll be sure to report back what we think!

I didn't like that Denethor knew so soon. I don't like the Denethor in the books but I really strongly dislike the Denethor in the movie. I don't like the scene where he is eating and the juice is dripping down his face.

Wha..? *quickly hides his platter of cherry tomatoes and wipes his chin* *cough*

Regarding the Palantir, bear in mind it has been a couple of years since I read the books and over a decade since I last picked up the Silmarillion. There were roughly 7 in total (or was it 9?) and the locations of all but 3 are unknown, right? I remember in the Silmarillion reading about the one that belonged to what became known as Weathertop being brought on a ship and getting sunk off of the northern coasts of Middle-Earth somewhere. Where are the other 3? Are they mentioned? I honestly cannot remember!

On the quiz, I got Galadriel. That's not what I was expecting. The part about being more mature than most people your age seems a little weird, considering there basically wasn't anyone else her age.

Tis' true! From what I remember Galadriel and Celeborn are just about the only two I read about that were in both the Sil and LotR. I think all of her contemporaries are long dead. Was Galadriel born in the First Age? If so Joan Rivers could certainly take a few pointers on how one should comport themselves when they hit the age of 1,000.

Well, we're all talking about how much we dislike Denethor, and I just have to point out, you know, that is kinda the intention, to dislike him. I think Tolkien and PJ did a good job on making us not like him.

I got Elrond... weird.

I think you are right, Shadowlander. Here is the history of the stones:

The palantíri (‘those that watch from afar’, singular 'palantír') are the great Seeing Stones that enabled the user to see things that happened a great distance away or communicate with others. They were made by Fëanor in Aman, and seven were brought to Middle-earth from Númenor by Elendil. The Master Stone was kept inside the Tower of Avallónë upon Tol Eressëa.

Originally, three of the stones went to the north; at Tower Hills, Amon Sul, and one at Annúminas. Three were in Gondor; at Minas Anor, Minas Ithil and Orthanc. All of these stones could reply to each other, but all were open to be viewed by the chief stone at Osgiliath.

When Sauron’s forces took Minas Ithil, he captured that palantír and bent it to his will. The stones at Annúminas, Amon Sul and Osgiliath were either lost or destroyed. The Orthanc-stone was used by Saruman to communicate with Sauron before his downfall. The Anor-stone survived into the Fourth Age. The last stone at Tower Hills, the Stone of Elostirion, was taken back to the Undying Lands.

Nothing is said about "seeing in the future" or anything, just simply that the Palantíri could communicate amongst themselves.

I got Frodo. That was unexpected.
Lucy Took, I never wanted to throw Movie Frodo into Mount Doom because it showed how much the ring was affecting him. I DID want to throw Movie Sam down the cliff though for leaving him. Sam should have known Frodo didn't really mean it.
Shadowlander, yes, there were seven. Sauron had one, Denethor had one, Saruman had another, in one appendix(sorry, forget which), there was another palantir in the towers in the west beyond the Shire and Elrond took it with him on his ship. The others were lost.

I didn't like that Denethor knew so soon. I don't like the Denethor in the books but I really strongly dislike the Denethor in the movie. I don't like the scene where he is eating and the juice is dripping down his face.

Wha..? *quickly hides his platter of cherry tomatoes and wipes his chin* *cough*

Maybe I didn’t explain myself well. I went back to watch the scene so I could describe it better. I don’t have anything against cherry tomatoes. Each year I grow some in my garden, except this year the “cherry” tomato plant produced “grape” tomatoes. I guess it was incorrectly labeled. I don’t like that scene because Denethor seems gluttonous. He is more concerned about what he is eating than what is happening to his son and his people. Part of this comes from the fact that his eating is interspersed with battle scenes. The red juice reminds me of blood. It is almost as if the juice is a symbol of what he is doing to his people / son by sending them to fight a battle they have no hope of winning.

I took the quiz and got Galadriel. Although I have no clue how they came up with that based on the questions or how they related those questions to the characters.

Weird, I think the very reasons you don't like that scene, pp, are the reasons I like it! I never really thought of Denethor as gluttonous in the book, but it really shows something about his father/son relationship with Faramir. And it adds to Faramir wanting to please him in Two Towers and thus kidnapping Frodo.

Patterwig's Pal, the tomato eating, battle parallel is meant to be like that. It's the whole point!

Patterwig's Pal, the tomato eating, battle parallel is meant to be like that. It's the whole point!

I had a feeling it might be the point, but I also thought it might be my overactive imagination. I still don't like it though. (I suppose that is also the point; it isn't supposed to be liked)
It still seems to me that the MovieDenethor is worse than the one in the book. I keep getting the book and the movie mixed up in my mind. I don't remember why Faramir left again in the book, but I have the impression it was for a different reason than in the movie.

In the books,

Faramir leaves for the same reason. Denethor sends him to Osgiliath, to retake it, and Faramir leaves, even though he knows it is suicidal. In fact, the line "Is there a captain here that still has the courage to do his Lord's will?" is straight from the book.

That whole scene is very close to the book.

In fact, MovieDenethor is NOT that far off from BookDenethor. Just in the books, you see his madness progress more, when you first meet him, he's very witty and cunning, but in quite a "odd" way. He's a little off, making sense since he's been sneaking peeks into the Palantir. Later on, we see him in his full insanity once Sauron has overthrown his mind.

In the movies, we already see him as half mad. Since there wasnt time to progress on Denethor's character, they just fast forwarded, so to speak.

It's kind of a shame they didn't take the time to develop Movie!Denethor more. They did a very good job on developing characters for the most part, but they fell down on the job with Denethor. He's basically Looney Tunes from start to finish. Boromir has something of a similar character arc and it was handled very well in the movie. He doesn't suddenly become bad right at the end, but he isn't in full-on EVUL mode from the start either. It's a clear progression.

Denethor was a little creepy in the movies. Like really creepy..with all that juice dripping from his mouth...*shivers* lol