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Kim
Valinor
Oct 7 2014, 11:57pm
Post #101 of 123
(366 views)
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I wish to retract my earlier statement
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Contrary to creating a monster, I believe that may have been my finest creation.  You've brought so many wonderful images to this site, I agree that you have provided a badly needed public service. And accompanying them with your three syllable descriptions is icing on the cake. Dark chocolate cake. 
Join us every weekend for The Hobbit Chapter of the Week discussions!
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 8 2014, 12:41am
Post #102 of 123
(374 views)
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Perceptive? Nah, don't think so.
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Well, that would explain why your limerick fit the picture so well.  I suppose it doesn't hurt to look at Thorin pictures more than once and reacquaint oneself with every little intricacy. And, you never know, there may have been things you missed on the first go 'round (though that's highly doubtful considering how much people analyze images around here). 
And I see my end quote got misplaced on my post above. It seems I can go over a post five times and still miss something. 
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 8 2014, 1:39am
Post #105 of 123
(366 views)
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Kim and Arveldis (thank you! *bows deeply and blushes*) but LOL
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Somewhere out in cyberspace there is a TORn mod thinking *Oh Gawds...now they've done it, I'd rather look up Azog's nose than see ONE MORE picture of Thorin)
Thorin's hair, that lush bittersweet storm cloud so evocative of his very soul, swirling across your tongue like honey'd summer with the long lingering tang of richest cocoa *slaps self*. Ahem. Chocolate cake, definitely. The multi-layer kind with the FINEST buttercream
I cannot tell you how many times I've had a bad day but then brightened up considerably after reading one (or two or three..) of your posts (that goes for you too, Kim). I've now learned every adjective under the sun that can be used to describe hair because of your posts (which is really useful in everyday life ), and many entirely new words too.
*Bows again* I have only to wipe the drool gaze upon my wall no matter how rotten the day has been, to know, that yes, there is still great beauty in the world - for which, perhaps, I will be able to thank PJ and his team and RA himself (provided I am: 1. very sure there is nothing stuck in my teeth and 2. have the wherewithal to dig my fingernails into my palms, to get past the deer-in-the-headlights frozen dumb moment).
Pity there isn't a chance to laud Thorin/RA's eyes (those finest blue topaz deep jewels of backlit sky) or the VOICE (whose very breathing is AS MUSIC) or the graceful jaguar FLEXIBILITY and STRENGTH. But perhaps re the EE and BOFA there will an opportunity to post an image, or venture a comment or two.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 8 2014, 1:45am
Post #106 of 123
(362 views)
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Sinfully short, yet I do not know how it could have been better. EVERYONE wanted to talk to RA about that scene, from the interviews I saw.
And honestly, the entry to Erebor is one of the most single most beautiful scenes I have ever seen on film. I really would love to thank PJ, crew, and cast for the care that was put into that. Every theater I saw DOS in, it was as tho I was in church, it was so quiet. I don't think anyone could not relate to coming home *sniff, tears*.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 8 2014, 2:21am
Post #107 of 123
(361 views)
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Dunno, there might be a few people on here who are growing weary of our pontification on Thorin's hair (and hair in general). Though why is beyond me...
Me too! I think he definitely will be the one to lead them back to Erebor (provided he escapes from the irate Lake-towners with his head still attached). And that brings up another question: Will they leave Lake-town of their own accord (perhaps feeling a little unwelcome or just ready to join their family members or have nowhere else to go), or will they be cast out by Bard (since we know Bard's already more than a wee bit ticked off at Dwarves by now)? Anyways, that taste we got of him stepping into the role of leader (he's a born leader, in my mind, but I'm biased) in DoS has left me wanting more. And will he be more vocal about Thorin's madness than he was in the book (no one had the guts to speak up in the book, if I remember correctly), sort of the ringleader of the Dwarves who disagree with Thorin? We know he's annoyed with Thorin, so maybe the dragon sickness will be the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Like you said, I'm sure Dean O'Gorman can handle it. I'm also looking forward to more scenes of Fili fighting since he's had all of about one, and that went by in a blink.  I know it's not good to wish away time, but December cannot come soon enough!
I think I'd be a mixture of uncontrollable happiness and glee and extreme embarrassment if someone who was involved in the production read anything I had posted. Wouldn't it be weird if they were reading this?
Yes, your adjectives are top-notch.  Very high class fangirling indeed. I didn't even know there were different levels to fangirling.
Why, thank you!  It's always nice to know that one's efforts are appreciated. I will hang around for a while (and might just give up on hiding spoilers from myself altogether). It would be hard not to.
His hair is nice, isn't it? I'm not a huge fan of the dreadlock style, but he wears it well. But I love his character even more. It's amazing how a person so klutzy and not-quite-there (blame the rum) can manage to survive the most wild events. In honor of the Captain, I give you a picture of him with yet another dorky expression on his face:
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 8 2014, 3:03am
Post #108 of 123
(359 views)
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I think they just laugh at our expense.
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I mean, we do sound completely ridiculous. But, anyone who doesn't think that these men (sorry, dwarves) are gorgeous must be missing a few brain cells (no offense to anyone). I mean, you'd have to be blind to not notice the beauty.
Well, I now have a new perspective on chocolate cake. I'll never be able to think of it the same again. Oh my, I just noticed all of chocolate chips. *drool*
for which, perhaps, I will be able to thank PJ and his team and RA himself (provided I am: 1. very sure there is nothing stuck in my teeth and 2. have the wherewithal to dig my fingernails into my palms, to get past the deer-in-the-headlights frozen dumb moment).
Too true! I know we'd all love to meet the people behind the magic, but I don't think I'd ever be able to get beyond the paralyzed, mouth unhinged, tongue frozen, and glazed eye look. I'm actually quite shy in real life (hard to believe, huh? ), so I think that if I could manage to get anything out, it would most likely be chock-full of stutters and rambling.
Well, considering this thread is already on page three, we could start Hair Thread Part 2. *crickets* No one? I promise I'll do better at shutting up and will try really hard not to load the thread with pictures! Hmm, since there's not takers for that, Avandel, I think we should use your ideas. Why wait for the EE or BotFA? How about "Best Voice in Middle-earth" or "Most Gorgeous Eyes?" Or just a general "Dwarf Appreciation Thread." I mean, Thranduil's got 16. It's high time our hairy friends get a thread of their own (although this one was sort of hijacked by the dwarf lovers ).
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 8 2014, 3:48am
Post #109 of 123
(355 views)
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It didn't work for me on a tablet, though, and I found the particular clip at 9:05.
Very nice clip. Too funny. Although it certainly seems more dangerous to me to not have handrails. I mean, look at Rivendell's bridge. You could kill yourself if you fell off of it! And Erebor's pretty much a death trap.
Thank you! All I did was resize it. Credit goes to Heirs of Durin for the screenshot.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Oct 8 2014, 5:30am
Post #110 of 123
(359 views)
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actually it's entirely possible lol!
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For instance, I am NOT a Thorin Thrall (too old for me and I don't go for the grumpy, angry types that remind me of my dad...  Though I do admit that I admire Thorin the king).
And yet, who do you think contributed to the geeky observations list that, after a month or two of AUJ being out, was the FIRST person (seriously) to comment that Thorin's hair (yes, it even involved the infamous locks that people stare at!) was shorter in the prologue than it was in Bag End????
Yup- yours truly 
(This post was edited by Cirashala on Oct 8 2014, 5:36am)
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 8 2014, 7:06am
Post #111 of 123
(354 views)
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I simply cannot compute weariness for the celebration of dwarven hirsuteness, it's like being at the beach and feeling tired of looking at the ocean. But the benevolent TORn has space for all, from thoughtful erudite intellectualism to kindly treatment of the hopelessly besotted. *Sniff* in my case I think it's all PJ's fault, anyway. I was an innocent, lofty and high-minded, a reader with an interest in fantasy, folklore, and mythology (among other subjects). I only ever had mild favorites re LOTR, if that. I certainly never expected to need a supply of paper bags on hand, or have to drink so much ice water and/or occasionally heave it on myself, a spectacle that always alarms the cats.
*Grins* oh, I think PJ and probably others know exactly the effect the dwarves have, as well as the cast. Do they take it seriously? I suspect not, they know the public is fickle and this is a fantasy in a fantasy business. Still, there is something very special about PJ's ME, and the characters become icons. So the crew might chuckle if they read my extravagencies, but there's envy too I imagine. Even Dean made a joke at a con about "something about RA made you want to follow him, and [to the audience] you'd follow him too, wouldn't you?"
The audience cheered. So they know.
Gaaaaaagh! So much to be curious about 're BOFA and how things play out, as you say what happens in Laketown is huge. I can't think it would not be FIli who leads the group from the town; if Thorin is gone by default Fili is now king, and perhaps Thorin's words at the dock were a foreshadowing of the role Fili will play. And WILL Fili clash with Thorin, having almost lost his brother who was only saved by the kindness of one of the despised elves? The banner makes things look hopeful as far as FINALLY getting to see Fili fight more - it's absurd, Fili was like a walking armoury, and we have seen so little of his skills so far.
IMO you need to hang around, at least until some of us have to find our hobbit holes, your posts are too fun.
LOL I adore the sexy, fey, irresistible Jack Sparrow. . And his rock star tangle of dreadlocks w. the baubles. That is a fun picture of him! Was bummed that the newest POTC seems to have been shelved, but think Depp will make a great wolf re "Into the Woods."
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Oct 8 2014, 10:23am
Post #112 of 123
(356 views)
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Warmly smile is more like it!
Considering how contentious some of the threads on this Board have been, it's always a delight to have the "Appreciation" (whether Thorin or Thranduil or others) threads run amok and take over.
Post away, gals (and guys)!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 8 2014, 10:09pm
Post #113 of 123
(352 views)
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*Grins* why, then, since re the new poster releases so far,
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I am not PERSONALLY being blown away, tho others seems to be pretty happy with the BOFA closeups, how about more Hairs Heirs? (Tho I admit that I PERSONALLY feel that RA/Thorin's eyes are so striking, if they do a close-up with his face, as so often as happened in AUJ and DOS, it will certainly be wall-worthy.)
AUJ at Bag End was certainly a showcase for Fili's butterscotch mane.
No gold is richer than this.
The handsome brothers on HAIRY ponies. I imagine as these dwarves passed through villages and hamlets, a trail of prostrate females was in their wake.
Like their uncle, environmental conditions have no effect on the handsomeness of the Heirs of Durin.
A classic PR shot - natural light just accenting the richness of the Hairs Heirs.
More Thorin action hair - certainly bodes well for many, many, epic shots of exquisite hirsuteness in BOFA...
Yum.
More action hair! Love this scene!
You know, if the rumored "stag" scene DOES show up in the EE, think I am going work hard not to bite my own tongue from the excitement. In any case, more espresso hair framing of Thorin's INTENSITY
And finally, the "famous" rehearsal shots of an epic clash of ME hair. Which *cough* IMO they might as well have made into a poster.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 8 2014, 11:03pm
Post #114 of 123
(337 views)
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*Grins* well it all IS tongue-in-cheek
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Even if it's actually all true. Um.
Too true! I know we'd all love to meet the people behind the magic, but I don't think I'd ever be able to get beyond the paralyzed, mouth unhinged, tongue frozen, and glazed eye look. I'm actually quite shy in real life (hard to believe, huh? ), so I think that if I could manage to get anything out, it would most likely be chock-full of stutters and rambling.
I believe you - in real life I am wary of folks myself that way. Very dwarf-like. Not hobbit-like at all. *Giggles* LOL "the paralyzed, mouth unhinged, tongue frozen, and glazed eye look". Not to mention the few times I have been close to famous people, it IS kind of surreal. Tho the dwarve actors seem so nice, I would work hard to be nice back and not make them uncomfortable - as they all seem to say how hard this all was. Not exactly glamorous work, behind the scenes. Tho I would like to ask the dwarves, even with all the heat and weight (especially the Heirs) did they ever look in a mirror and think how way cool they looked, even just a little?
Well, considering this thread is already on page three, we could start Hair Thread Part 2. *crickets* No one? I promise I'll do better at shutting up and will try really hard not to load the thread with pictures! Hmm, since there's not takers for that, Avandel, I think we should use your ideas. Why wait for the EE or BotFA? How about "Best Voice in Middle-earth" or "Most Gorgeous Eyes?" Or just a general "Dwarf Appreciation Thread." I mean, Thranduil's got 16. It's high time our hairy friends get a thread of their own (although this one was sort of hijacked by the dwarf lovers ).
Well, I put up a few threads like that maybe last month? A kind of dwarf retrospective, and a Thorin one, and a Fili/Kili one. It's one of the reasons at this point I am pretty tapped out of any NEW imagery, and there's Pinterest and FB that have a lot of that covered, daily. I've shied away from doing more Thorin appreciation threads because as a main character, and a controversial one (I don't know WHY, it's simple, IMO just love Thorin and support him unconditionally and after all, he IS King Under the Mountain so everyone should just do what he tells them). Anyway Thorin seems to get talked about a lot anyway, so for me it seemed most threads were covering pretty much every aspect about him, one way or the other (the latest discussion on his crown, and where he gets that from, for instance.) So probably as you say, for the EE or BOFA.
But I did think I was FAIR in this thread. I have put up all KINDS of HAIRY images. And if I seem a tad biased, it's like Kim said once, that I had to know, that ALL threads, no matter what the original subject might have been, will eventually lead to Thorin's hair. It's inevitable, so I just gracefully bow and accept that fact.
Hairy baby boars.
What cute baby boars turn into......big HAIRY boars. With tusks.
Can't imagine why they don't use a REAL Kodiak bear on set - pretty hairy!
The Thar goat - lots of HAIR. I guess the battle goats are an extreme version of this, kind of like a goat/bighorn sheep mix.
#MAJESTIC hair
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 9 2014, 12:09am
Post #115 of 123
(330 views)
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It's nice to hear that our appreciation is appreciated.
I agree, there have been some rather snarky threads, so it is nice to have something that praises PJ (and the actors, crew, and WETA) for once in a while, even if it's only for characters' looks. I'm not a fan of every change in the movies, but I think PJ and co. deserve recognition for their spectacular work, and if the only way we can give it is through "Appreciation" threads, then so be it.
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 9 2014, 12:34am
Post #116 of 123
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Oh, definitely. More Durins, please. I don't see why Tauriel should get a poster. She got more than her fair share of promotional material last year (it seemed like she was in absolutely every trailer, TV spot, poster, etc. *gag* I don't hate her character, but she is invented, and after a while enough is enough.) Plus, this is the movie where Fili and Kili come into their own. This is where they have to start making decisions for themselves. I'm sure we'll get more screen time of them since they're gonna die, so that to me equals poster.
Regarding posters in general, I too was a little underwhelmed by the Gandalf and Bilbo ones (loved the Bard and first Bilbo one, though). But the Galadriel one was beautiful. She just exudes power in it.
I would love to see some that are along the lines of the French Thorin one last year. It was gorgeous (and not just because it was Thorin, the lighting and atmosphere were excellent).
Now, Avandel, you should know better than to post so many Fili and Thorin pictures without a thud warning. I'm one of the females that you mentioned would be lying prostrate in their wake.
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 9 2014, 5:11pm
Post #117 of 123
(332 views)
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I'm glad this thread is at the back re Galadriel's poster.
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This:
Oh, definitely. More Durins, please. I don't see why Tauriel should get a poster. She got more than her fair share of promotional material last year (it seemed like she was in absolutely every trailer, TV spot, poster, etc. *gag* I don't hate her character, but she is invented, and after a while enough is enough.) Plus, this is the movie where Fili and Kili come into their own. This is where they have to start making decisions for themselves. I'm sure we'll get more screen time of them since they're gonna die, so that to me equals poster.
Well, I don't hate Tauriel either, but recently tripped over a few pages that detailed WHY some real haters were still upset - and they were well written, not just bashing, citing specific canon - and started me thinking again. So overall no, enough already. I would still argue as well that the response to her presence at all, no matter how much PR was done, has been muted "eh". And WHY, in the banner, does she IMO not even look like the same person?
Interestingly in the PR it seems Fili and Kili are being featured - so I really have my fingers crossed re their presence, especially Fili truly coming into his own. FINALLY.
*Cough* - before I say this.
Um. Well, tho these close-up posters aren't blowing me away although oddly I am sure I will be in rapture over any of the Heirs - even an eyeball (and in any case Thorin, Fili, and Kili are often shown up close anyway, to great effect.....)
Um, it's a personal "thing" of mine that I can't stand having even the briefest sense of having, well, dry lips. It drives me crazy and I am constantly slapping stuff on my mouth - which happily these days lip gloss is also often flavored so I guess you could actually eat it in survival situations.
This is the end result of a trauma in where one winter it was pretty bad, and I didn't take enough care, and it took a while before things healed. Ever since then I have been a fanatic.
I know this is the "eeuuww too much information" but ANYWAY Galadriel's poster is driving me crazy - I keep wanting to run over with a tube of lip balm and after slapping some on the poster, saying "Now, isn't that better?" And I can't believe the PR folks missed that.
Maybe no-one else in the world would notice anything like that, but I can't help it, it's like that movie with the mole. Worse, this is Galadriel, I am not even fit to walk 50 feet behind her - but even then, I'd be rooting through my bag looking for a tin of salve.
Um *hangs head* Anyway I don't look at Galdriel's poster any more, because I am just not appreciating it the way it was intended.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 9 2014, 7:22pm
Post #118 of 123
(328 views)
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Do you happen to have links to those pages?
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I'd love to read them. I've only recently come to terms with Tauriel's character and accepted the fact that, like it or not, she's a part of these movies. Thanks to some very thoughtful and insightful posts on here, I've begun to tolerate her. I still think the movie would be perfectly fine without her (dare I say it...better?), but I can't change anything in the movies.
I do think that the Feast of Starlight scene is beautiful. EL did an excellent job conveying the Elves' love of starlight, and the natural world in general. I've even been known to look up that scene on YouTube and watch it occasionally.
But. I really don't see her purpose in these movies. I know she's supposed to be a contrast to Thranduil's isolationism and coldness, but the audience isn't comprised of idiots. We could figure out his character on our own. We know he's not exactly a hero or even someone you'd want to meet.
As far as I can see, she's there for the male viewers and the "love triangle," if you could call it that, is there for the Twilight crowd. I know she was put in to bring the "female energy" to the screen, but that could have been accomplished with a smaller amount of screen time. One could even argue that little Tilda and her sister Sigrid bring the female energy just fine. Look at how many lines they had. There were plenty of female extras to bring the energy. And somehow Tolkien's original work has done just fine for decades even though there's not a single female character in it.
I think one of the reasons her character fell flat and ignited so much criticism was because she was practically shoved down our throats last year. It's like Warner Bros. was determined to make us accept her, whether we liked it or not. I don't know about you, but the promo material last year felt like elf overload. By the time I watched DoS, I was sick and tired of the elves. Tauriel drove me nuts and Legolas looked like some CGI creation loosely based off of the elf in LotR. Even though I didn't (and still don't really) like Thranduil's character that much, he was like a breath of fresh air since we hadn't seen much of him. He was different; he brought a power and lethal grace to the screen that neither Legolas nor Tauriel had accomplished (for me).
Anyways, none of this really matters now because she's in the movie. I can complain all I want, but she's not going to go away. I do realize that I have whined for five whole paragraphs, so I'll just shut up so you won't have to endure my griping any longer.
That said, I do love the movies. She's just one major thing that I dislike about them. I wish things could have turned out differently regarding her, but I'm still holding out hope that she'll have a smaller part in the next movie and this "love triangle" will just turn out to be a bad dream.
All I can say about Fili coming into his own is: It's about time!
The posters haven't amazed me to any great extent either. The Legolas one released today was very underwhelming. He seems to get farther and farther away from LotR Legolas' appearance as the movies go on...And what's with the guy's pores? Someone get him some toner! But I am happy that we're getting something. It's not a video blog or a trailer, but I'll take anything at this point.
Regarding Galadriel's poster, I honestly did not notice her lips. Then again, I don't look for things like that, nor do they bug me. I'm quite the opposite, actually. I don't like the feeling of lip gloss at all, and I hate having to reapply every time I eat. I usually go au naturel.
The thing I liked about her poster was that it showed a different side to the Galadriel we know. She doesn't just walk around in Lorien all day getting mani pedis; she can hold her own too. I've never been really interested in the whole White Council subplot *hangs head in shame*, but I am really excited to see Galadriel unleashed in Dul Guldur.
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 9 2014, 10:31pm
Post #119 of 123
(336 views)
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Try these links *bows* am honored by your interest!
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Gotta warn you tho, the Thorin one somehow evolved until it actually got threadlocked, but for me it was sort of a last hurrah of a kind of Thorin celebration of sorts in images and art, while things were slower around TORn.
So the Fili/Kili thread:
http://newboards.theonering.net/...est=122284360#769764
A kind of all-dwarf retrospective:
http://newboards.theonering.net/...est=122284360#761258
Thorin, Thorin, Thorin
http://newboards.theonering.net/...est=122284360#768954
You can also search under posts in the Hobbit forum for the last 3 months under "Fili", "retrospective", and "Thorin appreciation" tho I hope these links work.
You know, your comments about Tauriel dovetail EXACTLY what I feel - at this point I always have a problem talking about her because my feeling are so mixed, and at first I was just furious, seeing this as a useless "Mary Sue" introduction that sucked up "dwarf time" and was designed to tap into the "brave rebellious heroine" aka Disney animated features, pretty much as detailed here:
https://www.facebook.com/.../?type=1&theater
Special snowflake award, indeed. But, having seen DOS, credit where credit is due, EL I think did a good job. Not compelling and certainly IMO expendable as a character, and the point has been eloquently made by essayists that the very fact she was put into these films to "pander" to females (supposedly - my own belief is that PJ & co. have this romantic streak aka expanding Arwen) was an insult to females. I certainly felt that way.
I think one of the reasons her character fell flat and ignited so much criticism was because she was practically shoved down our throats last year. It's like Warner Bros. was determined to make us accept her, whether we liked it or not. I don't know about you, but the promo material last year felt like elf overload. By the time I watched DoS, I was sick and tired of the elves. Tauriel drove me nuts and Legolas looked like some CGI creation loosely based off of the elf in LotR. Even though I didn't (and still don't really) like Thranduil's character that much, he was like a breath of fresh air since we hadn't seen much of him. He was different; he brought a power and lethal grace to the screen that neither Legolas nor Tauriel had accomplished (for me).
THIS. I agree, totally. And it was infuriating because I felt you can't FORCE "character love" onto an audience - in fact advertising agencies work that way, wearing you down, that's why we see so many repetitive car commercials. But that can backfire as well. And it didn't help (and this has been noticed by others) that EL to me does not come across well in interviews, especially early on. She seemed way too self-satisfied, riding too much on the success of one TV show, and for me there was a real dread in that she was completely surrounded by classically trained actors who ALL had far more cred. She didn't seem to know when to quit talking about herself, and what she was saying wasn't impressing me at all.
I mean, RA was aware of the criticism he got for his youth re the character, and he had said in an article "there's nothing you can do but put your head down and work like you've never worked before." You watch the Appendices and to a man each and every dwarf is grateful to be there, no matter how hard it gets. And EL was blowing attitude about not wanting to be in a "love triangle" - at the time, I kept thinking, "who cares what you want? You haven't even been working lately and don't have the training your other actors do, and I personally wouldn't have even THOUGHT of hiring you - not when there are dozens of trained theater actresses and dancers who could have chewed a part like that up!"
So, in the end, IMO while it could have been a lot worse and think EL did a good job - credit where credit is due - and for the most part I suspect a "handler" pulled her aside and told her to stop talking about herself so much, and dial it down some (I read her interviews early on as I thought at the time I would like Tauriel better - nope) I feel the same as you, pretty much. Every now and then I have a flare of resentment - and who knows what BOFA will bring - but what is done is done. I didn't like the expansion of Arwen, either. And in a way, PJ & co. I think paid for forcing that character on us in that as far as I can tell, they weren't vindicated - there was no overwhelming response of positivity. Even the inclusion of Legolas I think has had a muted response, and so has Tauriel - it's like "eh". The worst of it now, I think, is *sigh* they are once again going to make a big deal about Tauriel, whether she dies or not.
And I so don't care; fine, she saved Kili and maybe she can help get the kids back to their father, but past that there are dwarves that need reuniting, Dol Guldur, Thorin, Thorin's growing madness, Bilbo, Thranduil, Smaug - a whole lot of things IMO that are WAY more meaningful.
No, I don't think of you as whining at all! LOL you might as well BE me on all points, and I think it's unavoidable that the previously settled feeling of "oh, well, she's there, and we got through DOS all right" to feeling some unease re BOFA, as there is so much to get through, and who needs this Tauriel subplot sucking up more time, when PJ is talking about making BOFA shorter  . And there's Tauriel, more or less front and center on a PR banner - tho LOL that doesn't even look like her, so don't know what it up with that . Thranduil, with less screen time, IMO is far more compelling, and IMO as far as elves go should be highlighted. I don't fuss too much about canon, but he is a pivotal character in the original book, after all, and it's his character re elves that seems to have seized the imagination - with good reason.
All I can say about Fili coming into his own is: It's about time!
Yes! Yes! And tho I don't put too much stock in PR art, I am cautiously optimistic as these PR artists I figure are modelling their art on SOMETHING, and Kili, Thorin, and Fili have been featured together on the banners since DOS.
And I can't think it wouldn't be Fili that actually leads the group to Erebor - tho a thought - I wonder, even if it's not canon, will they be met kind of halfway by the dwarves in Erebor? I can't think that Thorin would just SIT there, or the other dwarves, as they are all related - maybe the dwarves in Erebor will at least go to the edge of the lake? Anyway RA has said he had some "nice scenes with Kili" but he was talking about Aidan Turner at the time, so I am just going to assume he has some nice scenes with Fili as well, and possibly is particularly proud of his heir for bringing the group together. I just hope Bofur's part isn't expanded that much because there was some talk of the role he will play. I am just so tired of Fili not getting his just due in screen time - he is the one who will be KING, one day.
LOL the latest poster release, tho at this point it's not funny. IMO Legolas is really bad, and there was no excuse for that. I think Legolas's fans must be really PO'd, voting for him and then they get a poster like THAT. I'm almost to the point I don't even want to see the Heirs.... Now I am worried as to what they might do to my own beloved favorite, tho time and again Thorin - who has a stunning face - has already been utilized in closeups, as has Thranduil. So it's hardly innovative to do that again, and worse if they ugly him up somehow (to show the dragon sickness or something like that....). In any case, at this point I am feeling that WB should just let the FANS do the posters, the online artists are doing a better job!
And will Kili and Fili get a poster? Seeing as they were actually IN the book - as well as the rest of the dwarves - oh, for the good 'ol days of AUJ *grins*.
*Cough* sorry about the lip thing and didn't mean to share too much info - *sigh* - well, I guess with me, being craft-oriented, sometimes I am gonna notice other stuff besides the wonder of the created pottery and glassware, or the wooden panels and fishing floats in Laketown, or Fili comforting his brother when Thorin is giving his Laketown speech. Yeah, I am pretty natural I guess, but that is how I messed my mouth up one winter 'coz I blew off any protection, and it was hard to eat certain things for a while - LOL like Thorin it was mostly soup for a few days. Which is tough if you happen to like those nacho cheese chips.
I've never been really interested in the whole White Council subplot *hangs head in shame*, but I am really excited to see Galadriel unleashed in Dul Guldur.
Ahem. Well, I'm gonna burn with you. Because re AUJ sure, the first few times it was interesting - but now *cough* I usually forward over that part. Funny, I can watch the dwarves hiking over and over, and feel really moved, but I just don't feel like sitting through the council, a lot of the time. But this time! And how are they going to get Gandalf down from that cage (if he is still in it) and why in the banner was Galadriel on the ground - is that even a real scene, as the trailer doesn't look like that (in the trailer, Galadriel's silent barefoot walking is just SO COOL, so evocative to me, of power.)
LOL hope you find the links interesting, but re Thorin it's so loaded as I was kibbetzing w. some elves, you might want to look at the images only in the interests of time.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 11 2014, 9:08pm
Post #120 of 123
(319 views)
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Took me long enough to reply to this.
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Can't Post
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Busy week is my only excuse.
The links do work. I read the Fili and Kili one (*ahem* more like stalked it when it was active), and I made it partway through the Thorin one when it was going strong. I'll have to reread the Thorin one to see what I missed and try out the all-dwarf one.
Same here about Tauriel. Some days I like her (well, as much as I can like her) and other days she annoys me to no end. I thought she was a Mary Sue too, and nearly growled during every scene she was in the first time I watched DoS. The trousers line had me wanting to walk out of the theater (so not Middle-earth) and I can't count the number of times my eyes rolled during the healing scene.
Love that picture. Pretty much sums up everything I felt about her when I first learned about her character (Orcs killed her family, really? Cliche on so many levels.), and some of the things that I still feel about her and will continue to feel, regardless of how many pieces of writing I read trying to convince me otherwise.
No offense to EL at all, but she's pretty mediocre as far as actors go in my mind. Perhaps it's just the parts she gets, but I haven't really seen anything by her that's blown me out of the water (then again, I really didn't like her character on Lost either). She did wonderful during the Feast of Starlight, I'll give her that, and she does Elvish well; but aside from that, it's pretty much "meh" for me.
Arwen was never a favorite of mine either. Liv did good portraying Arwen, really good; excellent even, but I'm too biased to give a good opinion on her character. I'm still miffed that Glorfindel once again got cut out of an adaptation.
and the point has been eloquently made by essayists that the very fact she was put into these films to "pander" to females...was an insult to females.
As do I. Call me a feminist, but I think her character is fuel to the fire of the belief that if women want to be noticed and recognized, they have to be pretty. Society's saying that for a woman to get a man she has to look like a model. I understand that she's an elf, and therefore beautiful by default, but couldn't they have paired her off with someone a little homelier? It's not rocket science to see that she's got two of the most handsome men in the movies pining for her.
I avoid movies that fill the trope of women having to look gorgeous. In fact, that's one of the reasons I fell in love with Middle-earth: women weren't treated as objects and they didn't have to be beautiful (although many are) to do something big. It was an added bonus that the men weren't always gawking at every woman they ran across.
Then here came Tauriel. She filled every Mary Sue characteristic to a T. She had the men falling at her heels. And she was gorgeous (and that's not jealousy speaking on my part).
In a world where every woman and girl is told that they're not enough; they don't matter; they're not pretty, I don't think another character like her is what we need. Characters like her teach girls that if they want to be important they've got to have the looks. After all, that's what men crave, right?
*gets down off of soapbox* Rant's over. I know not everyone feels the same way I do (and it's probably good this thread is on page five), but that's just what I feel about her (and most of it's based off of my personal beliefs and views, so feel free to disagree). You can think I'm reading into things too much or call me crazy, but that's how I'm starting to see her character.
I can count on one hand the number of EL interviews I've watched (and most were after DoS) or read about, so your point about her acting narcissistic was new to me. I actually avoided her interviews because it seemed like every other interview that came out for DoS had her in it. Like you said, it was marketing overdrive. I can see it though, based on the few interviews I've seen her in. She's very confident and not at all shy about her character for being a Tolkien fan, or so she says.
RA (and every dwarf actor or any other person involved with these movies) seems very humble. I remember smiling when I read that he didn't unpack for weeks because he thought he'd be sent home; he wouldn't be able to play Thorin the way PJ wanted him to.
Same for me again regarding her place in BotFA. If she dies, I honestly won't care. (However, I will care if a big deal is made about it. Just ship her off to Valinor already! Who cares if she's not eligible to go.) If she saves the kids, great, but that's another tick for her on the Sue chart. There will be more with her and Kili in the next film (hopefully not to the level where I'll have to heave into my popcorn bucket), but I really hope she just gets left out for the most part. I've gone along with all of PJ's changes and taken them in stride until her, but now I just want to get back to the story. I don't want things like Lake-town's destruction, Thorin's madness, and Beorn's return to get overshadowed by her.
I don't see Thorin as a person who would sit around when his kin are in trouble either (especially because dwarves have strong family bonds). But if he's worried about his precious treasure he might just wait for news or dispatch someone to find out their fates. Who knows, the Lake-town four could even be used as bargaining chips during the exchange between the Dwarves, Men, and Elves (I realize that is a bit far-fetched, but at this point, anything could happen).
I am just so tired of Fili not getting his just due in screen time - he is the one who will be KING, one day.
Agree wholeheartedly. We've got the (basically) crown prince of Erebor sitting around twiddling his thumbs waiting for a scene, yet we're having to watch Tauriel instead. Perhaps the "dwarves stuck in Lake-town" subplot was a way to give him more screen time. I'm certain he'll have more in BotFA, and there could even be a few small scenes with him in the DoS EE.
No worries about the lip thing. We all have our fetishes.
Ahem. Well, I'm gonna burn with you
Were you perhaps thinking of a certain quote when you wrote that? I think I almost starting nodding off during the council scene in AUJ (and I'm not an action lover; I think it's just that Galadriel's slow, repetitive walking was hypnotizing or something ). My friend called it the "bathroom break scene." I typically fast forward through it too.
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Avandel
Half-elven
Oct 12 2014, 12:57am
Post #121 of 123
(323 views)
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Arveldis, hope you check this thread because gotta thank you for the laughs!
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Oh geez. Ahem.
I wanted to do more with the Fil/Kili thread, but made the mistake somehow of having the Thorin thread going at the same time - I was just exhausted from looking for images and formatting tho I enjoy it as well. But re Fili and Kili and Thorin I try to keep a look out and collect what I can.
Re Tauriel, after getting some interesting leads off https://www.facebook.com/...riel/148473581875600 (which I don't belong to) I WAS interested after finding some essays in why people far more versed in Tolkien than I were so upset. Everything from pointed remarks about the fact that there WOULD have been survivors of the Last Alliance with Thranduil (as 1/3 of the elves survived, tho there was much slaughter including Thranduil's father), so by comparison Tauriel is ridiculously young, even compared to Legolas (so how is it they were "raised together" as has been vaguely suggested at times). So how is it this child, really, is Captain of the Guard?
A Captain of the Guard, as some of these essays point out, who leaves her sworn duty to protect her king and prince (but that rebellious streak is forgivable, evidently). Even more disturbing for me was learning that re Tolkien, evidently, healing was a special quality. I haven't read enough to really understand the Tolkien canon yet, but there seems to be, according to Tolkien, a LOSS of the ability to heal with every death. Elf healers do not kill - also Elrond's ability is quite special, and also he is of the First Age. And for me as well, it's evident that Oin knew about kingsfoil - but I found it offensive "the wonders of Elvish medicine" e.g., to me that little bit undermined dwarf culture, in a subtle way. And guess it's OK to just mouth off to the Heir to the Elven Kingdom, while you are at it.
Even her hair color and length, according to canon, is an issue. Much of this was new to me, but then again I was already at the time irate for the reasons you state - the female presented once again telegraphs to young girls - if that was the point - the unattainable. There are many beautiful young women (and an argument can be made ALL are beautiful) but time and again, we've seen exactly how much airbrushing and 'shopping goes on in the media.
Time and again, as well, we've seen many a beautiful young girl/woman isn't so nice on the inside, or has their own set of shames, self-doubt - whereas Tauriel's only issue was that the king disses her (poor Disney Mary Sue who no doubt saves the day in BOFA, somehow *gag* it's a wonder Thranduil just doesn't adopt her as the heir of Mirkwood). The irony of Tauriel, yet, is that while I concede in the film that EL often looks very pretty, she is a construct of heavy make-up, same as everyone except perhaps Aidan, Dean, and Martin Freeman (tho RA and Lee Pace gave the artists plenty to work with and made their jobs easier, IMO)
Then here came Tauriel. She filled every Mary Sue characteristic to a T. She had the men falling at her heels. And she was gorgeous (and that's not jealousy speaking on my part).
In a world where every woman and girl is told that they're not enough; they don't matter; they're not pretty, I don't think another character like her is what we need. Characters like her teach girls that if they want to be important they've got to have the looks. After all, that's what men crave, right?
This was my biggest issue at the time - the Mary Sueness. IF there was to be a female elf, and she is not the only one as we see others chasing after the orcs which is a nice touch - then make her a BELIEVABLE Captain of the Guard. Someone older, tougher, MATURE, with some FLAWS (maybe even downing a few with her soldiers. She could still be attractive, have vulnerabilities - to me as far as feminism goes, this was such a WASTED opportunity to bring a truly unique character into Middle Earth - perhaps a wise buffer of sorts who is utterly loyal to Thranduil, and yet is aware of a creeping darkness. That could have left the door open for Legolas's character to be far richer, perhaps tension with his father - why couldn't he be the one at the prison cell doors, hostile to the dwarves as he was raised that way, and yet curious? As it is, he is told by his father what to do, by Tauriel and ye gawds, the creepy stalker thing.
I actually agree with everything you have said, including your evaluation of EL as an actress. "Eh". For me, the only thing I can do is be resigned - she didn't BLOW it. And she's there, and most of the time except that "love" scene it's alright. EL did the job she got paid to do. I just hope that as PJ edits this film, he "gets" that forcing this character on us, and all of the ramming of the character down our throats re the PR, didn't work.
There was no "OMG, this character just STEALS the movie, we can't wait to see more of her!". I was chided once on describing, before the release of DOS, of "having to deal with the Tauriel scenes as the same as sitting through a commercial." It was just something to get through to get back to the story, for me, at the time, or so I thought.
Well, ultimately, it wasn't that bad, and there is some stuff I actually enjoy - the cell scene and the fight at Bard's. But with BOFA approaching, that old feeling of impatience is beginning to stir.
Same for me again regarding her place in BotFA. If she dies, I honestly won't care. (However, I will care if a big deal is made about it. Just ship her off to Valinor already! Who cares if she's not eligible to go.) If she saves the kids, great, but that's another tick for her on the Sue chart. There will be more with her and Kili in the next film (hopefully not to the level where I'll have to heave into my popcorn bucket), but I really hope she just gets left out for the most part. I've gone along with all of PJ's changes and taken them in stride until her, but now I just want to get back to the story. I don't want things like Lake-town's destruction, Thorin's madness, and Beorn's return to get overshadowed by her.
ROFLOL!!! Ditto, ditto, ditto, a hundred times over. Sometimes I think it's a good thing I'm not at a "con" where I might have run into her - and while I am not rude and don't get off on being unkind, at all, I'd still feel like saying when EL starts sounding like the mouthpiece of the Hobbit "you do understand, don't you, that while you may not have a character that's hated, to thousands what happens to you in THIS particular story is completely irrelevant, and worse, any focus on it, as has been pointed out by many essayists, undermines the arc of the canon characters?
That you are not resented so much as for giving a bad performance, but that any number of us are forced to watch a character arc that is just an irritant, and worse, insulting to our intelligence and identity as females? Seriously, our sisters of yore didn't burn their underwear and stage sit-ins just for us to be reminded through cinema that we had better look great in tight pants, and be "perfect" in every way!
I think I almost starting nodding off during the council scene in AUJ (and I'm not an action lover; I think it's just that Galadriel's slow, repetitive
walking was hypnotizing or something ). My friend called it the "bathroom break scene." I typically fast forward through it too.
Oh gawds *wipes tears*. Plz thank your friend for me ROFLOL - and worse, tho I often forward through that scene, that IS often the break point for me, and I let the BR run, while I go do something or another. Plus, for me, tho Galadriel/CB may be revered, the way she speaks in AUJ at times actually gets on my nerves; "syrupy" is the word that comes to mind. I don't know what else an actress could do, and Galadriel I think would be a hard role to take on, but she's not my thing. She IS Galadriel tho, and happily is believable as the most powerful female in Middle Earth.
So, if you read this, well today had a nice surprise for me today *grins* - really was not expecting the Thorin image. One can only hope that Tauriel actually looks like herself or isn't shot at a horrible angle like in the healing scene where she looks like a deranged baker kneading bread (she doesn't even look like EL in the banner - happily all the Heirs look amazing!!!) and I REALLY wish they would have a Fili/Kili one. After all, there was a time when these films were focused on DWARVES, a wizard, and one little hobbit.
Hó , Það sé ég föður minn
Hó , Það sé ég móður mína, og Hó, Það sé ég bræður mínir og systur mínar
Hó , Það sé ég mitt fólk aftur í byrjun
Hó, gera Þeir kalla til mín, og bjóða mér að taka minn stað meðal þeirra í sölum Valhallar
Hvar hugrakkir mun lifa að eilífu
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 15 2014, 3:25am
Post #122 of 123
(302 views)
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Laughter wasn't the intention when I was writing the other one, but I'm happy if it caused a few smiles. 
I intended to reply sooner (not sure if you're still looking at this even), but worked on it too long and accidentally deleted half of my post (only copied the first part into Word). *sigh* Been really busy the past few days, so it took me a bit to retype.
I could help with some Fili and Kili pictures (not that anyone's still reading this but us; but a few pictures are always welcome, right?). *cough* Got enough of 'em anyways.  I'll limit myself to four.
Totally understand with how much time it takes to put together picture posts. It's fun but time consuming (takes me on average 45 minutes to an hour, longer if I have a lot to say).
It is rather hard to choose between them, isn't it, Bilbo? *slaps self*
Kili realizes he left Thorin's wind machine in Rivendell.
As it should be...
I guess I should finish off with a happier one, so:
That one's for the "aww" factor. Just melts your heart, doesn't it?
I'm not on Facebook myself, but if I were, I probably would "like" that page. Some of the things on there are a little hard core, but I agree for the most part.
Regarding Tauriel's age: EL has said herself that Tauriel's about 600 years old while Legolas is about 1900. (I'm not sure where she's getting that number from. Legolas' age has never been explicitly stated anywhere in any of Tolkien's works. Numerous essays have made guesses at what it could be, but they're not solid facts.) At other times she's said that they were "raised together." By the time Tauriel was born, Legolas was already 1300 years old, nowhere near a child. I can't remember what age Elves are considered mature, but he's definitely past that age and then some. For being a "purist," EL really needs to check her facts.
She's far to rebellious and reckless to be a "Captain of the Guard," in my opinion. And how, at 600 years old (very young by elf standards), was she even considered for that position? If I were Thranduil, I wouldn't want her near any sort of leadership position. She flies off the handle too much to even be able to make rational decisions.
I've read that about Elvish healing too. Elrond was an exception (but he was pretty high-falutin' among elves). Glorfindel, who (if he's the same as the Glorfindel in the FA [who killed a balrog!] and just got sent back to M-e by the Valar) was no low-class elf and he had to hand Frodo (who I'm assuming had the same type of poison Kili did) to Elrond. I find it highly unlikely that Tauriel, a "lowly Silvan elf," would be able to rid Kili of a poison that serious. Kiling did diminish one's healing skills. Aragorn was special in that he could cut through ranks of orcs and cure Eowyn and Merry from the Black Breath/Black Shadow. I think I even read that healing was considered sacred, or something like that. Not sure though, been a couple of years since I read the Sil and Unfinished Tales. So really, no one like her would be able to do what she did. Just another one of her special inflated abilities, I guess. 
Quote
And guess it's OK to just mouth off to the Heir to the Elven Kingdom, while you are at it.
Well, she is special. After all, she's Legolas' best bud, Thranduil's protégé, and love interest of two men.
Red hair was rare among Elves. Her hair is especially unique (read: obnoxious) because it's so bright, therefore making her even more special. It's been argued that other Mirkwood Elves have red hair, but to me it's more of a copper tone. Tauriel's, on the other hand, is a bright scarlet (more like orange, actually). I really don't see how her hair is practical, either. Besides the fact that it's unnaturally long (and not practical at all), it's far too red. It seems like orcs would be able to spot her from a mile away, especially because there's so much of her hair.
That was my point exactly. Sorry if I didn't make it too clear. As Liv Tyler puts it, "She [Arwen] is a strong character, but they [PJ, PB, and FW] were trying to figure out how to incorporate her into the film to be a strong character. And maybe they kind of thought, 'Oh, well if she's a fighter she's strong.' And over time they realized that you don't have to put a sword in a woman's hand to make her seem a tough. That's little actual makeup of who Arwen is, and her sheer will and strength and love for this man was strong enough." (emphasis added) She's darn right. Women are strong on their own. We don't need no swords to prove that. (Example 1: delivering a baby. No explanation needed.) Now somehow that thought of women being strong on their own didn't cross their minds this time...
I'm not saying you can't have a woman who can fight in a movie. Sure you can. Just don't make her some Xena warrior princess who's perfect in absolutely everything under the sun. Make her human. People don't like watching perfect characters. It's annoying and slightly degrading.
She definitely needs some flaws. Maybe make her self-conscious/insecure, arrogant, slightly judgmental, self-critical, or harsh (not all at once, of course)? She needs a few negative traits besides being rebellious, naïve, and reckless (which seem to be the common makeup of almost every Mary Sue that ever existed).
I'll admit that Legolas was a pretty flat character in LotR. But that was his purpose, he was supposed to be a background character who just moved the plot along and helped the main characters. In DoS though the filmmakers had the opportunity to expand his character beyond "hot archer there for the fangirls." But he fell flat. All we know about him is that he's a prince, he's fine with being bossed around by a lower Silvan elf, and he likes to please his daddy. I'm hoping that he might get some expansion in BotFA, but I'm not expecting too much. My pessimistic side is saying that the "love triangle" is going to take up too much screen time and once again leave his character on the cutting room floor. The only hope I have left is that PJ and company have to show how he turns around from the very narrow-minded, cold, almost-military elf to the more open-minded, youthful (not sure they can canonically explain that away, though ) elf in LotR.
You're right. She didn't botch it up terribly, but her character just isn't sending me. Some people love her, and that's great for them. I wish I could too. The only thing that's going to get me to like her more is if a) she has less screen time, or b) she does a total 180 and becomes a more believable character. Realistically, I doubt either of those are going to happen. The "love triangle" is inevitably going to solve itself in the next movie, most likely (and this is going off of the mindset that Tauriel isn't going to die) coming to a close after dear Kili's death and involving his runestone. I really wish Tauriel could stay out of his business. After all, the runestone is something special between him and his mother. I'd much rather see a) him turning it over in his hands the night before the battle, b) him glancing at it right before they all march/charge out of the Mountain, or c) him holding it in his hand as he breathes his last. Any one of those would make me cry (then again, this is coming from a person who cries when any character dies).
I do like the Feast of Starlight. It's one of the best scenes in the movie for me, actually (next to Fili's moment in Lake-town, Bilbo and Smaug, and Thorin entering Erebor). And you want to know why? Because in that one moment she's actually acting like I'd expect an elf to act: in love with nature and mesmerized by its' beauty and wonder.
to thousands what happens to you in THIS particular story is completely irrelevant, and worse, any focus on it, as has been pointed out by many essayists, undermines the arc of the canon characters?
Exactly. She really doesn't bring anything to the story (yet, maybe she'll change for the better [unlikely]). And if she dies, she'll take away from the emotional impact of the big three. In addition, I feel like Kili's instant love makes him seem a lot shallower than he really is. It's a pity that his character had to go out the window so that the "romance" could be in there.
That you are not resented so much as for giving a bad performance, but that any number of us are forced to watch a character arc that is just an irritant, and worse, insulting to our intelligence and identity as females? Seriously, our sisters of yore didn't burn their underwear and stage sit-ins just for us to be reminded through cinema that we had better look great in tight pants, and be "perfect" in every way!
I can't think of anything to say to that except "Amen!" My thoughts exactly, and perfectly stated.
"Syrupy" is a good way to describe her voice. It's nice to listen to for the first five minutes, and it befits her character, but after fifteen minutes...zzzz... Nothing against CB at all; it's just really...relaxing, let's say. I'm sure it was hard to play the most powerful woman in Middle-earth, so I think she did a darned good job.
shot at a horrible angle like in the healing scene where she looks like a deranged baker kneading bread
 *wipes tears from eyes* That made me laugh so hard. It's true, she looked pretty strange in the healing scene, especially with the fake glow around her. She didn't look like herself in the banner to me either.
happily all the Heirs look amazing!!!
That they did. I was so happy to see that Fili was finally the prominent one.
I REALLY wish they would have a Fili/Kili one. After all, there was a time when these films were focused on DWARVES, a wizard, and one little hobbit.
I have no memory of that time... No, really, I wish they would get back to the story too. Nothing else has bothered me that much, even Azog (though I do wish they wouldn't spend so much time on him), until Tauriel. Ah well, I guess there's a forward button on the remote for a reason. I will say that no matter how much I gripe, I cannot wait for December. No matter how far afield the story gets, I'm sure it will be epic.
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Arveldis
Rivendell
Oct 16 2014, 4:01am
Post #123 of 123
(306 views)
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It seems my pictures disappeared in my post above.
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Can't Post
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Strange. I resized them according to the guidelines, made sure they didn't go over 45kb each/225kb total, and everything. They even showed up in the "preview post" box too. Dunno. Technology's out to get me, I guess.
I'll repost them again here with my original captions, and if they don't work again, I'll just take it that it's not meant to be.
It is rather hard to choose between them, isn't it, Bilbo? *slaps self*
Kili realizes he left Thorin's wind machine in Rivendell.
Oh, now I see. The one below was 46.9kb. Hmm. Could have sworn I resized it to something smaller. *shrugs* Just another humbling experience, I suppose.
As it should be...
And the happier one:
That one's for the "aww" factor. Just melts your heart, doesn't it?
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