i just got back from screening Return of the King. from the opening sequence of the transformation of Smeagal into Gollum, i knew i has quite a movie to watch. for being as long as it is, the movie does have some slow moments but for the most part, i really enjoyed this movie. however, there are a few things i noticed that really made my skin itch. for instance, when the fellowship rides back to rohan for their celebration, the smoke from the homes are running backwards. easy mistake, but quite obvious. and for as much talk Weta Digital has been getting the past three years, you think the would have developed the technique of droppigng out the blue screen better, but there are quite a few scenes where you just can't miss the fact that the blue screen was once there. esspecially the scene with gollum and whenever the hobbits are in the same frame with someone of "normal" size. the biggest "ouch" came in the last part of the movie, when aragorn is crowned king, the camera focus' directly on the four hobbits and the blue screen is still there. you have an entire year to drop out a blue screen and they can't even do that right. next time, use ILM. at least they can do that right.

but what they did get right were the battle sequences. goodness that was the most intense battles i have ever witnessed. there were times when i thoght i was going to get trampled by one of them elephant looking things. to me, this is where the movie really shines. not to go into great detail, but when you see Sauron's army making it's way towards Minas Tirith, goosebumps.
and the sequnce of legolas taking down one of these things was just incredible.

if you have not seen the extended versions of the Fellowship and Two Towers, i highly recommend doing so before you watch this movie. there are some scenes that the audience will question if they did not see certain scenes fom the extended versions.

i really enjoyed the film. there were a few querks that i noticed that most people probably won't. and i would say that the movie is worth the hype it is getting.

best picture, probably.