"We Must Away Ere Break of Day"

"Legend tells of a ring, created by an ancient evil, that gave its wearer the power to enslave the world."

Those were the words that I heard as I sat in a movie theater watching the preview before Rush Hour 2. This was the first full-length Lord of the Rings trailer that I saw, and I can promise you that there was nothing that was going to take my attention away from what I was seeing on the screen in front of me! After it was over, my friend kindly reminded me to pick my jaw up off of the ground and stop drooling. I had heard that they were making The Lord of the Rings trilogy into a movie, but hadn't held my breath that it would be something great to expect. (I'd seen pieces of the old animated ones that existed at the time and they didn't exactly thrill me.) So, this first trailer had me on the edge of my seat and more than stoked for the upcoming holiday season when it would be released.

Tonight, as I came home, I knew that I had a bit of writing to do. I had two blogs to post to make my goal of 3 for this week before my seminar on Wednesday. Normally, I would have a bit more time to come up with the needed material. However, because of the fact that this week will be our ropes course week, I have a bit less time. Anyway, I got online to do my writing... and what do I do? I jump on Facebook to check one legitimate item... and let myself get drawn into a posting about the upcoming Hobbit movie. I eventually made my way to the actual movie site and realized that I had not yet taken the opportunity to watch any of the trailers. Now, I had already had every intention of going to this movie when it was released. It's being directed by Peter Jackson, who (I'm sure most of you know) directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy that most people will admit to being a movie masterpiece. I found that they had added a small twist for those who would be sharing the trailer via various social media. The trailer would play in its entirety, but depending on the person who posted it, there were five different endings that could be played. The one that I liked best is here*. I am now much more excited to see this new film! Perhaps I will break with tradition... or perhaps I will continue it. My brother and I went to see The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers on New Year's Day 2002 and 2003, respectively. The movies had been out long enough that the crowds had died down and we were able to go with only a fairly normal gathering of people attending the matinees that we ended up going to. (The only reason we did not go to The Return of the King New Year's Day 2004 was that I was down in the Provo MTC preparing to serve my LDS mission to Berlin, Germany.)

(*Unfortunately, it seems that the site has taken down the trailers. I have since removed the link. The trailer ended with the dwarves of the company tossing around a small sack as Gandalf explains to Bilbo that there was a bet as to whether or not he would show up. Bilbo asks him how he bet. The bag is finally thrown to Gandalf who promptly pockets the change. "I never doubted you for a second!" -16.May.2013)

The Lord of the Rings was a breathtaking visual experience for me. When I saw The Fellowship of the Ring, many of the scenes that were portrayed on the screen were exactly as I had seen them in my mind's eye... and then added upon and made more beautiful. Hobbiton was so lush, green, and simple. Rivendell was ancient, graceful, and gorgeous. The mines of Moria were just as I had pictured them, but I loved how, in the movie, they created something of the grandeur that Balin's kingdom had once been. I had never pictured it as such and loved the scene where Gandalf says, "Let me risk a little more light. ... Behold! The great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf." Then everyone can see the massive pillars and curious beauty that was the great dwarf city. Sam puts it well as he says, "Now there's an eye opener and no mistake."

The Hobbit has always been a simple and fun story to me. I am looking forward to what we will get to see as Middle-Earth is again taken to the silver screen.