Some may say producer/director Peter Jackson's latest J. R. R. Tolkien adaption is an unexpected disappointment of phantom menace proportions because Jackson himself has been corrupted by the power of the One Ring. Others may say this movie was a long awaited pleasant return to Middle Earth. A great many have commented at being duly dazzled and disoriented by the look and feel of watching super HD 48fps 3D on the big screen - especially when trying to sleuth the scatological origin of Radagast's hair. But let me not get ahead of myself. A review should have a proper beginning. continue

A few years ago, on a warm spring afternoon in Jackson, MS, I detected a note of surprise in the man's voice. He had just finished a PhD on Tolkien and was delighted by the questions of my dear friend... continue