In the spirit of LotR, I've been indulging my inner Tolkien uber-geek the last few days, scouring and re-scouring my favorite bits of the books, and re-reading Christopher Tolkien's History of the Lord of the Rings. I even watched most of the movies again, and purchased the extended DVDs (finally).

I liked Return of the King, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it as most good people seem to be. I won't pretend that Peter Jackson didn't do a fantastic job with all three movies. But there are some really wonderful scenes, especially in Return of the King, that I wish would have been closer to the books. These scenes are my favorites, and I was dearly hoping to see them on screen.

Merry and Pippin greeting Gandalf, Theoden, and company at the gates of Isengard (sans drunken silliness). The ride of Gandalf and Pippin to Minas Tirith, with Gandalf naming each of the beacons flaring in the distance. Elladan and Elrohir joining Aragorn and advising him to remember the Paths of the Dead. The death of Denethor.

As good as it was, the last movie felt like one long battle sequence with nary a pause for breath.