Tuesday, March 29, 2005

DVD Tuesday: Lee's 'Crimson Rivers' - Xoanon @ 12:26 PST
Crimson Rivers - Angels of the Apocalypse (Special Edition)

French sensation The Crimson Rivers was a serial killer thriller with a difference--it was genuinely thrilling. It was also pretty disturbing, but Jean Reno (The Professional) brought some light to the darkness with his sly performance as dog-phobic detective Niémans. Fortunately, Reno has returned in this highly stylized Luc Besson-penned sequel. Vincent Cassell has not, but Benoît Magimel (The Piano Teacher), as new partner Reda, makes for a decent replacement. Alas, Olivier Dahan isn't in the same league as Matthieu Kassovitz and the story line, which has something to do with the Last Supper, the Maginot Line, and gravity-defying killer monks, is even more convoluted than before. Then there's Johnny Hallyday (The Man on the Train) as a mysterious one-eyed man and Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings) as a bad German dude. It's all a little ridiculous, but entertaining nonetheless, and the chase sequences are a treat. [Order 'Crimson Rivers - Angels of the Apocalypse' (Special Edition) on Amazon.com Today!]

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

DVD Tuesday: Broadbent's 'Edge of Reason' - Xoanon @ 11:20 PST
Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason

Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. [Order 'Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason' (Widescreen Edition) on Amazon.com Today!] [Order 'Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason' (Fullscreen Edition) on Amazon.com Today!]

Friday, March 18, 2005

2005 ToyBiz Lord of the Rings Action Figures - Xoanon @ 19:23 PST

Click for more images

JacquieG writes: Toys R Us.com has started taking pre-orders for the next set of ToyBiz Lord of the Rings Action figures. Fellowship and Two Towers pre-orders are to be shipped April 15 and Two Towers should go out April 28. FYI – The top 10 pre-orders for the action figure category are from this group –

10-RotK Legolas
9- Boromir With Sound
8- Mount Doom Sam
7- Mount Doom Frodo
6- Weather Top Strider
5-Council Legolas
4-Talking Flaming Ringwrath
3- Eye of Sauron
2- Gothmog
1- Dark Galadriel

LORD OF THE RINGS LOTHLORIEN GIFT PACK: Set includes Aragorn, Frodo, Galadriel and exclusive Haldir and Celeborn figures.

LORD OF THE RINGS PELENNOR FIELDS GIFT PACK: Set includes Soldier of the Dead, Legolas, Gimli and exclusive Mumakil Rider and Orc Captain figures.

Monday, March 07, 2005

TORN Polo Shirts End Friday! - Xoanon @ 13:07 PST
MrCere writes: TheOneRing.net will take orders for TORn polo shirts through THIS Friday and then stop production. These shirts have always been made as ordered by you and we JUST received a shipment so if you are waiting for your shirt, mail is on the way.

After Friday's deadline we will submit our final polo order and the door will close on this item. After that, even if you are golden haired and beautiful Elf or a short man with a braided beard, the way will be shut. (If you are a king, well, there might still be a chance). We will be post our TORn and KIKn sweat shirts very soon as well as our rerun of the limited "Don't Make Me Get My Ring" shirts.

As a reminder, all the other shirts currently in our shop (shop.theonering.net/shirts) are available only until our current supply is sold through.

If you have suggestions for future items or slogans please contact Tshirts@TheOneRing.net. Thanks for all your future and past support of TheOneRing.net and KongIsKing.net!

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings - Xoanon @ 10:15 PST
Blackbird writes: Please pass along some info about Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings: From the Page to the Screen, by Lynnette R. Porter. It'll be published in late March by Greenwoord Press/Praeger. This is the book for anyone who's a fan of Merry, Pippin, Eowyn, Galadriel, Arwen, Legolas, or Gimli. They're the "unsung heroes" discussed in great detail, in both Tolkien's work and Peter Jackson's adaptation. The book also describes fandom's role in LotR's continuing popularity, as well as the need for Tolkien's heroic characters in a modern world. The book presents an in-depth look at some of our favorite characters who often are not featured in other critical works.

Unsung Heroes is both literary and film criticism; about half of each chapter is devoted to the book and half to Jackson's adaptation.

Lynnette R. Porter is an associate professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at Embry-Riddle University and a member of the Tolkien Society. This is her fifth book, but first about LotR.

Pre-Order 'Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings: From the Page to the Screen' on Amazon.com Today!

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

DVD Tuesday: Otto's Phoenix - Xoanon @ 09:52 PST
Flight of the Phoenix

As superfluous remakes go, Flight of the Phoenix could've been better, and could've been worse. It's a passable popcorn adventure, especially for those unfamiliar with the 1965 original, which starred James Stewart, made headlines for the crash-landing death of stunt-pilot Paul Mantz, and now stands as a minor classic of its era. This flashy remake stars Dennis Quaid in Stewart's role, adds a woman to the list of plane-crash survivors, and showcases Giovanni Ribisi, who gives a cleverly eccentric performance as the model-airplane designer who proposes to rebuild a crashed cargo plane into a single-engine escape from certain death in the remote Gobi desert. Both films are essentially identical, but this remake is somehow less believable (due to shortcuts in a haphazardly written screenplay) and much more spectacular, owing to the advantage of impressive special effects. Otherwise it's a routine dose of survivalist entertainment from the director of Behind Enemy Lines, never convincing enough to be genuinely compelling, but certainly never boring. [Order 'Flight of the Phoenix' (Widescreen Edition) on Amazon.com Today!] [Order 'Flight of the Phoenix' (Fullscreen Edition) on Amazon.com Today!]

Monday, February 28, 2005

Tolkien on Film: Essays on PJ's LOTR - Xoanon @ 22:21 PST
Turgon writes: A new book is out: TOLKIEN ON FILM: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS, edited by Janet Brennan Croft, and published by The Mythopoeic Press. Order it here ($19.95). It's quite a hefty volume, and many of the essays look highly interesting. Here are the front and back covers.

And the full contents of the book:

TOLKIEN ON FILM: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS, edited by Janet Brennan Croft

Janet Brennan Croft, "Introduction"

Film History: J.E. Smyth, "The Three Ages of Imperial Cinema from the Death of Gordon to The Return of the King"

Adaptation and Revision: David Bratman, "Summa Jacksonica: A Reply to Defenses of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, after St. Thomas Aquinas"

Janet Brennan Croft, "Mithril Coats and Tin Ears: 'Anticipation' and 'Flattening' in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy"

Diana Paxson, "Re-vision: The Creative Process in The Lord of the Rings In Print and On Screen"

Heroes and Leaders: Kayla McKinney Wiggins, "The Art of theStory-Teller and the Person of the Hero"

Dan Timmons, "Frodo on Film: Peter Jackson's Problematic Portrayal"

Judith Kollmann, "Elisions and Ellipses: Councils and Counsel in Tolkien's and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings"

A Woman's Part: Jane Chance, "Tolkien's Women (and Men): The Films and the Books"

Cathy Akers-Jordan, "Fairy Princess or Tragic Heroine? The Metamorphosis of Arwen Undomiel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Films"

Victoria Gaydosik, " 'Crimes Against the Book'? The Transformation of Tolkien's Arwen from Page to Screen and the Abandonment of the Psyche Archetype"

Maureen Thum, "The 'Sub-Subcreation' of Galadriel, Arwen, and Éowyn: Women of Power in Tolkien's and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings"

Fan Fiction: Susan Booker, "Tales Around the Internet Campfire: Fan Fiction in Tolkien's Universe"

Amy H. Sturgis, "Make Mine 'Movieverse': How the Tolkien Fan Fiction Community Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Jackson"

The Lucky Number: Mark Shea, "The Lord of the Rings: A Source-Critical Analysis"

Order 'TOLKIEN ON FILM: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS' on Amazon.com Today

TORN Shirt Update - Xoanon @ 11:04 PST
TheOneRing.net has stocked its current t-shirt supplies for the last time. We have every color and every style currently available and ready for prompt shipping. However, when our current supply is out, it is out for good. We get lots of email requesting old shirts that we just can't maintain a stock of. So, don't miss your last chance to won our current styles. Go here to see the styles available.

Having said that, we are brining back a reprinting of one of our VERY most popular shirts the Navy, "Don't Make Me Get My Ring" style. We have been sold out of these for a while but the requests kept on coming so, just like our current shirts, this is the absolutely last time we will stock this shirt. As the cliche goes, if you snooze, you lose. These will be available from our on-line store in a few days.

We do have a very limited number of TORn grey sweatshirts that will go on sale in about a week as well as a limited number of black KongIsKing.net sweat shirts and hats. These will be available soon and will be only be available until they are gone. Look for an anouncement on TORn and KiKn as soon as they go on sale.

Thanks to all who support TORn and KiKn by buying our merchandise!