THE RETURN OF THE KING

The only reason I stayed at my parents’ place today was to be near a Silvercity Theatre so I could watch The Return of the King.

I even deliberately cut back on my (hot) water consumption so that I didn’t need to run off to the washroom somewhere around the three hour mark. You know you’re partaking in an event movie when you arrive at the theatre around 2pm and don’t leave it until 6:30pm.

So what can I say about Return of the King that hasn’t been said or written already? Yes, it is a grand epic of a movie. It stands as a brilliant conclusion to what maybe the greatest movie trilogy in cinematic history. As I reflect upon what Peter Jackson has done, I cannot help but gaze wistfully as what Mr. Lucas has done with his prequels thus far. You could argue that Jackson already had excellent material to begin with, but there were many, many places he could have faltered. His successful marriage of CGI and story should be applauded. I wonder if George sometimes sits back the Ranch and thinks to himself, “…that’s what I wanted to do…”

I’ve read a lot of complaints about the many ending to Return of the King, but I can’t say I agree with them. With such a large ensemble cast, I think we were owed more than just a hasty end. In fact, I would have liked to have seen more of what happened to Aragorn, Arwen, Gimli, and Legolas. At least I can refer to the literature for this.

So, with the movie done, I was all ready to return to SJC and get some stuff done. I feel really lethargic when I’m at my parents’ place, like time is passing me by and I’m wasting it. Well, my parents bought a whole bunch of Costco stuff and I need a car to move that stuff. My parents were going out for the evening, so I was just going to drive everything back myself, drop the car off, and take the bus back to UBC. Yeah, a pain in the ass, but at least I’d be there for all day Sunday.

I get ready to leave, and I look in the garage. My parents have taken the car with all the Costco stuff in the trunk! So I was stuck here tonight with nothing to do but watch the Canucks stink up the joint. So my return will have to wait an extra night.