The Two Towers

Thanks to the wonders of Multi-screen display, I'm currently watching the extended edition of 'The Two Towers' on one display with a vim window to the webserver open on the other screen.

It's a surprisingly different movie from the original, which never gripped me as much as 'Fellowship' did. There are a lot of extra scenes and extended scenes, which give much more of the back-story and flesh out the characters a lot. Especially Treebeard and the Rohirrim. The Lady's gifts, as in the first movie, are shown and used.

I think that Jackson has kept a very keen eye on the extended editions, and viewed the theatrical releases as a necessary evil to get his vision out. I also think that he's shot one heck of a lot of footage. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an 'extended-extended edition' released in a few years with even more extra footage.

Not Tom Bombadil, though. There were enough of Tom's lines uttered by Treebeard in Scene 19. Bombadil's not a particularly relevant part of the story anyway.

Also, the acceptance speed by Gollum as the Easter Egg is good. Go to Scene Selection, go to the last chapters and press Down until a ring appears, then press Play.

Once again, I'm struck by the absolute perfection of the casting. Could anyone other than Viggo Mortensen be Aragorn? Is Orlando Bloom not the perfect Legolas? Could any other country have provided such magnificent scenery? This is a movie starring New Zealand, and co-starring some actors.