[Elladan and Elrohir]

Wait, no! He's smiling because he's thinking, "You're going to get there to Mount Doom with him, Gandalf, and he's going to refuse to throw the Ring in. Then you'll sympathize with me."

Alatar, thanks for heading this up and starting these threads. I actually laughed out loud when I read your bits in this sequence and the previous one about Elrond and his story. I think it's good to start these threads with a light heart.

Boromir . . . what can I say? He's awesome. Of course, the knowledge from TTT EE that he's a secret agent sort of puts a damper on things, but he's still awesome. Sean Bean is spectacular in that role.

As an actor, Hugo Weaving is everything I've ever imagined Elrond to be. Obviously the script leaves a little to be desired. Physical appearance, voice, both awesome. Of course, I'm coming from the seemingly unique position of never having watched any of the Matrix movies, so I don't think "Agent Elrond" every time I see him.

I think the Council is good overall; it's cut down, but still gets the gist in there. PJ doesn't have an hour to spend educating moviegoers on the finer points of Ringlore, and he wouldn't even if he did. The most important thing about it is that Frodo's choice is left intact. This is one of the most powerful moments of the trilogy, even if Merry and Pippin do milk it for laughs.

Oh, and I love the brief look Legolas gives after Gimli says, "And my axe."

In Ian Holm's last real scene, he's awesome as usual. He totally captures the essence of Bilbo. Is it me, or is his rubber mask, and the shot of it, intentionally reminiscent of Gollum? It reminds me of the first Gollum scene from TTT, the shot where he puffs his cheeks while reaching for the Ring. Maybe someone could come up with a side-to-side comparison of those two shots?