[tifo_gcs]

I'm sorry Davem, but I can't quite figure out where you're going with Tolkien's changing view on elves. Please explain.
But I do concur that the movie portrayal of the elves is too dreamlike. It seems to fake, somehow, either the book or my imagination makes Elrond's house seem more wholesome when I read.
However, I think that the elves can take anyhting ordinary and turn it into something elvish, like Galadriel's mirror which is just water that she breathes on. I'm not going to support that with the reaction of people to elves because doing in depth research while at work is just impossible. In short, when elves interact with 'natural' things, they leave a magical touch on them like fingerprints. They don't deprive them of their nature, but they add something extra. At least that's how I see Tolkien's depiction of Elves.