Lord of the Ring 30 Day Challenge - Days 1-7

So I realize I have been really bad about keeping up with this blog.  Honestly, I simply have not had the inclination to blog about anything for a while or to write anything period.  But, I think blogging is actually good for me because it makes me express myself and get out of my shell more than I normally would so I figured I should really get back into it.  Once I decided that, well, of course my mind went blank when I began to think about what I wanted to blog about.  I had some ideas but when I started trying to write, I found that I was not expressing myself or describing things the way I wanted to.  Naturally, I turned to Facebook and Google+ for inspiration, because, you know, that always works. ;)  In this case, it actually did, because as I was randomly scrolling through Google+, I found the 30 Day Challenge above.

Now, as you probably already know, I am a huge, huge Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan.  I saw the Lord of the Rings movies when they first came out back in 2001 and I have been in love with them ever since.  Same with the Hobbit movies.  I've been to the midnight premiere of the past two, once in costume, and I'm planning on going to the midnight premiere of the final movie in costume as well.  The Lord of the Rings movies are my favorite movies of all time, nothing comes even close to trumping them.  So with the final Hobbit movie getting ready to come out and all, I thought this would be a fun way to get back into blogging because it would be something I would really enjoy writing and sharing.

The final Hobbit movie comes out on December 17th, so I decided that I would make it so I finish this challenge on the 17th.  So today is going to be a combination of days 1-7 so I can finish by the 17th and then I'll do one a day starting tomorrow.  With all that being said, here we go!

Day 1 - Favorite Film

I have always hated when people ask me which film is my favorite because I think they're all so fantastic and it's so hard to choose!  But I finally decided that my favorite is Return of the King.  I find it kind of funny that this movie is my favorite because it invariably turns me into an emotional

wreck, but in a good way.  How weird is that?  But what I love so much about this film in particular is, of course, the story in general, I personally think it's the most epic of the three films though it is closely rivaled by Two Towers.  Aside from that though, there are these little moments scattered throughout that are just so beautiful or emotional to me:  Faramir and Pippin talking after Pippin's sworn fealty to Denethor, Pippin singing that beautifully haunting song as Faramir and his men ride to certain doom, Merry and Eowyn talking when the Rohirrim army takes a break during their ride to Gondor, Sam and Frodo on the slopes of Mount Doom, Gandalf telling Pipping death is just another adventure, Eowyn and Faramir at the houses of healing, when Pippin finds Merry after the Battle of Pelennor Fields, and at the end when Frodo bids farewell to his friends takes the ship to Valinor, to name but a few.  And then there are those moments of inspiration that just get you fired up like when Aragorn gives his speech before the Black Gate.  For me, there's just nothing to dislike about this movie.

Day 2 - Favorite Battle

For me it's a toss up between the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle of Pelennor Fields.  They are both these incredibly epic battles.  On the one hand, I really enjoy the Battle of Helm's Deep, it's

exciting, fairly fast paced, and there's more humor scattered throughout it.  On the other hand, I also like the Battle of Pelennor Fields.  It's longer, but there's more story with it, more focus on what each character is going through which I really like.  Not to mention there's Eowyn taking down the Witch-King which is one of my absolute favorite scenes of the trilogy.  So thinking of that, I'm going to say that Pelennor Fields is my favorite.  There's just so much to it and so many amazing moments.  Legolas single-handedly taking down one of the Mumakil, anyone?  Helm's Deep is definitely a very close second though.

Day 3 - Favorite Character

Hands down, Samwise Gamgee.  He is actually my favorite character out of any movie or even book I have ever seen/read which is saying a lot.  I prefer Sam in the movie to the book, personally, because as much as I love him in the book, there are times when he annoys me very slightly.  What I love so much about this character is just that here's this simple hobbit who wasn't highly educated, who never wanted to go on some big adventure, who doesn't really know how to fight, but he has so much wisdom, such insight, and such incredible bravery and loyalty.  Of everyone in the fellowship, I've always felt that he was the one who gave up the most.  He had a good home, his father, a girl that he loved, a job that he truly enjoyed, in general, he had a very happy life and he gave all that up to go with Frodo.  Once they'd

reached Rivendell, he was all ready to go home, but when Frodo volunteered to take the ring, he immediately joined him, determined to go along rather than go home.  And when the fellowship parted at the falls of Rauros, rather than letting Frodo travel to Mordor on his own, he followed Frodo and refused to be left behind, almost drowning in the process.  He had all these chances to turn back, but he never did, choosing to remain loyal to Frodo and leave behind a life he loved with no surety that he would ever make it back.  He also has one of my all time favorite lines of any movie when he and Frodo are in Osgiliath:  "I know.  It's all wrong.  By rights we shouldn't even be here.  But we are.  It's like in the great stories, Mister Frodo, the ones that really

mattered.  Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end.  Because how could the end be happy?  How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?  But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow.  Even darkness must pass.  A new day will come.  And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.  Those were the stories that stayed with you.  That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.  But I think, Mister Frodo, I do understand.  I know now.  Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't.  They kept going.  Because they were holding onto something."  When Frodo asks, "What are we holding on to, Sam?", Sam pulls him up and says, "That there's some good in this world, Mister Frodo... and it's worth fighting for!"  Words can't even describe how much I love this quote and how much I love and admire Sam.

Day 4 - Scene That Makes You Cry

There are several scenes that make me cry, so I'll just kind of list them off.

Boromir's death:  his death always struck me as so tragic.  He's this brave, noble, kind man, but the ring just twists him.  I always find it so incredibly sad that he's never able to reconcile his friendship with Frodo and apologize to him before he dies.

Haldir's death:  despite the fact he doesn't get much screen time, I always really liked Haldir, so depending on how I'm feeling at the moment, his death can make me quite emotional.

Merry and Pippin's separation:  the fear and sadness on their faces and the emotion in their voices is just so sad to watch.  They've been together so long that it's almost impossible to imagine them apart and seeing them have to separate so quickly is just hard to see.

When Frodo rejects Sam:  this scene nearly always makes me cry, it's just so heartbreaking.  I remember the first time I saw it, I just wanted to rip Frodo's head off because how dare he hurt my Sam.  The look on Sam's face and just seeing how heartbroken he is and how cruel it is for Frodo to send him away after all they've been through together and the sacrifices Sam made, aah, I simply cannot take it.

Theoden's death:  I always hated the fact that Theoden dies.  I feel like he grows so much as a person and as a king, I really admire his character.  The expression on his face just before the fell beast attacks him is just so gut-wrenching.  If ever there was an expression that fit the description "his fate stamped on his face", it would be his, because you can tell that he knows he's going to die.  Of course, Eowyn's emotion also makes it even harder and sadder to watch.

Frodo and Sam after the ring's been destroyed:  seeing Sam break down is just so hard to watch.

 Despite his words earlier that he didn't know as there would be a return journey, I always feel like up until that moment where he and Frodo found themselves trapped on a spire of rock with a river of lava flowing around them, he thought they might actually make it home and he would marry Rosie and have a family.  Seeing that hope crushed and his pain always makes me cry.

The last goodbye:  the end is so emotional with Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf leaving Middle-Earth

forever, particularly since Sam, Merry, and Pippin don't realize until the last moment that Frodo is leaving as well.  The scene is just so beautifully done.  Again, I think it's Sam's pain that really gets me.  Merry and Pippin were always close and they've had all these adventures together and I don't think Sam was ever as close with them.  It was always him and Frodo through everything and they formed this unbreakable bond and suddenly he's losing that.  This whole scene just seems so final and since I wish it would never end, I find it hard to keep my composure.

Day 5 - Scene That Makes You Laugh

There are a number of scenes that make me laugh, so again I'll just kind of list them off.

When Sam and Frodo first leave the Shire and Sam can't find a comfortable spot to sleep in, at the

Prancing Pony when Pippin gets so excited about pints, Pippin's comments when they're trying to open the doors to Moria, most of what Gimli says in Two Towers, Legolas' random comments as they're running, when Frodo finds the bottom of the cliff, Gollum's temper tantrums, Merry and Pippin after the destruction of Orthanc and finding the Longbottom Leaf, when Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn meet Merry and Pippin again after Helm's Deep, both of Merry and Pippin's songs, and many of Gimli's comments and actions in Return of the King, to name a few.

Day 6 - Ugliest Orc

Gothmog.  There's no competition, he is just so hideously misshapen and his character doesn't make him any more appealing either!








Day 7 - Favorite Antagonist
I am a huge Christopher Lee fan so Saruman definitely wins this one.  He's just such an interesting character.  You have this incredibly wise and powerful man who overestimates his power and gets sucked into the plans and machinations of Sauron.  I find him to be a bit of a tragic villain.  He had such potential to do good, but his desire for power just totally overruled him.

I always find it interesting that he has multiple chances to redeem himself, but in the end, he truly has lost all remnants of the wizard he used to be and he refuses and rages against those trying to save him. I find him especially hateful in the books since he ends up causing so much damage to the Shire. Like really, dude, you went too far with that one. Nobody touches the Shire. Nobody.

So there we are.  Sorry it's a bit long, I promise the following days will be much shorter!  And feel free to share your thoughts and opinions of each day. :)