Awaited movie of the year

I saw The Return of the King. More of the same, basically, but all coming together nicely in story terms towards the end. As in the book, there is a lot of tidying up after Sauron is defeated. Some reviews have criticised Peter Jackson for including all this (although to tell the truth one large episode is missing), but I think it is necessary. Firstly, it means that 20 minutes or so are devoted to the characters at the end, and this gives the film a little more depth after all the actions scens. Secondly, in the context of all three movies, it nicely bookends the story. The story starts in the comfortable world of the Shire, and also ends there, with the brutal wider world and decisions of life or death and fights for the world in between. If you throw away the ending, you might as well have done without the beginning as well.

And Eowyn rocks.