[Briar King]

I thought it was strange af.

[QuickTidal]

Azath Vitr (D, on 24 August 2022 - 09:33 PM, said:

Cancelled, on 24 August 2022 - 08:25 PM, said:

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=x8UAUAuKNcU

What in a Balrog's fiery asshole is up with this music?

The vocoded English vocals you mean? I don't mind the stylistic choice, but the way it's mixed does make them sound shockingly bad on my studio monitors....

'with our hearts... even bigger than our feet'... and that was the best line by far.

Not good omens....

Cancelled, on 24 August 2022 - 09:46 PM, said:

I thought it was strange af.

I don’t know why no one bothered to look this shit up. It’s not like this is some trailer music company. This is a husband and wife electronic/downtempo pop duo who once headlined Glastonbury. Ex Makina is a legit music act with a recent album this song is from.

And it works well, and I haven’t the foggiest fucking clue why people are complaining about it.

Fuck me. If it was Florence and the machine over GOT no one has a problem, but gods forbid it’s more of an unknown band over Tolkien that isn’t Enya or Annie Lennox.

Wtf guys.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 24 August 2022 - 11:56 PM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Music was fine for me. Howard Shore's score for the films was lightning in a bottle, once in a liftime level of good. I was always expecting something different. I prefered the solo female vocal line on the previous trailer, personally.

The hearts bigger than our feet line makes sense from the person delivering it, didn't really see an issue with it. It's not high prose but then I get the sense the Harfoots aren't a sophisitcated people. I get a very oral tradition, stories told down generations round the fire in winter sort of vibe off them.

They seem to be going hard on warrior princess Galadriel, but I think that's partially a result of contracting the timeline so she's going to have a lot to do in a short time. I suspect that will be the biggest "wtf" I have to get past watching it, in terms of how thick and fast events come up. Hardly insurmountable.

I'm cautiously looking forward to it. Still very excited to see Numenor.

For those familiar with Silmarillion, any thoughts on which brother of Galadriel's it is that dies?

Spoiler

I don't get the sense we're going to see Beren and Luthien, and it would be weird to have Finrod's death divorced from their story. So perhaps Angrod or Aegnor? Doing the Dagor Bragollach feels like a big ask too though (unless it's done in flashback), so maybe whowever it is their death is different on screen.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 26 August 2022 - 06:02 AM

[QuickTidal]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 26 August 2022 - 06:00 AM, said:

For those familiar with Silmarillion, any thoughts on which brother of Galadriel's it is that dies?

Spoiler

I don't get the sense we're going to see Beren and Luthien, and it would be weird to have Finrod's death divorced from their story. So perhaps Angrod or Aegnor? Doing the Dagor Bragollach feels like a big ask too though (unless it's done in flashback), so maybe whowever it is their death is different on screen.

Spoiler

It's definitely Finrod. The cast list names him such. I feel like the flashbacks to him will only be fleeting enough that they won't have to dive too far into Beren and Luthien to show how he ends up sacrificing himself on the back of what occurs with Beren.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Ah, cheers

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

So Neil Gaiman has seen the series and said he loved it.

[Tiste Simeon]

The guy who does the excellent Nerd of the Rings YouTube channel has seen it. He's always been cautiously optimistic and he's now saying he's loved it. Cue a bunch of idiots calling him a shill etc.

Seems the Tolkein fanbase can be as ridiculous and toxic as the SW one...

[Tiste Simeon]

https://youtu.be/hpo01KAs_i8

Review by the Nerd of the Rings guy, placing it between LOTR and The Hobbit trilogies. Which is where I was kind of expecting it to land for me!

[Cyphon]

Tiste Simeon, on 27 August 2022 - 08:33 PM, said:

The guy who does the excellent Nerd of the Rings YouTube channel has seen it. He's always been cautiously optimistic and he's now saying he's loved it. Cue a bunch of idiots calling him a shill etc.

Seems the Tolkein fanbase can be as ridiculous and toxic as the SW one...

Genuine question, is there a fan base that hasn't gone like this in the face of one of these events? I feel like this kind of reaction might be an natural consequence of being a fan base.

[worry]

Tiste Simeon, on 31 August 2022 - 02:55 PM, said:

https://youtu.be/hpo01KAs_i8

Review by the Nerd of the Rings guy, placing it between LOTR and The Hobbit trilogies.

Ah, so it's between an A and an A+.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'so astounding it makes House of the Dragon look amateur [...] likely to prove divisive, not least depending on whether you watch it on a big TV or squint at its splendour on a phone or laptop. It is so rich and gorgeous that it is easy to spend the first episode simply gawping at the landscapes, as it swoops and swooshes [...] This is TV that is made for big screens[...]

[...] it is probably helpful to do a small amount of homework.

[...] On occasion, there is a whiff of "smell-the-fart" acting, which is perhaps hard to avoid when every other line is a poker-faced aphorism [...] The pace, too, is a little all-or-nothing[...] But these are quibbles and, in the end, the spectacle wins.'

Article contains arguable minor spoilers (about opening scene, time frames, arrival of certain characters or groups, etc.):

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power review – so astounding it makes House of the Dragon look amateur | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Might be good to watch in virtual reality then (since virtual screen size can be made arbitrarily large, or maximally---or perhaps optimally---fill up your visual field)? Despite the lack of 3D (so far)....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 31 August 2022 - 03:35 PM

[worry]

Azath Vitr (D, on 31 August 2022 - 03:34 PM, said:

[...] On occasion, there is a whiff of "smell-the-fart" acting

Surely Lee Pace isn't returning!

[champ]

Does anyone actually pay attention to reviews nowadays? Critics seem so out of touch and a publication would rather post a sensational review for clicks rather than an actual truthful review...

Ive seen reviews for this at 1/5 and others at 9/10 so far so it's safe to say the discussion around this will be a total shitshow.

[QuickTidal]

champ, on 31 August 2022 - 03:58 PM, said:

Does anyone actually pay attention to reviews nowadays? Critics seem so out of touch and a publication would rather post a sensational review for clicks rather than an actual truthful review...

Ive seen reviews for this at 1/5 and others at 9/10 so far so it's safe to say the discussion around this will be a total shitshow.

It's too early days for a consensus really. Most of the people who have seen it so far will have positive things to say since they got early access somehow...and anyone else will not have much to go on.

I'd say we will know what sort of show it is by the 3rd ep, maybe 4th.

I'm excited to check it out and think it looks great, but I still have some reservations....but I'm not a Tolkien purist either so perhaps I'll be easier on it than some?

[Macros]

I feel like the internet has just made certain type people feel like they have to brutally critique everything, regardless of any actual investment in the IP.

[Tavvar]

Macros, on 31 August 2022 - 07:45 PM, said:

I feel like the internet has just made certain type people feel like they have to brutally critique everything, regardless of any actual investment in the IP.

I think the negativity bias of the internet makes people want to be negative because it gets more attention. And the bigger the IP, the more attention for being negative. I get the impression that many Tolkein/LOTR fans *want* this to be a disaster, and are actively hoping it will fail. I don't really get that, except for the idea that setting low expectations may make it more enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to it, but am not reading any reviews since they do seem to be all over the map. I will be coming here for reasonable takes.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tavvar, on 01 September 2022 - 03:12 PM, said:

Macros, on 31 August 2022 - 07:45 PM, said:

I feel like the internet has just made certain type people feel like they have to brutally critique everything, regardless of any actual investment in the IP.

I think the negativity bias of the internet makes people want to be negative because it gets more attention. And the bigger the IP, the more attention for being negative. I get the impression that many Tolkein/LOTR fans *want* this to be a disaster, and are actively hoping it will fail. I don't really get that, except for the idea that setting low expectations may make it more enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to it, but am not reading any reviews since they do seem to be all over the map. I will be coming here for reasonable takes.

Reviewers before the internet were pretty harsh too... partly because it can be entertaining. Pretty much the way it's been through most of history iirc, at least in English, French, ancient Greek, and probably Latin and ancient Chinese as well....

But now it's compounded by being open to anybody on the internet, and anyone who wants to disagree with them....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 September 2022 - 04:29 PM

[QuickTidal]

Tavvar, on 01 September 2022 - 03:12 PM, said:

I get the impression that many Tolkein/LOTR fans *want* this to be a disaster, and are actively hoping it will fail. I don't really get that, except for the idea that setting low expectations may make it more enjoyable.

I think this is accurate and I THINK these people want it to fail because they think (erroneously, I might add) that doing so will get things produced and made that they LIKE instead? That's my take on it anyways.

Azath Vitr (D, on 01 September 2022 - 04:28 PM, said:

Reviewers before the internet were pretty harsh too... partly because it can be entertaining. Pretty much the way it's been through most of history iirc, at least in English, French, ancient Greek, and probably Latin and ancient Chinese as well....

But now it's compounded by being open to anybody on the internet, and anyone who wants to disagree with them....

See, the part you're missing about "before the internet" is that the people who critiqued shit back then were almost always NAMED. Like you knew who they were. Those people were also held to the standard "Are you going to say this to the artist/authors face?"...the "literary academics" who shit on the Discworld books in the 80's? They have to be held to that shitty take in hindsight by anyone who cares to find and source those comments.... and the different is that people post-internet-advent don't have that barrier, so they say heinous things KNOWING they are protected by anonymity.

I would argue that 99% of online trolls would utterly shit their pants if the person they were lambasting over a piece of art or media knew who they were...

Relevant sidebar: There's a female tiktoker whose whole brand is an OnlyFans account, and sort of Penthouse Pet stories "sleeping with the plumber who came to fix her taps' and such like....that kind of stuff. Well a little while back she made a video (again, this is a character she created really, and not obviously her doing these things in reality) basically being a POV 'If I can tempt your man, maybe he aint the one'. The comments were absolutely filled with hate from women who were like "How dare you!" and "My husband would never with you, you trash!"....so she called their bluffs and ever since then her platform has turned into her going to at LEAST seven of those trolls account profiles, most of whom were stupid enough o have them linked to their instas, and though those instas she found their husbands instas and she's been honey potting them by sending suggestive DMs to these married dudes....and EVERY SINGLE ONE so far....every single man married to these brash women trolls who commented on her videos with hate....either propositioned her, or accepted her advances....every one. So yeah, the level at which anonymity gives trolls the shield too say whatever, falls apart when their real identities and lives are on the line.

EDITED some numbers and descriptions.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 01 September 2022 - 05:08 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 01 September 2022 - 05:03 PM, said:

Tavvar, on 01 September 2022 - 03:12 PM, said:

I get the impression that many Tolkein/LOTR fans *want* this to be a disaster, and are actively hoping it will fail. I don't really get that, except for the idea that setting low expectations may make it more enjoyable.

I think this is accurate and I THINK these people want it to fail because they think (erroneously, I might add) that doing so will get things produced and made that they LIKE instead? That's my take on it anyways.

Azath Vitr (D, on 01 September 2022 - 04:28 PM, said:

Reviewers before the internet were pretty harsh too... partly because it can be entertaining. Pretty much the way it's been through most of history iirc, at least in English, French, ancient Greek, and probably Latin and ancient Chinese as well....

But now it's compounded by being open to anybody on the internet, and anyone who wants to disagree with them....

See, the part you're missing about "before the internet" is that the people who critiqued shit back then were almost always NAMED. Like you knew who they were. Those people were also held to the standard "Are you going to say this to the artist/authors face?"...the "literary academics" who shit on the Discworld books in the 80's? They have to be held to that shitty take in hindsight by anyone who cares to find and source those comments.... and the different is that people post-internet-advent don't have that barrier, so they say heinous things KNOWING they are protected by anonymity.

I would argue that 99% of online trolls would utterly shit their pants if the person they were lambasting over a piece of art or media knew who they were...

Relevant sidebar: There's a female tiktoker whose whole brand is an OnlyFans account, and sort of Penthouse Pet stories "sleeping with the plumber who came to fix her taps' and such like....that kind of stuff. Well a little while back she made a video (again, this is a character she created really, and not obviously her doing these things in reality) basically being a POV 'If I can tempt your man, maybe he aint the one'. The comments were absolutely filled with hate from women who were like "How dare you!" and "My husband would never with you, you trash!"....so she called their bluffs and ever since then her platform has turned into her going to at LEAST seven of those trolls account profiles, most of whom were stupid enough o have them linked to their instas, and though those instas she found their husbands instas and she's been honey potting them by sending suggestive DMs to these married dudes....and EVERY SINGLE ONE so far....every single man married to these brash women trolls who commented on her videos with hate....either propositioned her, or accepted her advances....every one. So yeah, the level at which anonymity gives trolls the shield too say whatever, falls apart when their real identities and lives are on the line.

EDITED some numbers and descriptions.

Hmm, not sure about the statistics, but plenty of pseudonymous/anonymous reviews were published (or otherwise widely circulated) before the internet.

Perhaps especially before dueling was outlawed....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 September 2022 - 05:26 PM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

QuickTidal, on 01 September 2022 - 05:03 PM, said:

Tavvar, on 01 September 2022 - 03:12 PM, said:

I get the impression that many Tolkein/LOTR fans *want* this to be a disaster, and are actively hoping it will fail. I don't really get that, except for the idea that setting low expectations may make it more enjoyable.

I think this is accurate and I THINK these people want it to fail because they think (erroneously, I might add) that doing so will get things produced and made that they LIKE instead? That's my take on it anyways.

Azath Vitr (D, on 01 September 2022 - 04:28 PM, said:

Reviewers before the internet were pretty harsh too... partly because it can be entertaining. Pretty much the way it's been through most of history iirc, at least in English, French, ancient Greek, and probably Latin and ancient Chinese as well....

But now it's compounded by being open to anybody on the internet, and anyone who wants to disagree with them....

See, the part you're missing about "before the internet" is that the people who critiqued shit back then were almost always NAMED. Like you knew who they were. Those people were also held to the standard "Are you going to say this to the artist/authors face?"...the "literary academics" who shit on the Discworld books in the 80's? They have to be held to that shitty take in hindsight by anyone who cares to find and source those comments.... and the different is that people post-internet-advent don't have that barrier, so they say heinous things KNOWING they are protected by anonymity.

I would argue that 99% of online trolls would utterly shit their pants if the person they were lambasting over a piece of art or media knew who they were...

Relevant sidebar: There's a female tiktoker whose whole brand is an OnlyFans account, and sort of Penthouse Pet stories "sleeping with the plumber who came to fix her taps' and such like....that kind of stuff. Well a little while back she made a video (again, this is a character she created really, and not obviously her doing these things in reality) basically being a POV 'If I can tempt your man, maybe he aint the one'. The comments were absolutely filled with hate from women who were like "How dare you!" and "My husband would never with you, you trash!"....so she called their bluffs and ever since then her platform has turned into her going to at LEAST seven of those trolls account profiles, most of whom were stupid enough o have them linked to their instas, and though those instas she found their husbands instas and she's been honey potting them by sending suggestive DMs to these married dudes....and EVERY SINGLE ONE so far....every single man married to these brash women trolls who commented on her videos with hate....either propositioned her, or accepted her advances....every one. So yeah, the level at which anonymity gives trolls the shield too say whatever, falls apart when their real identities and lives are on the line.

EDITED some numbers and descriptions.

Can you link to more info on this OnlyFans escapade? It sounds fun to read about.