bpododo After the mix of reviews the Hobbit movies received (which I enjoyed even if in some places they are terribly lore-breaking) I discovered the two movies made by the actorsatwork team: this one and the Hunt for Gollum. As a long time Tolkien fan (10+ years) and well versed in all of his works, I want to say that both movies were a joy for me to watch.The care and dedication by which they were made is visible and I terribly love how the movies succeed in maintaining the atmosphere of Middle Earth the LOTR trilogy gave us in the first place.Concerning Born of Hope: Was there place for improvements? There always is, no matter which franchise we're talking about, but director Kate Madison and her team made a wonderful job with the limited resources they had. The characters are well casted and well written and I enjoyed the original characters immensely, mainly Elgarain whom I consider canon and is now one of my favorite Tolkien characters alongside Beleg Cuthalion, Erendis, Luthien or Elendil let's say.I would have liked more character development scenes, the little things that charm the audience towards liking a character... like Elgarain and Gilraen interacting more, or Evonyn having a bigger role and a few more lines, or a quiet family scene with little Aragorn, the sons of Elrond and Gilraen and Arathorn. But I am perfectly happy with the movie as it is.I've seen complaints about the camera work or the decors that I would like to completely dismiss. Last time I checked, this is not a Hollywood funded movie, but one made by fans for fans. The small mistakes are easy to pass over and for someone who truly loves Tolkien's work and wants to see the two movies with an open mind, the way to do this is easy.My opinion? Give it a chance, you won't regret it. Were they available to buy on solid DVD I would do it in a heartbeat. (Also what wouldn't I give for a Weta-statue of Arathorn or Elgarain in the likeliness of the LOTR ones) I have downloaded the soundtracks of both movies from the site of the team and I listen to them as often as I listen to the Howard Shore ones. The two movies as a whole are the perfect add-in to the original trilogy. Why "the movie the fans always needed"? Because there is as much potential for fan-work as both PJ trilogies give us.

drystyx This should have been good. The costumes were there. The scenery was there. The people were there. The basis for the story was there to tell of a gap in the Hobbit world of elves, men, and other creatures.Everything was there but the originality in the script.This is as forced and predictable as one can imagine. It looks like it was written by people with serious issues and hatred, and it shows.Too bad, because a lot of people spent a lot of time and money on this. The atmosphere could have been there.What really suffers here is the lack of inspiration in the story. It looks so forced and so full of the usual Hollywood hate and propaganda that one can't help but be embarrassed for everyone involved.Three words that best describe this are as follows and I quote.Stink.Stank.Stunk.

dicksmothersjr This is a film made truly for die-hard Tolkien fans. While meticulously consistent with the story lines established by the author, fans solely of the film will likely be rather bored with it. This exceptionally well-crafted, fan-made, micro-budgeted film, while it takes great pains to share visual continuity with Jackson's films (and does so remarkably well, despite the tiny budget) is long on dialogue and short on action, creating a tone which is more consistent with Tolkien's "histories" (ie, The Children of Hurin, Lost Tales) than to his novels (The LOTR Trilogy, The Hobbit). If you fall into the former category of fans, you'll undoubtedly be pleased by its overall faithfulness to Tolkienian lore, the excellent casting, above-average acting, true-to-Jackson costuming and surprising cinematography and scoring. But if your only experience of The Lord Of The Rings is the films and you're not a fantasy reader, you'll probably think the Orcs look lame and be really bored by it.

torrentstorm and Aragorn had not yet come of age... and the Hobbits had not yet made Gandalf's acquaintance... and Sauron had begun searching for the Ring of Power thinking it was in the hands of humankind... and Elron, King of the Elves, had begun to foresee danger in the near future for Isildor's heirs... Sauron had begun to rally the orcs to conduct raids looking for the Ring. Aragorn had not yet been born. Arathorn, his father, had not yet wed, but the small band of human settlers, trying to stay ahead of orc raiders, were under the protection of the rangers led by him, a mighty warrior and expert leader.So begins this story, marvelously portrayed, in Born of Hope. For a movie made entirely with private funding, it is truly extraordinary. There is little I can add to the excellent reviews posted by others. I have seen other fantasy movies, made with low budgets, from productions in Czech Republic, Italy, and other places, with more buying power, I must add, that do not portray this much care and beauty in a film of such a complex nature. I was surprised to see how they made it even look "expensive", a la Lord of the Rings, which added to the overall enjoyment of the same.Of course, one cannot expect any impressive special effects, or big armies, or fancy castles or architecture. The battle featured with the troll wasn't too gripping or exciting, but perhaps that was the best to be had, so one cannot really find fault with that. Arathorn was an impressive fighter! I could not help notice how they carefully prepared those battle sequences. I think Peter Jackson would be proud, and with good reason.Despite its short duration, the movie feels much longer, and every minute was worth it. So get dressed, invite your sweetheart or friend, drive to the theatre and get some popcorn. Be prepared to relive Lord of the Rings all over again, only this time, pre-Fellowship of the Ring!