Thursday evening I watched the extended version of The Two Towers, and then yesterday I saw The Return of the King again...and I'm dumbstruck. It improved on its second viewing. Don't get me wrong - it's not that I didn't like it when I saw it on Monday. I loved it, but it was all a bit overwhelming, what with the actors present, plus the fact that it was the closing chapter of the saga, and thus particularly bittersweet. Besides, our seats weren't exactly the greatest in the world, which lessened the experience.

This time I saw it at my favourite theatre, on a massive screen, with a fantastic sound system, right smack in the centre of row six.

And this time it was absolutely glorious, beyond compare. Best movie ever? I have a hard time making blanket statements like that, because there are so many movies that mean a lot to me (I have a top twenty-five list, and that's as far as I'm willing to narrow it down), but if you combine the three LOTR movies into one, then yes, that would be the best movie ever made. Period. Partly because Peter Jackson has done the impossible and surpass my expectations, but mostly because it's The Lord of the Rings, and I've been waiting my whole life to see the story on the big screen.

Christmas will never be the same again. But it wouldn't be as emotional and significant if didn't come to an end. There will be no more sequels, and knowing that makes it so much more powerful.  ¶ 19:14