I've always like Gollum/Smeagol. I don't excuse him; but I am very sympathetic to him.
And I still laugh when I think about him fretting over the cooking of the conies. It was so funny.
Another HH'er intrusion...."there's 2JM's coneys! What seasonings is Sam using?"
However, I too felt such a tug at my heartstrings when Smeags brought them the conies. "Nice and fresh!" And when he thought he had banished Gollum. "We are free!" And when he was trying to catch the fish and Sam asked Frodo why he wanted to save him - the goofy grin on Smeags face when he looked at them from atop his rock perch in the river.
The most heartbreaking moment was when Gollum was comforting Smeagol after Frodo's betrayal. You just know that Smeagol was so desperate for comfort and friendship - Frodo had offered him that, but had to betray him to save his (Smeagol's) life. And that by saving his life, Frodo had restored Gollum to leadership. What sad irony!
I didn't become sympathetic to him after reading the books, but I did when I listened to the unabridged version on Audio Tape by Rob Ingliss. Hearing the struggle Gollum/Smeagol went through made a big impression on me.
I saw the movie yesterday with SSQ and all 4 kids. We SO enjoyed it! I was amazed with Gollum; after 2 seconds I stopped thinking of him in CG terms. From the time Frodo and Sam yank him off the rock and start fighting with him he was REAL to me. The most touching scene to me was when Frodo was talking to him and trying to bring Smeagol back, and I noticed that Gollums clear blue eyes looked a LOT like Frodo's!!
We all loved "Mr. Voice"; Bernard Hill as Theoden. SSQ was really impressed with his acting skills; it would be fitting for him to win a nomination as best actor or supporting actor for that part. His transformation in the beginning was breathtaking!
Our #1 son didn't like the jokes at Gimli's expense. I thought most of Gimli's funny lines were self-deprecating, and the part where he's trying to see over the wall is hilarious! I'm glad they left the orc body count in; maybe we'll see the final score in RoTK. The Helm's Deep battle ended as a victory, But I guess we'll see the aftermath in the beginning of RoTK as well as the travel to Isengard to confront Saruman.
Speaking of Isengard; the Ents were just fabulous!!! The inundation of Isengard just looked so real! I thought it was interesting how Merry and Pippin manuevered to convince Treebeard to act. As some have said, there was not enough Merry and Pippin, but they'll see more action in the next movie!
When the Elf Army arrived at Helm's Deep and came marching up the causeway, SSQ leaned over the said "They're not marching, it looks more like prancing!" And the Elves did scream on the way down from the wall, but so did everyone else who fell.
I didn't concentrate on the music as a separate entity too much; probably because it was SO integral to the action, again. I did, however, notice the Rohan theme with the ancient fiddle sound. It was just beautiful! The soundtrack is gonna be SO good!!
I guess you can tell I like the movie. Clare and I will be going back during the holidays, and next time we'll sit in the back so we can see the whole screen from farther away!