Born of Hope (2009)

This is one of the most impressive fan-made movies I've ever seen - in fact, IT IS the best fan-made film I've ever seen... I'm deeply impressed. The story and acting drew me in quickly -- sure there is action but this is a tidy little story with very good acting. I quite like the costumes and sets/settings. The cinematography and directing really surprised me as well. No I did not expect to enjoy the film as well as I did... I'll watch this one again.

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.

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.

First off, I doubted of this movie, essentially because of some posts in the website; This is obviously the work of a fan of the movies which I happen to dislike strongly. But the team behind this simple tale actually reached the spot with the theme and the feeling of a Middle Earth recreation.I believe strongly that the whole Tolkien universe is resumed in the very last words of the Quenta Silmarillion. And that is my reason to dislike the way the writers of the movie trilogy decided to finish the whole ordeal.As of Born of Hope itself. there are two lines that I thought had to be there, both of them are...the first one is between the parents of Gilraen and the second is in the very end, the difference between a good effort and an admirable work as they resume the whole experience.While the battle scenes I felt were not as good as the one in The Hunt for Gollum. They deliver correctly, and the characters got great pieces of dialog.Technically Born of Hope is flawless for what it is. But a technically efficient experience shall never be enough for a true LOTR project. Thankfully the people behind the film came up with an adequate script. I hope they find this review useful in future efforts.