Don’t believe the mockers. The latest posthumous work of Tolkien is a masterpiece around the Wagnerian or Sophoclean theme of unconscious incest. Dragon slayers are of perennial fascination, whether they be Saint Michael the Archangel, Bel, Saint George or Perseus killing the sea monster that holds Andromeda prisoner. Modern literature has Ged, the Wizard of Earthsea, banishing the Dragon of Pendor from Ursula le Guin’s Archipelago; or even Harry Potter thrusting his sword through the mouth of the Basilisk. Yet there is no dragon of whom I have read, or whom I have seen on stage – not Fafner himself in Siegfried – who is quite so frightening as Glaurung, the dragon in JRR Tolkien’s The Children of Hurim. [More]
Category: Old Main News
Two bits of news from the world of ‘The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar’: Take a closer look at the greatest of the Nine—the formidable Witch-king of Angmar! [More]
Today, Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online Gaming announced the details of the first free update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™, the #1 selling PC title in North America, Germany, UK and France. Book 9: Shores of Evendim, the first of many planned free updates to the world of Middle-earth, introduces an entirely new landscape region, over 100 additional quests, the battle for Helegrod raid, nine new monsters and major enhancements to monster play and the music system. [More]
Celebriel sends a reminder that “Black Sheep,” featuring Weta Workshop’s special effects work, opens June 22. The film is about genetically mutated sheep that acquire a taste for humans. Ah, returning to their “Bad Taste” and “Brain Dead” roots!!. The tag line is “Violence of the Lambs” and the New Zealand landscape looks as good as ever. [More]
The long-awaited long-in-the-making LOTR Online (full name: Midway’s Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar) is finally out –and the big question: can it beat out World of Warcraft? It’s easy to feel over LOTR and a bit apprehensive about an online game that could’ve been so easily ruined. Expectations have been high –and the first impressions are that this does have the wow! factor. And if you have ever played WoW, you’ll feel at home with only a small learning curve required. It’s a very good looking MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) with the lighting, environment and detail all passing the test. In fact, stunning is the word. Water –always a good one to check – is awesome with the ripples looking very authentic and shadows and lighting along with a bunch of post-processing effects are astonishing. It feels like you really are in Middle Earth even though the plot varies a great deal. [More]
Take an early look on our ‘DVD Tuesday’ feature…every Monday! There are a whole slew of amazing DVDs out tomorrow, take a look at some TV goodies like; ‘CHiPs – The Complete First Season’, ‘Cosby Show: Season 3 & 4’, ‘Dark Angel: The Complete First Season & Second Season’, ‘Dead Zone 5th Season’ & ‘Doctor Who: Castrovalva, Keeper of Traken, Logopolis’. There is a new steelbook movement out there, or at least the studios seem to want to push them on us, ‘Fight Club’, ‘Cast Away’ & ‘Platoon’ all get the steelbook treatment. The big releases of of the week include; ‘Ghosts of Abu Ghraib’, ‘Norbit’ & ‘Seinfeld – Season 8’. The HD DVD crowd get a few good titles this week with ‘Trading Places’. The Blu ray gurus get ‘Blood Diamond’. Check out the whole list here! [More]
Sideshow Collectibles has just revealed their next Lord of the Rings diorama: Aragorn VS Uruk-hai – The Walls of Helms Deep. This piece looks to be rather large in comparision to the first diorama (Frodo and Gollum – The Crack of Doom), but we’ll have to wait and see! If you didn’t hear about this announcement via email, make sure to join the Sideshow Collectibles newsletter, or, of course, you can just check TORn a lot too! [View Preview]