Heavenly Wingnut:

leading the way to a brave new age

of CGI enhanced film art

in the allegorical film art

of Sir Peter Jackson

 

by Gary W. Wright

 

        Prior to 1982, no New Zealander would have anticipated that a short and gifted but aimless fellow citizen and high school dropout named Peter Robert Jackson would make much of a name for himself in any profession, let alone film art, in the dreary Fourth Age of Earth.  However, as with most film artists that emerged after 1982, the helicopter crash that killed actor/director/writer Vic Morrow and illegally hired and employed child extras Renee Chen and Myca Le around 2:20 am in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982 on the George Folsey jr. produced John Landis set of the twilit, allegorical, Kathleen Kennedy associate produced, Frank Marshall produced, and Landis and Steven Spielberg executive produced Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller docufeature film TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983) had a profound, shocking, infuriating, depressing, and life changing influence on Jackson.  So much so, that he soon passed his spare time creating his first righteously furious film to implicitly respond to the TZ disaster, teaching himself and his cast and crew how to make film art in the process.  Unlike most film artists, however, Jackson’s life in film art took place in New Zealand, a country which, to outsiders at least, had little or no history of film art.  Indeed, one of the few Kiwi films that anyone had ever experienced prior to the arrival of Sir Jackson and Jane Campion was the truly fantastic and memorable twilit, allegorical and implicitly George Lucas addressing Geoffrey Murphy indie docufeature film THE QUIET EARTH (1985), a film released on September 8, 1985 that was inspired by the allegorical Craig Harrison indie docufiction novel The Quiet Earth (1981).

 

“Is anybody out there?”

 

Curiously, the film began with the implicitly Lucas linked scientist Zac Hobson-played by Bruno Lawrence-waking up one fateful July day and discovering himself all alone in Auckland, a sight and sound that evoked the sight and sound of Mike Ferris-played by Earl Holliman-waking up to find himself all alone in a small town in the allegorical and Rod Serling written Robert Stevens telefilm “Where Is Everybody?” (1959), the pilot of the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, affirming that New Zealand film artists understood that the dread allegorical Zone Wars had broken out since July of ‘82 and that they were becoming an idiosyncratic and indie part of the brutal battles.  To his shocked, baffled, angry and horrified dismay, Hobson slowly discovered that he was only one of a twilit trio of people that included Joanne and Api-played by Alison Routledge and Pete Smith, respectively-who were still left in New Zealand and perhaps all of planet Earth as a result of a mysterious American project called Operation FLASHLIGHT that Hobson worked on that had created a world wide energy grid that allowed bombers to fly without needing refuelling, perhaps Murphy’s way of worrying that the new post-TZ disaster emphasis on computer generated imagery (CGI) designed in part to prevent further film set disasters that Lucas championed might lead to a similar disappearance of a vital humanity from the film art of this unquiet Earth.  Thus, the explosive and suicidal death of the guilt stricken Hobson and his rebirth on a strange new world, in the end, implied the hope of Murphy that Lucas would also disappear and go off to his brave new world of hi-tech and CGI enhanced film art, allowing a vital humanity to return to film art. 

At any rate, the implicit interest in Lucas in THE QUIET EARTH was affirmed by the films allusions to the allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Spielberg roasting STAR WARS Classic Trilogy and the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical and implicitly Stanley Kubrick roasting Lucas indie docufeature film THX 1138 (1971).  And so Murphy and company strode confidently into the Zone Wars, making it fitting that New Zealand and its unique landscapes and accent and even Lawrence were all linked forever to the fatal and fateful year of 1982 forever via the allegorical Harley Cokeliss indie docufeature film BATTLETRUCK aka WARLORDS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY (1982), a low budget Roger Corman film released in January of ’82 that saw the American but ironically and implicitly David Cronenberg linked indie hero Hunter-played by Michael Beck-take on and take out the implicitly Universal Studios CEO Lew Wasserman linked American baddie Colonel Straker-played by James Wainwright-his favourite cowering Kiwi quisling Willie-played by Lawrence-the rest of his Evil thugs and their eponymous armoured blockbuster beast of a Battletruck, in the end, an implicit interest in Cronenberg affirmed by the film’s allusions to the allegorical Cronenberg indie docufeature film RABID (1977) and the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical and implicitly Cronenberg toasting Miller indie docufeature film MAD MAX (1979), and an implicit interest in Wasserman affirmed by the film’s allusions to the allegorical Spielberg docufeature telefilm DUEL (1971).

And so BATTLETRUCK and THE QUIET EARTH kicked off New Zealand’s entry into the dread allegorical Zone Wars, inspiring other aspiring Kiwi film artists like Jackson to sigh resignedly and create their own twilit and allegorical films.  Unusually however, and unlike Cokeliss, Murphy and most other film artists, Sir Jackson did not go out of his way to really impress audiences with his first feature film.  Instead, long before he was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to New Zealand and world film art and was still Jackson, the budding film artist memorably and contrarily kicked off his life in film art with the most tragicomically awful film he could literally create from scratch, starting when he donned the writer/producer/actor/director/director of photography (DOP)/co-editor/makeup effects/visual f/x hats and teamed up with Jamie Selkirk-dubbing editor on BATTLETRUCK and now back as co-editor/co-sound editor/post-production supervisor-and the New Zealand Film Commission on the twilit, allegorical and fittingly entitled indie docufeature film BAD TASTE (1987), ironically released on December 25, 1987 as a “gift” for cinema luvers worldwide.

 

“I’m coming to get you bastards!”

 

        Significantly, after an opening title that established the mischievous spirit of the film by mockingly proclaiming “Wingnut Films”, the third title proudly proclaimed “…a Peter Jackson film”, implicitly affirming, against the odds, the warped pride that Jackson had in his first feature “film”.  Alas, after that pleased implication, BAD TASTE lived up to its title all too well by featuring the macabre and tragicomic adventures of a twilit trio of New Zealand Astro Investigation and Defence Service (AIDS) commandos, the implicitly Miller linked Ozzy-played by Terry Potter-the implicitly Spielberg linked Frank-played by Mike Minett-and the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series writer Richard Matheson resembling and implicitly linked Barry-played by Pete O’Herne.  Three determined commandos who were called upon one fateful Hallowe’en day to rid the town of Kaihoro of brainless and bumbling alien invaders disguised as humans, including one who resembled James Cameron and another who resembled Sean Penn to implicitly link the invaders to Planet Hollywood.  Indeed, the implicit link of the spaced invaders to Planet Hollywood was implicitly affirmed by the fact that they were led by the implicitly Alfred Hitchcock linked extraterrestrial junk food magnate Lord Crumb-played by Doug Wren and voiced by Peter Vere-Jones, respectively-who got his alien mates to slaughter the town so as to use the body parts of the townsfolk as ingredients for Crumb’s Crunchy Delights, all of which came across as a more horrific version of the alien Lectroid invaders infiltrating Earth also disguised as humans and led by the equally madcap John Bigboote-played by Christopher Lloyd-that the brilliant, eccentric, multi-talented and implicitly Cronenberg linked Buckaroo Banzai-played by Peter Weller-and his equally inconoclastic Hong Kong Cavaliers had to take on and take out in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and implicitly Cronenberg toasting W.D. Richter indie docufeature film THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8^TH DIMENSION (1984). 

Humourously, the three AIDS commandos were helped along in their quixotic quest by their clean shaven, short haired and implicitly Lucas linked mad scientist colleague Derek-played by Jackson-and by an implicitly Dante linked con artist named Giles-played by Craig Smith-who chose the wrong Hallowe’en day to drop by Kaihoro to pick up donations for the bogus Beneficial Relief of Emergency Aid Division (BREAD) scam he had cooked up.  Luckily for them, after a desperate and determined struggle, the five indomitable liberators won their madcap and gleefully gory battle to free Kaihoro from the alien invaders and, with that, Barry, Frank, Giles, and Ozzy drove off into the sunset and to the nearest pub for a Steinlager, in the end.  Thus, Jackson implied his hope that Dante, Matheson, Miller and Spielberg would defeat their many critics, finally leave behind the TZ disaster and return to successful film artist careers, something that did in fact begin to happen in 1987 as Landis and his four co-defendants were unfortunately found not guilty of manslaughter at the conclusion of the TZ trial earlier that year.

As for Derek, after being killed and coming back to life, he was last seen leaping from above and cutting through Lord Crumb with a chainsaw from top of head and out through asshole, taking over the controls of the UFO disguised as a house that Crumb was sitting at and piloting the houseship back to Planet Hollywood so as to launch a one man genocidal invasion of that Crumb’s Crunchy Delight luvin’ planet, implying the hope of Jackson that Lucas would also return to Forceful film artist life and strike back at his detractors and defeat them with another good film, an implicit new hope affirmed by the fact that BAD TASTE was released in 1987, the tenth anniversary year of the release of the allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Spielberg roasting Lucas indie docufeature film STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977).  In addition, given that Derek was played by Jackson, the Kiwi film artist implied that Derek’s madcap and indomitable determination to implicitly take on and take out Planet Hollywood symbolized Jackson’s own madcap and indomitable determination to take on and take out Planet Hollywood with his film art, madcap hopes and dreams that were clearly influenced not just by Lucas and Richter, but also by Miller, given the film’s allusions to MAD MAX, and by Monty Python, given the film’s allusions to the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical and implicitly New Hollywood roasting Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones indie docufeature film MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975).  As long as Jackson defeated the Dark Side that controlled him and compelled him to create BAD TASTE, given that the fledgling film artist also appeared in the film as Lord Crumb’s favourite brainless alien stooge, the bearded and wild haired Robert, a fittingly named alien stooge, as the name of Robert evoked both the middle name of Jackson to implicitly affirm that Robert was indeed his Dark Side, and also evoked gleefully madcap American underground comix artist Robert Crumb, whose name may have inspired that of Lord Crumb. 

At any rate, a character named Robert, an implicit luv of Gilliam and Monty Python, and a dedication to righteously furious, macabrely satirical, and gleefully gory cinematic Zone Wars salvos and implicitly Planet Hollywood battling schlock continued when Jackson donned the co-writer/co-producer/director/DOP/puppet maker hats and teamed up with Selkirk, Vere-Jones and Wren on the twilit and allegorical indie docufeature film MEET THE FEEBLES (1989), ironically released not long before Christmas on December 8, 1989 as another cinematic “gift” for mankind.

 

“What the hell,

 maybe I can sell it as a snuff movie.”

 

        Curiously, a single opening title mockingly proclaimed “…WINGNUT FILMS PRESENTS”, preparing audiences for the mischief and mayhem to follow.  Which soon arrived, as MEET THE FEBBLES revolved around “…the most spectacular show in entertainment history”, the Muppets evoking funny animal Fabulous Feebles Variety Hour television show.  A popular tv show that inspired the shy and perhaps Jackson linked young hedgehog Robert-played by Mark Hadlow-to apply for a role, dragging him into all of the tensions, infighting, substance abuse and mishaps that took place behind the scenes during rehearsals between the director, producer, cast and crew of the show, ribald and riotous antics that evoked the equally ribald and riotous funny animal comix of Crumb, particularly FRITZ THE CAT, and perhaps implied the fear of Jackson that the success of BAD TASTE would drag him into all of the twilit tensions, infighting, substance abuse and mishaps that took place behind the scenes of Hollywood film creation.  Indeed, amongst the cast was the drug addicted and implicitly Morrow linked Vietnam vet frog Wynyard-played by Brian Sergent-the always smiling and implicitly Spielberg linked swami Dr. Quack-played by Stuart Devenie-and the gleefully corrupt producer of the show, the lecherous and implicitly Francis Coppola linked Bletch the Walrus-played by Vere-Jones-implicitly linking the Feebles to New Hollywood to affirm that fearful implication. 

Tragicomically, tensions amongst the Feebles built up and finally exploded in the gleefully gory end into a shooting rampage carried out by the huge, buxom, jilted and perhaps Gale A. Hurd linked Heidi the hippo-voiced by Hadlow and played by Danny Mulheron, respectively-that evoked the sight and sound of the implicitly Lucas and Wicked Warlock of the West linked CSM-101 T-800 cyborg Terminator-played by Arnold Schwarzenegger-shooting up a police station in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Hurd produced and implicitly Lucas roasting Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster THE TERMINATOR (1984).  A terminating shooting rampage carried out by a beastly blockbuster hippo that killed most of the cast and crew, including Bletch, Dr. Quack and the gleefully salacious, insidious and implicitly Landis linked Trevor the rat-also played by Sergent.  Thus, Jackson implied his new hope that Landis, Morrow and Spielberg at least and perhaps the rest of New Hollywood would die already or at least fade away, allowing a new era of film art to emerge in the Nineties.  A new era of film art that Jackson implicitly hoped would include him, given that Robert and his poodle sweetie Lucille-played by Donna Akersten-survived the massacre and went on to lead successful lives in the world of photography afterwards. 

Surprisingly, the first two dismal “films” of Jackson were implicitly noticed and appreciated, for in the tragicomic sight and sound of the keen young New York based Doctor Benjamin “Ben” Stone-played by Michael J. Fox-abandoning his dream of crafting fake people as a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles and remaining as the sole doctor of the small, quiet, peaceful, rustic, friendly, folksy, honest, and eccentric Southern town of Grady, Michael Caton-Jones implied his hope that Jackson would resist the attractive but deadly lure of making films full of fake people in L.A. and remain in equally small, quiet, peaceful, rustic, friendly, folksy, honest, eccentric and Southern Hemisphere based New Zealand creating his idiosyncratic indie film art at the end of the twilit and allegorical docufeature film DOC HOLLYWOOD [1991], released on July 31, 1991.  At any rate, another nasty rat and another blockbuster beast returned when Jackson donned the co-writer/director/actor hats and teamed up again with Devenie, Selkirk-now back as associate producer as well as editor-Sergent, Vere-Jones, and Jim Booth, Peter Dasent, Murray Milne, and Stephen Sinclair-co-producer, composer, DOP, and co-writer, respectively, on MEET THE FEEBLES-and also with Frances “Fran” Rosemary Walsh-wife of Jackson and co-writer of MEET THE FEEBLES-and the New Zealand Film Commission again and wrapped up the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy in all too fittingly madcap, macabre, gleefully gory and Gilliam and Python alluding style with the twilit and allegorical indie docufeature film DEAD ALIVE aka BRAINDEAD (1992), released on June 4, 1992.

 

“The little bugger bit me!”

 

        Indeed, the film was the most gleefully gory and macabrely madcap of the Lord of the Schlock Trilogy, and it also openly affirmed that Jackson was striking back in mordant fury in his film art at the TZ disaster causing Planet Hollywood by beginning with a tragicomic prologue on Skull Island, west of Sumatra, in 1957.  For Skull Island was the legendary home of the original blockbuster beast, the colossal ape Kong, who first appeared in the allegorical Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack indie docufeature film KING KONG (1933).  However, instead of hunting down, subduing and leaving with Kong, an expedition to the island hunted down, subdued and left with the nasty, dimunitive and perhaps Landis linked Simian Raticus aka the Sumatran Rat Monkey, a tiny fused cousin of Kong and Trevor the rat in MEET THE FEEBLES.  Significantly, this tragicomic prologue evoked the prologues at the beginning of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, Marshall produced and implicitly William Friedkin roasting Spielberg indie docufeature film RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, and Kennedy and Marshall produced Spielberg indie docufeature film INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984), implying that Lucas, Spielberg or both were being roasted in DEAD ALIVE.

        However, after being transported to the Wellington Zoo, Jackson implied that another American film artist was the principal target of the film.  For soon after its arrival at the zoo, the Sumatran Rat Monkey proved that, despite its dimunitive size, the nasty stop motion pest was filled with beastly and perhaps Landis linked blockbuster disease, indeed.  For Ratty soon bit zoo visitor Vera Cosgrove-played by Elizabeth Moody-possessive mother of the implicitly Dante linked Lionel Cosgrove-played by Sam Dallimore as a boy and by Timothy Balme as a young adult, respectively-and turned her into an undead blockbuster beast-played by Elizabeth Brimilcombe-who wandered around biting and infecting others with her blockbuster disease and turning them into beastly undead.  Forcing Lionel, his faithful and luvstruck girlfriend Paquita-played by Diana Penalver-and his eagerly salacious and implicitly Hitchcock linked Uncle Les-played by Ian Watkin-to take on and take out these hordes of shambling undead in gleefully gory confrontations in order to bring harmony back to Wellington.

        Tragicomically, shortly before the end of the film, Lionel used the whirling blades of a gasoline combustion engine lawnmower to scythe down the undead hordes that had taken over the Cosgrove house, evoking the sight and sound of Derek scything down alien invaders with a chainsaw at the end of BAD TASTE, bringing the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy full circle.  Shortly after, Lionel triumphed over his mother, who had ballooned up into a truly blockbuster undead beast, indeed, with the help of the magic Christian talisman given him by the equally indomitable Paquita.  And so Lionel and bonita Paquita lived happily ever after, implying not only that Jackson hoped as he had in BAD TASTE that Dante would use his film art to bring health and harmony back to audiences, film art, film artists, and the Temple Theatre but that the obdurate bachelor Dante would also find a soulmate, in the healing and harmonizing eucatastrophic end. 

Indeed, the film’s allusions to the twilit and allegorical Dante docufeature films GREMLINS (1984) and THE ‘BURBS (1989), and the resemblance and implicit link of the Wellington zoo keeper-played by Tony Hiles-to longtime Dante veteran Robert Picardo, and the presence of the Ackermonster at the Wellington Zoo, fittingly reading a copy of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, affirmed the film’s implicit Dante addressing intent.  In addition, the sight and sound of Mr. and Mrs. Matheson-played by Lewis Rowe and Glenis Levestam, respectively-showing up for supper at the Cosgrove house before Mum went on her undead rampage openly evoked Matheson to reaffirm the film’s implicit interest in Dante, as Matheson wrote Dante’s third twilit and allegorical docufeature segment “It’s A Good Life” for TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, inspired by the allegorical and Rod Serling written James Sheldon telefilm “It’s A Good Life” (1961) from season three of the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, itself inspired by the allegorical Jerome Bixby short story “It’s A Good Life” (1953).  An open link to Matheson that affirmed the implicitly twilit spirit of the indie film art of Jackson and evoked the implicit link of intrepid AIDS commando Barry to Matheson in BAD TASTE to bring the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy full circle.

And so Jackson wrapped up the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy, a truly terrible trilogy implicitly noticed by Tim Burton, for he implicitly linked Sir Jackson to the troubled, tormented and mayhem and violence luvin’ manbeast Oswald Cobblepot aka “the Penguin”-created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for, and implicitly linked to Fritz Lang in, DC, and played by Danny DeVito-and also implicitly linked fellow Kiwi film artist Campion to Selina Kyle aka “Catwoman”-played by Michelle Pfeiffer-and had them both battle the troubled, haunted and implicitly Lucas linked Gotham City “playboy” Bruce Wayne aka “Batman”-played by Michael Keaton-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction artbuster BATMAN RETURNS (1992), a film released on June 16, 1992.  A film which, and luckily for audiences, implicitly inspired Jackson to finally leave behind furious, mordant, sniggering, ultraviolent, and implicitly Planet Hollywood roasting schlock and embrace CGI enhanced and implicitly Planet Hollywood roasting film art when he donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Booth, Dasent, Moody, Selkirk, Walsh, the New Zealand Film Commission, and MEET THE FEEBLES creature and gore effects man Richard Taylor and now also with Miramax Films to surprise and delight audiences and implicitly roast Burton and BATMAN RETURNS in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994), released on July 8, 1994.

 

“Paul and I are going to Hollywood…

We’re going to be film stars!”

 

        Curiously, after the Miramax Films intro and three opening titles, none of which mentioned director, cast, or crew, the film began with a short prologue taken from a sundrenched documentary film from the 1950s about peaceful and bicycle filled Christchurch, “…New Zealand’s city of the plain”, a short, colourful, and idyllic clip that ended on a dark, discordant, and horrorshow note with two screaming teenage girls covered with blood running up a path through a forest and then at the camera like two equally blood and gore splattered undead miscreants in DEAD ALIVE.  We quickly discovered that these two blood splattered girls were madcap, macabre, exuberantly imaginative, and art, film, literature, and music luving 1950s teenage Christchurch schoolgirls, the young, pretty, wild dark brown haired and equally dark brown eyed, gloomy, poor, New Zealand born and raised, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked Pauline Yvonne “Paul” Parker-Rieper aka “Paulette” and “Charles” and “Gina”-played by Jessica Bradley as an injured five year old and Melanie Lynskey as a scarred but recovered teen, respectively-and the young, beautiful, blonde, grey eyed, sunny, wealthy, English born, and implicitly Dorothy linked Juliet Marion Hulme aka “Antoinette” and “Toni” and “Deborah”-played by Alex Shirtcliffe-Scott as an ailing five year old and Juliet Winslet as a lungscarred but equally recovered teen, respectively-who were implicitly linked to the equally madcap, macabre, exuberantly imaginative, and art, film, literature, and music luving Burton-as gloomy, wild dark brown haired, and dark eyed as Paul-and his favourite composer Danny Elfman-as sunny, smiling, and upbeat as Juliet-throughout the film. 

Real life figures that Jackson implied were killing film art with their quirky collaborations as surely as Rieper and Hulme, much to the horror of Hulme’s old, lean, bespectacled, suited, sane, educated, and implicitly Great Oz linked father and younger, beautiful, bewitching, auburn, and implicitly Glinda linked mother Doctor Henry and Hilda Hulme-played by Peter Elliot and Diana Kent, respectively-killed Paul’s middle aged, pretty, greying haired, grounded, hard working, and implicitly Auntie Em linked mother Honora-played by Sarah Peirse-on a fateful Tuesday, June 22, 1954, after she tried to prevent the two tumultuous teens from seeing each other and from travelling to the United States to become movie stars and living legends, in the diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic end.  Indeed, the film’s allusions to BATMAN RETURNS, the twilit and allegorical Burton animaction film PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985) and the twilit and allegorical Burton animaction film BEETLEJUICE (1988) affirmed the implicit Burton and Elfman roasting intent of HEAVENLY CREATURES.  Ironically, and despite its horrific ending, and luckily for audiences, HEAVENLY CREATURES was a fine feature film with great and memorable performances from all of the cast members that finally merged a great screenplay with the technical prowess that Jackson and company had shown off in the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy and impressively and implicitly affirmed that Jackson had successfully vomited out all of his venomous bile with that terrible twilit trilogy and was finally leaving behind his grotesque and gruesome Robert the Dark Side and embracing his Peter the Light Side.  Indeed, HEAVENLY CREATURES was the satisfying sign that one of the greatest transformations in cinematic history of a film artist for the better of himself, his film art, and his audiences had begun. 

A stunning transformation aided by Hulme and Parker-Rieper, for their lush, fecund, feudal, and CGI enhanced Fourth World of the exhilarating imagination with its fortified citadel of Borovnia-and its two unicorns!-implicitly inspired by a castle stage set for an opera starring the young, short, handsome, and talented Italian tenor Enrico Caruso-played by Paul and Juliet’s idol, the real life American superstar tenor Mario Lanza, the Luciano Pavarotti of his day-in the allegorical Richard Thorpe feature film THE GREAT CARUSO (1951) pointed the way to an equally lush, fecund, feudal, fortified citadel filled, and CGI enhanced Middle-Earth soon to arrive in the film art of Jackson, making it fitting that one of the visits to the Fourth World led to the discovery of a powerfully alluring golden ring.  A better and bolder new direction reaffirmed when Jackson donned the actor/co-writer/co-director/co-executive producer hats, teamed up with Selkirk-now as co-executive producer-Taylor, Walsh, the New Zealand Film Commission, HEAVENLY CREATURES DOP Alun Bollinger, and Costa Botes-who played various shambling alien invaders in BAD TASTE-to implicitly leave behind American film artists and to imply that Cameron would fail in his attempt to make an epic indie docufeature Zonebuster about the ill fated first and last voyage of the Titanic like the “forgotten” and implicitly Cameron linked pioneer New Zealand film artist Colin McKenzie-played by Thomas Robins-failed in his attempt to make an epic allegorical silent indie docufeature film about Salome called SALOME (193?) in the spoof twilit and allegorical indie telefilm documentary FORGOTTEN SILVER (1995), a telefilm released on tv in New Zealand on October 25, 1995 that also implicitly roasted Lucas as it evoked the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, and implicitly Spielberg addressing indie telefilm series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES (1992-96).

Curiously, the discovery of the huge city of ancient Jerusalem set that McKenzie built for SALOME and a treasure trove of “…finely crafted swords and shields” created for actors and extras in the film pointed the way to Middle-Earth again like the Fourth World of Hulme and Parker-Rieper did in HEAVENLY CREATURES.  A better and bolder new direction also affirmed when Jackson donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Bollinger, Devenie, Lynskey, Selkirk-now doubling as co-producer-Walsh, and HEAVENLY CREATURES production designer Grant Major and, ironically, given the implicit allegorical intent of HEAVENLY CREATURES, Elfman, to implicitly roast Burton and Cameron again in his first Hollywood production with executive producer Robert Zemeckis and Universal Studios, the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film THE FRIGHTENERS (1996), released on July 17, 1996.

 

“Oh, baby,

 you are an artist!”

 

        Curiously, after the modestly world encompassing Universal intro and the opening titles, the first of which read “…Robert Zemeckis Presents” and the second of which proclaimed “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION” to immediately affirm that this was indeed a Hollywood production first and foremost before it was a Jackson production, the film began outside on a dark, rainy, and stormy night before heading through an upper floor window of an old house where a middle aged, pretty, brunette, and terrified woman-played by Dee Wallace Stone-frantically fleeing through the hallways and rooms of the creepy old house to desperately escape the relentless clutches of a hooded and robed CGI ghost, evoking the sight and sound of an even more distraught and bloody Paul and Juliet racing screaming up the path through the woods at the beginning of HEAVENLY CREATURES.  Then the film switched to the young, short, slim, brunette, clean shaven, twitchy, and implicitly Ivan Reitman and Scarecrow linked widowed bachelor ex-architect and struggling “psychic investigator”, “ghostbuster”, and irritating con artist Frank Bannister-the PYZ 732 license plate of his old lemon yellow Volvo curiously linking him to the TZ disaster, and played by Fox-first tragicomically met being kicked out of a funeral for one Chuck Hughes-played by Major-after trying to solicit customers for his “ghostbusting” scam. 

Curiously, however, while mostly an annoying phoney who irritated the good and law abiding citizens of the Hollywood cadenced town of Fairwater with his pesky presence, Bannister could actually see and talk to ghosts, which led him to team up with an equally tragicomic trio of cranky and quarrelsome ghosts comprised of the young, slim, round lens bespectacled, bowtied, geeky, and implicitly William Gibson and Tin Man linked Stuart-played by Jim Fyfe-the old, decaying, cowboy hat wearin’, and implicitly W.P. Kinsella and Great Oz linked Judge-his makeup created by makeup/mask legend Rick Baker, who had collaborated on films with Landis and Lucas to openly link the film to those two film artists, and played by John Astin-and the young, big, burly, Afroed, moustached, goateed, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Cyrus-played by Chi McBride-to pull off his “ghostbusting” and poltergeisting scams.  Just as curiously, Bannister’s conniving life changed dramatically when he met the relentless hooded and robed CGI ghost, first seen chasing the terrified woman through the house of her mother Old Lady Bradley-played by Julianna McCarthy-at the beginning of the film, killing people, a homicidal hooded and robed CGI ghost that had also killed his young, short, slim, beautiful, auburn, and Wicked Witch of the East linked wife Debra Bannister-played by Angela Bloomfield-after a car accident five years earlier, a car accident that had left him with the ability to see and talk with ghosts.

At this point, Bannister teamed up with his “conpadres” Cyrus, Stuart, and the Judge and the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, and implicitly Dorothy linked Doctor Lucy Lynskey-her surname wistfully evoking that of Melanie Lynskey, confined alas to a small cameo in the film, and played by Trini Alvarado-and the brilliant, eccentric, suited, ultra sensitive, and implicitly Burton linked FBI Special Agent Milton Dammers-played by Jeffrey Combs-to track down, to take on, and to triumph over and exorcise from the town of Fairwater the deadly hooded, robed, and serial killing CGI ghost, which turned out to be that of the young, tall, slim, blonde, and implicitly Cameron and Wicked Witch of the West linked ghost of mass murderer John Charles Bartlett-played by Jake Busey-a hospital orderly whose twelve victim shooting spree in the Fairwater Sanitorium decades earlier had been aided by his besotted fifteen year old girlfriend, the young, cute, brunette, Hulme and Parker-Rieper evoking, and implicitly Bigelow and Nikko linked Patricia Ann Bradley-played by Nicola Cliff-who was now the older and initially terrified woman seen fleeing from the CGI ghost of Bartlett at the beginning of the film, but who slowly became just as besotted and eager to help Bartlett increase his body count as before, requiring Bannister and company to triumph over and exorcise Bradley as well as Bartlett, in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end, implying that Jackson was not impressed with, and wanted to exorcise from the Temple Theatre, the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Gibson influenced, Cameron co-written/co-executive produced, and implicitly Lucas addressing Bigelow indie docufeature artbuster STRANGE DAYS (1995). 

Indeed, the film’s allusions to STRANGE DAYS, T1, the twilit, allegorical, and CGI enhanced Burton animaction film BEETLEJUICE (1988), the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Reitman docufeature film GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) and the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Reitman docufeature film GHOSTBUSTERS II (1989) affirmed the film’s implicit interest in Bigelow, Cameron, and Reitman.  Making it fitting that Troy Evans appeared in the film as Sheriff Walter “Walt” Perry, for Evans openly linked the film to Bigelow via a sympathetic plainclothes police officer in the twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas addressing Bigelow indie docufeature film NEAR DARK (1987).  At any rate, while dull and remarkable only for desperately trying to be funny and for an equally desperate and more tragicomic attempt by its principal American, and one Canadian, actors to pass itself off as set not in New Zealand but somewhere in North America or perhaps even Canamda, an even more weird and tragicomic limbo created by crazy Canucks foolishly fusing Canada and the United States together into one imaginary country, THE FRIGHTENERS was a well made film with innovative CGI whose success reassured Zemeckis and the rest of Hollywood that Jackson could be trusted with bigger budgeted films. 

A trust that allowed the eccentric and creative Kiwi to merge the art film with the blockbuster and the documentary film with the feature film to turn his next film into an epic indie docufeature artbuster, allowing him to follow in the footsteps of Bigelow, Burton, Cameron, and Kubrick.  An epic indie docufeature artbuster that assumed a greater importance for Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the rest of the world when the 911 terrorist attacks took place, changing everything forever.  Making audiences very receptive to a film that would cheer them up and return health and harmony to their lives.  And one that would also truly affirm that Jackson was leaving behind the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy forever when the new and improved Jackson donned the co-writer/director/co-executive producer hats and teamed up again with Major, Moody, Selkirk, Sergent, Taylor, Walsh, and HEAVENLY CREATURES costume designer Ngila Dickson and Sarah McLeod-who played the sexy and seductive May Belle aka “Salome” in FORGOTTEN SILVER-and now also with New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers to stun and delight audiences around the world and to implicitly address Cameron and Reitman again and also his younger son Jason Reitman and more Canadian film artists in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature artbuster THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001), released on December 10, 2001 as a true gift at last for grateful and distraught audiences and inspired by the allegorical and implicitly Joseph Stalin roasting J.R.R. Tolkien indie docufiction novel The Lord Of The Rings: the fellowship of the ring (July 1954).

 

“The world is changed.”

 

        Stun and delight, indeed, for Jackson and company easily exorcised the Lord Of The Schlock Trilogy and created one of the greatest films ever, and one that used CGI to enhance but not overwhelm the vital humanity of the live action.  A great film that also implicitly left behind the original allegorical intent of Professor Tolkien and continued the dread allegorical Zone Wars, which quickly became clear after a sad, slow, and solemn symphonic music accompanied by an equally solemn chorus played, and the New Line Cinema intro appeared on the screen, and then an opening title stating “…New Line Cinema” that was followed by another simply stating “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION” rather than “…A PETER JACKSON FILM”, a goofy but humble and classy way to kick off the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and then an ominously black and silent screen like a Spielberg film and a voice speaking an unknown language, before the golden title “…THE LORD OF THE RINGS” with no subtitle appeared on the screen to the delight of the ghost of Tolkien, who always insisted that “the Rings” was one epic, and the voice of Cate Blanchett began to lament the passing of the peace and light of the age and the arrival of Darkness and Evil to immediately and all too fittingly link the film to the new dark and Evil post-911 era.

The film then began with an equally Blanchett narrated prologue history of the Second Age three thousand years ago of this Middle-Earth ’twixt Heaven and Hell that saw the tall, grey helmeted and armoured, intimidating, power mad, and implicitly Lucas linked Dark Lord Sauron-who affirmed his implicit link to Lucas by evoking the Dark Lords of the shit Sith hits in the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, particularly the equally tall, helmeted, and intimidating Darth Vader (played by David Prowse and voiced by James E. Jones, respectively), and was played by Sala Baker-forge twenty Great Rings of Power and give three Rings to the Elves-two male and one slim, beautiful, and blonde female who turned out to be the narrator-seven Rings to the Dwarves, and nine Rings to Men-led by a grey haired, moustached, and bearded man who was played by Larry Rew, and who resembled and was implicitly linked to Alvy Ray Smith, one of the creators of CGI along with Ed Catmull, who began their career in film art with Lucas at his visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)-keeping One Ring to himself to control all of the rest.  A Dark lust for power, conquest, and control that led to the free Elves and Men to unite and rise up to battle and defeat Sauron and his equally Dark orc army on the slopes of fiery Mount Doom. 

Significantly, the young, handsome, dark brown haired, eyed, bearded, and moustached, and implicitly Spielberg linked Prince Isildur-played by Harry Sinclair-was the one who sliced the fingers off of Sauron’s right hand, slicing away the One Ring of Power, causing Sauron to collapse and die in an explosion of Dark Power, ending his reign of error and terror, and turning Sauron into the implicitly Wicked Witch of the East linked figure whose death set off the healing Ozian spiritworld dream.  Alas, King Isildur then also kept the One Ring for himself, leading to him to die in turn for his sin, reminding us that Spielberg had been blamed for decades for destroying the higher minded film art for film art’s sake goals of New Hollywood by bringing Darkness and beastly blockbuster disease to the Temple Theatre with the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed docufeature film JAWS (1975), and then by his even more notorious and infamous association with the TZ disaster due to being the man who supervised the overall creation of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.

Significantly, after falling off the dying Isildur’s finger and disappearing into the mud at the bottom of the Auduin river for 2500 long years, the One Ring of Power eventually ensnared an equally Dark, Evil, and twisted but far smaller and powerless little CGI creature called Gollum-played by Andy Serkis-who took it deep into the dark depths of the Misty Mountains.  When a new Darkness returned to Middle-Earth five hundred years later, the One Ring abandoned its Gollum puppet to be returned to that Darkness, but was unexpectedly found in those dark and misty depths by an equally short, but more Good, fussy, food, drink, book, map, peace, quiet, solitude, hole luvin’, and eccentric Hobbit bachelor named Bilbo Baggins-played by Ian Holm-who, now an old but still energetic and mischief luvin’ Hobbit with a fondness for well tailored white dress shirts and red waistcoats, unexpectedly decided to leave his books, maps, food, drinks, peace, quiet, and cozy Hobbit hole in Bag End in the Hobbiton farthing of the Shire in unforgettable fashion on the night of his Eleventy-First birthday.  But not before he left a mysterious gold ring with the power to turn its wearer invisible to his favourite young, short, good looking, brunette, exuberant, thoughtful, but naïve, and innocent nephew Frodo Baggins-played by Elijah Wood.  Unfortunately for Frodo, this mysterious ring was discovered by Bilbo’s friend, the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, and bearded, and robed, staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg and Great Oz linked wizard Gandalf the Grey aka “Mithrandir”-fittingly first met driving a horse drawn cart full of fireworks into Hobbiton for Bilbo’s birthday party, smoking a pipe, and singing the allegorical and Tolkien written travelling song “The Road Goes Ever On” (1955) and originally implicitly linked by Tolkien to the equally brave, thoughtful, robed, and staff carrying wise man Mohandas K. Gandhi in The Lord Of The Rings, and played by Ian McKellen-to be the One Ring of Power that ruled over all of the other Rings and in the cinema darkness binded them that was sought by the Evil and implicitly Lucas linked Dark Lord Sauron of Mordor, who had lost all of his fallible and imperfect but endearing, enduring, and vital humanity, and now manifested as an Evil, fiery, and all CGI red eye that lusted to conquer and control this Middle-Earth like the equally Evil red eye of communism lusted after the world in the 1950s, affirming the implicit link of Sauron, Dark Lord of the East, to Stalin, real life Dark Lord of the East at the time Tolkien wrote his epic, in The Lord Of The Rings. 

        And so a worried Gandalf convinced young Frodo to leave the Shire with three faithful and equally young, short, good looking, and high spirited Hobbit friends, who implicitly composed their own elemental Ozian Hobbit quartet comprised of the implicitly Tin Man linked Frodo, the strong, sturdy, simple, beer and food luvin’, but grounded, knowing, implicitly Scarecrow linked, and devoted to Frodo gardener Samwise “Sam” Gamgee-as young, strong, sturdy, grounded, knowing, and devoted to Frodo as the young, strong, sturdy, simple, but grounded, knowing, and devoted Mr. Samuel “Sam” Weller was to his employer, the old, genial, eccentric, thoughtful, beer and book luvin’, high spirited, and implicitly Benjamin Franklin linked Mr. Samuel Pickwick in the allegorical Charles Dickens indie docufiction novel The Pickwick Papers (1937), and played by Sean Astin-and their equally young, loyal, brunette, and high spirited friends the handsome, mischievous, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck-played by Dominic Monaghan-and the puckish, mischievous, and implicitly Eric Idle and Great Oz linked Peregrin “Pippen” Took-played by Billy Boyd-just in time to evade the nine nasty Ringwraiths who were sent to the Shire to take the Ring from him, black hooded, robed, nasty, and vengeful figures on horseback who evoked the equally hooded, cloaked, nasty and vengeful CGI ghost of Death and Bartlett that killed with relentless and remorseless abandon in THE FRIGHTENERS.  Significantly, in the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree on the outskirts of the Shire, the plucky Hobbits met the young, tall, handsome, courageous, strong, able, confident, shrewd, knowing, experienced, and implicitly Jason Reitman and Scarecrow linked Aragorn the Ranger aka “Strider”-played by Viggo Mortensen-who helped them escape the Ringwraiths.  Curiously, Aragorn the Ranger always evoked the equally tall, handsome, courageous, strong, able, confident, shrewd, knowing, experienced, New York colonial Ranger Nathaniel “Natty” Bumppo aka “Hawkeye” in the allegorical James F. Cooper indie docufiction novel The Last Of The Mohicans (1826) and the four other Leatherstocking novels, novels set in the endless Great Forest that once covered eastern North America from modern Ontario and Quebec all the way down to modern North Carolina which are alluded to in The Lord Of The Rings and its predecessor, the allegorical and implicitly Canadian Prime Minister William King and the imperial loot lusting European nations roasting Tolkien children of all ages indie docufiction novel The Hobbit, or there and back again (December 1937), whose cinematic absence necessitated the elaborate prologue that began THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.

Meanwhile, and just as significantly, Gandalf was struggling to escape too, in his case from his malevolent mentor, the old, tall, long nosed, white haired, moustached, and bearded, sinister and implicitly Cameron linked learned scholar and powerful wizard Saruman the White-implicitly linked to a prominent scholar at Oxford University who shocked, dismayed, frustrated, and infuriated devout Catholic Professor Tolkien by embracing and advocating godless and tyrannical communism, becoming yet another foolish and simpering puppet of the Dark Lord Stalin in those lost, confused, dark, despairing, desperate, desolate, and dirty Thirties, and was played by Christopher Lee-who turned out during a visit to his tower of Orthanc to be a submissive puppet of Sauron, implying again the fear of Jackson, as in THE FRIGHTENERS, that Cameron had been taken over by his Dark and beastly blockbuster Side, and implicitly a Lucas influenced Dark Side, which was an ironic implication, indeed, given that Lucas was also implying that Cameron had been taken over by his implicitly Spielberg influenced and beastly blockbuster loot lustin’ Dark Side and implicitly roasting him in the form of the young, blonde, cute, naturally Forcefull, but Darkness and anger filled Tatoonian slave boy Anakin “Ani” Skywalker-played by Jake Lloyd-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron and Spielberg roasting indie animaction film STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999).  At any rate, here at Orthanc, Saruman was creating his own army of orcs bigger than those of Sauron to aid the Dark Lord in his Evil quest to conquer this Middle-Earth, openly affirming that Saruman had been taken over by his Dark Side and was now simply a simpering stooge of Sauron.  Curiously, the newborn orcs of Orthanc emerged from their earthly womb covered in mud, evoking the clay people created by Paul and Juliet for their magical fortified citadel of Borovnia, linking the Dark and CGI enhanced delusions of Saruman in Orthanc to the delirious and CGI enhanced delusions of Paul and Juliet in their Fourth World in HEAVENLY CREATURES.

        Luckily, with the help of an huge and knowing CGI eagle, Gandalf escaped and met up with Aragorn and the others in Rivendell, the home of the ageless, slim, and implicitly Ivan Reitman and Tin Man linked Elrond Halfelven-perhaps originally linked to Professor Tolkien’s good Canadian friend, fellow philologist, and Medieval German scholar Eric Valentine (E.V.) Smith at Leeds University where the two collaborated on a new translation of the allegorical Medieval tale Sir Gawain And The Green Knight (1925) before Tollers went on to Oxford, and played by Hugo Weaving.  Here he met Frodo, who after being poisoned by the blade of the implicitly Smith and Nikko linked Witch-King of the Ringwraiths-wearing a grey helmet and armour similar to that of Sauron in the prologue, and played by Brent McIntyre-had been carried sick and feverish on horseback away from the pursuing Witch-King and four other pursuing Ringwraiths also on horseback to Rivendell by Elrond’s equally Halfelven daughter, the ageless, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, graceful, luvin’, supportive, and implicitly Agelina Jolie and Dorothy linked Arwen-played by Liv Tyler-unlike in The Lord Of The Rings, where an Elvish horse alone had carried Frodo to Rivendell in a sequence that evoked a similar sequence that had determined pioneers successfully flee pursuing Sioux riders on horseback in the allegorical Cooper indie docufiction novel The Prairie (1827) to reaffirm Tolkien’s fondness for the novels of Cooper.

Happily, here in Rivendell Frodo recovered and met the old and grey haired Bilbo, who happily presented his favourite nephew with a copy of The Hobbit, or there and back again, thus setting up audiences for Jackson’s next cinematic excursion into Middle-Earth.  Significantly, here in Rivendell Frodo also decided to take the One Ring to Mordor and destroy it in the fiery depths of Mount Doom, setting off an healing catastrophe that Prof. Tolkien called an “eucatastrophe” that would exorcise the all CGI Sauron and his equally all CGI or CGI enhanced Evil minions and bring health and harmony back to the living dwarves, Elves, hobbits and humans of Middle Earth, thus implicitly destroying Lucas and his all CGI creature filled and CGI enhanced STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy and bringing health, harmony and a vital living humanity back to audiences, film art, film artists and the Temple Theatre in the real Earth.  Indeed, whenever Frodo put on the One Ring before arriving at Rivendell, he not only turned invisible, but found himself in an eerie CGI limbo, implicitly affirming that Jackson believed that embracing CGI was dangerous to a vital humanity. 

Here at Rivendell it was also decided that a Fellowship comprised of Aragorn, Gandalf, Merry, Pippen, Sam, the young, tall, handsome, moustached and goateed, big, muscular, strong, proud, boorish and implicitly Bruce McDonald and Cowardly Lion linked man of Gondor, Boromir-played by Sean Bean-the short, sturdy, red haired, moustached and bearded, cranky, tragicomic and implicitly Jones linked dwarf Gimli-played by John Rhys-Davies, who openly linked the film to Lucas via his role as the big, burly, bearded, faithful, equally tragicomic, and implicitly Kubrick linked Sallah in the Indiana Jones Trilogy-and the ageless, blonde, handsome, mystic, and implicitly Christoph Lambert linked Mirkwood Elf, Legolas-played by Orlando Bloom-nine indomitable heroes to confront the nine insidious Ringwraiths, would accompany Frodo to Mordor and help him succeed in his quest.  And so the Ring Quest began, a quest that was often captured from the air in sweeping helicopter shots, evoking similar shots in HEAVENLY CREATURES to truly link the Fourth World to Middle-Earth and which evoked similar shots in the allegorical Robert Wise docufeature film THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) and one shot like them in HEAVENLY CREATURES. 

Luckily, all went reasonably well, until a lightstorm inflicted on them by sour Saruman that evoked the lightstorms that brought travellers from the embattled and blockbuster machine battling future to the present in T1 to affirm the implicit link of Saruman to Cameron and heavy snow forced them to take a short cut through the Misty Mountains via the dark, desolate, deathly, and deadly mines of Moria.  Here the Ring Quest began to go straight to Hell, with an huge, blockbuster, multi-tentacled, and octopus evoking CGI beast emerging from a dark and cold pool of water and attacking them as they entered the back door of the mines, a tentacled monster that also evoked the tentacled and phallic one-eyed dianoga in the garbage compactor that attacked the young, handsome, blonde, naïve, innocent, exuberant, idealistic, and spiritual young apprentice Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker-played by Mark Hamill-on the impious Death Star in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg roasting Lucas indie docufeature film STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977).  Barely escaping the blockbuster CGI beast and entering the mines, the Fellowship immediately discovered to their horror that the Dwarves who created and lived in the mines of Moria had been massacred, and were just as quickly attacked by the hordes of hideous and odious orcs that had massacred them, brainless, murderous, and blood lusting hordes that evoked the brainless and murderous aliens of BAD TASTE and the shambling and blood lusting undead of DEAD ALIVE.   Alas, the orcs were accompanied by two blockbuster all CGI beasts, a rancorous cave troll and a fiery and towering Balrog, who implicitly reaffirmed the Evil and Lucas linked nature of CGI in the film and attacked the Fellowship, leading to what appeared to be the death of Gandalf at the hands and whip of the blockbuster Balrog beast after the indomitable and stalwart wizard broke asunder the bridge over the chasm of Khazad-dum and fell down with the beast deep into the dark depths of the chasm, disappearing like the Great Oz at the end of THE WIZARD OF OZ to implicitly affirm that Gandalf was indeed the human character implicitly linked to the Great Oz in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. 

Escaping with their lives, the rest of the Fellowship made it out of the mines, emerged into the east side of the Misty Mountains and soon found safety, rest and rejuvenation in the woodland elf kingdom of Lothorien presided over by the equally ageless, blonde, handsome, mystic, regal and implicitly Luc Besson linked Elf King Celeborn-played by Marton Csokas-and the also ageless, but more beautiful, blonde, slim, ethereal, graceful, shrewd, knowing, prescient, psychic, and implicitly linked Catherine Deneuve and Glinda linked Galadriel, the Lady of Light-played by Blanchett-the same ageless, slim, and beautiful blonde Elf woman given a Ring of Power in the prologue, who soon revealed to Frodo that she still bore that Ring.  Heading back out on to the Ring Quest, the Fellowship was soon attacked by Saruman’s Uruk-hai orcs, vile new creations made by crossing man and orc, led by the huge and bloodthirst Lurtz-played by Lawrence Makoare.  In the ensuing battle, Lurtz was decapitated by Aragorn but boorish Boromir was riddled with arrows and died, before Merry and Pippen were taken by the fleeing survivors of the Uruk-hai, and Frodo and Sam fled to continue the Ring quest on their own, leaving Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to their own devices.

        And so it ended.  And so, luckily for audiences, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING easily exceeded hopes and emerged as one of the greatest films of all time, with all sorts of epic sets, “…finely crafted swords and shields”, great costumes, makeup and performances, a memorable and stirring soundtrack by longtime Cronenberg collaborator and composer Howard Shore and just the right amount of CGI to make the story believable while remaining vitally human, just what audiences needed to reassure and inspire them in the dark, depressing, anxious and uncertain months after 911.  The implicitly Lucas roasting film also fittingly restored the faith of audiences in film art and film artists, after the near universal disappointment with STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE.  Needles to say, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING abundantly affirmed that Jackson had indeed transformed himself from a Devilish Wingnut into an Heavenly Wingnut. 

Not surprisingly, the august Academy agreed, for they awarded THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING four Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, and Best Visual Effects.  Equally unsurprisingly, audiences were eager for more darkness defying and dispelling magic, Light filled and inspiring magic that Jackson and company amply supplied when Jackson donned the co-writer/director/co-executive producer hats and teamed up again with Astin, Blanchett, Bean, Bloom, Boyd, Davies, Dickson, Lee, Major, McKellen, Monaghan, Mortensen, Selkirk, Serkis, Shore, Tyler, Walsh, Weaving, Wood, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and co-writer Philippa Boyens and DOP Andrew Lesnie-also from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING-on the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas roasting indie docufeature artbuster THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (2002), released on December 5, 2002 and inspired by the allegorical Tolkien indie docufiction novel The Lord Of The Rings: the two towers (November 1954).

 

“Even darkness must pass.

!A new day will come!”

 

        Significantly, and after beginning again with the New Line Cinema intro, and an opening title stating “New Line Cinema” followed by another simply stating “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION” rather than “…A PETER JACKSON FILM” to again kick off the second film on a humble and classy note before the golden title “…THE LORD OF THE RINGS” with no subtitle appeared on the screen, the new film began with a prescient sun shining bright and high over the spectacular vista of the snow covered tops of the Misty Mountains to prepare audiences for an eventual triumph over the Darkness threatened the Light before falling down and leaving that sunkissed day to delve inside the dark, deadly, and miserable mines of Moria where the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, and bearded, robed, and hooded, staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg and Great Oz linked wizard Gandalf the Grey aka “Mithrandir”-played again by McKellen-again unflinchingly and indomitably battled the huge, fiery, flaming whip wielding, and blockbuster all CGI Balrog beast on the bridge of Khazad-dum before breaking the bridge asunder and being caught by the beast’s whip and falling with it deep, deep down into the dark depths of the chasm of Khazad-dum, battling the beast all the way, before crashing with it into the cold dank depths of a lake at the bottom of the chasm to immediately link the film to THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. 

Spectacular prologue over, the film immediately split into two stories.  In one story, the young, short, good looking, brunette, no longer so exuberant, naïve, and innocent, and now more courageous, resigned, determined, patient, and implicitly Tin Man linked Frodo Baggins-played again by Wood-and his faithful and devoted friend the equally young, short, good looking, and brunette, but strong, sturdy, simple, beer and food luvin’, but grounded, knowing, and now equally courageous, resigned, determined, patient, and implicitly Scarecrow linked gardener friend Samwise “Sam” Gamgee-played again by Astin-soon met their furtive, dogged, and mysterious pursuer, now revealed as the old, skinny, sneaky, tragicomic, troubled, tormented, and bipolar Gollum/Smeagol-even more annoying than the tall, goofy, gangly, big eared, and equally all CGI Jar Jar Binks (played by Ahmed Best) in the STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy, and played again by Serkis-who they convinced to take them to Mordor.  Significantly, the creepy Gollum was eerily first met with the same waxing crescent moon hanging in the sky above him that was seen hanging in the sky on the night of the TZ disaster, ominously linking him to twilit Evil as he creeped down a rock cliff towards the two unsuspecting and sleeping Hobbits one night east of the Anduin River.

Just as significantly, the haunted and tormented Gollum/Smeagol was not only secretly controlled by the One Ring and by Sauron, but was also the most fully realized and believable all CGI character yet created for a film, amazing and mesmerizing audiences with his “real” presence.  Just as significantly, Gollum/Smeagol not only evoked the equally Evil, sneaky, and duplicitous but more indigenous Magua in The Last Of The Mohicans as he had in The Lord Of The Rings, but also looked and acted like then Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, implicitly linking him to PM Chretien.  This then implicitly linked Frodo to Justin Trudeau, Sam to Justin’s friend Gerald Butts, Bilbo to Pierre Trudeau-thus implicitly explaining his fondness for white dress shirts and red waistcoats, for red and white were the colours of Canada-the beer, food, and peace luvin’ and small minded Hobbits to beer, food, and peace luvin’ and small minded Canadians, the Shire to Canada, Bagend in Hobbiton to 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, and the One Ring of Power to national power as initially implied in The Hobbit, or there and back again in a rare implicit Canadian political allegory from Jackson.

        Meanwhile, an implicit Canadian cinematic allegory continued in the story intercut with the story of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum/Smeagol.  For the young, tall, handsome, courageous, strong, able, confident, shrewd, knowing, experienced, and implicitly young Reitman and Scarecrow linked Aragorn the Ranger aka “Strider”-played again by Mortensen-led the still short, sturdy, red haired, moustached, and bearded, cranky, tragicomic and implicitly Jones linked Gimli the Dwarf-played again by Rhys-Davies-and the ageless, blonde, handsome, slim, mystic, and implicitly Lambert linked Legolas-played again by Bloom-through the rolling hills of the horsemen of Rohan on the trail of the Uruk-hai carrying the young, short, brunette, handsome, high spirited, mischievous, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked  Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck-played again by Monaghan-and the equally young, short, brunette, puckish, high spirited, mischievous, and implicitly Idle and Great Oz linked Peregrin “Pippen” Took-played again by Monaghan and Boyd, respectively-like the New York colonial Ranger Nathaniel “Natty” Bumppo aka “Hawkeye” led the courageous, strong, experienced, mystic, and indomitable Delaware spirit warriors Uncas aka “Bounding Elk” and his father Chingachgook aka “Great Serpent” on the trail of two young and beautiful female captives and of adventure during the Seven Years War in The Last Of The Mohicans to again affirm the fondness of Tolkien for the novels of Cooper

Significantly, the trail led to the ancient and sentient Fangorn Forest, an old and aware forest that evoked the endless Great Forest that once covered eastern North America in the Leatherstocking novels, where the twilit trio found the two hobbits missing and the Uruk-hai destroyed by the riders of Rohan led by the big, blonde, strong, doughty, and indomitable Eomer-played by Karl Urban.  Meeting up in the forest with to their shocked surprise with a reborn and white haired, eyebrowed, moustached, bearded, and robed Gandalf the White, reborn after besting the blockbuster Balrog beast to imply that Jackson believed that Cronenberg had also slain the CGI blockbuster beast with his lower budget and indomitable indie docufeature film art and reminding us that Cronenberg had transformed from monster to hero by this time, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas teamed up with the new improved Gandalf to ride to the sturdy, decorative, and wooden citadel of Edoras, capital of Rohan, and heal and rejuvenate the unnaturally aged, frozen, grey haired, moustached, and goateed, spellbound, impotent, and implicitly Sir Scott and Tin Man linked Theoden, King of Rohan-played by Bernard Hill-and break him free from the sinister spells of the young, black haired, eyed and robed, skinny, sickly, sneaky, and sinister Saruman puppet Grima Wormtongue-played by Brad Dourif.  Significantly, and much to the delighted relief of the king’s young, short, slim, blonde, beautiful, sweet, steely, and implicitly Sarah Polley linked subject Eowyn-played by Miranda Otto-this liberation revived the life and spirit of King Theoden, reminding us that the life and spirit of Sir Scott had, after eighteen years in limbo, been revived by the spectacular and pleasing success of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Besson and Burton addressing indie docufeature artbuster GLADIATOR (2000), affirming the implicit link of King Theoden to Sir Scott.

Retreating to the mountain fortress of Helm’s Deep, King Theoden inspired Aragorn, Eomer, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, the riders of Rohan, and a force of Elves from Lothlorien led by the equally ageless, blonde, handsome, slim, mystic, and courageous Haldir-played by Craig Parker-to withstand and defeat a siege of Uruk-hai sent by the old, tall, white haired, moustached, and bearded, sinister, and implicitly Cameron linked Saruman the no longer quite so White-played again by Lee-a victory helped by a saved by the Elvish cavalry in the nick o time charge led by Gandal that ironically reminded us that the old, tall, slim, bald, big nosed, lined, weary, but still equally exuberant, beautiful lady luvin’, indomitable, sword carrying and using, ultra-indie, and implicitly Cameron and Glinda linked Heronomous Carl Frederick, the Baron Munchausen-played by John Neville-also returned in the nick of time with the young, short, cute, blonde, sweet, feisty, and implicitly Dorothy linked munchkin kid feminist Sally Salt-played by Polley-and his four elemental Ozian companions, the tall, slim, fleet on his feet, and implicitly Water and Tin Man linked Berthold aka Desmond-played by Idle- the big, burly, strong, and implicitly Earth and Scarecrow linked Albrecht aka Bill-played by Winston Dennis-the silent, sure shooting, and implicitly Fire and Cowardly Lion linked Adolphus-played by Charles McKeown-and the short, big eared, and implicitly Air and Great Oz linked Gustavus-played by Jack Purvis-to relieve the siege of a fortfied city and save the day at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, fantastic realist, madcap, satirical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron toasting and Landis and Spielberg roasting Gilliam indie animaction artbuster called THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CYCLIST in Waikato and usually known most everywhere else as THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988), implying the hope of Jackson that Sir Scott would defeat his doubts, his critics, and Cameron and return to form in the neo millennium of CGI enhanced film art, an implicit neo hope that came true. 

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippen met up with the old, tall, patient, thoughtful, all CGI, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Ent tree herder Treebeard-also played by Rhys-Davies-in Fangorn Forest, and inspired him to lead his fellow all male and Ent wife bereft Ents-who reminded us that the staff and stud-ents of Oxford University were also all male and bereft of female colleagues in the stubbornly sexist and stuck in the mud days when Professor Tolkien wrote The Lord Of The Rings to affirm that the Good Professor did indeed implicitly link Saruman to an Evil Professor at Oxford preaching godless and tyrannical communism in his epic allegorical trilogy-in an unstoppable and indomitable assault on Orthanc that swept away the Uruk-hai, destroyed the compound and defeated Saruman, implying that Professor Tolkien had hoped that a Good Professor would also lead the stud-ents of Oxford in an uprising over the Evil Professor preaching tidy but godless and tyrannical communism in a triumph of messy but God blessed and democratic capitalism, and also implying that Jackson believed or hoped that Cameron would not succeed in the neo millennium of CGI enhanced film art.  Last but not least, after being captured by the young, handsome, blonde, courageous, strong, and implicitly Lynch linked Faramir-played by David Wenham-and his fellow Rangers of Gondor, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum were eventually released and allowed to continue on their journey towards murderous Mordor and Mount Doom.

        Luckily for audiences, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS was another great film that again raised their spirits, particularly in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, and won two Oscars for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.  Causing eager audiences to return to the Temple Theatre the following year when Jackson donned the co-writer/director/co-executive producer hats and teamed up again with Astin, Blanchett, Bloom, Boyd, Boyens, Csokas, Davies, Dickson, Hill, Holm, Lee, Lesnie, Major, Makoare, McLeod, McKellen, Monaghan, Mortensen, Otto, Robins, Selkirk, Serkis, Shore, Taylor, Tyler, Urban, Walsh, Weaving, Wenham, Wood, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, and also again with John Noble-who played the old, despondent, demented, and implicitly Gilliam linked Denethor, Steward of Gondor in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS-to bring the Ring saga to a triumphantly healing and harmonizing eucatastrophic conclusion in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas roasting indie docufeature artbuster THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003), fittingly released in Wellington on December 1, 2003 and inspired by the allegorical Tolkien indie docufiction novel The Lord Of The Rings: the return of the king (October 1955).

 

“!This day we fight!”

 

        Fittingly, and as with the first two films, after the New Line Cinema intro and an opening title stating “…New Line Cinema” again followed by another simply stating “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION” rather than “…A PETER JACKSON FILM”, the golden title “…THE LORD OF THE RINGS” with no subtitle kicked off the last installment of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy on another humble and classy note.  Then the film began with a Cain and Abel evoking prologue set in the days when the Third Age of Middle Earth was still young that saw the young, brunette, pre-CGI but already creepy looking, and implicitly PM Chretien linked Smeagol-played again by Serkis-murder his equally young, brunette, chubby, big chinned and eared, and tragicomic brother, the implicitly Brian Mulroney linked Deagol-played by Robins-and take the One Ring of Power found by his brother in the mud of at the bottom of the Anduin River from his corpse for a birthday present.  This reminded us that Chretien’s Liberals defeated Mulroney’s Conservatives in the 1993 Canadian election and took the office of Prime Minister from them, implicitly reaffirming that a Canadian political allegory was again taking place on one level in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.  An implicit political allegory that continued after the prologue ended when Smeagol, now transformed into the more familiar old, skinny, sneaky, tragicomic, troubled, tormented, bipolar, and all CGI Gollum/Smeagol deep in the dark depths of the Misty Mountains, eventually emerged to hunt down the One Ring and lead its new owner, the young, short, good looking, brunette, no longer so exuberant, naïve, and innocent, and now more courageous, resigned, determined, patient, and implicitly young Trudeau and Tin Man linked Frodo Baggins-played again by Wood-and his equally young, short, good looking, and brunette, but strong, sturdy, simple, beer and food luvin’, but grounded, knowing, and now equally courageous, resigned, determined, patient, faithful, devoted, and implicitly Butts and Scarecrow linked gardener friend Samwise “Sam” Gamgee-played again by Astin-to Mordor and the eucatastrophic fires of Mount Doom.

        Meanwhile, after rejoining the young, short, brunette, handsome, high spirited, mischievous, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck-played again by Monaghan-the young, short, brunette, puckish, high spirited, and implicitly Idle and Great Oz linked Peregrin “Pippen” Took-played again by Boyd-and the old, tall, bearded, slow, throughtful, all CGI, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Treebeard-played again by Davies-in the ruins of Orthanc, the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, and bearded, now white robed, but still staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, and knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg and Great Oz linked wizard Gandalf the White aka “Mithrandir”-played again by McKellen-rode with Pippen on the legendary white stallion Shadowfax to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, a sight and sound that evoked the sight and sound of the exuberantly madcap and upbeat Baron Munchausen galloping around on the equally legendary white stallion Bucehpalus in THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN.  A fitting allusion, indeed, as it prepared audiences for the sight and sound of Gandalf and Pippen parleying in Minas Tirith with the still old, despondent, demented, and implicitly Gilliam linked Denethor, Steward of Gondor-played again by Noble-whose implicit link to Gilliam was affirmed by the implicit link of Pippen to Idle, which also implied that Brandybuck was implicitly linked to Michael Palin, and by the additional allusions in the film to MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, allusions which were also present in the first two parts of the Lord Of The Trilogy, as well as allusions in the film to such Gilliam films as the presciently twilit and allegorical indie animaction films JABBERWOCKY (1977) and TIME BANDITS (1981). 

Eventually, meeting with Denethor led to a Took ignited flaming signal across the mountains dividing Gondor from Rohan in a simple but spectacular, sweeping, and stirring sequence pulled off with the help of a stellar helicopter pilot and steady cam indeed that spurred the riders of Rohan led by the old, greying moustached and goateed, courageous, virile, indomitable, and implicitly Sir Scott linked Theoden-played again by Hill-to ride from Edoras to the defense of the fortified citadel of Minas Tirith, under siege by a massive army from Mordor that evoked the equally massive siege of the fortified citadel by the Muslim forces of the chubby, black eyed, moustached, and bearded, balding, creepily avuncular, gleefully demented, decapitation luvin, vengeful, madcap, and implicitly Landis and Wicked Witch of the West linked Grand Turk, his Majesty the Sultan-played by Peter Jeffrey-in THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN to reaffirm the implicit link of Gilliam to Denethor.  The just in time cavalry arrival of the riders of Rohan led to a massive battle with the Dark Forces of Mordor outside the city which did not prevent the suicide of the despondent Denethor, who tragicomically threw himself off the heady heights of Minas Tirith and fell to his deathly doom like the old, weird, wild grey haired, moustached, and bearded, but knowing and implicitly Kurosawa Akira linked Old Man-played by Gilliam-tragicomically fell to his doom into the Chasm of Death at the end of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL.  The epic battle also led to the more courageous and noble death of King Theoden at the hands of the dreaded leader of the black hooded and robed Ring Wraiths, the big, helmeted, armoured, and implicitly Smith and Nikko linked Witch King of Angmar-now played by Makoare-implying that Jackson now believed that Gilliam and Sir Scott would not succeed in the neo eon of CGI enhanced film art. 

Significantly, the death of her uncle, King Theoden, caused the young, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, sweet, steely, and implicitly Polley linked Eowyn-played again by Otto-who had secretly ridden with Merry and the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith disguised as a male rider, to rise up and take on and take out the Witch King of Angmar, who melted away like the Wicked Witch of the West, implying the hope of Jackson that Polley would emerge in time as a successful and blockbuster CGI beast defeating indie docufeature film artist, as she did.  Just as significantly, the young, tall, handsome, courageous, strong, able, confident, shrewd, knowing, experienced, and implicitly young Reitman and Scarecrow linked Aragorn the Ranger aka “Strider”-played again by Mortensen-showed up on the battlefield with the still short, sturdy, red haired, moustached, and bearded, cranky, tragicomic and implicitly Jones linked Gimli the Dwarf-played again by Rhys-Davies-and the ageless, blonde, handsome, slim, mystic, and implicitly Lambert linked Legolas-played again by Bloom-and an army of ghostly soldiers led by their crowned, skeletal, debt bound, despondent, and implicitly Landis linked Ghost King-played by Paul Norrel-who made remorseless and relentless work of the rest of the Dark Forces to relieve the siege and save Minas Tirith.  Curiously, the green ghosts evoked similar ghosts in G1, G2, and THE FRIGHTENERS, affirming the implicit link of Aragorn to young Reitman, and presciently anticipating a ghostbustin’ and implicitly Jackson roasting film to come from Jason. 

        Meanwhile, after killing the huge, nasty, and all CGI blockbuster spider beast Shelob in a dark tunnel that led through the Mountains of Mordor, Frodo and Sam passed into Mordor and succeeded in their quest to reach, climb, and enter volcanic Mount Doom.  Alas for Frodo and after all of the hardships he endured over the course of his difficult journey with Samwise the Brave, as he stood on an inner ledge over the fiery depths of Mount Doom, he was unable to destroy the One Ring and kept it for himself to the shocked horror of Sam, affirming that he had become another puppet of the One Ring of Power.  The sad sight and sound reminded us that the equally weak and controlled human Ring puppet Isildur had also failed to destroy the One Ring of Power in the historical prologue sadly narrated by Galadriel that kicked off THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING to bring the Lord Of the Rings Trilogy full surprising and embittering circle, albeit in the case of Frodo due to an implicit inability to defeat a Dark inner lust for blockbuster and beastly national political power rather than an implicitly inability to defeat a Dark inner lust for the loot to be had from blockbuster CGI enhanced beasts as in the implicit case of Isildur. 

Ironically, it was the despised and duplicitous Gollum who did the destructive deed, falling to his doom into the fiery depths as he celebrated biting the One Ring off the finger of frozen Frodo and taking it for himself, reminding us that the equally insidious and duplicitous Magua also fell off a cliff in a cavern inside a mountain to his doom at the end of The Last Of The Mohicans.  Thus, the Good living beings of this Middle-Earth triumphed over Evil all CGI creatures and over CGI enhanced or all CGI blockbuster beasts, and implying the hope of Jackson that PM Chretien would also die or at least be defeated in the next Canadian election and that young Trudeau would not be tempted by the lure of power to run for Prime Minister of Canada and try to lead and inspire a querulous, quarrelling and quixotic country whose cranky and cantankerous citizens did not understand how good they had it due to the difficulties of living in the Constitutionally patriated and protected Federation of Canada (FOC).  The destruction of the One Ring of Power also killed the implicitly Lucas linked Sauron and allowed Aragorn and the Forces of Good to defeat the Forces of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, leading to the crowning of Aragorn as the new King of Gondor and implying the hope of Jackson that Reitman would follow in his father’s fearless footsteps, become a film artist and lead the way in triumphing over the lure of beastly CGI enhanced or all CGI blockbuster loot and making better, more human, and CGI free or slightly CGI enhanced film art than Lucas, which initially did young Reitman.

        Curiously, after the marriage of Aragorn and the ageless, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, graceful, luvin’, supportive, and implicitly Jolie and Dorothy linked Arwen-played again by Tyler-and the crowning of King Aragorn, the four literally grown up Hobbits returned to the Shire, where, in time, it was Sam that married his favourite Green Dragon waitress Rosie-reminding us that loyal servant Sam Weller also married his lonely luvin’ maid Mary at the end of The Pickwick Papers, and played by McLeod-and had a boy and a girl Hobbit with her-played by A. and I. Smithee, respectively-became Mayor, while Frodo sailed with the now quite old but still short, fussy, food, drink, book, map, peace, quiet, solitude, and hole luvin’ and eccentric Hobbit bachelor Bilbo Baggins-played again by Holm-the Elf Ring bearer Gandalf, his fellow Elf Ring bearer the ageless, slim, and implicitly Ivan Reitman and Tin Man linked Elrond Halfelven-played again by Weaving-and the equally ageless, blonde, handsome, mystic, regal, and implicitly Besson linked Elf King Celeborn-played again by Csokas-the also ageless, but more beautiful, blonde, slim, ethereal, graceful, shrewd, knowing, prescient, psychic, and implicitly linked Deneuve and Glinda linked fellow Elf Ring bearer Galadriel, the Lady of Light-played again by Blanchett-and the rest of the Elves to the Grey Havens, ne’er to be seen again in this Middle Earth, between Heaven and Hell, reminding us again that the Great Oz also disappeared at the end of THE WIZARD OF OZ to reaffirm that Frodo and Gandalf were indeed the Hobbit and human characters implicitly linked to the Great Oz in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, in the end. 

Thus, Sir Jackson reaffirmed his implicit hope that young Trudeau would not go into politics, a prescient implicit hope, indeed, given that he ignored this implicit hope and went on to become a reasonably well meant but ineffectual Prime Minister of Canada, all of which was a far cry from the implicit triumph of capitalism, democracy, freedom, and God over communism, tyranny, incarceration, and godlessness implied by Tolkien at the end of The Lord Of The Rings.  At any rate, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING was another fine film whose eucatastrophic ending brought health, harmony and peace back to Middle Earth and real Earth and easily swept away Lucas and the STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy and the Wachowski Brothers and the Matrix Trilogy.  A triumphant trimax that was fully deserving of the 11 Academy Awards-for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Picture, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects-that it won for the whole trilogy.  Thus, Jackson and a very talented company tied the record for most number of Oscars won six years earlier by the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster TITANIC (1997).  In addition, Jackson also became the first film artist to win both Best Director and Best Picture for a fantasy, sly fi, sly fi/fantasy, horror or sly fi/horror film. 

Curiously, the success of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy did not go unnoticed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, for they implicitly replied to the implicit link of the all CGI Dark Lord Sauron to Lucas by having the tragicomically reborn, unplugged, liberated, transformed, all consuming, gleefully megalomaniacal, black suited and sunglassed, red Harkonnen haired, and implicitly Morrow and Nikko linked Smith-played by Weaving, who openly and ironically linked the film to Jackson via Elrond in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy-secretly infiltrate the real world by phoning himself into that world after taking over the body of the young, slim, moustached and goateed, unfortunate, and implicitly Jackson linked Bane-played by the ironically surnamed Ian Bliss-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed indie animaction hung fu film THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003), a film fittingly released on May 7, 2003 given its implicit Lucas addressing intent.  Here in the real world, the young, slim, dark haired, eyed, bearded and goateed, pale, intense, unfortunate, Smith possessed, and implicitly Jackson linked Bane-played again by Bliss-battled the young, short, handsome, shaven headed, black eyed and haired, slim, strong, wiry, new, improved, high flying, super powered and implicitly Lucas and Scarecrow linked Neo-his confidence and super powers implicitly reaffirming that the Wachowski Brothers were still pleased with Lucas, and played again by Reeves-to the fiery digital death in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Lucas toasting indie animaction hung fu film THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (2003), a film released on October 27, 2003. 

The success of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy also did not go unnoticed by Kennedy and Spielberg, for they implicitly urged Jackson to fight to retain the vital humanity of his CGI enhanced film art like the implicitly Jackson linked New Jersey battler Ray Ferrier-played by Tom Cruise-fought to defeat an invasion of blockbuster CGI enhanced Martian beasts throughout the twilit, allegorical, and CGI enhanced docufeature film WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), a film released on June 13, 2005 that was inspired by the allegorical H.G. Wells indie docufiction novel The War Of The Worlds (1898), whose implicit Jackson addressing intent in particular was affirmed by allusions to BAD TASTE, DEAD ALIVE, THE FRIGHTENERS, and the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and whose implicit interest in New Zealand film artists in general was affirmed by allusions to THE QUIET EARTH.  An ironic implicit message to Jackson from Kennedy and Spielberg, indeed, given that it was implicitly made by two people who not only most responsible for the TZ disaster, but who gave the world WAR OF THE WORLDS and such additional ahuman and CGI enhanced blockbuster beasts as the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature films JURASSIC PARK (1993) and THE LOST WORLD (1997).

All of which no doubt inspired Jackson to don the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and team up again with Boyens, Lesnie, Major, Selkirk, Serkis, Shore, Walsh, and Universal and return to those same in those lost, confused, dark, confused, despairing, desperate, desolate, and dirty Thirties that gave birth to The Hobbit, or there and back again and The Lord Of The Rings in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed animaction film KING KONG (2005), released on December 5, 2005 and inspired by KING KONG, which was in turn an implicit response to the allegorical Fritz Lang film METROPOLIS (1927), the blockbuster beast of a film whose lack of success brought down the Ufa studio in Germany.

 

“And we can all have a piece of (Kong)

for the price of an admission ticket.”

 

        Fittingly-and after the Universal intro and only two spotlight bathed opening titles, the second proudly proclaiming “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION”, as at the beginning of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy-given the resounding success of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Act One of the film began with the ebullient sound of the allegorical and Ray Henderson, Sam M. Lewis, and Joe Young written Al Jolson tune “I’m Sitting On Top Of The World” (1926) playing as daylit shots of different animals in their cages in the Central Park Zoo in New York, fittingly including members of the simian family, appeared on the screen, shots which evoked similar shots in the Wellington Zoo in DEAD ALIVE, also inspired in part by the original KING KONG, which was not surprising, given that they were probably also filmed at the Wellington Zoo.  An ironically ebullient sound, for soon these peaceful and pleasantly primal shots were replaced with down and depressing shots of unemployed people in the streets and shacks of a Dirty Thirties CGI enhanced New York, moving shots that were soon intercut with shots of performers in a vaudeville show that evoked similar scenes in the Fabulous Feebles Variety Hour in MEET THE FEEBLES.  Luckily for audiences, however, these nods to the Lord Of The Shlock Trilogy did not imply that Jackson was taking a big step backwards into similar territory in KING KONG.  Instead, the vaudeville shots soon focussed on a young, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, exuberant, talented, and implicitly Sofia Carmina (SCC) Coppola and Dorothy linked performer named Ann Darrow-played by Naomi Watts.

Forced out on the streets herself after the cancellation of her Vaudeville Revue at the Lyric Theater, Darrow’s unemployed and impoverished plight was soon noticed by the young, short, chubby, brunette, clean shaven, big chinned, hustling, impecunious, and implicitly Quentin Tarantino and Cowardly Lion linked film producer Carl Denham-played by Jack Black-who not only pitied her, but persuaded her to join him and his implicitly Screamin’ Stephen King linked assistant Preston-played by Colin Hanks-on the battered tramp steamer SS Venture on an expedition to create a film on mysterious, fog enshrouded, and forbidding and ape shaped rock guarded Skull Island hidden somewhere in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean.  Curiously, the screenplay for the film was written by the young, tall, lean, brunette, clean shaven, handsome, and implicitly A.I. Smithee and Tin Man linked Jack Driscoll-played by Adrien Brody-and featured the young, short, brunette, handsome, and implicitly Richard Kelly and Scarecrow linked Bruce Baxter-played by Kyle Chandler-as leading man. 

Here on Skull Island in Act Two, Denham, Darrow, Driscoll, and the crew of the SS Venture-which included an one-eyed cook played by Serkis, the young, blonde, book luvin’, and implicitly Cameron linked seaman Jimmy (played by Jamie Bell), and the young, tall, bald, handsome, slim but muscular, strong, and implicitly Samuel L. Jackson linked First Mate Hayes (played by Evan Parke)-found that the rumours of a blockbuster beast which turned out to be a gigantic, all CGI, and implicitly Burton linked blockbuster beast of an ape named Kong-a blockbuster CGI ape beast as fully realized and lifelike as Gollum, and fittingly also played by Serkis-were true.  Alas for Darrow, the natives of Skull Island seized her and offered her up as a sacrifice to Kong, and the enormous ape fell in luv with her, taking her back to his jungle hideaway.  However, Driscoll eventually and bravely liberated Darrow by himself, allowing Denham to use her as bait to lure Kong out of the jungle, knock him out with chloroform, capture him, and sail him back to New York to show off to the paying public as King Kong, the “Eighth Wonder of The World”. 

Surprisingly, back in the Big Apple in Act Three and while being presented to the elite paying public onstage at the Alhambra Theater in Times Square as a special Christmas treat, King Kong went beserk when a blonde actress who resembled Burton-perhaps played by Julia Walshaw-was offered up as a sacrifice to Kong in a recreation of the sacrifice ceremony on Skull Island.  King Kong then burst out of the theater and rampaged through the streets until he met, and was pacified by, the real Darrow.  However, their peace was soon shattered by soldiers who tried to kill them, causing the enraged blockbuster beast to flee with Darrow up the side of the Empire State Building to its tippy top.  Here, as per tradition, Kong was eventually shot off the top by a small squadron of six bi-planes-one of the tail gunners played by an unusually clean shaven Jackson-albeit in stunningly CGI realized style, falling to his doom on the streets of New York below. 

Thus, Jackson implicitly reaffirmed his dislike of Burton and hoped that he would be defeated by KING KONG, an implicit allegorical intent affirmed by allusions to BATMAN RETURNS, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Kubrick toasting and Lucas roasting Burton animaction artbuster PLANET OF THE APES (2001).  The survival of Darrow, Denham, and Driscoll also implied that Sir Jackson hoped that SCC, Tarantino, and Smithee would defeat blockbuster lusts for fortune and glory and continue to create film art for film art’s sake in the neo eon of CGI enhanced and all CGI film art, an implicit interest in SCC affirmed by the film’s allusions to the twilit and allegorical Burton animaction docufeature film FRANKENWEENIE (1984)-in which SCC played the equally blonde Anne Chambers under the nom d’art de Domino-the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas toasting and John Huston roasting Coppola indie docufeature artbuster APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), and the twilit and allegorical Coppola docufeature artbuster THE COTTON CLUB (1984), in which SCC had a small role as a cute kid selling apples shot dead by the young, clueless, out of control, and implicitly Landis linked wannabe gangster Vincent Dwyer-played by SCC’s cousin Nicolas Cage.

        Curiously, while KING KONG allowed Jackson and his people at Weta FX and Weta Workshop to cut loose and have some fun after the serious tone of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, the film was not as successful as the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, more likely due to its long length, which did not allow for as many screenings per day unlike the Rings saga, than to the quality of the film.  Despite this lesser success, the august Academy awarded KING KONG three Oscars for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.  The film also implicitly inspired DC, Warners, and Bryan Singer and company to have the young, tall, handsome, black haired and eyed, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, and implicitly young Reitman and Great Oz linked Clark “Kal-El” Kent aka “Superman”-played by Stephan Bender as a teen, and by Brandon Routh as an adult, respectively-to battle and ultimately triumph over the insidious and implicitly Jackson and Wicked Witch of the West linked Alexander “Lex” Luthor-played by Kevin Spacey-and his young, beautiful, and implicitly Walsh linked floozy Kitty Kowalski-played by Parker Posey-and prevent Luthor’s madcap plans for creating his own Skull Island evoking continent of Luthor Land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean from crystallizing in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Bryan Singer super satirical animaction film SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006), a film released on June 21, 2006 and inspired by a character created by and originally implicitly linked to DOC SAVAGE super saga writer Lester Dent by Genial Jerry Siegel and Joltin’ Joe Shuster for DC that a f firmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to KING KONG, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and young Reitman’s first fine and fearless feature film, the daylit, allegorical and slightly CGI enhanced indie docufeature film THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (2005).

        As for Robert Ben Garant, he implicitly roasted and toasted the shorts luving Jackson in the implicit form of the black and white shirts and shorts and Def Leppard luvin’ Randy Daytona-played as a youth by Brett DelBuono and as an adult by Dan Fogler, respectively-an out of shape ping pong star who was persuaded to come out of retirement, return to form and take on and take out the deadly Dragon-played by La Na Shi-the implicitly Cameron linked East German pong champion Karl Wolfschtagg-played by Thomas Lennon-and the fiendish and possibly Cronenberg linked pong Master Feng-played by Christopher Walken-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and implicitly Ozian themed indie docufeature film BALLS OF FURY (2007), a film released on August 29, 2007 that was clearly inspired in part by the allegorical Robert Clouse indie docufeature film ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) which fittingly featured a New Zealand martial arts star named Parsons-played by Peter Archer-amongst its main characters.  Later that year, and ironically and tragicomically, given the high hopes for young Reitman that Jackson had implied in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, young Reitman implicitly and gently roasted Jackson in the implicit form of thirty-something, middle heighted, brunette, handsome, music and horror film luvin’, successful, and implicitly Nikko linked tv commercial jingle composer Mark Loring-played by Jason Bateman-a young husband unable to conceive a child with his equally thirty-something but more tall, slim, beautiful, brunette, intelligent, and implicitly Bigelow and Wicked Witch of the West linked wife Vanessa Loring-played by Jennifer Garner-in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film JUNO (2007), a film released on September 1, 2007 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

        The following year, Lana and Lilly Wachowski had the young, short, cute, and implicitly Walsh linked Trixie-played by Ariel Winter as a girl and by Christina Ricci as a young adult, respectively-inspire the young, short, equally cute, and implicitly Jackson linked and Good, honest, humble and obdurately indie World Racing League (WRL) racer Speed Racer-played by Nicholas Elia as a boy and by Emile Hirsch as a young adult, respectively-to drive his white Mach 6 racer to decisive triumphs over the implicitly Kelly and Roland Emmerich linked Evil WRL racers Snake Oiler and Jack “Cannonball” Taylor-played by Christian Oliver and Ralph Herforth, respectively-and their exuberantly Evil employer, the implicitly Coppola linked Royalton Industries CEO E.P. Arnold Royalton-played by Roger Allam-and his implicitly SCC linked assistant Gennie-played by Cosma S. Hagen-in the final two races at the end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed animaction film SPEED RACER (2008), a rainbow coloured film released on April 28, 2008 inspired by the anime teleseries SPEED RACER (1967-68) whose implicit Jackson and Walsh addressing intent on one level was affirmed by allusions to FORGOTTEN SILVER, HEAVENLY CREATURES, and KING KONG.

        Curiously, Jackson then headed off in a new direction the next year when he donned the executive producer hat and teamed up with Neill Blomkamp to imply that the embrace of CGI in its film art had transformed the Walt Disney Company into an ahuman blockbuster CGI beast of a film company as slowly and surely as alien disease had transformed the young, short, slim, brunette, moustached, friendly, genial, smiling, “Uncle” Walt Disney resembling and implicitly linked and also implicitly Tin Man linked “Uncle” Wikus van de Merwe-played by Sharlto Copley-into an alien, alienated, black, and mini-blockbuster CGI beast by the diseased, disharmonious, and eucatastrophic end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film DISTRICT 9 (2009), a film released on August 13, 2009 that alluded to BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE.  That implicit point made, Jackson took a break from epic films and New Zealand when he travelled to Pennsylvania, donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats, teamed up again with Boyens, Lesnie, and Walsh and now also with Paramount Pictures and, curiously, given that Spielberg was always linked to the TZ disaster and also implicitly linked to the beastly blockbuster power lusting Isildur in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, with executive producer Spielberg and his new Dreamworks SKG film studio to implicitly roast Polley in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film THE LOVELY BONES (2009), released on November 24, 2009 and inspired by the twilit and allegorical Alice Sebold indie docufiction novel The Lovely Bones (2002).

 

“It’s all about the art of concealment.”

 

        Alas, the film began with the Paramount Pictures intro before the ominously twilit intro for Spielberg’s new film studio Dreamworks SKG, the one that saw a boy fishing from the lower horn of a waxing moon, the same waxing moon that hung in the sky the early morning of the TZ disaster, throwing an ominous and infuriatingly twilit shroud over the production.  Then, after the Film 4 intro and two opening titles, the second again stating “…A WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTION” as at the beginning of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, THE LOVELY BONES began with the young, short, slim, pretty, blonde, shy, sweet, innocent, naïve, Kodak photography luvin’, and implicitly Polley and Wicked Witch of the East linked fourteen year old teen Susan “Susie” Salmon-played as a teen by Saoirse Ronan, and as a three year old girl in the film’s prologue by Evelyn Lennon, respectively-being murdered one fateful and fatal Fall day after high school by her middle-aged, short, blonde, moustached, big eared, bespectacled, creepily avuncular and brooding, nasty, psychopathic, and implicitly Lucas and Wicked Witch of the West linked bachelor and serial killing next door neighbour George Harvey-played by Stanley Tucci-implying either that Jackson was repaying Polley for implicitly and sympathetically addressing Lucas and Lynch in her first feature film, the daylit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film AWAY FROM HER (2006), warning Polley not to get too close to Lucas, or both.  Ironically, Polley did just the opposite, implicitly toasting Lucas even more exuberantly in her second feature film, the daylit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film TAKE THIS WALTZ (2011).

        Curiously, after her murder, the distraught and angry Salmon haunted Harvey and her young, good looking, devastated, and implicitly Gilliam/Scarecrow and Maggie Weston/Dorothy linked parents Jack and Abigail Salmon-played by Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz, respectively-her younger and equally blonde, beautiful, sweet, and innocent sister Lindsey-played by Rose McIver-her young, blonde, and even more innocent kid brother Buckley-played by Christian T. Ashdale-her old but beautiful, brunette, rebellious, indie, single, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked Grandma Lynn-played by Susan Sarandon-and her young, handsome, and implicitly Jian Ghomeshi linked teen sweetheart Ray Singh-played by Reece Ritchie-like the equally distraught and angry ghost of the young, tall, handsome, black haired and eyed, and ironically health and fitness obsessed Ray Lynskey-played by Peter Dobson-haunted his ex-wife Dr. Lynskey and her new sweetie Bannister after he was killed by the nasty and Wicked ghost of Bartlett in THE FRIGHTENERS.  Sweet but steely Susie also helped her sister, grandmother, and determined parents out Harvey as the murderer, and even brought about the fall that led to his death, in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end, another deadly and eucatastrophic fall that evoked the sight and sound of Gollum falling into the fiery depths of Mount Doom at the end of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING and the bullet riddled body of King Kong tumbling to his doom off the top of the Empire State Building at the end of KING KONG, implying the hope of Sir Jackson that Polley would come to her senses, and use a future film to help film artists exorcise Lucas from the Temple Theatre, as well, in a film that was an unusual mean spirited, petty, and petulant implicit dismissal of Polley given that she had only made one film-!one!-and perhaps even revealing that Sir Jackson’s Dark Robert Side had not yet been fully conquered, but that, nonetheless, affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to AWAY FROM HER, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Bigelow indie docufeature artbuster THE WEIGHT OF WATER (2000), the twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Lynch indie telemoving painting series TWIN PEAKS (1990-91), and the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Lynch indie moving painting INLAND EMPIRE (2006). 

As for Dreamworks Animation, later that year they implicitly affirmed their luv of the titanic Tolkien trilogy and their belief that Sir Jackson had indeed mastered film art and slain the blockbuster CGI beast with that trimactic trilogy by collaborating with Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders to have the young, short, brunette, skinny, weak, despondent, intelligent, creative, inventive, thoughtful, kind, patient, perseverant, determined, courageous, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Tin Man linked Viking teen apprentice blacksmith and budding dragontrainer Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III-played by Jay Baruchel-catch, befriend, break in, mend, and train an elusive, mysterious, bat evoking, and implicitly Gilliam and Toto linked Toothless the all black Night Fury dragon-played by Randy Thom-and then team them up with the young, short, slim, pretty, blonde, courageous, and implicitly Blanchett and Dorothy linked teen cutie Astrid Hofferson-played by America Ferrera-and their fellow bored, restless, and adventurous teens-including the chubby, brunette, big eared, and implicitly young Reitman linked Snotlout Jorgenson (played by Jonah Hill); the blonde, bickering, and implicitly Andy and Lana Wachowski linked twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston (played by T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig, respectively); and the big, blonde, fat, and implicitly Guillermo Del Toro linked Fishlegs Ingerman (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse)-to slay a huge, tyrannosaurus rex evoking, and implicitly Spielberg linked blockbuster blue CGI dragon beast with big, sharp, pointy, and slathering teeth hidden away on a fog enshrouded isle like Kong and also to save, befriend, tame, and train all of the other smaller dragons and their tough, tenacious, and sheep luvin’ Viking village on the small, rocky, craggy, hilly, but grass, shrub, and tree covered and New Zealand evoking island of Berk to the delight of Hiccup’s father and Berk’s old, big, strong, intimidating, red haired, moustached, and bearded, Scottish accented, and implicitly Cameron and Great Oz linked chief Stoick the Vast-played by Gerard Butler-even if it meant that Hiccup lost his left foot at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie all CGI animated film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010), a film released on March 18, 2010 that was inspired by the allegorical Cressida Cowell indie novel How To Train Your Dragon (2003), and that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to JAWS, KING KONG, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the daylit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Gilliam roasting and Lucas toasting Disney and Matthew Robbins indie animaction film DRAGONSLAYER (1981). 

Significantly, the following year Jackson was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II for services to humanity, film art, and the vital humanity of film art, becoming brave Sir Jackson.  The same year, Marilyn Agrelo implicitly addressed and gently roasted him in the form of elementary school science teacher Ben Smith-played by Chris Messina-and SCC in the implicit form of Smith’s luv interest, struggling and “weird” math teacher Mona Gray-played as a girl by Bailee Madison, and as a young adult by Jessica Alba, respectively-and slowly released Gray’s mentally troubled and implicitly Burton linked mathematician Dad-played by John Shea-and went on to become a quirky and indie couple, implying the hope of Agrelo that SCC and Sir Jackson would also stick to their indomitably indie paths and avoid becoming obsessed with blockbuster numbers and link themselves to a major studio like Burton with his then recent return to Disney in the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced indie docufeature film AN INVISIBLE SIGN (2010), a film released on October 7, 2010 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to HEAVENLY CREATURES, THE FRIGHTENERS and THE LOVELY BONES.  Then Coppola implicitly replied to Sir Jackson with the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced indie docufeature film TWIXT (2011), a film released on the equally haunted and fateful tenth anniversary day of September 11, 2011 which saw the young, handsome, mysterious, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Scarecrow linked young rebel biker Flamingo-played by Alden Ehrenreich-help the middle aged and implicitly Gilliam and Tin Man linked struggling horror novelist Hall Baltimore-played by Val Kilmer-and the ghostly and implicitly Walt Disney liked Edgar A. Poe-played by Ben Chaplin-free the young, sweet, and implicitly SCC and Dorothy linked ghost Virginia aka “V”-played by Elle Fanning-from the gruesome grips of the murderous and implicitly Disney CEO Bob Iger linked ghost of Pastor Allan Floyd-played by Anthony Fusco-and the exuberantly madcap and implicitly Stan “the Man” Lee linked Sheriff Bobby LaGrange-played by Bruce Dern-an implicit interest in Sir Jackson on one level affirmed by the film’s allusions to KING KONG, MEET THE FEEBLES, THE FRIGHTENERS, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and THE LOVELY BONES. 

Curiously, and despite his insidiously twilit links, Sir Jackson then implied that working with Spielberg on THE LOVELY BONES was an experience that he enjoyed, for he then donned the co-producer hat and teamed up with co-producers Kennedy and Spielberg and also again with Bell and Serkis to implicitly roast John Lasseter in the implicit form of the young, clean cut and shaven, baby faced, irrepressible, and indomitable Tintin-played by Bell-and have him team up with the old, black eyed, moustached, and bearded, bilious, deep drinkin’, and implicitly Tom Hanks linked Captain Archibald Haddock-played by Serkis-to track down and triumph over the sinister and implicitly Landis linked Ivan I. Sakharine-played by Daniel Craig-in the twilit and allegorical Spielberg all CGI animation film THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (2011), released on October 23, 2011 and inspired by the narrative art of Herge.  As for Sir Jackson, he headed off in a new direction early the following year when he acted as co-producer with Walsh and was seen and heard helping out with the investigation into the shocking murders of the three West Memphis boys Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore that strongly implied that Branch’s Wicked, violent, and abusive step-father, Terry Hobbs, probably committed the heinous murders, and that also eventually led to the release of the three young men, Charles J. Baldwin, Damien Echols, and Jesse Miskelley, implicitly wrongfully convicted of the murders as teens and whose tragicomic resemblance to the Three Stooges perhaps implied that the film artists involved thought that the West Memphis Three were foolish trio of stooges indeed, to plead guilty to the murders in order to finally be released from prison after serving eighteen long years without a single solid scrap of evidence being produced to justify their convictions when a looming last trial that would have exonerated them and awarded them tens of millions of dollars of compensation, stripped the prosecuting attorney of his license by revealing that the evidence had been faked by him in order to win the case and advance his political aspirations, and, last but not least, finally achieved justice for Branch, Byers, and Moore by outing Hobbs as the murderer and led to his arrest, prosecution, conviction, and incarceration and possible execution was turned down at the liberating but not quite healing and harmonizing end of the allegorical Amy Berg and Billy McMillin indie documentary film WEST OF MEMPHIS (2012), released on January 21, 2012. 

Then the intrepid and indomitable Kiwi cinematic Knight got back to more familiar Middle-Earth territory when he donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Blanchett, Boyens, Holm, Lee, Lesnie, McKellen, Serkis, Shore, Walsh, Weaving, Wood, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, and now also with MGM to implicitly address young Reitman again and his emergence as a shrewd, knowing, brash, confident, creative, talented, montage luvin’, and successful indie docufeature film artist and to also implicitly reply to HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by taking on another deadly dragon in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed animaction artbuster THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (2012), released on November 28, 2012 to a world now recovering from vengeful, brutal, and American led madness in Afghanistan and Iraq rather than 911 and inspired by The Hobbit, or there and back again.

 

“Slowly the days turned sour…

A sickness had begun to grow…

It was a sickness of the mind.

And where sickness thrives,

bad things will follow.”

 

        Indeed, after golden MGM-the lion’s golden left eye preparing audiences for the arrival of an equally golden left dragon eye-and New Line Cinema intros, two golden opening titles that again did not mention director, cast, or crew, and a golden title stating “…THE HOBBIT”, the film began back at the familiar and well appointed hole at Bag End under the hill in Hobbiton in the Shire with a prologue wherein the old, short, grey haired, but still energetic and mischief luvin’, and fussy, food, drink, book, map, peace, quiet, solitude, hole, and white dress shirt and red waistcoat luvin’, eccentric, and implicitly old Pierre Trudeau linked Hobbit bachelor Bilbo Baggins-played again by Holm-was met writing away at his desk in his study as at the beginning of THE LORD O THE RINGS: THE ELLOWSHIP O THE RING but this time began to relate a prologue story about a mysterious and flame belching red blockbuster CGI dragon beast that attacked the ancient and wealthy Dwarf mountain mining kingdom and fortress city of Erebor-which was almost an anagram for “robber”-and the nearby and also wealthy human city of Laketown, burning and destroying much of the city, killing most of the citizens of both Laketown and Erebor, and causing the rest to flee before it took over the mountain kingdom as its cavernous lair, evoking the multi-dragon attack on the valiant Viking village on the rocky island of Berk that began HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON to immediately implicitly affirm that the latest Sir Jackson film was replying to that film on one level.  Then the film went sixty years back in time to a beautiful and peaceful late summer’s day when the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, bearded, and robed, staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg and Great Oz linked Gandalf the Grey aka Mithrandir-played again by McKellen-showed up unexpectedly at the familiar and cozy hole of the now quite young but still short, more handsome, brunette, fussy, food, drink, peace, quiet, solitude, and hole luvin’, and implicitly young Pierre Trudeau and Scarecrow linked Hobbit bachelor Bilbo Baggins-played now by Martin Freeman, respectively-much to the startled surprise and dismay of the latter.

The dismay and surprise of young Baggins increased later that night when first a handsome, bald, brown moustached and bearded, burly, broad shouldered, strong, and implicitly Ben Affleck linked Dwarf named Dwalin-played by Graham McTavish-knocked on the door of his Hobbit hole and promptly strode in demanding supper.  The surprise and dismay of young Baggins increased still more when another knock on his door brought the old, white haired, moustached, and bearded, and implicitly J.K. Simmons linked Dwarf Balin-played by Ken Stott-calmly marching into his hole, quickly followed by the young, handsome, exuberant, strong, and implicitly Ghomeshi and Penn linked Kili and Fili-played by Aidan Turner and Dean O’Gorman, respectively-before Gandalf arrived with the young, brunette, moustached, hatted, blunt, talkative, irrepressible, song luvin’, and implicitly Neal Peart linked Bofur-played by James Nesbitt-the young, brown haired and bearded, and implicitly Geddy Lee linked Gloin-played by Peter Hambleton-the young, red haired and bearded, and implicitly Alex Lifeson linked Ori-played by Adam Brown-and the rest of the ambiguously linked Dwarves, including the bilious and implicitly Edgar A. Poe linked Bifur-played by William Kircher-the chubby and perhaps Del Toro linked Bombur-played by Stephen Hunter-the doughty Dori-played by Mark Hadlow-the only Oin-played by John Callen-and the ornery Nori-played by Jed Brophy.

Curiously, this group of madcap, irrepressible, and implicitly film and music artist linked dwarves were led by the final arrival, the young, handsome, dark brown eyed, haired, and moustached, strong, sturdy, and implicitly young Reitman and Tin Man linked Thorin Oakenshield-played by Richard Armitage.  However, despite this implicit link to young Reitman, the madcap and irrepressible Dwarves also evoked the equally dimunitive, madcap, irrepressible, and looting lustin’ time bandits in TIME BANDITS, and the original courageous, creative, eccentric, exuberant, fun luvin’, good humoured, innovative, rebellious, restless, upbeat, and indie hand animated direction and spirit of the Walt Disney Company given that they also evoked the equally Good, madcap, and tragicomic dwarfs of their first fine, creative, innovative, and original feature film, the allegorical Disney and David Hand hand animated feature film SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937), making it fitting indeed that the latter film appeared in the same year as The Hobbit, or there and back again, already linking the two beloved and original children of all ages stories together.  Thus, Sir Jackson also implied that he was addressing the Walt Disney Company on another level in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.

Just as curiously, the Dwarves were on another quest from Bag End in the Hobbiton farthing of the Shire this time to the lonely mountain of Erebor to take on and take out the blockbuster red all CGI dragon beast called Smaug seen and heard laying waste to Laketown and taking their mountain kingdom from them in the prologue and recovering all of their wealth of gold and jewels still laying inside their mountain kingdom like the original madcap, morally stunted and imperial blockbuster loot lusting nations of Europe in The Hobbit, or there and back again, which also evoked the equally madcap and blockbuster dragon loot lusting dwarves, evoking the madcap, morally stunted, and blockbuster loot lustin’ Munchkins of TIME BANDITS.  Thus, Sir Jackson implicitly affirmed that he was also addressing Cronenberg and young Reitman again in this film and implicitly reaffirmed his hope that Cronenberg and Reitman would unite to take on and take out blockbuster all CGI and CGI enhanced beasts with their indie docufeature film art as he had implied in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.  However, he also now implied his fear that this quest and its successes would lead to Dark lusts for blockbuster loot forming inside the implicitly and mostly young film and music artist linked Dwarves, particularly inside young Reitman. 

Along the way to Erebor, Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and the dwarves took on and took out a twilit trio of blockbuster and implicitly Bob, Eddie, and Harvey Weinstein linked troll beasts named Bert, Tom and William-also played by Hadlow, Kircher, and Hambleton, respectively.  While it was uncertain who the trolls were implicitly linked to in the film, Tolkien implicitly linked the dimwitted trio to Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo in The Hobbit, or there and back again, affirming the implication that the eastern Necromancer who suddenly appeared in that novel and grew in power to become Sauron in The Lord Of The Rings was implicitly linked to Stalin, unlike in this film, where he was implicitly linked to the Dark, ahuman, beastly, and all CGI blockbuster loot lustin’ Side of Spielberg.  Indeed, the presence of Balin and Dwalin amongst the dwarves affirmed the implicit interest in Stalin on one level in The Hobbit, or there and back again.

After defeating the trio of terrible trolls, the determined heroes stopped at Rivendell and met up with the tall, slim, ageless, and implicitly elder Reitman linked Elrond-played again by Weaving-whose presence affirmed the implicit link of Thorin to Jason like his presence had affirmed the implicit link of Aragorn to Jason in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.  Surprisingly, here at Rivendell Gandalf also met the ageless, beautiful, blonde, slim, ethereal, graceful, shrewd, knowing, prescient, psychic, and implicitly linked Deneuve and Glinda linked Galadriel, the Lady of Light and bearer of an Elf Ring-played again by Blanchett-and the old, tall, long nosed, more grey than white haired, moustached, and bearded but still sinister and implicitly Cameron linked learned scholar and powerful wizard Saruman the White-played again by Lee-and conferred with them about the sudden emergence of an insidious and mysterious Necromancer in the East

Leaving Rivendell, they then passed through the Misty Mountains, leading to another attack by orcs now called goblins and another triumph over them and their huge, fat, double chinned, and implicitly Lucas linked King-played by Barry Humphries-a fitting defeat of the latter given that he sold Lucasfilm and ILM to Disney and faded away into retirement that year.  Significantly, while this battle with the Goblin King and his mates raged, deep in the dismal depths of the Misty Mountains, Bilbo found the One Ring of Power and then met and out riddled the short, skinny, creepy, and implicitly Chretien linked Gollum-played again by Serkis-implicitly returning a Canadian political allegory to the latest film set in this Middle-Earth ‘twixt Heaven and Hell.  Curiously, through the magic of CGI, Gollum actually looked younger, given that the film took place sixty years before the epic events of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, unlike the returning real cast members, who, ironically, all looked older because they were older.  Just as curiously, but not surprisingly, when Bilbo slipped on the One Ring, he was consigned to invisible CGI limbo like Frodo in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.

Just as significantly, once on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains, this time with canny Gandalf, the intrepid questers had to deal with attacks by CGI warg riding orcs led by the huge, bald, scarred, nefarious, one handed, ahuman, and all CGI puppet of the Necromancer, Azog the Defiler-implicitly linked to Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg, Nikko, and the all CGI films of Dreamworks, his name evoking the all CGI Balrog in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, and played by Manu Bennett-evoking the implicit link of the opening dragon attack to the attack by the dragons on the Viking village at Berk at the beginning of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON to bring the fine feature film full circle, and to reaffirm that Sir Jackson was also addressing Dreamworks Animation on one level in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, an implication reaffirmed by the one golden left dragon eye that emerged from piles of gold and jewelry deep inside cavernous Erebor and opened at the end of the film to prepare audiences for the next fine film.  Implications that continued when Sir Jackson donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Armitage, Bennett, Blanchett, Bloom, Boyens, Brophy, Brown, Callen, Freeman, Hadlow, Hambleton, Hunter, Kircher, Lesnie, McKellen, McTavish, Nesbitt, O’Gorman, Peirse, Sergent, Serkis, Shore, Stott, Turner, Vere-Jones, Walsh, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, MGM, and Sylvester McCoy and Lee Pace-who played the implicitly Palin linked Radagast the Brown and the tall, blonde, intimidating, and implicitly Bigelow linked elven King Thranduil, respectively, in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY-co-writer Del Toro, production designer Dan Hennan, and editor Jabez Olssen-all from THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY-and now also with Warner Brothers on the twilit, allegorical and CGI, enhanced animaction artbuster THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (2013), released on December 2, 2013 and inspired by The Hobbit, or there and back again.

 

“A sickness lies upon that treasure hoard.”

 

        Significantly, after golden Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema, and MGM intros-the MGM lion’s golden left eye again preparing audiences for the arrival of an equally golden left dragon eye-two golden opening titles, and an equally golden title “…THE HOBBIT”, the film began with a flashback set in the Prancing Pony inn in Bree a year before the beginning of the quest that saw the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, bearded, and robed, staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg and Great Oz linked Gandalf aka Mithrandir and the young, handsome, dark brown eyed, haired, and moustached, strong, sturdy, and implicitly young Reitman and Tin Man linked Thorin Oakenshield-played again by McKellen and Armitage, respectively-meet up to discuss the mission.  Unexpectedly, Thorin made clear in this talk that he was more interested in getting his hands on the legendary Arkenstone than he was in defeating Smaug, reaffirming the implicit fear of Sir Jackson that the success of young Reitman would go to his head and that he would lose interest in creating small, smart, satirical, and slightly CGI enhanced indie docufeature film art and instead create banal and brainless CGI enhanced or all CGI blockbuster beasts in order to satisfy his madcap and insensate lusts for fortune and glory.  And on that tragicomic note, the flashback prologue ended and Gandalf and Thorin rejoined the young, short, more handsome, brunette, less fussy and food, drink, peace, quiet, solitude, and hole luvin’, and more irrepressible, creative, adventurous, and mischievous, and implicitly Trudeau sr. linked Hobbit Bilbo Baggins-played again by Freeman-and the old, white haired, moustached, and bearded, and implicitly Simmons linked Balin-played again by Stott-and the rest of the dwarves on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains still heading to Erebor, evoking the equally eccentric and high spirited Seven Dwarfs again to immediately reaffirm that Sir Jackson was addressing the Walt Disney Company on one level again in THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG. 

After surviving another CGI orc and warg attack led by the huge, bald, scarred, nefarious, one handed, ahuman, and all CGI Necromancer puppet Azog the Defiler-still implicitly linked to Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg, Nikko, and the all CGI films of Dreamworks to immediately reaffirm that Sir Jackson was addressing Dreamwork Animation and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON on one level again in THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, and played again by Bennett-by taking sanctuary with the old, slim, hairy, shapeshifting, intimidating, and bearish man Beorn-originally implicitly linked to Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis by his Oxford University Inklings colleague and friend Professor Tolkien, a bearish friend who responded to the Middle-Earth tales of “Tollers” with his Narnia series, and played by Mikael Persbrandt-the company set out again.  To the surprise of the madcap Dwarf and Hobbit Munchkins, Gandalf soon left to investigate rumours of the growing power of the black, shadowy, ahuman, all CGI, and implicitly Spielberg and Wicked Witch of the West linked Necromancer, reaffirming that Sir Jackson was still uneasy about CGI and, in particular, the rise in all CGI animated films.  This unexpected and dismaying departure left Bilbo, Thorin, Balin and the dwarves to pass through the creepy and sentient forest of Mirkwood the Great that evoked, and anticipated, Fangorn Forest in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and again evoked the endless Great Forest that once covered eastern North America in the Leatherstocking novels.  Here the dwarves, with the help of Bilbo, barely managed to survive an attack by massive blockbuster CGI enhanced spider beasts that evoked a blockbuster puppet spider beast met in MEET THE FEEBLES and the equally all CGI Shelob in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, and an attack by big and nasty CGI bugs on Skull Island in KING KONG, including at least one that resembled and was implicitly linked to the weta, the multi-legged insect native to New Zealand that gave its name to Sir Jackson’s favourite Kiwi cinematic effects firms, Weta FX and Weta Workshop.  Alas, no sooner did the dwarves escape the spiders then they were captured by elves led by the tall, blonde, handsome, intimidating, and implicitly Bigelow linked King Thranduil-played again by Pace-and taken back to their Mirkwood lair, only to be freed and rescued by Bilbo again.

        Continuing their journey, they soon arrived at the possibly Toronto linked Laketown with the smuggling help of the young, tall, handsome, moustached, strong, sturdy, and implicitly Sir Scott linked Bard the archer-played by Luke Evans-not far from Erebor where, after initial hostility, particularly from the young, short, black haired, unibrowed, and eyed, black clad, skinny, sneery, weaselly, Wormtongue evoking, tragicomic, loot lustin’, and implicitly Burton linked Alfrid Lickspittle-played by Ryan Gage-and the tall, red haired, moustached, and bearded, even more loot lustin’ and tragicomic, and implicitly Robert Altman linked Master of Laketown-played by Stephen Fry-they were all eventually welcomed as friends.  Heading out to Erebor, Bilbo soon used a secret door and passage to make his way inside its treasure filled interior and confront and parley with the old, huge, red, wily, talkative, smug, and loot luvin’ blockbuster all CGI dragon beast Smaug-played by Benedict Cumberbatch-which, curiously, was actually implicitly linked to Disney instead of Dreamworks Animation as it resembled the implicitly Gilliam linked Vermithrax Perjorative the dragon in DRAGONSLAYER and also evoked the Walt Disney Company’s newfound obsession with beastly CGI enhanced and all CGI blockbuster loot, making it fitting that “maus”, the German word for “mouse”, was hidden within Smaug. 

Soon Bilbo infuriated Smaug by using the One Ring to slip into invisible CGI limbo, steal, and flee with the legendary Arkenstone that was so coveted by Thorin and, alas, also coveted by Smaug.  However, instead of exploding furiously out of its lair and attacking Laketown as in the novel, Smaug instead first confronted Bilbo and the Dwarves inside its lair and was successfully tricked by Thorin into restarting the foundries of Erebor with its fiery breath, leading the blockbuster beast to its snarling fury to be drenched and covered in boiling liquid gold from a huge melted gold statue of a Dwarf King that resembled a massive Dwarf Oscar statuette.  Alas, after shaking off the liquid gold, the outraged Smaug did explode out of its lonely mountain lair, furiously setting fire to the mountain outside as in The Hobbit or, there and back again and evoking the mountain set on fire in a tragicomic and failing attempt to force the elderly ex-New York colonial Ranger Nathianiel “Natty” Bumppo to reveal the location of a gold mine he was accused of discovering and carefully concealing but which did not exist at the end of the allegorical Cooper indie docufiction novel The Pioneers (1823) to again implicitly affirm the fondness of Tolkien for the novels of Cooper.  Lonely Mountain set ablaze, the furious Smaug thundered through the nighttime sky with its mighty wings to attack and set afire Laketown, evoking the ends of DRAGONSLAYER and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and setting audiences up for the trimax of the Hobbit Trilogy. 

Curiously, however, before that titanic trimax arrived, Wes Anderson and a fine cast and crew implicitly toasted Burton in the forms of lobby boy, concierge and then hotel owner Zero Moustafa-played as a teen by Tony Revolori and as an old man by F. Murray Abraham, respectively-Disney in the form of Moustafa’s mentor, hotel concierge Monsieur Gustave H.-played by Ralph Fiennes-Kubrick in the form of the fearful lawyer Kovacs-played by Jeff Goldblum-and Polley in the form of sweet pastry chef Agatha Mendl-played by Ronan-and implicitly roasted and triumphed over Cronenberg in the form of the remorselessly violent and motorcycle luvin’ family servant Jopling-played by Willem Dafoe-and Sir Jackson in the form of the painting lustin’ and diabolical Dmitri-played by Brody-in the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced indie docufeature film THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014), a film released on February 6, 2014 that was inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig and whose implicit allegorical intent was reaffirmed by an Elfman evoking soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat. 

A little less than three months later, Dreamworks and 20^th Century Fox collaborated with DeBlois and also with Baruchel, Blanchett, Butler, Cowell-now co-writer-Ferrera, Hill, Miller, Mintz-Plasse, Thom, and Wiig to have the young, short, brunette, skinny, weak, despondent, intelligent, creative, inventive, thoughtful, kind, patient, perseverant, determined, courageous, left foot bereft, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Tin Man linked young Viking man and dragontrainer Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III-now five years older and sporting his own homemade solo flying dragonbat wings, and played again by Baruchel-his fully trained, no longer elusive and  mysterious but still bat evoking and implicitly Toto and Gilliam linked all black Night Fury dragon Toothless-played again by Thom-and his sweetie, the young, short, slim, pretty, blonde, courageous, and implicitly Blanchett and Dorothy linked cutie Astrid Hofferson-played again by Ferrera-team up with and their fellow bored, restless, and adventurous young friends-including the big, blonde, fat, and implicitly Del Toro linked Fishlegs Ingerman (played again by Mintz-Plasse); the chubby, brunette, big eared, and implicitly young Reitman linked Snotlout Jorgenson (played again by Hill); and the blonde, bickering, and implicitly Andy and Lana Wachowski linked twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston (played again by Miller and Wiig, respectively)-and also with Haddock III’s old, tall, slim, still beautiful, greying brown haired, lost and found, ironically peaceful, non-violent, dragon luvin’, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked mother Valka Haddock-fittingly played by Blanchett, who openly linked Haddock III and the film to Sir Jackson via her role as Galadriel in the Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings Trilogies-and make up for the brave and fitting battlefield death of Hiccup’s father and Berk’s old, big, strong, intimidating, red haired, moustached, and bearded, Scottish accented, and implicitly Cameron and Great Oz linked chief Stoick the Vast-played again by Butler-by triumphing over the big, burly, nasty, dread, dreadlocked, black clad, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked  Drago Bludvist-played by Djimon Hounsou-and his huge, hypnotizin’, and blockbuster alpha dragon Bewilderbeast to save and become the new chief of his now dragon luvin’ and racin’ Viking village on the rocky and rugged but lush and green island of Berk as Toothless became the new alpha dragon in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie all CGI animated film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014), a film released on May 16, 2014 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to the Hobbit Trilogy, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Then Sir Jackson delivered that titanic trimax of the Hobbit Trilogy when he donned the co-writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Armitage, Bennett, Blanchett, Bloom, Brophy, Brown, Callen, Cumberbatch, Del Toro, Evans, Freeman, Fry, Hadlow, Hambleton, Hennan, Hunter, Kircher, Lee, Lesnie, McCoy, McKellen, McTavish, Nesbitt, O’Gorman, Olssen, Pace, Peirse, Persbrandt, Shore, Stott, Turner, Walsh, Weaving, New Line Cinema, MGM, Warner Brothers, and Evangeline Lilly and John Tui-who played the ageless, slim, beautiful, unusually auburn, strong, stalwart, and implicitly Angelina Jolie linked Elf warrioress Tauriel, and Azog’s big, nasty, and implicitly DeBlois linked lackey Bolg, respectively, in THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG-on the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced animaction artbuster THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (2014), released on December 1, 2014 and inspired by The Hobbit, or there and back again.

 

“Is this treasure truly worth

 all that you honour?”

 

        Fittingly, after golden Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema, and MGM intros-the MGM lion’s golden left eye again preparing audiences for the arrival of an equally golden but more baleful left dragon eye-two golden opening titles, and an equally golden title “…THE HOBBIT”, the film began with a bang with the old, huge, red, wily, talkative, smug, blockbuster loot luvin’, Vermithrax Perjorative resemblin’, and implicitly Walt Disney Company linked blockbuster all CGI dragon beast Smaug-played again by Cumberbatch-arriving at Laketown and drenching it with fire during repeated flying strafing attacks, fiery flying attacks that evoked the attack by the similar fiery flying attacks by Vermithrax Perjorative the dragon at the end of DRAGONSLAYER to immediately reaffirm its implicit link to Disney.  Significantly, the searing serpent was eventually killed by a lucky arrow shot by the tall, young, handsome, moustached, strong, sturdy, and implicitly Sir Scott and Cowardly Lion linked Bard-deceitfully but fittingly hailed as a dragonslayer by the young, short, black haired, unibrowed, and eyed, black clad, skinny, sneery, weaselly, Wormtongue evoking, tragicomic, and implicitly Burton linked Alfrid Lickspittle (played again by Gage) after the deed was done to openly link the film to Disney and DRAGONSLAYER, and played again by Evans-that found the one weak spot on its scaly skin unprotected by jewels, an archery feat that affirmed the implicit link of Bard to Sir Scott as it evoked the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron and Suzi Amis toasting indie docufeature artbuster ROBIN HOOD (2010).  And so smug Smaug died, falling out of the sky to its doom into the lake like Vermithrax Perjorative at the end of DRAGONSLAYER to again affirm its implicit link to the Walt Disney Company and imply that Sir Jackson believed that Sir Scott and his fine indie docufeature artbusters had triumphed over blockbuster loot lusting Disney, and also like the pathetic Smeagol fell to his doom at the end of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, like the huge King Kong fell to his doom off the Empire State Building at the end of KING KONG, and like the Wicked Harvey fell to his doom at the end of THE LOVELY BONES, returning eucatastrophic health, peace, and harmony to the burning city on the lake. 

Unfortunately, the death of Smaug did not relieve this Middle-Earth ‘twixt Heaven and Hell of beastly blockbuster lusts for fortune and glory, for the young, handsome, dark brown eyed, haired, and moustached, strong, sturdy, and implicitly young Reitman and Tin Man linked Thorin-played again by Armitage-went mad with his obsessive lust to find the Arkenstone in the piles of treasure in Erebor.  So mad that he ignored the danger of an impending attack by a warg riding orc army led again by the huge, bald, scarred, nefarious, one handed, ahuman, and all CGI Azog the Defiler-still implicitly linked to Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg, Nikko, and the all CGI films of Dreamworks to reaffirm that Sir Jackson was again addressing Dreamworks Animation on one level in the trimax, and played again by Bennett-an army that evoked the shambling aliens of BAD TASTE and the equally shambling undead of DEAD ALIVE again and that tragicomically included amongst its rank ranks a troll who resembled and was implicitly linked to Pablo Picasso that was bested by brave Bard.  Luckily for Thorin, however, a delegation of men and Mirkwood Elves led by Bard and by the tall, blonde, intimidating, and implicitly Bigelow linked King Thranduil-played again by Pace-arrived at Erebor to parley shortly before the attack, allowing them to team up to fend off the attack.  A sight so moving that it eventually persuaded Thorin to come to his senses and ally the Dwarves with the Elves and Men to defeat the dread Azog and his army of orcs and wargs in the epic and eponymous Battle of the Five Armies that ended the film and the Hobbit Trilogy. 

Significantly, this epic and climatic battle led to an equally epic and eucatastrophic triumph for the Dwarves, Elves, Men and for the old, tall, grey haired, moustached, bearded, and robed, staff carrying, pipe smoking, wise, knowing, and implicitly Cronenberg linked Gandalf the Grey aka Mithrandir-back just in time from a battle at Dol Guldur with the Wicked, black, shadowy, ahuman, all CGI, and implicitly Spielberg linked Necromancer, and played again by McKellen-and the young, short, more handsome, brunette, less fussy, food, drink, peace, quiet, solitude, and hole luvin’, and more creative, independent, mischievous, adventurous, and implicitly Trudeau sr. linked thief and “Shire rat” Bilbo Baggins-played again by Freeman-implying the hope of Sir Jackson on one level that Cronenberg and Reitman and their indie docufeature film art would triumph over Dreamworks Animation.  Alas, the epic battle also led, as at the end of the novel, to the death of Thorin, in this case while fighting and killing Azog the Defiler with the Elven sword of the ageless, blonde, handsome, slim, strong, and implicitly Lambert linked Legolas-played again by Bloom-implying that Sir Jackson believed that even if young Reitman defeated lusts for beastly CGI enhanced blockbuster loot, he would also defeat himself fighting Katzenberg and Dreamworks Animation as well as Disney, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar, in the end.  Curiously, before he died, Azog and his big, nasty, and implicitly DeBlois linked lackey Bolg-played again by Tui-also killed the implicitly Penn and Ghomeshi linked Fili and Kili-played again by O’Gorman and Turner, respectively-were also killed, in the end, implying that Sir Jackson was not fond of Ghomeshi and Penn-an eerily fitting death for the latter, given that his reputation would soon be killed by a sexual assault trial.

Curiously, and as in The Hobbit, or there and back again, Bilbo survived his first and only great and nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable adventure, arriving back at Bag End in Hobbiton just in time for dinner and in time to fend off his odious relatives in the Sacksville-Baggins branch that were trying to take over his beloved Hobbit hole under the Hill, causing the implicit Canadian political allegory to remain unresolved until the events of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.  Thus, Sir Jackson brought his imaginative and expanded take on The Hobbit, or there and back again to a classic healing and harmonizing eucatastrophic conclusion, and the Hobbit Trilogy joined the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy as another memorable and successful cinematic milestone for the world to cherish for as long as film art was luved that was, curiously, like the other two installments in the trimactic trilogy, awarded no Oscars by the august Academy. 

Tragicomically, the Hobbit Trilogy joined KING KONG and the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy in implicitly convincing Legendary Pictures, Warner Brothers, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts that the short, chubby, eccentric, and bespectacled Sir Jackson was really a virile blockbuster beast of a man underneath his favourite Steinlager t-shirt, for they had the huge, blockbuster, all CGI, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Glinda linked Kong beast, King of Skull Island-played by Smithee-who was fittingly as fiercely protective of his beautiful but deadly island and its indigenous Iwis as Kiwis were of New Zealand, and even more fond of taking on and taking out blockbuster, skull headed, and implicitly Burton linked all CGI lizard beasts in brutal battles witnessed by the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, and implicitly Jolie and Dorothy linked war photographer Mason Weaver-played by Brie Larson-during a Operation Monarch expedition to Skull Island led by the old, bearded, bespectacled, and implicitly Coppola and Tin Man linked Doctor Bill Randa-played by John Goodman-that discovered and rescued the even older, more bearded, and implicitly Huston and Great Oz linked World War II U.S. fighter pilot crash survivor Hank Marlow-played by John C. Reilly-in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017), a film released on January 2, 2017 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to APOCALYPSE NOW, BEETLEJUICE, KING KONG, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. 

Significantly, four months later, Disney, Marvel, and Amiable Anthony and Jovial Russo had the huge, sad, frozen, and Tin handed Eitri, the wounded by Thanos and implicitly Sir Jackson and Tin Man linked mighty Munchkin master weapons maker-played by Peter Dinklage-forged a mighty and legendary axe-!Chopnjir!-for the tall, handsome, short blonde haired, trimly bearded, right eye-patched, muscular, strong, and still mighty and implicitly Cameron, Great Oz and Air linked Thor, Norse God of Thunder and neo-King of Asgard-played by Chris Hemsworth-so as to allow the enraged and vengeful Asgardian to finally try, but fail, to kill and triumph over the towering, purple, bald, vainglorious, universal balance obsessed, all CGI, and implicitly ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner linked mad Titan, Thanos-played by Josh Brolin-at the diseased, disastrous, and catastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR [2018], a film released on April 23, 2018 that affirmed its implicit interest in Sir Jackson on one level with allusions to THE LOVELY BONES.  As for Sir Jackson and Walsh, they helped end the film year by donning the co-writer/co-executive producer hats and collaborating with Christian Rivers to implicitly address young Trudeau again in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie animation film MORTAL ENGINES (2018), a film released on November 27, 2018 that was inspired by the allegorical Philip Reeve indie novel Mortal Engines (2001). 

Curiously, Dreamworks and Universal Pictures kicked off the new film year by collaborating with DeBlois and also with Baruchel, Blanchett, Cowell-back again as co-writer-Ferrera, Hill, Miller, Mintz-Plasse, Thom, and Wiig to have the young, short, brunette, skinny, weak, despondent, creative, inventive, thoughtful, kind, patient, determined, courageous, left foot bereft, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Tin Man linked Viking dragontrainer Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III-played again by Baruchel-and his fully trained, bat evoking, and implicitly Gilliam and Toto linked all black Night Fury dragon Toothless-played again by Thom-team up again with the young, short, slim, pretty, blonde, courageous, and implicitly Blanchett and Dorothy linked cutie Astrid Hofferson-played again by Ferrera-and and their fellow bored, restless, and adventurous young friends-including the big, blonde, fat, and implicitly Del Toro linked Fishlegs Ingerman (played again by Mintz-Plasse); the chubby, brunette, big eared, and implicitly young Reitman linked Snotlout Jorgenson (played again by Hill); and the blonde, bickering, and implicitly Andy and Lana Wachowski linked twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston (played again by Miller and Wiig, respectively-and Haddock III’s old, tall, slim, still beautiful, greying brown haired, ironically peaceful, non-violent, dragon luvin’, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked mother Valka Haddock-fittingly played again by Blanchett-to triumph over the old, grey haired, tall, slim, black clad, nasty, controlling, and implicitly Cameron and Wicked Witch of the West linked Grimmel the Grisly-played by F. Murray Abraham-and his men at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie all CGI animated film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (2019), a film released on January 3, 2019 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to the Hobbit Trilogy, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  Just as curiously, later that year Walsh was named Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her own services to humanity, film art, and the vital humanity of film art, joining brave Sir Jackson as the equally brave Dame Walsh.

Two years later, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers collaborated with Adam Wingard and also with Chandler to continue the Hollow Earth aided Monsterverse by having the huge, blockbuster, still fiercely protective, power axe luvin’, surprisingly sign language knowin’, all CGI, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Glinda linked Kong beast, King of Skull Island-played again by Smithee-get pummelled into submission by the equally huge, blockbuster, all CGI, and implicitly Kubrick and Glinda linked Godzilla beast before literally having a change of heart and rising up and teaming up with Godzilla to take on and take out the nasty and Ghidorah controlled and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked “Apex Titan” Mechagodzilla in Hong Kong to the expectant delight of Kong’s favourite cute and implicitly Dorothy linked little Munchkin Iwi girl Jia-played by Kaylee Hottle-and the surprised delight of the young, blonde, handsome, earnest, and implicitly Christopher Nolan and Scarecrow linked Operation Monarch Doctor Nathan Lind-played by Alexander Skarsgard-and the equally young and earnest but more beautiful, brunette, slim, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked Dr. Ilene Andrews-played by Rebecca Hall-and the shocked dismay of the old, greying dark haired, moustached, and bearded, and implicitly Denis Villeneuve and Great Oz linked Apex Cybernetics CEO Walter Simmons-played by Demian Bichir-and his young, short, gorgeous, statuesque, sexy, and implicitly Ana de Armas linked daughter Maia Simmons-played by Eiza Gonzalez-at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film GODZILLA VS. KONG (2021), a film released on March 24, 2021 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, STRANGE DAYS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg roasting and Cronenberg, Kubrick, Luc Besson, Sofia Carmina (SCC) Coppola, Brandon Cronenberg, Roland Emmerich, and Kurosawa Akira toasting Gareth Edwards docufeature film GODZILLA (2014), and the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature artbuster BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017).  Later that year, Reitman also implicitly responded to and gently roasted and toasted the Kiwi cinematic Knight when he had the young, short, slim, curly brown haired, round spectacled, thoughtful, bad science joke crackin’, indie, and implicitly Sir Jackson linked teen Phoebe Spengler-played by Mackenna Grace-team up with middle aged and heighted, handsome, brown haired, moustached, and bearded, goofy, ghost haunted, horror film and shorts luvin’, and implicitly Mortenson and Great Oz linked Summerville Middle School (SMS) summer school science teacher and amateur seismologist Gary Grooberson-played by Paul Rudd-and the equally middle aged and heighted, slim, blonde, pretty, lonely, ghost haunted, and implicitly Blanchett and Glinda linked divorced mother of two Callie Spengler-played by Carrie Coon-to battle ghosts at the Shandor Mining Company located at a lonely and Erebor evoking mountain just outside the Hollywood cadenced Oklahoma town of Summerville in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021), a film released on October 8, 2021 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to BAD TASTE, DEAD ALIVE, G1, the Hobbit Trilogy, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, THE FRIGHTENERS, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  Curiously, Sir Jackson and Dame Walsh then ended the film year by collaborating with Olivia Harrison, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono Lennon, Ringo Starr, and, oddly, given that the Walt Disney Company was implicitly roasted in the Hobbit Trilogy, also with Blockbuster Bob Iger on another epic three part film that chronicled the creative and tragicomic adventures of the real life legendary elemental Ozian quartet known as the Beatles, comprised of the shy but Fiery and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked McCartney, the frozen behind the drum kit and implicitly Tin Man linked Starr, the Airy, ethereal, transcendent, and implicitly Great Oz linked George Harrison, and the Earthy, raunchy, and implicitly Scarecrow linked John Lennon as they came together and then fell apart with the magical and implicitly Glinda linked keyboardist Billy Preston during the creation of their final allegorical album LET IT BE (1970) and also luckily managed to avoid arrest for performing their last concert on the roof of Apple Studios in Saville Row at the diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic end of the allegorical indie documentary film THE BEATLES: GET BACK (2022), released on November 25, 2021. 

As for young Reitman, he donned the co-producer/co-writer hats and collaborated again with Columbia Pictures, the Ghost Corps, and Sony and now also with co-writer/director/co-executive producer Gil Kenan-also co-writer of GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE-to implicitly roast and toast Sir Jackson again in the implicit form of the young, short, slim, curly brown haired, round spectacled, thoughtful, bad science joke crackin’, indie, and implicitly Sir Jackson linked teen Phoebe Spengler-played by Mackenna Grace-and have her team up again with the middle aged and heighted, handsome, brown haired, moustached, and bearded, goofy, equally ghost haunted, horror film and shorts luvin’, and implicitly Mortensen and Great Oz linked Gary Grooberson-played again by Rudd-the equally middle aged and heighted, blonde, slim, more pretty, ghost haunted, and implicitly Blanchett and Glinda linked divorced mother of two Callie Spengler-played again by Coon-and also now with the young, short, handsome, funny, and implicitly Taika Waititi linked Nadeem Razmaadi-played by Kumail Nanjiani-to battle ghosts in New York like the original Ghostbusters in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (2024), a film released on March 20, 2024 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to G1, G2, G3: AFTERLIFE, THE FRIGHTENERS, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  Shortly afterwards, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers teamed up again with Hall, Hottle, and Wingard for more over the top jackanapes in the Hollow Earth aided Monsterverse when they implicitly had the huge, blockbuster, still all CGI, fiercely protective, and Jia luvin’, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Glinda linked Kong beast, King of Skull Island-played yet again by Smithee-team up with the equally huge, blockbuster, all CGI, and implicitly Kubrick and Glinda linked Godzilla beast and the smaller, orange, creepy, glowing eyed, maliciously mischievous, all CGI, and implicitly Gardevil linked Kid Kong from Hell-played by Wild Willy Wright-to take on and take out the huge, red and white, blockbuster, all CGI, and implicitly young Reitman and Wicked Witch of the West linked Pesky Kong and his equally huge and blockbuster but snow white, captive, chained, ice belchin’, and all CGI Snowzilla slave beast at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW IMPIRE (2024), a film released on March 25, 2024 that made you wonder yet again why Zilly and Kong rarely ate anything and also never stopped to take a blockbuster and stress relieving leak or dump, particularly in triumph on the battered corpse of yet another vanquished titanic adversary, but which affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to BEDTIME FOR WILLY, DEAD ALIVE, GHOSTBUSTERS, GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, GODZILLA, GODZILLA VS. KONG, the Hobbit Trilogy, KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Curiously, a year later, Dreamworks and Universal implicitly affirmed their luv of both titanic Tolkien trilogies and their belief that Sir Jackson had indeed mastered film art and slain the blockbuster CGI beast by collaborating with DeBlois and also with Butler to have the young, short, brunette, skinny, weak, despondent, creative, inventive, thoughtful, kind, patient, determined, courageous, and implicitly Sir Jackson and Tin Man linked Viking teen apprentice blacksmith and budding dragontrainer Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III-played by Mason Thames-again catch, befriend, break in, and train an elusive, mysterious, and implicitly Gilliam and Toto linked Toothless the all black CGI Night Fury dragon and then team up with the young, short, slim, pretty, brunette, courageous, and implicitly Dame Walsh and Dorothy linked teen cutie Astrid Hofferson-played by Nico Parker-and their fellow bored, restless, and adventurous teen friends-and their fellow bored, restless, and adventurous teens-including the big, blonde, fat, and implicitly Del Toro linked Fishlegs Ingerman (played by Julian Dennison); the chubby, brunette, big eared, and implicitly young Reitman linked Snotlout Jorgenson (played by Gabriel Howell); and the blonde, bickering, and implicitly Andy and Lana Wachowski linked twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston (played by Harry Trevaldwyn and Bronwyn James, respectively)-to slay the huge blockbuster CGI dragon beast the implicitly Disney linked Red Death and save, befriend, tame, and train all of the other smaller dragons and their tough, tenacious, and sheep luvin’ Viking village on the small, rocky, craggy, hilly, but grass, shrub, and tree covered and New Zealand evoking island of Berk to the continued delight of Hiccup’s father and Berk’s big, strong, and intimidating, brown haired, moustached, and bearded, Scottish accented, and implicitly Cameron and Great Oz linked chief Stoick the Vast-played again by Butler-despite losing his left foot again in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the live action version of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025), a film released on April 2, 2025 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to the DRAGONSLAYER, the Hobbit Trilogy, How To Train Your Dragon, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, KING KONG, the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. 

An implicit interest in Sir Jackson that implicitly affirmed how fond audiences and film artists around the world were of him and his film art and that, while living was indeed easy with eyes closed misunderstanding all one saw to paraphrase the allegorical and Lennon written Beatles tune “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967), a wide open mind was needed to truly understand and appreciate the implicit allegorical intent of his indie film art and that of the film artists who implicitly responded to him.  For of all people, it was a chubby, funny looking, and eccentric little Hobbit of a New Zealander who was the one who had the courage to embark on an epic film quest and lead audiences into a brave neo world of CGI enhanced film art that never lost its vital humanity or its Good grounded Hobbit and Kiwi sense.  An indomitable indie film artist who defeated his angry, despondent, twisted, and Evil Dark Side Robert he did, and, filled with a new zeal for the fantastic possibilities of CGI enhanced film art, a Good, brave, creative, innovative, exuberant, upbeat, and inspiring Lord of the Artbuster he became indeed, one who swept away the twilight at last and replaced it with daylight and lit up the dull Fourth Age of Earth with truly fantastic films, and one best described he was as an…Heavenly Wingnut.

 

 

       

 

Bibliography

 

Thompson, Kristin.  The Frodo Franchise: THE LORD OF THE

        RINGS and modern Hollywood.  Berkeley: University of

        California Press, 2007.

 

Tolkien, J.R.R.  The Hobbit: or there and back again.  London:

        HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.   

-----.  The Lord Of The Rings. London: HarperCollins Pub-

        lishers, 2003.