Dave tD -
Too late, most of what I love has fallen foul of the critic's pen - tho that may tell you something of my tastes. *g*

Believe it or not, on my first post I was trying to "don't say anything." Yes, I could have commented on elaborate sets being incredibly detailed, but that any given shot didn't give you long enough to appreciate the scenery, or that I found the use of wide angle lenses on the cameras very distracting (even tho I understand why they had to use them.) Rather than give a long list of criticisms, I tried to cut it short and express my opinion and deliberatly avoid saying anything "bad". I guess I made a mistake in doing so this time.

...why I thought it was good. Superb acting. Magnificent sets. Spectacilar effects. Wonderful story.
Okay, this very much explains to me why you think it's a great movie. And part of it is a matter of tastes. While I could debate each of these points with you, which would be fruitless, I can at least now understand why you like it so much. What is still beyond me tho is that the difference between the number of people who do like it and those that don't is just so overwhelming. There have been "great" movies and "bad", but usually you don't see quite so large an imbalance in those that liked it and those that didn't.

I can understand things being not my cup of tea. Most of society fits in that category for me personally. However, I can appreciate things I don't like (such as some forms of Jazz), and there are some things I like that go against my tastes - I guess I have to be "in a mood" for them. But for me to appreciate something I don't like, I have to understand why it *is* someone else's cup of tea.

As far as movies go, there are some I like that had zero literary or emotional content. Some movies I didn't like, but they moved me deeply. Some I didn't care for, but could appreciate the literary aspects of them (character development, plot, setting, etc.). This movie didn't strike me well on any of those fronts. I can see now that at least some of it was a matter of taste rather than some hidden point I was missing.

I do have one question for you tho - given just this one movie, would you still consider it a wonderful story if you had not read any of the books beforehand?

Homeless.