Jackson Brings Lord of the Rings to Historic Completion

Dec. 19 -- Now in theaters: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Mona Lisa Smile.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

This could be it! ... Lots of Oscar buzz! ... It's that time of the year when we start hearing silly Hollywood words like "epic" and "stupendous" and "spectacular" and, of course, "cutting-edge." This time, they're understatements.

Don't miss The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. If it didn't take 45 minutes to end, it'd be my best picture of the year. As it is, it's just one of the great achievements in film history.

The effects are spectacular but the genius of director Peter Jackson is that they never get in the way of the story and the story is never more important than the people who tell it.

The saga begins with the diminutive hobbit Frodo Baggins on his way to Mordor to destroy an all-powerful ring. If he doesn't, the time of men has ended and Middle Earth is lost to evil.

Frodo and his allies battle flying dragons and armies of monsters. Just look at the care Jackson has put into Frodo's guide, Gollum. He's not real. He's a computer-generated animation. Watch the breathtaking scene as Ian McKellen, as the wizard Gandalf, enters the City of Kings. It's amazing.

Compare the Lord of the Rings trilogy with the Matrix trilogy, which sank like a stone after the first installment. Jackson has raised the bar with each of his films. Rings 3 makes Matrix 3 look like an infomercial. It's a great film. Grade: A.