All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” “So do all who live to see such times,” the wizard says. Stuck in the Mines of Moria, internalizing the gravity of his quest, Frodo says to Gandalf, “I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf is soft but stern. Lines like “and my ax” got cheers and laughs, but I felt the room vibrate during the film’s more unintentionally timely moments, like a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf that was (rightfully) on every nerd’s lips in 2020. Though in hindsight, I can’t imagine a more fitting film to mark the downslope of this miserable 12 months and change.Ī story about average people (because hobbits are more human than the humans in LotR) forced into a long, arduous, potentially deadly, and profoundly isolating journey is even more relatable in 2021. I chose The Fellowship of the Ring because, frankly, it’s what happened to be playing, thanks to a recent reissue of the trilogy in 4K.
I ventured to see my first movie at the theater since watching The Invisible Man in early 2020. So, this week, with my vaccinated cells on full defense and my wife and kid on a road trip, I felt comfortable spending a few hours sporting an N95 mask in an enclosed but socially distanced space.
Now, new data and Centers for Disease Control guidance have begun to illuminate the shape of our increasingly vaccinated future.
Skipping movie theaters for the past year has been a minor sacrifice in the grand scheme of the pandemic, but that never prevented me from fantasizing about a return to my local Alamo Drafthouse. For a couple of hours, we can sit in a dark and air-conditioned room, have a beer or a decaf coffee, and share a communal experience without having to actually do the anxiety-inducing labor of chatting with strangers. Should I really be surprised that, in 2021, folks are ecstatic to be watching movies together again? Of course not. So each Wednesday throughout the year, we'll go there and back again, examining how and why the films have endured as modern classics. 2021 marks The Lord of the Rings movies' 20th anniversary, and we couldn't imagine exploring the trilogy in just one story.
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