B-movies no longer, the fantasy genre hits its high water mark with spectacular ‘Rings’ adaptation

Zealously dedicated director Peter Jackson (“Heavenly Creatures,” “The Frighteners”) has brought the monumental ambience, the distinctive characters and the indelible spirit of “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” to life so tangibly that it took my breath away…
For once, here’s a gigantic-budget movie that wears its outsized grandiosity well and lives up to its hype and ambition. More importantly, the characters are perfectly cast (can you think of any actresses more elfin than Blanchett and Tyler?) and properly, reverentially steeped in Tolkien’s elaborate mythology.