Leofwine_draca RISE OF THE FELLOWSHIP is another indie comedy that owes its existence to LORD OF THE RINGS. The central characters are a group of geeks who are into cosplay and the like and who plan to attend a Lord of the Rings-themed convention. As a film, it's packed with the usual unfunny humour and bad acting; it's worthless even for like-minded fans such as myself.

timmydj-11612 This movie made me smile, even laugh. Sure there were some stereotypes and some clichéd moments, but they didn't detract from the feel of the film. There are some movies that just give you a happy feeling while you watch them and leave you wanting to go out and kick life's butt, like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. This, for me, is one of those movies. Is some of the acting a bit over the top? Sure. But I've seen much cornier, stereotyped performances (the bad guys in Mall Cop for instance) and honestly Rise of The Fellows Hip had me caring about the characters from the beginning, unlike a lot of other "great" films. For reference, I'm eighteen and not a gamer in any sense of the word and I still enjoyed this movie. Family friendly though it may be, it's appeal has a much wider scope and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good, clean, heartwarming story.

Dshannon-8 I hadn't heard about this until a friend told me about it, and at first the information and trailers I'd seen had been confusing. was it called RISE OF THE FELLOWSHIP, or FELLOWS HIP? Was it, as the first title (and one of the trailers I'd seen) suggested, an Asylum ripoff of a certain bunch of Middle Earth and Hobbit movies? If so, then the synopsis I'd read, making it a contemporary story about a bunch of gamers playing at Lord of the Rings, was wrong. As it turned out, it was the latter, which I was much more inclined to watch. But I didn't get past the first thirty minutes. The direction and execution of it is very good, adapting the look of Peter Jackson's movies and music to reflect the experiences of the lead characters, reminding me of the D&D episode of NBC's Community, one of their best episodes. But the acting was poor throughout, all Over The Top effusive projection, reminiscent of some bad kid's show (the guy who played the store owner was particularly guilty of this). The writing is a bit too expository (there must be better ways of showing that the lead character has a brother rather than the brother having to pretty much say "I'm your brother"), and the idea of the entire universe being against you might have been more appealing when I was a teenager, but it seems more trite now. In comparison, I preferred the movie Zero Charisma, also about a gamer but not painting him as a paragon of good, and when the world seems against him, there's actually some legitimate reasons for it. I may return to it and give it another go, but not now.

lollygagamabop This film is unexpected fun for Fellowship of the Ring fans. Four geek FOTR gaming friends team up to overcome adversity and try to win a national gaming championship far from home. The obstacles they encounter along the path mirror the adventures of four little hobbits from Tolkein's classic series. If you are well-versed in the Tolkein classics, you ought to enjoy this tribute film, all in good fun, which references many scenes from the novels that were not included in the recent films. My husband noticed many touches I missed, as he was more knowledgeable about the original, and my memory of my childhood reads was more faded. As it was released originally between the national big screen productions of LOTR and The Hobbit, knowledge of the novels is helpful in appreciating this piece in context, but for most, those movies could be seen first, then this enjoyed as a light relief from their intensity (!).What I love about this movie: humor; does not take itself too seriously; great allusions & bows to the original; ingenuity & originality; lighting was well done; action shots are believable. The costuming fairly simple-- appropriately.The Fellows Hip reminded me of the great teen flicks of the 80s--like Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink--with some reminiscent boy/girl romance elements, plus the ultra-geeks-meet-&-compete-with-jocks theme. Lots of memorable lines & strong over-the-top characters. Plus, it's pretty clean, with only a minor drug issue (pot) playing a role in the drama/conflict of the storyline, making this acceptable for a preteen audience. So, it's soft on adult humor/adult topic, and I enjoyed the refreshing nature of that as well.What rubbed me the wrong way: one miscast fellow. I felt his poor acting frequently detracted from the rest of what I found to be a thoroughly enjoyable film. He kept getting under my skin--kind of hard to overlook, unfortunately.All in all, this is totally worth a light-hearted weekend viewing for Tolkein fan families. I hope you laugh out loud as much as we did! Now our kids & we enjoy quoting parts of it to each other around the house- -it's that kind of film.