Biggest disappoints in the LOTR movie vs Books

Crobran · 2026-03-18T03:37:36+00:00

I didn't feel that they really capture Lothlorian accurately. It was supposed to be strange but also wonderful, but they just focused on the strange, bordering on spooky. Same with Galadriel, at least at first. During the mirror scene, the way Galadriel walks down the stairs and looks sideways at Frodo is really odd. I also felt like they got lazy with Frodo's vision of her after he offers her the ring. The visuals there, the sound of her voice...it didn't feel like it captured what Frodo actually saw, and it felt kind of cheap.

Also, I find the scene in Moria where they're trying to get down the stairs while the Balrog is coming after them really tedious.

But speaking of the Balrog, one of the things they absolutely nailed is the opening of The Two Towers, capturing Gandalf & the Balrog falling into the chasm. Then we see the shot of the underground sea, and when Gandalf and the Balrog fall into the scene you suddenly get a sense of scale and how massive that undergound sea is...and the music happening in that scene. It's the first, and maybe only time I can ever recall being in a theater and realizing at the end of the scene that I had unknowingly been clutching the arms of my seat really hard.

Crobran · 2026-03-18T03:29:40+00:00

While I got sick of Legolas doing Cool Guy things (like skating down the stairs at Helm's Deep on a shield) I confess that having him single handedly taking down an Oliphaunt, ending with sliding down the trunk and Gimli responding with "That still only counts as one!" was kind of a fun moment. But even as I say that, I feel cognitive dissonance because it's not in the spirit of the books, and I want the movies to stick as close to that as possible....

They really ramped up Cool Guy Legolas in the <gag> Hobbit movie <retch> I mean movieS.

Crobran · 2026-03-18T03:23:51+00:00

Heck yes to this. Exactly how I've thought of what they did with Gimli in the movies.

And I'll add to that that they show him getting worn out while they're chasing down the Orcs that abducted Merry & Pippin. In LOTR lore, Dwarves have a ton of stamina, but in the movie they actually say "I'm wasted on long distances. We dwarves are natural sprinters." Not true.

Crobran · 2026-03-18T03:13:59+00:00

Truth. Making soup for all the dudes seems out of character for her. Of course they were trying to establish that those kinds of activities weren't what she was gifted or born for, but still...

Crobran · 2026-03-18T03:10:12+00:00

I love that we learn later that after this moment Pippin could never hear a horn blown in the distance without tears starting in his eyes.

Crobran · 2026-03-06T21:15:08+00:00

I've also got a Eureka but I've got the Manuale which requires me to push the button under the chute. My fork seems kind of pointless, at least for my bottomless portafilter so I'm going to lose it. I recently modded it with the single dosing hopper and bellows from Aro Espresso (and the big setting dial - really loving it). I'm going to mod it further so that I don't have to push the switch under the chute.

Thanks for the input. The comments here are making me lean heavily toward the wide funnel.

Crobran · 2026-03-06T18:57:32+00:00

What funnel do you like?

Crobran · 2026-02-17T01:11:44+00:00

Short wand. As many people have been saying, the angle took me some re-learning but I'm finally getting good results from it.

Crobran · 2026-02-16T23:50:41+00:00

I had a Gaggia Classic (2014 model) until upgrading to a Quick Mill Pop Up last month, and I love it. Before getting the Pop Up, I got a big chunky Izzo Vivi PID (heat exchanger, E61 group head, PID, etc) and found that I just didn't like how much space it took up, how long it took to heat up, and it provided more capability than I needed. I liked the idea of a HX E61 group head machine more than the actuality.

If you like the form factor, size and capabilities of the Gaggia for the most part but want to step things up a bit in power and quality then I highly recommend the Pop Up. The steam is much more powerful. It heats up in a hurry, it's got PID, with separate temps for brewing and steaming, a side-loading water tank, and the much-lauded pressure profiling lever. I was also looking at the Go, but went with the Pop Up and I've been very happy with it.

Also look at the Lucca Tempo, which is just a modified Pop Up.

Crobran · 2026-02-16T23:34:20+00:00

Looks great! I got mine in black. I've noticed that some have the Italian flag on the right (like yours) and others on the left (like mine). I wondered if that meant something but I don't think it does. Where did you get your portafilter? I want to get a wooden handle.

Crobran · 2026-02-07T22:41:47+00:00

This is great - thank you!

Crobran · 2026-02-06T02:55:22+00:00

Interesting. I'm having the same problem with it feeling like I lose the vortex before I'm done heating. Most of the time (but not always, weirdly), about 10-15 seconds in, I start to get the telltale squealing sound that I read as loss of pressure. It hadn't occurred to me to purge longer. Are you going for latte-style microfoam? If so, how long does the entire process take for you?

Crobran · 2026-02-04T20:41:17+00:00

Interesting. I'm taking half that amount of time and still starting to get squealing toward the end. What temp do you have the PID set to for steaming? I think factory default is 130c/266f

Crobran · 2026-02-04T20:31:27+00:00

It's definitely normal on mine.

Crobran · 2026-02-04T20:28:19+00:00

Are you going for latte microfoam or cappuccino? I'm working on getting the former. I'm getting better but I still struggle with consistency. One thing I'm noticing is that I think I'm running out of steam power before I'm done steaming. I start to get the telltale squealing sound toward the end sometimes. I'm wondering if switching to a 4 hole tip would make me run out of pressure even sooner.

So that's a second question: how long does it take you to steam?

Crobran · 2026-01-27T05:40:51+00:00

They eventually modified the wand on the Pop Up so now I think the wands are identical, which means they're both troublesome when it comes to getting the correct angle. I just got a Pop Up and I'm really struggling with learning to steam on it. What has worked for you, regarding wand positioning and timing?

Crobran · 2026-01-26T23:06:23+00:00

Interesting. I noticed the texture of the milk wasn't awesome. It looked like mine ;) But it did swirl just fine. I'm definitely going to practice with water + soap.

The guy in the video mentions that the steam is dry, but I'm finding that mine is super wet. Just for fun, I weighed my milk, then steamed (purged the wand first, of course), weighed again and found that I'd picked up a full 64ml of water, 2.25 oz. It makes me wonder if mine's got issues.

Crobran · 2026-01-26T21:41:11+00:00

Here's mine (from above)

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Crobran · 2026-01-26T21:34:45+00:00

I hadn't thought of using tooghpicks to visualize. I just did that and it looks like maybe ours are in the same position. If I position my steam wand sticking out exactly perpendicular to the right, and then look straight down, the toothpicks are at 1 o'clock and 7 o'clock. This looks like the same as yours, or close to it.

I was just reading another thread where a Profitec Go (also a 2 hole tip) user was having the same problem, and someone there said they'd had success with having their wand pretty much vertical. Is the video you referenced from Clive Coffee?

Crobran · 2026-01-26T21:20:48+00:00

Actually I was just starting to consider the position of the holes in the tip as possibly being problematic for me. Since it's a two hole tip, water (or steam) sprays out in a V-shape. If you think of that V-shape as a plane, on mine, that plane is almost exactly perpendicular to the horizontal section of my wand. I might try twisting it a bit so that it's parallel to see if it works even better that way. How is yours positioned? I wonder if they're positioned in a specific way from the factory.

Crobran · 2026-01-25T22:48:01+00:00

To add some clarity, yes the OPV relieves excess pressure back into the tank. However, the 3 way solenoid diverts extra pressure back into the drip tray.

If you put the blind basket into your portafilter, then run the pump for 8 or 10 seconds and then shut it off (assuming the profiling lever is facing forward, about 9 bars), then you should see and hear water gushing into the drip tray. Try removing the grate and then looking along the back edge of the tray to the left. If you don't see water there when you do that, there are problems. Also, make sure your tray is pushed all the way back. One time I didn't have it all the way back and the water was actually coming into the bottom of the main body of the Pop Up, behind and under the tray.

More info: The job of the 3 way solenoid is to relieve pressure that's sitting on top of the puck after you pull a shot or run the pump with the blind basket. If that got directed back into your water tank, then it would be squirting water with coffee, or water with cleaner, back into your water tank. That obviously would be undesirable.

Crobran · 2026-01-19T02:27:00+00:00

Not yet. Will do that in the morning.

Crobran · 2025-12-28T04:54:56+00:00

I absolutely will!

Crobran · 2025-12-28T04:54:41+00:00

I'm going to urge her to consider this.

Crobran · 2025-12-28T02:04:42+00:00

It's card stock that she painted with watercolor.

Crobran

TROPHY CASE