(reads Questie's rant) Have I mentioned yet that you rock like boulders, and, um, roll like cheese, Questie?
Anyhoo. As for LotR... I read the books a few months before the movies came out, then ended up seeing all the movies. And, well... I like the movies a *lot* better.
For one, the movies, by necessity, kept the stories more focused. The books went off on a lot of weird tangents, which had little to no relevance to events going on. Yes, creating all the details of a given universe is almost a requirement in keeping things feeling real and consistent. But that doesn't mean you *show* all the details... you only use the ones relevant to the tale you're writing. Am I the only one who quite frankly was glad to not have Tom Bombadil in the tale, for instance?

Then there's the singing. I never actually read any of the lyrics in the books, I must admit... and why? To me, lyrics by themselves are just too dry. And having all that singing in the movies would have felt to me to be ridiculous. I enjoyed the way the movies handled singing... reasonable length, tasteful and pretty/fun, and relevant to creating atmosphere.
Then there's the description. Ordinarily I find the fact that movies just *show* you things to be a detraction from the books they're based on. In this case, though, it was a blessing... because wading through LotR's five pages' worth of describing a tree got tiresome really quickly.

There are some things I miss... I agree with some of the detractors out there that the "Scouring of the Shire" was an important part of the story, and is missed. But you have to be realistic, too... the movie ending already felt like it had too many parts, and the movie itself was already long... where would you fit it in? Lord of the Rings IV: All the Stuff We Couldn't Fit in the First Three? (shrug)
Tolkien was aces at creating a wonderful milieu, and an intriguing plot. But actual fantasy writing? He's not a hack by any means, but I've still read it handled better.
OK, the Tolkien fans can roast me over a fire, now.

Peace & Luv, Liz