they don't really show what happens to sauroman, it was cut out of the movie, but is getting put back in when they release the extended version

it was filmed, just made the movie too long, 3 and a half as it was now, you'll get to see it later

IMHO
There was a certain amount of poetic licence taken for sure, but as a whole Jackson managed to capture the books extremely well. I was left at the end of the third movie feeling the same as the novels left me.
The movies are an amazing accomplishment of translating a difficult literary work to the big screen. If the movie(s) don't capture some critical acclaim in the form of awards; there is no justice (box office recipets aside

Yes...Phil said it well...

I came out of the third one pretty well gob-smacked.....thought it was brilliant.....and thinking through all three of them, they were/are a fitting 'tribute' to the power of Tolkien's work.

One word?

Magic....

agreed, I was quite moved at several points during the story, in the same way and for the same reasons that the book moves me

hope Jackson gets the necessary go-ahead to make The Hobbit...

I just ordered the full book from Amazon...I cant wait to start reading the book, the movies are easily my favorite. I tried getting tickets to one of those all-day back to back to back marathons but they were all sold out. I still ended up waiting in line for 45 minutes to see the film at a regular theater...was well worth the wait...

gob-smacked

hmmmm....sounds like something I might like