I've got to say that while I understand your frustration, I actually think he did an admirable job with the movies. There is entirely too much plot to even get close to covering it all.
I will agree that eliminating Glorfindel in favor of increasing Liv Tyler's screen time is a load of crap. But I hope that seeing the movies will inspire some to discover this masterpiece of literature.
Forced my son to go to the first movie with me. (He would have been about 9 at the time.) As the movie ended, he leapt to his knees on the seat and, looming over me, loudly declared "They can't end it there!!" He started in on my old, dog-eared copy of the second book that night. Struggled a bit with the language, but loved it. I couldn't agree more that the movies are a great intro to the books for some.
On a side note... Huge THANK YOU to you again Elendil for the box mode and
juice from the previous contest!! Just got
batteries in for it today (silly me forgot to order them immediately!) and it vapes like a champ! Now I know why everyone raves about the 5v PVs.... I'm fogging up the place tonight!