Caution: don't read further if you've not seen LotR: RotK

Gosh more departures from the actual feel and characterization of the story. Nearly fainted in the cinema. Too many to comment on, and hardly bother anymore. Instead will give you my envisagement of the story vs. the portrayal on film.

Scenes I'd have liked to see, or seen done differently
1) Confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman where Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and casts him from the White Council. It'll probably be in the extended version
2) Confrontation between Gandalf and the Lord of the Nazgul at the gate of Minas Tirith after it is thrown down by Grond. It might be in the extended version
3) Confrontation between Eowyn and the Lord of the Nazgul. Eowyn, having realized she will lose everything she cares about on the battlefield and having had her love rejected by Aragorn, stands unafraid before the Witch-King, sword in hand, golden hair streaming in the wind, tall and beautiful yet cold as ice and hard as stone
4) The Witch-King, stabbed in the popliteal fossa by Merry, stumbles and bows before Eowyn, and she brings her sword down between his crown and cloak. At the death of the Witch-King a long sorrowful wail is lifted into the air, and fades slowly into nothing
5) The knights of Minas Tirith sweeping out of the city in force to join the Rohirrim on the battlefield. In the real story the attackers never manage to get through the broken gate to enter the city. The host of the Dead never come to Gondor and it is through the own efforts of Gondor's army, with aid from the Rohirrim, that Sauron's forces are defeated on the Pelennor. In the movie version one wonders why Minas Tirith is so significant to Sauron since it has no substantial army of its own and is obviously dependent on Rohan for its defence. The inclusion of the Dead in the battle of the Pelennor is SO deus ex machina. And the inrushing of luminous green figures into Minas Tirith to clean out the invaders looks incredibly like a detergent advertisement where oil and filth is washed clean away by nice lemony soap suds
6) The great black ships of the Corsairs of Umbar sailing up the river, seen from the city and the battlefield, bringing yells of joy from the uruks and cries of woe from the men. Suddenly a flag unfurls from a tall mast of the leading ship and it is the banner of Aragorn, fluttering like a white flame in the breeze
7) Denethor revealing that he too possesses a palantir, and with it, perceiving the full strength of Sauron, is filled only with utter despair. Yet he was still a shrewd and able commander, organizing the defences of the city to the end, and was only broken down when Faramir was brought in wounded and dying, realizing how much he really loved his son. Portraying him as a useless creep from the beginning was absolutely ridiculous. And the flambe scene in which Denethor leapt from the wall like a piece of cooked pork was pure drivel, reminiscent of the other similar stupid Nazgul flambe episode on Weathertop in FotR
8) The long march of the combined armies of Gondor and Rohan to the Black Gate through a silent brooding desolate land with the Mountains of Shadow on their right. On the way they come to Minas Morgul which is nearly empty as its inhabitants have been destroyed in the battle of the Pelennor, and Aragorn orders the burning of the field of rotting white flowers at the entrance to the city of the Nazgul. Towards the end the movie seemed rushed for time and everything seemed to move abnormally fast compared to the beginning of the movie. Bad pacing, but I guess the audience needs to go to toilet
9) The force led by Aragorn and Eomer arrayed before the Black Gate, rank upon rank of grim horsemen and knights in shining armour, banners flying, challenging beyond hope the might of Sauron. The army of many thousands in the book was downplayed to a ragtag band of few hundreds in the movie
10) The vial of Galadriel, flaring to spectacular brilliance in the hand of a selfless brave young hobbit, pours light into Shelob's wounds, causing her unbearable pain and forcing her to flee from Sam
11) The statues of the Watchers at the gate of Cirith Ungol casting an invisible force field preventing Sam from entering to rescue his master. It'll probably be in the extended version
12) The fall of Barad-Dur, with its innumerable towers and battlements, a fabulous sprawling city, great and invincible, sliding down its mountain throne and crashing down in ruin. Somehow in 14 years I've never imagined the Dark Tower as an erect penis with an Eye on it.
13) Romance blooming between Faramir and Eowyn, and both of them standing on a wall in Minas Tirith, watching the Mountains of Shadow from a distance, holding hands and fearing for their friends who have gone into battle. At the fall of Sauron in the distance they see a vast black cloud rise above the height of mountains, crowned with lightning, and a tremor runs in the earth and up the walls of the city. Then slowly the darkness departs and the sun breaks out, and a fresh wind whips up their hair, mingling gold and black. An eagle flies in from the East crying that the realm of Sauron is ended forever, and throughout the city the sound of rejoicing is heard.
14) The same dark cloud seen by Gandalf at the Black Gate, rising from the destruction of Barad-Dur, towering to the sky, reaching out to engulf the world but is torn away helplessly by the wind.

Scenes I liked because they're better than I personally imagined, or because they don't exist but were put in to good effect
1) The lighting of the beacons
2) The attack by the Nazgul on their flying mounts on the men in the field and on the city walls
3) Pippin singing for Denethor
4) The battle between the Eagles and the Nazgul above the Black Gate

On the whole the special effects were quite fantastic, and I liked all those quiet emotional moments between the characters :P

2 years ago I gave FotR an A for the movie itself and a C- for the adaptation making the overall grade a B; TT got a B for the movie and a G (1 grade lower than F) for the adaptation making the overall grade D. RotK again gets A and C- with an overall grade of B.