Been watching the extended version of the Two Towers myself. The director's commentary is very eye opening. They discuss all those issues that we LOTR geeks hated in the TT.
1. Elves in Helm's Deep - They (Peter Jackson and the 2 writers) mention that the book alludes to other battles taking place throughout Middle Earth. This was their way of showing that all were involved.
2. Faramir - They covered this in depth. If he had just let Frodo go as he does in the book, the Ring would have lost it's power in the eyes of the audience (especially those who have not read the book). A good point really.