Rating: Summary: What If? Review: What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and realized your whole life was a computer simulation?Neo, a programmer for a large computer firm, finds this to be true and must transcend reality to survive. If he fails, superhuman agents will kill him in a heartbeat. His only help is an enigmatic man who shows him the truth Neo has always felt but never known. In the Matrix, this thought-provoking question's implications are explored with eye-popping special effects expressed through a sinister plot that should make conspiracy theorists rejoice. Although this is clearly not a movie for the timid or for children (a lot of violence in terms of kung fu and gunplay occurs onscreen) but it is quite a compelling action film that will leave you wondering about reality after you leave the movie. Overall, The Matrix is a top-notch action flick with a thread of deep thought binding the plot together.
Rating: Summary: Morpheus and Neo's Excellent Adventure Review: What's all the ballyhoo about? Genre defining? Maybe if the genre was SUCK. How could 50,000 [MATRIX] fans be wrong? For every reason in the book. I guess you have to be hooked up to a hoover vacuum cleaner to really enjoy this useless, dead-fly-on-the-sill, dust-ball-in-the-corner, two-year-old-christmas-tinsel of a movie. I can just hear one of the ten-thousand copies of THE MATRIX video talking to me as I pass it by in the local rental store, "Why do you hate me? Why don't you just simmer down..." First of all, Keanu Reeves is about as wooden an actor as you can get. Even Mark Hamill had some depth playing an everyman, blank slate of an action hero who takes a similar archetypal journey. I'm just surprised Keanu had brains enough to take the correct pill so this shinola-load of a plot could continue. But I digress? Larry "Laurence" Fishburne plays his part like he's recording a books-on-tape version of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. I'm surprised, because he worked out so well in SCHOOL DAZE and APOCALYPSE NOW. But I can't fault the actors really, they were handed this shlock of a script to a movie which has every yo-yo thinking they are better off somehow for having experienced this? I guess this flick is about as challenging, mentally, as that other over-rated junkpile GLADIATOR. Does all this cheap philosophy really get the brain tumors worked up? Its like dropping a shiney object in a pond and watching all the fish clamor after it. This movie was actually pretty bland and full of holes if you remove the special effects. I found the references to ALICE IN WONDERLAND heavy-handed and cheesey. I love ALICE IN WONDERLAND and recommend sitting down to read that book as an alternative to viewing this snooze of a movie. I was surprised they didn't use the Jefferson Airplane song WHITE RABBIT - or at least have a techno-monstrosity version of it? Maybe they did and I was too zoned out of boredom to notice. "Wow, we are really in an faux-reality controlled by the very machines we created? Sheesh - you don't say? Better roll out some special effects to put a hurtin' to these roving mongoloid footballs..." THE ORACLE should have tried cooking up some fried eggs, because the cast was certainly wearing it on their faces. I guess the only redeeming ounce of quality in this thing was the certifiably cool robo-villain, AGENT SMITH. I was amazed by him - he was like a DEVO record actualized. Stomping, in his own special Agent Smith way, on the skulls of our thinly drawn heroes. I imagined Agent Smith wearing a huge DELETE button around his neck, erasing this movie as he went along. Then, there were so many of him in the sequel MATRIX RELOADED - THE SEARCH FOR MORE MONEY, I felt certain at least one of the Agent Smiths would have a DELETE button stowed away in his breast pocket? That would have been worth the eight bucks. But now I'm obviously getting into SPACEBALLS territory. I couldn't get this far without offering some alternative selections to cure a paying audience of this infection, now could I? For starters: in addition to SPACEBALLS, 2001: A SPACE ODYESSEY, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BLADERUNNER, ALIEN(S), TOTAL RECALL, STARSHIP TROOPERS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, MARS ATTACKS, 12 MONKEYS, THE THING, THEY LIVE!, TIME BANDITS, THX-1138, ENEMY MINE, PREDATOR and ROBOCOP - I offer the darkly brilliant DARK CITY. Yes, this movie will be observed as slow and boring by the five star gushers here; but in terms of originality, vibrance, and just plain storytelling know-how - well it leaves THE MATRIX slithering in the dust. DARK CITY was like Alfred Hitchcock had returned from his deep carbon freeze, slipped on a pair of nice fitting SCI-FI shoes and went to bat for us one more time. So, to answer the video copy of THE MATRIX sitting on the local store shelf, "why do you hate me so?" Well, I don't hate you. I just think you are a mindless twerp of a movie that champions every idiotic impulse imaginable in the American psyche. This thing is about as sophisticated as a Broadway musical. NEO is a vapid, mindless puke of a character if I ever saw one - and the casting of TED LOGAN in that role was probably the only right move the directors made? CAPTAIN EO - sorry, I meant NEO - wants to rock and roll so badly, that it hurts. Better call Deputy Van Halen in to save the day! This movie deserves half a star - but I gave it two stars only because they represent the two hours of my life I will never get back. This is the only consolation I could find... for now. Good luck boys, I'm sure the series will be a hit.
Rating: Summary: The May Trix Review: What's so good about "The May Trix?" Are people forgetting that Keanu Reeves is one of the WORST actors around? My goldfish has more facial expressions than him. And Larry Fishburne is too good to star in this vapid geek-magnet of a movie. There's lots of sci-fi and martial arts, but no plot. Skip it and see "Moulin Rouge" instead.
Rating: Summary: Keanu...eh, concept BRILLANT! Review: What's the deal with Keanu Reeves? I don't get it! I particually thought that the role of Neo should go to someone more inclined to act. But Keanu's less than stellar preformance is saved by the amazing concept and theme (not to mention special effects) in and of this movie. It's great for people who take movies in a literal sense and it's even better for people who will try to analyize it in a metaphoric sense! If you think about it, the movie DOES have some holes that can be punched, but it's one movie you have to see over and over again to understand....with something new in it every time! You will be thinking about this movie, the meaning, the concepts, and everything else included for days! It's action packed and meaningful all rolled up into one! Buy it!
Rating: Summary: Behind the action ---- endless layers of thought. Review: When asked at the first session of a recent movie making class I was taking, "what is your favorite movie of all time?" -- this was it! Of course there are breathtaking action sequences, moody camera direction et al. But what made this my FAVORITE was the ideas behind the ideas behind the ideas. I bought The Matrix on DVD without seeing it in the theater. A host of friends recommended it and I had just purchased a new PC with DVD capability. My first viewing was exciting. Special effects which now seem commonplace were new, the widescreen format exciting even on my 19 inch monitor. The more times I watched, the more I saw. The first few minutes of green tinged footage started to make sense. Understanding that it was SUPPOSED to be green, limited the time I spent trying unsuccessfully to get those flesh colors correct on my monitor. As I became familiar with the story line and knew what is coming next, the freedom to explore not only the ideas inherent in the storyline, but the actions taking place in the background revealed even more layers of meaning. If you have a DVD - ROM drive, you can watch the movie WITH the art director, the female lead and another director [embarrassed blush here as I don't remember director of what :)]. This voiceover version is like sitting on the couch with the principals and listening to their memories of "when we were making". Yesterday I installed a REAL DVD player for my large screen digital TV and can't WAIT to see it slightly larger. My favorite line? No contest. "There IS no spoon ..."
Rating: Summary: this is the best of the best Review: when first i saw this movie i got out and said ... well that cool - but after a few days the movie just kinda crept into my veins .... i couldn't help myself and had to go and c it again ..... since than i saw it 6 times in theaters and i have the DVD version and the VHS version which i saw more than a hundred times ..... this is the ultimate sci-fi/ cyberpunk movie - to all of us who always read books in this genre and waited for just the right movie to show around and do just what we read in there ...... here it is ...... as i say it - if the bible is the book of books the the matrix is the movie of movies ........
Rating: Summary: Woah Review: When I bought my DVD player, one of the features I liked was the ability to jump right to my favorite scene. The first time I poped in the Matrix dvd, I went to the scene selection menu, I then realized something, I had no favorite scenes. The Matrix is one giant favorite scene. There are no low points, or slow points, it grabs you right away, and keeps you interested until the final scene. This film redefines movie making. The effects are so seamless you don't even realize they are there. The real star of the film is the dynamic multi level story. It is such a breath of fresh air to see an original idea in film for a change. Bye this movie, and it will never leave your DVD player.
Rating: Summary: Great!!! Review: When i entered the theatre with my matrix ticket, i figured id be sitting through another sci-fi/shoot 'em up with talentless actors (aka. keanu reeves), tons of dazzling special effect, and no story to mesh all this together. I WAS WRONG!! this was my favorite movie of the year. it had great action, awesome f/x, and a story the will blow you away. its rare to have a movie loaded in all key areas. i kept you thinking, it kept you involved. so often nowadays the cgi f/x are better than the plot. trust me THE MATRIX is a total package. even reeves was good in this.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic special effects..........great story Review: When I finished watching this the first time, I sat back and (like Keanu Reeves) just said "Whoa". Mind-boggling special effects that, thankfully, didn't take over the story. Speaking of the story.....What an outrageously innovative plot. Humans as batteries for Artificial Intelligence kept in a permanent dreamland called "The Matrix". Top notch thriller. One of the best sci-fi movies ever.
Rating: Summary: A movie that make you think Review: When I first heard about this movie I was not thrilled. I, and I hate to admit it, was not at all intersted until I heard other people talking about the movie. I finally went, with a friend of mine who had seen The Matrix twice already and eagerly said that she'd see it again, and I was BLOWN AWAY. The special effects were GREAT and the message was just as good. If you want to see a movie that makes you go "HMMM?" instead of "HUH???"... EXPERIENCE the movie THE MATRIX!
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