The Animatrix

Rating:
Summary: reviewing the reviews
Review: After seeing the animatrix at the cinema I was impressed by the overall visual quality and integration of CG. WHy are the other reviews in here filled with innacurate descriptions of what it some of them are about or who the directors are?
They were very good overall with standouts for me being those directed by SHinichiro Watanabe- Beyond and detective story.

I found the 2 parts of renaissance to be weak and didnt like having the borrowed imagery from WWII and ideas from Asimov all congealed in an un-appealing mess and shoved down my throat. I expected better considering it was written by the wachowskis. It really but me in mind of metropolis but done in a half arse kind of way. WHile visually to metropolis it is still very pretty

Rating:
Summary: An amazing project.
Review: Having been lucky enough to have seen the 9 episodes, I can say that the Wachowskys are the best thing to happen to movies in a long time, and this generation's creativity icons in Hollywood. That they could take The Matrix's success and share the wealth with this incredible project, giving so many people a chance to showcase their talent while giving the world of The Matrix an exciting new medium in which to express itself, shows their brilliance, and that they are no one-trick ponies.

I'll start by commenting on the overwhelming rave reviews for "Final Flight of the Osiris". In truth, with all the hype, when I finally did see it, I was sorely disappointed. Technically, yes, it is brilliant, as I feel is the usual with Square's work (definitely including the Final Fantasy film). But the execution is way too juvenile. The initial fight scene and the pipe acrobatics (while the fate of humanity is ticking) scene are so ridiculous and juvenile that they are almost embarrassing to watch. You'll know when you see them. Suffice it to say that everyone will be awed by the CGI quality, but its overall appeal will only lie with the pre-teen crowd. Good action, fabulous animation, but disappointing plot execution.

The best of the 9 are, in my opinion, the two Second Renaissance parts and Kid's Story. They are the most entertaining, bold, intelligent, and artistically brilliant of the bunch. The dark Second Renaissance will bring chills down your spine, and the touching Kid's Story takes a basically action-oriented short and enhances it with brilliant artistic shifts and terrific music.

The worst of the bunch is, without hesitation, Program. It is the one regrettable mar on an otherwise brilliant DVD. Very derivative and juvenile, both artistically and plot-wise, it's the only one that wasn't brave enough to examine The Matrix's world in any real way...it is just a very weak, over-the-top Samurai fight scene that just happens to take place in a Construct program. It's nothing that isn't dime-a-dozen with TV-cartoon-quality anime, and the fact that the Program team wasted the incredible opportunity to push the envelope (that the other shorts took advantage of), is a real shame. Program does not belong on this DVD.

That aside, however, The Animatrix is one of the most exciting and different projects to come out of the Hollywood machine in a long time. It is incredibly entertaining, often brilliant, and vrey reasonably priced. And as an aside, the Wachowskys and the incredible anime talent they shared their good fortune with, all deserve your support. This is the no-brainer purchase of the year, especially (though not only) for anime and Matrix fans.

Rating:
Summary: The Animatrix
Review: Wow. Oh, my God. Just... wow. Find a way to watch this, even if it means taking on an Agent. This is no mere peripheral, this is nine animes showing us not only how DEEP the Rabbit Hole goes, but where it leads, who dug it, and why. And then some.

Rating:
Summary: Opening Doors for Anime...
Review: from an anime fan, overall a solid 4 stars out of 5. loved the animation. my real only complaint is that they're short stories and not full features. for some of the better ones, i would have liked them to be longer. here's my review of each part:

1. last flight of the osiris - this is from the makers of the final fantasy. i didn't like FF but this had a really good story start to finish. also the animation is even more realistic than FF down to the pore. not really pure anime but does have show its influence.
2. the second renaissance - i loved this animation. the story was very compelling. first part was great, second part seemed more like a documentary.
3. program - from the acclaimed artist of ninja scroll, i found the story interesting but the art seemed like a rush job. somewhat of a sour spot in ths set.
4. world record - i found this one kinda boring. didn't find anything compelling about the character or story. the art was nice tho'.
5. kids story - this was my favorite of the bunch in terms of story. the art direction was really good and a very riveting story.
6. Detective Story - the pace and dialog seemed kinda off. nice mood and i like how trinity plays a role but an overall letdown.
7. Beyond - this is 21st century anime art direction at its best and also one of my favorites. a nice cute little ghost story.
8. Matriculate - by peter cheung of aeon flux, the art is eye candy. peter has come a long way. i really like the concept of this piece where humans try to manipulate the thoughts of robots and question the ethics of slavery.

Rating:
Summary: Enter the Animatrix
Review: I've seen a good chunk of this on the web and other places, and all I can say is WOW.

What is the Animatrix? In a nutshell, it is a collection of short Matrix stories that are animated. And the cool thing about it is that they're all mostly animated in different ways. (A few are done in anime, another in full CG, some just plain old animation, and others a mix of 2 or a mix of three of the above.)

The DVD will have nine (9) episodes to watch. Here's a quick overview of the ones I know a lot about and/or have seen:

1) THE SECOND RENNAISANCE, PARTS 1 and 2: This is a 2-parter that fills is all of the backstory that happened before the first Matrix film. It chronciles how the machines were made, how they took control, the war between the humans and the machines, and the creation of the Matrix. (Made in plain animation)
2) PROGRAM: Most of this one is fashioned and made like an Akira Kurosawa film. It's basically a duel between two samuari-like warriors in a matrix program where the setting is ancient Japan. (Made in anime)
3) WORLD RECORD: This one is basically about an extremely fast runner that can "run out of the Matrix and in to the real world" just because of pure strength/speed.
4) DETECTIVE STORY: This story, animated in black and white, fills in the critical backstory of the Trinity character from the movies. Includes voice acting by actress Carrie-Anne Moss.
5) FINAL FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS: Basically, this is a 9-minute completely CG animated story that serves as a prequel to "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Enter the Matrix (GAME)." It begins as a blindfold sword duel and then escalates in to a ship chase with sentinels. This one has great action and great plotting, as well as convincing animation (Think "Final Fantasy," except 10 times more realistic.) I saw this one in the theatre. WOW!!!

There are a few more, entitled KID'S STORY, MATRICULATED, and BEYOND.

JUDGING FROM THE TRAILER, MATRICULATED is an extremely wierd episode with a mix of CG animation and regular animation.

BEYOND follows a group of kids in to a "haunted" house. Agents find them and capture them because of they're too close to finding out something secret.

KID'S STORY is about a boy running from agents. (That's all I could gather from the trailer.)

For more information, watch the trailer on the web. Thanks for reading!

Rating:
Summary: For Matrix Fans and Animation Fans Alike..
Review: Well now... you have the directors of Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Ninja Scroll, the Final Fantasy Movie, and Aeon Flux all popped into one nice DVD. Out of the episodes I've seen, which are the 4 episodes on the official website and the Osiris short shown with Dreamcatcher, the Animatrix DVD is gonna be one of my "must buys" for June.

Each episode is not to go unnoticed each showing a particular side of the Matrix universe (including how it was created) making it an essential for any Matrix fan. Also one has to respect the amount of quality in detail and animation put into each short episode.

If you're not an Anime fan.. these episodes should show you why you should be :-b. If you are, you should know what to expect from these directors and in my opinion, i think you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A great companion for Matrix fans.
Review: Normally not one to review an item that isn't out yet, I've seen half the shorts on here so my opinion is at least somewhat educated. You too can see four of the shorts by visiting the Animatrix website. Amazon doesn't usually allow URLs in their reviews but I'll give you one guess as to what it is.

The Animatrix was conceived by the brothers Wachoski (the guys who made the original films). Four of the nine shorts were also written by them. One unfluential medium for the movie The Matrix was comic books, and the brothers successfully used this medium to not only tell parts of the story but introduce the world of the Matrix to the world (you can find the free online-comics on the Matrix website). Now, another highly influential medium to the brothers, anime (or Japanese animation) is being used to tell other parts of the grand story (and introduce the second film).

For casual fans of the movies, it is not necessary to buy this DVD. It has extra, but not intregal, story material. It's more of a bonus for people who want more (three films isn't nearly enough for many fans). What you get in this are nine anime short films directed by top names in their field. For anime fans this alone makes it worth buying. For Matrix fans it means you're getting quality. All the films are supervised by the brothers and four were written by them to ensure their proper place in the Matrix continuity.

Since this review is for American audiences, it's important to note something. This is NOT for young children! The reason this is important to note is because Americans seem trained to associate animation equals kids. Some of the shorts portay gruesome violence (even more so than the films thus far). Indeed, much like the film, the stories are very intellectual and not written for a child's mindset anyway.

In all, if you are a fan of the films, you need to check this out. It's really well done, and gives a lot of insight into how the world as we know it developed into the future world that Morpheus describes. Don't expect it to be better than the films, but it is a worthy addition.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful CGI/Anime (and I'm not even a fan of Anime!)
Review: Nine brilliant short films all based on the "Matrix", all on one video/DVD. An awesome soundtrack to back it up, also available to purchase (or you could get the gift pack). To be honest, I would never watch these in theatres (I hadn't seen Dreamcatcher, therefore I missed the critically-acclaimed "Osiris" short), frankly because you don't just watch all of these at once, unless you want to. This is an original idea; what better way to back up the Matrix Trilogy than having 7 legendary directors (including "Final Fantasy"'s Andy Jones) produce CGI/Japanese Anime short films? CGI and Anime are two of the sole influences on the Matrix PERIOD!
First of all, "The Second Renaissance", a short film so long, they had to divide it into two parts, is the cream of the crop. The battle scenes remind me of something from Verhoven's "Starship Troopers", which is very exciting to watch. Many heads exploding and bleeding, cats getting slaughtered, which was something I was uncomfortable with. Of course, these films are DEFINATELY not intended for younger audiences. Consider the following: This is The Matrix, not a little "Cartoon Network" show (like they did with Star Wars Episode 2). Just because these are cartoons does not mean this is kid's stuff.
The stories are dark and deep, and maybe even some adult Matrix-fans may have a hard time following the storyline of "The Second Rennaisance". I have a hard time understanding exactly WHEN all this takes place: before or after the three films? In between the first and the second, or the second and the third? Does it matter?
Probably not. Just make sure you watch the first Matrix, and actually pay attention (don't just stare at Carrie-Ann Moss [Who used to go to a school near mine] and admire the pretty kung-fu scenes), then you will have no problem watching the Animatrix.
Frankly, I assume that the DVD will be much more complex, and harder to watch every film at once without going through many menus, unless there is an option in which you can watch all films at once. I prefer the video, just because you can sit there and watch the films, without worrying about how to get to the next film without going through the clicking of your DVD remote control...and shouldn't we be able to watch a film without worrying how to watch it? Exactly.

Rating:
Summary: Full Review
Review: I have gotten a sneak peak at ALL of the Animatrix episodes and each one of them is AMAZING. They are really a work of art and you finally see that things are not as black and white as they may seem. And you ask yourself who the real bad guys are, humans or the machines. This is really a must own for all anime lovers and all those that have seen the matrix. And just for the record this is my first anime I have seen, since I don't ever watch them or like them, but this truly is a great movie.

Picture: It's great, you can't expect too much. It's perfect DVD quality, doesn't get better than that.

Sound: Very good. You're not getting 5.1 but it's still very good.

Features: None that I have seen, so I can't rate it at the moment.

Rating:
Summary: Teases the mind and the eye
Review: This animation creation will be in everyones DVD library for years to come. This indeed adds insight to the whole matix story. The art work is nothing short of that...ART. Amazing every step of the way. i was lucky enough to have viewed all 9 episiodes. I cant stop anticipating the matrix reloaded after being privilaged to viewing this DVD.