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The Matrix - Limited Edition Collector's Set

The Matrix - Limited Edition Collector's Set

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Everybody who is a member of the human RACE, shoot me!!!
Review: Now, as I can last recall, this movie.... I can't remember anyhting since 1999.
It's almost like a DragonballZ episode, all action, then about 3 years later, you forgot EVERYTHING. I mean, just about everywhere, people remember exactly WHO said, "Luke, I am your father".

I say that the plot was bland at some point; where there are two sides, there are two stories, and being the picky eprson I am, I would have personally liked to see more emphasis on the "other" side, the Machines. Worse enough, I can also say that while the idea is interesting...

I still say it doesn't make sense. If a machine was to become that intelligent, then some things would be obselete, another, the technological terms are a bit too... today? I mean, way back when, who ever heard of a "lightsaber"? Yeah, NOBODY! Creativity, huh? Huh? I mean, yeah, I can see hacker in the future, but the word "program"? Oh, COME ON!

Otherwise, I'd like to see much stronger emphasis on the other side(s) as well as something to totally screw up the plot and make it harder for "Neo" (Keanu Reeves). After seeing "Reloaded", I was primarily disappointed with the slownesss of the story, still, unlike the confusing "Enter the Matrix" here. I'm a geek. Shoot me.

Also, here's a little common sense: Isn't it a bit.... wrong if former slaves enslave their masters?

Other than that, for me, I'm not too happy with how the characterization was done, could have had more personality here, no? Also, here's a problem HUMANITY! Isn't this (hu)man vs. machine? And isn't the perspective MOST people are viewing the humans? Darn, we really screwed up our race then, if this is the meaning of being human.

No, really, in a lot of movies like this it seems that we humans have forgotten what it means to be human! Hence our punishment. Other than that, get ready to hear my Reloaded rants someday! Because I'll have a LOT.

Like a FEW other people out there, yes, I was rooting for the machines. But for other reasons than the fact that the movie "sucked".

And yes, we really have forgotten what it means to be human, not to mention the human characters hardly seemed *ahem* human, sentient, and/or understanding.

I think the only thing people think of when we say "human" is the human race. That's it. I'm sorry, but, if that's the new meaning to the word "human", then shoot me. I don't wanna be human anymore. (I'd much rather be a half-eaten ham and cheese sandwich, right now...)

I mean, isn't there supposed to be a plot? *ahem* PLOT??? And emphasis.

A movie with this much philosophy needs a stronger plot and more than just one perspective. This movie, it's all just really one-sided.

And the reason WHY this movie is no longer on my perosnal "top movies list" and why I gave it such a beating. Which really isn't that much, but this is constructive criticism, mind you.

~Kokeshi088~

P.S. I think out of the box. It's a gift. :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Matrix Is One Hell Of A Ride
Review: Neo has been looking for something. He doesn't know what, but he knows there is something not right with the world he lives in. By day, he is a computer programmer, working for a faceless corporation, by night he sells illegal "narcotic" software, living in a concealed world while searching for something more.

It all changes when he meets Morphius and discovers that his world, that everything he has always questioned, is nothing more than an elaborate matrix developed by a computer technology that long ago took control of the world. The balance of the story becomes Neo's quest for understanding, as he learns to go beyond the boundaries set by the matrix and struggles for the freedom of mankind.

This is one of the most stylized films I have ever seen. It is at once dark, sleek, paranoid, lavish, lush and abysmal. The world that is created in this film is so completely convincing, that moviegoers will be mesmerized by its epic style of storytelling and subtle blending of reality with the computer generated fantasy that Neo, Morphius and Trinity move through, while fighting to gain supremacy over the machines.

The story itself is a common theme. Technology gains the upper hand on humanity and takes control. However, unlike so many of these stories, the Matrix goes beyond the simple narrative and instead pushes our limits to accept what we see as real, only to remove the veil and leave us pondering our own perceptions of reality.

Filmed with state-of-the-art cameras, the special film effects are incredible. At one point, early in the film, Trinity is confronted by an entourage of police officers. As she fights for her freedom, she raises into the air, and as though frozen in time, the camera moves impossibly around her.

For those who have seen this film, the forementioned scene, and others like it are explained in the "making of" portion of the DVD. Packed with many extras, the DVD will take you into the world of the Matrix and introduce you to the first installment of a film franchise which has been elevated by moviegoers around the world to something akin to a religious experience.

So, enter the Matrix if you dare. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What a Stupid Stupid movie
Review: I realize alot of people think this movie is good, but, you're wrong. Normally, I like to see other sides to stories, but now. These are just updated Kung Fu movies...except..they suck.. And c'mon.. Keanu Reeves?! Why would you cast "Ted" as an action star?!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Over-Rated, Self-Indulgent, Over-Hyped & Self-Important
Review: As we fast approach the release of "Matrix: Revolutions" I find myself amazed at the cult-like following this series has attracted, as though this film contains amazing universal truths previously undiscovered by our benighted species. People rave about these movies as though Neo & the gang have ushered them into the intellectual-spiritual light of day.

What a load of hooey. Not only has the artificial reality concept been done before (and done to death, mind you) in the science fiction genre, but the concept that life is only a dream has been explored by philosophers, to a depth much more thorough than this film could ever hope to go.

In and of itself, being imitative & derivative is hardly a offense unique to "The Matrix." However, this movie compounds its crime by exuding a self-importance that is truly nauseating at times. If the Wachowski brothers truly believe that they are imparting some great existential revelations through this movie, it is only because they have spent too much time reading comic books and not enough time reading the numerous philosophers who have covered this ground many times before. The same can be said, incidentally, for the numerous movie viewers who found themselves blown away by this film's content.

The self-importance of this movie reminds me of the comic-book geek subculture that insists that comic books be called "graphic novels." Given the Wachowski brothers' background in the comic book industry, this should hardly be surprising. Sorry folks, but a graphic novel is still just a goddamned comic book with some fancy packaging, and "The Matrix" is just a goddamned kung-fu shoot-em-up movie with a lot of special effects thrown in to distract you from that.

And my goodness, does this movie ever revel in its special effects, to the point of almost drowning the audience in them. One has to suspect a movie that resorts to special effects to such an excessive degree is perhaps trying to obscure a storyline that is a bit too weak & derivative.

Once you take away all the bells & whistles, what you are left with is a not particularly original or thought-provoking movie that would like you to believe that it is much more deep & important than it truly is. Talk about an artificially-induced reality! This movie self-fulfills its own prophecies more than the Wachowskis ever could have realized.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the greatest movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: this is the greatest movie ever! if you like sci-fi or action get this movie and forget the seqels{thats my opinion not yours}. this movie is hard to explain but lets just say its very strange. AN ACTION MOVIE LOVERS MUST SEE! this movie is rated R but i dont know why its not that bad so parents i suggest this movie from fourth grade and higher[THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR KIDS TO RELOADED}thats more 14 and higher.the matrix rated R for scifi violence and brief language 136 minutes

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ENTER THE MATRIX!!!
Review: This is without a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies ever done hands down.The plot is very imaginative and creative.The action scenes are very well executed and the visual imagery in the movie is awe inspiring.Wonderful acting performances by all the cast in the movie and the movie keeps you on your toes wanting more.I would like to personally thank the movie directors for doing such a fantastic job on this very enjoyable movie.If you dont own this movie then what are you waiting for?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Matrix
Review: Yes, this all the amazing things you heard about. This movie is nothing sort of amazing. Neo wakes up in a world where nothing is real, everythings fake. A woman meets him at a club and tells him to follw her, he does, and ends up meeting a warrior named Morpheous, who tells him about the world he lives in and about the truth, the machines control everything and a small group of people have awaken from there alternate reality, The Matrix, and that he is the chosen one that will save them from the machines...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Two Matrices
Review: Four-and-a-half stars

For me, there are two Matrices: The one I lose myself in while watching, and the one that I dissect afterwards. First, The Matrix in action.

The Matrix is the most visually dense, dazzling picture I've ever seen. From the title design of endlessly flowing green numbers, to the fight scene, to the exquisitely choreographed chase, to the bang-up conclusion, the opening sequence is breathtaking. The kinetic action is perfectly accompanied by Don Davis' score, which at that point evokes the dark feel of a classic, Hollywood thriller. And the writer-directors, the Wachowski brothers, make every shot tell.

In the future, humans created machines so intelligent, that the machines won a war which left the world a desert, and humans their slaves. Most of the humans now live in pods, until they are harvested by the machines for energy. The rest live in "the matrix," a virtual world created by the machines to delude the humans that they live in a gleaming, prosperous city -- actually, gleaming Sydney, Australia. (The movie is muddled as to whether or how some humans aren't living in pods. I've seen it twice, and still am not clear on this.)

The idea of "the matrix" as technological dream world, evokes Marxist guru Herbert Marcuse's 1964 book, One Dimensional Man. Marcuse couldn't explain how he was able to see through the technofog that deluded everyone else. The Wachowskis do a somewhat better job of explaining that part. They also take a page or two from Alice in Wonderland, The Planet of the Apes, 1984, and even Japanese comic books.

It is the "agents" who give the machines a "human" face. The agents look like feds - replete with ear pieces, sunglasses and interchangeable, nondescript suits - but they are machines; hence their superhuman power and speed. (The Wachowskis also throw in some "shape-shifting," a trope from New Age/American Indian mythology, which was introduced in the movies in Thunderheart.) As "Agent Smith," Aussie actor Hugo Weaving is a memorable heavy.

A hardy band of human freedom fighters traveling around in a rusty old "Mark III" ship and a circa-1965 Lincoln Continental (the Wachowskis have a soft spot for old Lincolns), in addition to those whom we don't see, back in the city of Zion at the earth's core, are humanity's last, best hope.

The picture alternates between didacticism and action. Most of the lessons are taught by "Morpheus" (Laurence Fishburne) who initially seems to be the savior, but who is actually he who will groom the Saviour, "The One."

Enter "Neo" (Keanu Reeves), the hacker whose name is clearly an anagram of One, as in The. The movie hinges on whether Neo is The One.

The other main character, "Trinity" (Carrie-Ann Moss), is a passionate, butt-kicking female member of the rebel troupe.
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of The Matrix, is that within a set-up that could easily have deteriorated into New Age verbal diarrhea and emotionally empty technical effects, the movie makes you -- or at least, me -- care deeply about these people.

The cast does praiseworthy work, especially Fishburne, Moss, and in a brief but moving scene, Gloria Foster ("the Oracle"), a woman of a certain age who still looks great. The stars clearly do a lot of the fighting themselves. Note, too, the forty stunt men who risked their very real butts for your movie-going pleasure.

Now, let's consider the elements that get lost in the sights and sounds of viewing.

The movie suggests a Christ-like savior, but This One has little in common with Christianity's Messiah.

Keanu Reeves is no Gene Hackman. In fact, Hugo Weaving is more human, as a machine, than Reeves is as man's savior. As for fictional saviors, I much prefer Lance Henriksen's tortured, all-too-human "Frank Black" from the classic Chris Carter TV series, Millennium.

The science is terrible. Computers will never be able to initiate thought and action. And human beings cannot learn physical skills without any physical practice.

Why is The Oracle fallible, and why does she quote the phrase "Know thyself" in Latin, instead of the original Greek?

As movie critic Steve Sailor pointed out, the movie perfectly matches Hollywood's notions of multiculturalism: The heavies are all pasty-faced white guys, while the good guys are a mix of blacks and whites.

All of the above issues must be compartmentalized while watching the movie, in order to enjoy it. (I know - I'm too literal-minded.)

Note that while kids usually love The Matrix, it's also not necessarily a good idea to watch it with very young ones. At its conclusion, my three-year-old started wacking away at me, in his best imitation of kung fu. And so, you might not want to show this to any of your children, prior to their thirtieth birthday.

The DVD is chock full of goodies. You can watch the movie with subtitles, in order to see how Don Davis' musical subtly carries it. Davis breaks in at times, with his own commentary. His score is a serendipitous mélange of styles - from classic thriller-style to punk rock - fashioned to match the unique mood of each scene.

Another feature lets you stop the movie, to view footage of the special effects that went into the scene being shown. The purist in me complains, "That's like a magician explaining how he does his tricks," but the guy who at 18 wanted to become a movie director, says, "More! More! More! The more knowledge, the better!"

Yet another feature focuses on the Hong Kong-style kung fu training the cast endured for some six months, and the "bullet-time" special effects invented for the movie.

With this DVD you get your money's worth, and then some.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Malditos existencialistas...
Review: Bueno, empecemos por lo básico: esto no es Star Wars, por lo tanto voy a ser lo más venenoso posible.

Empecemos por el guión, que probablemente sea lo mejor que tiene la película: Neo (Keanu Reeves) descubre (en realidad, Morpheus se lo hace descubrir) que la realidad que él conoce no es tal, sino un programa de computadora llamado The Matrix, creado por las máquinas para absorber la energía de los humanos en el mundo real, donde todos están durmiendo en cápsulas. The Matrix es controlada por los Agentes, siendo Smith (genialmente interpretado por Hugo Weaving) el mas mortífero de todos. Éstos secuestran a Morpheus, para que les de el código de acceso a Zion, la última ciudad de los humanos, que se encuentra cerca del núcleo de la Tierra, y así poder invadirla y destruirla. Es por eso que Neo y Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) entran a The Matrix, y salvan a Morpheus. Las creencias de éste eran ciertas: Neo es el Elegido. Luego de descubrir esto, Neo elimina al Agent Smith, y ganan los buenos. Como siempre...
El guión no tiene prácticamente ningún error, salvo por una cuestión un tanto complicada: Según dicen por ahí, THE MATRIX ES UN COMPLETO ROBO A "THE INVISIBLES", de Grant Morrison, comic que fue publicado por Vertigo, imprint de DC Comics, hace unos años. Si desean más información sobre esto, pueden escuchar en FM 90.3 Cadena Eco (sólo en Argentina), "Comiqueando por el Aire", los viernes de 20 a 22 hs. Si sos de otro país, podés escucharlo a través de www.cadenaeco.com.ar.

A pesar de haber ganado el Oscar a los mejores efectos especiales en el año 1999, éstos no son tan espectaculares como se dice. Son muy buenos, sí. El efecto Bullet-Time es excelente, y millones de películas lo han copiado. Pero hay cosas que no terminan de cerrar. Como cuando Trinity se tira de un edificio a otro, y da una vuelta en el aire. Esa escena es horrible, y no es para nada creíble. Otra escena muy fea es la de la cuchara. Se nota DEMASIADO que la cuchara es producto del CGI. No es creíble. Realmente no sé por qué esta película le ganó el Oscar a Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

La música compuesta por Don Davis es realmente magnífica. No decepciona. En los créditos finales se puede escuchar "Wake Up" de Rage Against The Machine. Una joya...
Pero bueno, no le llegan a los talones al maestro, al dios de la música incidental: John Williams.

¿Qué más? Bueno, no mucho. La película no falla, es divertida de principio a final. Te hace pensar bastante sobre la existencia humana, sobre cuál es nuestro fundamento, y un montón de cosas más. Copada, pero como dije al principio esto no es Star Wars. Una pena que Neo y Agent Smith no peleen con Sables de Luz...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sci-Fi Kung-Fu tosh, but trick photography is good
Review: Sometime in the future, human beings create artificial intelligence that ends up going to war with its creators - and wins. Human beings, instead of being destroyed, are kept alive in pods, their bodies being used as batteries to generate power for the artificial intelligence. The world we see around us is an illusion, created by the artificial intelligence for a reason I cannot for the life of me fathom. If all artificial intelligence needs is human bodies for batteries, why bother going to all the trouble of creating an incredibly sophisticated illusion? What is the point? Why not just keep the human race unconscious? This is a real weakness in the plot and kept nagging at me throughout the film. Since I couldn't buy into the central premise, I found it impossible to believe what was going on. However, I did enjoy the spectacular set pieces. The trick photography - which is what these computer generated special effects really are - is breathtaking, and I kept wondering to myself, "How did they do that." The fight scenes are quite something. Keanu Reeves acquits himself convincingly but Laurence Fishburne excels. An enjoyable lot of nonsense but the end left me with a severely scratched head.


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