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Hicks looks at THE MATRIX
Maaaaaaaan, come on... hurry up... let's get this thing out there in the theaters... I'm ready to see it. Enough hype... enough trailers... I'm sold... It better friggin deliver... ARGH... the ten days or so till this movie hits are like molassas...
Corporal Hicks here once again. Being a film student at Loyola Marymount
does have its perks. With all the connections the faculty has, you get to
see a bunch a stuff for free. As with my last outing: The Matrix.
Let me tell ya, I was lookin' forward to this badboy for a while. Those
trailers just simply kick-ass. That 360-degree-freeze-frame stuff looks
damn cool. Even if the story was off-kilter(yes, I actually wrote that), I
wanted to see this picture. Joel Silver is the producing king of action
pictures(well, he and Mr. Bruckheimer). So, when I heard about this
screening over at Warner Bros. in Burbank, I instantly picked up my pulse
rifle and jumped in the APC with the rest of the grunts.
Anyway, on to the film. The cut they showed was, in fact, the FINAL cut of
the film. I'm gonna cut right to the chase: this movie is the textbook
example of style-over-substance. But, DAMN, this style is so friggin'
cool! The Matrix is made specifically for guys under the age of 35. They
have an amazingly original and promising premise(which is too slick to
spoil for you guys), but the payoff ain't so great. This much I will tell
you: Keanu Reeves plays Neo(aka Thomas Anderson), this super-hacker who is
constantly in search of this thing called the matrix. That's all you
really need to know. The problem is, there is so much development needed
for this far-out plot, that to give it the time it needs would mean making
the film about 5 hours long. The film mostly suceeds on the visceral
level, which I believe was the idea all along. The visual effects are
absolutely amazing. I mean, it rivals, if not betters, the combo of art
direction and visual effects on Dark City. The real treat, however, is the
sound design. Friggin' awesome. It was SOOOOO loud and clear, it was out
of control. I mean, I'm sure that will turn some people off to the movie,
but it works extremely well. The sound and sound effects editing are
flawless; THEY'RE what brings the audience into the movie. The film's
soundtrack does feature a lot of hard-core techno and, given the volume,
did tend to get annoying at times(even though I'm a big Rage fan). The
music is really intense during the 2000 or so action sequences(they never
really seem to end in this one--but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy each
and every one of them). There is some truly bad-ass martial arts goin' on
in this actioner. I was actually saying "wow!" while I was sitting through
some of those scenes; the choreography is amazing. The Wachowski(sp?)
brothers, who directed the film, also pay homage to some of the works of
the world's best action auteurs. T2 gets recognized in one major action
scene and the simple fact that the Beretta is the gun of choice echoes
virtually every John Woo movie. The directors were obviously interested in
producing tons and tons of eye candy for the audience...and, well, they
succeeded. I enjoyed the film. I mean, I wish they would have bothered to
answer a few thousand goddamn questions I had, but I was having too much
fun to really care. This is the second coolest movie I've seen so far this
year(Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels takes number one, at least until
this little known space movie opens on May 19--word is, it's supposed to
good or somethin'--who knows?). The Matrix is definitely worth a look if
you're after some kick-ass, high-adrenaline,
lock-the-women-and-children-in-the-basement-and-throw-away-the-key kind of
entertainment.
That is all.
Corporal Hicks...signing off
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+ Expand All
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DAMN, I can't wait to see this flick! 'tis been a while since i layed my eyes upon real eye-candy (not counting the EP1 - trailer of course).
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So the release was bumped up a couple of days? Great, I'm there. You know since Cameron bailed on Spidey(good actually, he was starting to piss me off) let's bring on the Wachowski brothers! By the way for the reviewer who needed more story about the Matrix, if you head over to the website they have an online comic about other people in the Matrix. It's what keeps me going till the opening.
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...that this flick was made in Australia. If it kicks ass, remember that, if it bites, forget it. ;)
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maybe the children.. but how is locking the women in the basement any fun.......?
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Maybe he just meant "wives"! Ha! Phew, it's a good thing I'm single! Ya hear that, ladies? :-)
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Normally I don't care for so called 'guy movies', plus my GF won't watch them, but the trailers for this movie kick ass, I can't wait.
PS When did Cameron bail on Spidey? -
The fact that so many people get off on bashing Keanu Reeves like he's the Joel Schumacher of the thespian circuit is confounding. The guy has credentials! The BILL AND TED series are an undeniable guilty pleasure, PRIVATE IDAHO was pretty admirable, POINT BREAK has got to be one of the most underrated action films of all time, SPEED was way cool (although slightly overrated), and DEVILS ADVOCATE still manages to keep my full attention with each repeat viewing (who knew that Keanu could hold his own against the likes of Al Pacino?). In my opinion, JOHNNY MNEMONIC (typo?) is so repugnant that it functions on a PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE kind of level, perfect material for a MST3K episode. I'm willing to overlook DRACULA and CHAIN REACTION for the time being simply because THE MATRIX looks so damn cool. The Wakowski's BOUND was a blast (Jennifer Tilly is a fox) and judging by the aforementioned critique of their latest effort it should be on the same wavelength. I say that we ban all aimlessly vile bashings of Keanu for the time being. Let's face it, it would be hard to imagine Keanu winning an oscar, but the guy can carry a film when he's in his element.
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You said it (basically) Hal!I can't wait for this movies...what do y'all predict for opening weekend. I'd say $15-22 million, with a nice average of $17m.
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Hey, the guy had the forsight and the balls to turn down a lot of money and piss people off when he backed out of Speed 2. If you've ever tried to sit through that lame ass sequel you know the guy's brain was working like a champ on the day he made that decision.
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This movie's gonna be cool. Just enough to tide us over 'till The Mummy, and then just a hop, skip and jump to E1. Is there anything else that looks really cool coming out between now and Episode One?
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Count me out, I intend to see only one movie this year strictly for the SFx, and thats episode1... Do any directors ACTUALLY work from a SCRIPT nowadays?
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Mar 17, 1999 10:00:12 AM CST
The Wachowski brothers should work with Sly and Arnold. Reeves i
by abking
The Wachowski (sp) brothers should team-up with the two greatest action heros in the world: STALLONE and SCHWARZENEGGER. I mean, if they can pull off all those cool images, imagine what they would do with Sly or Arnold. All I would say is WOW... Forget Keeanu. He is a, as Arnold would say, girly man.
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I almost took a class at Art Center School of Design called "Keanu 101", which entailed the life and chronicles of a certain actor WHO CAN'T ACT! Between him and Freddie Prinz Jr., the slack jawed actor market is cornered.
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I'd have to contend that THE MATRIX will open to a solid 30 million weekend (it's opening on a Wednesday, so it'll have a few extra days to rake it in). I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if it reaches the 100 million dollar mark. I'm really pushing for this one man, Keanu and Warners are in dire need of a blockbuster hit. With the success of THE MATRIX and ANALYZE THIS (and presumably WWW and EWS), Warners may be on the fast track to reclaiming their dignity that was jettisoned with BATMAN 4, POSTMAN, and THE AVENGERS. I say, more power to them.
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This does have promise. I've been burned too many times, hearing about how great the martial arts are supposed to be in an American picture and then seeing the film and having my expectations shot down by martial arts scenes that rely on editing and sound effects tricks to make it look like something's actually going on. I've come to believe I've been spoiled by the master, Jackie Chan, who is far and away the best in the world at choreography and martial arts scenes in general(and yes, I'm including Jet Li, as well - he's great, but is doubled extensively and uses WAY too many editing and camera tricks... His scenes don't flow nearly as well, and aren't nearly as creative as Chan's.) Anyway, this film has promise because they brought in Yuen Woo Ping to direct the action and martial arts scenes. This is the guy that did Jet Li's best film, Fist of Legend, and also some of the early Chan stuff like the original Drunken Master... Of course he's gonna have American stuntmen to work with, so it won't be on the level of those films, but it should be cool nontheless.
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I'm officially lifting the ban right now. Bill and Ted was the best movie this no talent goon has ever made. I think it's because he comes off in his natural mode, like a moron! I'm not saying he's a moron, I just think that he has a certain moronic charisma that he just can't shake. People say Stallone is actually a very smart guy, but I only like him when he acts like a dimwit, ala Rocky and Copland. But I think Keannu may be worse. I notice he always seems to want an accent in his movies, which he never pulls off. Maybe that's to conceal his innate Ted Logan way of saying things. But I'll see this flick. He does action sequences well, as long as he doesn't have too many moments which require acting.
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I content that Keanu Reeves did have one good film. His first one....and no, that wasn't Bill and Ted, or River's Edge. It was a TV film about children of Alcoholic parents titled "Under the Influence" and it won the Scott Newman award at the emmys the year it was made. Keanu was very convincing (no scowling or anything) as the son of an alcoholic father, played wonderfully by Andy Griffith.
As for Bill, Ted, and Keanu's career....I kind of wish he had gone the way of Alex Winter. "Bogus Dude!" Gives me chills just thinking about it. -
In my opinion this review was fine. I'm looking foward to seeing this movie for the special effects mostly, but if there is a decent story behind it that's all the better. Of course, since this reviewer guy didn't tell me about the story I don't know if it's good or not. Wait a minute! I could go in without knowledge of the entire plot! I could actually be surprised if I watch Matrix! Wow!
But, I guess some people want to know EXACTLY what they are getting into before they watch a film. Maybe some people don't want to be dissapointed with a movie so they
find out all they can about it ahead of time. I don't know about you, but that ruins a movie for me. And if not ruin it would make the movie less effective.
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Sound brings audiences to movies??!? Ummm. Hummm. Don't know about that. So great, attention-grabbing stories don't pull them in? "Hey, this here movie sucks ass. But hell, it sounds real damn loud and good. 'Specially when that there car blows the hell up and good. But the movie ain't worth a damn." This review did NOT make me want to go out and buy a ticket to this film, especially since the reviewer seemed to be more caught up in the delivery than the actual item delivered. Style is great, but the style is merely the cool black leather jacket for the person who is truly the shit.
To change the subject, anyone seen "Pi"? Now that is one damn, kick ass movie. -
This movie's special effects will probably be better than Star Wars Episode 1. Did everbody see that lame Jabba the Hutt. Space combat scenes was comparable to Babylon 5. Jar Jar is lame. The robots look like they're some off spring of Babylon 5. What's with Queen Padme looking like geisha doll. OOhhhh how original. As for Keanu Reeves he's been in a lot of good movies. Everybody has made a bomb or two in their past. Anyway, I know the DVD of Matrix will rock. By the way support open DVD and demand anamorphic transfers.
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...I mean, it's okay if you figure out a plot twist youself, but what good is it if you know about the twist 3 weeks in advance because you read a plot synopsis? For example, how much different would your viewing experience of The Usual Suspects be if you knew the ending? It seems that I am in the minority when many "fans" are searching the net for everything they can find on SW1. Come on people! Try to be surprised!
There'll be light sabers and Jedi and a garbage can that beeps... and you liked the original movies...what else do you need to know? I'd write more but by now you obvioulsy must have gotten my point and I have to go the the bathroom anyway.
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Lane wants the review to explain the story. I think reviews should give away as little plot as possible. In this case it doesn't really matter because the reviewer guy told you that Matrix is all style...if that's not your cup of tea then fine...the review served its purpose by letting you know what type of movie it was without actually spoilng part or all of the movie if you did decide to see it.
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I've gotta say as someone who was working on a BFA in Theatre/Lighting Design in Canada at the time Keanu did Hamlet in Winnipeg, you get pretty sick of people (civilians) saying "I saw Hamlet and Keanu was really good in it, you should be kinder to him." Bullshit, I saw it, he was awful!!!!!!!But then it was typecasting, Hamlet is about a young man with the inability to act.
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A lot. I think the plot is probably very secondary anyway. I like what I read -- except for the "this is for men under 35" statement. What kind of pansy ass girls do you hang around? The preview was incredible... I can't wait. As for Keanu; he has his niche and when he hits it, I really enjoy it. Cases in point: Speed and Point Break.
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Holy crap I forgot about that lame ass kick that Obi Wan does. Your right it does look like a harness kick. I have to look at the trailer again to see if there's harness cables behind him. I saw somebody post before that it looked like a Bruce Lee kick. Give me a break, when Bruce Lee did that kick it was for real. He didn't use no harness. By the way if you have a DVD player get Enter the Dragon, it's anamorphic. Observe some real kicks and punches. He actually cracks Jackie Chan's neck for real!!!! Oh and another great anamporphic movie is Devil's Advocate and guess who star's in it Keanu Reeves, haha told you he did some good movies. By the way support support open DVD. DIVX sucks!!!
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I have to agree with Kraid. I like to read a review that tells me only the barest details of the movie, something only a little beyond what the trailer said, and then tell me whether he liked it or not, and why. I don't want to hear what character died, or what lived. I don't want to hear (like in the Forces of Nature review yesterday): "I don't want to ruin the ending, but...". I just want to know if the movie sucks or not...nothing more complicated than that. And that's what this review did. He liked the movie, and the reasons he gave were enough to convince me that I don't want to see it; he made it sound like a mildly enjoyable special effects piece of shit that'd bore the hell out of me. Also, I really liked "Pi". It did with no special effects and a miniscule budget, grainy film, and some ingenious camera work what a lot of movies can't do with millions of dollars, 70mm film, and ILM...because it realized that the important thing is to make people think, not turn off their minds. (think of "2001", and you'll know what I mean) -Loki
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Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man INSTINCTS! He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusment, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste! Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha! And when you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off. He's a tight-ass! He's a sadist! He's an absentee landlord. Worship THAT? NEVER!
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Your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for... Keanu! So. You have a twin Keanu. Your feelings have now betrayed him too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide him from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps he will.
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That's how a critic writing of a preview should be made. Not spoiling anything, speak only of details of production and style. I wasn't very much eager to see this movie, but maybe I am now.
Since I don't like Keanu and his bad choices (A walk in the clouds, Johnny Mnemonic) but this is a Warchawski bros. pic, which I've been waiting since I saw "Bound". Congratulations to Hicks for this fine piece of criticism. -
Why does every discussion about every movie eventually turn into Star Wars around this place. If it's not fanboys saying how much it will rock because they can't think beyond May 19 it's geeks who think the movie will suck because they lost their ability to have fun at movies when they saw thier first Tarantino film. Holy shit people, they are just movies, I love them but if you don't, don't keep telling me in every friggin' post! And stop trying to convince me how great they are going to be because I'll do what everyone else did before the internet, decide for myself! (Damn it, I just took part in a discussion about Star Wars on a page that had nothing to do with it, sorry 'bout that chief!)
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I agree with what you said about Bill and Ted, Pointbreak, and Devil's Advocate. Reeves was at his best playing Ted, and if he can bring some of that character to Matrix, it will work for him. (Remember the guttural "Whooah?!" in the preview.)
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Buddy of mine must've gone to this same screening. He was raving about it last night - says it's got some insane shit. If it's half as decent as this guy was talking it up to be, MATRIX might be worth dropping $8 to check out.
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I'm used to geeks being sexist, especially about movies that "girls" supposedly like... personally I would much rather watch "Fist of the North Star" than ANYTHING with Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, or those other beetches who women are supposed to "identify" with. Speaking only for myself, as a dyed in the wool Real Woman (tm), I'm gonna be there on opening weekend of THE MATRIX with my girly-man by my side, screaming "Finish him off!!"
Yeah, whatever, flame me, call me a dyke, whatever. But I like explosions, blood, guns, and spin-kicks (and the patented Ben Stokes Magic Camera effect, which he was putting in videos five years ago!). Eat me, you narrow-minded sexist jerks. You'll be staring down the barrel of my gun when the Chick Revolution starts. -
Well, first off, I'm the one in the family who gets hyped about action films... yep, the WIFE! So I'm a little peeved about being relegated to the basement...Now, Keanu -- bad choice-maker more than bad actor. He works great as an affable, 20-something American guy. But why, WHY does he seem to think that he won't be taken seriously as an actor unless he plays characters totally contrary to his nature? You don't see Jack Nicholson or De Niro playing English gentlemen, they stick close to their "type", yet are acknowledged greats. Who's to say that they haven't, in part, recieved their reputations due to that fact as much as for their raw acting ability? He has a certain charisma and look that works really well when it's used intelligently. But Keanu in Devil's Advocate??? Puh-leeze! A brilliant SOUTHERN lawyer? The unsuspecting son of Satan? More like some guy from San Diego. Hold his own against Pacino? Ummmm... well, at least he didn't stand by TOO woodenly, thereby avoiding gettig munched on by Al like the rest of the set dressing. Matrix looks like a fun little romp, though, an appetizer for the bigger movies coming out this summer. And, I like not knowing the plot, fer Chrissakes! If I know what to expect from a movie before I go to see it (other than the most general description), I am almost inevitably dissapointed.
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...maybe if you used the language as it was intended, as a source of communication rather than as a weapon, then maybe people would listen to your opinion. Who knows, maybe under that use of expletives lies an intelligent mind, though you could never tell from your posts as they are now!
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You know, I come to this site looking for a little insightful insider information about the SF film & television industry that I love and so fascinates me, and I am repeatedly assaulted by the mindless banter of some users arguing amongst themselves over childish bullshit. "You don't know what you're FUCKING talking about, but I DO SO LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!" Unless you have something constructive or at least intelligent to say, why don't you just shut the fuck up. Harry/Glen: you guys should SERIOUSLY consider moderating these talkbacks. Your website's reputation is going straight to hell.
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what the hell are up with the phrases "guy movie" and "chick flick"? give me a fucking break. i am a "chick," but i would much rather be considered a "person" who enjoys all sorts of movies - action, drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi, you-name-it. if it's good on SOME level, i'll probably like it. get a grip guys, and welcome to the 90s....*sheesh*
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... but he certainly isn't a retard. And he also can't be accused of doing stuff just to pic up a paycheck. He turned down $11 million for Speed 2 and everyone razzed him for it. Then look what happened. I'm willing to give Keanu a chance as long as he sticks with his strengths i.e. action movies. Let's face it, he did look good doing Speed and Break Point. Oh, and alizarine, will you marry me? :)
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Guess What!?
Lightsabers are fake too! That's right! When they make movies, it's all fake! Mike Tyson could kick Bruce Lee's ass! -
Remember the "Little Buddha" ?
-forgot to mention that in your synopsis of Mr. Reeves carreer. -
What I am saying is that the reviewer did not explain enough of the film to convince me of wanting to see it. It's like he reviewed a trailer for it. I could have seen the pre and written possibly more. Sense of style can be ascertained through the trailer. I wanted examples cited. Reviewers are almost like salesmen. If they like the film, they want you to see it. Then they are promoting it in the best possible way. "I am not affiliated with this film; have nothing to do with it's marketing, but I liked it. And you should see it too. Why? Because..." But then if they don't like it, they ALMOST try to convince you NOT to see it. I walked away from this review not wanting to see it-not because he didn't like it, because there was not enough evidence to prove the suspect either innocent or guilty. He likes it, but seems to almost realize this flick sux and couldn't find any examples to justify his opinion. THAT'S what I am afraid of...
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You know this discussion regarding spoilers in reviews and EP1 (how the heck did this talk become focused on SW anyway??) got me wondering: Is there anything left for us geeks to be surprised by in the EP1 plot that we haven't already read about on the Net or speculated on? (And, come on, don't say that the spoiler sites are keeping some spoilers from us -- I mean, for example, it doesn't take a friggin' genius to figure out who's gonna die in EP1.) I'd like to think there may be one or two surprises, but I'm beginning to doubt this. Maybe Natalie Portman is, in fact, playing two different roles, two entirely different characters, who happen to be twins? Could there be any major plot twists like this that haven't been released on the Net?
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Probably noone will read this. But I read somebody up there talk about ruining the ending of The Usual Suspects and had to say that actually happened to me and I was mad as hell. I couldn't get anyone to go see it with me. We went and saw Showgirls instead. then all my friends go see it without me and later we're watching something with Kevin Spacey and my buddy goes. "Kaiser Sose." I'm still mad about that. Oh yeah and if anyones going to talk about the star wars movie, please don't give away any spoilers in your posting. I hate that, too.
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Is this that movie bout antidisestablishmentarianismTHE INVISIBLES℧
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