A Piece From The Collection: The Matrix (1999)

Alo Party Peoples.

The end of the month has come again, the time when I look at a film in my DVD collection and tell you if I think you should do the same. December 2013's choice is, The Matrix. The Wachowski's second direction job was a big hit. It was very well received at the time by both the mass audience and critics. There have been homages, parodies, analysis, and ripoffs. Let's see if it is still good fourteen years later.

Setup: Do I really need to tell you the setup? Everybody knows it by now. A computer hacker called Neo discovers a strange program called the Matrix and wants to figure out what it is. He meets a man named Morpheus who gives him a red pill and reveals to him that reality is a lie. It's not 1999, it's closer to 2199, we're not sure of the date anymore. We built sentient machines that rebelled and took over the world, and now they use mankind's body heat as an energy source. To keep us complacent they put us into a computer simulation of the late 90's called the Matrix. The reason they don't just cut out the quite energy consuming brain is because, revenge I guess. Humans are terrible canadates for this kind of generator, but if they used cows we wouldn't have a movie.

Now he must work with the few free humans left to resist the Agents of the Matrix and free the mankind from it's digital prison.

It is a good and engaging story, and there are some intriguing ideas to be mined from it. Is reality just what our minds perceive, or is there something more. Is it ethical to create artificial sentience? Is Agent Smith right that mankind is a detriment to the Earth? 

Obviously those questions are subjective and answers will vary from person to person, but my answers to them are the following. I am not a solipsist*, if you create sentience you must give it the rights that come with sentience, and man isn't the best thing for the Earth but it's stuck with us for the foreseeable future.

Presentation: This film might be starting to show it's age, but as of 2013 it still looks pretty good. 

The action here looks appropriately like a video game. Characters move with unnatural speed at odd angles and perform amazing acrobatic feats, the camera slows down and pans around them during fights as if it were a cutscene, and the Matrix itself looks like it could be the setting of a GTA game. The CG is dated now, but it is used well and with purpose.

The Matrix itself is washed out and gray, reflecting Neo's humdrum normal life. It looks like the kind of place you would want to escape from, but the real world is cramped, foreboding, and it can make you think that "ignorance is bliss" and the Matrix is a better option than "the desert of the real".

Overall it looks good.

Cast: This is where I am less impressed, but it's not terrible. Keanu Reeves is a bit too quiet i.e can you speak up as Neo, but he does okay. Joe Pantoliano is enjoyable as Cypher, a free human that regrets taking the red pill. Laurence Fishburne is great as Morpheus, Carrie Anne-Moss is engaging as Trinity, and Hugo Weaving is fantastic as Agent Smith, a program designed to hide glitches in the Matrix.


In conclusion, The Matrix is a pretty good film. Well written, well shot, acted competently, well choreographed, and intruiging. Is it dated? Sure, but not as much as I thought it would be going in. I don't know if it's the best ever, but I can certainly see why it is considered to be the best.

One last thing before I go. Before you ask about the sequels or the Animatrix, I haven't seen them. Maybe next year.

Happy New Year, And Many More To Come.

Greg.B

*People that believe there is nothing beyond their brain, and that the world is a figment of their imagination.

TV Time: Doctor Who: The Time Of The Doctor

SPOILERS FOR DAY OF THE DOCTOR

Alo Party Peoples.

Judging from Twitter and YouTube, it seems that most people enjoyed Doctor Who's 50th anniversary more than I did. I didn't hate it, not at all, but to me The Day Of The Doctor was just an average late Smith era Doctor Who story that happened to feature multiple Doctors, and late Smith-era Doctor Who has been lacking.

I wasn't very impressed. The Zygon plot just stopped without a resolution, undoing the burning of Gallifrey undermines the Doctor's character arc, it often felt like officially licensed fan fiction, and as Linkara pointed out, it felt more like a celebration of eight years of New Who rather than fifty years of Doctor Who.

Steven Moffat's contribution to the 50th anniversary was a disappointment, in my opinion. Which is sad, because he used to be one of the shows best writers before taking over as showrunner. Making such gems as The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, and Forest Of The Dead/Silence In The Library, he was amazing. And his first season as showrunner was quite good as well, the show could have ended after The Big Bang and it would have been perfect.

But ever since the second half of Series Six, episodes that he writes have been, not that good, and generally messed around with stuff that worked fine. Overcomplicating the show, introducing temporal shenanigans that make it very hard to follow the plot, killing characters over and over again, throwing the numbers off with a hidden Doctor(though maybe that's just me), and retconning the Doctor's tragic past in a way that makes Nine and Ten's regret over it meaningless.

I will continue to watch the show, and I hold out hope that it will get better. Which brings me to today's subject, the Christmas special, entitled The Time Of The Doctor, also written by Steven Moffat. 

The story of the Eleventh Doctor's final days spent defending the town of Christmas from all his foes, to keep the Time War from starting anew, is fortunately a welcome improvement. It's not great, there hasn't been a great episode since The Girl Who Waited, but it's a good one. We have some great performances, the usual expected level of high production values, and some good moments.

The acting, top notch, it's amusing to see Matt Smith, the youngest Doctor in both age of the actor and personality, playing an old man, and doing so well. Jenna Coleman is enjoyable as Clara, Kayvan Novak is endearing as the voice of a Cyberman head that the Doctor takes on as a companion, and Orla Brady is well excecuted as an ally of the Doctor that runs the Order of The Silence.

Speaking of which, villans for this episode. We have Daleks which are, not bad by any means, but you could have had the Master taunting Eleven about his lives running out and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. The Cybermen show up allowing for an entertaining one off character in Handles the detatched Cyberhead. The Weeping Angels make a pointless if well shot cameo scene with no impact on the plot and only show up to make the trailer more interesting, and the Silence turn out to be genetically engineered priests, and we FINALLY get conformation that they are the ones that blew up the TARDIS in Series Five.

Lastly, no they didn't have Matt Smith be the final Doctor.* Doctor Who is a cash cow, flagship show for the BBC, and I doubt they will ever let it end. Instead the Time Lords give him a new set of regenerations through a crack in the universe, and with a thunderclap he becomes Peter Capaldi. How is he? That's hard to say. He is only onscreen for about thirty seconds, and it won't really be possible to gauge his Doctor until the show returns in August. But I liked him as Caecillius in The Fires Of Pompeii, so I'll probably enjoy his Doctor.

In conclusion, it's pretty good. Let's call it a 7.8/10

Happy Holidays.

Greg.B

*That fan-theory about the Doctor's severed hand that became a clone (don't ask, it's confusing) counting as a regeneration, that's canon now.

Night Vale Book

Alo Party Peoples.

Paperback book publisher Harper Perennial is working with Commonplace Books to make a Welcome To Night Vale novel due to be released in fall of 2015. For those not in the know, Welcome To Night Vale is a horror-comedy podcast that exploded in popularity around July 2013, for a while it was alternating between first and second place on the iTunes top podcast chart in the Audio category, and it is currently in fourth. 

It is an audio drama presented as a community radio news show in a fictional small town called Night Vale where all conspiracy theories are true. As well as all myths, religions, and urban legends. 

I listen to this podcast often, and I'm excited for a book about Joseph Fink's weird little town. I'll probably buy it once the reviews come in. No plot details are currently known, but I hope it isn't just Night Vale's newsprint.

http://www.abc3340.com/story/24230538/popular-podcast-night-vale-coming-out-as-a-book

Let's Go Out To The Movies: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Alo Party Peoples.

I enjoyed the first Hobbit film. It wasn't quite able to match Lord Of The Rings's massive scope, The Hobbit is not an epic story, but An Unexpected Journey was a well crafted fantasy adventure in its own right. How does The Desolation Of Smaug continue it?

It does alright. It continues the quest of twelve dwarves and a hobbit to kill the evil dragon Smaug and reclaim the Lonely Mountain, while still on the run from Azog and his orcs. Along the way they encounter a shape changing bear, the Elven land of Mirkwood where they encounter Orlando Bloom's returning Legolas, and a human settlement called Laketown.

While this is happening, Gandalf and Ratagast are investigating the returning Sauron to prepare for war. That's all I can say without spoilers, but I can say it builds and builds towards a massive conclusion, and then it just stops. 

This is certainly a well made film. Sets, great, costumes, great, effects, iffy towards the end but good for the most part. Let it never be said that Jackson isn't trying. 

The actors do well. Martin Freeman as Bilbo and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield work well together. Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Sylvester McCoy as Ratagast interact well, Evangilene Lily is alright as a newly added love interest for Bloom's Legolas, Bennedict Cumberbatch does fantastic voice work and motion capture for Smaug, who is also designed very well, and Manu Bennett is alright as Azog.

There are certainly problems, the love story between the new elf and one of the minor dwarves didn't really do much towards engaging me. The CG on Smaug starts to deteriorate towards the end, almost as if they were running out of money, and the aforementioned halt of an ending.

In conclusion, I don't think the Hobbit needed to be a trilogy*, but they do alright for the middle segment. I'm not sure I would reccomend it, but see for yourself and draw your own conclusion.

Have a nice day.

Greg.B

*It probably needed to be one to get greenlit after Lord Of The Rings.

Merry Christmas From The Archivis.

Alo Party Peoples.

It's the time of year that is both longed for and dreaded in equal measure. Holiday Season.

Longed for because goodwill to all, family time, gifts, snow, bonuses at work, Jesus, and various other reasons. Dreaded because of expensive gift shopping, horrible traffic, freezing temperatures,and driving long distances for akward interactions with relatives you barley know. It is also semi-dreaded by students, because it is rather hard to celebrate while studying for and taking semester finals.

My family is very deeply and faithfully Christain, I am skeptical as to why an omnipotent and benevolent god would allow cancer to exist. Sure, Christmas started as a pagan holiday celebrating a good harvest, but Christianity absorbed it to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

Today while the religious side of Christmas certainly hasn't gone away, and probably won't for a while, it tends to be overshadowed by a secular celebration of capitalist excess with the same name. Then again, said secular holiday also overshadows everything else in December.

Both of these celebrations happen on December 24/25, and both are valid as holidays, at least in my opinion. Perhaps the secular one can be a celebration of families and good will towards all mankind.

Either way it results in much traffic.

Hats off to all, have a nice holiday, and a Happy New Year.

I leave you with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhDHtKpfP0o

Greg.B

Let's Go Out To The Movies: The Book Thief

Alo Party Peoples.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is an incredible book, one that I am glad to give the title of great to. It is a moving story of a girl growing up with a foster family in Nazi Germany that discovers the power of words. Brian Percival might have downplayed the theme of words, but he adapts it to the silver screen quite nicely.

It is a relatively faithful adaptation, some things are done in a different order, others are removed entirely, but the theme of words probably wouldn't have translated to the screen well. It is well told and well made, the sets and costumes all look great, and the emotions take center stage while the theme of the book takes a back seat.

The actors all do a good job. Geoffery Rush and Emily Watson do a good job as the Hubermanns. Ben Schnetzer makes a good Max Vanderberg, a Jew that the Hubermanns hide in their basement, and Roger Allam does a good voice job as the personification of Death. As for the younger cast, Sophie Nélisse makes a fine Lisel Meminger, and newcomer Nico Liersch is well done as Rudy. It is all well acted and never once does an accent slip. 

In conclusion, is it as good as the book? Probably not, but is is a really good and well made film that I can overall reccomend.

Have a nice day.

Greg.B

On The Subject Of Greatness.

FIRST OFF A CORRECTION TO THE FIREFLY POST. FIREFLY WAS 98TH IN NIELSON RATINGS, NOT 125TH AS I HAD CLAIMED. I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS ERROR.

Alo Party Peoples.

I reserve the term "great" for the best of the best. For the truly remarkable or well executed. I don't hand it out lightly.

For example, Avengers was a good movie, many called it great, but it isn't quite the best in the superhero sub genre. The Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole on the other hand, was an achievement, bringing shared universe genre defying comic book continuity to the big screen (and small screen) successfully, and having eight out of eight films be good, and be profitable, that is great.

See also, the Harry Potter films. As individual films they can vary in quality, but the series as a whole is really good. It's impressive that all eight films were profitable, and that they were able to pull it off even though they started the films before the books were even finished. They didn't know if the books would  remain popular enough to justify films, or if they would even remain good. They kept the same cast together for a decade. Even when they lost Richard Harris, they continued on and found Michael Gambon to play Dumbledore. That they didn't even let mortality stop them in making these films, that is determination, and it resulted in something great. Not as great as the books, but still worthwhile on their own.

Things are great when they overcome the odds and become greater than the sum of their parts. Here are some works I consider great.

- The Marvel Cinematic Universe

- Harry Potter (films as a whole and the books)

- Lord Of The Rings* (films)

- Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

- Puella Magi Madoka Magica

- Doctor Who

- The Slender Man Mythos**

- Firefly and Serenity

- Pleasantville

- Life of Pi (book and film)

- The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

- Across The Universe by Beth Revis

 

Have a nice day.

Greg.B



*They teach college classes on Tolkien's work. That doesn't happen unless you've made something worthwhile.

**I don't like it, but I respect it.

This Post Is Dedicated To Nelson Mandela. 1918-2013 May He Rest In Peace.

Weirdness of The Internet 6.

Alo Party Peoples.

Some more things on the Internet that I find weird.

Have you heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? It is a game that involves linking an actor to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. For example: Tommy Wiseau was in Bump with Scott Gordon-Patterson who was in Highway 395 with Diane Delano who was in The River Wild with Kevin Bacon. Here is a website that links actors in that way.

http://oracleofbacon.org

There are some stupid people out there. I don't know if this woman's ignorance is genuine, or if this was a joke. Either way hilarity.

http://youtu.be/w3qFdbUEq5s

A lot of people watched Breaking Bad. I wasn't one of them, but this guy asks if we can enjoy it.

http://youtu.be/b9QIGAHQZqQ

Have a nice day. If there is something you think is weird, leave a link for me on Twitter @GregB00

Greg.B