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The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Half I expected, and half was better than expected.
Revolutions is much more concise and to the point than Reloaded was. The action is much more focused and purposeful, mostly because the movie is working its way toward a conclusion, rather than an open ending or a cliffhanger like either of the first two movies. The dialog is geared toward answering unanswered questions rather than raising new ones, and even the new questions raised in the third film can be answered by watching the film again (watch all three a few times over and you'll be as pointlessly knowledgeable about The Matrix universe as I am!).
Unlike Reloaded, even the score fits well with every scene in the movie. I didn't care too much for the rave scene (the scene or the music) in Reloaded, but I can't recall a moment in Revolutions when any scene or sounds felt contrived or unnecessary. If nothing else, I was more disappointed that some scenes and characters didn't appear in the movie! For instance, the Merovingian and his goons were grossly underused in this film! Such an egotistical, maniacal character should be the focus of more attention than what he received in what is supposed to be the best movie of the trilogy.
(One thing I must say to any viewers who criticize the film because it doesn't look real enough or doesn't feel right: you need to stop thinking like an illogical human and treat The Matrix like what it is: something that isn't real. It's science fiction, and much of the action takes place in a computer simulated dream world that is described as an imperfect simulation of the "real world". That is all.)
I have been more involved in The Matrix than I have been in any other media phenomenon to hit pop culture, which means that it is simply, for whatever reason, the realization of an idea that works very well for me. The Wachowski brothers put together an excellent body of work with these films and accompanying works on various media -- so excellent, in fact, that I am easily distracted by discussion of The Matrix, both within the context of the story and above and beyond the story (symbolism, allegorical applications, etc.)
My only complaints were that the Merovingian was grossly underused, the fate of the Twins and some other characters was not explained, and the Kid's triumphant "The war is over!" at the end was a bit premature, given what we had just watched for the last two hours.
Finally, everyone should keep in mind that the machines have Neo's code, and whether Keanu Reeves comes back or not, his intellect may yet survive in the Matrix somehow...
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
James Bond on Steroids ... and Estrogen ... Times Three
Charlie's Angels was never meant to be taken seriously. For that matter, neither was James Bond (on screen). Given that, Charlie's Angels is an incredibly fun movie to watch, especially if you're male and between the ages of 12 and 80.
Sexy legs, fantastic booms, and an imaginative (keyword!) storyline make for a solidly entertaining summer flick, and the introduction of the girls' respective pasts adds to the franchise, if that's what it has become.
The movie as presented are certainly not realistic, and I wouldn't want them to be. Girls who make jokes, kick ass, and even shake it a little can't be all bad. I hope to see more Charlie's Angels movies in the future, only... I miss Bill Murray.
Bound (1996)
Excellent movie, considering it was a debut...
While this movie will never be among the best of all time, it is an amazing accomplishment considering it is the first movie that the mysterious Wachowski brothers wrote and directed. An intriguing plot combined with surprisingly good acting made for a fun two hours.
I don't recommend this movie to those who don't enjoy the sight of blood or lesbian love. But if you want to know what the Wachowskis had to go through in order to convince WB Studios that they were capable of the huge investment to make the Matrix, then check out Bound.
Hackers (1995)
Amazing in 1995! Funny in 2003!
Okay, so the plot of this movie seems a bit outlandish in 2003, but in 1995 this is where hacking was going! Of course, hacking has been misunderstood from day one, and aside from social-outcast stereotypes and the horrible hacking emulations, at least "Hackers" got the ball rolling for the defense of good-natured hackers, as opposed to 'crackers' (the ones who actually try to do damage).
The movie was meant to be taken only somewhat seriously eight years ago, and those who had no idea about computers (and some who still don't) were overwhelmed by what computers could supposedly do. Of course, we all know now how irrelevant the plot of this movie is to legitimate hacking, but it's still a great laugh for those of us that use computers too much.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The best spy/action flick I've seen in years.
First, it helps that Matt Damon is one of my favorite actors. (He's been somewhere near my top five since I first saw him in Dogma, and after that, I discovered that he's a much better actor than that movie allowed him to show.) He's easy to like in any role, and I haven't seen a movie yet that he's been in that I haven't liked. Add to that some great performances by Chris Cooper and Julia Stiles (whose role was not nearly significant enough, but enough to lure me into the theatre), and I think I've found potentially my favorite realistic action movie of the year, assuming nothing better comes along.
But to the movie: The Bourne Identity. I had no idea that it existed until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea that I would like it until a couple days ago, and I had no idea that I would see it today until a couple of hours ago. But I did, and I liked it, and now I'm almost disappointed that I have disliked shelving Robert Ludlum's books for the past few months. The Bourne Identity is a great story, one worth seeing several times over, and a great movie. Having said that, I may just have to read the book.
In my opinion, The Bourne Identity is one of the best movies of the year, and is easily one of my new favorites. Assuming that that doesn't change, there is a particularly good chance that the DVD will land on my shelf when it is released. In my opinion, it's a great movie -- one of the best films of its genre that I've seen in quite a while.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
The best musical of all time!
Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman surprised most of the Moulin Rouge audience with their singing abilities in this film. Add to that a wonderful musical production, a great story, and great acting from top to bottom, and Moulin Rouge is my favorite film from 2001. (Believe me, that surprises me more than you.)
That is especially significant considering that I have never liked musicals, and I have rarely liked such a love story. I suppose most teenage males wouldn't. But I saw, I liked, and eventually nothing could top it. The best reason for this, I think, is the soundtrack. I was absolutely taken aback by the music from this film. I bought the soundtrack, bought the second volume, bought the promotional score, and even ripped audio from the DVD that couldn't be found on any musical release.
Of course, this film isn't for everyone, and the awards shows earlier this year have proven that. Still, Moulin Rouge was (in my humble opinion) the best movie of 2001, and one of the best of all time.
Spider-Man (2002)
Easily my favorite of the year... when I saw it.
Despite the hype, I actually expected the movie to be good -- not great, not bad, just good. I expected the acrobatics to be cheesy and annoying, and (most of all) I expected the villain to be so cheesy that I wouldn't believe in his threat. The "Green Goblin" just didn't appeal to me in the trailers. I compared the villain to Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons) in my head on several occasions before seeing the movie, just for the childish, it-could-never-happen feeling he gave me.
However, after actually watching the movie, all of that subsided. Tobey was great, Kirsten was great, Willem was great. Given that Spider-Man is a fantasy/action flick, Raim and friends actually made a darn good movie -- easily my favorite of the year (was there ever any doubt?) at the time...
At least until Star Wars was released. Now I'm faced with the problem of deciding whether I liked Episode II for Episode II, or because I love the idea of the entire Star Wars universe so much. Either way, Spider-Man is much better as a standalone film, and hopefully it has kicked off a healthy string of successful Spider-Man films in the future.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Better than Episode I
When The Phantom Menace is compared to Attack of the Clones, one can look back and see that, by comparison, Attack of the Clones rules! In Episode I, very little happened with the Jedi on screen. We followed Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn around for most of the movie, but the focus was clearly on Anakin Skywalker. In much the same way as the events of Episode II progressed, the events of Episode I progressed nicely so that the visual climax of the film, the "Duel of the Fates", showed us the best lightsaber duel in the history of Star Wars. (Like I said, the progression of events in Episodes I and II are similar, but a lot more happens in Episode II, if for no better reason than that Anakin Skywalker, who is still the focus of the film, is now a lightsaber-wielding Jedi.)
Despite this, Episode II isn't as popular as Episode I was in 1999. Either this May's competition (SpiderMania) was much to stiff, the older audience comprised of fans of the classic trilogy have out-grown Lucas's franchise, or the slack marketing campaign is, in a manner of speaking, paying off.
If it's the older fans refusing to like it, I only have one thing to say about it: Lucas made the first three movies mostly for the kids and teenagers, and he's making these three movies mostly for the kids and teenagers. If the adults of today liked the old ones and can't stand these, it's probably because they've outgrown Lucas's intentions.
Either way, Attack of the Clones is the best Star Wars film I've seen yet. Whether you'll agree or not can only be determined if you see it, and I think it's worth it for any Star Wars fan, even if it isn't as good as the others.