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The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Lots of bad reviews but it's not really so bad if you get it
First off, the Matrix 2 is not as good as the Matrix 1. The first Matrix had an elegance in its editing, sound, production, color scheme, and story. It was so elegant in fact I can't stand to watch it many times over because the package is too tight.
Now the second Matrix. As other reviewers have pointed out, the beginning of the film isn't editted well, it doesn't have enough interesting parts. And the beginning sequence with trinity is out of place as well. It seems that the brothers and studio have fallen in love with themselves, they think they can put anything out there and without polishing it everyone will love it.
The film does get better as it goes along however. An idea that sounded good on paper, Neo fighting many copies of Agent Smith didn't turn out to be that thrilling. But at least it is some action.
Some concepts do turn out well, like the two albinos and the car chase scene. Although people have put down the superman scenes, I like them. The set design, except for the Zion rave is extremely consistant and elegant, continuing the tradition set by the first movie.
I like the relationships in this movie, I didn't find them contrived. It is strange how characters in the Matrix all fall into a few categories. There is the mystic who says important stuff very quickly and cryptically. There is the action hero who doesn't say anything but does cool stuff and looks good. And there are a few support characters who are mostly standard movie cliches.
Many people don't have time for the philosophy of this movie. It isnt' very well explained, it's a lot deeper and less solid. Most people aren't willing to figure out the reasons behind things that seem stupid, for example why does a guard fight neo when he is on neo's side? Well the guard says that he fights neo to know him, but it isn't very slickly presented so it makes the scene nonsensical at first glance.
Even with its flaws, it is a good movie. Even with certain effects lacking, it advances effects forward. The acting is no worse than the first, and the characters who are supposed to give speeches give them well, and the main characters who are just supposed to do stunts do them well. The music and sound is unfortunately worse than the first one, but I think it's a product of the times, in 1999 techno was really being innovative and fresh and interesting and now it isn't as much.
The Awful Truth (1999)
A very amusing and engrossing show
Michael Moore whos nerdy overweight appearance is disarming wages a bloody campaign against a laundry list of liberal complaints. This show is innovative and original in its documentary/skits, but if you are looking for a real intellectual political debate, look elsewhere.
This is the definition of bleeding heart knee jerk liberalism. Michael Moore protests tobacco lawyers, even though of course our legal system is set up so everyone gets representation from someone. He protests Disney for employing people, he protests rich people not knowing the price of a super size at McDonalds, he protests executives getting high wages even though they are in extremely high demand. The list of unthinking unintellectual positions goes on and on.
While this show will test your political stand and ability to think beyond the immediate bleeding heart conclusions, it is also original entertainment.
The Last Man (2000)
A smart funny forgotten gem
This movie is one of the best i've ever seen. Forget about the stupid big budget film of the week, this is an original script, with good setting and an innovative approach to low budget film making. The lead actor is great but the best thing about this movie is it's great story and script, which live up to its premise.
Salvador (1986)
Great liberal and historical movie
I feel this movie sums up the liberal viewpoint. "You gotta think of the people first". Salvador presents El Salvador in a greater context of all of America's dealings with third world nations during post WWII. During this period, there was a school of thought that foresaw a world-wide revolution of workers that would consolidate the world under the ideology of Communism. This school of thought was originated in fact by the Communists, but right wing leadership also bought into the possibility of worker rebellions which would signal the end of capitalism. So the United States set to implement an international policy that would oppose the rise of communism the world over, to prevent perhaps another polarization of the world ala fascism vs democracy. Ironically this meant supporting the only communist opposition in many countries, insane fascists. The liberal viewpoint ridicules this position by showing the individual human cost. The conservative critique of this viewpoint would be that communism was a credible threat and communists would not have been any better and perhaps worse as a consolidated threat.
Exodus (1960)
A moving epic told in classic Hollywood fashion
At first glance this film appears to have coopted the Zionist struggle to fit in a Hollywood mold. The Jewish main characters are waspy aryans who look like they belong more in orange county than in Israel. Also included among the Jewish main characters is one of the classic Hollywood stereotypes of Jews, bald german doctors.
However race and superficial looks should never be a basis of judging anything, and the actors play their parts wonderfully. The story is one that is still going on, made at the time and place that it was happening. It is an amazing reality that a handful of Jews grew to millions and a great economic and military power from nothing.
This movie also teaches an important lesson about revolutions. It may be that the methods used hundreds of years ago to take independance for the US can no longer be used. Instead civil disobedience and symbolic statements are the way to get what you really want, or economic and diplomatic maneuvering.
American History X (1998)
One of the rare films that forces you to think
This film is brilliant, not because of it's amazing plot or special effects or casting or anything like that, but because the issues that it raises are so ambiguous that it forces the viewer to reevaluate everything he thinks. The weakest points in the film are when it becomes preachy, like when it ties rational conservative thoughts to Nazi irrational hate. Also, the characters quickly destroy themselves because they change so quickly. I thought the worst part was the generally implied idea that having strong feelings is wrong, because those lead to conflict and it's pointless. Believing in something strongly but rationally is not bad, it's good, many good things have come from strong beliefs backed by reason. The real message I took from my thoughts stemming from this movie would be a reaffirmation in my mind of reason. There is a line between rational argument and irrational hate and derogatory name calling. The movie attempts to blur this line. The strongest point in the film is the fact that there is still a racial conflict in America. People are still racist, for a multitude of reasons, some old and some new. Affirmative action is a topic under intense debate, and there are no clear answers to the problems with black crime and poverty. The film is full of strong images, especially in the beginning. Derek is the strongest character, until he changes his mind in the end, he gives an intense and complete portrayal of a racist. Immediately after seeing this movie I would have given it a perfect 10, but upon reflection, this movie deserves a 9, while it did show black as well as white hate objectively, the principle and modern liberal thought was shown unobjectively. The plot had serious holes, the essay format was strained at times and the end was rushed and incomplete. By all means watch this movie and think about what it means, but remember that you are the same as Derek, that biased views can brainwash people and turn them into copies of the biased idea.
Tell Your Children (1936)
Well acted and directed propaganda
I really liked this film, I had expected it to be just an hour of lies about MJ. Instead there was an interesting plot and fine acting and directing, and not too much about the harmful effects of MJ, which probably weren't known yet. However the film failed to realize that by making the drug harder to get, huge industries would form around the smuggling and prolification of the drug. Many thousands of people would be shot to death or put in jail or sentenced to life in the slums by the war on drugs. I guess Johnny America doesn't care about the lower classes or freedom. Vote Libertarian to end the pointless war on drugs. Finally, the movie does show a good window into early filmmaking, with whitebread America in center focus.