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Wirehead Studios > General Discussion > Entertainment > The Matrix Series (Discuss all 3 here)
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dev/null
 
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« Reply #20 on: 2003-11-28, 19:44 »
Quote from: pepe
ill recomend equlibrium instead of matrix2 and 3
I agree. I found Equilibrium to be quite a good film. Though it was not perfect either, as there were some obvious holes in the lack of emotion everyone was suppose to retain, I still enjoyed it. It was far from creative though, as it stole from just about every dystopian setting I can think of... 1984, Brave New World, Logan's Run, etc. I did enjoy the directing quite a bit though, and the obvious undertones were nice (ae: religion is conditioning).

Mr. Null gives it  Thumbs up!  Thumbs up!

Might I aslo suggest Pi (I don't know how to type the symbol, hehe)? It's a cheap indie film, done in black and white, which dives into a lot of the same themes as the Matrix had. Though it does not smack you over the head with them, as it chooses to be a little more subtle. I found it to be very enjoyable, though the ending, while significant, was a let-down. I've also heard a lot of people say that the movie was hard to follow and/or understand, but it's really not. You know the general publich though, they're idiots. Slipgate - Tongue
« Last Edit: 2003-11-28, 19:50 by dev/null » Logged
Tabun
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« Reply #21 on: 2003-11-28, 21:28 »
Pi was made by Darren Aronofsky, the director of Requiem for a Dream (it is ofcourse, chronologically, the other way around). The movie's great and if you get a good copy on DVD, be sure to check both his and Sean Gulette's (the guy playing Max) audio commentary. Great stuff, really nice to see the way that perfect atmosphere was built, how much trouble the team went through to get the right effect and how dedicated Sean was at playing the part.
I don't think it's hard to follow/understand Pi. It's a bit more complicated than romantic comedies, but then, eating an orange is a complex operation compared to that kind of flics.
I don't think the editing was in any way less than perfect - it set the right mood, it helped you get into Max' mind and just.. was a perfect fit. Perhaps the audio commentary I mentioned can help me make my point, because it's damn hard to describe ;]

However, comparing the themes from the Matrix series and Pi seems a bit of a stretch to me - might aswell add Brazil to the list then :]
« Last Edit: 2003-11-28, 21:31 by Tabun » Logged
Tabun ?Morituri Nolumus Mori?
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« Reply #22 on: 2003-11-29, 00:25 »
Tab, I think you need to lighten up a bit and have some fun!  I never saw Gimli as being a "clown" in TTT.  Sure, a lot of funny things happen to him, but he's also one hell of a fighter when they lay seige to Helms Deep, and had a far better grasp about the reality of defending it against the Uruk-hai than Theodin did.  He also got Legolas to back off from Aragorn when they were arguing in the armory.  He's got a lot of common sense, courage, and even a soft spot inside that gruff exterior.  He's a well-rounded character in the movie, whereas in the books he was a bit flat.  I like the change.  Besides, look at the fantasy mythos that sprung up as a result of LOTR.  Look at all the D&D stuff.  You just KNOW something funny is going to happen to the dwarf, and that the dwarf will kick more ass in a standup fight than anybody else.  It always works that way.

Now, about the robots being clunky in the Zion battle, they're big, clunky robots (duh).  The APU's are kind of a nod to the power loader in Aliens, especially when you note the open cockpit on them, which is an obvious vulnerability.  They're not Veritechs, they're heavy machines that aren't all that graceful but pack an absurd amount of firepower.  They're a stark contrast to the machine mind's sentinals, which are very fluid in their movements but otherwise not very well armed.  This is sort of a reversal of what you'd expect from a Starcraft game.  Here we're seeing an advanced technology Zerg horde vs a lesser technology, higher firepower Protoss minority.  A lot of questions could be raised as to why the machines didn't send out more heavily armed sentinals, especially when you look at the defenses around the machine city, but when you see how alien and insect-like the machine city is and the "flocking' behavior of the sentinals (as opposed to more independant thinking) then their form of reasoning is shown to be more like an actual hive-mind, so conventional logic does not apply and it fits.  The sentinals as a group are very sneaky, but individually they're not all that bright.  The closest comparison I can draw would be the command structure of the Invid on the Robotech series, with only the Command Units or higher being able to think creatively.  The sentinals are more like the Invid scouts.

I think what we're dealing with here discussing the Matrix is people's expectations going one way, and the writers' vision going the other.  That's the problem you get when you make assumptions and second guess the writers.  If you make assumptions about how a movie is going to go, and then it goes another direction I guarantee you'll end up hating it.  Expect nothing.  Observe everything.  I still like all three movies. Slipgate - Smile
« Last Edit: 2003-11-29, 00:37 by Phoenix » Logged

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« Reply #23 on: 2003-11-29, 13:53 »
This is hardly related to my sombre view on the world, Pho :] - I just take movies seriously as an art form, and I'd like to see directors take me seriously as a viewer. And everybody gives me the Helms Deep reference for how cool Gimli is in TTT - the point is that that's the ONLY moment in the entire movie where he isn't acting as comic relief.
Part of the reason why I make a fuss is because dwarves are an ancient race in the story, on the verge of exctinction, and definately not dumb. I don't think Tolkien pictured Gimli as the sort of fella that keeps falling of horses, making cheesy statements in grave situations, and generally acting as a way to add 'jokes' to the story. In my opinion, this is unnescessary, and doesn't match the spirit of the book. I can't remember reading the book and thinking 'is fighting ALL that Gimli can do?'. Again, not a biggie since I generally prefer reading the book anyway - but I think it's going a bit far to say Gimli can be taken seriously in TTT, especially after his wonderful role in the first movie.

Hehe, I should've added clunky CGI, for the bots, because they should indeed be clunky, to contrast the fluid efficiency of the machines. My bad.

Also, I'm a cult-film lover - mostly because the bigger part of the movies in this category doesn't fit any of the expectations I usually have. The reason why I think the matrix movies are quite horrible is because I observe everything. I never said it wasn't a nice piece of simple minded entertainment - like so many of big productions turn out, in fear of scaring away the masses - I'm just saying they will never hold as good movies in my book. I've chuckled quite a bit during the showing of revolutions, but mostly at times when the brothers probably didn't want me to..
« Last Edit: 2003-11-29, 13:57 by Tabun » Logged
Tabun ?Morituri Nolumus Mori?
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