You say you want to see the Matrix: Revolutions?

By Eli Ungar

It’s 7:00 a.m. on a chilly November morning. As I get out of my taxi, I rub the sleep from my eyes and make my way through the bright atrium towards the IMAX movie theatre. A camera crew greets me at the entrance. I avoid them, thinking to myself that I don’t care to end up on some entertainment news program as “the Matrix nerd.” Having said that, there are very few films that can get me out of bed at such an ungodly hour.

Since the opening of the first Matrix film in 1999, the Wachowski brothers’ tale has come to occupy a place in popular culture not unlike that occupied by Star Wars in the '70s and '80s. Indeed, the similarities extend beyond the films’ immense popularity at the box office (at the time of publication, The Matrix: Revolutions had broken the all-time 5-day box office record by grossing an astounding 202.8 million dollars). Both series blazed technological trails that have expanded the boundaries of what can be accomplished both conceptually and artistically in narrative filmmaking. George Lucas and his crew achieved their breakthroughs with the special effects available at the time, while the Wachowskis, in conjunction with special effects guru John Gaeta, and an army of creative techies, slaved away on computers to push “Virtual Cinematography” into the birth canal of existence.

The Matrix: Revolutions is the third and concluding film of the post-apocalyptic Matrix trilogy (for those of you who have been living on Mars for the last four years: the first one is titled The Matrix and the second is The Matrix Reloaded). In this final chapter, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is trapped between the Matrix and the real world while menacing machines dig ever closer to Zion, the last remaining human city. The now rogue Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) continues to multiply and is even able to download himself into a human body in the real world. The mood here is much darker than the playful atmosphere that was pervasive throughout much of Reloaded.

 
More film info on the web

The Matrix Website

www.moviefone.com

Landmark Theatres

Internet Movie Database

The philosophy is less overt in Revolutions than it was in the first two films. This is not to say that Revolutions does not deliver philosophically, but this aspect of its story is de-emphasized, replaced by a preoccupation with overwhelming battle scenes and religious imagery.

Hugo Weaving achieves the best performance of the film, and shines as the arch villain Agent Smith. Smith represents the negative impulses of the human condition. Just as in the first Matrix, he gives a chilling speech that underlines the transient and pathetic aspects that characterize human existence. The late Gloria Foster, who died in 2001, is sorely missed in Revolutions. Her “Oracle” in the first two movies had an appropriate and disarming charm and the replacement Oracle, played by Mary Alice, simply does not succeed in filling her shoes.

The Matrix is essentially a religious-existential tale. Its success comes from the fact that it draws on a rich wellspring of spiritual and philosophical traditions and adapts them to a contemporary paradigm of computers and networks. But these are not the religions of your parents. The Architect, who represents God, is depicted as a cold mathematician who needs the intervention of man’s imperfection in order for his system to work. Indeed, the free will of individual human beings, existing outside the Matrix, is necessary for the Matrix itself to operate. Near the end of Revolutions Agent Smith challenges Neo to come up with a reason as to why he persists in his struggle to save humanity when he knows that he cannot win. Neo responds with a statement that Sartre would have been proud of: “I choose.”

The biggest problem with the Matrix films is their depiction of the community of Zion. This community is meant to represent the last hope of an endangered human species. While the Wachowskis are to be commended for their efforts in keeping the character of Zion visibly multiracial, the numerous and lengthy celebration-cum-rave sequences have a trivializing effect on our perception of these survivors. They seem flat, underdeveloped, and inconsequential.

The Matrix: Revolutions is a good film, but is not as good as its predecessors. The first Matrix resonated with contemporary zeitgeist in such a profound and unexpected manner that one might have thought it simply impossible to follow up. Then came Reloaded, which accomplished the seeming impossible task of bettering its predecessor, by outstripping it both technologically and philosophically. It seems that though Revolutions is a good film by normal standards, it just doesn’t measure up to the experience that we have come to expect from its makers.

Nevertheless, the real revolution of The Matrix: Revolutions is that the Wachowski’s, a couple of college dropouts from Chicago, have completed their articulation of a successful new paradigm with which we can discuss some of the oldest and most important questions.

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Winter Previews

By Charles Loie

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not because of (insert your favorite winterholiday here). That’s what they want you to believe. The times are wonderful because studios release all their best films out of the graciousness of their two-sizes-too-small hearts. Whether you are a starving artist or just plain starving, you may wonder why you should plunk down some cash to see a film that will eventually make it to network television. Here is a summary of the films that are actually deserving of your holiday jingle (note: all release dates are subject to change and only pertain to films released in Chicago).

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The Triplets of Belleville, Les Triplets de Belleville (Nov. 26)

Batting for team “old school” with hand-drawn animation is this French film about the recovery of a lost son. Not to be confused with Pixar’s Finding Nemo and its similar quest, Belleville has a distinct style harkening back to the golden age of Walt Disney. In French, with English subtitles, Belleville makes use of its stunning imagery to tell the story rather than burdening the film with too much dialogue.

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In America (Nov. 26)

The story of a recently immigrated Irish family struggling to form a new life is earnestly told from the point of view of the youngest daughter of two (newcomers and real life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively). Director Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) has never been shy about delving into intense emotional situations, so the film will no doubt be a cathartic release of feel-good sentiments. The film also stars Samantha Morton and Paddy Considine as the parents of the Bolger girls.

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Big Fish (Dec. 10)

Tim Burton returns to more comfortable roots, depicting offbeat Americana with heart and stylized touches, with Big Fish. The story centers around a son (Billy Crudup) trying to piece together the fantastic stories and tall tales he is told by his dying father (Albert Finney) in order to understand the man behind the myths. Ewan McGregor stars in the flashback sequences as a young Finney.

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The Statement (Dec. 12)

Michael Caine is a former Nazi executioner being pursued after half a century of hiding by assassins and investigators who want to see him pay for his crimes. The film is directed by Norman Jewison who marks his return after 1999’s critically acclaimed The Hurricane.

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Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dec. 12)

Art history nerds rejoice! This film is a fictional take on painter Johannes Vermeer’s life, played by Colin Firth. The focus of the narrative centers around Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a peasant girl forced to work in the Vermeer household only to become the obsessed-over subject of the painter’s best work.

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The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara (Dec. 19)

Celebrated documentarian Errol Morris (Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.) presents the story of McNamara, defense secretary during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Through interviews and archival footage, McNamara gives his candid opinion of the entire 20th century. The original score is composed by Phillip Glass.

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Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Dec. 17)

Not that you need F to remind you, but we would feel just plain dirty to leave this out.

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The Child I Never Was, Leben lang kurze Hosen tragen, Ein (December)

A year after it’s release in Europe, this controversial German film makes its way to America only to be stuck in distribution hell. The story is based on actual events involving Jurgen Bartsch, a boy who in the 1960s became infamous for the molestation and serial killings of German boys. Though this film is considered a work of fiction, the pacing and presentation brings an almost documentary like feel. If it ever makes it to a theater near you, see it. In German with English subtitles.

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Cold Mountain (Dec. 25)

Is it written and directed by an Oscar winner? Anthony Minghella: check. Is it based on a best selling/award wining novel? Charles Frazier’s novel of the same title: check. Does it star award-winning and nominated actors at the height of their careers? Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger: check. Is it a period/war piece with elaborate costumes and backdrops? American Civil War: check. Will you see the name Cold Mountain repeatedly come Oscar night? Check.

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The Company (Dec. 25)

This next Robert Altman ensemble piece takes place in the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and follows the exploits of the dancers involved. Think of it as Center Stage, but with Neve Cambell and more pedigree.

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The Big Bounce (Jan. 30)

When a film is billed as a “comedy caper,” chances are you should treat it as cinematic plague and avoid it at all costs. But as Bounce is based on a story by renowned crime novelist Elmore Leonard (Out of Sight, Jackie Brown), there is some hope for this caper yet. The story follows Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson), a con man and drifter, as he travels to Oahu, Hawaii for his next scam. Once there he encounters a slew of shady folk who turn a few tricks of their own. Oscar fodder the movie is not, but it could be the warm spot in a long cold January filled with a lot of studio filler.

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Kill Bill: Volume 2 (February)

Be still our hearts.

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Top 5 movies associated with consumerism

  1. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
    Any Oompa Loompa worth his weight in green hair dye will tell you that Charlie’s corporate takeover of the Wonka Chocolate empire is a parable about the excesses of consumerism. The boy succeeds because he is honest, while all the other unfortunates are victims of their own habitual consumption be it TV or bubble gum. With touches like a floor to ceiling contract that contains the smallest of fine prints, cheap exploitive labor forces, and espionage tactics by rival company Slugworth, the candy man can and will buy and sell you like so many scrumdidlyumciouses.
  2. Wall Street (1987)
    Greed is good, or so Mike Douglas’s Gordon Gekko would have you believe. Oliver Stone takes the viewer into a world where souls are bought and sold in the interest of commerce.
  3. Fight Club (1999)
    If you aren’t one of the thousands who can recognize the clever anti-IKEA homing instinct dialogue from one of the best satirical films about American consumer culture, go buy the DVD.
  4. Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
    No, it’s not a particularly good movie. Yes, it is terribly entertaining and contains a strange moral about using the nation’s youth as a self-perpetuating market for trends.
  5. Bond movies starring Pierce Brosnan (1995-the rest of his natural born life)
    Come on! How many sponsors can you count in one movie still? Go on. We dare you.
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