#174- The Matrix

Quick recap: This is not the real world. The world you live in is just a computer program and we are all slaves. Happy Tuesday!

Stop. Collaborate and listen

Fun (?) fact: It isn’t until the very end that Keanu Reeves speaks more than five lines of dialogue in a row.

My thoughts: Picture it: The year was 2000 and my small town had just caught Matrix fever. It was one of those movies everyone could agree was awesome. Whether it was about the fight scenes, the deep philosophy, or the very obvious religious message, it was near impossible to find someone who didn’t like it. I myself was a huge fan for many years and even saw the sequels, which I would later come to regret. So, how does the movie stack up 15 years later?

In short, it doesn’t. Everything I remembered was there, but I am now looking at it as an adult, not some sheltered kid. The most obvious difference from 15 year old me is that I would absolutely take the blue pill. The scenes of the people being grown in pods were frightening, but only if you know about them. This world may be the Matrix, but it is my Matrix and it’s pretty nice. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. So this time around, I guiltily found myself identifying with Neo as he is trying to come to grasp of this terrible truth, and even more so with Cypher who wanted to remember nothing. I mean, saving the world is cool and admirable and all, but not so much if no one really wants it.

The fight scenes were still pretty cool and I was surprised by how well they have held up. This was the part I was expecting to let me down the most and it ended up being my favorite part of an otherwise (now) disappointing movie.

Finally, what surprised (and angered) me most was Trinity’s storyline. Here we have a badass chick, willing to risk her very life for the cause she believes in. Except that, really, she’s just in love. Why the hell is there a love story? Of all the cool things that could’ve happened, Trinity is reduced to a love story. It’s even her destiny to be in love with Neo. I don’t remember my thoughts at the time I first watched this, but now it seems like such a blatantly bad idea. Was the reasoning to put that in there so girls could like the movie? Or was it to cement Neo’s legacy? Either way, gross.

Final review: 3/5. I feel that it’s important to note the cultural impact this movie had, even though I didn’t get much out of it now. I caught myself saying ‘glitch in the system’ just the other day, so it has become ingrained in me to some extent.

Up next: Raging Bull

#173-The Battle of Algiers

Quick recap: Although I’d like to just sum up the movie by saying, ‘It’s about the Battle of Algiers, duh,’ I’ll resist the snark for now. Algeria is a country in Africa that up until the early 1960s was under French rule. This movie tells the story of the uprising that lead to the country’s eventual independence.

No, not an up and coming indie rock band

Fun (?) fact: The Pentagon screened this movie in 2003 for officers heading into Iraq, where we had a little invading of our own to do. They passed around fliers that said, ‘How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas.’

The Clash is now stuck in my head.

My thoughts: This movie made me sad for many reasons, a big one being that I can’t make fun of it because it was actually good. I had all these witty things planned about The Battle of Algiers, which I can never use now because I was absolutely fascinated the whole time. Oh, and the gruesome torture scenes. Those were sad, too.

I was only slightly aware of what the Algerian war was, and the little information I had came from the movie Wild Reeds. I understand why it’s not heavily talked about in the US: a) because it had nothing to do with us and b) because it makes the French government look really bad. When I think of Colonialism, I think of the early 1900s, not the 1950s so it was weird to merge that time period with something so antiquated. I wasn’t able to find how accurate The Battle of Algiers was, but the main events are all true. The movie is shot documentary style, and it made it feel like I was watching a history lesson or a special on the news.

Adding to that style of filmmaking, most of the actors in the movie were mostly unknowns who were cast because of their resemblance to the real people involved. The movie is subtitled in French so I can’t really get a feel as to how the acting shapes up, but I will say that everything felt ‘real’, especially the riot scenes. The torture scenes were incredibly difficult to watch but even more so were the effects of the bombings from the Algerians as well as the French. It’s simply hard to believe that such a thing happened in modern times.

Final review: 5/5. Many scenes are hard to watch, but the movie provides a great beginning point for someone wanting to expand their knowledge.

Up next: The Matrix

#172- Being There

Quick recap: A man who isn’t very bright somehow gets himself wrapped up with some of America’s most powerful politicians

(Photo by Cooper Neill/WireImage)

Fun (?) fact: from IMDb, because I couldn’t have said it any better, “The inscription “Life is a state of mind” is on Rand’s tomb and also serves as the last line in the movie. These words were also inscribed on Peter Sellers’ own tomb, when he died a year after the movie was released.

My thoughts: This movie was wonderful but it is so difficult to settle on why exactly I loved it so much. Being There is one of those movies where you spend the entire time feeling sorry for the protagonist, almost cringing at times, yet wanting him to succeed despite it all. A couple of examples come to mind: 40 Year Old Virgin and Stranger than Fiction (but not Forrest Gump. A different rant for a different day, my friends).

So, on a completely superficial level, the premise of this movie is hilarious. Peter Sellers plays Chance the gardener, who is LITERALLY a gardener and everything he says has to do with either gardening or tv, another favorite past time. At one point, Chance gets an opportunity to sit down with the President and talk about the economy. The President wants to know Chance’s thoughts on its current state and he responds by naming the different seasons. The President interprets what Chance is saying as the economy is growing and will continue to grow with a proper gardener. Women are just as enamored as the President is and with every weird thing Chance does, people see it as something profound.

Being There is as deep as you make it. Like Chance the gardener, the movie itself is a vacuum for which you can project whatever meaning you would like. Racial inequality? Political ineptitude? The clueless rich? It’s all there for the interpretation. Or you could just sit back and laugh because it’s good for that, too.

Final review: 5/5. Also, Satine from Moulin Rouge absolutely recreates a scene from this movie. If not for anything else, watch Being There for that.

Up next: The Battle of Algiers

#171- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Quick recap: A young man learns the startling truth about his lineage while his friend learns the art of ‘cooling down’. A good time was not had by all.

Neat!

Fun (?) fact: In the original movie, one of the asteroids was actually a shoe. According to IMDb, ‘The rumor is that George Lucas asked the SFX people to redo the scene so many times that they got annoyed and one of them threw in their shoe’. The scene has since been corrected- or ruined- depending on who you ask.

This is for all you Leia/Wookie shippers out there!

My thoughts: Like any patriotic American, I fully agree that Episode V is the best. I mean, I’m sure there are people who might argue for IV or VI, but when the apocalypse is nigh they will surely see the error of their ways. As for the small percentage of the population who would vote for Episodes I-III, I truly hope they are in therapy getting the help they so sorely need.

So, you ask, why is The Empire Strikes Back the best of the original trilogy?

Well, first of all, slap yourself for even asking. Now, think about all of the pop culture references we have, thanks to this one movie:

Boba Fett
Yoda!
Han Solo frozen in Carbonite
‘I love you’ ‘I know’
the whole ‘I am your father’ thing
AT-ATs

Tons of stuff that I didn’t even mention are as a result of The Empire Strikes Back. And not just all the fun stuff, this movie is DARK. One of the reasons I love it is because it ends with the good guys losing. I love most superhero movies, but it’s annoying after awhile to have them save the day, only to come back for a sequel and do it all over again. Star Wars is all about the never ending battle of good and evil, which I think appeals to most people and in some crazy sense, makes the world more believable over all.

I got to watch this with my 5 year old on Star Wars Day, since he is just now getting into the fandom. He said he was a little bored by all of the Leia/ Han Solo scenes, but loved anything with R2D2. He was underwhelmed by the big reveal of Luke’s father but I think it was mostly because he was hoping for more info about Chewbacca.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: Being There

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1001 Movie Nights

Category Archives: Movies

#174- The Matrix

#173-The Battle of Algiers

#172- Being There

#171- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

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