May-Trix

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Martial Media and Popular Culture
1

Just peeped the flick. It has nothing on the first. F u c k the critics! Even the fight scenes were too long and drawn out. They had a good thing going with the “reality ain’t what you think” deal in the original. Now they went and got all “yin and yang in cyberspace” on us. The “Architect” looked like a cross between Col. Sanders and Donald Sutherland. He is the mind of our constructed reality and a character from the first one (won’t say so as to not give it away) is the heart and conscience. Neither are real. Anyway, wack!!!

I give it one boo and two yawns! A couple of the fight scenes were “ah-ight”; for example when Neo goes to holla’ at the “Oracle”. One good weapons scene, too. Sais, swords and everythang… Wait for the DVD!!!

2

First, this thread is doomed cause we got one going on the Martial Media forum.

Second, you can’t judge this until you see the next one. After you see the next one, this one will be 10 times better. I guarantee it.

3

The car chase was far superior to the weapons scene. Especially the deal with the twins.

I thought it rocked.

4

yeah, but how does it compare to Out of the Past (my current nominee for coolest movie ever)?

5

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
yeah, but how does it compare to Out of the Past (my current nominee for coolest movie ever)?

Well, I’d say that Out of the Past lacks enough twins, center of the earth dance orgies, and orgasm cake. I can only give it half an agent Smith.

6

There have been very few movies that have orgasm cake(three if i recall correctly), and therefore out of the past can not be faulted for this. Your other two points make sense.

I give it one and a half confused Neo’s.

7

Good point, shaolin kungfu. However, orgasm cake is the movie trend to follow. I myself am working on a screenplay called “Orgasm Cake”, which will do things with orgasm cake that previous writers failed to grasp. I intend to take orgasm cake to the next level of filmmaking. Mark my words.

8

But it has murder by fishing rod! And sweaty rainy mexican hotel sex! And Bob Mitchum punching out his old partner! And the lines “Build my gallows high, baby.” and “How much of a chump could you be? I was finding out.”

I pre-emptively give Matrix Reloaded One tenth of one percent of a Jane Greer.

9

I am looking foreward to your movie, KC. Perhaps you will bring about a new era in film making, where no film has a lack of orgasm cake.

10

CSN, in order to fairly review your favorite, I’m going to have to ask you to identify the brands of sunglasses used, and whether it fulfills the Warchowski Leather Quotient.

11

Well, this was 1947, so the sunglasses are old-fashioned aviator types. Dunno the brand. As for leather, I don’t think there’s much of it, but I’ll go to bat for <I>Out of the Past</i> being the prototype for all subsequent trenchcoat and fedora movies.

Seriously, it’s a great noir pic and everyone who can dig black and white should check it out.

12

It was decent, but far inferior to the orignal. The chase scene was GREAT though. I thought him getting the spoon was cool too, even though I knew what it was before he opened it.

My hope is that this was just like a filler movie and the last will be as good or better than the first.

13

Seriously, it’s a great noir pic and everyone who can dig black and white should check it out.

I can dig Black on White. That’s my favorite Spice Channel.

14

MK - that’s a completely different kind of movie.:smiley:

15

No offense but what is it about Matrix?
I cannot stand it/them,and so many seem to love those.
:confused:

16

The original was great and raised alot of interesting talk on several topics from religion to computers. Check this site out:

http://theredpillproject.tripod.com/

17

Originally posted by Former castleva
No offense but what is it about Matrix?
I cannot stand it/them,and so many seem to love those.
:confused:

It’s the only franchise where you can see sci fi, big special effects, hong kong style fight choreography, and lots of sunglasses, in equal proportions.

The reason that works so well is that the hong kong style is fast paced, and while there are other movies using it, the matrix is done by one of the best choreographers from Hong Kong, and the matrix franchise uses far more of the choreography than say star wars, the only other truly big budget film I can think of that combines some of these elements. Most other movies either use it very little, or use it as the central action(Jet Li movies and other martial arts movies), and have crap budget, lower quality acting, writing, etc.

I mean, there is no case to compare the low quality of the dialogue and acting of Kiss of the Dragon with the writing and Dialogue of The Matrix. While I wouldn’t tout the Matrix as the end all be all of writing and dialog, it’s worst moments are still consistently better than the best moments of the vast majority of Jet Li movies. Not meaning to slam Jet, he’s a very talented man, but emoting and selecting scripts are not the areas he’s talented.

That’s why it’s so big. It’s the magic combo. Kung fu can’t really carry a movie on its own, and special effects can’t on their own anymore really. Lord knows Keanu Reeves and Kate Moss can’t. But that’s the beauty of the corporate model: it doesn’t raise the heights that the filmmaker can achieve, but it can bring the lowest elements up to a common standard.

IMO, it is a good example of how to use modern technology in film. It had the Spiderman sort of CGI, the stuff from the original matrix, the hong kong style work, artificial locations mixed with actual locations and sets, and leather a stylized approach that is immediately recognizable. It’s not Citizen Caine, and it doesn’t advance special effects like the first one, but the key effect of the first one is, IMO, the most overrated effect ever, and not at all the reason the first movie did well.

You’d think people would want big budget kung fu flix.

18

I think you are missing something, though.

Movies like The Matrix and Star Wars are also so successful because they bring something to the audience which they don’t get in their daily lives–a sense of the mystical.

Star Wars created a religion of followers in my generation, and in 30 years, you’ll have just as many Matrix fans still following this series.

They both tapped into an audience that was feeling isolated and ostarcized by the local politcal, religious, and societal movements.

Granted, it’s arm-chair metaphysics at best. But most people don’t get a taste of anything metaphysical in their normal lives, and when a movie can bring that to them in a format they like, people go ape shlt over it.

19

take Keanu out of it, then you’d have good acting.

IMO, no one in Hollywood has been able to emulate HK style action. I have yet to see action that’s better than Hard Boiled.

As for kungfu choreography, the Wachowskis get it half right. They’ve got speed, but no intricacy. The moves are too telegraphed.

I intend to see it for the spfx and Bellucci.

20

The oracle’s bodyguard had some talent - he should help neo and the others fight.

“you don’t know a person until you fight them”