August 11, 2008 - 2:54 am - Posted by Administrator
At the turn of the millennium, we all felt like we were on the verge of something big. And we were… the dawn of a new era in science fiction. In 1999, The Matrix became the first movie to encapsulate the concept of cyber-punk virtual reality and display it in a slick motion picture geared for a broad audience. The natural downside of such a large audience is the audible murmur from too-hip-for-the-room haters, sci-fi purists, and nerds. However, The Matrix’s gigantic audience and box office totals don’t lie… it was the first movie of it’s kind.
The Matrix really became a coming-out party for the Wachowski Brothers as a directing duo, and the signature role Keanu Reeves was looking for when he starred in Johnny Mnemonic. Second time’s the charm I guess.
Torn from the pages of a comic, The Matrix is the story of Neo. He’s a corporate grunt in a nothing job with a one bedroom apartment. Or is he? Through a series of encounters with strangers, Neo (Reeves) is tempted to test the boundaries of the reality he’s been living. A choice - the blue pill or the red pill?
Neo’s choice leads him to an awakening that first-time viewers are not prepared for. I distinctly remember my roomate saying as we walked out of the theatre “Dude, when he woke up in that pod… I was not ready for that!”
The most-intriguing plot point of the Matrix storyline is that physics do not apply. When you’re immersed in a computer-generated world, anything is possible. And of course that point lends itself to a visually flashy and action-packed film. Bullets by the bucketful, martial arts up your ass. Carrie-Ann Moss co-stars as Trinity, a bad-ass chick in latex and Neo’s love interest. Laurence Fishburne is the guru–Morpheus, the man with the answers, and the cool shades.
Morpheus sends Neo on a sort of vision quest to fulfill his destiny. Much like the Star Wars series, the story touches on spiritual themes when Neo visits “The Oracle”. And his battles with Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith are some of the greatest fight scenes ever choreographed. Weaving’s speech patterns and teeth-baring grimace nearly steal the show.
Not since The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) has a movie so singlehandedly defined it’s genre. The styles worn by the actors have saturated pop culture, the special effects have been mimicked but rarely equalled, and the concept of virtual reality or synthetic immersion has now been fully crystallized in the film-going consciousness.
December 13, 2007 - 10:23 pm - Posted by Administrator
This movie had the misfortune of being “that other virtual reality movie” at a time when everybody was salivating over The Matrix. Unfortunately, that meant this movie was largely overlooked.
Craig Bierko plays Douglas Hall, a computer scientist working on an intelligent, autonomous computer simulation of 1930’s Los Angeles. Humans can experience and interact with the simulation through virtual reality immersion.
Hall’s boss, Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl), meets an untimely end, and Hall is forced to enter the computer simulation, hunting for clues about the death of his mentor. Gretchen Mol plays Fuller’s daughter, and Vincent D’Onofrio steals scenes as Hall’s long-haired assistant Whitney.
Hall’s investigation leads him to question human existence and the nature of being “alive”. There’s also a small matter regarding what happens if you die while plugged into “the simulation”, but I won’t spoil it for you. This is another science fiction movie with a surprise ending that will knock you out… if you don’t figure it out first.
Mol, Bierko, and D’Onofrio all portray multiple characters in this film, and they all pull it off swimmingly. Recommended viewing. I almost gave it five stars.
December 12, 2007 - 3:05 am - Posted by Administrator
I think I saw this movie for the first time on HBO years ago. Back when you had to get up off your ass, walk to the TV, and flip a switch on a little gold/woodgrain box to descramble the HBO signal.
I was too young to understand the concept of Virtual Reality, and most of us were unfamiliar with the concept anyway. But this is the first time I ever saw the concept depicted onscreen. Movies like Strange Days, the Thirteenth Floor, and The Matrix owe a heavy debt to this early shot at cyber-cinema.
In the near future, scientists perfect the art of recording and playing back human experience. Not on a screen, but in your head. Experience what others have experienced. Don a device on your head, and play back the tape.
Brainstorm explores all the questions that such a technology would bring to light… what is moral in a “virtual world”? Who should have access to such technology? It’s an interesting look back at what a screenwriter from the eighties envisioned virtual reality technology to be. They didn’t get it all right of course, but predicting the future ain’t easy.
When you watch, take note of the hints at future technology… like when Christopher Walken offers to pump some information “through the phone” in an era when a modem was unheard of.
This movie is also the final onscreen appearance of Natalie Wood. –troy
