Movies discussion

[Joram]

I personally was turned off of the first matrix movie for the following reasons:

1. The use of the cliche where there is a hero who is super special and super strong and super (fill in the blank), and who is that way through no trouble or effort on his own part. Fine for some people, but I am bugged by this one.

2. The complete disregard for life; essentially, the main characters go around slaughtering hundreds and hundreds of (what are essentially) civilians. People who might be on their side but for the fact they are deceived. I'm remaining neutral on whether the actions were necessary or not, but I would personally have preferred to see a bit of restraint/remorse/pity for all the lives destroyed, especially on the part of Neo, who hadn't had enough time to become desensitized.


I actually thought the storyline in the first one mediocre at best, with nothing remarkable about it other than the idea for the setting. Plus, the way he overcame in the end was weird. I could have appreciated it if it was a "mind over matter, and his mind was strong enough" (which also would have helped mitigate objection #1 above), but what they did didn't make any sense. Being the climax, it translates to the movie didn't make any sense.

I haven't seen either of the others.

[Hulavuta]

They fix the first one. In the second movie, it's stated that the reason Neo has all of the powers is because the machines intended it that way, and that the machines were actually behind the whole building of Zion and the fact that Neo got super powers.


The only scene I can think of that slaughtered civilians is the first scene, where Neo and Trinity fight the army, which, like war, is necessary. It doesn't matter anyway, because later on, Smith takes over every single person in the Matrix...

I remember in the ending, it wasn't exactly the "kiss" that brought him back to life, it was the prophecy. Because Trinity said that the Oracle predicted that she would fall in love with the One, and once she admitted that she loved him, he gained his "One" powers.

[johndh]

My favorite movie thus far is an Asian flick (live action, not anime) called Gwai Wik, or The Re-cycle. It's a Pang Brothers film, so it's got some serious Hong-Kong-horror-style elements, but with a heavy scoop of crazy dreamworld visuals a la What Dreams May Come. I like the kind of imaginative movies that make me feel as if I'm really in another world entirely unlike my own, and this is definitely one of those.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odPMBMCuWT0

[norbert]

Asian flick (live action, not anime) called Gwai Wik, or The Re-cycle.

It's a fairy tale with lots of CGI, ten or so screamers (sudden scares) and lots of zombie-ghosts.

Spoiler:

I personally didn't like the pro-life message this movie has. Oxide Pang claims that abortion "just happens to be one of the topics in the movie", but I don't buy that, since the woman doesn't just meet her unborn girl. She's accidentally stepping on an aborted fetus and everything... It's the topic of the movie.

About the same budget as Moon, which I liked a lot more. As usual, everyone has different tastes.

[Edit: Put one paragraph between spoiler tags.]

[Jetrel]

2. The complete disregard for life; essentially, the main characters go around slaughtering hundreds and hundreds of (what are essentially) civilians. People who might be on their side but for the fact they are deceived. I'm remaining neutral on whether the actions were necessary or not, but I would personally have preferred to see a bit of restraint/remorse/pity for all the lives destroyed, especially on the part of Neo, who hadn't had enough time to become desensitized.

Personally, I've thought a much more interesting resolution to the matrix series, picking up after the end of the first one, would have been for neo to shut down the matrix. Probably by making some super-virus that 'bricks' all the machines.

The cost of this? All those people plugged in, die - yes, all of them. So he hand-wrings about the moral dilemma for a good movie or so before actually doing it. Bonus points if he hamlets it up and waits too long.

[wayfarer]

Night Watch and of course Day Watch both very entertaining russian movies.

I was suprised about the crazy ideas and story.

[johndh]

@norbert: Well gee, thanks for giving away the ending.

I personally didn't like the pro-life message this movie has.

Why's that? Do you disagree with the way it was presented, do you disagree with filmmakers trying to make a point with their work, or do you disagree with the message itself (or something else I may have missed)?

The cost of this? All those people plugged in, die - yes, all of them. So he hand-wrings about the moral dilemma for a good movie or so before actually doing it. Bonus points if he hamlets it up and waits too long.

If you wanted to go even darker, the virus shuts down the Matrix, but doesn't shut down all the machines. Presumably, they wouldn't all be networked together (unless the machines are really stupid).

[norbert]

@norbert: Well gee, thanks for giving away the ending.

You're right.
I've put one paragraph between spoiler tags.

Do you disagree with the way it was presented, do you disagree with filmmakers trying to make a point with their work, or do you disagree with the message itself (or something else I may have missed)?

It left a too preachy aftertaste for my liking. It's not necessarily a problem if filmmakers want to make a point but, unlike for example movies by Alex Jones, this movie 'presents itself' as a fairy tale/horror film but it's not just that. I didn't consider this theme becoming apparent an interesting twist, it just resulted in me no longer being immersed in the movie experience.

[johndh]

You're right.
I've put one paragraph between spoiler tags.

Cool, thanks.

It left a too preachy aftertaste for my liking. It's not necessarily a problem if filmmakers want to make a point but, unlike for example movies by Alex Jones, this movie 'presents itself' as a fairy tale/horror film but it's not just that. I didn't consider this theme becoming apparent an interesting twist, it just resulted in me no longer being immersed in the movie experience.

Oh, like Happy Feet? Look at the adorable dancing penguins everybody!

Oh wait, what's this?:

Now stop fishing or the world is going to end and it's all your fault!

I think part of the reason why the moral in Gwai Wik seems a little heavy-handed is because of the cultural context, seeing as it's a Chinese film and

Spoiler:

given communist China's one-child-per-family law, a lot of families see daughters as very undesirable, leading to a lot of girls being aborted or given up for adoption. In a country where half of their children are seen as a curse rather than a blessing, based on their sex...

...some anvils need to be dropped. Just my opinion.

[Urs]

Current favorite movies are: Pulp Fiction, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fight Club, Wall-E, and the Matrix.

[norbert]

[....] because of the cultural context, seeing as it's a Chinese film and [...] some anvils need to be dropped

Interesting.

Spoiler:

I didn't put it in the context of the Chinese one-child policy, the son preference in Asian countries, and the resulting increase in forced abortions and female infanticide. But now that you mention it, the message of the Pang brothers makes more sense. Thanks for pointing it out to me. Maybe I would've liked the movie better if I'd looked at it from a less Western perspective.

[Crushmaster]

I saw two good Christiano movies recently: one was called Second Glance, and the other was called The Pretender. They were short, but the stories were good.
God bless,
Crushmaster.

[artisticdude]

I'm currently watching a British comedy show called Jeeves and Wooster. Some of the episodes have been pretty darn funny, while others have been rather dumb (in other words, your typical comedy show). I was wondering if anyone else on the forums had ever seen the series.

[Hulavuta]

Speaking of Christian movies, at camp a few weeks ago I saw "The Last Sin Eater" it was a pretty good movie, good story. It was kind of sad that the guy had to live in the mountains forever and was shunned by everybody. It was also sad that everybody that died went to hell..

[Trilby]

I'm currently watching a British comedy show called Jeeves and Wooster. Some of the episodes have been pretty darn funny, while others have been rather dumb (in other words, your typical comedy show). I was wondering if anyone else on the forums had ever seen the series.

Why certainly, that series is a remarkable production of the Wodehouse stories. I certainly can't read one without picturing Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in their respective parts. Both those two were pretty big names in the UK and obviously still are. The contrast between Laurie's Wooster and Dr Gregory House goes to show what a talented actor the man is. Excellent comedy timing too.