Matrix Reloaded

I surprised myself by liking it a lot.

Matrix was remarkable for its style, but it bored me somewhat. I didn't dislike it, but I felt no strong desire to watch it again.

The sequel didn't bore me in the least. The sequel unexpectedly had much more of everything I like: romance, character development, evocation of a post-holocaust environment and hints of the background of a complex situation, and... Keanu Reeves.

See, I really like Keanu Reeves. I think he is a subtle and underrated actor who puts a lot into his work and comes out with consistently high-quality performances. I think Matrix Reloaded would be only a shadow of itself without his pale, intense look in the long coat and the dark glasses.





I really liked the sense of urgent love and need between Neo and Trinity. Especially in action movies, I find that love stories are very badly handled in movies these days. You either get comedy-treacle (which can be fun) or you get something sort of incidental. Here, I really believed that Trinity was central to Neo's world, and necessary to his well-being, urgently desired and overriding all other considerations for him - even the survival of humanity. And that she felt the same for him.

And this was all shown without sentimentality.

Even better, this turns out to be a superhero movie. Another of those movies (like Unbreakable), which isn't billed as a superhero movie, but it is - this time, a post-holocaust superhero. I loved the effects of Neo flying. I loved the way he can stop bullets and somersault in the air.

Yes, it makes me think of Gambit. In action, Neo reminds me of Remy. When still, he reminds me of Sandman. These are good images!

I find both Matrix movies conceptually a little difficult in that once they are in the Matrix, the rules of physics don't stand, and the extent of Neo's powers - or anyone's powers - is unclear to me. Why fight a hundred Agent Smiths in a courtyard when you can just fly away? Why play by the enemy's rules? Am I missing something?

I liked the way Agent Smith could replicate himself, though - especially when he tried to do it to Morpheus, and I liked the way he addressed Neo as "Mr. Anderson" every time he saw him.

I loved the way the significant characters (Oracle, the Keymaker, the Merivingian and his wife) were aberrant and anomalous programs. And yes... I like the massive orgy-dance and the Neo/Trinity sex scene. Another unexpected treat.

And all the brilliant, distinctive visual design. Not the effects, but the design. The choreography, the composition, the construction of each scene, What a sense of style!

Roses, comics and CLexy thoughts

Ten good things that happened today:

(1) Raspberries for breakfast, fresh at the Byward Market. My favourite food.

(2) I lost two more pounds. Go me! Hooray for the ayurvedic diet!

(3) Finding an old 80-Page Giant "Lois Lane" DC special from 1965, in which Lois Lane and Lana Lang fight a duel over Superman, there's a Supergirl story, a reprint of the Lori Lemaris story (which is probably why I kept this comic in the first place), and a story about Superman and Cleopatra. Subtitle: "Superman's other girl-friends!"

(4) Watching the part of the MTV Movie Awards that I missed on Thursday, and seeing Gollum's wonderful rant on receiving the "Best Animated Performance" award. Had to rerun it to watch again, I was laughing too hard to hear it all.

(5) Getting another message about how someone enjoyed "Bodies in Motion". That's so good to hear.

(6) Getting red roses and putting them on my dining room table. I can't afford roses often, but I do love having them.

(7) Feeling better as my cold fades - not quite gone, but much better.

(8) Learning that Milo Manara did some of the art in the upcoming Sandman hardcover - in a story about Desire. And that P. Craig Russell did art for the book too. Oh, the joy of anticipation!

(9) reading a CLex story that was just plan fun - Five Ways Clark Kent Didn't Get laid by Celli Lane.

(10) I got all my comics for the past two years sorted alphanumerically and found a huge pile of great stuff still to read. I can see a good fit of comics-reading coming on.