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Gemini4t
Reviews
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Better than the first (minor spoilers)
I just got back from the theater seeing it, and words can hardly express my complete AWE of the movie. I knew it would be something, but I was anticipating it to fall short of the original movie, lacking that mind-screwery that the first one had. Let me tell you: I was wrong. What it didn't have that the first Matrix had was the mystique of "What is the Matrix?" However, it kept alive the sister question and bumped it up a notch: "What is real?" The movie brings to light some new revelations and casts a shadow of doubt on what was previously believed or stated, much in how the X-Files the truth was constantly changing, and what was once considered fact was erased by some new revelation.
The movie brings back some old vlllains and creates some new ones. As the Oracle tells Neo, every story you've heard about vampires or angels or werewolves is simply the Matrix attempting to assimilate programs that aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. Enter the Twins, two pale virii with dreadlocks that can turn into wraith-like forms at will, the "ghosts" of the Matrix. Also, enter in a new generation of Agents within the Matrix, who, despite their supposed upgrades, are nothing more than storm-troopers beneath Neo's might. And of course, what would the Matrix be without Agent Sssmithhh? Now a rogue program running loose, he can duplicate himself at will, and in the most exciting scene of the movie (in which I nearly had a heart-attack from the adrenaline rush) 100 copies of himself fight Neo while the camera flies at speeds in excess of 2000 miles per hour.
This movie is very difficult to discuss without giving away too many spoilers, so I'll end my review with my two gripes regarding the movie:
1. There was a sex scene between Neo and Trinity which, while being decent for a sex scene, wasn't necessary at all to the plot of the film and was just thrown in to tantalize, and I felt it disrupted the flow of the film.
2. I can't believe I'm saying this, but there were too many FX shots. I mean, I agree, the world of the Matrix relies heavily on special effects, but it felt like they were throwing them in gratuitously. Do we really NEED to see every scene dissolve into code and reassemble into another scene? Fancy transitions are NOT always needed.
Past these two gripes, the movie was absolute perfection, and the twist at the end (how far do Neo's powers really extend?) left my jaw dropping and my mind counting the seconds to November 5th.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Nauseatingly good (spoilers)
I just watched the Blair Witch Project for the first time, and while I didn't think it was the best movie of all time, it was pretty damn good. Hiring three no-name actors to play the parts was a brilliant way to dupe people into thinking this was a true event, and their acting was phenomenal. Not a bit of faked angst or anger. It was all real. Except for the fact that Heather the main character holds onto her camera while trying to kick the crap out of Mike for getting them further lost in the woods. I think she would have put the camera down or something. Oh well.
The movie's scariest point is its Hitchcockian style of not showing you what's out there. Too often in scary movies they try to TELL you what's scary by having a guy in a black cloak with a skewed mask chase after people with a knife. That doesn't do anything for me, he just looks stupid. The real fear is the fear of the unknown. When you cannot SEE what is out there, your imagination runs wild and you imagine the worst. That coupled with the confusing and disturbing final footage of the film crew examining an old abandoned cottage with disturbing findings all over the walls, ending with the cameras falling violently to the ground and uncertainty as to what happened to the film crew, and who it was that was doing all that screaming around them, made this a truly terrifying experience.
To add to the terror I felt, after watching this, I walked upstairs to find all the lights off and the front door open, and nobody there, and I armed myself with a kendo stick for the rest of the night.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
Failure to deliver; Starcraft rehash.
There are a few spoilers of the storylines of Warcraft III and Starcraft in this review, you were warned!
I am a huge fan of Blizzard games, playing Diablo II hours on end and designing single-player campaigns for Starcraft. So I, like the rest of the Blizzard fan community, awaited eagerly for the release of what looked to be one of the best games of all time.
And Blizzard, for the first time in history, failed to deliver.
The storyline was crap. Crap crap crap. Sure, it had a few redeeming points, but for the most part, we (my friends in the community and I) were all quite let down by the overall quality of it. Without bothering to do any sort of explanation as to WHY, they bring back Medivh, who you killed in the original Warcraft, who was then an evil sorceror and is now a lycanthropic prophet with a crow form. He has come to warn the kingdoms of men that an undead plague is coming and they must flee west to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor. So of course they just ignore the prophet, the son of the king of Lordaeron becomes a sort of Kerrigan-type, starting out with the greater good in mind and then getting corrupted by the very things he's fighting. Come ON, Blizzard! You already used that one.
Another story element they rehashed from Starcraft was that of an Overmind-like being. Ner'zhul was slain by the demons in the Twisting Nether and his soul captured by them, and they forced him back to the world of Azeroth encased in a giant frozen prison that amplifies his mental powers so that he can control the Undead Scourge. From what it looks like they plan to do in the expansion for this game, Ner'zhul wants to use Prince Arthas (the dude who got corrupted by the Scourge) to be a new host body for him (anyone remember Kerrigan taking over the Zerg Swarm in Brood War?).
As for gameplay, single-player is good and challenging, but multiplayer is god-awful. The defenses Blizzard gave each race just plain suck when pitted against the over-powered units; if you don't work EXTRA-HARD on getting your base defended right from the get-go, you won't last long.
Now, to give credit where credit is due, on to the positive aspects. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS! GORGEOUS. One of the most beautiful games I've ever seen. And the map editor is to DIE for. You can literally do ANYTHING with that editor. ANYTHING.