[kscherer]

Thank you for posting that. I am officially pleased that this season will not be devoid of anything fun.

I absolutely loved the Matrix — and still do.

I love the choreography, the fight scenes, the larger-than-life super-hero abilities that have purpose and meaning — and explanation! I loved the concept and the imagination that went into the story, although the ending was a bit hard to swallow and has left me wanting it resolved somehow.

I, too, had heard rumors, but until now they were just pesky rumors.

Oh, and I love Keanu Reeves in that role. It perfectly suits his acting style. He's rather plain otherwise. Bill & Ted, John Wick, Neo. Those roles have all been perfect for him, and he's made them all believable.

Fun stuff.

[turtle]

This movie thread hates me right now. At least my browser. I try to do links and such and it just freezes the tab. So now you get the short unformatted version:

The fact that the Wachowskis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wachowskis) changed their names and aren't brothers anymore made me think this whole thing was a farce and a horribly long drawn out prank.

Still, I'm looking forward to watching it for many of the same reason you have. I'm also hesitant because

Originally Posted by PB PM Other than better CGI than the originals, this just feels like a forced reboot, yuck.

[psmith2.0]

I do love those John Wick movies, especially that first one (I don't think I've ever rooted against the bad guys harder in any other movie; every one of them deserved what they got for that puppy) . I heard there's a fourth one of those in the works as well.

[PB PM]

Indeed, he does play those rolls well. Enjoyed John Wick thoroughly.

[turtle]

I keep meaning to watch the John Wick movies but haven't stopped to yet. I really should.

[Yontsey]

They're fantastic.

[psmith2.0]

Good, solid fun. One of those movies like Taken, The Equalizer or anything starring Jason Statham...sometimes some people just need killing, and the above do it in fun, entertaining ways.

I don't apologize for that; some real shitheads in the world, and if they'r cinematic counterparts buy it in some stylish, well-shot ways, then I'm gonna watch.

Total popcorn stuff, but Wick has a great look/style to it and the body count is satisfying (in light of who it is/why it's happening).

[kscherer]

The cool thing about John Wick is how it just keeps escalating. Every time somebody dies, somebody else gets involved until half the planet is getting shot.

It's fun, and I love the whole "hotel" system. Good fun.

[709]

Speaking of, Crank turned 15 this past week. That and its sequel Crank: High Voltage are two of my absolute favorite crazed popcorn films. Just bonkers, but hilarious.

[Ryan]

I feel the same way about Guy Ritchie.

[psmith2.0]

Re: that Matrix trailer…where’s Laurence Fishburne?! Read one article that says his character was killed in a video game “sequel” in the early 2000’s that is considered canon, and another where Mr. Fishburne says he “wasn’t invited”, and that the reason is “ask the director”.

There is a Morpheus-like character all throughout the trailer - a bald black man in funky sunglasses acting all solemn/deep and who seems to Know Some Shit - so I’m not sure what’s going on. Which, honestly, seems to be the main point of these trippy, ridiculous movies.

If that is Morpheus, or some version of him, why would you not have Fishburne back, who was just as big/prominent in those movies as Reeves and Moss?

Or are they holding back that surprise reveal and everyone’s playing dumb/coy when asked about his absence in the trailer?

[turtle]

Was was wondering about the Fishburne thing too. I assumed he just didn't want to be a part of a 4th film but never looked into it. If he was killed in a game that is "canon" then it would make sense they treat him like the Oracle and replace him with someone else.

It will be odd not seeing him in the film otherwise. I mean, as an actor he doesn't look like he's overly old or anything. He still looks very much like he could play the part.

[709]

I thought that Neo and Trinity died in the last movie too, so that goes to show how much I remember about that. 🤷‍♂️ (I haven't watched the trailer yet) well that didn't explain a damn thing :/

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by turtle Was was wondering about the Fishburne thing too. I assumed he just didn't want to be a part of a 4th film but never looked into it. If he was killed in a game that is "canon" then it would make sense they treat him like the Oracle and replace him with someone else. It will be odd not seeing him in the film otherwise. I mean, as an actor he doesn't look like he's overly old or anything. He still looks very much like he could play the part.

Yeah, he's only 60 (born in 1961). That's nothing (don't make me trot out a Harrison Ford crack/comment).

He's still hard at it. His IMDb page shows, that just since 2019 he's had 18 projects(!)...four of them TV series, two of them currently in pre-production. In recent years he's had his foot in both the DC and Marvel stuff (movies or TV), and is even in the Wick stuff, almost playing a more street-level, real-world NYC Morpheus type of role. So he's definitely not too old for anything. Either they're just considering him dead (video game), they're holding him back as a surprise or he's got some beef with the filmmakers that made them decide not to use him on this go-around.

Found this, from a few months ago. *shrug*

Fisburne recently told Collider when asked if he’s getting tired of being asked “Matrix 4” questions, “It would make sense that people would ask me that, so it doesn’t get old. I am not in the next ‘Matrix’ movie, and you’d have to ask Lana Wachowski why, because I don’t have an answer for that.”

A shame. I like him a lot. I really don't care for these movies, but he never does bad work.

[Ryan]

Warner Bros. Signs Deal for AI-Driven Film Management System

I'm sure this will solve all their problems.

Under the new deal, Warners will leverage the system’s comprehensive data and predictive analytics to guide decision-making at the greenlight stage. The integrated online platform can assess the value of a star in any territory and how much a film is expected to make in theaters and on other ancillary streams.

Good luck with that fellas.

[psmith2.0]

I guess that's the "business" part of "show biz". Sounds so organic and creative-based!

They literally want to plug in equations: Vin Diesel + random titties - overt messaging (climate = OK) x explosions (4 min.), subtract Brie Larson = $$$

I feel some quality filmmaking heading our way, guys!

[turtle]

Only if we get more lens flare. Needs more lens flare!

[psmith2.0]

I came across this last night and I think it looks really good.

I love western/cowboy stuff (Open Range, Appaloosa, The Hateful Eight, True Grit, Silverado, The Homesman, Bone Tomahawk, Lonesome Dove, The Quick and the Dead, 3:10 to Yuma, Tombstone, that Jesse James movie with Brad Pitt, anything with Sam Elliot and his 14" mustache, all the Eastwood stuff, etc.). If it's got people with hats riding horses and shooting each other, I'm gonna watch it!

This is right in that sweet zone.

I've enjoyed Tim Blake Nelson in everything I've ever seen him in, and it's great to see him front-and-center and the lead in such a thing (I know there was that Buster Scruggs movie a while back; this looks a bit more grim/realistic).

[psmith2.0]

I’ve long questioned some of Syfy channel’s programming choices, mainly on the grounds of “what’s ‘science fiction’ about this?!”.

Just now cruising around the channels and Tombstone - yes, that Tombstone ( Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, etc.) - is playing.

There ain’t anything science or fiction about this movie. It’s awesome and fun as can be, but why is it playing on Syfy?

[psmith2.0]

Did anyone see The Many Saints of Newark (the Sopranos prequel) over the weekend? I'm not as in a hurry to see it as I might've once been. Me and prequels just don't have a good track record (and I'm kinda anti-prequel for several reasons at this point), and a lot of the reviews I'm reading seem to confirm my fears/doubts.

What the show did, in many episodes over many seasons, simply isn't going to be replicated by a single, one-shot two-hour movie that, as many prequels suffer from, has to spend half its time engaging in "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" dot-connecting.

When I see stuff like that, all I hear in my head is Peter Griffin saying "yeah, it's like that time when...".

Wears thin pretty quick. "Okay, we get it, George...".

I'm sure I'll see it at some point, being a Sopranos fan, but the urgency just isn't there. Even the presence of the lovely Ms. Farmiga isn't making me want to borrow someone's HBO Max credentials tonight. And if that isn't saying something...

I truly think this is one of those properties where no good comes from revisiting it. The show had a proper beginning and an unforgettable ending (it's obvious and plain to anyone with a brain what happened). It'll never live up the show, and there's always the danger of over-explaining what happened years/decades before (or, worse, simply having the explanation never be as compelling as what people have pictured/built up in their own minds for years).

My mom watched it over the weekend (she loved The Sopranos) and told me yesterday that it seemed a bit pointless and "why bother?", almost more like a grim spoof/parody of period-set gangster/mob fare (Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, etc.)...a bunch of Italian mopes and hardcases in retro lounge shirts saying "fuck" every fourth word, and shooting each other in the head.

Yeah, I've seen that movie several dozen times already...

I saw an interview with David Chase (Sopranos creator, producer, etc. and behind this new movie) and he didn't even seen all that enthusiastic or convinced he was doing the right thing. Apparently, more so than any other Sopranos episode, there's a large racial element to this story, which Chase speaks about at length (and seems more interested in talking about). My theory is that Chase actually wanted to make a movie about the 1967 Newark riots and the suits said "only if you can tie/cram some Sopranos shit into it". I kinda wonder if the Sopranos stuff was back-doored into a movie about a completely different topic.

[psmith2.0]

I have The Shining on in the background (it and a bunch of other Stephen King stuff - Thinner, Christine, Pet Sematary, etc. - are playing on AMC channel all day). It just hit that scene where Wendy (Shelley Duvall) discover what "writing" her husband has been working on all winter long.



That's still the most "ohhhh...shit, he lost his mind a long time ago..." scene ever put on film. I've seen it a dozen times but it still makes me shudder and do that "ohmigosh" squirm. Great setup/build and reveal, one of the best!

When she starts thumbing through all those pages and it just says the same thing - over and over and over again - in various formatting/spacing...that's good stuff! I remember the first time I saw it...I nearly came out of my chair!

"Oh no...oh mannnnn...every page? For real? Holy. Crap. Run, girl!"

This and The Silence of the Lambs are the two movies that, to this day, will give me the genuine unsettling creep-outs. Those two movies hit me more than any other horror/thriller out there, including, yes, The Exorcist, all the Halloween stuff and anything beyond that. Those are child's play (no pun).

But these two movies make me look under my bed before I go to sleep.

[psmith2.0]

Ahh, AMC is at it for a second day, doing the Stephen King thing. I've never seen Christine until today. Kinda neat, although it never really says why the car is the way it is. Seems it was "born bad", right off the Detroit assembly line?

And a young Alexandra Paul...rawwrrr.

The self-repair/regeneration effects are pretty cool. I read on the movie's Wikipedia entry that molds were made from the original cars and then recast in plastic and then hydraulics attached from the inside to draw in/crumple the painted, faux metal/chrome panels and components. And, when run in reverse, it looks like the car is going from a crumpled mess to a pristine, smooth car again with smooth red body and perfect chrome.

Never occurred to me it was that simple and "well, of course!"

I was sitting here trying to figure out how they did that in 1983 (no CGI) and it doesn't have the jittery tell-tale look of stop-motion work, so it was cool to learn how relatively straightforward and low-tech it was to achieve the effect...crush some plastic from within, and run the film in reverse. I love stuff like this, back when special effects crews couldn't do it all on a computer and had to come up with creative, real-life ways to go about stuff like this. The Wiki entry said that the director, John Carpenter, originally hadn't intended to film the regeneration sequences (too tough?), but that he gave the effects crew three weeks to figure out a way to make it happen...and they did. That's just cool.

For those who've not seen...scrub up to the 1:25 mark to cut the chase.

[turtle]

I forgot how good they did that in Christine! Thanks for reminding me and linking to the clip.

[kscherer]

I have exactly one thing to say:

[psmith2.0]

That looks like absolute shit on a biscuit, with a side order of “who asked for this?!”. And I’m sorry, but could they have found a more unappealing, off-putting kid for the lead role? Little M. Culkin was kinda cute and endearing. How did that dumpy kid come out of such a hot mom?

Seriously, this looks awful. You can practically hear the laughs not being had.

Somebody in a really swanky office, wearing a suit that probably costs more than everything in my closet, greenlit this. On purpose.

[Ryan]

You can't improve on John Hughes and you should never try.

The first one is a classic. John Williams wrote the music for crissakes! John Candy's improvised cameo ("polka king of the midwest"), Joe Pesci's mumbled swearing, Catherine O'Hara's responses to, well, everything.

[psmith2.0]

Yep.

I watched that trailer again to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. Nope. It looks even worse.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Re: that Matrix trailer…where’s Laurence Fishburne?! Read one article that says his character was killed in a video game “sequel” in the early 2000’s that is considered canon, and another where Mr. Fishburne says he “wasn’t invited”, and that the reason is “ask the director”. There is a Morpheus-like character all throughout the trailer - a bald black man in funky sunglasses acting all solemn/deep and who seems to Know Some Shit...

Yep...just as I was thinking/assuming...typical movie/sequel silliness and bullshit, it sounds like.

[psmith2.0]

A new trailer for The Batman was released yesterday.

I don't know...something just isn't doing it for me here. Looks to be trying super-duper hard to be Dark & Edgy™ (a red flag to me anymore). Looks like a lot of the morose, hyper-brooding Batman fan films I've seen over the years, the action and dialogue. Maybe the actual movie is something to see, but this trailer isn't making me wanna rush out on opening night.

The neckbeards jizzing themselves in the YouTube comments section are always good for a laugh, though.

[PB PM]

Yet another reboot, of a reboot of a reboot. How many times can you milk a dead cow? Hollywood ==> Ad infinitum.