The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Regarding the symbiosis—or lack thereof—between The Culture and The Matrix.

In The Culture, you have this consciously chosen symbiosis existing within a sort of communist utopia...
But The Matrix? That’s arguably the most blatant example of parasitism out there... just draining energy from an entire population based on some ancient agreement made thousands of years ago.
Still... that's really where the heart of the movie lies... the struggle for the simple right to choose.

Tiamat> Look, she’s just a devout Christian who has the Bible memorized word for word.

If that’s actually the case, wouldn't they be against the movie then? 😕

I still think Christian symbolism is the dominant force here, which goes against what Richard Hernandez13 was saying about it all being about Gnosticism. Now, I’m not claiming this just because I’m Catholic or anything—honestly, I'm more of a semi-atheist—but it just seems to be the case.

I mean, look at what we're dealing with here. You’ve got lines like, “Neo has to return to the source within the Logos ship,” or “The One returns to the beginning, back into the Logos...” It’s all very much like, "In the beginning..." I guess you could say the whole thing circles right back to where it started. LogosAnd then there’s that one scene—which, if I’m being honest, was easily the most revolting part for me—where Neo and Trinity head toward "Zion," along with a whole bunch of other stuff like that. These are just some random thoughts that popped into my head while I was watching those scenes.

I mean, there’s definitely some truth to what Richard Hernandez13 was saying regarding the whole Neo and Agent Smith dynamic, especially how it leans into Eastern religious themes. It’s a solid point, for sure. But personally? I feel like the Christian influences were much more dominant in the storytelling.

I’ve always been a fan of seeing religious symbolism woven into movies, even when it’s pretty blatant. I think it adds a certain layer of depth if done right. However, what really bugs me about The Matrix Reloaded, and especially The Matrix Revolutions, is just how poorly they handled it. Honestly, The Matrix didn't have that issue at all.

RzBrzotrz > By the way, Melissa Moore32, seriously, great job!!! Props to you for finally coming back down to earth.

Whatever... it’s nothing. Just wait and see if GNN actually decides to write something. 😉

Seriously though... honestly, The Matrix Reloaded wasn't actually *that* bad as a whole movie. It’s just that some specific scenes looked absolutely terrible to me, which is why I ended up having such a negative take on it.

What I actually liked about The Matrix Reloaded was that they finally ditched most of that pseudo-intellectual, nonsensical philosophy that didn't make any sense and just ended up cluttering the movie. Instead, they decided to just lean into making a big-budget, high-tech action flick, and honestly, I can respect that.

Honestly, acting and directing are still stuck at a pretty low level, just like they are in RL. But unlike what I deal with out there, at least here they aren't constantly trying to gaslight me into believing in something they can't even prove themselves.

Honestly, RL kind of reminds me of those TV commercials where they show off some high-end juicer or a fancy blender. You know the ones—they claim, "With this tool, you can whip up all these stunning, gourmet pastries and sauces!" Then they flash a montage of professionally crafted desserts on the screen, but you just don't buy it. You know deep down it’s impossible, yet their presentation is so polished and perfect that it almost makes you doubt your own common sense.

In the RW, they’re pushing that same old mixer/juicer combo on us again, but this time they’ve added a little spin. Now they're claiming, “It chops and blends beautifully, making it way easier to whip up your favorite desserts.” I guess they think we haven't heard that one before.

When it comes to the action sequences, I have to admit—once again—that I’m pretty happy with almost all of them. There are just two exceptions: that first scene where they're walking on the ceiling, and that final Dragon Ball Z-style fight at the end. Those were the only ones that didn't quite land for me.

I honestly think you’d get way more out of the movies if the plot of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions actually centered on the direct conflict between the Zionists and the Machines, rather than just focusing on Neo and Morpheus stopping for a hot dog. 😁

By the way, I don't know about you guys, but that whole battle for Zion and the ship chase felt pretty recycled to me. I guess it’s just my take, but it all felt like something I'd seen before. I'm not sure how many of you have actually sat through Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but those scenes felt incredibly similar to me. The only real difference is that in TSW, you deal with those "spirits" and there aren't nearly as many people shooting at things, but the whole setup follows the exact same blueprint.

On the other hand, maybe I just had that first episode of Cowboy Bebop, "The Real Folk Blues," looping endlessly in my head—which, by the way, was produced by Square, so I guess that's why I made the connection to TSW.

blueranger13 said:It’s pretty obvious that the primary rule for any big-budget Sci-Fi movie is just ensuring a solid return on investment with maximum profit margins.
That’s the foundation.
Everything else is just extra fluff.

Now, I wasn't really trying to lecture anyone on the laws of profitability—I mean, sure, those apply to literature too if you think about it.

What I actually meant was more about the fundamental principles of storytelling and cinema—things like theme, narrative structure, and dramatic pacing... you can't just take a book and photocopy it onto a screen and expect it to work.

This thread is becoming absolutely wild to follow🙄
😁😁

At its core, this movie is all about the tension between war and peace. Let me try to break it down simply: Neo is basically Jesus, the Architect is God, and the Oracle acts as the Holy Spirit—the guide. It’s essentially a cinematic parallel to the Bible. Don't go hunting for logical gaps like, "Why didn't the Machines just build a tower and power it with solar panels?" This is Sci-Fi literature; you can't nitpick every single detail, even in a masterpiece from a different genre. I could easily start asking how they live with a literal hole in their heads without it messing up their walking or causing brain damage, especially since we all know the brain is such a delicate, flexible organ.
The film wraps up by emphasizing the necessity of an alliance—a truce—between humans and the Machines. Honestly, I don't think either side could survive solo under those conditions; people and machines need each other. In the Bible, Jesus emphasized the need for peace among men because, without it, humanity struggles to endure. The Wachowskis were trying to depict a future that we, as humans, should strive toward for the sake of our own survival. A lot of the dialogue between characters doesn't make logical sense on paper, mostly because I think only the Wachowskis themselves truly understand the depth of those relationships and the message they were driving at.
Maybe we should just wait for them to release a guidebook for the trilogy to finally put an end to all the endless arguing happening on the internet. Personally, I loved that the third movie ended exactly how it needed to. It didn't fall into the trap of some cheesy resolution, like Mom waking up Agent Smith and bringing him hot cocoa in bed. That kind of ending is much more satisfying, even if it's frustrating, because it doesn't hand you all the answers. Instead, it leaves you with more questions, which makes the story stick with you longer and keeps the interest alive (not to mention leaving plenty of room for potential sequels down the road).

Richard Hernandez13...

I definitely agree—you can't just turn a book into a movie and expect it to be a perfect reflection of what the author intended...

But then again... The Wachowskis weren't really trying to interpret anyone else's work here.
They went strictly with their own vision—which, if you're a regular reader of Sci-Fi Literature, feels pretty illogical in several spots—and they basically took whatever they picked up in religious studies and tossed it all into a blender.
After watching the first film, I honestly never imagined things would wrap up quite like this.

If you ask me, the biggest plot hole in the whole movie is... the main character.
Good grief... our "Messiah" barely says ten sentences once he's out of The Matrix in the third film... and aside from his kung-fu inside The Matrix, we don't really see much of him at all.
But still...
I don't regret watching it one bit...
The movie definitely has its charms.
If you can just relax and stop asking "how?" or "why?", it’s actually a very pleasant watch.

That said... I still think rapidstag74 makes a fair point—Equilibrium is the better film.

Justin Patel said:By the way, Monica’s dress was killer. Honestly, it might have been even better if she were naked, but it served its purpose.

👍
And that’s pretty much all that worked in the movie.

It feels stretched thin. As for the pacing? What even is that?
There were certain parts where the sheer sentimentality actually made me nauseous.
The dialogue feels like some teenager trying to act philosophical after three beers and two Jointa-ako, if not worse.

The action? It was underwhelming. Nothing interesting or particularly well-shot about it, and I feel the same way about that battle scene with the guards.
All things considered, I don't even want to waste more words on such a complete waste of time.
Deeply, deeply disappointed. 👎
On a scale of 1 to 10, if the first one was a 9 and the second was a 5, this one is a solid 1.

You know things are truly gone wrong when even Agent Smith fails us. 👎

To be fair, Monica didn't betray anyone (truth was just too little), and it’s not like Keanu Reeves let us down either—he still hasn't quite figured out how to act.

It’s true that Keanu Reeves might not be considered a top-tier actor, but he is certainly a better Neo than Will Smith ever could have been—and I mean that sincerely, that guy wouldn't have pulled it off. Apparently, the producers made his casting contingent on him playing Mr. Anderson, but The Wachowskis turned it down.
I also heard that Jean Renno was originally considered for the role of Agent Smith, but he passed because of other projects.
It’s probably for the best that he did. 👍

I guess when you look at these movies, it really just boils down to the constant tug-of-war between war and peace.

I guess that’s one way of looking at it, but if that's the case, then what was the point of all that "evangelization" people kept talking about? And honestly, why even bother with that whole cyberpunk setting? There were so many better ways to depict the struggle between war and peace than how they went about it here.

Well, maybe the Wachowskis decided to throw that in there too.

I guess you could look at it this way: in the U.S. version of this story, Neo represents Jesus, the Architect is basically God, and the Oracle acts as the Holy Spirit—the guide. If I keep going, I’ll be here all day, but the whole movie is really just a parallel to the Bible.

Alright, we can agree on the symbolism part, I guess, but now I have to ask: what was even the point? Looking at it from the perspective of the first movie, there wasn't any real need for the Architect. And if Neo really is Jesus, and the Architect is God, then logically Neo is the Architect—because as far as I know, Jesus Christ is God.

Look, don't go hunting for logical inconsistencies in movies like, "Why didn't the Machines just build a massive tower and run it on solar power?" Seriously? It’s Sci-Fi. You can't scrutinize every single tiny detail in every movie, even if you're watching a grounded drama in a completely different genre.

This is such absolute nonsense that I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. If we're watching a Sci-Fi movie, that means there are certain things we just can't explain that we have to take on faith—assuming we aren't total idiots. You shouldn't just gloss over stuff that makes zero sense and leaves you feeling like you wasted three years of your life.

Example:

"Machines use humans as a power source."

I guess you could call that a Sci-Fi element, mostly because I have no clue how anyone could extract enough energy from the human body to power an entire race of Machines. But since this is presented as part of The Matrix universe, I’m just going to roll with it and move on rather than getting boggeded down in the logic of it all. For all I know, maybe it's actually possible.

On the other hand, I haven't seen—nor has anyone actually laid out a decent argument for—why the Machines didn't just go ahead and manufacture some solar panels. It’s a massive oversight that, unfortunately, modern Sci-Fi literature doesn't really bother to address anymore.

I guess I can throw a question out there too: how do these people actually function with such a massive hole in their heads? How does it not mess with their balance when they walk, and more importantly, how do they manage not to injure their brains? We all know the brain is basically just this highly flexible mass, which makes it incredibly sensitive to any kind of impact or pressure.

Where on earth did this hole in the head come from all of a sudden??? 😕 I guess you could call that a Sci-Fi element too, since there's a decent chance they have something other than BRAINS rattling around in their heads. (TM by GNN)Maybe just give the *Battle Angel Alita* manga a read, and you might actually get what I’m talking about. (I know, I know, I'm probably making a bunch of people associate this with manga right now, but...) 🙂 😉...I mean, I really hope I'm not. 🙂 )

The only real hole in this whole thing is the one between the ears of the Wachowskis—and honestly, probably in their bank accounts too, since they likely blew all the profits from the first movie on IVF treatments.(TM by Nef)

At the end of the movie, the whole focus really shifts toward that idea of an alliance—basically a truce between humanity and the Machines. Honestly, I don't think I could survive on my own in a world like that; neither the people nor the Machines could actually make it without one another. It reminds me of how Jesus emphasized the necessity of peace among people in the Bible, because without that stability, we’d all have a hell of a time just trying to exist.

I agree with you on that, but the real problem is that back in The Matrix, there was never any talk about peace, truces, or coexistence. It was pretty clear who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. I guess maybe Nef could throw in some kind of Charlton Heston quote regarding all of this. 😁

I guess the Brothers were just trying to paint a picture of some future we should all be following if we actually want humanity to thrive.

I don't know, I just can't shake this nagging feeling that eventually, I—or maybe even my kids—are going to end up being nothing more than batteries for some version of R2-D2.

If that’s the kind of future the Wachowskis have envisioned for us, then we’re really in trouble... 👎

Thanks, W. I really appreciate it. 🙄

I guess a lot of the dialogue between these characters just won't make sense logically. Honestly, I think only the Brothers could actually explain or define their relationships and the message behind them.
Maybe we should just wait until they actually come clean or finally sit down to write some kind of official guide through the trilogy. That might be the only way to put an end to all these endless arguments that have been dragging on across the internet forever.

I mean, come on... let's be real here. So far, we've basically established that if you actually want to wrap your head around the Matrix universe, you have to watch all three movies, check out Animatrix, play the video games, and buy every last bit of merchandise immediately. (TM by GNN) And then there's the books. I mean, if it still hasn't clicked for you after everything I've just said—that this is strictly about the money—then... honestly, no comment.

I guess an ending like this is actually sweeter, even if it’s frustrating. It doesn't just hand you all the answers on a silver platter; instead, it leaves you with more questions than you started with. To me, that's what makes a movie genuinely interesting—it keeps you thinking long after the credits roll. Plus, it definitely leaves plenty of room for future sequels, which I suppose is a win in its own way.

Let me guess—you’re working for The Wachowskis, aren't you? Your whole goal here is just to push their movies and merch so people actually show up at the theater, line their pockets, and then try to brainwash us into believing this stuff is some kind of masterpiece.

Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me! You might have taken my money, but you've officially stripped me of my last remaining brain cell. (TM by GNN) Not happening. 🙂

Melissa Moore32 said:I agree, but the problem is that in The Matrix, there was never any talk of peace, truces, or coexistence. You knew exactly who the good guys and bad guys were. I think rapidstag74 might have a Charlton Heston quote to throw in here. 😁

Heh...

Charlton Heston said:Hello, members of the National Rifle Association, and welcome to this event. My name is Charlton Heston, and I was also in The Ten Commandments. I could kill any one of you right now.

When I was younger, I wrestled a lion to death with my face. I can't stand thick carpets. Why is everything so small nowadays? I can't even fit into my television set without breaking it.

We need to defend ourselves from the ape race. It is a fact that over 100% of people in America should own guns, and that number is growing every day. In conclusion, if we don’t take out the garbage, hippies will paw through it in our garage. Thank you and goodnight.

or

Have any of you damned homosexuals ever seen The Omega Man? It was released in 1971, and it grossed twenty-one million dollars, which was a very considerable amount of money at the time. My co-stars were character actor Anthony Zerbe and sizzling up-and-comer Rosalind Cash – two young talents I’m sure you’ll be hearing more of.

At any rate, if I were to shoot both of them and drag their damp carcasses into this auditorium, nobody in this room would be fit to lick the offal from them.

Do you understand what I'm saying to you? I doubt it. I’m Charlton damned Heston! You can’t change my speeches! Don’t you understand I wrote them? I had a Remington carbine semi-automatic rifle in The Omega Man, and I shot zombies from the future with that rifle. If zombies attack us again, what are you going to do if I can’t write my own speeches? Where are your Remington carbine semi-automatic rifles, you fucking homosexuals? Not one of you has any idea how to kill a man. Watch my karate kicks!

At this point I began kicking the air with a series of furious karate kicks. Now, I might be an elderly gentleman, but I tell you – those kicks were very very high in the air!

After my impressive martial arts display, I took out my graphite-based Luger .45 carbine alloy pistol and waved it around for the crowd to appreciate. When they began to upturn tables, I began to suspect something was wrong.

As it turns out, diary, I had walked into the wrong auditorium! Not two doors down, in a similar looking auditorium, the NRA Jamboree was getting underway without me. Well, I must have looked quite the fool, parading my graphite Luger around the Women Dealing With Menopause convention! The security guards that tackled me to the ground certainly looked surprised, at any rate.

Off topic, but it's bloody funny.
Jay Pinkerton is my god, or something..

Melissa Moore32 said:I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of myself, or my grandkids, serving as nothing more than batteries for some version of R2-D2.

And the worst part? We're still stuck in The Matrix. The One didn't save us; he just cut a deal with the Machines. Total jerk.

blueranger13 said:Richard Hernandez13...

I totally agree that you can't just turn a book into a movie and expect it to be a perfect translation of what the author intended...

But then again... The Wachowskis weren't really trying to interpret anyone else's work.
They went with their own vision, which, if you ask any hardcore Sci-Fi reader, feels pretty illogical in so many spots, especially since they mixed in all this religious subtext they clearly picked up along the way.
After seeing the first film, I never would have guessed it was going to end up like this.

I think you misunderstood me.

No worries though, my bad... I feel like I've been a bit slow lately. 😁

What I actually meant to say was:
There are certain things in literature—specifically regarding how stories are told—that you just can't transplant directly onto the screen. For instance, an author can ramble on forever about the backstory of a specific object or a relationship. Take > (by Neal Stephenson, right?), which is pretty close to The Matrix because it’s that cyberpunk vibe dealing with VR. There's that librarian character who spends hundreds of pages explaining the history of a computer virus, tracing it from ancient Sumer all the way to its cosmic origins! You get what I mean? A sci-fi writer can take a breather in a book and write pages upon pages of technical or historical background for something that might even be a minor plot point (like that gas from >—was it called Blue Nine?).
How on earth do you fit something like that into a movie? ...especially one that's also packed with action elements (we shouldn't forget that, nor should we blame the film for it). You just can't, if you ask me.
People just don't seem to get it.
It was at its absolute worst with >—you had crowds of people nitpicking every tiny detail that "wasn't like the book." Just look at any fantasy forum—you'll see guys arguing over potential adaptations of fantasy epics they love, claiming the movie would need to be hours long just because they refuse to let go of the sacred texts. They insist every single nuance and every single secondary character has to be there—well, maybe not the ones they personally disliked, but still 😁. And don't even get me started on the debates over >! Good grief, people, if you want "everything exactly as it was in the book," then just read the book.

Ehem... I've drifted off-topic again. 😁

So, basically, there's no way to get that kind of black-and-white exposition in a film, which is why I suggested not viewing the movie through the lens of Sci-Fi literature.
In The Matrix, the Machines feel so... "machine-like" because the filmmakers needed to create distance between them and the "human" characters to ramp up the tension of their conflict (since, you know, they're at war). Look at >; the conflict between machines and humans is presented just like that, without a massive lecture, and the movie works perfectly without us ever needing to ask why.
I don't know about you, but I got chills during the > when those massive, red-eyed pyramidal behemoths were just gliding across the battlefield, crushing everything organic in their path. Who knows? Maybe the Machines just take pride in being purely mechanical. 😁 And you can't deny that by the end of >, they actually learned something.
Use a little imagination! ;D

By the way, did anyone else notice that the foundation of the Machine City is made of fractals? I'd love to dive into a deep philosophical rant about that, but I really need to head out to grab a beer and some snacks. 😁

Ahhh, absolutely gorgeous:

http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=matrix3

A few initial observations:

It was quite a pleasant surprise to run into casualot21 at the box office, watching him pick up tickets for his buddies—apparently, they’re all heading out to see "Captain Mifune and the Charge of the Zion Cavalry." After a quick round of greetings and some mutual excitement about how much fun we'll have tearing the movie apart once we get back to the Forum,

My thanks, truly. It’s a shame my connection cut out, otherwise I might have actually introduced you—unless, of course, you were already acquainted. Both gentlemen I introduced to the medium are immensely grateful for the anime recommendations. Jimmy, in particular, has quite a few requests lined up—which I fully intend to join—and he even offers a perfectly fair trade-off if there happens to be something specific you're looking for. I essentially opened his eyes to Cowboy Bebop. He was just praising me today for that opening sequence where the harmonica starts playing against the backdrop of Mars...

After enduring several trailers for absolute garbage—with the exception of that one for Troy—I finally sat through the one movie I actually prayed I wouldn't waste my money on. $6.75.

Troy! Troy! Troy! What absolute madness. I need to see this right now. Triremes, Greek heroes... pure escapism and epic scale. WUHU!
So, which screening did you actually attend? If you happened to wander into our showing, you likely heard a sudden burst of laughter right when Ban Bonk! slammed Trinity’s face into that steel wall. One of the people in my group couldn't even help themselves; they just started laughing uncontrollably at that exact moment.

Whatever. It’s nothing special. Just wait and see if GNN actually decides to bother writing anything.

Well, I suppose I’ll have to disappoint you, Melissa Moore32. I actually took the time to read through this entire thread, even if I did so somewhat cursorily. It seems that, unlike with the previous installment, there is a more or less uniform consensus here that the Wachowskis have essentially betrayed us all. Even those who were rooting for The Matrix Reloaded seem much more hesitant in their commentary now. Meanwhile, those who trashed the second film are finally putting in the effort to dissect all the significant nonsense presented in this one.
Look, I’m certainly not part of The Wachowskis, and unlike them, I believe I possess a certain sense of timing regarding when to stop before I become genuinely exhausting. It seems everyone else has overlooked all the essential details, and besides, I have no desire to kick an opponent while they're already down.
And what could I possibly have to say about The Matrix Revolutions?

I feel somewhat embarrassed that the dialogue was written with such adolescent energy—it all felt rather silly and entirely too predictable.

It’s a bit disappointing that the battle scene lacked any semblance of actual strategy. It felt less like a tactical engagement and more like watching a poorly played game of Starcraft, where the Terran players just spray bullets in random directions while the Zerg swarm them relentlessly with zero coordination.

It feels quite tragic that Morpheus is condemned to a fate far more agonizing than death: being relegated to a mere supporting character in a franchise where he started out as an absolute icon. I was being facetious when I asked if he would die in the third installment, but this is much, much worse. Actually, speaking of dying...

It honestly bothers me how Trinity dies in such a ridiculous fashion. While the main female lead of The Matrix is dying, I find myself rolling my eyes and checking my watch half the time; once we see her injuries, I can't help but smirk, because the only thing more nonsensical than those wounds would have been a cartoonish, perfectly round hole in her torso like something straight out of a Warner Bros. animation. Perhaps Morpheus’s fate at the end was actually the saving grace.

I feel somewhat regretful that The Merovingian wasn't actually cool; to me, he just came across as a ridiculous comic sidekick.

It’s a shame Monica Bellucci didn't have a significantly larger role in the film.

Even more regrettable is the fact that the actresses playing Niobe and Zee were—each individually!—more attractive than Monica Bellucci.

I find it quite bothersome that Agent Smith laughs with that "MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!11" kind of laugh.

The ending leaves me feeling dissatisfied. Specifically, if the Machines end up being noble and good, how does that account for all the people the Agents and the Zionist resistance slaughtered during the first two films? Conversely, if the Machines are evil, why didn't they simply crush Zion after Neo helped them? And what was the point of this entire charade involving the Resistance and their persecution when the Machines could have easily said to humanity, "Look, do you want out or not? Out here, you've got cold, darkness, dampness, and terrible plumbing. Inside the Matrix, you can have a wife, kids, a Labrador, a job, and a minivan. All we need is your thermal energy, and in exchange, you get a normal life."

I am also disappointed by about fifteen other things that I can't recall at this moment.

But my greatest grievance—and I mean this with total sincerity—is seeing how the second and third installments possess such brilliant ideas like Monica Bellucci, the Agent Smith clones, Monica Bellucci, the Architect, the Keymaster, Monica Bellucci, the highway fight, the vampires acting as outdated programs, the final battle between humans and machines, and a handful of small, stylish philosophical concepts. All of these surely could have been woven into the plot much more seamlessly and polished to create a film five times better.

I actually preferred the third part over the second, but then again:
1) I didn't go to the theater with any particular expectations.
2) It's hard to argue that it's actually *worse* than the other Matrix film.

What’s worse is that I don't really regret seeing the movie in theaters and handing over twenty bucks for it. Regardless of what anyone says, the reality is that Matrix Revolutions is the type of film best experienced on the big screen. Granted, the film was a spectacle, though perhaps not in the way The Wachowskis intended. In a way, it was like watching the Titanic sink: a magnificent, beautifully crafted, and fascinating project utterly ruined by the arrogance and greed of its creators. The Wachowskis bit off more than they could chew and ended up burning themselves in the process. Big yikes.

At least we still have the original Matrix and the Animatrix. I'll be sticking to those.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go binge-watch Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja.

HTH!
HAND!

GNN> So, which screening did you catch? If you walked into our showing, you probably heard someone lose it laughing when Ban Bonk! slammed Trinity face-first into that cell wall. One of the guys in my group couldn't stop cracking up right at that moment.

Damn… you guys must have been at the 6:00 PM showing, because I went to the one at 5:30. I was in Theater 1.

Hmh… that explains why it felt so weirdly quiet during the movie for me. I just assumed you guys had seats ahead of me (I was in row 10).

GNN> Jimmy has some specific orders coming in.

Hmh... I'll try to email you the updated list then... assuming I actually have it.

If not, I'll just toss it onto my quasi-site so you can grab it from there.

Melissa Moore32 said:Damn… you guys must have been at the 6:00 PM screening, while I caught the 5:30 one. I was in Theater 1.

Hmh… that explains why I found the silence during the film so unsettling. I just assumed you all had seats somewhere above me (I was in row 10).

What’s worse is that I genuinely tried my hardest not to comment during the movie. Apparently, I don't even need to say anything anymore. When The Merovingian appeared, I started making faces just like him and waving my hands with that same elegant flair. My friend sitting two seats away caught on and just started cracking up.
As for the commentary, I won't even go there. There were sufficiently too many. But hey, when it comes to The Matrix Reloaded, you either provide a running commentary or you just explode from sheer frustration.

Hmh... I'll email you a new list then... if I even still have it.

If not, I'll just dump it on my quasi-site so you can grab it from there.

Works for me! I'll just tell my buddy to send over whatever he has so we can keep the trade fair. If he doesn't have anything you're actually interested in, I'll end up foisting some junk on you just to spite myself.
I'll ask him tomorrow when we (hopefully) cross paths.
AHA! Two things: the second season of Record of Lodoss War. We've all finished the first 13 episodes and we all love it with every fiber of our being. I know the second season isn't half as good as the first, but still... Then there's Vampire Hunter D.

I’ve personally sat through both *The Matrix* and *The Matrix Revolutions*. Honestly? The first one was a total masterpiece, but the second felt like a massive cash grab designed to bleed the fans dry. I haven't caught the third installment yet, so I can't weigh in on that just yet. While the core concept of the original film was brilliant, the sequel pretty much tanked the momentum. Don't get me wrong—the visual effects are wild, but honestly, I'm kind of over all that flashy CGI overkill. For me, a movie needs a rock-solid plot to back up the action scenes. The second part was a huge letdown, which is a real 🙂 shame, but I’m still holding onto hope thanks to how incredible the first one was 🙂. I’m really crossing my fingers that the third part actually delivers what it promises. Thanks 👍

@rapidstag74

Basically, I was thinking about that one comment where someone said, "I bet Francis Ford Coppola is probably sipping whiskey with Charlton Heston right now, reminiscing about the good old days when you actually knew who the bad guys were," or something along those lines.

I think maybe Kozz wrote that regarding Red Dawn, or perhaps it was Duderino. I'll go double-check.

Duderino> ...is drinking along with Charlton Heston and whining about the good old days when you actually knew who the enemy was and why those communists were so bad

Alright... it wasn't Heston, it was Francis Ford Coppola, and they weren't fighting Germans, they were fighting communists—but hey, that's what Duderino said while he was having a drink. 😁 I wasn't even that far off. 😎

BTW, you could probably say "I found it." 🤔

Honestly, I am not even going to waste my precious time wading through eight pages of discussion about this movie, because let’s be real: the film is absolute garbage.

I, the very same person who previously argued that the second installment was actually a decent film, can now say with total certainty... TRASH.

Now, I generally despise commenting on movies while they are still in theaters, but I have never encountered such a relentless barrage of pathetic dialogue and melodramatic scenes in any teen romantic comedy. I felt compelled to just tell that Trinity to just die already. Frankly, even Titanic looks gritty and substantial compared to this pathetic little war drama.

In this film, they practically rely on sentences consisting of no more than three to five words. Listen, people, the only one who can pull off that kind of minimalist dialogue is Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even then, he makes it look good. I don't claim to be psychic, but I could predict ninety percent of their dialogue before they even opened their mouths.

The highlight had to be that character operating the train in the inter-world space... when he
told Neo that he was God there and then nailed him to the wall 😁. Actually, that specific scene was quite alright; it gave me a glimmer of hope that the entire movie might actually hold up, which is a shame since they failed to develop those ideas any further or with more depth. And, of course, the final battle was fine, though it felt like nothing more than a carbon copy of the fight from the first film.

This movie would have been significantly better if it were trimmed down to about thirty minutes. Just take the opening train station scene + the battle for Zion (minus all those pathetic, moronic one-liners) + the final showdown... and there you have it, a decent movie.