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Posts Tagged ‘The Matrix Reloaded’

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May19

PATTI MAKES AN OBSERVATION

May 19th, 2003 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(9 votes, average: 7.11 out of 10)
PATTI MAKES AN OBSERVATION

So before you start freaking out and wondering who Patti is, let me just clear the air and inform everyone. Patti is Jared’s wife and a very nice person to boot. I don’t draw her in the comics often because… hey, man. That’s my best friend’s WIFE!

Seriously though it more likely because I would hate to have her speak a line of dialogue she found offensive or make her the butt of any jokes. Even though I know she would be good-natured about such things.

As is such, today’s strip was an honest-to-goodness real life declaration on Patti’s part. I thought it insightful enough to put into cartoon form.

It’s true that when we went to see The Matrix Reloaded, we were forced to sit in the second row. And for the entire running time of the film, we were subjected to a distorted picture due to our proximity. When it was over, my back was stiff from looking up for so long. I honestly don’t remember some parts of the movie because, at that low of a perspective, the quick cuts were even MORE of a blur.

When are theater owners going to realize that packing in their audiences like sardines diminishes the movie going experience? It’s more than likely I’ll have to see The Matrix Reloaded again just so I can have another crack at understanding it all.

And now THIS is the part where I segue into my opinions of the film (WARNING: SPOILERS CONTAINED WITHIN)…

I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t think Reloaded would have split the fan base so severely into the camps that adored it and the camps that loathed it. But after thinking about it over the weekend, I’ve come to determine neither of them are right. It is not the end all, be all of sci-fi nor should it be the focus of your utter contempt.

I think the source material is great and the concept of The Matrix is top-shelf. But the execution this time around was average.

My complaints are similar to a lot of the others you’ve probably read. I felt many of the fights scenes didn’t serve to push the story, but were mere exercises in “Lookie what we can do!”

The 100 Agent Smiths fight was impressive and I liked the way they kept ratcheting up the insanity. But, inevitably, it wore out it’s welcome.

I wasn’t impressed with Zion. I felt it looked a little too CG. Actually, it looked a little to Attack of the Clones for my tastes. Especially when the hoverships were docking.

I REALLY had a negative reaction to Morpheous’ speech to the masses and that weird rave they threw in celebration. The sex scene they threw in also felt out of place.

And speaking of sex, that whole scene with the smarmy French guy and the piece of “Coded Cake” was just – icky. It didn’t prove anything. It just creeped me out.

But to be far, after that scene, the movie really started picking up for me and there were several scenes that I enjoyed.

Obviously the freeway chase scene is a classic and they’ll be figuring out ways to outdo it for years to come. I got a real sense of danger from what was going on during that chase – the hallmark of any great action sequence is when they can get you to think people are under the real threat of death.

I also enjoyed the fight between Morpheous and the agent on top of the 18 wheeler. When he does that handstand on the edge of the trailer… Wow!

I liked the twins. I thought they were interesting villains and was curious how their whole intangibility trick worked.

And I really, REALLY enjoyed the scene where Neo makes it to The Source and converses with The Architect. The way the explained how “The One” came to be and how they’ve already destroyed Zion 6 times coaxed a very Keanu “Whoa” out of me. Did anyone else notice how The Architect was dressed and groomed in a manner similar to that of Sigmond Freud?

As time goes on and I think about the movie more and more, I realize how much I liked it. I probably liked it more than I originally thought I did. I’ll probably see it again if anything to correct the distorted experience I had the first time around. This time I want to make sure I’m seeing EVERYTHING.

└ Tags: Keanu Reeves, review, The Matrix Reloaded
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May21

WHAT I WOULD DO WITH AN ARMY OF CLONES

May 21st, 2003 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(9 votes, average: 7.89 out of 10)
WHAT I WOULD DO WITH AN ARMY OF CLONES

I apologize for another Matrix joke today. I imagine by now if you’re anything like me, you’re sick of the debate over The Matrix Reloaded. Quite frankly, I’m sick of the nitpicking and the defensiveness. I liked the movie. I just wish everyone else would shut up about it.

That said, I just had to run with today’s sight gag. Mostly because I would chuckle like a drunken goat at the thought of me requesting a grilled cheese sandwich while an army of solemn doppelgangers stood behind me.

I should mention that Cami and I have already seen Down With Love and I thought it was great! In fact, I may have liked it even more than Cami did – which is a shocker because she loves romantic comedies from the 60’s.

For me, Ewan McGregor is the whole reason to go. He’s so cool and confident, it’s beyond description. Ren

└ Tags: Agent Smith, cardboard cut-out, Down With Love, grilled cheese, The Matrix Reloaded
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Jul07

HAVE FAITH

July 7th, 2003 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(8 votes, average: 7.38 out of 10)
HAVE FAITH

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend. I would say mine was memorable… but, well… let’s just say I’ll share that story when you’re older.

I have to admit that I’m feeling slight pains of geek-guilt for not yet having seen Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Word of mouth has been very strong. And it’s first place $44 million dollar at the box office this weekend was a bit of a surprise to me.

I think part of the apprehension stems directly from what the strip addresses – while at first glance, this year has been a bumper crop movie-wise for the fanboys, the results have been lackluster. I don’t need another nail in the coffin of one of my favorite franchise anti-heroes.

But now that notices are coming back positive, I feel a little guilty for not having more faith. Hopefully I can reverse the situation and check things out tonight. If that’s the case, I’ll let you know my thoughts.

I think I’ll leave it at that. I guess I’m not feeling super talkative for a Monday. Maybe later.

└ Tags: Catholic, confession, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Hulk, The Matrix Reloaded, trellis
[ No Comments ]
Oct15

I JUST WANTED TO USE THE WORD ERGO IN A SENTANCE

October 15th, 2003 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(8 votes, average: 6.50 out of 10)
I JUST WANTED TO USE THE WORD ERGO IN A SENTANCE

So The Matrix Reloaded came out on DVD yesterday, shortening the gap between theatrical release and home video purchase to 3 months instead of the standard 6. In the future, they’re just gonna download these movies into our brains Johnny Mnemonic-style.

“Whoa!”

I’m leery to buy Reloaded because I imagine after The Matrix Revolutions hits, they’ll collect all three movies into some super DVD package that will actually induce Matrix-like hallucinations when you remove the shrink wrap.

It’s hard to believe that Revolutions is less than 3 weeks away. I predicted to Cami that once Reloaded hit store shelves, it would mark the beginning of a media onslaught to sell, sell, SELL America on the franchise again.

The producers of the film have to admit that they lost a lot of people with the second installment. Now they have the job of convincing us that it will all make sense in the end.

They’ll probably succeed, too. Looking at the trailers, it seems as if they’re really amplifying the action and cutting back on the philosophical/religious stuff. At the end of the day, audiences will have less difficulty understanding things blowing up.

Personally, one of my favorite scenes in Reloaded was the one spoofed in today’s comic – Neo meeting The Architect. I thought the dialogue was rich and interesting, even if it was a bit wordy. I look at that scene as the lynch pin of the movie – everything before it and after it somehow relates to what was revealed in its running time.

Of course, the best Matrix spoof ever was devised around this scene. It was the opening sketch of this year’s MTV Movie Awards and featured Will Ferrell as the bearded know-it-all. If you didn’t see it, I weep for you. “CONCORDANTLY! ERGO!”

└ Tags: apropos, concordantly, cotton balls, DVD, ergo, questions, The Architect, The Matrix Reloaded
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Nov03

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

November 3rd, 2003 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(10 votes, average: 6.00 out of 10)
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

For those of you who didn’t make it to the site this weekend, I informed everyone that the buzzComix top web comics list has reset. If you’d like to lend a little support to Theater Hopper, please vote for us on buzzComix every day. As a little extra incentive, you’ll get to see a special Halloween image drawn by yours truly for you effort. Over the weekend, we climbed up to number 11 on the list – no small feat. But I know your support can push us over the top! Be sure to get your vote on now if you haven’t seen the Halloween message. It’ll be replaced by another piece of art on Wednesday – Matrix related.

Speaking about that… Boy, November kind of snuck up on us, didn’t it? Can you believe that The Matrix Revolutions will be in theaters this Wednesday?

I figured the marketing blitz would have been in full effect by now, but my television has been conspicuously silent. Nary an advertisement in sight.

I don’t want to be a killjoy, but the buzz around the final chapter in The Matrix trilogy isn’t particularly strong. People are saying it’s much more SATISFYING than Reloaded, but not as significant as the original. Basically, they’re turning up the volume and are gonna blow stuff up GOOD.

None of this will dissuade me from seeing the picture, of course. More than anything, I just need to know how it ends. I think the critics comments on this one are essentially useless.

I tried my hand at a different inking method for today’s strip. I don’t know what persuaded me to do it. I guess I just wanted to experiment a little. Try to establish more mood. Do you like it? Hate it? Let me know what you think in the forums. I don’t know if it’ll become a permanent addition to my style. Like I said, I’m just toying around. But I’m curious to hear what you think.

I mentioned on Friday that I would have the opportunity to meet Scott Kurtz of PVP at a local comic shop on Saturday. Well, I’m pleased to report that I got a little face time with the man.

It’s always weird meeting people who’ve inspired you. It’s really difficult to tell them what their work has meant to you beyond saying it changed your outlook on things and you just wanted to say “Thanks.” At least, that was the position I found myself in.

I thought Scott was really gracious with his time. He signed my copy of PVP #1 and took care to flip through my book of samples. He read a lot of them and really looked them over. He told me to keep up the good work and that there was some really funny stuff I had done. I don’t think he was blowing smoke up my ass. He seemed very supportive – and that means a lot.

I wanted to ask him for a link to the site, but I thought that would be kind of pushy. I’ve been going back and forth on it thinking maybe I missed a good opportunity to market the site. But in the end, I’d rather have him link me because he likes what I do, not because I was looking for a handout. Would I be happy if it turns out he links me? Of course! Over the moon happy. But I’d rather earn it then beg for it.

Anyway, great experience all around. He was a really good guy. More later.

└ Tags: bitch slap, Laurence Fishburne, The Animatrix, The Architect, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions
[ No Comments ]

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