I like steak so I chose the Blue pill
Just ten short years ago, two brothers created the 28th best film of all time (As rated by IMDB readers). the Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, had limited film experience, yet they teamed up and put out a movie like the world had never seen before. Utilizing stunning special effects, ground breaking freeze-motion, and tieing into the emerging computer world, this movie caused every person who saw it to pause and ponder. Yes, just ten years ago, The Matrix was born.
The Matrix tells the story of Neo (Keanu Reeves), a small-time employee in a tech firm by day and a hacker by night. During the first few scenes with Reeves, there is the feeling that something is wrong with the world. Neo can not tell you what it is, but something is amiss, and something just isn’t right. To explain the real world, Neo meets up with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and sees the truth. That is, Neo sees that the world really isn’t a world, but it is merely a computer situation.
After being removed from the simulation and thrust into the real world, Neo is forced to come to terms with thousands of new things. He can learn Kung Fu, how to fly a helicopter, and get anything he wants all by being plugged into a machine. He must accept that food does not really taste good, that he will be living a limited life, and that everything he thought he knew was wrong. In short, Neo must restart his life, while at the same time finding out what his true destiny is.
I have always been a big Matrix fan and have loved the movie ever since it first came out. Though I abhor the sequels, the original movie is great, a classic, and a very good watch. The Matrix uses many literary metaphors and stories to tell a compelling tale. From Alice in Wonderland to several Sartre and Niche stories, you can follow the course of illusion and existentialism throughout the movie. The Matrix also nicely ties in various historical and biblical references, as the ship is a type Mark: 3:11 and called Nebuchadnezzar.
Another thing that I like about The Matrix is the symbolism that is inherent in the movie. From the references already mentioned, to the color hues in the film, this movie makes sure to use any and all symbols that it can. The Matrix talks about right v. wrong, the concept of what it is to be human, and even the technology struggle shown in Frankenstein. Even the names of the characters tie into the symboligy, as there are three main parts to the puzzle (Trinity), a new man (Neo), and a change to the world (Morpheus). The Wachowski brothers pulled all of the stops to make sure that The Matrix showed the world as it was and is.
Back in 1999, when The Matrix first came out, the movie was used by geeks, audiophiles, and rich people to show off exactly how impressive their surround sound system was. The movie had rich audio and booming bass, which set the standard for all DVDs to come. Though it is no longer the standard, the audio in The Matrix: 10th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray was still exceptionally good, clear, and perfect on my 5.1 sound system. I could hear all of the dialog, had no issues with volume, and even was able to hear the clattering of each shell casing as it hit the ground. Though the audio is no loner the standard, it still is up to par and a good mix.
Along the same lines, the visual quality of The Matrix: 10th AE is stunning and superb. The colors, which are hued greener or bluer, depending on if you are in the Matrix or not, are vibrant and bright. The black levels are deep and properly adjusted for HD viewing. Overall, the transfer was well done and the movie looks really good on my HDTV. That said, however, if you are looking for the modern HD look, where you can see pores and sweat, then the transfer will be disappointing. The only downside of the transfer was that the film retained a grainy look; this look, however, actually fits with the mood of the movie so it wasn’t that bad.
Did you know that Carrie-Anne Moss was an actress in a TV show called The Matrix, an unrelated show that was on Canadian television a few years before the movie? Well, I didn’t, but I do now thanks to a 30some page booklet that came with the movie. You can read biographies, filmographies, production information, trivia, and even an essay about the movie in this book. This is unusual and lacking in many other anniversary or special editions of movies, and it is something that I really enjoyed.
The Matrix: 10th AE comes jammed with tons of extras that are well worth your time. Besides the booklet, the Blu-ray itself has four commentaries, a documentary about the sequels, and the normal slew of deleted and extended scenes. Additionally, there are an amazing 19 featurettes comprising 3 general categories of the film. All of these extras are worth watching, as they all take you further and further down the rabbit hole. The only downside here is the fact that they are all the same as the DVD, HD-DVD, and Ultimate Collection versions.
Overall, The Matrix: 10th Anniversary Edition is a great movie to add to your shelf. This represents the first time that The Matrix has been put out on its own on the Blu-ray format so you don’t need to waste precious space with the sequels. That said, however, if you already own the Ultimate Collection then you don’t need to get the movie as there is nothing new in this release. The Matrix is perfect for geeks, nerds, and any action junkie, as well as all teens.
Movie:this movie is one of the best ever made
Video: the transfer is well done and the colors are good, but it isn’t what you have come to expect from Blu-ray
Audio:the sound is amazing and well done, but not nearly as grand as it used to be
Extras: You truly can find out how deep the rabbit hole is by watching these extras
Overall: There is no excuse for sci-fi lovers not upgrading to the Blu-ray version
The Matrix is rated R for sci-fi violence and language.
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Showing posts with label the matrix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the matrix. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Blu-ray Review: Body of Lies
In this day and age, it is hard to find a film about war, be it a real one or a covert one, without finding that it leans one way or the other on the issues. If you are talking about a real war situation, it is even harder to create that film without your bias showing. Many director's, and script writers, have attempted to do this with a whole slew of movies, and only a few have succeeded. Director Ridley Scott (of Blade Runner fame) and writer William Monahan (writer of The Departed, another DiCaprio movie) hide their biases extremely well. Though they show up occasionally, Body of Lies is clear of most political and cultural biases, which is a good thing in a movie.
Body of Lies tells the story of Roger Ferris (Leo DiCaprio), a divorcing undercover agent who is stationed in various states across the Middle East. Roger tours the Middle East on CIA assignment to take out terrorist bad guys. Basically, he is the CIA's covert agent and gets to kill a whole bunch of people while looking quite bad ass in the process; who doesn't want this role? He is one of the smarter people you will be meeting in the movie, and he has a very unique outlook and take on the culture that he is immersed in. Additionally, his gut is usually right on and he is often ready to do what his country needs him to do. Think of him as Bond, except cooler, and American.
Roger has a hotheaded, culturally insensitive, and downright odd boss, Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe). In normal Croweian manner, Ed is blunt and forceful, but intelligent at the same time. Ed is a family man, lives in DC, and is always at his kids events when he is planning destruction of the Middle East. In fact, he seems so out of place that the viewer is left wondering how he ever advanced in the field without doing anything. He has the same brain as Roger, but he thinks that shock and awe is a great tactic. The interplay between these two serves as a debate over which tactic is better in the military: that with blunt force or that which literally gets only your target. Frankly, the acting from both Crowe and DiCaprio during this interplay is so well done that the viewer actually gets into the debate.
Though it seems as if the two-man power struggle over their methods is the main debate in Body of Lies, a smaller debate is brought out by the third main character. Mark Strong plays Hani, the chief of Jordan's intelligence service. He is a man who is tired of the world, tired of politics, and just wants to go home. But he understands international politics, especially those with the US, and he cares only for his country. Thus, he is forced into the movie to deal with the CIA and their puppets. Hani serves the role of fostering a debate about American action; Roger will promise him something, and Ed will ignore that promise. In this small debate, Body of Lies is getting us to understand and look at how American's conduct our international politics. Monahan and Scott are trying to get us to discuss, and think about, how we promise one thing, but often do the other.
Though there are some missed opportunities for other debates, or for more character interactions, Body of Lies pulls off its mission flawlessly. The movie gets the dramatic interplays down perfectly and leaved the viewer thinking about exactly what should happen and how our country should, or should not, change. This sort of result from a movie is what you want to see in good work, and it is quite evident here. I would recommend Body of Lies to any student of international politics, as it is a good examination at the real interplays that occur. For everybody else, a fast paced action movie is always a good watch.
Body of Lies has one other little touch that makes the movie stand out from the stereotypical genre it is in: the coloring levels. Though I first noticed this in The Matrix, where the coloring levels were more green when you were inside the simulation, it is obviously noticeable when you are watching Body of Lies. When Roger is in the Middle East, and we are in an action scene, the imagery becomes much more vivid, much brighter, and much more intense. When we see Ed at his kid's soccer games, back in the US, the color becomes blue-tinted, and everything fades a bit. Though this seemed like a camera problem at first, I quickly noticed that it was intentional and was being used to reflect the feelings of the actors at that given moment. This use of color, to control your own mood while watching, is done quite well. It deserves this moment of acknowledgment as it really does draw you more into the characters.
Speaking of how Body of Lies looks, let's move onto the technical aspects of this blu-ray release. Body of Lies is presented in your typical 2.4:1 wide screen aspect ratio. The imagery is captured well on the disc and makes it look better then the original theater version. There is no ghosting during the movie, and all of the scenes look as they should. The black levels were full and dark, and all there was plenty of contrast. The entire movie was crisp and rendered well.
The actual visuals of the movie were stunning. From the dirt being kicked up by the jeep, to the hair on DiCaprio's head, everything was visible in full resolution. Throughout the movie, the detail that is added catches you off guard. You can read the screens of the laptops and see all of the small hairs sticking out of Crowe's face. The details and clarity of the film are impeccable. The movie also adds a sense of depth to it (see the helicopter scene), using the coloring and the blu-ray quality to seemingly have the objects on screen jump out at you, or immerse you even more. I was wowed by the quality of imagery presented to me, and I think that all but the most videophile of you out there will be wowed as well.
Body of Lies soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The overall quality of the sound is suburb and the mixing is just as good. My favorite part was that the explosions sounded realistic, and were properly adjusted compared to the other noises throughout the movie. It always annoys me when an explosion is only two times the sound of a car driving, and Body of Lies made sure that I wouldn't be annoyed by their explosions. My only real complaint in the sound department is that the dialog does get lost during the fast paced scenes. This makes it harder to follow. While this may just be because they used realistic levels, it actually harms the movie slightly.
Body of Lies on blu-ray comes with the usual cast of extras. It has the director's commentary, where Scott, Monahan, and the novel's writer, David Ignatus, discuss the book and the adaptation. It has Interactive Debriefing, which is basically just a grouping of clips from Crowe and DiCaprio talking about their roles, how they worked, and the like. There are four deleted scenes, which would not have added much, and an alternate ending, which I think was arguably better then the one included in the movie. There is the BD-live extra and a digital copy for you to have on your iPhone or laptop.
There is one more extra, which happens to be my favorite, in Body of Lies; Deconstructing Body of Lies is a nine-part featurette that takes you even further into the movie's story. Running a full 90 minutes, this series is the length of most movies, which makes it tedious, but also very informational. This extra looks at various character relationships, the costuming, the interplays, the sets, and the rest. It is a compilation of the usual featurettes from other movies, but it is all interlaced well and given to you as one long extra. Frankly, I really like this setup and think that anybody who enjoyed Body of Lies will also like this feature.
Overall, I feel that Body of Lies is a great movie to add to your blu-ray collection. The movie is a surefire way to get you and your family/friends to think about the issues facing America overseas, think about how we act, and think about what you want your country to do. This movie is a discussion maker, and you should use it as one. I recommend Body of Lies to anybody who is a student of political science, international relations, or anybody who just wants to learn more about American interplay in the Middle East. If you have the choice, the quality of the movie makes it worthwhile to grab on blu-ray over standard DVD.
Movie:
The movie is flawless and well done, it is only missing a few opportunities
Blu-ray Quality:
Stunning, simply stunning
Sound Quality:
Great balancing and mixing, superb quality, occasionally looses the dialog
Extras:Typical extras, but Decontructing Body of Lies is great
Overall:Great movie for students, teachers, and anybody who is interested in American Foreign Policy.
Body of Lies is rated R for strong violence, including some torture, and for language throughout.
Read more ...
Body of Lies tells the story of Roger Ferris (Leo DiCaprio), a divorcing undercover agent who is stationed in various states across the Middle East. Roger tours the Middle East on CIA assignment to take out terrorist bad guys. Basically, he is the CIA's covert agent and gets to kill a whole bunch of people while looking quite bad ass in the process; who doesn't want this role? He is one of the smarter people you will be meeting in the movie, and he has a very unique outlook and take on the culture that he is immersed in. Additionally, his gut is usually right on and he is often ready to do what his country needs him to do. Think of him as Bond, except cooler, and American.
Roger has a hotheaded, culturally insensitive, and downright odd boss, Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe). In normal Croweian manner, Ed is blunt and forceful, but intelligent at the same time. Ed is a family man, lives in DC, and is always at his kids events when he is planning destruction of the Middle East. In fact, he seems so out of place that the viewer is left wondering how he ever advanced in the field without doing anything. He has the same brain as Roger, but he thinks that shock and awe is a great tactic. The interplay between these two serves as a debate over which tactic is better in the military: that with blunt force or that which literally gets only your target. Frankly, the acting from both Crowe and DiCaprio during this interplay is so well done that the viewer actually gets into the debate.
Though it seems as if the two-man power struggle over their methods is the main debate in Body of Lies, a smaller debate is brought out by the third main character. Mark Strong plays Hani, the chief of Jordan's intelligence service. He is a man who is tired of the world, tired of politics, and just wants to go home. But he understands international politics, especially those with the US, and he cares only for his country. Thus, he is forced into the movie to deal with the CIA and their puppets. Hani serves the role of fostering a debate about American action; Roger will promise him something, and Ed will ignore that promise. In this small debate, Body of Lies is getting us to understand and look at how American's conduct our international politics. Monahan and Scott are trying to get us to discuss, and think about, how we promise one thing, but often do the other.
Though there are some missed opportunities for other debates, or for more character interactions, Body of Lies pulls off its mission flawlessly. The movie gets the dramatic interplays down perfectly and leaved the viewer thinking about exactly what should happen and how our country should, or should not, change. This sort of result from a movie is what you want to see in good work, and it is quite evident here. I would recommend Body of Lies to any student of international politics, as it is a good examination at the real interplays that occur. For everybody else, a fast paced action movie is always a good watch.
Body of Lies has one other little touch that makes the movie stand out from the stereotypical genre it is in: the coloring levels. Though I first noticed this in The Matrix, where the coloring levels were more green when you were inside the simulation, it is obviously noticeable when you are watching Body of Lies. When Roger is in the Middle East, and we are in an action scene, the imagery becomes much more vivid, much brighter, and much more intense. When we see Ed at his kid's soccer games, back in the US, the color becomes blue-tinted, and everything fades a bit. Though this seemed like a camera problem at first, I quickly noticed that it was intentional and was being used to reflect the feelings of the actors at that given moment. This use of color, to control your own mood while watching, is done quite well. It deserves this moment of acknowledgment as it really does draw you more into the characters.
Speaking of how Body of Lies looks, let's move onto the technical aspects of this blu-ray release. Body of Lies is presented in your typical 2.4:1 wide screen aspect ratio. The imagery is captured well on the disc and makes it look better then the original theater version. There is no ghosting during the movie, and all of the scenes look as they should. The black levels were full and dark, and all there was plenty of contrast. The entire movie was crisp and rendered well.
The actual visuals of the movie were stunning. From the dirt being kicked up by the jeep, to the hair on DiCaprio's head, everything was visible in full resolution. Throughout the movie, the detail that is added catches you off guard. You can read the screens of the laptops and see all of the small hairs sticking out of Crowe's face. The details and clarity of the film are impeccable. The movie also adds a sense of depth to it (see the helicopter scene), using the coloring and the blu-ray quality to seemingly have the objects on screen jump out at you, or immerse you even more. I was wowed by the quality of imagery presented to me, and I think that all but the most videophile of you out there will be wowed as well.
Body of Lies soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The overall quality of the sound is suburb and the mixing is just as good. My favorite part was that the explosions sounded realistic, and were properly adjusted compared to the other noises throughout the movie. It always annoys me when an explosion is only two times the sound of a car driving, and Body of Lies made sure that I wouldn't be annoyed by their explosions. My only real complaint in the sound department is that the dialog does get lost during the fast paced scenes. This makes it harder to follow. While this may just be because they used realistic levels, it actually harms the movie slightly.
Body of Lies on blu-ray comes with the usual cast of extras. It has the director's commentary, where Scott, Monahan, and the novel's writer, David Ignatus, discuss the book and the adaptation. It has Interactive Debriefing, which is basically just a grouping of clips from Crowe and DiCaprio talking about their roles, how they worked, and the like. There are four deleted scenes, which would not have added much, and an alternate ending, which I think was arguably better then the one included in the movie. There is the BD-live extra and a digital copy for you to have on your iPhone or laptop.
There is one more extra, which happens to be my favorite, in Body of Lies; Deconstructing Body of Lies is a nine-part featurette that takes you even further into the movie's story. Running a full 90 minutes, this series is the length of most movies, which makes it tedious, but also very informational. This extra looks at various character relationships, the costuming, the interplays, the sets, and the rest. It is a compilation of the usual featurettes from other movies, but it is all interlaced well and given to you as one long extra. Frankly, I really like this setup and think that anybody who enjoyed Body of Lies will also like this feature.
Overall, I feel that Body of Lies is a great movie to add to your blu-ray collection. The movie is a surefire way to get you and your family/friends to think about the issues facing America overseas, think about how we act, and think about what you want your country to do. This movie is a discussion maker, and you should use it as one. I recommend Body of Lies to anybody who is a student of political science, international relations, or anybody who just wants to learn more about American interplay in the Middle East. If you have the choice, the quality of the movie makes it worthwhile to grab on blu-ray over standard DVD.
Movie:
The movie is flawless and well done, it is only missing a few opportunitiesBlu-ray Quality:
Stunning, simply stunningSound Quality:
Great balancing and mixing, superb quality, occasionally looses the dialogExtras:
Typical extras, but Decontructing Body of Lies is greatOverall:
Great movie for students, teachers, and anybody who is interested in American Foreign Policy.Body of Lies is rated R for strong violence, including some torture, and for language throughout.
Read more ...
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