The Matrix Turns 10 Years Old

 

Woah!

 

I can't believe it.  Tomorrow (March 31st, 2009) marks the Ten year anniversary of the first Matrix film.  Time really does fly as one gets older.  It really doesn't feel like it was that long ago.  A whole decade has passed since we were all first introduced to Neo and Morpheus and Trinity and Agent Smith.  It seems like it was just yesterday, doesn't it?

 

Ten years.  It feels so strange to think about.  Ten years ago, I was a young and idealistic 21 year old who was floundering around in college and didn't know what he wanted to major in.  I hadn't even started drinking yet.  And I was wrapped up at the time in the huge hype that was the forthcoming release of Star Wars Episode One, which was only two months away at that point.  They were simpler times then.  Happy times filled with good friends and playing games like Mario Kart and Goldeneye on the N64.

 

I didn't see The Matrix on the day it came out.  To be honest, I had barely noticed its release.  I hadn't really seen any trailers or advertisements for the film either.  I had no clue what it was about, but a few of my friends had gone to see it and swore to me up and down it was one of the best sci-fi films of all time.  They thankfully didn't spoil anything for me.  They just said repeatedly that I had to go see it, and I had to see it now.

 

I finally got around to seeing The Matrix about a month after it came out.  I'm still amazed that I had somehow gone to see the film so late and had managed not to know anything about what the film was about.  Today, that would be an impossible feat.  With the amount of time I spend on the internet, scouring for cool things to post here to Geek-tastic, there's no way a major sci-fi film like The Matrix would escape my notice.  But this was 1999, I barely used the internet for anything other than music downloading on Napster and talking with friends on AOL Instant Messenger.  I only had dial up, after all.  It was just too slow to go wandering around looking up cool movie stuffs.

 

I still have a vividly clear recollection of watching the film for the first time.  I remember liking how dark and industrial it looked in the first 30 minutes or so.  It looked sort of like a Nine Inch Nails video, all grays and pale greens and dark brooding shadows.  Then Neo took the red pill, and suddenly I'm watching a completely shaved and naked Keanu Reeves waking up in a goo bath pulling wires out of the back of his head.  It was a completely unexpected transition and it left me dumbfounded and thinking "What The Fuck!!!"

 

Then came the explanations.  The training programs with Morpheus.  The woman in the red dress, the explanation of the agents, the realizition of what the Matrix itself actually was.  What I thought had been the film's reality for the first 30 or so minutes had in fact all taken place inside a computer program, and that almost every single person on earth lived in this artificial fantasy world created by machines that ruled over us.  I was absolutely floored.  No film I have ever seen, before or since, has ever taken me by suprise as much as The Matrix did.  I think I was actually sitting in the theater with my jaw dropped, open mouthed in amazement as Morpheus told Neo, "What is the Matrix?  Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dreamworld, built to keep us under control.  In order to change a human being . . . into this."  At which point, of course, Morpheus holds up a Duracell battery.

 



 

I remember actually muttering under my breath, "Oh my god." as he held up the battery.  It's one of my all time favorite movie moments from my life.  I had just had my mind officially blown.  What I thought was going to just be another sci-fi action film had taken me places no other film ever had.  It explored the nature of reality as well as our own perceptions of that reality.  It had taken the age old sci-fi concept of man vs. machine and had turned it on its head.  The war of man vs. machine had already been fought long before the film had began.  Man had lost, and the worst part was the vast majority of the population didn't even know that the war had been fought in the first place.  The machines were in charge, and we were nothing more than an energy source to them. 

 

Of course, nowadays the Matrix films are sort of seen as cliched and out of date, but that's only because just about every single action or sci-fi or even comic book film that has come out since then has stolen from the first Matrix film in some way, shape or form.  Slow motion action scenes, bullet time, all of it was done first in The Matrix.  In the present state of things where the Watchmen's failure at the box office has everyone in Hollywood spelling doom for all future Rated R comic book or sci-films, I'd like to point out that The Matrix was Rated R, and its success is what really paved the way for a lot of the films that have come out in the last decade.  Even PG-13 films like The Dark Knight, I would argue, owe part of their existence to the success of The Matrix.  Do you honestly think that Warner Brothers would have green lit a really dark and brutal reboot of the Batman franchise if there hadn't been a slew of successful dark films like The Matrix before it.  Just look at that interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker in Dark Knight and tell me you don't see shades of The Matrix in the lighting of that scene.  The bare tile walls, the washed out hallogen lights. 

 

Yes, the sequels sucked.  Yes, the videogame based on the sequels sucked.  Yes, the film spawned a lot of knock offs and wannabes that all sucked.  I freely admit that the Matrix franchise became bloated and a bit too self important in my opinion, but that doesn't detract from the sheer achievement that was the first film.  Both technologically and socially, The Matrix changed things.  It changed how films are made.  It changed how people saw rated R blockbusters.  It drastically increased the kinds of heavy topics that are covered in big summer films.  And the references people make to the film happen a lot more often than you probably realize.  Even today, whenever anyone says the words Deja Vu, I still respond with, "Don't worry, that's just a glitch in the Matrix."

 

Tomorrow, in honor of the film's 10th birthday, I'm going to sit down and watch it on DVD.  I havne't actually seen the film in years.  It'll be good to see it again.  As overused as the effects became later, I still remember being awed by the fight scenes and their use of martial arts and people flying on wires.  The first time I saw Neo dodge bullets I nearly crapped my pants.  And then there was that phone call at the end.  The shot of Neo putting on his glasses, looking up . . . and then flying away.  Cut to a badass Rage Against The Machine song, and I was cheering and screaming and thinking I had just seen one of the greatest films of all time. 

 

I still think that. 

 

P.S.  I really hope Duracell payed a fortune for that product placement when Morpheus held up that battery.  I still associate their batteries with that scene.  Whenever I see one in stores I still think, "That's what the Matrix turns us all into."

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds

 

Quentin Tarantino has been talking about his idea for a war movie, which he called Inglourious Basterds, for years now.  He first mentioned his idea for the film back in 2001, saying if the film that it was, "my bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission film. My Dirty Dozen or Where Eagles Dare or Guns of Navarone kind of thing.

 

Now I know that typically, war films (especially WWII films) are not considered geeky.  But this is Quentin Tarantino, whom I think we can all agree has made a number of geek loved films.  So I feel like this film should be mentioned here.

 

Also, while the film may in fact be a WWII film, it is supposed to be heavily influenced by classic spaghetti western films such as the old Clint Eastwood Man With No Name films and is actually shot in that style.  The premise and the concept sound interesting to me.  And the above trailer certainly does look like it will be an interesting film.  The only thing I'm really not liking right now is Brad Pitt's really bad accent.  Hopefully, it won't distract too much from the rest of the film.

The New Star Trek Poster Is (Sadly) Kind Of Lame

 

Of all of the summer blockbusters we will be seeing this year, the one I am by far the most excited about is Star Trek.  Sure, the Wolverine film looks really cool, and Terminator: Salvation looks a lot better than expected, and there's the new Harry Potter film to look forward to as well.  But as far as I'm concerned, they all pale in comparison to the awesomeness that is the Star Trek franchise. 

 

Which is why I'm kind of sad to show you this, the new theatrical poster for Star Trek.  It's just a blurry image of the Enterprise, which appears to either be going through Warp or is falling backwards into the heart of a sun.  I can't really tell which.

 

Of all of the possible poster designs, this is the one they went with?  Who the hell is in charge of the marketing department over at Paramount?  I'm seriously thinking they may need to be replaced.  Why didn't they include a clear shot of the ship in the poster?  Why are there no cast members shown?  Why are there no space fights or explosions shown?  Do I need to remind the people at Paramount what a good Star Trek movie poster should look like?  Ok, fine.  Take a look at this:

 



 

Now this is what I call a damn fine poster.  You have the Klingon moon Praxis exploding in the bottom right corner.  That's right, you see a full on moon explosion in this poster.  In the light from the explosion you see the image of the film's lead characters Kirk, Spock and McCoy.  There's also a wicked looking space battle going on where the Enterprise is getting its ass kicked by two Klingon ships.  And in the background, looking out over everything in a dark and menacing way is the film's main villain, the eye patch wearing, bald Klingon warrior General Chang.

 

That's how a good Star Trek poster should be done.  The new poster just looks too much like a project from an art student who is still learning to play with shadows.  It's bleak, it's boring.  It doesn't deliver any of the excitement a proper theatrical poster should for a summer blockbuster film.  I find it overall disappointing. 

 

Oh well, at least we have this new, extended TV spot for the film to keep us entertained in the meantime.

 

Join The Dharma Initiative Today (And By Today I mean 1974)

 

Flickr user Hot Meteor must be a big fan of the TY show Lost because they have created a set of really funny retro recruitment ads for the Dharma Initiative.

 

You can see all of the ads here.  There are six total.  My favorite one though is the one posted above.  I don't even smoke anymore, but I would love to get my hands on a pack of Dharma Initiative Cigarettes.

New Geek-tastic Web Comic: A Zombie By Any Other Name

 

Hey there folks,

 

I know it's been a little while, but a new Geek-tastic Web Comic has finally been posted.  We apologize for the delay, but what with the trip to Wonder Con and some of that annoying "real life" stuff we all have to deal with from time to time, this comic just took a little while to get done.

 

On the plus side though, the new comic is more than just three panels.  It's a full comic page, and it even stars Geek-tastic contributor Wes and the comic artist himself . . . Matt.  As usual, be sure to click on the above image to see the complete image in its full size.  Or you can also click here.

 

This comic represents an argument Matt and I have been getting into with people a lot lately.  Exactly what is and isn't a zombie.  Different people have different views.  What do you think?  This will probably get covered in more detail on the Halloween episode of the Geek-tastic web comic later this year, but for now we hope you enjoy this comic.

Two Bits Of Batman Goodness

 

I think the universe is trying to be good to me right now to make up for the crappiness thay was the revelation of Cobra Commander's movie appearance that was revealed earlier in the week.  After such a soul crushing moment, one needs as much good news as possible to help lift one's spirits.  Which is why I'm happy to pass on to you, faithful readers, not one but two really cool bits of Batman news. 

 

First is this:

 

Comic book writer Judd Winick will be taking over the Batman series this summer, and he plans on taking the character back to his basic crime fighting roots, with the emphasis here on the fighting.

 

We're talking three-issue arcs, four-issue arcs where it's Batman whooping it up, kicking ass, getting his ass kicked and coming back and kicking some more ass. This is a superhero book and it's one of the things that I enjoy. I mean, I do enjoy Batman as a masked detective but I myself enjoy Batman beating the living hell out of people in various ways, shapes and forms... This is a "Batman" title. And I don't think it will have any of the social commentary, which I've done maybe five or six times out of 10 years I've written comics. Which apparently, everybody thinks I do in every single issue or something... There's going to be nothing viewed as an after school special in this run of "Batman." There's lots of touchy-feely shit along with the beating up of bad guys. And explosions and dangling from sides of buildings and what not because I like writing humanistic characters but all that crap that everyone usually whines about that I do, I obviously won't be that doing here.

 

I've got two words for this, "Hells" and "Yeah"!  I'm really happy to hear something like this because it means that DC isn't letting the heavy social commentary of Dark Knight go to their heads.  Yes, Batman can be a very deep character with a bunch of different levels to him.  But he can also be a straightforward ass kicker, and sometimes it seems that comic writers forget this and will have Bats go for issue after issue without fighting and will have books filled with nothing but overly long winded dialogue. 

 

Yes, Batman is smart.  Yes, he's the world's greatest detective.  But he's also a black belt in like a thousand different martial arts styles, and we don't get to see him cut loose often enough.  Hearing Winick say that his Batman is going to be more of an ass kicker than a detective will be a welcome reprieve from the overly talky and short on action Batman titles that tend to dominate the store shelves lately.

 

And now for the second bit of news.  Just watch this:

 



 

Holy hell!!!  A Batman game where you not only have to beat the living shit out of every thug around, but you actually have to use your brains while doing it?  Oh my god, I think I just had a nerd orgasm.

 

If the rest of this game plays only half as good as this demo makes it look, this will still be the single best Batman game of all time.  You have to use stealth and your wits to take down criminals one at a time.  You can use sneak attacks to cause thugs to get scared.  You get to full on act like Batman.  Wow.  I really hope this game doesn't disappoint, because all the videos I've seen of it keep raising my expectations for it higher and higher.

 

(Via IO9 and ToplessRobot)

Cartoon Network Makes Me Want To Cry (But At Least It's Not All Bad News)

 



 

This has been a bad month for Geek-centric television.  First off, there was the announcement that the Sci-Fi Channel was renaming itself and will now be called the incredly dumb name SyFy.  Now comes news from Cartoon Network that their 2009-2010 season will be featuring a number of new shows and a few of them are not Cartoons!

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'd expect a TV station called Cartoon Network to only feature . . . you know . . . cartoons.  But there I go again trying to apply perfectly good logic to corporate thinking.  Here's a summary of what to expect from the new Not All Cartoon Network next season.

 

Highlights include entering into the reality TV genre, creating a new sports-centric programming block, and introducing 19 new programs, pilots, and movies, including six that are live-action (umm...) as well as 164 episodes of returning series. In doing so, Cartoon Network stepped out on its evolutionary path to become what it described as a "dominant youth culture brand," that not only understands boys, including boys 6-11, but girls and older kids too, while creating "un-sanitized" "TV for kids, not kids TV".

 

Good god.  Where do I even start?  A reality show?  Six live action shows? The network trying to define itself as the "dominant youth culture brand"?  No.  I know where I'll start.  I'll start with the bit about the sports-centric programming.  That is, afterall, the most egregious sin mentioned in that paragraph.

 

Cartoon Network is creating a new Saturday afternoon sports focused programming block titled CN AMPT, underscoring its new deal with the NBA and relationship with Turner Sports. NBA commissioner David Stern, who discussed Cartoon Network's new partnership with the NBA announced earlier in the week, revealed that Boston Celtic Eddie House and his 7-year-old son Jaelen will be the stars of the first project together, the short-form series My Dad's a Pro. So pleased with the NBA's new relationship with the network, Stern quipped to those assembled, "If I were a buyer, I would buy."

 

If I were a buyer, I'd be selling like there's no tomorrow.  My Dad's A Pro?  Are you kidding me!?!  This sounds like the same kinds of backwards thinking that ruled animated shows throughout most of the 90's.  Remember all of those really bad cartoons that tried so hard to be "extreme" in the 90's?  Yeah, neither do I.  Wanna know why?  They were crap and we've forgotten about them already.  They were so bad we blocked them from memory. 

 

At least I can take comfort though in the thought that CN AMPT probably won't last for more than a season or two before they realize that the ratings are crap and they cancel the shows in the block and send them to the unmourned cartoon hell they belong.  Cartoons and sports do not mix.  There are only two exceptions to this rule.

 

• 1.  If Goofy is learning to play a new sport, that's ok.  His old sports cartoons were great.  Like the time he learned to water ski and accidentally entered a race, and the announcer called him Racer X.  Classic!

 

• 2.  If it's the Scooby Doo team meeting the Harlem Globetrotters.

 

Other than those two examples, sports and cartoons should never ever merge.  The results are usually a craptastic show that kids will summarily ignore.

 

At least it wasn't all bad news though.  There were a few bright gems to be found amongst all of the bad stuff.  Batman: Brave and the Bold has been renewed for a second season, which is awesome!  Clone Wars will be coming back for a second season as well, and the popular new version of Ben 10 where he's a 16 year old is coming back too.

 

The best news though, as far as I'm concerned, is that Genndy Tartakovsky has a new show coming out.  You may remember Genndy from some of the amazingly awesome shows he's created such as Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab, and the first and coolest Clone Wars animated series.  His new show is called Sym-Bionic Titan, and it looks like this:

 



 

You can always tell the mark of an amazing show when even one photo from it makes you want to run out and pre-order a copy of the entire first season box set right now.  That's what this does to me.  A Giant see-through robot wrestling a dinosaur in the middle of a downtown area???

 

Sold!!!

 

Why isn't this show on TV right now?  I don't want to wait for the fall!  I need to see it now, now, now!!!

 

God bless you Genndy Tartakovsky.  At least you still understand what people want to see in a cartoon series.