Movie Review: Terminator 3

The only thing remarkable about this movie is that it is the shape Arnold is in after all of these years!

The intriguing ideas and three (or four?) dimensional characters the first two movies are gone and all that is left is a long chase scene. Arnold can keep up - cool.

I don't know why a third movie was necessary. I was happy with T2.

Anyway, what is there to say? Machines (one good and one bad) go back in time to solve problems of the future... they chase some people... destruction... slight surprise at the end. For a chase movie T3 is pretty good. There are some cool scenes that I don't think have been done before and the budget was high - cool.

The movie is cool, but unremarkable. I am wasting time that could be spent elsewhere.

On the official Chris' Choice scale Terminator 3 gets two stars.

**

Movie Review: The Matrix Reloaded

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act 5, scene 5

Keep poor old Macbeth in mind when you watch this movie and you will have a grand time. The Matrix Reloaded is a fabrication about a fabrication about a ...

I liked this movie - maybe because I have a tendency to be soft on the middle movie of trilogies. Much has to be revealed and set-up for the third movie. There are long speeches by the Morpheus, new characters, and hints of things to come. I don't see this stuff as boring or some kind of teasing but as potential for a really good third movie.

The movie plays with what we understand reality to be. In the first installment we were confident that we could tell one from the other. The sequel puts that all in question. We see speeches by Morpheus that seem so deep that they signify nothing; the unstoppable determinism that rules Neo's life makes us wonder if he is on a stage; we even meet the idiot. My question is: whose story is he telling? and how far does the stage extend? All of these questions, and more, get posed or at least alluded to in this movie. The possibilities are intiguing. I was not expecting to leave satisfied, I was expecting to leave excited to see the third. I was happy - surprised even - to leave with my knowledge of the first film so unravelled that I had to watch it again.

A movie like this is a refreshing change from a lot of the crap that gets spewed out these days. On one level it thrills you with all the FX it uses and the cool fight scenes. The thing I like is that it excites you intellectually you are forced to spend time trying to figure out just what idea is the key that will bring reality into focus. The "philosophy" and "depth" is sound and fury - in the end signifying nothing - regardless of what a bunch of geeks think. The search for the key, or the coffee house theories about what will make the whole story make sense provides the fun.

On the official Chris' Choice scale The Matrix Reloaded gets three stars.

***

Movie Review: The Score

This is a solid movie! There are several genres of movies out there. The Score is a 'heist' movie. It's about robbers stealing things. I said that I thought Saving Private Ryan was the epitome of the 'American War Movie' The Score is a very solid representative of the the heist genre. Simply, I am not as familiar with heist films as I am with war movies and The Score isn't as perfect as Ryan.

Let me talk generally. There is little need to go into specifics about this movie, it is easy to understand and so I needn't explain plot. First, unlike movies like Heat and other heist films this one is all about characters and plot and is consequently more expressive and intriguing. I think there are about three, maybe four gunshots fired and nobody is murdered. As the plot develops you can see the two main characters DeNiro and Norton develop and the contrast of their characters demonstrates why this is such a compelling genre. DeNiro is the old veteran and is trying to find that one piece, that will satiate him and put his life in order so that he can retire. There is a genuine yearning for normalcy in DeNiro's character. Norton is the new guy who wants honour and demands respect, though he is unwilling to earn it. The two characters are working together on this heist of great complexity and cooperation is tolerated. The genre, and this movie are not about the heist, but about life and the place of material possession in this material world. Norton wants something so that he can be respected, DeNiro wants something so that his life will be more complete. The movie works very well on this level and need not rely on explosions and unbelievable Mission Impossible style whizbang gimmicks to keep us interested.

The allegory of the tale is simple, and compelling. The story is well told, complex and complete. There are no plotholes. Every character is interesting (except DeNiro's girlfriend who is one dimensional). The actors are superior and the photography is well done. This movie is well worth seeing

On the official Chris' Choice scale The Score gets four stars.

****