entertainment | mashby

November 21, 2003

The Matrix Saga: Part Two – The Animatrix

Director(s): Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike, Mahiro Maeda, Kouji Morimoto, Shinichirô Watanabe
Writer(s): Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, Peter Chung, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Kouji Morimoto, Shinichirô Watanabe
Category: Action / Drama / Animation / Sci-Fi
MPAA: N/A, but intended for mature audiences
Runtime: 102 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2003

Plot: Anthology of nine short anime (Japanese animation) films tied in to the 1999 blockbuster “The Matrix” and its sequels. “Final Flight of the Osiris”: The crew of the hovercraft Osiris attempt to warn their city of an imminent attack. “The Second Renaissance, Parts 1 & 2”: The story behind the war between man and the machines, how mankind scorched the sky, and the creation of the Matrix. “Kid’s Story”: A teenager is contacted by Neo, and manages to escape the Matrix. “Program”: Two warriors battle in a samurai training simulation when one decides to betray his crewmates and re-enter the Matrix. “World Record”: A champion sprinter manages to break free of the Matrix by sheer physical effort during a record attempt. “Beyond”: A young girl searching for her cat discovers a haunted house caused by a glitch in the system. “A Detective Story”: Private investigator Ash tracks a hacker named Trinity through the looking glass. “Matriculated”: A group of humans capture a machine scout and insert it into a ‘human matrix’.

Review: The Matrix had a lot of firsts in it. The first movie to use bullet time, the first movie to bring comic book and anime storytelling to live action, etc. On it’s own The Matrix is a landmark film and had the Wachowski brothers left it at that, it would have been enough. Little did we know in 1999 (the year the Matrix was released) that the brothers had much more in store for us.

November 20, 2003

The Matrix Saga: Part One – The Matrix

Director(s): Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Writer(s): Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Category: Action / Sci-Fi
MPAA: R
Runtime: 136 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1999
Tagline: The Fight for the Future Begins

Plot: In the near future, a computer hacker named Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is “farmed” to fuel the Matrix’s campaign of domination in the “real” world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix.

Review: The movie that started it all. The Matrix came completely out of the blue. No one had ever heard of the directors, the Wachowski brothers. Their only other movie directorial effort was Bound, which no one ever saw. (Turns out, Bound was simply an audition to prove to the studios that they knew how to direct and could handle the project that was The Matrix). The actors were a mixed bag of good actors (Laurence Fishburne, Joe Pantoliano), bad actors (Keanu Reeves) and then unknown actors (Carrie-Ann Moss and Hugo Weaving). The previews gave nothing away. You were simply left with the question “What Is The Matrix?” and a few images of some very cool action. The only thing I knew at the time was that I HAD to go see the movie the night it was released.

November 7, 2003

Bicycle Touring: How To Prepare For Long Rides

Bicycle Touring: How To Prepare For Long Rides, by Steve Butterman Author: Steve Butterman
Edition: Paperback, 104 pages
Publisher: Wilderness Press; (October 1994)
ASIN: 0899971741
Category: Travel

I’ve always felt that you should never stop learning. Even if you feel that you’re an expert in a subject, I think you should still stay current and up-to-date, as well as read what others have to say on a subject. I’m no expert when it comes to bicycle touring, but I did do a 6 month tour of Europe from Ireland to Portugal once, so I do have a little experience. While preparing for a simple little jaunt down the Natchez Trace, I came across Steve Butterman’s book, Bicycle Touring: How To Prepare For Long Rides and decided to give it a read. I thought it might give me a few tips or tricks that I might find helpful. Surprisingly, the book did quite a bit more than that.

November 5, 2003

Tank, I Need An Exit

Today is the day. The day that I’ve been pining for months to come. Today is the launch of The Matrix Revolutions. I was given three tickets to the premier in IMAX format on my birthday and they’ve been locked away until today. I can’t wait!

October 25, 2003

My Favorite Periodical

The Rivendell Reader I do a lot of reading. Between the news feeds, web sites, E-mail, magazines, technical manuals, O’Reilly computer books, self help books, and pleasure reading, it seems like I’m always reading something. Out of all of the reading I do, there’s one periodical that stands out above the rest. I eagerly devour each issue and can’t wait for the next one to arrive. The latest issue just arrived this week and I’ve been gleefully perusing each and every page. What’ the name of this coveted gem? It’s The Rivendell Reader.

Admittedly, I’m a bit old school, especially when it comes to bicycles. I like things simple and proven. I just want Juliet (my touring bike) to work reliably and I don’t need the latest greatest gizmo. The Rivendell Bicycle Works company is right up my alley. To quote their web site, “We’re and eight-year-old manufacturer and mail-order bike shop for bike riders who prefer traditional, classical bicycles and parts and accessories to today’s ever-changing high-tech fare.” The Reader is a classic example of old school bicycling.

October 3, 2003

Matrix Overloaded

The Matrix Revolutions Movie Poster It’s hard to believe, but the third installment of The Matrix trilogy is almost upon us. It seems like just yesterday I was just frothing at the mouth to see The Matrix Reloaded and to be quite honest I thought my excitement for the final chapter to be somewhat waning. Of course that’s before I saw the Ultra Theatrical Trailer.

The Wachowski brothers never cease to amaze me. When the maximum quicktime preview that you can normally see is 640 x 480, they go and realease a better than DVD quality 1024 x 532 102MB file. Although I had seen the other three television trailers, I was totally unprepared for this ultra theatrial trailer. I’m not lying when I say this, after I watched it… I wept.

I may be the target demographic for these movies and simply acting out a pavolvian response, but I think Andy and Larry are cinematic geniuses. Regardless if you are a fan of their movies or not, they have done more to alter the future of visual arts than any other directors in history. Forget the fact that there hasn’t been an action scene in a movie that hasn’t been influenced by The Matrix, it seems that almost everything has been touched in some way. From advertising to eyeware, to even windsurfing. So I know that it can’t just be me that these movies resonate with can I?

October 1, 2003

I Want My MythTV!

MythTV Logo I watch too much TV as it is, but I have been wanting a Tivo for well over a year now. Calvin Parker, of Calivn’s Palm FAQ, turned me onto them, but I’ve simply never taken the plunge and bought one. I like to think it’s the $12.95 monthly service fees that have kept me from buying one, but in reality I think it’s the fear that I’ll never get up from the couch. 🙂

Now that I’ve dipped my toe in the Linux pond, I’m now considering putting together my own Linux box and rolling my own Tivo. Thanks to a Wired article on the subject, I’m considering attempting to install MythTV, which is an OpenSource project that allows you to setup your own digital video recorder. I read this article back in June, but it wasn’t until I saw the Hush Silent Mini-ITX PC that I started giving it some serious thought. There’s a plethora of Mini-ITX cases out there, with all sorts of options and bells and whistles. What appealed to me about the Hush is that is already pre-configured and it’s super quiet, which is perfect if you’re going to have it in your living room.

September 23, 2003

Where Did All The Jingles Go?

You Deserve A Break Today At McDonald's This week marks the start of the fall season for the major networks. As Holly and I watched the season premier of Two And A Half Men I was taken a back when the titles came on and I heard the title song. It was pathetic! Some low male groans and one little soprano wispy cry and that was it. The whole titles took no more than 10 seconds tops. That got me thinking about theme songs and how they haven’t totally disappeared, but they are certainly a rarity.

When I think about some of the classic TV shows, they all had a theme song. Cheers, All In The Family, Three’s Company all had memorable theme songs that you could probably sing parts of, if not the entire thing. “Come and knock on our door…” or “One, Two, Three, O’Clock, Four O’Clock, rock…”, each of those makes you immediately think of the television show associated with it. Not all shows had words in their theme songs, but they still had distinctive songs that you could quickly identify the show from, such as Bonanza, Seinfield, and Law and Order.

September 19, 2003

Under The Tuscan Sun

Double Jeopardy Director: Audrey Wells
Writer(s): Frances Mayes (Book), Audrey Wells (Screenplay)
Category: Romantic Comedy
MPAA: PG-13
Runtime:
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2003
Tagline: Life offers you a thousand chances… all you have to do is take one.

Plot: Loosely based on Frances Mayes’s best-selling memoir of the same title, Diane Lane stars as Frances, a newly divorced American lawyer who heads for the Italian region of Tuscany to make limonita out of life’s lemons. Having just quit her high-pressure job and ended her heartbreaking marriage, she buys a decrepit-but-charming house in Cortona on impulse, rebuilding it piece by piece — and herself along with it.

Review: If you love Italy then go see this movie. If you like real and intelligent characters then go see this movie. If you hate romantic comedies then go see this movie.

I am not a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre. More often than not, a romantic comedy is nothing more than a few good looking people thrown together and saddled with a lousy script. That’s not to say that there aren’t notable exceptions, but for the most part they suck. Based on the previews for this movie, I didn’t have high hopes, however I did receive a free pass to watch a sneak preview for the movie, so how could I say no? 🙂

September 7, 2003

A Toast To Dr. Foster

On Friday night, Holly, Mom and I went to the Davis Kidd bookstore for a book signing. Dr. David Foster was signing his new book, The Power to Prevail – Turning Your Adversities into Advantages, so we decided to pop on over and grab us a copy.

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