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ctdonath
Reviews
The Beast (1995)
Faithful telling of a short story
Based on "The Soul of Martha, a Beast" by Terrel Miedaner, excerpted from "The Soul of Anna Klane". This film is a proper & faithful telling of this moving short story, which I first read in Hofstadter & Dennett's anthology "The Mind's I".
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Another good "question reality" film
The last year has produced a bunch of wonderful "question reality" films, and Thirteenth Floor is the latest entry. This resembles a cross between The Matrix (dark, high-tech setting featuring computer-simulated worlds) and The Truman Show (quiet but tense; we know the "truth" early on and enjoy watching the characters discover and escape), and maintains the quality of both. An excellent film.
If our world is a simulation, it most likely would resemble The Thirteenth Floor.
The Matrix (1999)
An excellent testosterone-laden cybertale of...scripture!
As many others have written, this is simply an awesome film, combining high-intensity action, spectacular graphics, and lots-o-cool with a real, meaningful plot.
As I examine obvious and subtle aspects, it becomes clear that The Matrix is an artistic-liberty retelling of the Gospel (i.e. The Bible, chapters Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). From the character names (Trinity, Neo [new man], etc.), the plot (this world is not fully real; arrival and actions of a messiah), to even the title ("matrix" is an old-english term used in the Old Testament for "womb"), this spectacular cybertale is grounded in the old and still-relevant central story of scripture.
Also interesting is that this is the third film (alongside The Truman Show and Dark City) in a year that feature our hero discovering he lives within a false reality, and struggles to escape. Even better is that all three films are excellent.