ziggy-22 Reviews

The Matrix (1999)

Follow the white rabbit...

[10/10 · 10 April 1999]

"Follow the white rabbit." A notorious computer hacker receives a mysterious message on his computer. His decision to further investigate the source and meaning of this message would irrevocably change his life forever.

This fast paced and rather complex plot is entertaining on many levels. While most viewers will be content with just the stunning visual effects and unbelievable martial arts sequences, others will enjoy the clever references to Lewis Carroll and Douglas Hofstadter.

Unusual camera angles combined with a viewpoint that is rarely stationary make this film a visual roller coaster ride. The plot is equally fast and filled with turns and twists to keep most viewers on their toes.

While most eyes are on Keanu Reeves, the sleeper of this film is Lawrence Fishburne. His compelling performance as the enigmatic Morpheus is outstanding. He plays it so well that the viewer is not sure if Morpheus is a good guy or a bad guy, a Zen master or a blind faith fool. Or just maybe, just maybe, all of the above. His performance is worth serious consideration.

The film, by tackling the sacred cows of philosophy and offering an unconventional scenario, will stimulate and amuse most viewers yet may offend or upset others. Take the scene where a little boy, dressed as a Far Eastern monk, bends a spoon by just looking at it and explains, "the spoon does not exist." While this works within the context of the film, it may offend those who take their Far Eastern philosophy seriously.

In the end, the film forces the viewer to ask if one would accept a horrifying, uncomfortable and disgusting truth over a pleasing, comfortable and attractive lie. Think before answering too quickly on this one.

Grand Canyon (1991)

No, it's not a western

[5 March 1999]

A guy takes a shortcut to avoid the traffic after a Lakers basketball game. This leads to a frightening, life-threatening encounter that forces him to deal with life, the universe and everything.

Why do some people choose to do good things while others choose to do bad and terrible things? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind of the Grand Canyon.

While this movie may not be for everyone, especially if you rent it thinking it's a western, well, it may still be worth viewing.

The haunting music that quietly accents the whole film till the powerful brass anthem variation at the ending credits adds to the overall feel of this movie.

The surgical operation sequence to remove a bullet from a leg was sickening. Obviously, the intention was to show that a bullet wound is more than just a red spot on clothing. The scene where the surgeon works through damaged muscle, tendon and shattered bone to remove a bullet and repair the wound was mercifully edited out of the TV version.

This movie makes a clever reference to another movie, "Sullivan's Travels". Search the database and you will find that this movie was released exactly fifty years before this movie (1941) and has similar themes. Maybe watching this 1941 film may make some sense out of "Grand Canyon" for some viewers.

Unfortunately, just as there are those who actually visited the real Grand Canyon and found it a spectacular, almost spiritual experience, there are those who think the Grand Canyon is just a big hole, the Parthenon is just a pile of rocks and this movie is just a senseless waste of time.

Charly (1968)

A warm yet cautionary tale

[28 February 1999]

A mildly mentally retarded man submits to a scientific experiment to increase his intelligence. Like "Frankenstein", "Charly" is a clever morality play about science that crosses certain boundaries. Unlike "Frankenstein", which took the horror route, "Charly" explores the emotional human tragedy that inevitably occurs when an experiment of this nature goes awry.

Many scientists back then and even today argue that the professional boundaries that were crossed in this story would never happen in real life. Yet with the recent successful gene manipulation and cloning experiments many believe it is only a matter of time, a very short time, before a human submits to such experiments.

The movie, of course, is not this clinical. Based on the classic novel, "Flowers for Algernon", the movie strikes a keen balance of warmth, comedy and tragedy. Cliff Robertson's fascinating portrayal of the main character is unforgettable. His delivery of the powerful speech at the scientific convention is just as stunning and eerily accurate today as it was over thirty years ago.

An emotional, touching drama, "Charley" still rings a cautionary bell. One that should be heard and not ignored as we enter the new millennium.

Great Performances: The Lost Language of Cranes (1991) Season 20, Episode 17

Worth viewing, if you can find it...

[13 February 1999]

A son "comes out of the closet" to his parents. A movie that starts with this simple premise turns into a fascinating drama about the origins of sexual preference.

Is it genetics, environment or a little of both that influence the sexual preference of an individual? It is revealed later in the movie that the father is a repressed homosexual that did all the "right" things in his life. He married, had a son, and maintained a modest, conservative household. Outwardly, there was nothing wrong with his life. Inwardly, he was miserable.

A subplot cleverly approaches the environment question when a three-year-old boy is discovered abandoned by his parents and his unusual actions are studied by a social worker. The curious title for this film stems from this subplot.

In the end, how one deals with their sexual preference may be more important than knowing the origins of their preference.

The surprise for most will be Rene Auberjonois ("Deep Space Nine"), for his non-stereotypical portrayal of an openly gay man.