Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 8, 1999, edition 1 / Page 13
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A & E April 8, 1999 13 Top Weekend Movies 1. The Matrix 2.10 Things I Hate About You 3. The Out-of- Towners 4. Analyze This 5. Forces of Nature 6. Ed TV 7. Shakepeare in Love 8. Doug's 1st Movie 9. Life is Beautiful 10. The Mod Squad 'Matrix' blows the senses Chuck Buckley The Pendulum “Hey guess what kids, there is a new Keanu Reeves movie out. Oh boy! This is gonna blow.” I bet when you first heard about the movie “The Matrix,” you thought to yourself, “Hmm. A sci- ence-fiction action flick starring Keanu Reeves. Johnny Mnemonic what?” I’ll tell you one thing for cer tain, when I went to see this movie I wasn’t expecting much. In fact I was dreading the two plus hours that I would be spending with the Hollywood failure. This movie was spectacular. I was a crisp fast-paced ac tion flick with a plot that ac tually will make you sit back and say to quote Reeves “Whoa.” I can't tell you much about the story except that within the first 45 minutes the movie will redefine the whole scope of what we know as reality. The story is something like “Dark City” and “Terminator 2” mixed together with just a dash of “Strange Days.” Ev erything we see, taste, feel, every thing we experience, even the air in our lungs and the ground beneath our feet is nothing more than a virtual prison for the mind. The movie also breaks down other philosophical walls by asking the question “What is a human be ing/ This film is not a character development movie. While all the actors do a great job with their roles, even Reeves as a guy who is being blown away by having the his entire sense of the world exploded, the real focus of the movie is the ideas behind it. The filmmakers, the Wachowski brothers, are dealing with a concept that is so difficult to put in words that the only way to explain it is to use the visual me dium of film. The film explores all this cut Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Neo (Keanu Reeves) prepare to break it down, kung-fu style between some of the tightest action sequences and most amazing ef fects this reviewer has ever seen. Now I want to start off by saying that I am an action movie junkie. Some people love romantic comedy, others love horror flicks, for me, it’s all about lightning fast kung-fu and fully automatic small arms fire. I think it’s fairly safe to say that “The Matrix” is a fantastic adrenaline rush. Seamless special effects are blended with gunfights and martial arts to create the fastest sequences you’ll ever see. The Wachowski brothers are using a technology that was created for this movie. You’ve seen it in the trailers. Using a combination of techniques created for the Gap jeans “Swing” Ad and computer anima tion the actors will look like they are moving faster than bullets. We can actually see the bullet and the air it’s cutting through in these shots. If you don’t like kung-fu, or at least enjoy seeing grown men and women beating the hell out of each other with a kicks and punches, don’t go see this movie. There is a lotofhandtohand violence in this movie. Th^spe cial effects are added into the fight sequences to create a battle that defies gravity. It takes the meaning of “wire-fu” to a whole new level of excellence. This movie is a work of art, both visually and conceptually. Through the use of unusual angles and slow motion the movie creates some of the most memorable movie pictures you could possibly imag ine. Empty bullet casings raining down onto the street from a helicop ter. An elevator exploding in slow motion, blowing the door right out of the wall and into the camera. People leaping from building to building in perfect detail. Go see this movie and then go see it again. It is a visual treat. I wish that I could tell you more about the story, but as the trailer says, “No one can be told what the Matrix is, they have to see it.” WSOE 89.3 Top Ten 1. The Rentals "Hello, Hello" 2. The Cranbenies "Promises" 3. limp "Lost and Found" 4. AniDiFranco "Virtue" 5. The01d97's "Lonely Holiday" 6. Oasis "The Master Plan" 7. Sean Lennon "Dream" 8. Dave Matthews Band "Crush" 9. MXPX "Sick Boy" 10. The Montgomery Bums Band "Come Dance With Me" NOW HEAR THIS! CD Rj^ases April 13 Sarah McLachlin Olu The Tragically Hip Vitro pril 20 ul de Sac ator Through Spitfire Zhane 'Wfiere Ifs M On Jbur April 8: Baf$in£ik$d Ladies Walnut Creek, Raleigh April 9; |ump Little Children;^ Ztggy's, Winston-Salem April 11: Hard Knock Life Tour, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro April 13; Alabama^. Greensboro Coliseum April 15: Aerosmith/The Afghan Whigs^ Greensboro Coliseum April 21t AniDiFrancOy Grady Cole Center, Charlotte On Staae April 12; GilGatburg, Piano, VeagerE, Hall, 8pm April 13? Blon College Percussion Ensemble/ Yeager R» Hall, 8pm On Screen West Bnd CSnefma (538-9900) • The Out-of«Towners • Analyze This • Forces of Nature « Life is Beautiful ♦ Saving Private Ryan • True Crime • The Rage: Carrie 2 ♦ Ed TV ♦ The Mod Squad ♦ The King and I ♦ Doug's 1st Movie • Shakespeare in Love • The Matrix ♦ 10 Things I Hate About You ♦ Baby Geniuses
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 8, 1999, edition 1
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