The Matrix

For a while I called The Matrix my favorite movie, and the only reason I don't anymore is that I have a difficult time declaring a favorite anything. It's legacy was marred by the sequels, but watching it again, it still holds up as a really good action movie with a story worth thinking about. The "bullet time" effect shots aren't as impressive as they used to be and the way that they're lingered on seems kind of silly and self-indulgent now, but they don't detract too much from some otherwise excellent fight scenes. Everybody and their dog is complaining about shaky cam filming now, and it's nice to see an American movie again that shows the action in a way that you can actually tell easily what's going on. People don't like stunt doubles anymore, so it seems the compromise is to move the camera around really fast and cut quickly so it's hard to tell if it's really the actor or if he's even doing anything. The Wachowski Brothers on the other hand, say what you will about them ripping off anime and Philosophy 101, decided to take the time to train the main actors enough so they could convincingly pull off some pretty nice martial arts choreography. Nobody's confusing Keanu Reeves with Jet Li or anything, but it works well enough, and they don't go overboard on the wires either, a technique that I've come to dislike.

The movie isn't only good at Kung Fu, either. It has a really good gunfight and a really good chase that's intertwined with a really good science fiction robot monsters thing. It's still tense after all these times I've seen it. The movie's almost ten years old, but it really has aged better than many expected it would. Just the central story, the revelation of what's really going on behind the scenes, the whole crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and their camaraderie, the solid betrayal and interrogation scenes... the movie is just good. I enjoyed the sequels enough, but they're not close to the original's incredible watchability. Neo is the role that Keanu Reeves was born to play, sort of like Arnold with The Terminator. They're not very good actors, but this is a role he just seems to fit perfectly. There's not many people you could buy as a disconnected hacker (there's his woodenness) and as badass savior of humanity (he's good at looking kinda stoic). And this is where Hugo Weaving declared himself as king of the movies for nerds genre, playing a great villain with moments of both unnerving coldness and immense rage. I have no qualms with saying I love this movie.

The Sopranos - Season 4

The saga of the Soprano families continues. This was a really important season, with the single most important plot event of the show so far occurring at the end. It's not quite something you won't see coming, but it's still a bit of a surprise to see the central dynamic of the show change so dramatically. The pivotal scene is extremely well acted by the main characters, and it might be the biggest moment in one of history's best shows, as I've been told on more than one occasion that I shouldn't even bother watching the last two seasons. I still well, although I can't say me expectations haven't been tempered, especially since I already know about the non-ending.

They really did a good job that year of creating a story with tons of interweaving facets. Everything connects nicely without seeming contrived, and even though they still stay focused on a few topics per episode, it's all balanced very well. Janice dates Ralph who continues to cause Tony problems who's dealing with more pressure from Carmine in New York. Furio deals with feelings for Carmella who finds out about Tony's continued infidelity and has more arguments with her kids. While in jail, Paulie gets led on by Johnny Sack who is furious over comments made by Ralph. Chris' drug problems hurt Adriana, who's being used by the FBI. It all goes round and round and never gets boring. Hits get called for and canceled at the last second, and bad situations continue to get worse without being predictable. It's quite funny sometimes too, and the dream sequences are still fresh and some of the best put to film. The Sopranos is a darn good show.

The Sopranos - Season 3

I can see why The Sopranos might appeal more to an older audience than it does to me. The family issues it covers can resonate with anyone in America, but it's all told from a more mature perspective. I don't know what it's like to see your kids move out or get in trouble or see close friends pass away. Most of the younger characters on the show are unlikable, especially the ones involved with the mob business, who are almost universally portrayed as worthless idiots who mess up and then get killed. The youngest one who hasn't screwed up yet is Chris, but he gets made partway through the season so he's no young pup. Carmella's (Tony's wife) character is very prominent, and everything she deals with, how to cope with a criminal husband she still loves and her two very different children, are something I have no reference with. Still, the show is very good even if it wasn't made with me in mind.

There's a lot to deal with in the third season. An obnoxious relative moves on but another takes their place. Another prominent underling emerges who Tony butts heads with, this time played by the enjoyable Joe Pantoliano. The FBI's making a stronger push to compile evidence on him. His daughter has problems with boys and his son with school. He meets a new girlfriend in a place that should worry him, his psychiatrist's office. It's all balanced very well. Sometimes other shows try to give you snippets of all the plot threads being juggled all the time, but usually here they just pick one or two per episode to give real attention to. One aspect of the show I like is how frank it is with the violence and how things can quickly get out of hand in their line of work. In one episode, a simple trip to pick up owed money turns into an altercation and then a whole day getting lost in the woods, chasing after prey that could potentially be very dangerous. They definitely don't flinch showing the rough stuff. I'm gonna keep watching to see how wrong things get.

Grand Theft Auto III

In anticipation of Grand Theft Auto IV, which I should be getting my hands on soon, I'll talk a bit about the Playstation 2 trilogy that made me love the series.

Around the Christmas of 2001, there was a bit of a rivalry brewing between the PS2 and the new Xbox. Both systems had a high-profile game coming out. The PS2 had Metal Gear Solid 2, and the Xbox had Halo. But a lesser known game came out of nowhere to far more commercial success than either, a 3D sequel to a kitschy top-down driving series. It was GTA3, and it was a lot of fun. I remember playing it for the first time and being amazed by what I could do. It was the first true open-world game of its kind. The freedom was incredible. Going anywhere in the city, getting into fights with the different gangs, uncovering street races or secret jumps, listening to the hilarious talk radio station.

Of course, what we ended up doing a lot was just causing mayhem, recklessly plowing through pedestrian traffic with a semi truck and getting as many cop cars as you could to chase you. It was a revelation when we realized the best way to rack up stars on your wanted level was to attack people on foot instead of just running them over. And of courses, you could pick up prostitutes to heal you in exchange for money, and if you so chose, kill them afterward to get it back. Money was never an issue in the game, it was just a darkly humorous way to beat the system. Unfortunately, this single aspect of a huge, often quite intelligent game was focused on by media watchdogs and overzealous parents. They warped it, trying to make the game out to be training kids to be brutal killers, with the mistreatment of women in the forefront. Never mind that the series has never once instructed you to harm a prostitute, or any other person who could be considered an innocent bystander. It just allows it, letting you make yourself into any character you wanted. The game also allows you to use an ambulance to deliver people to a hospital and rewards you for doing it well, but I guess that doesn't sell newspapers as well.

Beyond the sandbox mayhem, the game also started the series' trend towards interesting storylines set up by very professionally handled cutscenes. The main character never spoke, but you still felt sympathy for him when he was betrayed and wanted to help him set things right. Working your way up the ladder, interacting with all the different movers and shakers in the criminal underworld, and having a hand in the direction the city takes was a hell of a lot of fun. Everybody latches on to the primitive technology and unsatisfactory weapon targeting now, but it wasn't that big of a deal back then, when you had so much choice in how you took care of things. Other games let you decide between picking off foes from a distance or getting in their face and making them explode, but few let you set up a barrier beforehand and block off their escape route. It started the trend of making the last couple of missions in the game a little too difficult, when you're faced with tons of guys with automatic weapons and the bad targeting really rears its ugly head, but finally getting it done is all the more satisfying. There were too many technical flaws, but when you just consider the scope of it and what it did for gaming as a whole, Grand Theft Auto III was a masterpiece.