NiGe2011 Reviews

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Neither awful nor amazing...

[13 December 2004]

I went into 'Oceans 12' as being a big fan of the first installment, but my hopes were not astronomical. And for the two or so hours that I watched the movie, I was not disappointed. However, I cannot say that I enjoyed it nearly as much as I had enjoyed 'Oceans 11'.

'Oceans 12' was a very fun, but at the same time flawed, movie. The movie was every film students dream come true, full of indie style camera and editing tricks from beginning to end. But this could not hide the fact that at its core it was still a studio movie. The storyline was entertaining and full of just as many twists and turns as had graced the first one. However, when the final credits rolled I could not help but wonder about some of the loose ends (and there were many). It almost felt as though the scriptwriter had too many ideas that really did not fit with one another, but he threw them in anyway. At times it could be a little frustrating and leave you wondering why they even showed the last ten minutes of the movie.

By far the strong suit of the film was the cast and their generally above par performances. Brad Pitt was excellent again, and Matt Damon was probably even better then he had been in '11'. The rest of the gang was about as they had been previously, with the possible exception of Shaobo Qin whom I felt was even funnier this time around. Catherine Zeta Jones turned out to be a welcome addition and she fit right in with the movies flow as Pitt's love interest. She perhaps looked the most comfortable in her role out of all of them, despite the fact that it was her first hand in the series.

All in all, I was pleased that I had spent the eight dollars to go and see this the day that it opened. But by the same token, I doubt I will be purchasing it when it appears on DVD.

My Overall Rating: 6 1/2 out of 10

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

a large step in the right direction

[7/10 · 9 November 2003]

"The Matrix, Revolutions" was not on the level with the original, this much is true. However, it was undoubtedly a large step in the right direction.

To start with the most praise-worthy aspect of "Revolutions", being that of visuals. From a visual standpoint this movie was amazing, the CGI was unrivaled by anything that had ever come before it. The final battle between Smith and Neo easily places itself somewhere in my three favorite cinematic sequences of all time. And the battle between the machines and humans in Zion is also jaw-dropping. From a purely visual standpoint this movie is simply the best of three (which is boasting a lot since the free-way chase in the sub par "Reloaded" was quite the sight itself). The CGI is probably the best in any movie ever made, a notch above "Reloaded", which at times felt as though it were a video game, and worlds ahead of any of the recent Star War's movies.

Another improvement that was made upon the previous installments of the series was the music. Gone are cheesy techno theme's and watered-down POD lyrics. Instead we get to feast upon more gospel and, dare I say, epic themed musical backgrounds. Epic, as it would turn out, is the word that could best describe the feel of this final Matrix chapter, the entire time you feel as though you are engaged in something epic and important.

The acting is right back where it should have been in the second one, as all characters are portrayed better by their respective actors/actresses. Fishburne provides us with probably his strongest performance of the three, he is in a the role of a more emotional Morpheus then we have seen before. And it certainly turns out to be a role that he seems comfortable in. Reeves and Moss also both seem to be right back in their acting grooves (this is of course assuming Keanu ever had one). Also, Agent Smith definitely is the strongest character in this movie, the acting is right-on and the character is developed to completely new heights as true sadistic colors come out completely for the viewer to enjoy.

The only complaints that can be made are about the over done philisophical conversations and the movie's open ended conclusion. "Revolutions" at times feels as though it is trying too hard to be intellectual. Impending death does not need to make everybody do their best Plato impersonations. And in the end you may feel as though the movie has left you as clueless as when the series first began... Then again, you may also feel as though you have figured it all out. But irregardless the future of The Matrix is left up in the air.

In the end, "Revolutions" will be hated by some people and loved by others, there will be no gray here. It is hard not to measure it up to the first Matrix, which leaves it looking slightly wanting. However, it turns out to be thousands of times better then "Reloaded" (which I feel was a solid flick itself!) And one thing that the open ended conclusion does do for me, is fill me with hope that the journey down the rabbit hole is not yet over.