THE MATRIX is very much a product of its time.

It was the late '90's. The Internet was rising in prominence, computers and technology were exciting, anime was starting to become popular in the US (especially GHOST IN THE SHELL), the black leather nightclub atmosphere was fresh, and CGI was starting to evolve as a new tool for special FX. The Wachowskis took their love for all of these things, as well as cyberpunk, martial arts, and philosophy, and made…

Viva la France!

I feel like almost every review of this film always turns into a lecture on the history of cinema. I don't wish to do that here, so I'll just leave it at this: Georges Méliès truly was the first person to see the artistic potential of narrative film. In 1902, he created the first truly great film (a year later THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY would rank beside it, and in the years to come, DW Griffith would…

No matter how good of a filmmaker you think you are, there's always Robert Altman.

Again and again, Altman continues to surprise me with his gems, which almost always provide unique insights into characters. SHORT CUTS tells the interlocking stories of nine different couples, all living in the same Los Angeles neighborhood, with sex and death being the two most predominant themes, sometimes intertwined with one another. Adapted from the work of Raymond Carver, we follow a drama of parents…

This is a REALLY good movie and shame on Hollywood for remaking it!

Trance-like pace, haunting camerawork and set design, one of the few films where you really notice lighting. Initially I thought this would be a style-over-substance film, but to my surprise, I actually got invested in the story and cared about the characters. Jessica Harper is really good. Considering how little depth the script gives her as well as some bad dialog, she's able to become a charismatic…