After the release of The Matrix, there were many movies that tried to capitalize on the popularity of the film. One can't really blame them for trying, but the 360 rotation shots and bullet-time effects became cultural clichés faster than you can say "Neo". Granted, The Matrix is one of my all-time favorite movies and its impact on filmmaking cannot be denied. With that established, Equilibrium is one movie that still begs (and even welcomes) this comparison.

Take the main character John Preston (played by Christian Bale), for example. He is not unlike the stoic Neo of The Matrix. The only difference being that it's actually written into the story of Equilibrium (more on that in a second). Preston doesn't have sidekick characters as memorable as Morpheus though.

So let's get down to the plot. The movie is about a utopian (but Fascist) future in which it is illegal to feel, and a drug, Prozium, is distributed to every living person. Prozium, of course, has the effect of numbing all emotion. All literature, music, and art are prohibited and thereby eliminated, consequently suppressing humanly emotions. As result, the future world is free of war and conflict.

Cleric Preston enforces the law, helping to weed out extraneous items from people's homes. However, in his many encounters with people who resist the law, he becomes curious. What would it be like to live without Prozium? What he finds is rather extraordinary. Suddenly he cares for so-called criminals, those being executed for their treason, and even animals.

The action scenes in Equilibrium are very reminiscent of The Matrix. In spite of the similarities, all told, this movie still does pretty well at the execution stage. It's entertaining, but it's hard to watch it without thinking of The Matrix.

As for the storyline, I found it to be somewhat similar to Gattaca (another decent film). Gattaca certainly did not have the action elements found here, but it did have similar dramatic impact.

All in all, it's a movie worth watching. I don't know if I would equate it to the Matrix in terms of overall impact, but it's entertaining no less.

So I was at the cinema the other week, and we were trying to decide on a movie to see. Neither my friend nor I had actually seen any recent previews, so that left us with the posters to decide. We settled on Extraordinary Measures, because it depicted a dramatic looking Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford.

We knew we were about to see a drama but we didn't know what kind. I half expected a political thriller, and I guess to a degree that's true, but it was really a story centering on Fraser's character, John Crowley, and his children. Two of his children are affected by a rare but fatal genetic disorder, and Crowley scrambles in search of a researcher who might have a cure. This is how he comes across Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Naturally, Crowley encounters a variety of obstacles in his attempts to save his soon-to-be extinguished children.

All in all, I found the movie to be engaging. The acting was quite good, and I didn't feel there were any issues with suspension of disbelief. Granted, dramas aren't for everyone, and this may not be an instant classic, but it's worth seeing once.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't remember ever seeing a good Jet Li movie. Not that I have anything against the guy, but any movies that I've seen starring Mr. Li tended to be long-winded, predictable, and otherwise just boring.

Enter Hero. Obviously, I had to watch any movie claiming to be a "masterpiece". Someone with half a mind even gave it 5 stars! Granted, that's what the critics had to say, so color me skeptical.

Well, I've watched the film, and I'm here to tell you that it's actually pretty good. Really good, in fact. The visuals are stunning, the costumes are colorful, and the action is quite entertaining.

The story surrounds Nameless (I'm not joking, that's really his name), an assassin hell-bent on killing the King of Qin. Naturally, Nameless has unspoken motives, and they are only revealed gradually.

In fact, Nameless gives a false account of events when he first meets the King, though the King gradually pieces it together. The story is basically comprised of three parts (presented in flashbacks): 1) the lie that Nameless wants the king to believe, 2) the way the King sees it, and 3) the truth.

In fact, the King only summoned Nameless because he assumed he was a good-hearted hero for killing three of his enemies. The story tells otherwise.

Ultimately, Nameless chooses not to assassinate the King, and in turn is killed by the King's army. Nameless is crowned as a hero, but that's a part of Eastern philosophy I don't really get. Maybe I'm dense, but even though I'm familiar with similar stories, I don't really understand the reasoning behind it. I don't get why he didn't kill the King, either. Maybe because he knew that he would be killed too?

In any case, I'm not going to spill anymore. You should see this movie for yourself. Highly recommended.

Yay! I'm finally done working on this. At least for now...

I'm going to go and record more footage for Let's Play Sandora no Daibouken.

I'm going to be restructuring the site, so just hang tight if some things don't seem to be working properly. Thanks!