Lord of the Rings: Film Review

Movie: Lord of the Rings

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Based on JRR Tolkien's novels

Genre: Fantasy-Action-Romance-Historical

Movie Summary:

An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been found, and through a strange twist in fate has been given to a small Hobbit named Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it! However he does not go alone. He is joined by Gandalf, Legolas the elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir and his three Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin and Samwise. Through mountains, snow, darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every corner the Fellowship of the Ring must go. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign!

Welcome to Middle Earth:

LOTR is one of the greatest classic movie I've ever seen in my life; both Master Tolkien and Director Peter Jackson did an amazing job and I admired them for that. They're great people to look up to. 

Middle Earth is what the LOTR's world was called; Like Earth, they have their own universe, creatures, traditions, cultures and problems to deal with. There are many magical creatures such as Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs and more. But of course, there's also the race of Men; Humans are the main ingredients of most stories and moves and in LOTR it was mentioned that humans are the most complex and 'not lame' characters. If someone's thinking that human race is typical and boring well that's definitely not true.

History of Middle Earth:

Middle-earth, or Endor is the name used for the habitable parts of Arda after the final ruin of Beleriand, and is east across the Belegaer from Aman. It is north of the Hither Lands shown in the Ambarkanta and west of the East Sea; and throughout the First and Second Ages it went through many colossal geographical changes, caused by Iluvatar.

Tolkien, in one of his letters, estimated the end of the Third Age to about 6,000 years before his own time. The action of the books is largely confined to the north-west of the Endor continent, implicitly corresponding to modern-day Europe. The history of Middle-earth is divided into several Ages: The Hobbit and the main text of The Lord of the Rings deal exclusively with events towards the end of the Third Age and conclude at the dawn of the Fourth Age, while The Silmarillion deals mainly with the First Age. The world (Arda) was originally flat but was made round near the end of the Second Age by Eru Ilúvatar, the Creator.

"Middle-earth" is a literal translation of the Old English term Middangeard, referring to this world, and the habitable lands of men. Tolkien translated "Middle-earth" as Endor (or sometimes Endóre) and Ennor in the Elvish languages Quenya and Sindarin, respectively. The north of Endor became the Eurasian land-mass after the primitive Earth was transformed into the round world of today.

The Elves of Middle Earth

The Elves of Middle Earth are the first born children of their worshipped deity, Eru Illuvatar. They are known for being tall, having long silver, blonde or black hair and of course their pointed ears. They are indeed beautiful creatures that is very hard to resist. Elves does not age, and they are agile too. They are expert in archery and can heal themselves too. They are somewhat immortal since they don't get old but they can die in the battle field once beaten hard. Another reason for them to die is if they "Fade away".

For most elves, having a romantic relationship with mortals are tabboo or forbidden, because once they tie themselves with a mortal that will also mean their death. Mortals will remain as mortals, they'll get old and die while Elves will remained young and beautiful. Once their soulmate died, they will fade away. When the time of Elves has come to an end, they all sail back to their homeland, Valinor or the Undying Lands.

Additional Infos:

Elves, like Men, are both Children of Ilúvatar (God, The One) and thus are very similar to Men. Unlike Men, however, they are immortal, in that their bodies do not age once they have reached maturity, so that they do not seem to become elderly or die of old age, and they are not afflicted by disease. They can be killed by physical injury however, or they may come to death from wasting away if after long eons of life they lose the will to live. The Elves came into existence before Men, and when they die they pass to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor, where they await the end of Time.

Elves are (generally) unusually handsome of face and body, and they have far better vision and hearing than Men. They also have skills and abilities, and perception of things around them, far greater than that of Men, although whether this is an innate quality or is the result of long experience after having lived so long, is not known. They are also light of foot, can travel long distances without leaving tracks, and often can walk lightly across snow where the boots of Men would go through.

My Insights:

I like LOTR's Elves, they're totally cool and awesome. While watching and reading about them, I could honestly relate them to Angels and the beings from Heaven. I don't know if Master Tolkien did based them from the holy beings but its like that. They are beautiful, does not get old and much better than humans. And just like how Angel-Human relationship is forbidden, Elf-Human relationship is not allowed as well. Elves are the known highest and lived the longest for many many centuries since they're Eru's first borns. And speaking of Eru, this deity is like the representation of Almighty Creator in Middle Earth.

I personally love Lord of the Rings not only because of it's high quality and huge production sets, special effects and costumes but also because it mirrors a lot of things and there's a message in it. It is like the fantasy representation of this world and the problem it's facing. Elves looking down at Men, Elves having an unend conflict with the Dwarves, these represents the races fighting and discriminating each other.

LOTR taught me to become strong at all times and that I should not give up no matter how hard the problem is, there is always a way to survive. Darkness will not stay forever, light will shed at the right time and the Highest won't leave us alone. A lot of things happened in the movie and there's a lot of things to understand; life will always go on no matter what, every ending has a beginning. And when it comes to LOVE, it taught me that nothing matters when it comes to this feeling; no status, race or anything will stop you from loving the person you really love. If the two are meant for each other, nothing would stop them. Not even Death will win. It is true that Love conquers all. 

LOTR is such a unique and complicated 2 hours movie that you need to do a lot of absorption in order to understand everything but I gotta say it's worth it. I am also proud of the casts because they did a pretty good job on portraying their assigned characters. They all got it right.  It is worth using a huge amount of money in this film since it's really beautiful and many liked it too. Though there are many who said that there's a huge difference between Tolkien's and Jackson's I don't really have a problem with it because for me, I found both of their works good and besides, the movie is only BASED, it's not really the whole book so I guess Director PJ can add or less if he wants.

Here's a video about LOTR:

Resources:

www.youtube.com

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(film_series)

www.fanpop.com (for the pictures)

Au Revoir!

~Yumi Lemuel/Mare/Care Bear/M'Lady/"Ojousama" daw/Akira/Abby

(Mary Louise O. Sarion)

Genre: Fantasy

Fantasy(Movie Genre)

This kind of genre is always accompanied of imaginary worlds or anything beyond normalcy. Fantasy is known for it's dazzling special effects and visuals which does not exist in real life. It is obviously the counterpart of reality.

The identifying traits of fantasy are the inclusion of fantastic elements in a self-coherent setting, where inspiration from mythology and folklore remains a consistent theme. Within such a structure, any location of the fantastical element is possible: it may be hidden in, or leak into the apparently real world setting, it may draw the characters into a world with such elements, or it may occur entirely in a fantasy world setting, where such elements are part of the world. Essentially, fantasy follows rules of its own making, allowing magic and other fantastic devices to be used and still be internally cohesive.

Examples of Fantasy Movies:

**Lord of the Rings

**Harry Potter

**Chronicles of Narnia

**Final Fantasy: Advent Children

**Peter Pan

**Alice in Wonderland

**Suckerpunch

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100122025108/religionwiki/images/b/b7/The_chronicles_of_narnia_prince_caspian02.jpg
www.google.com

~YL(Mary Louise O. Sarion)

Yumi's Top Movies

 

Lord of the Rings(1)

  Jennifer's Body(2)

 Legion(3)

 

Freddy Vs. Jason(4)

  ~YL(Yumi Lemuel)

Mary Louise O. Sarion

 

Movie Character of the Week: Eowyn of Rohan by Yumi

 

  "No living man am I! You look upon a woman! Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. Begone if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him"

From what movie: Lord of the Rings 

Actress: Miranda Otto

Short Background:

Éowyn was a noblewoman/shieldmaiden of Rohan, daughter of Éomund and Theodwyn, younger sister of Éomer and niece of King Théoden. Forced to spend most of her youth caring for Théoden in his declining years, she yearned for an opportunity to prove herself in battle. She was driven to despair by her unrequited love for Aragorn. When she was rebuffed by the men she longed to accompany into battle, she disguised herself as a man and accompanied the Rohirrim army to Minas Tirith, where she won great renown in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by slaying the Witch-King of Angmar, with the help of Meriadoc Brandybuck, whom she had carried with her. Severely wounded by the Ring Wraith, she nearly died, but recovered with Aragorn's help in The Houses of Healing. There she met Faramir, the Steward of Gondor, and fell in love with him. The two married in TA 3020, and settled in Ithilien after the War of the Ring.  

Yumi's Insights:

Eowyn is one of my favorite movie characters and I admire her fully for her personality and bravery. Applying the Feminist film theory, I could say that she's not a typical woman or a female to be viewed as a 'sex object' or passive character though throughout the film of LOTR, she's discriminated by being not allowed to join the battles and fight; And this is obviously because of her gender as a female. In LOTR, human females are not to fight and they are nothing but passive characters who did nothing but to mourn for the death of their men, hope that they will return or take care of the children from the background. They're not really doing anything different except from the typical things women used to do even in real life. But Eowyn is a hell lot of different from the others, she proved to many that she's not just a woman to be kept in the house, that she can also do what men can do--and this is proven when she slayed the Witch King. She's such a strong woman and deserved a better title than being a Shield Maiden alone. I can say that Eowyn symbolizes those women who worked hard and can do things like what men can also do. 

 

~YL(Mary Louise O. Sarion)

Resources:

www.fanpop.com

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/%C3%89owyn

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/3000000/Eowyn-lord-of-the-rings-3060264-1024-768.jpg

stock knowledge XD

 

 

Days and Nights: MY NIGHTS ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOUR DAYS REVIEW

 

Title: My Nights are more Beautiful than your Days

Year Released: 1989

Directed by: Andrzej Zulawski

Genre: Drama-Romance-Pyschological

Film Summary:

Lucas, a computer genius facing an unnamed terminal illness that causes him to lose his memory, meets Blanche, a young woman who seems unable to break free of her vicious environment. The two plunge into a brief but intense affair, understanding that their days together are numbered. This a strangely poetic and powerful film that celebrates love's victory over death and suggests that sentiment has some currency even in a pragmatic world. 

'Love means lots of pain...'-Blanche

This is the first time I had watched an Italian film with this kind of theme and I could honestly say that I was shocked and got confused by the depth of the story. The story is about two people who both had traumatic past when they are children and this miserable past greatly affected them both emotionally and psychologically. They randomly met at a restaurant and that's where their relationship started; it was really complicated and I found it hard to absorb everything. While watching the film in the classroom, I was staring on the large screen and my mind was like 'What the heck is going on?' 'I don't get it, what are they going to do?' or 'What is this film really all about?'. I was sooo confused and like Luca and Blanche, my mind also got affected on how they mind were. My head seriously ached while watching and I think it's because of trying hard to decipher the message in the story. I would say that they are both somewhat 'crazy' in their own way. I noticed that while Blanche was crying or whining about the love and other stuff and I think it has something to do with her past. And Lucas' was very obvious, his mind was a lot more screwed than Blanche. That's my own opinion though.

 

The part when they both went to the beach and let the huge waves swallow them was one of the part which I like the most, while watching that last scene my heart felt a little pang of pain and sadness for the two main characters. It's pretty obvious that they're going to kill themselves by drowning; it's a heartbreaking scene. The two had enough already; too much pain, sorrow and misery in their lives and like there's no one else to save them from the darkness eating them from the inside. Even the world they're living in looks cruel and evil, the people surrounding Blanche made her do things that she doesn't really want. And through Death they were saved and taken away from their suffering.

Subjective Response:

Until now while doing this film review, I am still confused and there are still some parts of the film that remained vague to me. I gotta say that the Director is really awesome and good for making such nice film with unique plot and theme. It was twisted in many ways and I think it did also mirror the reality of people who experienced traumatic events in their lives and how it affected their growing and the people around them. Set aside the sex scenes and rated M scenarios and one shall see the true meaning in the story. Two people who were broken and shattered at an early age, only wants to find love and someone to shed light in the darkness surrounding them. And they found comfort with each other.

 

Au Revoir! XD

~YL (Mary Louise O. Sarion)

Resources:

www.google.com

www.imbd,com

www.mytwistedmindagain.com XD 

  

 

My Nights are More Beautiful than Your Days: A Review

"Love is a pond that can drown you" 

- Lucan de Bonneval

The film Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours or My nights are more beautiful than your days (1989) was directed by Andrzej Zulawski who adapted it from Raphaele Billetdoux's book, Night Without Day. Its main characters being Lucas (Jacques Dutronc), a computer genius with an unknown terminal illness that causes him to lose his memory, and Blanche (Sophie Marceau), a young woman who lives in a very vicious environment filled with sex and lunacy as she performs a type of mind reading show after going under a trance-like state. Other characters include Blanche's mother (Valérie Lagrange), Edwige (Myriam Mézières), Ines (Laure Killing), Concierge (François Chaumette), Francois (Sady Rebbot), Page (Salim Talbi), Michel (Jean-Pierre Hebrard), and others.

The movie revolves around Lucas and Blanche where they first meet in a cafe after witnessing a poor couple arguing before coming together again, later Blache tells him that she will be going to Biarritz to perform in a casino to which Lucas follows her to reciting names of objects around him so that he may not forget them as what his illness is doing to him. It is later revealed that Lucas' parents had died after drowning in a lake when he was young while Blanche had been witness to her father's beatings of her mother as a child.

The acting was good, I've found that Jacques Dutronc is actually a singer, though despite this I thought his performance was satisfactory, filling in the insanity and randomness of Lucas quite well. Sophie Marceau was also very good, making quite an interesting heroine, though there were times that she seemed very off as if she couldn't define who she really was very well or seemed out-of-mind. For me, I find the characters of Lucas and Blanche to be very difficult to do since it involves lots of consideration towards how they should approach a situation with their past kept in mind, Duntronc and Marceau had done very well, not completely extraordinary but they expressed their emotions well and played the part swimmingly so I have no complaints.

The plot is interesting and had very good depth of perception, and the characters within it are as well, the execution is the one thing I question since it was not done very clearly which disappoints me though I would also like to point out that I, as a viewer, had some short comings as well.

The music was intence and searing, mellow on some but bold and raw on others, an interesting combination and one that added a lot of flavor and color to the film. I praise Andrzej Korzynski for them.

Confusing is a word that I would like to describe My nights are more beautiful than your days as, I don't really understand the movie most especially the build up in each scene and the growth of the characters within the story. Their motivations are not clear completely and somehow they end up being spontaneous that make the viewers say, 'Huh?'; I, myself, included. I guess it wasn't establiched well, I think - their reasons and such - more likely because they do not operate or work or talk like normal people do, which could be validated by their way of living and environment (for Blanche) and their illness (for Lucas). But still, I am new to this kind of film, I'd say it was absurd actually especially the scenes towards the end with the page and desk man, who I still wonder if are pigments of Lucas' imagination, true people or ghost (as said by the page when they were in the dressing room, saying he had died 2 or 3 days ago because of his sickness).

Though I think this film is a beautiful disaster, or more likely, would've been more beautiful (since it already is in my opinion) if not for the disastrous take on it (no offense on the film's director). The beauty comes from the settings and the way the emotions of the characters play out, especially the love scenes and the morning after they first spend the night together, then the beauty practically gets ruined after they speak, in riddles that I could not truly completely comprehend. Somehow it makes me feel that the words which I had failed to understand made me miss the entire depth of the film, making me as confused as I am now but it goes to show that this really isn't my type of film, full of eccentricies, absurdness, and strange double meanings. Not to mention that it is in french, subtitles were added but it is really hard to truly understand what they are conveying if you are only reading their words, their expression changes but tone of voice sometimes gets disregarded with the lack of understanding.

Overall, a good film. Not for those that are looking for a fun, entertainment-based product of big budget companies in Hollywood, but definitely a good story, if you get past the absurdities and eccentricity - maybe even watch it a few more times to make sure.

Sincerely,

Zacharias Walker

(Lily) (Will)

Sources:
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTczNDA3Mjk2OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzMxNTA0MQ@@._V1._SY317_CR3,0,214,317_.jpghttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097872/http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_636858/my-nights-are-more-beautiful-than-your-days/http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=2002http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_nights_are_more_beautiful_than_your_days/

http://www.notrecinema.com/images/filmsp/mes-nuits-sont-plus-belles-que-vos-jours_25376_29843.jpg

Lily's Top Five Fave Movies :)

1. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

2. The Island (2005)

3. Men In Black II (2002)

4. The Priest (2011)

5. Dead Or Alive (2006)

The Matrix (1999): A Review

You've been living in a dream world, Neo.

 - Morpheus

The Matrix (1999) is a futuristic, sci-fi film where Neo - the main protagonists - is said to be The One who is to save the world which was now run by machines who had converted the entire human race into batteries while showing them the Matrix, or a world - a computer generated environment - that they believe is the normal world. In the Matrix (film), Neo is not aware of the Matrix's existance but suspects, doubts, and with the help of Morpheus he is enlightened on what the world had truly become.

I could say The Wachowski Brothers (Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski) had done very well in directing and writing this film, the flow was smooth and the plot and story were quite outstanding and very original in my persceptive. The construction of the Matrix, the logic behind its reality was very fascinating since it bent time and space to a degree that was not truly too unbelievable, and had features where viewers could still relate to it from their own persceptives; in short, it was realistic despite the fact in reality (the movie's universe) it was a computer simulation.

The acting was good, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) was played well along with Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne), Morpheus had this imposing aura about him at the beginnng of the story like an anti-hero but once he was revaled in the real reality of the world (the human world ruled by machines) where he looked quite kind and not so intimidating, I found that change to be a bit abrupt and surprising though it did establish quite well that 'this was the real me' as in this was who he really was and not that simulation with the black glasses that we see throughout most of the story. The rest of their group were done well as well, Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) though had a short moment of glory did pretty well despite his sudden antagonistic role; the 3 men in black Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), Agent Brown (Paul Goddard), and Agent Jones (Robert Taylor) were also quite good, especially the main antagonists among them who portrayed his anger and frustration about his situation very clearly, almost bordering on being human himself but still maintaning his robotic-like attitude.

The setting of the Matrix were very exceptional although I'm a little upset that the current state of the human world outside the Matrix was not fully shown, but with everything else, the ship of their team, the Matrix, and the part of the world that was actually shown, it was all nicely done and arranged. 

The fight scenes from Neo's practice scenes to the actual battle to reclaim Morpheus were beautifully choreographed and very artful in terms of movement and special effects. The entire movies special effects and CGI were nicely done despite that era being only new to the terms ad capabilities of special effects. Kudos to their Special effects and Visual effects department!

The Matrix, for me, is a very well made film, because if you would watch the film, you would notice that it's a net full of metaphors and comparisons to the world around us, and I find it amazing that the director/s had fit all of that into an almost 2 hour motion picture.

One metaphor that stood out for me that most was the way the world of the Matrix had so much similarity to the world that we move in today, and I don't mean the way that the Matrix looks but more on how their society works, or how the computer programs control the humans who are blind to what is truly going on.

The governing offices of the world, with media as their announcers, control the way people think, can think, would think, should think, and what they believe in. This can easily be countered by saying, they don't really have totalitarian control and that we can still say and do what we want to do but if you look at it, majority of what we say and know was influenced by the higher-ups in society, and if not influenced, limited, like the more senstive information on a certain issue that can ruin the government's image. So, the Matrix is like that, controlling the humans who move in it to think that this' the normal way of things when in fact it is not, or it can be different. Thus, their speeches in the movie where they relate the Matrix to 'waking up' from it to 'still sleeping' - remaining asleep and oblivious to the truth behind the truth.

Also, the Matrix is also correct in saying that there are some who would oppose and fight anyone that would stand against the Matrix, or the-way-things-are, since they have lived in it for too long, they believe it to be their way of life and existance. There are some who are afraid to move on from what they already know, afraid of change, which the Matrix personifies as the people who try to fight Morpheus' group.

I guess you could say that the clear message the matrix presents is that the power to change the way things are now is within ourselves, within the spirit to live awakened and the will to fight against the higher-ups who lure us in for their own gain. It must always be factored in our thoughts that whatever the media, the higher-ups, or the people in power say should not always be 100% believed, that the things around you and the things said should be questioned.

And that staying passive will not help anyone or yourself. You are affected and involved whether you like it or not

"It is your decision whether you awaken or stay asleep"

 -Morpheus

Lastly, the last thing I learnt from the Matrix is if you want something to happen, you have to be the one to do it yourself. Throughtout the movie, whether it can be denied or not, Morpheus was in a higher level of expertise and knowledge about the Matrix than Neo. He'd (Morpheus) admitted to have searched for him for years, and Neo had trained for only months to defeat the Matrix. Why? Because he had wanted to, even if the Oracle told him otherwise, even if he had wanted to quit at one point, he had still done it because he had spirit and he had a goal he wanted to reach. In comparison to Morpheus, the one who sought after Neo even though the real goal of their team was not to find Neo but to destroy the Matrix and free them from the machines; the mysterious Oracle had told Morpheus that he would find The One and Morpheus had listened. Basically I'm saying, well... let's just leave it at that. But yah, if you want it, reach for it, no matter what other people tell you.

 "I do not live to please You" - quoted from my friend, Mary.

Sincerely,

Zacharias Walker

(Lily) (Will)

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/fullcredits

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes

http://dc-mrg.english.ucsb.edu/WarnerTeach/E192/matrix/Matrix.script.html

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/208/480092237_bb7af3db73_z.jpg?zz=1

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/1900000/Matrix-the-matrix-1949930-1024-768.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUHt1RjgoUr8ypsVAw2xy_Mv13D7lMG6IbMZv47Q4cJB_CfvG4zDbOfUFRQTfGEhZExnI0BDOtdhpQ2WthvKonKZT_dRoSfDM-pI6DBGjo2uXED2QlFsjjz0-prYXgPaLosAJ6RWBtYxw/s1600/Matrix+Red+or+Blue+Pill+2.jpg

AWAKENING: THE MATRIX

Title: Matrix

Date Released: March 31, 1999

Directed By: Andy and Larry Wachowski

Genre: Science Fiction/Action

MOVIE SUMMARY:

Thomas Anderson is a computer programmer who maintains a double life as the hacker "Neo". He is driven to learn the meaning of cryptic references to "the Matrix" appearing on his computer. Infamous hacker Trinity contacts Neo and informs him that a man named Morpheus can tell him what the Matrix is; however, three Agents, led by Agent Smith, arrest Neo to prevent him from collaborating with Morpheus. Undeterred, Neo meets with Morpheus and confirms that he wants to learn more about the Matrix by choosing an offered red pill. After swallowing the pill, Neo abruptly awakens in a liquid-filled vessel, connected along with millions of other people to an elaborate electrical structure. He is rescued by Morpheus and brought aboard a levitating ship, the Nebuchadnezzar.

Morpheus tells Neo that humans are fighting against intelligent machines that were created in the 21st century and have since taken control of the Earth's surface. Humans polluted the sky to cut off the machines' solar power, but the machines adapted to using human bioelectricity as a power source. Enslaved humans are kept docile within the "Matrix" – a simulation of the world as it was in 1999. Neo has lived in this simulated world since birth; in reality, the year is closer to 2199. Morpheus explains that he and his crew belong to a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their rebellion against the Machines. They can hack into the Matrix and re-enter the simulated reality, where their understanding of its true nature allows them to manipulate its physical laws, granting them superhuman abilities. Neo undergoes virtual combat training. He is warned that fatal injuries within the Matrix will also kill one's physical body, and that the Agents he encountered are powerful sentient programs that patrol the Matrix and eliminate threats to the system. Morpheus believes Neo is "the One", a man prophesied to end the war between humans and machines.

After Neo's training, the group enters the Matrix to visit the Oracle, a prophet who predicted the emergence of the One. The Oracle implies that Neo is not the One, and warns he must soon choose between his own life and that of Morpheus.

As the group prepares to exit the Matrix, they are ambushed by Agents and tactical police, leading to the death of a crew member called Mouse. Morpheus allows himself to be captured to let Neo and the rest of the crew escape. As they prepare to leave the Matrix, they learn that their ally Cypher has betrayed them. Disillusioned with the real world, Cypher had arranged to hand Morpheus over to the Agents in exchange for being returned to a comfortable life within the Matrix. Aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, Cypher murders crew members Switch, Apoc and Dozer before he is killed by Dozer's brother Tank.

In the Matrix, the Agents interrogate Morpheus to learn his access codes to the mainframe computer in Zion, the humans' last refuge in the real world. Neo returns to the Matrix with Trinity and rescues Morpheus; in the process, Neo gains confidence in his ability to manipulate the Matrix, performing physical feats on par with the Agents.

Morpheus and Trinity exit the Matrix, but Neo is ambushed by Smith before he can leave. In the real world, "sentinel" machines converge on the Nebuchadnezzar. In the Matrix, Smith kills Neo. In the real world, Trinity whispers to Neo that the Oracle told her she would fall in love with the One. She kisses Neo, and he revives in the Matrix. He displays the power to perceive and control the Matrix, effortlessly destroying Smith before exiting the Matrix in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the attacking sentinels.

In the Matrix, Neo makes a telephone call, promising the Machines he will show their prisoners "a world where anything is possible". He ends the call and flies into the sky.

Welcome to the World of Lies and Illusions...

♦♦♦♦♦

 If you are a character in the film matrix, you might end up as one of those people in New York city living a normal life and happy with everything that you have without knowing the real thing. The aching truth that everything you are doing and you have--delicious meals, money, golds, boyfriend, girlfriend,etc--are not real.You are not aware that those dainty things are just being plugged in your mind like some port of a computer. Well, that's how the movie Matrix went; it's about a world created by the Artificial Intelligences or High tech machines and these 'It' made the human race believed that what their eyes perceived was real. In short, they are not AWARE and does not give a damn anyway. And this is where Keannu Reeve's character will enter in--Thomas Anderson or more commonly known as Neo is a hacker and a man living a normal life like the others but after he received a vague message from his computer screen which says'Follow the White Rabbit' everything changed and he never become part of the normalcy again. Unfortunately for him, even though he wanted to go back he can't escape his destiny or his fate because he is the 'CHOSEN ONE'. The One who will destroy those evil beings behind the world created to be perceives as real. Those people who are part of Morpheus' group are already AWAKE. This is the term they used when a human has finally made it out of the Matrix and Neo became one of them. Now, these people who woke up or no longer controlled by the robots are going to be hunted by the men in black-like beings with superhuman abilities, they're assigned to kill those who are already aware of the real thing.

The film Matrix has a lot of symbolisms and hidden messages on it and they all can apply in the real life or to anyone in this world we are living in, it can be translated in reality or spiritually. Based on my browsing on the net about this movie, despite of its awesome special effects it still gained a lot of criticisms because of its hella weird concept or story. I can't blame those people on what they believe in, for me maybe they just didn't want to accept the fact that it can be real and based on the gadgets and modern technologies nowadays, there's a huge possibility for the Matrix to exist. Who knows in the near future we might be all controlled by the ones we created, the gadgets and robots. Despite of other people's comments and whatsoevers, I truly enjoy this film and its worth the shot. It is educational I must say, that is my opinion of course and it's because I really learned something from it and I thanked Neo for it. :) And speaking of Neo, I totally love his character, he was just awesome and right off the bat. His character was done well, flexible or complex character I think. Somehow, I found myself in Neo and there are times when I am in the same position like him as well, except for the telekinetic abilities and learning Kung Fu. It is also pretty obvious that it has a touch of Alice in Wonderland concept, whoever did this movie they blended every ingredients pretty well.

 Be careful, you're might not aware that they're after you. Once you are awake, the question is...

ARE YOU ALREADY AWAKE?

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

google.com

mytwistedmindasalways.fishingnet :)

Matrix Film Review by: Mary Louise Sarion a.k.a Ayumi Lemuel 'YL'