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The Matrix (1999)
The Must-Watch Film for Thinking Minds
Believe it or not, in 2008, I still know people who have never watched The Matrix (released 1999). Well, just one person... who may not even be human, but that's part of my point: all thinking people should watch this movie.
It popularized "bullet time" special effects, which would then be used in movies such as Swordfish, and video games such as Max Payne and, more recently, Stranglehold.
Although not directly related to William Gibson (the coiner of the phrase "cyberspace" and one of the more respected English-language Cyberpunk-genre authors), he would go on to comment that the virtual reality portrayed in the matrix was as exact as he could have envisioned it when he was writing his novels.
Thusly, people who think about life and the "digital era", will tend to identify on some level with the story, characters, and even virtual worlds presented in the series, but esp. is this the first one (I'm not a fan of the two sequels, but that's another story).
Although I marked this as containing spoilers, I'm not going to really go into the plot... but if you haven't watched it yet, then my description may make it seem more philosophical than it appears; the beauty of this movie is that it is, superficially, an action-packed drama where you care about the characters, and can admire both the "good guys" and the Agents.
Moreover, the fun and freedom of interacting with a virtual world is well presented; as are the consequences of becoming too ... attached, or sympathetic, with a game-world (or perhaps, even reality).
On another level, this movie is about how the "new world order", which is really just the same old Imperial world order, just with shiny computers to dazzle the mortals, imprisons the minds of the "mature" (it is mentioned that people over a certain age usually cannot ever truly adapt to seeing the world as it truly is), and also makes them skitsophrenic (i.e. potential Agents) and prone to flashes of violence against free-thinkers.
This and Fight Club are very deep movies, on some level... but this is also an intense action and special effects masterpiece which still looks great even after almost a decade. It sounds great too; the "lobby scene" is a standard for testing surround sound systems subjectively.
Armitage: Dual Matrix (2001)
Great Show
This would make a great cinema movie. I re-watch it sometimes when I just want to relax. The animation is great (esp. for the era), the story is interesting, and the fight scenes are long and involved. After a while of watching the same sword-wielding stuff, it's good to see action which is ... hard to describe. It's hand to hand, but when those hands are android hands, the action tends to be more intense.
Set in a "cyberpunk" world, a sci-fi future where androids are almost accepted as equal to humans, this film has some serious themes, if you are interested in that sort of thing (most people aren't and just want raw action... adrenaline junkies or something).
I only took off one point because a key plot question is not, to my satisfaction, explained. You'll know it when you see it since it perplexes the main villain, as well.
My description doesn't really do this movie justice... I haven't watched the others in the series yet but I must say, I love this movie, am glad I own it, and the English dub is great (my copy doesn't have subtitles or the Japanese soundtrack, but I don't miss them), not too high-key as some dubs are, and brings more "realism" to the characters (I mean, how real can androids and whatnot be?).
To draw a comparison, this I think is overall a better movie than "I, Robot". Yes, I, Robot has cg, and has Will Smith, and is newer, and has more special effects, and a bigger budget; but the story here is bigger and somehow the fact that the main android in this story can (and did) bear a child adds something.
Moreover, the political intrigue involving the androids striving for true equality with humans, while more explicit in Animatrix, adds a level of depth to the story, framing the individual conflicts which the main characters find themselves in against the larger social framework which ultimately drives the creation of said conflicts.
Plus, I have a thing for hot cybernetic/android chicks... this reminds me a bit of Ghost in the Shell, but the two are very different. It is like comparing Star Trek: The Next Generation to Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars. Yes, they have superficial similarities, but just as GITS is more general, serial, and focused on teams... so was ST:TNG. Armitage is a lot more personal, focusing on a closed nuclear family of three (man, woman/android, and child).
Well, go watch it, if you haven't already.
Seijû gakuen (1974)
An Unsung Classic
Well, "nunspolitation" is definitely a niche of a sub-genre. Firstly, it's pornographic, including bondage and rape. Secondly, it's choosing to go against religion, which isn't exactly a mainstream position (yet?). However, within this sub-genre, "Sexploitation - School Of The Holy Beast" is definitely an excellent movie. In fact, I would call it an all-out classic.
This movie is in Japanese (although subtitles are available; I watched it with English subtitles), so even people who might like it probably didn't watch it or understand the plot. This is an unsung classic that deserves to be up there with "Shogun Assassin (1980)". What sets it apart is the storyline. Judging from the previous comments, most people don't "get the story line", so I'll introduce it:
Although set in Japan, this movie is located in a Roman-Catholic nunnery. The impression I get is that the nunnery is in Japan, within walking distance of a metropolis, but due to its high walls, etc. perhaps isolated from the town center totally. It's also rather big and might be in the country-side, but since they are greenhouses it could also just be in the suburbs of, say, Japan. There's a scene where a nun arrives from Rome, and all of the rituals are based on Catholic canon, including reverence for the Virgin Mary, Jesus on the cross, etc.
If you don't want to know anything about the story, stop reading here.
The protagonist decided to have a bit of fun before joining the nunnery, and so has a one-night stand with a total stranger (we know this because he only tells her his name after they're done having sex and lying next to each other). She joins because she doesn't know anything about her biological parents except that her mother was one a none at this nunnery.
Apparently, she's recently turned 18, and decides to fulfill her adulthood by joining "undercover" to investigate. They're several story arcs which unfold and are resolved, as the corruption and true nature of the nunnery as a "demonic" city of destruction is revealed. Right until the very end, the three main anti-laws which it is devoted to observing: lust, murder, and theft, are evidently what they have sustained themselves on for nearly 2 decades, if not longer.
Without spoiling the story, it is very engrossing, although I was initially put off by the slow opening (which shows a slice of the protagonist's life before joining), after about 10 minutes when the drama started unfolding within the monastery, it was extremely engrossing and just as gripping as any modern drama, if not more so.
They are several creative scenes which use good effects (esp. for 1974), and show a lot of thought went into design of the "world" of the monastery (such as the "trap door" scene, you'll know it when you see it).
Contrary to other comments, I found that the main characters are well fleshed out, and the plot is revealed in interesting sections. Also, despite the "taboo" nature of the sex, it actually all fits into the plot, it's not like the typical "I'm bored, so let's do it" porn which is so common in the "Western" world. Nothing is just there for the sake of sex, every time you see an exposed nipple, it is related to the plot directly. If this was such a thing as "tasteful" use of nudity and violence, this would definitely be an example thereof.
They are real-world illusions to Opus Dei (sp?) as mentioned in Da Vinci code and so forth, but I'll not get into that because it is really irrelevant.
All in all, I can't find anything wrong with this, other that that it's in Japanese and mono or whatever; the film transfer is good but an English audio re-dub which is well done would be nice, although who would finance that for a 1974 film which I bound to be banned (or shunned) in most Christian states?