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tom123b
Reviews
The Movie Hero (2003)
Do you believe in metaphors?
This is a concept film that explores the role of movies as metaphors for our lives.
I personally thought it was brilliant. While never said explicitly (that would have ruined the metaphor), I liked the implied parallel of Blake's "audience" as "God" or whatever spiritual force connects people to each other.
Do movies have a role in our lives other than being our "chocolate-covered treats," something we give ourselves only when we feel we deserve a reward for all our work and hardships? Can movies in fact be nourishing? Can they inspire us to live more fulfilling, more productive lives? "The Movie Hero" addresses these questions beautifully. I completely loved it.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Enough with the Jesus analogies (Spoilers)
All the critics seem to say that they hated how Neo was portrayed as Jesus. The Matrix trilgoy is about so much more than this though. Yes the parallels are there, but ONLY because both Jesus and Neo made the right choices about life, NOT because the movie forces Neo into the role of Jesus. Having Agent Smith actually kill Neo was the perfect way to answer all the questions about the Matrix.
The Matrix was Agent Smith's world. Just as Agent Smith was unbeatable in the Matrix, Neo, when he made the proper choices, was unbeatable in the real world. Even when his defeat is close, Neo does not run, but forces Agent Smith to defeat him. Of course, once Agent Smith kills Neo, his purpose is over, and so his program is deleted. It was enough for Neo to make the right choices. Even though this led to his defeat in the Matrix, it was all that was needed for victory in the real world.
Even the all knowing Oracle could only hope that he made this choice. This is where we see that Neo is better paralleled to humans than Jesus. The Oracle did not know what he would choose. As the last line of the movie says, she only "believed." Unlike Jesus, Neo could have chosen to quit. What a great message to everyone who watches movies with concern for real life, instead of, like some spoiled child bored with their old games, looking only to be surprised by something original in the plot or special effects.