hitman20

I fail to see how Elfman would be all wrong for Potter. How exactly is Doyle right for it? :roll: The Nimbus 2000 motif will probably be changed slightly to reflect the fact that Harry no longer uses it. It'll probably be updated in regards to him using the Firebolt. Although, it might just be the music that was heard when he rode the broom at the end on POA (i.e. Nimbus 2000). I just hope that the music that'll be used doesn't sound like what I heard from the new trailers. LOL

Some stats on the good General: A twisted melding of flesh and metal, General Grievous' body is a deadly weapon forged by the cutting edge developers of the Confederacy. Grievous' living matter was encased within his precision-engineered artificial body; inside the hardened carapace beat the heart of a remorseless killer. A pressurized gut-sack held his vital organs, while his skull-like mask contained his living eyes and brain. Making the horrific amalgam more unpleasant was a persistent wet, hacking cough coming from his ravaged lungs. Homeworld: Kalee Species: Kaleesh Gender: Male Height: 2.16 meters tall (at full height) Weapon: lightsabers, blaster pistol, electrostaff Vehicle: Wheel bike, General Grievous' starfighter, Trade Federation cruiser Affiliation: Confederacy of Independent Systems He'd be considered a cyborg.

Well Don Davis has to make a living somehow. I think he's got great potential, and I love his Matrix scores. Plus who doesn't like Neodammerung or that Opening Rolling Brass Motif... But he's needs to get off of thy ass and score some music. (Film music that is- to his credit he has been doing some concert pieces). Note to Don Davis: Step away from the Matrix. Love the score- time to move on.

I agree with you there. I really didn't like the first film, so I never really paid much attention to the music from it. I went back and listened to it, but I really didn't get into it. I feel that the revamped Main Titles on Spiderman 2 are kick ass. I gotta say, Elfman can manipulate a choir well. You should check it out.

I want him to score Potter. He should've, but perhaps he wants an Oscar this year, because it seems like the Academy overlooks his scores. Especially when they lose to the likes of "Finding Neverland." But I say, if Williams is done with it, give it to Elfman. Maybe he'll adapt on Williams' themes and add some of that Edward Scissorhands flair to it. Lord knows that usage of the celesta and the way that chorus is structured has plenty of similarites to it. And while they're at it, give the directing to Burton. Burton and Elfman did a great job on Big Fish and that was an adaptation. But I'm sick of seeing this movie go to weak ass directors (Newell) who haven't done anything relevant in the past few years. I'd prefer some consistency as far as choices were concerned. But since Williams didn't want to do the 4th Potter, he, at the very least, could have scored something for the "Avada Kevadra." The Patronus got something...why not give a little love to the Avada Kevadra...lol.

I like Elfman, but for the first film I felt that the motifs matched the calibur of acting quite well...lol. Honestly, I prefer the second Spiderman score over the first.

Haha. That's harsh. But if they weren't journalism, then why are they # 1? It's because they present both sides. I hope your not making you decision based on Bill O' Reilly or Sean Hannity. They're not journalists, they're commentators who give opinions. So don't get that twisted with journalism. To me Fox News is more represenative of America's diversity of ideologies. They're a lot more moderate that the overwhemely leftist media and it's good to hear a difference in opinion once in a while. Don't you think? Now, about Michael Moore..... To begin I'd like to define what a Documentary is.... Britannica defines it as a Fact-based film that depicts actual events and persons. Websters Online defines a Documentary as: In it's Adjective form 1. Relating to or consisting of or derived from documents. In it's Noun form 1. A film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event. That fact is, a documentary must contain facts. Now objectivity is ok, but you should stick to the facts. Now I have many problems with this film, but I'll let info from other sites prove my point. Here are two sites that check Moore's validity in this movie: Newsweek. Everyone's heard of this magazine: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5335853/site/newsweek & moorelies.com These sites show that he's twisted and spun the facts. But let's not act like we don't know why he did this. And, to be fair, I won't say that he can't do this, because this is America. Free speech is key! But I also this that he shouldn't have labeled this a documentary. Instead, it's an Op-Ed piece put on film. And he's intitled to his opinion, but as a "documentary" he owes movie-goers a duty of care to present the facts honorably. And not in a duplicitious manner. That's the problem. And for people to say 10 year old's should see this movie is pretty shameful. We shouldn't expose children to our views, or a movie such as that at that age. Let's give them a chance to make up their own minds. Instead I recommend a movie like Spiderman 2, Harry Potter, or Shrek 2 to children. There's enough crap out there for children to deal with then for them to have to deal with that movie. I seen it, and was saddened that he'd put some of the things he did in there. Plus when you have terrorist organizations promoting it (Hezbollah, Al Qaida etc) and urging people to see it, I think you might have gone a little too far. So those are my thoughts on that movie, and your welcome to disagree. In fact I encourage it.

I've found some explainations of the Matrix. Let's see if any of these coincide with some of yours. A great majority of this is philosophical explainations of what the movie is supposed to represent. Explaination 1: ***First, let's review some of the obvious Christian symbols that appear in the film. The main character, played by Keanu Reeves, is named Thomas Anderson: the first name Thomas may be an allusion to the Doubting Thomas of the gospels, while etymologically Anderson means "son of man," a title used by Jesus in reference to himself. Another character, Choi, says to him "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ." A plate in Morpheus's ship Nebuchadnezzar bears the inscription "Mark III No. 11," a probable allusion to the Bible: Mark 3:11 reads, "Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!'" Anderson's hacker alias Neo is an anagram for the One, a title which is used in the film to refer to Keanu Reeves' character. He is The One who is prophesied to liberate humanity from the chains that imprison them in their computer-generated illusion. First, however, he has to die - and he is killed in room 303. But, after 72 seconds (analogous to 3 days), Neo rises again. Soon thereafter, he also ascends up into the heavens. The first movie itself happened to be released on Easter weekend, 1999. According to the Architect in The Matrix Reloaded, Neo isn't actually the first One; instead, he is really the sixth One. Numbers are not meaningless in these films and perhaps the first five are meant to symbolize the Five Books of Moses of the Old Testament. Neo, representing the New Testament and New Covenant of Christianity, is described by the Architect as differing from the first five because of his ability to love - and the concept of agape, or brotherly love, is key in Christian theology. It seems, then, that Neo's role as a sci-fi iteration of the Christian Messiah is rather secure. Or is it? Certainly some Christian authors argue so, but the parallels here are not nearly so strong as they might appear at first glance. For Christians, the Messiah is a sinless unification of both divinity and humanity who brings salvation to humans from their state of sin through his own freely chosen, sacrificial death; none of these attributes describe Keanu Reeve's Neo, even in a metaphorical sense. Neo is not even vaguely sinless. Neo kills people left and right and isn't averse to a bit of extramarital sex. We are offered no reasons to think that Neo is a union of the divine and the human; although he develops powers beyond what other humans have, there is nothing mystical about him. His powers derive from an ability to manipulate the programming of the Matrix, and he remains very much human. Neo is not here to save anyone from sin, and his purpose has nothing to do with bridging the gap between us and God (not that God is even mentioned in the Matrix films). Instead, Neo arrives to release us from ignorance and illusion. Certainly a release from illusion is consistent with Christianity, but it does not constitute a metaphor for Christian salvation. Moreover, the idea that our reality is illusory is inconsistent with Christian beliefs in an omnipotent and truthful God. Nor does Neo save humanity through a sacrificial death. Although he dies, it is by accident rather than by free choice, and his means of salvation involves a great deal of violence - including the deaths of many innocent people. Neo loves, but he loves Trinity; he hasn't exhibited an overarching love for humanity as a whole, and certainly not for the human minds he kills time and time again. Christian references go far beyond the character of Neo, of course. The last human city is Zion, a reference to Jerusalem - a city holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Neo falls in love with Trinity, a reference to the Trinity of Christianity. Neo is betrayed by Cypher, someone who prefers hedonistic illusions where he has power over the drab reality he was awakened to. Even these, however, are not exclusively Christian themes or allegories. Some may see them as such because of their obvious relations to Christian stories, but that would a rather narrow reading; it would be more accurate to say that Christianity makes use of many stories and ideas which have been part of human culture for millennia. These ideas are a part of our human heritage, cultural as well as philosophical, and the Matrix taps into this heritage in culturally and religiously specific ways, but we should not let that distract us from the core messages which reach well beyond any one religion, including Christianity. In short, The Matrix and its sequels make use of Christianity, but they are not Christian films. Perhaps they are poor reflections of Christian doctrine, rendering Christianity in a superficial manner that is amenable to American pop culture but which requires sacrificing depth for the sake of people accustomed to sound bites over serious theological contemplation. Or, perhaps, they aren't meant to be Christian films in the first place; instead, they may be meant to be about important issues which are also explored within Christianity. Explaination 2: ***Perhaps the idea that The Matrix is basically a Christian film stretches things a bit too far, but there are arguments that The Matrix has a stronger basis in Gnosticism and Gnostic Christianity. Gnosticism shares many basic ideas with orthodox Christianity, but there are also important differences between the two that make Gnosticism closer to the principles expressed in these films. In his conversation with Neo near the end of The Matrix Reloaded, the Architect explains that he is responsible for the creation of the Matrix - does that make him God? Probably not: his character seems closer to that played by the force of evil in Gnosticism. According to gnostic tradition, the material world was actually created by a demiurge (commonly identified with the God of the Old Testament), not the True God of Good who is utterly transcendent and exists far beyond the created world as we understand it. The demiurge in turn leads a cast of Archons, or petty rulers who are the craftsmen of our physical world. Escape from this world of evil is only accomplished by those who obtain the inner knowledge about the true nature of this reality and the manner in which humans are imprisoned in it and controlled by sinister forces. Those who seek to become awakened and enlightened are aided in their quest by Jesus Christ, sent by God to the world as a bearer of divine enlightenment in order to relieve humanity of its ignorance and lead them to truth and goodness. The savior also comes to save Sophia, the embodiment of wisdom and a lesser being who emanated from God but then later drifted away from him. The parallels here between Gnosticism and the Matrix films are obvious, with Keanu Reeve's character Neo playing the role of the bearer of enlightenment who is sent to liberate humanity from the place in which the sinister machines have them imprisoned. We also learn from the Oracle, a program within the Matrix and an embodiment of wisdom about the Matrix, that Neo has once again made a "believer" out of her. We may find in the third and final film, Matrix Revolutions, that the Architect has close parallels to the gnostic concept of the demiurge. At the same time, there are also serious differences between Gnosticism and the Matrix films which undermine any attempt to argue that one should be closely matched to the other. For example, in Gnosticism it is the material world that is considered a prison and lacking in "true" reality; we are supposed to escape this and find liberation in the reality of the spirit or mind. In the Matrix, our prison is one in which our minds are trapped, while liberation constitutes fleeing to the supposed material world where machines and humans have been at war - a world which is much more distressing and disturbing than the Matrix. This "real world" is also one where sensual and even sexual experiences are valued and pursued - quite the opposite of the anti-materialistic and flesh-denying principles of Gnostic doctrine. The only character who expresses anything close to true Gnosticism is, ironically, Agent Smith - the truly disembodied mind who is forced to take on physical form and interact in the simulated physical world within the Matrix. As he says to Morpheus: "I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that have somehow been infected by it." He is desperate to return to a pure state of disembodied existence, just as any true Gnostic would. Yet he is the embodiment of the enemy. In addition, Gnosticism postulates that the bearer of divine enlightenment is fundamentally divine in nature, denying him the full humanity he is accorded in orthodox Christianity. In the Matrix films, however, Neo certainly appears to be fully human - although he has special powers, they seem to be limited to his ability to control the computer code in the Matrix and are thus technological in nature, not supernatural. All of the "awakened ones" - the enlightened individuals who have become aware of the falsehood of the Matrix - are very much human. Although there are certainly Gnostic themes running throughout the Matrix movies, it would be mistaken indeed to try and label them Gnostic films. Those who do may only be working from a rather superficial understanding of Gnostic Christianity - not surprising since pop spirituality has appropriated a great deal from Gnosticism that sounds appealing while ignoring that which may be unpleasant. How often do we hear, for example, the ways in which Gnostic writers in the past have excoriated those who fail or even refuse to seek Gnostic enlightenment? How often do we read about the terrible fates that await those who mistakenly worship the demiurge as if it were the True God? Whatever the reasons for people's misunderstandings, the fact that the Matrix and its sequels are not Gnostic films shouldn't stop us from appreciating the presence of Gnostic themes. The Wachowski brothers have brought together a variety of religious themes and ideas, presumably because they felt that there was something in them to make us think differently about the world around us. Explaination 3: ***Although the presence of Christian themes is strong in The Matrix, the influence of Buddhism is equally powerful and evident. Indeed, the basic philosophical premises that drive major plot points would be nearly incomprehensible without a little background understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist doctrines. Does this force the conclusion that The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded are Buddhist movies? The most obvious and fundamental Buddhist theme can be found in the basic principle that, in the world of the Matrix films, what most people think of as "reality" is actually a computer-generated simulation. This appears to align closely with the Buddhist doctrine that the world was we know it is maya, illusion, which we must break out of in order to achieve enlightenment. Indeed, according to Buddhism the biggest problem that faces humanity is our inability to see through this illusion. There are also numerous smaller references to Buddhism throughout the films. In The Matrix, Keanu Reeve's character Neo is aided in his education about the nature of the Matrix by a young boy dressed in the garb of a Buddhist monk. He explains to Neo that he must realize that "there is no spoon," and hence our ability to change the world around us is actually a matter of our ability to change our own minds. Another common theme that appears in the Matrix films is that of mirrors and reflections. If you watch closely, you will see reflections constantly - often in the ubiquitous sunglasses that the heroes wear. Mirrors are also an important metaphor in Buddhist teachings, illustrating the idea that the world we see around us is actually a reflection of what is in us. Thus, in order to understand that the reality we perceive is but an illusion it is necessary for us to empty our own minds first. Such observations would seem to make it relatively easy to characterize The Matrix as a Buddhist film; however, things aren't nearly so simple as they appear. For one thing, it isn't a universal belief among Buddhists that our world is only an illusion. Many Mahayana Buddhists argue that the world really exists, but our understanding of the world is illusory - in other words, our perceptions of reality do not entirely match what reality actually is. We are urged not to mistake an image for reality, but that presumes that there is a genuine reality around us in the first place. Perhaps more significant is the fact that so much that occurs in the Matrix films directly contradicts basic Buddhist principles. Buddhist ethics certainly do not allow for the language and extreme violence which occur in these movies. We may not see a lot of blood, but the plots make it clear that any humans not "with" the liberated heroes are to be counted as enemies. A consequence of this is that people are killed regularly. The violence directed against people is even raised up as something laudable. It certainly isn't commensurate for someone fulfilling the role of bodhisattava, one who has achieved enlightenment and chooses to return to aid others in their quest, to go around killing people. In addition, the simple identification of the Matrix as the "enemy," along with the Agents and other programs who work on behalf of the Matrix, is a bit contrary to Buddhism. Christianity may allow for a dualism that separates good and evil, but that doesn't really play so much of a role in Buddhism because the real "enemy" is our own ignorance. Indeed, Buddhism would probably require that sentient programs like the Agents be treated with the same compassion and consideration as sentient humans because they, too, need to be liberated from illusion. Finally, another significant conflict between Buddhism and the Matrix is much the same as one which exists between Gnosticism and the Matrix. According to Buddhism, the goal for those who wish to escape from this world of illusion is to achieve a disembodied, immaterial existence - perhaps one where even our perception of the individual self has been overcome. In the Matrix films, however, the goal is supposed to be to flee a disembodied existence in a computer simulation and return to a very material, very physical existence in the "real" world. It seems clear, then, that the Martrix movies cannot be described as Buddhist films - but the fact remains that they make extensive use of Buddhist themes and principles. While the Matrix may not be an exact equivalent of maya and Keanu Reeve's character Neo may not be a bodhisattava, the Wachowski brothers did deliberately incorporate aspects of Buddhism into their story because they believe that Buddhism has something to say to us about our world and how we conduct our lives. Explaination 4: ***There are good arguments against The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded being Christian or Buddhist movies, but it remains undeniable that there are powerful religious themes running throughout these films. Or is it really undeniable? The presence of such themes are the reason why many believe that these are fundamentally religious movies, even if they cannot be identified with any one particular religious tradition. Yet perhaps this conclusion is not so well founded after all. What are these themes? One of the most important is metaphysical, questioning the very nature of reality around us. What is real rather than unreal? Where does "reality" come from, and how are we supposed to relate to it? These are central questions to many of the world's religions; although those religions tend to answer them in terms of gods and what the gods desire, in The Matrix reality for most humans is constructed by a computer system, is dependent upon that computer system, and we exist in that reality for the purpose of serving the system's needs. Closely connected to this is the theme of knowledge vs. ignorance - or, to put it in religious language, salvation. This isn't just a matter of figuring out how we know what we know, but also how the acquisition of true knowledge leads to our release from the bonds of ignorance. In other words, knowledge of reality is not simply power, but also our salvation from that which imprisons us. These themes are not nearly so singularly religious as they appear. They are actually representative of important philosophical currents which have been significant forces in human thinking for thousands of years, sometimes making an appearance in this or that religion but sometimes also making an appearance in this or that philosophy. Arguably, these are themes which are quite independent of religion. The very concept of a person being deceived by powerful computers as to what is and is not real stems more from ancient and modern philosophy than from traditional religious doctrines. In many ways the character of Neo is much closer to the man released from Plato's cave than he is to Jesus or Buddha. There, people are held in bondage and forced to stare at a wall on which the shadows of reality are projected. For those in the chains, the shadows appear to be reality, but they aren't; anyone who is able to break free and reach the outside is ridiculed if they return and try to explain things to their former comrades. There is no attempt to save people from sin or suffering; rather, just to bring them into the light of reality where they can make their own way independent of the control of others who cleverly distort the truth. This idea was developed further in Descartes' idea about a demon who tricks us into believing falsehoods. According to Descartes, it would be impossible for us to be absolutely certain that such a demon does not exist. We also can't be certain that we aren't currently dreaming all that we experience, another thought experiment devised by Descartes to illuminate the frailty of human knowledge. In his 1975 book Ignorance, Peter Unger discussed the possibility of an evil scientist who uses a computer to deceive our minds in an elaborate simulation. Hilary Putnam took this even further in 1981 in his book Reason, Truth, and History by describing the possibility that our brains had been taken out of our bodies and are suspended vats of chemicals. Computers, then, create the illusion that we are moving and acting in the world. Robert Nozik, in Anarchy, State, and Utopia dispenses with the problem of isolating brains and simply postulates bodies suspended in chemicals and controlled by an "experience machine" that feeds us electrical signals and creates experiences based upon the signals it receives from our brains in return. These issues are all a part of what it means to be human, forming the prior basis upon which religion and philosophy are ultimately based: our desire to understand the world we live in, to understand ourselves, and to find some means for living meaningful and satisfactory lives within the world. To paraphrase Trinity from the first movie, it is the question that drives us - and these are the questions that drive our lives, that drive our religions, and that drive our philosophies. Thus, contrary to what some commentators in the press have claimed, the Matrix films are not "about religion," at least not explicitly. Instead, they are about some of the most important and fundamental questions which humanity has to ask - questions which, quite naturally, also play important roles in our religious traditions. Thus, it is much more accurate to observe that the Matrix films and religion are about many of the same things - and it is very interesting to see how these films take from both religion and philosophy in their exploration of these matters. What is the Matrix? In the movies it is a computer-generated simulation. In our world, however, perhaps the Matrix is actually composed of all the religions and philosophies we create in order to answer the questions driving us. We ask questions in order to liberate ourselves from ignorance, but so often the answers we devise only imprison us further by narrowing our field of vision to the point where all we can see are the ideas we create, superimposed upon the world around us. Explaination 5: ***One of the basic philosophical themes of the Matrix movies is skepticism - specifically, philosophical skepticism that questions the nature of reality and whether we can ever actually know anything at all. This theme is played out in the conflict between the "real" world where humans are struggling to survive in a war against the machines and the "simulated" world where humans are plugged into computers in order to serve the machines. Or is it? A very curious feature of the Matrix movies is how they seem designed on the one hand to get us to ask difficult questions about reality and what we can know by showing us such a perfectly constructed simulation of our reality, but on the other hand they also rely upon us failing to question what we are told about the genuinely "real" world. How can these two principles co-exist? The truth of the matter is, we aren't actually given any particular reason to believe that the "real" world of Zion portrayed in the movie is "real" after all. Even the character of Morpheus suggests that what is "real" is open to question, stating: "What is 'real'? How do you define 'real'? If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain." Before Neo leaves Zion for the final time in The Matrix Reloaded, he is given a gift: a spoon. This is a reference to the first movie where he learned that the principle of questioning and manipulating the simulated "reality" of the Matrix can be summarized in the phrase, "There is no spoon." In other words, what appears to be real is actually illusion - there is no spoon, just your mind. But wait of minute, Neo was just given a real spoon - so there is a spoon now. Or is there? There is one possibility worth considering: we haven't actually been shown the "real" world in Matrix movies yet. What is portrayed as "real" is, instead, a meta-simulation that exists around the computer-generated world of that Matrix that we have already seen as a deception. Sound crazy? Perhaps - but that is one of the problems of radical skepticism. Once you start, there is no means to stop. No one who is "awakened" from the Matrix has much cause to believe that the new world around them is "real" after all. There are in fact a few reasons to suppose that the Matrix and the "real" world share much more in common than was originally described by the first movie. The most obvious occurs near the end of The Matrix Reloaded when Neo, now in the "real" world of Zion, realizes that he can "feel" the Sentinels chasing them. As they approach, he reaches out with this hand, stops them, and causes them to self-destruct. How can this happen? That's a power of Neo in the Matrix, where he is able to manipulate the code which describes the simulated world, not of Neo in the "real" world. Perhaps we can speculate that he is developing telepathic and telekinetic powers, but that would be inconsistent with the principles already established in the Matrix. A much more consistent explanation would be that the "real" world is a meta-simulation and Neo is now learning to manipulate that code as well. Another internal reason to suspect that something strange is going on is the ability of Agent Smith, now apparently a rogue program, to transfer something of himself to the "real" world. There are other possible explanations for this - it doesn't contradict the principles of the Matrix world to suspect that a program might alter a human consciousness. However, it has already been established that a human mind in the Matrix can be hacked by the computer programs, so if a human mind in the "real" world is still in a simulation and Agent Smith has become aware of this, it could be easy for him to influence events there as well. There are further, philosophical reasons to wonder if perhaps the line between the Matrix and the "real" world is as firm as is generally portrayed. On the psychological front, it makes a lot of sense for whomever controls the Matrix to provide a sort of "safety valve" to allow for the release of rebellion among those not given to obeying authority. The creation of a meta-simulation where people can imagine that they have been "awakened," acquired knowledge of "reality," and are fighting for freedom will prevent them from genuinely doing it and genuinely threatening those in charge. Notice that in Zion there is no evidence of the freed humans doubting their "reality" or thinking very hard about why things are the way they are. They are committed to that reality, so "hopelessly dependent" upon their roles as freedom fighters that "they will fight to protect it." Sometimes, channels of dissent are only channels of further control - and the Prophecy of the One may allow those behind the Matrix to gradually improve their levels of control over humanity. Epistemologically, a strict division between the Matrix and reality may not even be possible. A person's reasons to believe that she has awakened to the "real" world are predicated upon categories of thought and action which developed while in the "unreal" Matrix. But if the experiences of the Matrix cannot be believed, then those categories of thought and action are no longer reliable - and, as such, are an inadequate basis upon which one can say that they now know what the "real" world is. In other words, if we wake up and Morpheus tells us that the Matrix has been feeding us lies all our lives, then we really don't have any firm basis upon which we can conclude that Morpheus must be telling us the truth. Believing Morpheus takes away our reasons to believe Morpheus: it's a self-refuting belief. This is a subtle, but important point. If a we are going to be able to make our way in the "real" world at all, there have to be a whole lot more similarities between it and the Matrix in which we grew up than we realize - but if the "real" world is just a meta-simulation for above-average rebellious minds, then those similarities would only be natural. Ah, but the attraction of radical skepticism is powerful. I keep being drawn to the scene near the end when Neo is talking to the Architect and the walls around the room frame Neo with multiple images of himself on monitors. Behind the image of Neo on each of the monitors are more banks of monitors with more images of Neo. Twice through the conversation we focus in on one of those images, move through the screen, and now that is the "real" Neo speaking. Worlds within worlds within worlds. If the Matrix is a computer simulation that exists within a larger simulation that encompasses Zion, what about the world beyond that? And the world beyond that? Just how deep does the rabbit hole actually go? Once we reject the truth of one utterly convincing reality, we are compelled to doubt and question the reality of any other world presented to us as being "real." There might not be an end to the rabbit hole at all - perhaps that is a message of The Matrix: no matter how deep we delve, we'll never reach an end of illusions, questions, and doubts. ***Yeah, it's a lot to read, but I certainly understand a lot about the Matrix now. I hope this has been informative to anyone trying to explain the movie. Later.

Although the presence of Christian themes is strong in The Matrix, the influence of Buddhism is equally powerful and evident. Indeed, the basic philosophical premises that drive major plot points would be nearly incomprehensible without a little background understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist doctrines. Does this force the conclusion that The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded are Buddhist movies? The most obvious and fundamental Buddhist theme can be found in the basic principle that, in the world of the Matrix films, what most people think of as "reality" is actually a computer-generated simulation. This appears to align closely with the Buddhist doctrine that the world was we know it is maya, illusion, which we must break out of in order to achieve enlightenment. Indeed, according to Buddhism the biggest problem that faces humanity is our inability to see through this illusion. There are also numerous smaller references to Buddhism throughout the films. In The Matrix, Keanu Reeve's character Neo is aided in his education about the nature of the Matrix by a young boy dressed in the garb of a Buddhist monk. He explains to Neo that he must realize that "there is no spoon," and hence our ability to change the world around us is actually a matter of our ability to change our own minds. Another common theme that appears in the Matrix films is that of mirrors and reflections. If you watch closely, you will see reflections constantly - often in the ubiquitous sunglasses that the heroes wear. Mirrors are also an important metaphor in Buddhist teachings, illustrating the idea that the world we see around us is actually a reflection of what is in us. Thus, in order to understand that the reality we perceive is but an illusion it is necessary for us to empty our own minds first. Such observations would seem to make it relatively easy to characterize The Matrix as a Buddhist film; however, things aren't nearly so simple as they appear. For one thing, it isn't a universal belief among Buddhists that our world is only an illusion. Many Mahayana Buddhists argue that the world really exists, but our understanding of the world is illusory - in other words, our perceptions of reality do not entirely match what reality actually is. We are urged not to mistake an image for reality, but that presumes that there is a genuine reality around us in the first place. Perhaps more significant is the fact that so much that occurs in the Matrix films directly contradicts basic Buddhist principles. Buddhist ethics certainly do not allow for the language and extreme violence which occur in these movies. We may not see a lot of blood, but the plots make it clear that any humans not "with" the liberated heroes are to be counted as enemies. A consequence of this is that people are killed regularly. The violence directed against people is even raised up as something laudable. It certainly isn't commensurate for someone fulfilling the role of bodhisattava, one who has achieved enlightenment and chooses to return to aid others in their quest, to go around killing people. In addition, the simple identification of the Matrix as the "enemy," along with the Agents and other programs who work on behalf of the Matrix, is a bit contrary to Buddhism. Christianity may allow for a dualism that separates good and evil, but that doesn't really play so much of a role in Buddhism because the real "enemy" is our own ignorance. Indeed, Buddhism would probably require that sentient programs like the Agents be treated with the same compassion and consideration as sentient humans because they, too, need to be liberated from illusion. Finally, another significant conflict between Buddhism and the Matrix is much the same as one which exists between Gnosticism and the Matrix. According to Buddhism, the goal for those who wish to escape from this world of illusion is to achieve a disembodied, immaterial existence - perhaps one where even our perception of the individual self has been overcome. In the Matrix films, however, the goal is supposed to be to flee a disembodied existence in a computer simulation and return to a very material, very physical existence in the "real" world. It seems clear, then, that the Martrix movies cannot be described as Buddhist films - but the fact remains that they make extensive use of Buddhist themes and principles. While the Matrix may not be an exact equivalent of maya and Keanu Reeve's character Neo may not be a bodhisattava, the Wachowski brothers did deliberately incorporate aspects of Buddhism into their story because they believe that Buddhism has something to say to us about our world and how we conduct our lives.

Here's another approach to explaining the Matrix: Perhaps the idea that The Matrix is basically a Christian film stretches things a bit too far, but there are arguments that The Matrix has a stronger basis in Gnosticism and Gnostic Christianity. Gnosticism shares many basic ideas with orthodox Christianity, but there are also important differences between the two that make Gnosticism closer to the principles expressed in these films. In his conversation with Neo near the end of The Matrix Reloaded, the Architect explains that he is responsible for the creation of the Matrix - does that make him God? Probably not: his character seems closer to that played by the force of evil in Gnosticism. According to gnostic tradition, the material world was actually created by a demiurge (commonly identified with the God of the Old Testament), not the True God of Good who is utterly transcendent and exists far beyond the created world as we understand it. The demiurge in turn leads a cast of Archons, or petty rulers who are the craftsmen of our physical world. Escape from this world of evil is only accomplished by those who obtain the inner knowledge about the true nature of this reality and the manner in which humans are imprisoned in it and controlled by sinister forces. Those who seek to become awakened and enlightened are aided in their quest by Jesus Christ, sent by God to the world as a bearer of divine enlightenment in order to relieve humanity of its ignorance and lead them to truth and goodness. The savior also comes to save Sophia, the embodiment of wisdom and a lesser being who emanated from God but then later drifted away from him. The parallels here between Gnosticism and the Matrix films are obvious, with Keanu Reeve's character Neo playing the role of the bearer of enlightenment who is sent to liberate humanity from the place in which the sinister machines have them imprisoned. We also learn from the Oracle, a program within the Matrix and an embodiment of wisdom about the Matrix, that Neo has once again made a "believer" out of her. We may find in the third and final film, Matrix Revolutions, that the Architect has close parallels to the gnostic concept of the demiurge. At the same time, there are also serious differences between Gnosticism and the Matrix films which undermine any attempt to argue that one should be closely matched to the other. For example, in Gnosticism it is the material world that is considered a prison and lacking in "true" reality; we are supposed to escape this and find liberation in the reality of the spirit or mind. In the Matrix, our prison is one in which our minds are trapped, while liberation constitutes fleeing to the supposed material world where machines and humans have been at war - a world which is much more distressing and disturbing than the Matrix. This "real world" is also one where sensual and even sexual experiences are valued and pursued - quite the opposite of the anti-materialistic and flesh-denying principles of Gnostic doctrine. The only character who expresses anything close to true Gnosticism is, ironically, Agent Smith - the truly disembodied mind who is forced to take on physical form and interact in the simulated physical world within the Matrix. As he says to Morpheus: "I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that IÕve somehow been infected by it." He is desperate to return to a pure state of disembodied existence, just as any true Gnostic would. Yet he is the embodiment of the enemy. In addition, Gnosticism postulates that the bearer of divine enlightenment is fundamentally divine in nature, denying him the full humanity he is accorded in orthodox Christianity. In the Matrix films, however, Neo certainly appears to be fully human - although he has special powers, they seem to be limited to his ability to control the computer code in the Matrix and are thus technological in nature, not supernatural. All of the "awakened ones" - the enlightened individuals who have become aware of the falsehood of the Matrix - are very much human. Although there are certainly Gnostic themes running throughout the Matrix movies, it would be mistaken indeed to try and label them Gnostic films. Those who do may only be working from a rather superficial understanding of Gnostic Christianity - not surprising since pop spirituality has appropriated a great deal from Gnosticism that sounds appealing while ignoring that which may be unpleasant. How often do we hear, for example, the ways in which Gnostic writers in the past have excoriated those who fail or even refuse to seek Gnostic enlightenment? How often do we read about the terrible fates that await those who mistakenly worship the demiurge as if it were the True God? Whatever the reasons for people's misunderstandings, the fact that the Matrix and its sequels are not Gnostic films shouldn't stop us from appreciating the presence of Gnostic themes. The Wachowski brothers have brought together a variety of religious themes and ideas, presumably because they felt that there was something in them to make us think differently about the world around us.

I've found a more philosophical point of view to the Matrix that may clear up some confusion about the films: ***First, let's review some of the obvious Christian symbols that appear in the film. The main character, played by Keanu Reeves, is named Thomas Anderson: the first name Thomas may be an allusion to the Doubting Thomas of the gospels, while etymologically Anderson means "son of man," a title used by Jesus in reference to himself. Another character, Choi, says to him "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ." A plate in Morpheus's ship Nebuchadnezzar bears the inscription "Mark III No. 11," a probable allusion to the Bible: Mark 3:11 reads, "Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!'" Anderson's hacker alias Neo is an anagram for the One, a title which is used in the film to refer to Keanu Reeves' character. He is The One who is prophesied to liberate humanity from the chains that imprison them in their computer-generated illusion. First, however, he has to die - and he is killed in room 303. But, after 72 seconds (analogous to 3 days), Neo rises again. Soon thereafter, he also ascends up into the heavens. The first movie itself happened to be released on Easter weekend, 1999. According to the Architect in The Matrix Reloaded, Neo isn't actually the first One; instead, he is really the sixth One. Numbers are not meaningless in these films and perhaps the first five are meant to symbolize the Five Books of Moses of the Old Testament. Neo, representing the New Testament and New Covenant of Christianity, is described by the Architect as differing from the first five because of his ability to love - and the concept of agape, or brotherly love, is key in Christian theology. It seems, then, that Neo's role as a sci-fi iteration of the Christian Messiah is rather secure. Or is it? Certainly some Christian authors argue so, but the parallels here are not nearly so strong as they might appear at first glance. For Christians, the Messiah is a sinless unification of both divinity and humanity who brings salvation to humans from their state of sin through his own freely chosen, sacrificial death; none of these attributes describe Keanu Reeve's Neo, even in a metaphorical sense. Neo is not even vaguely sinless. Neo kills people left and right and isn't averse to a bit of extramarital sex. We are offered no reasons to think that Neo is a union of the divine and the human; although he develops powers beyond what other humans have, there is nothing mystical about him. His powers derive from an ability to manipulate the programming of the Matrix, and he remains very much human. Neo is not here to save anyone from sin, and his purpose has nothing to do with bridging the gap between us and God (not that God is even mentioned in the Matrix films). Instead, Neo arrives to release us from ignorance and illusion. Certainly a release from illusion is consistent with Christianity, but it does not constitute a metaphor for Christian salvation. Moreover, the idea that our reality is illusory is inconsistent with Christian beliefs in an omnipotent and truthful God. Nor does Neo save humanity through a sacrificial death. Although he dies, it is by accident rather than by free choice, and his means of salvation involves a great deal of violence - including the deaths of many innocent people. Neo loves, but he loves Trinity; he hasn't exhibited an overarching love for humanity as a whole, and certainly not for the human minds he kills time and time again. Christian references go far beyond the character of Neo, of course. The last human city is Zion, a reference to Jerusalem - a city holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Neo falls in love with Trinity, a reference to the Trinity of Christianity. Neo is betrayed by Cypher, someone who prefers hedonistic illusions where he has power over the drab reality he was awakened to. Even these, however, are not exclusively Christian themes or allegories. Some may see them as such because of their obvious relations to Christian stories, but that would a rather narrow reading; it would be more accurate to say that Christianity makes use of many stories and ideas which have been part of human culture for millennia. These ideas are a part of our human heritage, cultural as well as philosophical, and the Matrix taps into this heritage in culturally and religiously specific ways, but we should not let that distract us from the core messages which reach well beyond any one religion, including Christianity. In short, The Matrix and its sequels make use of Christianity, but they are not Christian films. Perhaps they are poor reflections of Christian doctrine, rendering Christianity in a superficial manner that is amenable to American pop culture but which requires sacrificing depth for the sake of people accustomed to sound bites over serious theological contemplation. Or, perhaps, they aren't meant to be Christian films in the first place; instead, they may be meant to be about important issues which are also explored within Christianity.

Me either. Why King Kong of all movie remakes too? And Jack Black, sure he's funny, but I don't think Jackson wants this movie taken too seriously with him in it. But, I'm sure I can expect a good laugh or two from Black.

I wish! I hope that Bruckheimer has a change of heart on the next POC and gives the role of composer to Silvestri. I'm tired of hearing artifical "engineered" scores. How about the actual use of an orchestra for a change?! Now there's a thought!

Oh, of course he would work out fine. In fact some of his material from Sleepy Hollow, Red Dragon or Edward Scissorhands might have worked fine in HP. I guess the true test of whether or not he'd make the perfect replacement is when he does Willy Wonka. Or if we're talking adapting themes and motifs, give the job to Don Davis. He did a great job on JP3, and this will give him a chance to expand his scope. With Will Ross, you pretty much know what you getting, which may be a good or Bad thing. And since we're talking about replacements, if I were to also choose the next director, I'd choose Burton as the next choice. His directing style would work well with the Potter series, and give it the appropriate darkness that the film's have needed for sometime now.

Favorites: Japanese Animation, Animated, CG, Black and White, Documentaries, Action/Adventure, Drama, Psychological Thrillers. I love the way Tim Burton Directs; his innocent/sadistic film style is always great. The same goes for Spielburg, Hitchcock, Gibson... Least Favorite: Anything Michael Moore's put out... Horror films with no plot and weak cinematography (see Jeepers Creepers 2)