Phosphor

Ah.

Go sheep!!

What's OT4?

They say the camera adds 10 pounds.... I think he looks great in the suit.

Looks pretty good. I was hoping for something less armour-like though, perhaps more streamlined, but at least it doesn't look like a hard rubber suit. I like the matte-black or slate colour in the costume against the deep black of the cape and boots. The brushed-metal utility belt is nice as well.

Well, I've decided to come clean. On the first test I got Somewhat Evil at 26% On the second: Though the image of Barney in the background there makes me want to kill.

What do you mean "What's the point"? The Matrix is a film that questions reality, that makes it's own myths - it creates a world. Like any fiction, be it book or film. It's a philosophy dressed up in flashy clothes. It's psychology without the boring bits, it's a study of religious esoterica. I think The Matrix is an incredibly intelligent and clever trilogy. Over three films, the Wachowski's didn't quite keep it together and it did stumble and falter here and there. But I think the overall result was great and certainly to be commended. No, it's not ironic at all as you most certainly have me confused with somebody else.

That's your loss, then. There's some fantastic stuff in The Matrix, a lot of references to esoteric lore, religious symbolism and so forth. You can choose to not look for it, or to believe it's not there since that's what suits you, but in doing so you cannot proclaim it to be an empty action flick with no substance. Perhaps that's what it is to you, simply because of you choose to remain ignorant, but don't treat that opinion as fact.

M$ did the same thing with Age Of Mythology, there were commercials in theatres. I've seen various console games advertised likewise.

Costuming super-heroes in movies is always hard. I don't know what can be done with the Batman costume to make it look good, but not as rubber-rigid as it was in the previous films. I like how the X-Men films handled the costumes, that worked well. But it was also quite a departure from the comic book version, and I don't think Batman has that kind of freedom for costume innovation. The shots of the costume I've seen from Batman Begins seem to have a lot in common with the outfit from the previous films.

Just watched the trailer, and I'm very impressed. It looks like this film is completely tackling the psychology of the character, using that mental state as the driving force and catalyst of Wayne/Batman, rather than some heroic crime-fighting perspective to facilitate lots of big action. It's Batman from the inside, from the character's mind. Perfect.

The religious symbolism is overwhelming. I really don't have time to write a thesis on the subject right now, as it would take all day, if not longer. If you're so interested, do a web search and you'll have lots to read. My father, who's a Deacon in the Anglican church, saw The Matrix and was blown away by the thouroughness of the religious symbolism, and how intelligently it was implemented. 'JN hit on a couple of solid examples, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, really. I don't care if you don't like the movie(s) or not, but to claim there isn't any symbolism in them just shows your ignorance and stubborness to see otherwise.

Yes, Dark Angel was great. There was some really solid work done in that show.

I haven't had occasion to watch the trailer yet, but Bale I think is fine for the physique of Batman. Deganawida hit the prime detail when he said Bale has intensity, and in acting that counts for a whole lot more than a comic-book-proper physique. With the right intensity, the actor can be pretty much anything. And Bale isn't scrawny. Look at him in American Psycho, he's quite muscled. Besides, film can achieve any illusion. Ultimately though, I'd rather have a good actor who doesn't look 100% the part than someone who looks the part but can't act.

Complexity is purely subjective, but the Matrix does have a lot of symbolism. Whether it's effective symbolism can be argued, but it is there, and there's a lot of it.

There is a new Doctor Who series starting up. The show started in 1963, and it's still going (albeit after a lengthy break), so I'd hardly call it a show that didn't last. I missed Millenium; it ran during the time I didn't have cable, and I've never caught any re-runs.

I remember the Intellivision had a weird little paddle/disc on the controllers, which was a pretty new concept then. In the vein of the arcade track ball.

I never personally owned an Intellivision, but a friend of my father's did. My dad and his friend often got together to wargame, and I always went along. I don't recall a lot of games for the Intellivision, but it was good fun. There was a D&D game for it, I believe, or at least a similarly-themed game, that I quite liked. The Colecovision (which another friend had) was indeed superior in graphics to the Intellivision. As I recall, the Colecovision was the graphics machine at the time.

I liked Reign Of Fire. It could have been a lot better - it lacked focus - but the story, visuals and acting were very good. Particularly the visuals. I loved the "modern medieval" style, it's not something you see often on film. It shows up with some frequency in stage productions of Shakespeare's history plays, and I love it there, too. But given the big film treatment was fantastic. The shot of the dragons in burning London was wonderful as well. Should have been a longer shot, rather than just a glimpse. The camera work and lighting were nicely done, really creating the atmosphere as a burning, smoky, dirty place. I liked the story, but it could have been tighter. Christian Bale and Matthew McCaughnahey (sp?) did a fine job too. Before seeing the film, I had read all sorts of bad press, but was really surprised and thought the reviews had been un-necessarily harsh.

The fact that the scheme is legal doesn't mean anything. Being legal only means it's not expressley illegal - legality doesn't equate with honesty, you should know that. It is very much a pyramid scheme, and there are many such legal operations out there. Doesn't mean it's right, good or even honest. These sorts of schemes skirt the edge of the law, staying technically legal enough to remain in operation. I personally don't care a bit if you go in for it or not, but what irks me is that millions of people do and it perpetuates this sort of thing, allowing it to thrive. It's like spam mail, we all hate it and yet enough people actually respond to make it worthwhile. It's also this sort of thing that severly hobbles legitimate, honest businesses who rely on the internet. And since that is the source of my income, it's aggrivating to see people buying into this type of crap.

I'm not evil enough, or perhaps too evil, to answer all those questions. So the true degree of my evil will never be known.

It's not that I care if a film in general is American or not, but HHGTG is so British that the American focus will simply not work. As for Batman, it's Batman, and doesn't exactly have a national "stamp" to it. Gotham can just as easily be London as New York. Batman isn't filled with a certain quality or sense of humour that speaks of a certain nationality or perspective. It's pretty universal. I think one could easily find a more American film than Batman...

The Lone Gunmen. That should have been given a better chance. Birds Of Prey. Yeah, it was dead cheesey but it was fun. It seems that all I have to do is think of the television shows I like... They all get cancelled.

What counts as "not long"? At any rate, the following: Firefly Wonderfalls Farscape (yeah, four seasons, plus a new miniseries, but dammit that's not long enough!)

I think that's a very good idea. In all it's ultra-low bugdet glory.