DVD of stylish 'Matrix Reloaded' an appetizer for theater sequel
By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service
As someone who was forced to reconsider his initial and vehement negative reaction to "The Matrix," I approached the second film in the trilogy, "Matrix Reloaded," with some trepidation but enjoyed it despite the hype.
I found the continuation of presumed savior Neo's adventure in the techno-rabbit hole to be that rare, stylish, smart action movie that was visually dazzling but also had something on its mind — maybe too much, but compelling nevertheless. The backlash, however, was formidable, and I read a story recently referring to it as a great disappointment to both audiences and Warner Bros., which, the writer presumed, expected it to be more than a $531 million box-office hit: What, the basis of a new religion more profitable than Scientology?
The two-DVD release (Warner) will allow us an opportunity to reassess it with a cool head, but my opinion hasn't changed.
I will only say the obvious, which is that it is best enjoyed on a large screen. It provides a refresher course before the release of the last chapter, "Revolutions," in three weeks, for which the expectation level has been considerably lowered.
The DVD serves up even more green-tinted stimulation on the second disc, including a fairly interesting behind-the-curtain production doc, an exploration of the phenomenon itself, and a how-they-did-it inspection of the infamous freeway chase, which is as impressive as I remembered.
There's also more plot-circuit-unraveling in a feature about the computer game, for those of us who haven't played it, and a significant amount of DVD-ROM material that will require you to download Quicktime 6 if you already haven't.
Troubled teens
There is usually an obvious reason many movies go straight to DVD; if a movie does not represent a major investment, a la something like "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," it seem impudent to spend another $30 million or so releasing and promoting it.
"Home Room" (Columbia TriStar) is a more complicated story. It is one of those well-made movies that fall in the cracks because of its difficult subject matter: a school shooting that leaves all but two of the students dead.
Erika Christensen, who was terrific as the heroin-addicted teenager in "Traffic," gives another excellent performance here as one of the survivors, an optimistic achiever hospitalized by a bullet wound in her head.
The other, played by the unknown-to-me Busy Phillips, is an alienated goth girl who is miraculously unharmed but whose hatred for the world is only exaggerated by her experience.
"Home Room" is about the relationship that develops between the two girls, and it is deftly handled by writer-director-editor Paul Ryan, who never lets his sensitivity to the subject melt into sentimentality. "Home Room" addresses the wounds of Columbine and similar incidents with great empathy and a sense of hope that the pain and anger of so many marginalized high school students can be treated with simple respect and understanding.
"Home Room" failed to get a theatrical release because it falls into a marketing crack: a small, personal drama whose primary audience would be teens, who rarely flock to see independent-styled dramas. Adults rarely flock to movies about teens. And the subject itself is painful, which often keeps audiences away.
But this is a movie that deserves to be seen, a statement you'll also hear in a brief extra, in which we see the director and the two stars attending a screening at Columbine.
Another troubled teen
The similarly challenging "Blue Car" presented similar problems for Miramax, which acquired it after it became the buzz of the Sundance Film Festival in 2002, then sat on it for a year while deciding how to best sell a film about a troubled, talented teenage writer, portrayed with unflinching honesty by Agnes Bruckner, whose relationship with her encouraging English teacher (David Strathairn) heads in an unsettling direction.
The DVD (Miramax) could give this well-pitched film the adult and older teen audience it deserves, with director Karen Moncrieff talking us through some of the film's more difficult scenes on the commentary, and also talking about why the deleted scenes were cut; my sole complaint is that I wish the footage that was trimmed to appease Miramax's concerns could be reintegrated into the film.
Back again
"Sleepless in Seattle" (Columbia TriStar) gets its third DVD release as a 10th Anniversary Edition, but if you own the Special Edition of the 1993 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy, with Nora and Delia Ephron's commentary track and the "Love in the Movies" featurette, you have no reason to upgrade, since it contains the same extras, with only one non-cinematic addition: a mail-in coupon good for a $10 Starbucks gift card, which could, I suppose, get you more sleepless.
Two of the most original crime shows of recent years now have their original episodes released in multi-disc sets, and both were British imports. "Cracker: The Complete First Season" (Warner) compiles the original trio of two-hour TV movies about the adulterous, alcoholic wreck of a forensic psychologist, played by Robbie Coltrane, first shown in England in 1993.
"Prime Suspect" (Warner) puts all four episodes of the original miniseries, shown here on PBS' "Mystery," on two discs, introducing us to writer Lynda La Plante's fortyish English detective, wonderfully played by Helen Mirren, who confronts casual workplace sexism while attempting to solve a horrific crime that just gets worse and worse. There will undoubtedly be a box set someday with all the subsequent installments, but a true Jane Tennison fan will already be on the case.
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has been previously issued on DVD, but this week's release of a remake has inspired a new Special Edition (Pioneer), that has been restored from the original 16mm negative. It's been given a lavish presentation, including 30 minutes of deleted scenes that will already be familiar to its more devoted fans.
Director Tobe Hopper admits in a commentary that he never imagined the success of the grisly film while it was being made. It's one of those films whose down-and-dirty style was a function of its ultra-low budget and abbreviated shooting schedule. That was also a major reason that the film — loosely inspired by the cannibal killer whose exploits inspired "Psycho" — was so shockingly effective.
