Movie Review: The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix (1999) written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) leads two lives. He works for a respectable software company by day; at night he is the hacker Neo, exploring the internet and providing questionable software to people who pay well. He's quickly drawn into a much larger conflict when other hackers contact him and offer him the answer to a burning question...What is the Matrix? The answer can only be shown, and it is a life-changing experience, for Neo and for everyone else on Earth. The head of the hackers, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) thinks Neo is a man destined for great, world-changing actions.

If you haven't seen this, I won't spoil the plot though if you have seen it you probably don't need refreshing on what happens. The story does a good job blending lots of different ideas into a coherent whole. The characters struggle with concepts of fate and free will, truth and perception, responsibility and love. Those conflicts are layered into a lot of action and drama as Neo learns more about the world and tries to sort out what his destiny really is. The story is well crafted with great dialogue and a breakneck pace.

The visual storytelling is amazing too. It takes the cyberpunk aesthetic of Blade Runner, the bullet time camera trick first made popular in Gap ads, the liquid metal visuals made famous in Terminator 2, the martial arts of wuxia films, and lots of other greater and lesser elements to create a fresh-looking whole. The camera angles and framing are evocative of comic book visuals, with many visual elements arranged strategically within the image. A sense of scale and excitement is communicated through cameras that move when they need to and stay put when they should. The pacing is fast enough to keep viewers on on the edge of their seats without leaving them behind.

The actors give wonderful performances. Keanu Reeves is tailor-made for his part, at times clueless and wondering, at times in control and ready for what's to come. Fishburne is cool and collected as Morpheus, switching from hard action to philosophical reflection with ease and panache. Carrie-Anne Moss provides both romantic interest and butt-kicking intensity as Trinity. Hugo Weaving is especially good in the villain role, delivering intensity and aloofness at just the right times but always in a sinister way. The whole cast does a great job.

The Matrix is a science fiction classic, nearly thirty years old but still fresh and relevant.

Highly recommended (I wish I could say the same for the sequels).

Book Review: The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

The original volume of this publication includes nine short stories and a sequence of poems, but this printing only contains the first four stories. These particular stories are weird fiction, a sub-genre of odd stories that create unease and terror through a blend of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe is often cited as the first author of weird fiction, though surely Frankenstein, published a decade before Poe began writing, fits the category as well. 

The stories are united in references to "The King in Yellow," a play available in book form that several character read and then go insane. The play has a reputation for its deleterious effect on people though it is available world-wide (two of these stories are set in New York City, two in Paris). Many people resist reading it or unwittingly mirror its content, including the sigil called "The Yellow Sign" that is a marker of, at best, tragedy. The characters are artists (authors, sculptors, painters) who have weird visions and dreams or odd works that hint at the dark things to come in their lives. 

I found the collection uneven. The odd atmospheres were interesting in all of them, but the first story, "The Repairer of Reputations," was too cryptic and unsatisfying. "The Mask" and "The Yellow Sign" were the best, with thrilling conclusions that are bit predictable but nonetheless unsettling. The third story, "In the Court of the Dragon," needed a bit more. 

Mildly recommended--maybe find an edition that has the other stories and poems.

TV Review: Below (2026)

Below (2026) created by Jesse McKeown

Calvin Penny (Josh Hartnett) has had a hard life. As a child, his family had to move from a remote fishing village to a less remote village because of a government buyout. The family brought their house on the water but something went wrong. The dad switched from the boat to house to see what's going on. Then the house was dragged underwater by some sort of creature. At least that's what Calvin saw. Now he's a widower in mid-life and the new town is getting bought out by the government again. Calvin doesn't want to leave but most of the locals do. His children come to visit for a town festival. He tries to convince them to move back but things get difficult when it seems like the underwater creature is back. Will the town believe him? Can he beat the creature? And what about the cute scientist he's working with, who staffs the local scientific institute and knows a bit about aquatic life?

If this was a movie, that would be all the complications. But as a miniseries, a lot of side plots are introduced. Each of Calvin's three children have their own issues that get resolved by the end after some tough turns. Calvin's sister, the harbormaster for the town, has a little plot. A science vessel that shows up takes up some of the run time. Even the creature gets some character development. None of these elements are boring but they don't quite hang together as a tight narrative either. I found myself thinking several times, "this is a bit bonkers." But it is the fun kind of bonkers, not the stupid kind. The show is not going to win any big awards (maybe special effects?). It is very entertaining even with some very conventional turns in the last episode. I had a fun time watching it--it's a b-movie in TV miniseries form.

Recommended.

As I publish this, the show is only available streaming on Netflix.

Book Reviews: Seraph of the End Vols. 9 and 10 by T. Kagami et al.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 9 story by Takaya Kagami and art by Yamato Yamamoto

The battle for Nagoya continues as Yuichiro's unit from the Japanese Imperial Army keeps trying to kill vampire nobles in the city. The battle at city hall seems to be going well until they run up against a top-level vampire named Crowley who wants to capture Guren, the leader of another unit who is working with Yuichiro's group and has a lot of top-level information that could be useful to the vampires. This story is mostly action with some background linking Yuichiro and Guren.

Mildly recommended.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 10 story by Takaya Kagami and art by Yamato Yamamoto

The action heats up as Yuichiro is taken by his former friend (and now vampire) Mika. They flee from the battle scene with some help from Yuichiro's group, which doesn't sit well with the other humans. Mika is still suffering intensely from not having tasted human blood, leading to a conflict with Yu who wants his friend to live, even if that means feeding him his own blood. While they are resolving that problem, the other humans are figuring out if they want to save Guren or proceed with the evacuation plan.

It seems like a straightforward decision not to let his friend become a permanent vampire by letting Mika drink his blood but they complicate the situation anyway. Yu thinks of Mika as a brother and wants to do anything for his family. Mika reveals a lot of the horrible things the humans have been doing, including this "Seraph of the End" project that he blames for a lot of the problems they have, including the devastating events that led to the vampires having control over the surface of the Earth. Mika also claims that Yu is part of the experiment and probably won't come out well. I have mixed feelings about where the story is going, but I will keep going along to find out.

Mildly recommended.

Movie Review: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon (1941) co-written and directed by John Huston

Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is half of the Spade and Archer Detective Agency. They are hired by Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) to follow Floyd Thursby, a man she claims has swept her sister off her feet but really is no good. Sam's partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) is happy to do the job because Wonderly is a looker. Unfortunately, he winds up shot dead. The police call Sam to the scene of the crime. In short order, it's reported that Thursby has been shot. At first, the police try to pin Thursby's death on Sam as revenge, though when the find out that Archer's wife Iva (Gladys George) has a thing for Sam, they try to pin Archer's death on Sam. He points out the incongruity of committing both murders. Meanwhile, he tries to get a straight story out of Wonderly, who is registered as Leblanc at a hotel. That names turns out not to be her real name. Sam is also visited by Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) who wants the item that the dame had. He threatens to search the office and has a tussle with Sam, who doesn't know about any package but plays it cool to get more info from Cairo. The plot gets more convoluted from there as Sam tries to find out about the mysterious bird that everyone is after. Viewers know it's a valuable 16th century statuette from Malta, information provided in the movie's opening scroll.

This film noir classic has great performances from all of the cast, including Sydney Greenstreet as another interested party and Elisha Cook Jr. as a young tough employed by Greenstreet. Bogart shows the bravado and nerves of Spade, the iconic hardboiled detective. The plot is a bit convoluted but plays out wonderfully with solid direction from Huston and great dialog taken from the Dashiell Hammett novel. It's a riveting watch with plenty of memorable dialogue and scenes. It's the stuff that dreams are made of.

Highly recommended.

TV Review: The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)

The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026) co-written and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green based on the Marvel character

Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) aka The Punisher, is at a tough spot in his life. He's killed off the last of the people responsible for his family's death. He still has flashes of people from his life. Those memories dredge up bad memories for him. Ignoring the horrible crimes going on in his neighborhood, Frank tries to find some purpose for his life. Then a woman (Judith Light) shows up asking him to get revenge on the guy who killed her family but with a very hard twist--she's the last remaining member of the last of the people responsible for Frank's family's death. She's put out a bounty on his head and broadcast it all over, so every lowlife in town will be after him. Frank lives in New York City, so that's a lot of lowlifes.

The story moves back and forth between Frank's existential crisis and the excessive violence that surrounds his life. His struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, manifested through his memories and his hauntings, is very sympathetic. Bernthal gives a very good performance. I was much less sympathetic with the loads and loads of violence. Sure, it's exciting and very well put together. But the excess gets to the point of numbing and it is easily the least interesting part of the show. I really like The Punisher as a character, and he has some great character moments in this show, but if I watched again, I'd skip the middle 20-30 minutes of rampaging violence.

Not recommended unless you are a Punisher fan.

As I write this (September 2026), this is only available on Disney+.

Book Review: Spooky Maryland by S. E. Schlosser

Spooky Maryland: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore by S. E. Schlosser and illustrated by Paul Hoffman

This collection of scary stories tells tales from around the state of Maryland. As with many other such collections, a lot of the tales are centered around slavery and the Civil War, with supernatural experiences both during and long after the events that happened. Some are more contemporary, like the (Maryland) famous Goatman or Black Aggie statue. Schlosser does a good job telling the tales, capturing different voices for different narrators, including a lot of haunted shoremen who work the Chesapeake Bay. The collection is entertaining in a chilling way and great for October reading.

Recommended.