THE ANIMATRIX

What do a cat lover, a high school kid, a private detective, a female
Samurai, a pair of robot ambassadors and the crew of a hovercraft have
in common?  They each feature in one of nine short animated films that
make up THE ANIMATRIX.  The two-part SECOND RENNAISANCE recounts - in
scenes reminiscent of the WWI artists, HR Giger and the Terminator films
- the history of the conflict between man and machine.  MATRICULATED
sees the human resistance attempting to reprogram the robot enemy
through the use of trippy visuals.  In the washed-out, noir-inspired
world of DETECTIVE STORY, a private investigator takes on a job which
proves more than he can handle.  BEYOND elegantly explores a glitch in
The Matrix as seen through a child's eyes.  The photorealistic animation
(spot the gratuitous CGI buttock) of THE FINAL FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS,
which acts as a prelude to THE MATRIX: RELOADED, more than holds up to
the scrutiny of the big screen.  KID'S STORY tells the tale of an
atypical teenager, the fuzzy rendering matching the blurring of reality.
Some of these animations work and some of them don't, but as a whole
they provide an intriguing glimpse into the complex world of THE MATRIX.


CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

I have a theory that CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is the perfect date 
movie.  For the guys there those breath-taking, gravity-defying fight 
scenes and Chow Yun Fat's portrayal as the fierce but sensitive and 
intelligent warrior, Li Mu Bai.  For the girls there are the strong
female characters - Jen Yu (Zhang Zi Li), a nobleman's daughter who
hides a secret talent, and Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), the swordswomen
who befriends her - and the two love stories - between Li Mu Bai and
Shu Lien, and Jen Yu and a desert bandit - which lie at the heart of
the tale.  Both sexes can glean some kind of useful relationship advice
from the plot, i.e. take a chance on love and don't leave things until
too late.  The choice of this film shows excellent taste (after all, it
won four Oscars) on the part of both dater (for asking) and datee (for
accepting).  Finally, it inspires plenty to talk about in what might
otherwise be one of those awkward post-date silences.  Unmissable, with
or without a date.


HULK

A military scientist trying to genetically engineer the ultimate
super-soldier starts experimenting upon himself.  Thirty years later his
son, also a scientist, has an accident in the laboratory and starts
experiencing violent mood swings which turn him into a not-so-jolly
green giant.  This sets off a chain of events which sees 'Angry Man'
demolishing his place of work (like we all haven't wanted to do that),
battling a mutant French Poodle (a scene for the canine-harrassed
postmen in the audience), being pursued by a cavalcade of police, army
and SWAT teams worthy of The Blues Brothers, and generally having a
smashing time.  Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?  But translated to the
big screen it all makes (almost) perfect sense.

Ultimately, it's all in the eyes.  Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) gazes into
the bathroom mirror, contemplating his existence and dreading any glint
of green which might surface in those sensitive puppy dog eyes.  His
colleague and ex-lover, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly), watches on
helpessly, her baby blues - framed by those famous eyebrows - filled
with compassion.  Her Marine father (Sam Elliott) - all bristling
moustache, leathery skin and military grey/blue glare - monitors the
imprisoned Banner by CCTV and the fugitive Hulk by radar. David Banner
(Nick Nolte) searches for his son, his grizzled brow quivering with
emotion.  And finally, the intelligently computer-generated face of the
Hulk himself reflecting the astonishment and fear of those who see him
as a monster.

Director Ang Lee's vision leads the audience - by means of zoom outs,
wipes and split screen trickery - through this surprisingly sumptuous 
action story, touching on mythic tragedy, scientific ethics and family
angst.  In the spate of recent comic book adaptations, in my view, this
makes Hulk one of the best.