After the release of “The Matrix” in 1999, a lot of work went into expanding the franchise. We got two sequels in 2003 as well as “The Animatrix”, a collection of shorts set in the same universe. Each short has a different animation style and the segments vary massively in terms of quality.

Final Flight of the Osiris – 2 1/2 stars

“Final Flight of the Osiris” starts off this whole thing and it’s not the best start to anthology film. This one looks great and reminded me of “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” but that’s where the positives stop.

After a blindfolded swordfight where they slice their clothes off in a virtual reality dojo, crew members of the Osiris discover an army of robot Sentinels. They see that the robot army is using giant drills to tunnel their way into Zion so the crew must get word to the people of Zion. Jue volunteers to go into the Matrix to deliver the warning so that lives can be saved. Can she make it before the Osiris is destroyed by the Sentinels?

The C.G.I. effects in this are amazing for the time and the characters looks so lifelike. Unfortunately, they don’t have any personality. All we are doing is looking at photorealistic characters with absolutely nothing about them. We have to see Thaddeus’ muscular physique and Jue in some tight underwear once they are through taking each other’s clothes off with their blades. It’s clearly meant to be sexy but it’s just not. The robot Sentinels look as good as they did in the main movies as they were obviously C.G. in the movies.

“Final Flight of the Osiris” must have been very visually impressive for the time but now it just looks like a cutscene from a videogame. The lack of interesting characters is a huge problem. I get that this is only a short but maybe they should have focused less on blasting the robots. The sexual stuff with the swordfight just comes across as really weird and rather awkward. It is certainly not bad by any means but it’s not going to get you hooked in the way that an opening short in an anthology should.

The Second Renaissance – 4 stars

“The Second Renaissance” is split into two parts but I’m just going to treat it as a single short because I don’t really see the point in reviewing the two segments separately. I have no idea why they decided to do that. This short is much better as it gives some meaningful backstory to the main films.

We see how the rise of robots led to a struggle between man and machine. After a robot is put on trial for murder, machines begin to rebel against their human masters. They eventually create their own nation, which soon outperforms the world’s other countries. Mankind responds with hostility towards the machines and is not long before there is a global war.

This one doesn’t focus too much on the characters but that’s okay. It covers a lot of ground in very little time so it wouldn’t really work if it focused on any specific characters. The animation on the characters is good but it’s not my favourite style. Some of the robots are destroyed in a very brutal fashion and many humans are violently murdered too. One of the robots is clearly meant to be like ‘Tank Man’ from the Tiananmen Square protests.

“The Second Renaissance” is easily one of the better shorts in this collection. Some of the events in it seem to defy any logic. For instance, why do the machines suddenly develop the desire to rebel? It’s never explained properly. Still, this one helps to give some much-appreciated detail about what exactly led to the dystopian future shown in “The Matrix” trilogy. This would have been a much more logical place for the collection to start as well as this one clearly explains the whole franchise’s origins and concepts. Some of the symbolism in this is pretty strong and actually works but I can see some people viewing it as either cheesy or merely exploitative.

Kid’s Story – 2 stars

After the epic that was “The Second Renaissance”, “Kid’s Story” decides to slow things down and focus on one specific character. This one is another disappointment and doesn’t really bring anything new to the table as it’s very similar to some of the early scenes in the first of the main films.

Michael Karl Popper is a disaffected teen, who feels that there is something wrong with the world. After an online computer chat with a hacker online, he finds himself in danger. During school, he gets a call from Neo (Keanu Reeves “The Matrix”, “Speed”) and is forced to flee from the agents pursuing him.

The Michael character is not remotely interesting. I didn’t care about this kid. Before he became a Neo, we saw Thomas Anderson try to flee the agents in the first movie so we don’t need this short to do basically the same thing. This is the only short in the film where Neo appears. The focus really is on the Michael character so it’s a shame that he is so bland. His presence does not really add anything. The animation style in this short is not especially captivating so I don’t think any of the characters look all that great here.

“Kid’s Story” feels completely unneeded. The office sequence in the first movie was way better than this so I don’t feel this short adds anything of any value. It’s not awful by any means but it just feels rather underwhelming. The visual style is okay but just didn’t really do anything for me and that’s a real shame. I think this is easily the most forgettable short in the collection as it doesn’t have a particularly unique visual style and the story is too similar to stuff we have seen elsewhere in the franchise.

Program – 4 stars

“Program” is probably the best short in the entire collection. This one is clearly inspired by films such as the popular “Ninja Scroll” anime movie. It’s a shame that this is probably the shortest of all the films in the collection when it’s easily the most entertaining.

Cis is a young woman that enjoys spending her time training in a battle simulation of feudal Japan. She plays a female samurai battling against an enemy cavalry. Her friend Duo then appears as a male samurai. He informs her that her communications with the operator are blocked as tries to convince her to return to the Matrix. The two then engage in a deadly swordfight.

Considering we get so little time to spend with them, the characters in this short are surprisingly engaging. The samurai costumes work terrifically well as the unsettling mask of Duo helps to perfectly convey his character. Cis reminds me of the female protagonists in anime films such as “Ninja Scroll” and “Princess Mononoke” so that’s great and high praise from me. I actually cared about Cis and the emotions she was expressing. Everybody looks brilliant in this style. It’s almost like watching “Princess Mononoke” mixed with “Sin City”.

This short is over way too soon. It’s a shame because I was really having fun with this one. This is a rather simple short but it shows that if you do things well, you don’t need complexity in terms of the story. The animation is absolutely brilliant here and I think this is also the best looking short in the anthology. Fans of anime films such as “Ninja Scroll” are likely to be very appreciative of this work. Those less familiar with anime movies may find this a fun gateway. If you only see one segment from “The Animatrix” then it simply has to be “Program”.

World Record – 1 star

We go from my favourite short in the anthology to my least favourite segment. This is “World Record” and it’s a horrible addition. This a really boring and really ugly short.

Dan Davis is an athlete that had his Olympic medal revoked due to drug use. He goes to compete again and attempts to break his own record. However, he is informed that he risks pushing himself too hard and that this could lead to a crippling injury. He begins to run so fast that the Matrix itself cannot contain him. Will he break the record? Will he break free from the machines?

I just did not care about this character at all. When you are dealing with life and death situations, the idea of a sports race just seems to be completely irrelevant. The animation is really unpleasant and Dan looks hideous. It makes it so hard to get invested in the character when you are just so repulsed by their design. The animations when he starts running unbelievably fast made me feel ill. The way his flesh twists is ghastly. There are other characters but they don’t really get to do all that much. The focus is on Dan but I wish it was anywhere else.

“World Record” has such a thin plot that it could not even sustain my interest for the mere ten minutes that the short lasts. I really just hated watching this segment because of the animation style. Different people will have different ideas about what styles of animation appeal to them so maybe so people will adore the visuals here. However, I just thought pretty much every aspect of “World Record” was unbearable. It’s such a shame that we go from the brilliance of “Program” to this monstrosity. At least the movie doesn’t finish here.

Beyond – 3 stars

“Beyond” is a more subtle short and it has a similar feel to Japanese animated films such as “Whisper of the Heart” and “Only Yesterday”. It offers a refreshing change of pace after the intensity of some of the earlier segments. I somewhat like its rather calm style yet it doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere; it leaves you wanting a lot more.

Yoko is a teenage girl that goes in search of Yuki, her pet cat. She finds a house that is allegedly haunted. However, it turns out to be a glitch in the Matrix. This is a weird place where the laws of physics do not apply. Yoko has now found something she was never meant to find and that makes her a target of the sinister agents.

The Yoko character is okay and definitely did remind me of some of the female protagonists in anime films such as “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”. Yoko also encounters some children that enjoy playing in the strange house. The agents briefly appear near the end of the short. The animation on the characters is perfectly fine but this is certainly the least visually striking short in the collection.

“Beyond” is soothing yet ultimately unsatisfying. It feels like things are just getting interesting when it all ends. It’s a real shame because I think there was certainly potential here for a terrific segment. I like the idea of defying the laws of physics as part of a glitch. It allows for some calm yet intriguing imagery as the characters float around aimlessly. If you are a fan of the gentler anime movies out there such as “My Neighbour Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” then maybe you will like this short. However, I just wanted more to have happened. This one could have benefitted from being a lot longer.

A Detective Story – 3 1/2 stars

Clearly taking inspiration from the film noir genre, “A Detective Story” is a decent addition to “The Animatrix”. I really adore the film noir style and I think the film even made a reference to the classic “The Maltese Falcon” at one point.

Ash is a struggling private detective that sees his fortunes change when he receives a job from an anonymous client. He is now tasked with searching for an elusive hacker, known as ‘Trinity’. Ash discovers that other detectives that have tried to pursue this criminal have either gone missing or been found dead. He must figure out a way to find this hacker. However, there are other forces at work, which may make this his most dangerous case yet.

I like the Ash character. He clearly is modelled after the rough and tough detectives of the film noir genre. Trinity appears in this short and I think she’s okay here. It’s almost a shame that this has to tie itself into the franchise because this feels like a good film noir short that didn’t need to be connected to anything else. The animation on the characters looks terrific. I really like this style a lot and everybody looks great.

I think that “A Detective Story” is enjoyable and I think they really have captured the essence of film noir. The visual style even reminded me a little of “Sin City”. It’s not quite as visually captivating as “Program” but it does look really good. As mentioned, I think some of the better shorts in this collection would almost work better independent of the franchise. I was a little disappointed by the ending. If you like film noir and films such as “The Maltese Falcon”, “The Big Sleep” and “The Killing” then this will probably put a big smile on your face.

Matriculated – 1 star

Sadly, “The Animatrix” ends on a really bad note with “Matriculated”. This is easily the most psychedelic of the shorts and although it has some interesting ideas, its execution is awful. I really also did not care for the visual style of this segment.

A group of human rebels lure hostile machines to their laboratory. They then plug the machines into their version of the ‘Matrix’. Here, the humans attempt to teach the machines things about humanity such as emotion. What will the machines make of this? Will they learn of humanity’s best traits? The rebels soon come under attack from more machines so they hope the one they captured will help in the fight.

The rebel characters are not remotely interesting. The idea of teaching a robot about humans is interesting but I just felt the execution was really lousy. I didn’t really feel like this robot got a chance to learn anything meaningful. It’s then just not believable when it reacts the way it does. The animation is just really ugly and it makes looking at the characters rather unpleasant. Some of the weird psychedelic effects on the characters actually comes across as rather horrifying even though I suspect it was intended to make them look endearing during the Matrix scenes.

“Matriculated” is a weird and uncomfortable place to end this collection. It’s disappointing to go out on such a low note. Some may find the concepts explored in this short rather intriguing but I think most will agree that it could have been done better. I was creeped out by this short but I really don’t think that was the intention of the makers of “Matriculated”. The only real positive here is that it’s not quite as bad as “World Record” but that’s not saying much at all.

In conclusion, “The Animatrix” is hit and miss. Some of the segments are really entertaining but the bad ones are really bad. Fans of “The Matrix” may want to check this out but also if you are really into animation and enjoy looking at different styles then I think you might get some enjoyment from it.

“Lego: The Adventures Of Clutch Powers” came out several years before “The Lego Movie”. However, this direct-to-video flick is not as entertaining as the theatrical Lego movies. “The Adventures Of Clutch Powers” may entertain young kids but it’s hardly the most fascinating family movie out there.

Clutch Powers likes to work alone but on his latest adventure, he will have to work as part of a team. The team go to a prison planet to respond to a distress signal. However, some dangerous crooks escape. Now, Clutch and the team must try to stop an evil wizard bad guy but they will have to work together if they are to succeed.

The Clutch Powers character is okay. He’s like Indiana Jones. Rather embarrassingly, he has the Lego logo on his jacket. The other characters are really disappointing. The other teammates include an annoying tough guy by the name of Brick Masterson. The evil wizard is pretty underwhelming. There are some goofy skeletons that are somewhat fun. There is also a troll and a prince but neither are very engaging. The animation on all the characters looks fine considering this is a direct-to-video effort. They definitely don’t look as good as the characters in the theatrical films though.

“Lego: The Adventures Of Clutch Powers” will likely appeal to young children but I imagine they will prefer “The Lego Movie” to this. This one certainly does feel more like a desperate attempt to promote the Lego toys. I know all the films are just giant adverts but in this one, the promotion feels a lot more blatant. A lot of the gags fall flat here and it’s just not as entertaining as I hoped it would be. It does a nice job of showing lots of different environments and the animation is perfectly fine though.

“Picture Perfect” is yet another hapless rom com that doesn’t do anything to distinguish it from the countless other movies just like it. With this kind of film, there never seems to be any desire to make it stand out from the crowd.

In “Picture Perfect”, Kate Mosley (Jennifer Aniston “Marley And Me”, “Just Go With It”) wants a promotion but she can’t get it because she has no ties to the company; she could easily walk away the next day. Her friend makes up a lie using a wedding photo to says she’s about to get married. Now, Kate has to find the guy and set up a believable break-up.

Aniston disappoints me as an actress because no matter what the film is, her character is simply a small variation on the same thing. Her character is so basic, most reasonable actresses could do it. As an actress, she should aspire to be more. I was looking forward to this film because Kevin Bacon (“Tremors”, “Flatliners”) is in it but he has so little to do in it. The other characters are dull but the film is so thankfully unmemorable that they will quickly fade away from your thoughts.

In one’s mind, “Picture Perfect” will soon blend into every other Jennifer Aniston film you’ve seen and not long after that, it’ll be every other romantic comedy film you’ve seen. Writers of this kind of film should be ashamed. There must be a template script for an average rom com film and that’s a real shame because I like to see unique movies and not the same uninteresting thing over and over again. It’s not the best nor the worst kind of film, it’s not funny or emotional and there is nothing else that could make it memorable for me. It’s stuck in movie limbo.

“Fist of the North Star” is the 1995 live-action remake of the 1986 anime of the same name. It seems to have got some pretty bad reviews but I don’t really get why. For a Hollywood remake of an anime movie, this seems to follow the source material pretty closely and is entertaining to watch. It’s not quite as visually striking as the original film but it’s close enough.

Gary Daniels (“Rage”, “The Expendables”) stars as martial arts warrior Kenshiro as he battles the forces of evil in a post-apocalyptic world. He must try to protect the innocent people and rescue his girlfriend from the villainous Shin (Costas Mandylor “Saw IV”, “Virtuosity”). However, he will need to master his fighting skills if he is to stand any chance of being successful.

Daniels displays some seriously impressive moves as Kenshiro. He’s not the best actor but he doesn’t need to be in a movie as whacky as this. Malcolm McDowell (“A Clockwork Orange”), Clint Howard (“Apollo 13”), Chris Penn (“Reservoir Dogs”, “Rush Hour”), Tracey Walter (“Batman”) and Dante Basco (“Hook”) all have roles in here. Many of the characters look like they are straight out of a “Mad Max” movie. The special effects on the characters when their heads explode after Kenshiro uses his special fighting techniques on them are really good.

I thought this movie had some entertaining fight sequences, some great effects throughout and it did a good job of following the source material. I don’t really know what people expected from it. I think the original is probably better as you just can’t top the crazy gore of the anime. Also, this is another movie that shows us that Gary Daniels deserves more recognition as an action star because he’s a very competent martial artist. If you like sci-fi/action then check out both versions of “Fist of the North Star”.

Wrestler Steve Austin (“Maximum Conviction”, “The Condemned”) stars in the surprisingly good “Hunt To Kill”. This is a really enjoyable action flick that feels like a cross between “Cliffhanger” and “Predator”. It packs a real punch and features some entertaining performances.

Jim Rhodes (Austin) is a border agent based in Montana. He is mourning the death of his partner (Eric Roberts “The Dark Knight”) and trying to bond with his daughter (Marie Avgeropoulos). A group of criminals are trying to hunt down a rogue member of their group after he escapes with the money after a successful heist. Rhodes and his daughter find themselves forced to guide the bad guys through the wilderness.

While Austin is definitely not the best actor out there, he plays to his strengths here. He is very convincing as a guy that knows how to survive in hostile environments. The daughter, Kim, is entertaining. Gil Bellows (“The Shawshank Redemption”) is really enjoyable as the main baddie, Banks. He’s clearly having fun with the role. Martial artist Gary Daniels (“Rage”) is good as Jensen and he gets to have an engaging fight with Austin. Eric Roberts is good here so it’s a real shame that he only appears in the opening scene.

“Hunt To Kill” is a fun movie. I really like the forest environment that the characters are in, there are some enjoyably goofy moments that you only find in action movies and I think some of the performances are actually pretty good. I enjoyed this more some of Austin’s other films such as “The Condemned” as I think the editing on the action sequences is much better here. If you like action movies from the 80s and 90s then this is done in a similar style and it’s really worth checking out. It’s obvious the filmmakers were raised on “Rambo”, “Commando”, “Predator” and other similar movies.

“Brahms: The Boy II” is of course the sequel to “The Boy”. This is an absolutely disastrous sequel because its ending undoes the whole twist of the first movie. This is just a dreadful picture that never made me feel even remotely scared.

After a very violent burglary, Liza (Katie Holmes “Batman Begins”) has horrible nightmares and her son, Jude (Christopher Convery), has become a mute. The family leaves London for the countryside in the hope that it will help them to recover. Jude finds the mysterious Brahms doll in the nearby woods and begins to bond with it. However, Liza grows increasingly worried about the effects of the doll on her son. She becomes particularly distressed when she learns of the eerie history of the doll.

If you saw the first movie, you will be really confused about the direction that this one goes in with the Brahms doll. This feels more like a sequel to “Dead Silence” than “The Boy”. The doll here just doesn’t seem as creepy as it did the first time around. The acting from Katie Holmes is pretty poor. In her defence, the script is not so great. Christopher Convery is okay as Jude but the material is pretty weak. The other characters are not even vaguely interesting.

“Brahms: The Boy II” is a bad sequel to an already underwhelming horror flick. This one is likely to disappoint a lot of fans of the first movie but in a way, I do applaud the filmmakers for not merely recycling the plot points of the original. The early scenes depicting the robbery are actually far more disturbing than anything else in the rest of the movie. Although this is not a long movie, it’s very boring and not a lot happens. I don’t really know who would enjoy this film.

“Donnie Darko” is a movie with an interesting history. It initially struggled to make its budget back at the box-office. Films involving plane crashes were not exactly wanted in 2001. However, the film gained popularity after its release on home video.

People started to get obsessive about it, trying to figure out what it all meant. There were websites dedicated to solving the movie’s mysteries. Using the film’s official website as well as special features on the DVD, one could start to piece things together. A Director’s Cut was released where some of the plot elements were explained in greater detail. Have you ever heard of another movie so hard to understand that you need websites and a new edit of the movie just to have a vague idea of what the heck happened in it?

“Donnie Darko” gained a reputation for being some sort of profound masterpiece with its ambiguous and non-linear narrative. People liked that it was so open to interpretation. However, the film has started receiving some criticism. The picture has been analysed so many times with so many wildly different conclusions draw from it. Some have speculated that the whole thing might have been meaningless.

Concepts such as time travel and destiny are explored in the movie but it often appears as though there is no clear logic to any of it. A lot of the imagery feels unwarranted too.

Sometimes, you can look at something and find meaning even when that meaning was never originally there. “Donnie Darko” is certainly an intriguing film in the sense that it managed to engage so much of its audience. Even though I thought it was not remotely entertaining, I was fascinated by the cultural impact of it. Other films such as “The Shining” have left people wondering about what it meant but “Donnie Darko” did this in an era where use of the internet was becoming more mainstream so there was more interaction between audience members. I imagine people will continue to debate this movie.

There are so pretty big movies out there that where a lot of money went into them yet the special effects are just awful. Here is a list of some of the worst special effects in films that had big budgets.

5. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

While most of the special effects in this movie are not too bad considering the tv series it is based on, the C.G.I. battle sequence at the end is unforgivable. It offers some of the ugliest special effects I’ve ever seen.

4. Spawn

Even the defenders of this film cannot deny that the C.G.I. on display here is atrocious. The demonic Malebolgia looks like something from an early PlayStation game. Spawn’s C.G.I. cape also looks completely fake. It’s a shame because some of the practical effects are actually okay.

3. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

The first “Mortal Kombat” had a few dodgy special effects in it but the overall look was not too bad. However, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” has horrific special effects in many scenes. The worst sequence has to be the climactic fight where the characters transform into giant monsters. It just looks pathetic.

2. Scooby-Doo

The live-action “Scooby-Doo” from 2002 features some really awful C.G.I. throughout it. First off, Scooby-Doo himself looks horrendous but even worse are the demon creatures that he gets pursued by. It all leads to a finale with a terrible C.G.I. Scrappy-Doo beefed up to giant monster size.

1. The Lawnmower Man

“The Lawnmower Man” contains some of the most laughable special effects in a mainstream movie. I get that’s it meant to be showing us cyberspace but this came out a decade after “Tron” yet it looks absolutely abysmal. It’s distractingly bad and looks like something from an animation test.

Dishonourable mentions:
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Special Edition) and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Special Edition)

“Donnie Darko” is a film with an interesting history. It barely made back its small budget at the box-office as releasing a film about a plane crash in 2001 was not exactly the best idea. The movie then gained a cult following on home video and has become one of the most analysed films as people try to make sense of it. However, I think the problem is that is just nonsense masquerading as something profound.

Troubled teenager Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal “Prisoners”, “Nightcrawler”) finds himself plagued by visions of a man in a rabbit costume, who tells him that the world will soon end. A jet engine crashes into Donnie’s bedroom and other strange events happen as he explores the concepts of time travel and destiny.

Gyllenhaal is completely unlikeable as Donnie. The character is boring because he doesn’t seem to develop at all. There are some big names in here such as Drew Barrymore (“The Wedding Singer”, “Scream”) and Patrick Swayze (“Dirty Dancing”) but the don’t add anything to the experience. The man in the rabbit costume just looks like something out of a generic slasher picture. Obviously, the idea of a giant bunny as an imaginary friend was ripped straight out of “Harvey”.

“Donnie Darko” has some vaguely intriguing imagery and you’ll notice certain things repeat but so what? There’s no clear reason for it. The plot makes no sense whatsoever and the movie never knows what it wants to be. Some have speculated that it’s a superhero movie but if it is, it’s one of the dullest superheroes movies ever made. It’s not legitimately entertaining to watch and you come to realise that the mysteries of it are as meaningless as can be. Go and watch “The Shining” or “Naked Lunch” if you want to watch a film that is open to interpretation but can still be enjoyable no matter what conclusions you draw from it.

Director Joel Schumacher (“Batman Forever”, “The Client”) has made a clever and very intriguing thriller set in one of the most enclosed spaces possible. It’s scary because it could happen to anyone.

In “Phone Booth”, publicist Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell “Total Recall”, “DareDevil”) steps inside a phone booth to call his mistress (Katie Holmes “Batman Begins”) but then receives a call from a mysterious man (Kiefer Sutherland “Dark City”, “Young Guns”) threatening to kill him if he leaves the phone booth. Stu must do as the man requests not just to save himself but the people in the surrounding area.

Director of “Escape From New York” John Carpenter once talked of how he believes like the heroes in his film, an intense situation could make a hero out of anyone and this is what this movie does. Colin Farrell does a very good job playing the average guy. Kiefer Sutherland is very creepy as the mystery man credited as ‘The Caller’. Forest Whitaker (“Platoon”) is okay as Captain Ramey. It’s interesting to see a movie focus on such a small group of people so the performances have to be good and while Whitaker is just alright, the other two key performers do so well it still manages to work.

“Phone Booth” is not a long movie so if you worried about spending time watching it then this will only take a short amount of time from you. My problems with the film are Whitaker’s performance and the overuse of bad language throughout. The reason why the film is so successful is because it could happen to you next time you walk into a phone booth in a busy city. Movies that can realistically portray these realistic situations are always a good watch. It also will excite you a lot as well. Even as a novelty value the film works as 90% of the film takes place round a phone box.