Thoughts?

[RandyMistie]

Randy I am starting to think maybe you dont have a sense of humour....

Seriously though this Rifftrax gets a A+ from me. I may move it to my top three
1. Roadhouse
2. X-men (Cerebro, Magneto!)
3. The Matrix

There were so many great riff's in this one and I love Kevin he just brings so much energy and is hilarious. Great job Mike and Kevin.

Oh no, don't get me wrong I said earlier that this one was just hilarious, one of my favorites. I was responding to someone taking a little umbrage at Mike and Kevin saying the movie was "stupid" and I was just kind of, going with that.  I can see where someone could be justified in making of fun of the stupidness, (even tho, even I would say that was too strong a word for it, I don't think it's a stupid movie just frustrating because of so easy to fix, small flaws).

[mrbasehart]

Oh no, don't get me wrong I said earlier that this one was just hilarious, one of my favorites. I was responding to someone taking a little umbrage at Mike and Kevin saying the movie was "stupid" and I was just kind of, going with that.  I can see where someone could be justified in making of fun of the stupidness, (even tho, even I would say that was too strong a word for it, I don't think it's a stupid movie just frustrating because of so easy to fix, small flaws).

I agree.  I think a more apt word for it is silly.  I think the film's great, but if I take a step back I can see how obviously self-conscious about its "cool" it is. 

[SaucyRossy]

Oh no, don't get me wrong I said earlier that this one was just hilarious, one of my favorites. I was responding to someone taking a little umbrage at Mike and Kevin saying the movie was "stupid" and I was just kind of, going with that.  I can see where someone could be justified in making of fun of the stupidness, (even tho, even I would say that was too strong a word for it, I don't think it's a stupid movie just frustrating because of so easy to fix, small flaws).

I agree.  I think a more apt word for it is silly.  I think the film's great, but if I take a step back I can see how obviously self-conscious about its "cool" it is. 

The Watchoski bros to me are extremely over hyped but that is for another reason altogether....as for the movie it's self ofcourse it isnt a stupid concept and most would say not a stupid movie considering the phenemonen it was at the Box Office.

[RandyMistie]

This my fault, I'm sorry.  Let's just get back to saying how great the riffing was, ok.  I'm really sorry...

The Matrix was a groundbreaking, important film as I said.  It was massively influential in both the movie industry and in american pop culture.  It ushered in a really cool industrial goth vibe that I really dug.  So, I give it all those props.

There you go.... MIKE AND KEVIN RULED THO, DIDN'T THEY?!?

[SaucyRossy]

This my fault, I'm sorry.  Let's just get back to saying how great the riffing was, ok.  I'm really sorry...

The Matrix was a groundbreaking, important film as I said.  It was massively influential in both the movie industry and in american pop culture.  It ushered in a really cool industrial goth vibe that I really dug.  So, I give it all those props.

There you go.... MIKE AND KEVIN RULED THO, DIDN'T THEY?!?

Im sorry but you dug the industrial goth vibE?!?! lol

[Msampo]

The Watchoski bros...

Isn't it "The Watchoski siblings" now?

Sampo (just sayin'...)

[MrCyNic]

I'm going to have to try watching this one again, only manually synching it up on the fly this time. For some reason, the usually reliable Sharecrow insisted on setting the whole thing 5-8 seconds out of whack for most of the movie, snapping back into perfect synch at about 1h20m and then quickly drifting out again. PAL version problem, I guess.

From what I could tell through the synch frustration, the riffing was good and solid - definitely a fine addition to my Rifftrax library. I'm not a big Matrix fan (the action's outstanding, but I could add a couple of plot holes to Randy's list), so I was glad to see it get slapped around a bit. It was all pretty good natured and fun, though. I've enjoyed all the Mike-only Rifftrax so far, but I really do think the two-riffer commentaries open up the format brilliantly. DisembAudio cracked me up in this one as well.

Out of interest, has anyone else with the PAL version of The Matrix had any major synch trouble?

Cheers,

Cy.

[RandyMistie]

This my fault, I'm sorry.  Let's just get back to saying how great the riffing was, ok.  I'm really sorry...

The Matrix was a groundbreaking, important film as I said.  It was massively influential in both the movie industry and in american pop culture.  It ushered in a really cool industrial goth vibe that I really dug.  So, I give it all those props.

There you go.... MIKE AND KEVIN RULED THO, DIDN'T THEY?!?

Im sorry but you dug the industrial goth vibE?!?! lol

Yeah, man!  I still wear my long black leather trench!  (can't fit into the leather pants any more though...)

hehe

[FBX]

you PAL guys should get a free copy of the NTSC to see if that fixes it. I'm curious as to what the actual difference is. Considering some DVD players compensate for PAL, I dont know if there would actually be a difference.

[MarkAndrew]

I love buying Rifftrax, it's SO much easier to thank my favorite Minnesotans than just using a paypal tip jar on the Movie Crew website.

I thought the riffing on the Matrix was hilarious.

That said, The Matrix is one of my top 5 movies I've seen (and that's a whole lot of movies, Brah).  It got me thinking though...I mean, you could CLEARLY riff the living heck out of Lawrence of Arabia, but should you?

Frankly the 2nd and 3rd movies NEED riffing, but the first Matrix, nah. 
I love it.  I don't find it stupid.

That said, I bought it,  listened to it and laughed my head off.

So, for that, thanks guys.

[EVOLUTION117]

I'm going to have to try watching this one again, only manually synching it up on the fly this time. For some reason, the usually reliable Sharecrow insisted on setting the whole thing 5-8 seconds out of whack for most of the movie, snapping back into perfect synch at about 1h20m and then quickly drifting out again. PAL version problem, I guess.

From what I could tell through the synch frustration, the riffing was good and solid - definitely a fine addition to my Rifftrax library. I'm not a big Matrix fan (the action's outstanding, but I could add a couple of plot holes to Randy's list), so I was glad to see it get slapped around a bit. It was all pretty good natured and fun, though. I've enjoyed all the Mike-only Rifftrax so far, but I really do think the two-riffer commentaries open up the format brilliantly. DisembAudio cracked me up in this one as well.

Out of interest, has anyone else with the PAL version of The Matrix had any major synch trouble?

Cheers,

Cy.

Yes, I've also had problems with the synching of the PAL version. I used Manual synching however, and as a result it seems to be a reversal of your situation.

For the majority of the film, the synching of the Film and the rifftrax is pretty much ok, only being off by a second or two either way.

However, once it reaches the point where Morpheus fights Agent Smith, it suddenly all goes to hell with the next Disembaudio synch line "I choose the Matrix" coming about 6 seconds after it has been said in the movie.

[mrbasehart]

Out of interest, has anyone else with the PAL version of The Matrix had any major synch trouble?

Yes, actually.  Synch was fine up until the scene where Cypher is killing the team while talking to Trinity.  Then the commentary track seemed to jump about 15 seconds forward.  Very annoying.

[Tarantulas]

Well, I've had this discussion many times on various forums and it always get ugly, but i never learn my lesson...

The Matrix is an important, ground breaking movie.  Despite what a lot of people who don't read much think, it wasn't all that original, but it's execution was just amazing.  It's themes are overdone but important, and it's (IN MY OPINION), the only good direction the Wachy Bros. ever accomplished, (I think after the sex change Larry, or which ever one had it done, lost his ability to direct along with his penis).  I mean, it's a very well directed piece.

But despite the overarching brilliance there those blaring plot points that just kill it to death.  And, I don't take the rest of the movies into account because they were really back peddaling and filling in like Lucas on his worse day with those, but it would have been soooo easy to fix the whole thing.  With two simple changes, the whole story would have fallen together so much better.

A) When fighting a war against the machines, ala Terminator, you don't scorch the sky.  That's like getting mugged and cutting your own throat hoping the blood spray will drown him.  Even if you win, what do you have left?  A dead Earth.

B) The machines have much better power sources on this planet than human bodies.  Cows, whales, electric eels, any of these provide ten or twelve times the amount of bio-electric power and you don't have to provide a little virtual playland for them to convince them to cooperate.  They could still enslave the humans as they did in the movie, making a Matrix for them, but just to keep them out of the way while they rebuilt and dominated an undestroyed Earth.  You know what I'm saying.  The movie stays in tact, but the plot line is tighter.

With those changes, Morpheus, et al, would have actually had something to fight for, (a real, living planet instead of an underground Rave Party City).  The movie works real well as religious, or spiritual metaphor, sure, but as a sci-fi STORY, not so much.

But kick-ass action scenes, and CGI that still holds up to this day, quite impressive.

In the Animatrix, it is suggested that maybe the machines aren't so perfect considering that they were created by imperfect beings.  Even the "perfect" machines created by other machines are still tainted by their lineage to humans.

It's a never ending cycle of imperfection...

Also, since the humans in the matrix are essentially cloned (no navels, right?) WHY let them have a brain with any ability for thought and reasoning?  Just keep the heart going and call it done.

Also, have the machines not developed any sort of "long stick with a solar panel on the end" type technology?  Seems like it would be pretty easy to get above the clouds.

[RandyMistie]

In the Animatrix, it is suggested that maybe the machines aren't so perfect considering that they were created by imperfect beings.  Even the "perfect" machines created by other machines are still tainted by their lineage to humans.

It's a never ending cycle of imperfection...

Also, since the humans in the matrix are essentially cloned (no navels, right?) WHY let them have a brain with any ability for thought and reasoning?  Just keep the heart going and call it done.

Also, have the machines not developed any sort of "long stick with a solar panel on the end" type technology?  Seems like it would be pretty easy to get above the clouds.

Yeah, or a satelite configuration of some kind? Yeah, many plot holes, but you know, like I said, religious metaphor and all...

As a sci-fi story I think an alien invasion would have been a more flexible plot device.  First of all it's not such a Terminator rip off, (which I know is a rip off of many other stories, I'm just sayin'...), and second, you can invent so many other more interesting motivations for why they do this wierd thing like create the Matrix.

You know, scientific curiousity, alien sadistic bad guy, whatever.  It would have been interesting if they had gone more in that direction.  But... there you have it.  Still a groundbreaking movie.

And an amazing rifftrack.  We know from the contest how hard this process is, but can you imagine doing it for those fight/action sequences?  The timing alone had to be murder.  Plus, they were the funniest parts in many cases.

Great stuff.

[MrCyNic]

Out of interest, has anyone else with the PAL version of The Matrix had any major synch trouble?

Yes, I've also had problems with the synching of the PAL version. I used Manual synching however, and as a result it seems to be a reversal of your situation.

For the majority of the film, the synching of the Film and the rifftrax is pretty much ok, only being off by a second or two either way.

However, once it reaches the point where Morpheus fights Agent Smith, it suddenly all goes to hell with the next Disembaudio synch line "I choose the Matrix" coming about 6 seconds after it has been said in the movie.

That's interesting, I've just watched the whole thing through with the Rifftrax playing independently on a laptop. I got basically the exact same problem you describe here. It works okay for most of the film, then everything suddenly goes to Hell. The "I choose the Matrix" line was way late in the Rifftrax.

If there's a bit of a glitch in the PAL Rifftrax, I guess that might be what confused Sharecrow the first time. I think I'll experiment a bit more and then maybe make a report to the Tech Support thread if I can't work it out.

I have to say, though, while it's in synch, this is a very funny commentary.

Cheers,

Cy.