THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS - Buckle up, Dorothy

What's astounding (bordering on miraculous, really) about 1999's The Matrix is that it's at once a distinct work of a singular genre talent and a sublimely structured action film that combines lightning-in-a-bottle synchronicity of craft, subject, and thematic resonance with trailblazing visuals and iconic. . . almost everything really.

What's admirable about the sequels is how they refuse to let such an impossibly large shadow loom over their philosophical interests, their metatextual examinations of systems of control and self actualization, or their huge beating hearts. And as someone who's gone on a bit of a journey with regards to my feelings on this series overall, this is something I was dearly hoping would stay intact for Lana Wachowski's return to the titular computer program with The Matrix Resurrections.

Fortunately, this four-quel is defiantly romantic hope-punk sci-fi adventure that's 100% My Shit.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - The Power of Responsibility

All this movie really "needed" to do was put the bat in front of the ball. If this had just been a "good enough" crossover of fun spider stuff from previous spider dude movies with the baseline competence of Tom Holland's always fantastic Peter and some fun set pieces stringing it together, it would been popped with audiences and made a ton of money.

But instead, they actually put in the work, and it really pays off.

WEST SIDE STORY - Life, Death and Love in America

Steven Spielberg has been saying he wants to make a musical since before I was born - and it's one thing to pick a "big" project for when that chance finally comes, but taking a swing at remaking arguably "the" great American musical? How do you tackle that?

Evidently, by joining the John Carpenter's The Thing Club of "remakes that are better than the original."

NO TIME TO DIE - All the Time in the World

Ever since Dr. No landed in 1962 and launched the film franchise, James Bond has been a perpetual motion machine. 007 will always walk into M's office and accept the next mission, blow some things up, save the day, and we're told "James Bond will return" to do it all over again in a couple years. The problem being that most Bond actors run out the clock and end on a a damp squib rather than going out on a high note

But with Not Time to Die, Daniel Craig has a chance to leave as big an impression with his final round as Ian Fleming's secret agent as he did with his first.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD - Born Again

Let's just all agree that this is the first Suicide Squad movie anyone has made, yeah?

Yeah.

BLACK WIDOW - The Spy Who Avenged Me

It's a damn shame that it took this long to get us a Black Widow movie, but on the plus side, it's coming at a point where there hasn't been a Bond movie in a long-ass time, and really does the trick.

F9: THE FAST SAGA - Fellowship of the Furious

I know people like to joke about how these movies threw physics out the door 3 or 4 movies ago, but that was before Vin Diesel was literally using cars as grappling hooks.

Turns out, "owning it" can bear mighty fine fruit.

ARMY OF THE DEAD - Viva Las Vegas

Army of the Dead proves that Zack Snyder only really has one idea of his own when it comes to keeping "zombie stuff" from getting stale after more than five decades.

Luckily, it also proves that he can build out from it fairly well.

THE MITCHELLS vs. THE MACHINES - The Funniest Apocalypse

Animation - especially feature film animation - has never been in a better place than it is right now. To the point where the Disney/Pixar machine can be enjoying their best creative streak in decades (if not ever) and yet even their fine-tuned story machines like Zootopia, Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon wind up feeling somewhat upstaged by films like Your Name, Wolfwalkers, and - now - The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE - Deja Vu Squared

 It's, uh. . . folks, it's the same movie.

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON - A Beautiful Broken World

Hey, it's been a while. Let's kick back into gear with something nice and light and fun like *checks notes* a movie about a divided land ravaged by a plague that's left families shattered and trust in our neighbors almost nonexistent.

...Damn, Disney.

The Yearly Countdown - Fantastic Films of 2020

Well, this is going to be even odder than usual. Because of *gestures vaguely at everything*, I went kinda far afield in search of movies this year, and while I missed a few of The Big Ones (I'll get to Tenet eventually. Probably.), I mostly went into this post figuring this would act as a map to some of the nuggets I stumbled over, just in case anyone else was on a similar journey through 2020's (shockingly strong) cinematic offerings.

So. . . yeah, let's go ahead and just get to it. This thing's running late enough as it is.