Weekly Weblinks: Spidey, Scots, and Rocker Snots

It’s Friday morning, and so it’s time for another dose of the Weekly Weblinks. This week’s blog posts include another take on Brave, a review of a film that is coming out soon, and a few reviews of films that range from a year old to a 1960s classic.

In the news, an unlikely TV adaptation, a prog metal group’s demise, Keanu Reeve’s next big thing, and yet more puppet film news. So read on for a Weekly Weblinks that is surprisingly heavy in the Scottish influence. (I swear I don’t plan these things.)

The Brotherhood of Justice

I never really watch a made-for-TV movie with high expectations, though I’ve seen a few that are actually pretty good. While I hope that every theatrical movie I watch is great — minus those few that are obvious candidates for the Morbid Curiosity Files — when it comes to their small-screen counterparts, I mostly hope for something that’s just OK. Every so often I get surprised by one that’s better than expected, but especially with older ones, it doesn’t happen very often.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to check them out, though. Sometimes an older TV movie can be fun to watch just to see who turns up. In the case of Charles Braverman’s 1986 TV movie, The Brotherhood of Justice, the reason to watch is the chance to see a young Keanu Reeves play off a young Kiefer Sutherland.

Favorite Films: The Matrix

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.”

That quote by Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) during a pivotal scene in The Matrix illustrates not only a central aspect of the film, but also handily sums up a problem with reviewing the film. It’s not one of those films that is only able to be watched once; I’ve watched it several times, personally, and enjoyed it every time. But it is a film in which that first viewing is substantially different from every subsequent viewing. There is a mystery at the heart of The Matrix, a central question that drives the first half of the film, and like all good mysteries, there is a lot of foreshadowing to the revelation. But like all good mysteries, it can only be mysterious once. The question “What is the Matrix?” that was used so heavily in its marketing — including the web site for the movie, back in 1999 when that was still a relative novelty — is a question you now know the answer to. And yet, what remains is still one of the best modern science fiction films and a great action film.

As Morpheus offers Neo a choice of a red pill representing a dangerous truth, and a blue pill representing safety in ignorance, so too must I offer the reader of this blog a choice. If, perchance, you have not seen The Matrix for yourself, I suggest you take the blue pill. Spend time on my other articles, or go elsewhere on the web; though I do not wish to drive you away, I also have no wish to spoil this for you, and it is impossible for me to discuss it without doing so. Take the blue pill, you stay unspoiled, and you can believe… whatever you want to believe until you see the film for yourself. If, on the other hand, you have seen the film, then take the red pill, click the continue link, and we shall see just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

News: Bill & Ted’s Most Imminent Return

It’s been 21 years since the sounds of Wyld Stallyns rocked the Earth. Now, it seems as if the legendary duo of Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan may return. Total Film reports that both Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, the actors who played Bill and Ted, have made statements that a script for the third film is complete, they love it, and they’re working on getting the green light to make the film. The plot this time around is reportedly based on the fact that, after all these years, Bill and Ted have yet to actually save the world as they were supposed to do.

I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some concerns about a third Bill and Ted film this many years after the originals. Besides the fact that Bill and Ted’s actors are pushing 50, George Carlin passed away a few years ago. So it can’t have quite the same feel as the original movie about a pair of teenaged slackers. On the other hand… is there anything more quintessentially rock and roll than a pair of aging rockers still trying to hold on to their glory days, without any guidance on how to live their lives? If this is handled right — big “if”, but possible — it could be funny in a way that’s reminiscent of the prior movies while still being its own thing. Besides, Ted is arguably Keanu’s best role, and Bill is almost certainly Alex’s.

So personally, I’m holding out hope that this will, in fact, be excellent.