Spring 2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
At once grander more incredible and yet less magical than Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers takes a bit more creative license with the Tolkien trilogy in some ways I would have preferred they didn't. Despite these shortcomings, the movie is breathtaking in scope and technical achievement, as well as continuing to develop characters and telling a superb story. Gollum is simply amazing and everything I could have hoped for. He is the first CG character I've ever seen that I honestly forgot at times was CG. I definitely liked Fellowship better, but the Two Towers is a worthy sequel, and I look forward to the conclusion in another six months.
The Matrix Reloaded
This movie does not seem to be well received, and I for one have no idea why. The movie leaves a lot of unanswered questions, as any middle movie cliffhanger should. The world of the original Matrix is at once built up and torn down as we see how deep the rabbit hole really goes. The special effects are brilliant, the storyline is cerebral (a plus in my opinion) and the characters, while as wooden as ever, seem a bit more real. I thought the movie was great, and I look forward to the third installment.
X2: X-Men United
It is a rare thing for a sequel to outdo the original, but that is just what has happened with the new X-Men movie. Without the need to introduce major characters, the movie was free to get into the story right away with a great opening scene. From there it unfolds into a very well thought out story that remains true to the characters of the comics, if not the events. Finally I saw in a movie the several elements of a story's climax come together in way that wasn't terribly contrived, was well timed, and made sense. It was much better done than the first movie. My only concern is that there is so much more to tell in this world. If they only make three movies, I fear a lot will be left out. Still, having seen the great X2, I am looking forward to X3!