Matrix Thoughts:
I'll admit up front that in just about every aspect, Matrix Reloaded is not as good as the original. However, it's still damn good stuff, and I'm a little annoyed by the geek community backlash that seems to be going on against the film. It's got a lot more to think about, and it throws out the exposition pretty fast and furious, so I can see where people might have just gone slack-jawed about halfway through thanks to the infodump... but I think I caught most of it, and there's so much to think about that I definitely want to see it again, and I think the Wachowskis have really opened up the concept for exploration. I also think that the action scenes in this movie were pretty phenomenal, particularly the car chase, the fight in the atrium and the opening sequence (which, in all honesty, should have only been in the closing sequence where it belonged, timewise). It's not the expectation-shattering new thing that The Matrix was, but it's a solid B, maybe B+, and I'll definitely be happy to see it again and again on DVD.

The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack is a surprise because it focuses more on the orchestral side of things than the last one did. The music on the first disc is interesting, although not as great as the music on the Matrix soundtrack, but I have to admit that some of the heavier tracks (Rob Zombie's "Reload" and, surprisingly, the Marilyn Manson track) both appeal to me as "Matrix" music. Surprisingly, though, Don Davis, the composer, got more into the action this time, and his score is more techno and upbeat and actually is much more prevalent in the film than techno or metal music. Which means that the score, the second disc, is stronger than the original Matrix score. At any rate, it's a solid disc, and also probably a B, B+.

I've only played a little bit of Enter The Matrix, the computer game (PS/2 flavor in my case), but it's looking more like an A. Great voices and acting, extra footage, nice graphics and a cool game engine, plus a side quest that relates to the movie and to the Animatrix, makes it a pretty promising game, and I've enjoyed the hell out of the hour or so I've played so far.