Other than the Star Wars Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, there is no other film series that HDTV aficionados have been clamoring for more than the Matrix series. Warner Brothers has released two box sets of the complete Matrix Trilogy on the HD DVD format. For the super fans out there, the 10-disc Ultimate Matrix Collection is $119.95 and features not only all three films in the series with newly re-mastered picture and sound, but also includes the companion piece, The Matrix Revisited, and the best-selling animated feature, The Animatrix on five HD DVD discs. The set also has five entirely new standard definition DVDs packed with brand-new supplemental materials that encompass every aspect of the Matrix universe, including two new audio commentaries on each film, Enter the Matrix video game footage and 106 deep-delving featurettes/documentaries. If you open your box set and are disappointed to only find five discs ...

  For some time, Jim Carrey was often described as a Jerry Lewis imitator run amok, but what he does in “Liar Liar,” Lewis never tried at all. The movie is a blend of a heartwarming—but not sentimental—family story and a raucous slapstick comedy. Lewis tried that sort of thing often enough, but when he did, he tried for Chaplinesque pathos: we were supposed to feel sorry for his characters. Carrey never asks us to pity his characters; either they're blithely above it all, like Ace Ventura or, in a different way, his nincompoop in "Dumb and Dumber," or they've dug the holes for themselves, as in "The Cable Guy" and now "Liar Liar." From this point on, he varied his movies and characters even more, from “The Truman Show” to “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (together, his two best movies and performances), makeup and effects-laden extravaganzas like “How the Grinch Stole ...

  When the movie of “The Bourne Identity” was announced, it seemed that Universal’s gears had slipped a cog. The Robert Ludlum novel had already been done as a TV miniseries in 1988. And Matt Damon as the lead? Give us a break—Matt Damon, action star. Hardy har har. Then the movie was released and the laughter was silenced at once. Damon, it turned out, was perfectly cast as Jason Bourne, the man who’d lost most of his memories, but none of the skills he’d been taught so expensively. Doug Liman, best known for “Swingers,” proved to be the right man to direct the intricate, fast-paced movie. It was a hit world-wide and produced two sequels of almost the same quality—some say they’re even better than “Identity.” Liman directed from a tight, well-plotted script by Tony Gilroy and W. Blake Herron; it’s so involving that it’s easy to watch several times. This well-produced high-definition ...

  “Blood Diamond” is one of those rare good films that informs as well as it entertains and incites emotion on part of the viewer. Conflict diamonds have been the news lately, but many people may not have taken the time to truly understand what is at stake regarding those gems. This movie delivers the information and the political problems behind it in a way that is both compelling and exciting. Viewers may well wonder about the origins of the diamonds in their lives and what the cost of getting them truly has been. Aa blood diamond–also called a “conflict” diamond–is one that is mined in a country where slave labor is used. The diamonds are used by revolutionary forces to buy guns and other weapons to strike against government forces. The rebel forces invade villages and take strong men, women, and children to work in the mines. Most of those slaves are eventually ...

  Bless the Brothers Coen. Every couple of years, they turn up with an original, distinctive movie, blending much of the best of both independent filmmaking and big studio productions. Their stories are quirky and unusual, whether they're as serious as "Miller's Crossing" or as funny as "Raising Arizona" or as fanciful/peculiar as “O Brother Where Art Thou.” Because their movies are so entertaining, and please audiences and critics alike, they lure in major acting talent with no difficulties. "The Big Lebowski" is as amiable and ingratiating as The Dude (Jeff Bridges), the movie's central character, though it's a heck of a lot more organized. In fact, because of the kind of movie it is, it's tightly-plotted, beautifully structured. Joel & Ethan Coen's first movie was "Blood Simple," a terrific latter-day film noir with a strong sense of character and place, and a sure knowledge of how place shapes character. Firmly set in 1991 ...