You say you want 'Matrix Revolutions'
To borrow a dialogue staple of Keanu Reeves, whoa. For a franchise that initially had a creative impact that the film industry hadn't seen since the original "Star Wars" trilogy, "The Matrix" was sure kicked off the top of the heap pretty fast -- and by a bunch of hobbits, no less. The Wachowski brothers' series capper, "The Matrix Revolutions," (2003) does, in some ways, play better at home; even if the movie's best moments were meant to be seen on a big screen, this is a more satisfying experience without all the hype (and attendant disappointment).
The story, for those who bailed after "The Matrix Reloaded": With the human sanctuary of Zion under siege by the Matrix's ruthless automatons, Neo (Reeves) ventures into Machine City in a bid to lay the Zen-cool smackdown on megalomaniacal "program" Smith (Hugo Weaving). The climactic Zion sequence is so relentless in its visual effects onslaught, the mind (and senses) reel. The Wachowskis even swipe the lumbering forklifts from "Aliens," turning them into war machines.
Meanwhile, Weaving's terrifically menacing Smith is put to somewhat better use here than in "Reloaded," where the Wachowskis were overly enamored with their gimmick of reproducing his image a hundred times at a pop. That said, he comes to an underwhelming end here -- as does this expanded "Matrix" vision as a whole.
Extras: Production and effects featurettes; a preview of the upcoming "Matrix Online" multiplayer interactive game; "Matrix" timeline. (Warner, $29.95; also on VHS)
"CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN" (2003)Dispensing with the real-life model of the 1950 original, Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt play Tom and Kate Baker (get it?), well-meaning parents trying to sell themselves and their oversize brood on the notion that grabbing a chance at career advancement will make them 12 times happier.
Part of the interest here (for adults, anyway) is in seeing how or if director Shawn Levy ("Big Fat Liar") and his cast can make so many characters distinguishable from one another. It seems as if this is a challenge perennially faced by big-family movies and war films, and, well, maybe next time Levy should try one of the latter. Tom Welling ("Smallville") has some nice scenes as adjustment-challenged oldest son Charlie, and 'tween queen Hilary Duff plays the family princess broadly enough to get noticed, but beyond that, the movie mainly coasts on Martin and Hunt's charm. Martin's "Parenthood" was a more fully realized family portrait.
Extras: Commentaries from Levy and "the Baker kids." (Fox, $29.98; also on VHS)
"PASSIONADA" (2003)Screen romance blossoms in, of all places, New Bedford, in this indie effort from local writers Jim and Stephen Jermanok and director Dan Ireland ("The Whole Wide World"). Sofia Milos ("CSI: Miami") is a widowed mom who adamantly refuses to get back on the dating bus -- prompting her mischievous teenage daughter (Emmy Rossum of "Mystic River") to set her up on the sly with a career gambler (Jason Isaacs of "The Patriot") trying to make good.
Isaacs, in particular, is interesting to watch as he works to stretch beyond the smarminess of his usual bad-guy roles. The movie at times feels a little too small but is generally diverting and a nice regional video postcard.
Extras: Commentaries from Ireland and the Jermanoks. (Columbia, $24.96)
" `IN LIVING COLOR': SEASON ONE" (1990)Give Keenen Ivory Wayans and the gang credit: 14 years on, skits such as "Men on Film" and "Ridin' Miss Daisy" still rate with the edginess of, say, "Chappelle's Show." Of course, in 2004, we're probably most interested in looking back at just how far cast member Jim Carrey has come, and how far he was then willing to go.
Extras: A retrospective on launching the show, and -- because you demanded it? -- a featurette billed "Back in Step With the Fly Girls." (Fox, $39.98)
