The LEGO Movie – Mixed Feelings About a Block-Buster

Okay! Let’s get down to business! By business, I mean following through on my Patreon rewards. The requests have started to trickle in, and it’s time to get rolling. My very own spouse Steven Schapansky requested this one, which will come as a surprise to absolutely no one who knows him.

Before we go any farther, I want to give a big old SPOILER WARNING. If you haven’t yet seen The LEGO Movie, you may want to stop reading here. For one thing, I don’t really do any plot-recapping, so you might get a little lost. For another thing, I don’t hold back on talking about the film, so there’s a real possibility you’ll get spoiled. You have been warned.

The Matrix – An ‘Incomparable’ Film

Hey guys! I was on a podcast! … No, not that one. I’m always on that one, so that’s not news. A different one! Bunches of you are probably familiar with The Incomparable podcast, hosted by the inestimable Jason Snell. Well, it’s that one! In fact, it’s this episode, in which we discuss The Matrix in all its late-90s glory! If you haven’t heard of The Incomparable, it’s a geeky podcast devoted to all sorts of things that are quite likely relevant to your interests, so you should check it out.

This post is a companion piece to that podcast ep. If you think I’ve missed something really important about The Matrix here, it may be because I already covered it in the podcast or perhaps one of my lovely co-hosts did. And it’s your own fault for not having listened to it already. So you should probably do that first. Just saying.

The first time I saw The Matrix, I had no idea what it was about. My then-roommate Jeff and I went to see it because we had nothing better to do. We got there late and had to sit in one of those seats that don’t even exist in modern theaters. *adjusts position on rocking chair* You see, kids, there used to be a few seats on the floor (with no stadium seating or cushy seats) that were WAY off to the side so you were looking at the screen from a 38 degree angle (or so). Yeah. That’s where we were. Second row, farthest to the right. Leagues away from the ideal movie-watching experience.

After about a minute and a half, I forgot where I was. It didn’t matter where I was sitting or what crazy angle my neck was craned. I was 100% enveloped in The Matrix. As soon as the film ended, Jeff and I looked at each other and said “We need to see this again. … In better seats.”

And we did.

And then I did. Again. Many, many more times.