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Fridays box office totals fresh off the press:'Bruce Almighty' 20.4 million 'Matrix Reloaded' 11.2 million 'Daddy Day Care' 3.3 millionX Men United 2.5 millionThe In Laws 1.93 million

The May 7th issue of Longboat Global Advisors Crosscurrents was entitled "The Matrix: Reloaded." The title said it all. We have every reason to use the title again for this report. The residents of the matrix continue to be bathed in their nutrient soup and still believe they reside in a world that does not exist; a bull market. From every angle we examine, it seems as if the reality of the secular bear market is disrespected to the fullest extent. Participants of every stripe are so tired of the downside and are so eager to believe in the bull...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA Bush equated with Hitler in 'Matrix' sequel? Image of president shown with dictator in discussion of evil -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 22, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Joe Kovacs © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Is President Bush equated with Adolf Hitler in the science-fiction flick "The Matrix Reloaded"? The question is being asked in connection with a scene in the new movie where images of Bush and the German dictator are displayed during a discussion of evil in the world. Adolf Hitler "If they're saying our president is in the same league as Adolf Hitler, then I don't...

<p>Sure, when it opened last week, "The Matrix Reloaded" savaged a few box-office records as if they were so many flimsy Agent Smith replicates. But it still couldn't beat out "Spider-Man" for a record three-day opening. And that amounts to a notable failure for this movie, considering that it benefited from more advance hype and fevered anticipation than the invasion of Iraq.</p>

HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICABush equated with Hitler in 'Matrix' sequel?Image of president shown with dictator in discussion of evil Posted: May 22, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern By Joe Kovacs © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Is President Bush equated with Adolf Hitler in the science-fiction flick "The Matrix Reloaded"? The question is being asked in connection with a scene in the new movie where images of Bush and the German dictator are displayed during a discussion of evil in the world. Adolf Hitler "If they're saying our president is in the same league as Adolf Hitler, then I don't want to see this movie," says Mark...

'MATRIX CRITICS? **** 'EM' Matrix Reloaded star Laurence Fishburne turned the air blue live on Sky News when he was interviewed at the UK premiere of the blockbuster film. Fishburne, who plays the mack-clad Morpheus, was asked by Sky's Matt Smith what he thought about the critical response to the sci-fi thriller.The star raised his middle finger and launched into a four-letter tirade before walking away with security staff.Although the film, which stars Keanu Reeves, has been hailed as the film of the year, some critics say the movie does not match the original, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.'Pretty...

CANNES, France (AFP) - While the crowd at the Cannes film festival (news - web sites) unlocked the secrets of the new "Matrix" just in from the United States, EU ministers current and future worried instead about saving European cinema from Hollywood. "We're not aiming to build walls around Europe," said Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner responsible for culture and education. "We want diversity for ourselves as well as for others. So we say: why not US films? But not just US films." For the first time in its history, the Cannes film festival held a European Film Day on...

That is what Morpheus, a character in the movie, “The Matrix,” said to Neo as he explained that the world had been largely destroyed in a great battle between the computers and the humans. The conquered humans were kept in a sedated state of mind, living in a dream world. All but a few were perfectly content to serve as slaves to the computers. Shocked that everything he knew of the world around him was only a virtual reality, Neo could barely breathe. The premise of the movie, while science fiction, quite accurately sums up the political situation in our...

THE LEFTRIX: RELOADED If Peter Jennings and his Upper East Side pals are depressed about the rampant success of the Fox News Channel here in the real world, they can surely take solace in the influence they still wield in the pretend universe. I went to see "The Matrix: Reloaded" this weekend and was charmed to see George W. Bush grouped with images of Hitler and Mussolini in one pivotal scene. I guess in the simulated reality of limousine liberals, liberating Iraq and loading the ovens at Auschwitz are one and the same. Freeing your mind from the machines no...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Marcus Chong has sued the makers of "The Matrix" for allegedly reneging on a promise to recast him as a freedom fighter in the 1999 sci-fi thriller's two sequels. The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Warner Bros. and parent company AOL Time Warner and the film's producers of breaching their 1998 oral agreement and a 2000 contract to revive his character, Tank, in the two sequels, and of slandering him. Chong, 35, also accused the filmmakers of "intentionally publishing numerous false statements ... that he was a terrorist," and of...

<p>May 20, 2003 -- THE estranged husband of the sexy dominatrix who accompanied reclusive "Matrix Reloaded" director Larry Wachowski to the movie's L.A. premiere says the filmmaker is a cross-dressing wife-stealer.</p> <p>Jake Miller, 40, says he's still married to Karin Winslow, 36, a professional dominatrix who walked down the red carpet with Wachowski, 37, alongside "Matrix" star Keanu Reeves.</p>

The Matrix Reloaded must be one of the most hyped and overrated movies of all time. In stark contrast to the first installment of the Matrix trilogy—which received mixed reviews and only built a huge fan base after its release on DVD--the release of the sequel was trumpeted in advance on the covers of Time and Newsweek. The films’ creators, the equally heralded Wachowski brothers, are described practically everywhere in the media not merely as great filmmakers, but as wise, all-seeing visionaries who have something profound to tell us about the current state of the universe. It’s all a bunch...

Josh Cooke wasn't merely a fan of the hit movie "The Matrix." He believed he lived inside The Matrix, his lawyers say. The 19-year-old had a huge movie poster hanging in his Oakton bedroom and a trench coat like the one worn by Neo, Keanu Reeves's character. He bought a 12-gauge shotgun, similar to one of the weapons Neo uses to fight the "agents" in the movie.

It is difficult to escape from the Matrix, but at the moment, it's impossible to escape from The Matrix Reloaded. With the inevitable hype surrounding the second Matrix film, critics are again discussing the technical brilliance of the series, and even its spiritual basis, which presumably puts it on a level above all the other Hollywood franchises. Many films have a cult following, but fans of The Matrix (1999) seem to take the term literally, pointing to Buddhist, Christian and Hindu references. Books like William Irwin's The Matrix and Philosophy have analysed it dry. No surprise, really. Some filmgoers, perhaps...

<p>When 16-year-old Carey, dressed in her school uniform, stepped up to the window to ask for two tickets to The Matrix Reloaded (rated "R: under 17 not admitted") on Friday, she received a steely glare. After a pregnant pause came the question, "For which showing, ma'am?"</p>

Call it the Matrix Defence. WhileThe Matrix Reloaded, the second installment of the hit science fiction series, is breaking box office records around the world, lawyers around the United States are starting to use a novel excuse for people – especially young, mentally disturbed people – who commit murder. Essentially the line is: I can't be guilty, because this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world just like the one depicted in the film. It is being used by Josh Cooke, 19, from Virginia, who calmly shot his parents in their family basement in February and then phoned...

Fans are eagerly awaiting “The Matrix Reloaded” — but it’s made some people very unhappy. The villains in the flick are a pair of white-skinned, white-haired, red-eyed twins, and groups representing albinos say the movie unfairly stereotypes pigment-challenged individuals. “FOR THE LAST 40 years filmmakers have used albino characters as villains, and they’re almost always vicious, inhuman characters, depicted as freaks,” says dermatologist Vail Reese. (Read his comments on skinema.com.) Dr. Jim Haefemeyer of the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation tells The Scoop that the group has sent letters to movie-maker Warner Bros., but that the studio has not...

Opening 4 day weekend in the 140 million range..Official figures should be up soon

Neo (Keanu Reeves) fights Matrix henchmen. | Jasin Boland, Warner Bros. The Matrix's Buddhist Jesus 'The Matrix Reloaded' is a field day for Joseph Campbell types. Does all the religious imagery work? By Laura Sheahen Religion scholar Huston Smith tells the story of the Buddha being asked, "What are you?" The Buddha replies "I am awake." Centuries later, so is Keanu Reeves. Human beings who, like Buddha, see beyond the illusory--who are enlightened--are the rock stars of "The Matrix Reloaded," the sequel to 1999's technoclassic "The Matrix." They wear robes. They intone meditative speeches. They know that what we...