Franchise Keanu Part 2: Neo

11/29/22 • 58 min

In the second installment of Season 2 Episode 13, we discuss Keanu’s reprisal of Neo in Matrix Resurrections (2021). We debate the goals of the film, both from the perspective of the audience as well as from the perspective of Lana Wachowski and Keanu Reeves. Although the film was widely considered the “worst” in , and what it means for the discussion of Keanu’s agency. We talk about the new Thomas Anderson, the dichotomy of joy vs. profundity in the franchise, and connect the story to our other seasons.

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Who shot Romeo and Juliet? Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021)

In the first supplemental episode of Season 3, we return to where we began: West Side Story (2021) directed by Stephen Spielberg, starring Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, and Rita Moreno. We discuss the evolution of mainstream social awareness over the past 60 years and how this impacts the production and meaning of the film (a phenomenon Charisse refers to as “historical HD”), including the role of gentrification in racial and class-based strife, the attempt to rectify the racial offenses of the first film, and how Rita Moreno’s return provides a nuanced take on the Romeo and Juliet story itself.

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Franchise Keanu Part 3: John

In the third and final installment of Season 2 Episode 13, we discuss John Wick: Chapter 4. Although the film is the longest (169 minutes), John Wick only utters 380 words, a strategy by Keanu’s own design revealing his vision for the character. We describe how – by removing himself from the dialogue and in some cases the screen all together – the audience is encouraged to question the simplistic discourse of media violence in some of the most historic Parisian locales. John, along with Ted and Neo, are clearly Keanu passion projects, and we should all be so lucky.