Year-end quick reviews — ‘Matrix,’ ‘Ricardos, ‘Don’t Look Up’

Even as it operates as a nostalgia-driven legacy sequel, “The Matrix Resurrections” openly mocks its own existence.

Directed by Lana Wachowski, one half of the sibling duo who made the original trilogy, “The Matrix Resurrections” spends much of its first act commenting on the ways in which it restores Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) to the movie universe (Spoiler alert for 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions” — they both died).

Neo/Thomas Anderson is now a famous video game developer with only fuzzy/disconnected memories of his previous life as The One, aka the person who awakens humanity from a machine-controlled existence. What he does remember has been turned into a video game, “The Matrix,” which follows the storyline of the original three movies.

Early in the film, Mr. Anderson begins work on a legacy sequel to his famous game, because “nostalgia sells” and the game’s parent company, “Warner Bros,” will make the sequel whether Anderson works on it or not.

The air quotes around “The Matrix Resurrections” never really subsides from there, with Wachowski repeatedly choosing to deflate multiple references to the original films. For example, the Morpheus of this movie (now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II instead of Laurence Fishburne) intentionally lacks the wisdom and gravitas of the original version.

As a commentary on Hollywood’s tendency to reheat popular IP to the point of exhaustion, “The Matrix Resurrections” has some clever moments. Reeves and Moss shine here too as the movie eventually settles into a fairly standard, though satisfying love story.

The action, however, disappoints. The numerous chases and battles lack the visual grace and energy of the previous installments. Whereas the narrative choices signal intention, the action feels more like an afterthought.

“The Matrix Resurrections” is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

“Being the Ricardos”

Strong performances elevate Aaron Sorkin’s latest quasi-biopic about a particularly tense week in the lives of famous TV couple Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) on the set of “I Love Lucy.”

As per usual, the Sorkin dialogue crackles, though the infrequent appearances of flashbacks and talking-head, documentary-style interviews rattles the movie’s overall flow. Put simply, “Being the Ricardos” is overwritten with too many flourishes and plot elements (it’s admittedly tough to tell a convincing story about the dynamics of the Ricardos’ marriage when the main action of the movie only takes place over a single week). The entire cast works hard anyway, with J.K. Simmons and “Arrested Development” alums Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat especially good in supporting roles.

“Being the Ricardos” is playing in theaters and streaming on Amazon Prime.

“Don’t Look Up”

When two scientists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover a giant comet due to hit Earth in six months time, the rest of the world chooses to ignore the impending doom. Adam McKay, the filmmaker behind “The Big Short” and “Vice,” makes no attempt at subtlety in “Don’t Look Up,” a satire about a certain segment of the population who regularly ignore science and facts in the pursuit of comfort and wealth.

For most of its two-and-a-half hour runtime, “Don’t Look Up” preaches to the choir with sporadic humor that only reminds its audience of the obvious (and depressing) connections to climate change and the ongoing pandemic. The people who should see “Don’t Look Up” won’t make it past the first appearance of Meryl Streep as the image-obsessed President and Jonah Hill as her idiotic son/chief-of-staff.

DiCaprio and Lawrence try their best with inconsistent characters, and the movie stops being obnoxious for a compelling late scene set around a dinner table. Other than that, “Don’t Look Up” functions as a scolding instead of a story.

“Don’t Look Up” is streaming on Netflix.

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Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.