‘Am I crazy?’: Neo and Trinity are back as first trailer for Matrix Resurrections is released

Published

3 years ago

September 9, 2021

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It’s finally here – the trailer for the next chapter in one of the biggest film franchises of all time has arrived.

Originally unveiled at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month, the trailer shows the return of Keanu Reeves’s Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’s Trinity back in explosive action.

The last film, Matrix Revolutions, was released in 2003 and tied up the story full circle (or so we thought), with Neo saving the world by destroying the villain, Agent Smith, and saving the “real world” from the machines.

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The Matrix was then rebooted, with fans left wondering if anything was next.

Resurrections’ trailer starts on a clip of Neo (or his given Matrix name, Thomas Anderson) in the therapist’s office, saying he “had dreams that weren’t just dreams”, to a doctor, played by musical theatre supremo Neil Patrick Harris.

He asks the doctor: “Am I crazy?”

Later, we see him bumping into his former lover Trinity, who he appears to vaguely recognise as they shake hands.

Neo/Thomas is taking the blue pills regularly it would seem, before we then see him throw them away in exchange for the infamous red pill with a new, Morpheus-like character, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who tells him: “Time to fly.”

Nineties nostalgia then hits as Neo appears in a dojo, walks through mirrors, and even diverts missiles with his hands – everything we expect from The Matrix films.

Lana Wachowski returns to write and direct the film, this time without her sister though, which will be released in cinemas in December.

The likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jonathan Groff and Jada Pinkett-Smith will all be in the new film.

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But what did we learn from the trailer – and what might we expect from the film?

• Even though he was killed in the last film (I’m sorry if you didn’t know already, but it’s been 18 years…) and he’s back on the blue pills inside a rebooted Matrix – Neo still remembers his past. The lingering look at Trinity, the instant use of his old powers in the dojo – it looks like we’re going to be getting straight into the action without another explanation of who people are.

• The agents and machines are back – we only get a glimpse of them but they are there. The sentient, digital and mechanical villains are sure to give Neo some work to do, but their role in the film is largely being kept under wraps.

• Morpheus is gone – but we have a Morpheus-esque character in Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who hands Neo the red pill and once again pulls down what he thought was his reality around him. However, it becomes clear in the dojo that he has no idea who Neo is, or what he can do.

• We have a mysterious new character who appears to know who Neo is. Jonathan Groff (yes, of Frozen and Hamilton fame) appears at the end of the trailer telling Neo: “After all these years, to be going back to where it all started, back to the Matrix.” Who is he? Is he a hero? Is he a villain? Is he neither? Is he both?

• Resurrections will not skimp on the action. The trailer has explosions, gun fights, fisticuffs, missiles, fire, people jumping off buildings and car chases – it’s what made the old films so loved (as well as the intricate plot) and so it’s no wonder that the new outing appears to be full of action.

Entertainment

‘Obsessed’ security guard hatched plan to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby, court told

Published

12 hours ago

June 24, 2024

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'Obsessed' security guard hatched plan to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby, court told

An “obsessed” security guard plotted to break into Holly Willoughby’s family home and knock her out with chloroform so he could kidnap, rape and murder her, a court has heard.

Gavin Plumb, 37, allegedly hatched the “graphic” and “sexually motivated” plans over more than two years as he tried to recruit accomplices online.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard he boasted of trying to abduct two air hostesses from trains and falsely imprisoning two 16-year-old girls to “bolster his credibility”.

Killing Willoughby was suspect’s ‘ultimate fantasy’, court told | Trial as it happened

Prosecutors allege his past convictions – which included tying a teenager’s hands behind her back with rope and tape, and using an imitation firearm – showed he knew “what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman”.

But Plumb, from Harlow, in Essex, unwittingly disclosed his plans to an undercover US police officer, who alerted the authorities in the UK and disrupted his plans to carry out “catastrophic violence” against Willoughby, the court heard.

A jury was told he had more than 10,000 images of the former This Morning host on his mobile phone when he was arrested in October last year, while officers found two sealed bottles of chloroform, along with a “kidnap kit”.

Police also found “a list of celebrities” in his bedside drawer, along with folded-up images of famous people, including Willoughby, on top of his wardrobe.

Plumb, who appeared in the dock wearing a light grey sweater and dark tracksuit bottoms, denies charges of soliciting murder, incitement to kidnap and incitement to rape between December 2021 and October last year.

Willoughby, who is not attending the trial, has waived her automatic right to anonymity, which all alleged victims of sexual offences or related charges are entitled to.

The 43-year-old announced in October last year that she was stepping down from This Morning after 14 years on the ITV show, but has since hosted Dancing On Ice 2024, and is to present a Netflix show.

Jurors were told she has never met Plumb, who had been planning an attack on her for “some time”, talking with an online contact, Marc, who is believed to have been based in Ireland, about launching a “home invasion” as far back as 2021.

They shared “deep fake” pornographic images of Willoughby as well as images of her home, the court heard.

Plumb later discussed trying to get on to a tour of the ITV studios to get close to her or using his training as a security guard to get a job protecting her, prosecutors said.

Plumb also shared a picture of an empty space or “dungeon” that he said was “big enough for a bed”, while Marc said her “screams could not be heard for miles”, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said.

“It was not just the ramblings of a fantasist,” she said. “The defendant had carefully planned what he would do and how he would do it, purchasing items that would assist him in carrying out the attack.”

But when his plans did not move forward in the way he had hoped, he began unwittingly talking to a US undercover police officer referred to as David Nelson in October last year, the court heard.

The officer, from the Owatonna Police Department, in Minnesota, was monitoring an online group called “Abduct lovers” involving chats about kidnap, torture and murder.

Calling himself “BigBear”, Plumb posted pictures of Willoughby and said he had a “load of info” on her, including when she has security and “what time she gets up in the morning”, the court heard.

When asked if he was serious, Plumb shared a video, which was played in court, showing items laid out on his bed including hand and ankle shackles, a ball gag, rope, metal cable ties, and two sets of handcuffs.

In other messages, he described the plan to use chloroform on her and her husband, the television producer Dan Baldwin, before tying her up and kidnapping Willoughby.

When asked what will happen at the end, Plumb said: “Slit her throat, clear her out and dispose of it,” the jury was told.

The undercover officer alerted the FBI and UK police, who arrested Plumb over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap Willoughby.

Officers said he was “shocked” but said: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”

Ms Morgan said it is likely Plumb may suggest “this is all just a fantasy” during his trial, but she asked jurors if the messages he exchanged with others are the “talk of a fantasist” or if the “dark depravity” suggests he meant what he said.

The trial, which is expected to last for two weeks, continues.

Entertainment

Charli XCX warns fans to stop chanting about Taylor Swift

Published

15 hours ago

June 24, 2024

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Charli XCX warns fans to stop chanting about Taylor Swift

Singer Charli XCX has warned her fans to stop chanting “Taylor is dead” at her gigs.

The British star shared a statement on social media following reports that members of the audience were shouting about Taylor Swift at a gig in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

“Can the people who do this please stop. Online or at my shows,” Charli wrote after the chanting was highlighted by one of her fans.

She added: “It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community.

“I will not tolerate it.”

It came after a fan tagged the star in an Instagram message that said: “Your Brazilian fans have been showing toxic behaviour by screaming ‘Taylor is dead!’ in your concerts and events related to you.”

Charli released her sixth album, Brat, earlier in June – but was kept off the top spot in the UK by Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which has charted at number one for seven non-consecutive weeks since its release in April.

The British singer, who supported Swift on her Reputation tour in 2018, is also engaged to The 1975 drummer George Daniel.

The US star was previously linked to the band’s frontman Matt Healy in 2023, before her relationship with current partner Travis Kelce.

Some of Charli’s fans have speculated that one of her new songs, Sympathy Is A Knife – which has lyrics including the lines “This one girl taps my insecurities” and “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show” – is about Swift.

There has also been speculation that Swift references Healy in tracks on The Tortured Poets Department.

On Sunday, Swift performed the latest show of her record-breaking Eras tour at Wembley – which featured a surprise cameo appearance from Kelce.

Sir Paul McCartney was also among those in the crowd.

Entertainment

Rapper Foolio shot and killed while celebrating 26th birthday in Tampa, Florida

Published

16 hours ago

June 24, 2024

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Rapper Foolio shot and killed while celebrating 26th birthday in Tampa, Florida

Rapper Foolio has been shot and killed while celebrating his 26th birthday in Tampa, Florida.

The musician, whose real name was Charles Jones, was pronounced dead after police were called to a Holiday Inn in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.

Foolio was reportedly inside a vehicle in the hotel’s car park when he was shot during an “ambush”, his lawyer Lewis Fusco said.

Another vehicle nearby was also hit.

Three other victims were taken to hospital and are all said to be in a stable condition.

Police are still investigating the motive and working to identify those involved.

The night he died Jones was celebrating his 26th birthday, Mr Fusco confirmed.

Jones had earlier shared footage of his partying on his social media accounts, including on Instagram, where he had one million followers.

He uploaded an invitation to a pool party on Saturday evening and told his followers to directly message him for the address.

Later that night, he posted that police had “shut us down and kicked us out” of their Airbnb.

His lawyer said in a statement that Jones then relocated to the Holiday Inn where the attack took place.

Just a few hours before the shooting, Jones wrote: “Best birthday everrrr. Appreciate everybody who pulled up we turnt up till we couldn’t nomo.

“We otw to the show now yall pull-up.”

In April, when announcing the release of his latest album Resurrection, Jones posted that he had already survived “multiple attempts” on his life.

The rapper, who had nearly one million monthly listeners on Spotify at the time of the shooting, had been making music since 2015.

Mr Fusco described him as “a kid who grew up in challenging circumstances, determined to defy the odds by any means possible and succeed in all that he did”.

He added that Jones “became someone I deeply respected for his authenticity and I considered a friend”.