Magnolia Acquires Trippy Doc “A Glitch in the Matrix”
By Kip Mooney• On • In TrailerTrailerComments Off on Magnolia Acquires Trippy Doc “A Glitch in the Matrix”
The theory that we're just living in a simulation is actually an old one. But it's taken off in recent years, especially as the internet has expanded from its small origins to the thing that consumes our lives every day. A documentary about that subject would ordinarily be something I'd ignore, just like any other YouTube doc about any other conspiracy theory. But A Glitch in the Matrix won't be any other documentary.
Rodney Ascher is actually the perfect filmmaker to tackle this potentially insane topic. His previous efforts have explored conspiracy theories (Room 237) and creepy, unexplained phenomena (The Nightmare) in stylish fashion. A Glitch in the Matrix will interview experts and random obsessives, discuss the text and subtext of the Wachowskis' The Matrix and dive deep into a speech by the late author Philip K. Dick, who wrote the stories that would become Blade Runner, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly, all of which have elements that were once science fiction but have now become fact.
The film will premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which will look a lot different than years past. Magnolia Pictures will release the film in theaters (if they're open) and on demand on February 5.
Check out the trailer below.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
