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Cab Calloway is the center of this short film -- and just about the only thing it has to offer. As mentioned elsewhere, "Hi-De-Ho" is a genre piece weak on plot, acting and production alike. Folks who love the "King of Hi-de-ho", however, will relish his dancing, mugging, swinging and singing, oh singing! Uncredited in the opening titles except as "and his Orchestra" is a great line-up of jazz notables: Milt Hinton on bass and Cozy Cole on drums to name but two. If for no other reason, see "Hi-De-Ho" for the great big band numbers played as cool and hot as you could ask.

Most will agree that the original Matrix was a cut above the ordinary action flick. "Reloaded" borrows perhaps too much on the original's success to truly stand on its own as a story but it really *is* a good piece of entertainment nonetheless. If you like action, it has lots; if you want story development from the original, it has -- well, if not *lots* than at least *some*. Flawed but worthy. Like most humans.

I'm going to take a deep bend out of work-a-day reality for a moment so bear with me, please (or don't, it's your choice). "The Matrix" and "Reloaded" are a classic (if a little clumsy) ascent from the mundane to the exalted along a path followed by mystics throughout the ages. It is a story line greatly familiar by now: a person of humble origins is mysteriously chosen to be the savior (of whatever) and their journey takes them to heights that they cannot comprehend.

In Qabalistic terms, Zion is in Malkuth, the earth plane. They are beset by demons from the Matrix (Yesod, the plane of dreams -- or the astral plane, if you will). Neo, a savior of the archetype "the sacrificed god" (the "Magical Image" of Tiphareth) emerges to reconnect Zion with "the Source" -- Kether. The mechanism Neo and his cohorts use to achieve this goal use a lot more Geburah (violence) than is to my taste but, hey, it's a movie that needs to sell to a lot of 17 year old guys to make a profit.

There were a lot of little gems in the film for those who might be paying attention to something other than the Kung-fu and Trinity's patent leather suit (though, in truth, this writer gave the latter due weight). I liked that the head-honcho Matrix hacker is named "Morpheus", after the Greek god of dreams. We get "morphine" from this name as well as a lot of words that have to do with change. In the scene with Merovingian (which is, BTW, the name of a Dynasty of the late Roman Empire), the latter offers our heros food and drink after introducing his wife as Persephone (and you know what happens if you eat or drink the food of the gods!). There were numerous other tasty bits like this, giving me reason to see "Reloaded" a second time. Perhaps in October.