Now, I admit, I love a good Keanu Reeves movie, or even (as most of them are) a bad Keanu Reeves movie. He has this uncanny ability to channel his defining role as Ted Theodore Logan (of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) throughout his work. (Just think of the way he delivers the line, "I am an FBI agent!" in Point Break. Simply add the word "dude" and that moment is complete.) And all of his movies have that one great line, the one he delivers with that "dude" gusto, the one that sticks with you years later, whether you want it to or not. (Yes, I have a mental list.) Oh, I could write a thesis on Keanu!

Plus, I am so not your weepy artsy drama film chick; I am an absolute sucker for special effects and big budget, sci-fi, action movies. You won't see me being dragged along reluctantly to the latest superhero movie (or, shudder!, staying at home and watching a film with subtitles). I'm the one at the front of the autograph line (AKA the line of nerds) at the X-Files convention beaming because I got a hug from Mitch Pileggi. (Oh, yes I did!) Well, at least I was that person in my pre-kids days...

All of which means that I was bound to consider The Matrix one of the greatest movies ever made. It has Keanu Reeves and special effects?! What the hell more could you want in a movie? I'll tell you what: a fabulous metaphor for addiction! And that is what truly makes The Matrix something I push on even my poor unsuspecting artsy film friends (who take about three weeks to decompress from all of the violence). I have never, in any medium, encountered as elegant a depiction of what addiction is really like. Addiction is being in the Matrix, being involved with an addict is being in the Matrix. Recovery is discovering how to live in the real world.

If you haven't seen The Matrix, I will give you time to go watch it now before I elaborate. Go ahead. I'll wait... It's Spring Break and I have two kids on my hands, so I'm not going to be able to finish this post until tomorrow anyway.