RE-RE-RE-RELOADED

Just came back from viewing #2 of Matrix Reloaded. Caught the plot twist dealies that I somehow missed before (you know, like Smith is now alive in the "real world" via that goatee'd fellow and is thus the one who walks past Neo before he leaves, sabotages the counterattack ships, and is laying unconscious aside Neo at the film's end), and was able to much more thoroughly understand all the stuff that both The Oracle and The Architect were saying.

Tidbit du jour:

---You may or may not have heard that the big freeway chase (all of 14 minutes, wow) was filmed in Alameda. You can see the Bay Bridge and other aspects of the San Francisco skyline in some shots (more on that in a second). But for you more experienced Bay Area citizens (particularly of the south bay), there are other treats to perceive. First of all, just as a note, the freeway in the movie is Interstate 101 (the other federal highway system, hmm). The big tidbit is, there's a highway sign, noting upcoming exits, that Bay Area people are likely to recognize immediately . . . that is, if they're looking for it (which I wasn't until my 2nd viewing). It reads (and I forget the mileage to each exit):

Whipple Ave.
Woodside Rd.
Marsh Rd.

Obviously Morpheus, Trinity and the gang are going to make a stop at Best Buy or REI. (for you out-of-towners, this sign can be viewed on southbound 101 just past the Holly St exit in southern San Carlos.) The question is: why are the W brothers transplanting freeway signs from across the bay? Two possible answers: 1) they are 101 signs, or 2) somewhere around that sign, just north of the heart of Silicon Valley, is a company that helped them with all them purty CGI effects, and this is some sort of happy payback.