Rating: 
Summary: You'll love this 'game'
Review: 'Existenz' has been done before. Totall Recall and The Game are just two recent examples where the film's protagonists are caught up in a mind-spinning set of circumstances where they begin to doubt their actions, motives and even themselves! What Existenz has going for it is comical and deadpan humour. I can remember some parts of the film where I laughed out loud and was then unsure of whether I was supposed to. Jennifer Jason Leigh and up-and-comer Jude Law are great. Obviously shot with a low buget but despite this, the production values are solid. I enjoyed 'Existenz'. You will too. Expect to laugh.
Rating: 
Summary: Form an Aliance
Review: I reviewed this video perviously and my comments on the film, which I think is a great one, can be found there.I am now however compelled to write about the "Dimension DVD" release. The Domestic eXistenZ release is by Disney and is not worth its inflated price. There is a Canadian Release of the film by Alliance which is SIGNIFICANTLY better. This release has 3 commentaries (Cronenberg, Suschitzky, Isssac) 1 in depth doccumentary on Carol Spier (Prod Design) and sports a MUCH BETTER transfer, it is darker but it doesn't look wonky like the Disney/Dimension release. Just for the record the Canadian release also has optional French dub.
Rating:
Summary: "I think we're still inside the game"
Review: Well, that was one confusing and convoluted "plot". The dialogue wasn't very good, but the action made up for that. There was a bit to much blood and gore for my taste, but Jude and Jennifer were excellent, and the film made you think and ponder for a few hours ;)
Rating: 
Summary: Excellence in moviemaking!
Review: C'mon people...how can you not love this movie? A friend of mine recomended it to me after he bought it, so I borowed it from him..and was blown away! I had to have it, so bought it the next day. The plot was fun to follow, good acting (not quite excellent..but good!), and the idea is alot of fun! Original too. I'd compare this flick to Dark City alot easier than the Matrix. Though these guys aren't kidding..the DVD is pretty bare...too bad. Excellent movie-ignore most of these jackasses and at least rent it ;p You'll prolly like it. Btw, I ain't even a big Cronenberg fan..so you don't have to be one!
Rating: 
Summary: Clumsy and Vacuous
Review: First of all, the packaging of this film compared only its special effects to The Matrix. Since this movie had no special effects, that particular claim is meaningless. Apart from the area of special effects, therefore, eXistenZ should be judged on its own merit. What might that merit be? Reading the seventy or so reviews by others was enlightening. Apparently the director, Cronenberg, has elevated protoplasm-like, revolting props to something of a trademark. While this may help viewers easily identify his movies, it doesn't make the movies themselves particularly attractive. In the Naked Lunch, he used such images to underscore an important social and psychological issue (drug addiction). ExistenZ also promised to explore an intriguing social phenomenon (preoccupation with virtual reality), but I don't think it achieved that end. The "blurring of reality" theme might have served as a substitute, but again this germinal idea, instead of being nurtured and cultivated, was aimlessly tossed around and eventually crushed underfoot. Any attempts at suspense or drama produced only comic results. Take for example, the scene near the end where our hero cut his companion's "umbilical cord", releasing a gush of fake blood. The "B" horror movie imagery, funny enough in itself, was further heightened by the heroine's forced orgasmic groaning and the hero's pathetic cries of despair, "I just don't know what to do." Then in came a third person exclaiming, "I know what to do," whereupon he began to incinerate a small, gooey creature using an enormous flame thrower. The scene came across like a Saturday Night Live skit - the whole movie, in fact, was little more than a string of such skits. One critic pointed out that the movie intended itself to be taken in a sardonic vein - something along the lines of Natural Born Killers or Boogey Nights. But these latter two were subtle and clever mockeries. EXistenz had no surrealism, no creative graphic montage, no intelligent lampooning of societal fixtures. The only possibility left is that Cronenburg intended this film as a satire on his own movie-making style. Others critics defend this movie as something that only "some" can understand. Perhaps there are those who find this director's repulsive props an attraction in themselves - I certainly am not one of those. ExistenZ is the first movie I've watched in a long time that I found so wretchedly bad that it actually created some resentment on my part. I watched it because I was with a friend and wanted to be polite. As it turns out, I should have erred on the side of rudeness. I warn other viewers against the danger of spending money on what is, in my opinion, an amazingly clumsy and vacuous film.
Rating:
Summary: A two headed reptile birthday banquet of sublime weirdness!
Review: Wow! This has to be one of the strangest flicks ever. If you thought that "Matrix" could get into your head, wait until you plug your spinal cord into the neural game reality bending world of eXistenZ. The question becomes...when does the game begin and when does it end. The acting in this movie was just okay which accounts for the 4 stars. But the concept of this film is what carries you away. Starts innocently enough...computor game focus group plugging into a new reality game. But then everything goes soooo wrong. Not even Mr. Right is what he seems, or is he? Okay, read this review after you see the flick and it will make better sense. Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy your two headed reptile birthday banquet. Yummy! p.s. look out for what must be a Cronenberg inside joke of a computor reality game being sold over the counter...a new reality game about "Highway Accidents"...had to be a plug for "Crash", right?
Rating:
Summary: Cronenberg fans rejoice!
Review: Anyone who is unfamilier with David Cronenberg's work and don't know weather to purchase eXistenZ or not need only see one film... Videodrome. If you like that, you'll like eXistenZ. The plot is far too complicated to explain but beleive me, fams of the genre will not be disappointed. P.S. (for people who have seen it) Isn't the "Bone Gun" amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Great Flick!
Review: Okay, I'm no Cronenberg devotee but I found this movie hugely entertaining. The plot twists were great. The ending was even better...it was supposed to leave you shocked. It is a sci-fi thriller that doesn't spend any time noticing its a sci-fi movie (that didn't make any sense) Some people will probably know what I mean. Anyways, great flick great acting and a great debut for Natural Nylon!
Rating:
Summary: dissapointing effort
Review: Cronenberg usually always satisfies, but existenz just doesnt quite do it. Its entertaining mostly, but the ending is such a cheat it leaves you feeling empty, or is that what its supposed to do. Too much rehashing of ideas from videodrome, reality merges with fantasy, organic gun technology etc. I hope cronenberg has not lost his touch and will return to form. The novelisation is much more entertaining, and adds a line of dialogue at the end that makes the whole thing more worthwhile; "we're still in the game arn't we?" "Who knows?"
Rating:
Summary: Twisting plot lines make this a great watch
Review: First off, can we please stop comparing this movie to 'The Matrix' simply because both movies are about virtual reality? It's a real waste of time trying to compare two movies that are so entirely different from one another. The only similarities are the ways that virtual reality can be used to enslave humans, but it ends there... This movie isn't about action sequences...it is a more 'cerebral' movie that examines the unconscious aspects of VR systems and asks not "what is reality?" but rather "where is reality?" eXistenZ is a disorienting movie that never actually tells the viewer WHERE the characters are, leaving the characters and the viewers in a confused and disturbed state that is very effective about leaving us with a vague sense of unease about VR. You've really got to pay close attention to this movie and eliminate distractions when watching it to get the full effect. (If you're someone with a low attention span who prefers the gun-fighting of 'The Matrix' then this isn't really for you. The Matrix is a great film, but it really is a different kind of film.) There are some really crazy twists, and the plot is at times difficult to follow along, but it is a very rewarding experience, especially if you can make it all the way to the end of the ride.
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