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Summary: Existenz is being slated by those who do not understand it's
Review: Existenz has the problem faced by all new, innovative films which reflect both our present and our possible future. Firstly, some do not understand the devices used, the acting is not 'poor', Law and Leigh are, for 95% of the film, ROLE PLAYING. We are not even sure that we are back in reality in the final scene, therefore the are perpetually ACTING roles that are acting other roles - how far this layering goes is never revealed. Games are moving in the direction of the biological, VR, Cyborg technology and so forth is what the technicians are looking to be the technology of the future - hence the bio-pods, the gun, the greenery of the gameland. We are moving away from computer generated graphics into a more real virtual reality.Secondly, throughout history, people have been scared of the dawning of a new age - cinema was ridiculed in the 1900s, talkies were ridiculed in the 1920s, Tv was ridiculed in the 50s. We live, as McLuhan said, in the immediate past, each time a new technology dawns, we embrace the old, feeling secure in its history. Existenz is a warning of a future that is fairly likely, a war between the realists and the virtual realists. Instead of rubbishing the film, I believe we should be looking at the serious predictions that it is making. Unlike the Matrix, Existenz draws from present day theory and philosophy, making it either unintelligible or unpresentable to modern day society.
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Summary: as cronenberg as you can get
Review: As a cronenberg's fan I was disappointed with this one. The story is not that great but the visual is so bloody cronenberg. Some scenes might be disturbing to some people, but to cronenberg 's fans its pleasing. By the way, the weapon is so cool.
Rating: 
Summary: For those who love cerebral sci-fi and Cronenberg
Review: As beautiful as it is repulsive, "eXistenZ" literally sucks you from the mesmerizing opening credits to the jaw-dropping finale. By the way, the DVD is anamorphic widescreen (a rarity coming from the folks at Disney) and is crisp and colorful and truly gorgeous. Don't miss it. A very cool film. And certainly one of David Cronenberg's best.
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Summary: If you're want a no-brainer get The Matrix
Review: I'm not a Cronenburg fan. I thought Scanners was a laugh, but found the rest of his work to be too self indulgent or just plain overrated (The Fly). But Existenz is an exception. He has managed to make an intelligent and accessible film. It has surprisingly few special effects. Instead it relies on subtlety. Slowly bringing the characters and the viewer, to a point where it's no longer possible to discern what is real. OK the ending is a tad cheesy. But so what, when the rest is so enjoyable! Quite simply it's the most satisfying SC-FI I've seen this year. If you like Gattaca, this may be your cup of tea. But, as you probably can tell by some of the other reviews, if you're expecting non-stop action - you WILL be disappointed. (Hey, I do like The Matrix - I just enjoyed Existenz much more!)
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Summary: Not your average American geek movie
Review: If you're looking at this because you liked The Matrix, look elsewhere, friend. This is not a stylized Hollywood product with glitzy action scenes that'll make you go "Whoa!" or "Kewl!". Think Sartre, not Kung-fu. The SF setting is one of the most subtle and original I've seen in years, the creations are as good as any in Naked Lunch (love the gristle gun), and the photography is excellent. The movie is enigmatic and rewards multiple viewings. Lost Highway I can explain to you; eXistenZ I cannot. I love this movie, but it's not for the fanboy crowd.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't even waste your $$ renting it !
Review: After seeing 'The Matrix' & 'The 13th Floor' (both ~great sci-fi movies), I had high hopes for eXistenZ. I know that having high hopes going into a movie will cause you to think less of it had you not had those expectations. In this case it wouldn't have mattered - IT WAS TERRIBLE! This was one of those movies that I just couldn't wait for it to end. The only reason that I kept watching it was the hope that something in the ending would happen to salvage the whole thing - IT DIDN'T! I rate the movies I've seen this year, and this was 3rd from last (ahead of 'The Colony' & 'The Big Labowski'. JUST SAY NO!
Rating:
Summary: Awfull at every level starting with script!
Review: No wonder Alliance shares are not doing well (the Canadian film company which made this movie). It only proves that Alliance should do what it can do well - distribute Hollywood movies. If you liked Matrix you'll hate this film. Heck, if you like movies you'll hate this pile of esoteric rubbish!
Rating:
Summary: too bad....
Review: Not what I expected from one of the greatest directors I've ever known. Aeon is the child at play with colored balls. Where are your colored balls now Mr. Cronenberg?
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTE TRASH AND NOT "GOOD" TRASH
Review: David Cronenberg is one of the worst directors of the past thirty years, and certainly the most offensive. He is an absolute nightmare to true sci-fi horror fans- his films are the most pretentious, insipid, and downright laughably absurd incarnations of other people's ideas ever put to screen. His mind is a wasteland. If you really want to see some trash- watch his short film on the Dead Ringers laserdisk. EXISTENZ is absolutely horrible. Saw it playing in a video store and I told them if they didn;t take off such tripe I would throw a hissy- and I did.
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Summary: Mind - Bending Fun!
Review: With the exception of "The Dead Zone" this is the only other Cronenberg film I enjoyed, (and was able to stomach.) Believe it or not, seeing a guy getting his face blown in half by a gun firing human teeth and people porting into a game system that looks like a bizarre fleshy body part is rather tame for Cronenberg. Certainly a lot easier to watch than the flesh-eating puke in "The Fly" or drinking fluid out of a fleshy straw on a large bug's head in "Naked Lunch". One of the reasons I enjoyed this film was it reminded of the mind-bending plot twists of a really good Philip K. Dick story. By the film's end you have no idea what, if anything, is real and not just a game. Some reviewers found the performances very weak. But often, this is done deliberately: one character named D'arcy Nader is played so cartoonishly that the main character, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, comments on how lousy his dialogue and accent were. Personally, I thought the two lead performances were very good. Leigh gives this picture her all playing a sexy game designer whose whole life revolves around this virtual world she has created. Jude Law is also very good, especially his humorous reactions to all the weird stuff that happens around him. This picture is particulalrly entertaining if you've ever played a role-playing computer and are familiar with the "game loop" that computer characters go into when you're not speaking to them. The movie also makes a very strong comment on how video games have de-sensitized us. In one scene Jennifer Jason Leigh shoots a character dead just because she didn't like him, but then she can't figure out if she killed him for real or just in the game. a brilliant comment about seperating fantasy and reality. This is a very well crafted, highly underrated movie. Possibly the most intriguing science-fiction film of the decade.
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