Rating: 
Summary: Yet another cult classic
Review: Well, perhaps some will feel that I am overexaggerating with my 5/5, but I really thought this to be an amazing film. PS: It looks as though the American release of the DVD is different from the Canadian one. Here up north there is an added French Audio track as well as commentaries by David Cronenberg, the DOP, and the FX supervisor. Pretty sweet, eh?
Rating: 
Summary: Oh! the horror...
Review: This movie has one redeeming quality. The concept of the story is quite good. A completely immersive and engaging VR environment. That about does it as far as the positive aspects of this movie are concerned. Utterly boring with some of the most worthless acting I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. After watching a tremendous performance from Jude Law in Gattacca, I was praying that his performance would result in an at least passable rating for this movie. I was quite wrong. Steer clear of this movie. If you buy it, bury it and then bury the shovel.
Rating: 
Summary: CronenBerG goes viRtuaL
Review: OK ! eXistenZ is not the best movie of the Canadian director David Cronenberg. So what ? Do we have to despise him in the same manner some people have despised John Carpenter in the mid-nineties ? I think that we ought to remember that the filmography of Raoul Walsh and Alfred Hitchcock counts a certain number of not so glorious movies ! And I loved the toothgun, a Cronenbergian weapon which shoots teeth and the game pod, a pod dedicated to all the seganintendosony addicts. Slightly erotic, isn't it, guys ? In fact, eXistenZ could have been named SeXistenZ. The way the games are downloaded in humans is, it's the least one can say, very sexual and a second or third vision of eXistenZ could reveal some other surprises hidden in the movie. The weakness of the movie lies in the screenplay. Is eXistenZ a charge against video games which, according to David Cronenberg, are the new drug threatening our children ? If it is, the demonstration isn't convincing at all. I prefer to consider eXistenZ as the gameroom containing all the obsessions or our beloved director. And the key is ours. A DVD dedicated to Philip K. Dick.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting ....
Review: One thing I've noticed about viewers' reactions to this film is that most people seem to have either loved it or hated it - strange, considering that the thing with eXistenZ is that it delivers exactly what you expect it to ... and no more. I'm still not quite sure as to what to think about this film: still "digesting" it (without wanting to incur visions of that "yummy" Chinese special .. ). The way the film shows the confusion between reality and virtual reality is effective, if not immediately obvious. However, the story just never seems to hang together as a whole; a tighter structure might paradoxically have allowed a more open, more disturbing interpretation of this vision of the future. As it is, eXistenZ is interesting enough in itself; but, ironically, I never managed to fully immerse myself in the strange new world created for us. I guess that the reason I'm so confused about this film is because, as others have said, you're never sure whether you're judging the movie or the game. Perhaps the strangely claustrophobic feel of this film is deliberate: eXistenZ and later tranCendenZ open up whole new worlds for the characters, but also isolate them because they're never sure what to trust. Not sure about the acting either: Jennifer Jason Leigh is good, but not entirely convincing; Jude Law is low-key (but still gorgeous!), sometimes a little too much so. However ... like with the main story ... ... the problem is deciding whether that's deliberate or not. The reason I have rated this movie at 3 stars (which for me is a "good") is because David Cronenberg appears to have done what he set out to do: make you unsure about the difference between reality and fantasy. eXistenZ delivers what you eXpeCt it to (sorry!), and then it truly does leave you to make up your own mind .... about the implications of the story, and about the manner in which it is presented.
Rating:
Summary: Are we still in The Game?
Review: If you already love Cronenberg'a films, then you don't even need to read this. Just get the DVD or video and then write to all your friends raving about it. It is not about corporate espionage or any of the other stuff the reviewers seemed to garner from it; it is about levels of reality. If you are not familiar with David Cronenberg's vistas, then be warned: nothing is as it seems to be. Yes, this film is much closer to The Thirteenth Floor than to The Matrix, but at the end the latter two films both depend upon an absolute physical reality as a basis. eXistenZ is a philosophical journey into the nature of reality itself. It does not have the sophisticated special effects of Matrix, nor the well-developed personas of Thirteenth Floor; it goes beyond those superficialities and well into another dimension.At the end, all one can say is "are we still in the Game?"
Rating:
Summary: Gooey, Ooowhee, Slimy Virtual Ride.
Review: Okay, "The Matrix" was getting all the computer/virtual reality/gaming attention from the movie fans. Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" is a different kinda tech movie that'll make you go--"Whaat? " or "Eeeeeww" with it's visuals and it's plot twists. See it and put it along side your copy of "The Matrix". And get lost in the fantasy and reality motif of these two computer games on film. It is right up ol' Zen's alley, and I think you'll enjoy it, too.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal film, despite the director...
Review: The film has a plot that is much more accessible than most others by Cronenberg. I was hesitant to watch this film after Crash, which I herald as one of the most painful films to watch--ever. This movie incorporates elements of action with suspense, all the while requiring you to think about the events that were transpiring. You begin to wonder yourself, where the two leads began the game, and how their actions (crimes) affected them [they themselves were unsure at points in the movie]. It was great and grows more interesting with subsequent viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Great ending...
Review: ...a bit slow at first...actually for the first hour...but once they enter eXistenZ this is one wild ride...this film was compared to the Matrix, but this is nothing like the Matrix...it is it's own little movie with a terrific ending that blew me away...
Rating:
Summary: Not Good, Not Good At All !
Review: This film lost my interest in the first ten min. The plot was too slow and not much of a climax, if one at all. The star's missed the class in witch thay tought acting, and for the FX, come on,is that the best you can do?
Rating:
Summary: Great movie but the extras......
Review: This is a great entertaining movie that fans of David Cronenberg should love. The only problem is where are the extras (three commentary tracks + documentary) that are included on the Canadian and Region 2 edition of this movie?
| 
