eXistenZ

Rating:
Summary: If you like sci-fi you'll love this
Review: I recently saw this movie. I had not even heard of it but after watching it ranks in my top 5 favorite movies, EVER. It keeps the "is this real or am I dreaming" type storyline throughout keeping you on the edge of your seat in suspence to the very end. Highly recomend it!

Rating:
Summary: An icky cyberpunk thriller...
Review: There is a point in the movie "eXistenZ" where the viewer is not sure whether the characters are in a game or in real life. Actually, this is pretty much the whole movie. David Cronenberg's Matrix-esque film was one of the many cyberpunk films of 1999, among "The Matrix," "The Thirteenth Floor," and "Menno's Mind." This isn't the best, but it is a bold attempt and it is captivating throughout. It just lacks a sense of originality. Cronenberg's directing is dank and dirty, appropriate since a large amount of the film has our characters dissecting gooey creatures. This isn't a movie to eat a pizza while watching it. Our characters serve as mere tour guides into the mysterious future that lays before us, where humankind has become addicted to VR video games. This new world surrounds the movie and grabs hold of the audience, answering every question it can in the 90-minute runtime. One thing this film has little of is plot-holes, for which I am very thankful for. Overall, I'd say if you were in to Cronenberg or like cyberpunk flicks, or just think Jude Law is hot, you'll enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Better than The Matrix
Review: Cronenberg made the thinking person's Matrix with this film. Gotta love the fact that for less money one can make a better movie. This majestic film toys with normal expectations and moves you into its bizarre and glorious dimensions with subtle, powerful techniques.

The CNS mechanic is reason enough to love this film! Matrix doesn't come close.

Rating:
Summary: ...Are we still in the game?
Review: Cronenberg hits us with his first original script in over a decade. Having said this, Cronenberg delivers on all levels with eXistenZ. The Matrix, and mostly every other virtual/psychologicsl sci/fi doesn't hold a candle to this. Obviously a much lower budget than The Matrix, but that is where the film succeeds. While not as flashy in effects, the plot is intriguing, it picks right up, and never slows down. Cronenberg brings up the scenario of a reality based video game system that plugs directly into the user. The "bio-pods" are made from breeding pools filled with mutant reptiles, and fish. This is not for the purist... Anyone out there who has viewed Cronenberg films before will know what to expect. Black humor, obscure topics, and disgustingly surreal madness. By the end of this movie you won't know what reality actually is. The ending totally blows your mind, and it leaves the viewer hanging in a good way. This film will get trashed for sure, but those of us who are capable of thought will appreciate eXistenZ very much. View if you dare. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, but you need to see it more than once
Review: This is a good movie, but is confusing the first time you watch it. The gorgeous Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh star. Jennifer plays a game designer for an all new alternate reality gamin system and Jude is the company man who is her "protection". The two enter the game and the confusion begins. The second viewing makes much more sense, as you have a better grasp of all the concepts. I love the twist at the end!This is a good view for lovers of scifi and also has an interesting gaming plot. A must for all Jude Law fans. He looks absolutely fabulous in this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Garbage? or a Masterpiece?
Review: Well, you will see many people say "this film is garbage, the worst Ever!!!", or " Cronenberg was All over with this film" blah blah blah, these people Don't understand the bottomline of this film! to keep the viewer guessing, to throw them off and draw them in at the same time!

This film has a great plot, great effects,and is typical Cronenberg, and MOST people Don't like cronenberg, why? because he knows how to get under people's skin with disturbing imagery,and great dialogue. This film shines where the matrix fails, this relies on story Not just action to push this film into its Own "cult status", Jude law stands out here for me, as the nervous Skeptic, while Jennifer plays the calm at times ,other times gun toting game babe, and the game creator of Existenz!
This film is HIGHLY original and thought provoking, I suggest viewing this at least twice, lettin it all soak in...
After all What IS reality anyway?

Rating:
Summary: garbage
Review: worst movie ever,that's all i have to say about this movie

Rating:
Summary: The Devil And David Cronenberg : eXistenZ Tampered Reality
Review: In Canadian author William Gibson's novel Virtual Light, a Texan trailer park cult watched TV 24-7, looking for glimpses of God. David Cronenberg movies were pure evil, the Devil himself. Now as this is fiction based on fact and this cult to my knowledge doesn't actually exist. Cronenberg's movies do present a reality warping into paranoia, conspiracy and a bizarre sexuality. eXistenZ is no exception. In this film however the predominant element is the paranoia, the bizarre sexuality is subtle, but clearly there. Bio-ports are the gateway into a world that is already winning the battle against reality. Escaping into the twisted world where nothing is as it seems. Control of even your own speech and actions doesn't belong to you as you submit to game urges that push the plot along. And once in the this world you have to wonder if escape is wanted or even possible.
Cronberg's horror this go round is a dreamlike as usual. Not inspiring shock, but bending the mind with questions. watch over, and over.

Rating:
Summary: Cronenberg "Slimes" His Own Idea
Review: Welcome to the bizarre world of David Cronenberg, and a film in which he considers the implications of modern technology and where it's all taking us as a society-- a contemplation of hypothetical possibilities that are at once unsettling and exciting. It's "eXistenZ," written and directed by Cronenberg; a mind-bender that will have you meeting yourself coming and going, and not knowing which is which before it's all over. But that's the nature of the game, and there is, in fact, a very real possibility that you're actually not even reading this page right now-- I mean, how can you tell for certain? And that gives you an idea of where this film is about to take you.

Video game maven and designer "extraordinaire" Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has created the ultimate virtual reality video game, eXistenZ (pronounced EGs-ah-stenz), and a control group has been assembled to test it out, with Allegra herself as the guide and game-master. This is not your typical video game, however, not by a longshot; to play, in fact, the participants have to be fitted with a "bio-port," which is implanted in the base of the spine, and into which the game is hooked up via a connection that looks like an umbilical cord. The game module itself is like nothing you've ever seen, either. A kind of erotic-looking latex affair on the outside, the components are actually organic in composition. From all appearances, this is going to be one wild ride of game, which is exactly what Allegra and her company is promising.

The night of the test is ill-omened, however, in light of the fact that rival companies are out to either steal or stifle the realization of eXistenZ. There have even been death threats, and an assassination attempt on Allegra's life at this juncture is clearly within the realm of possibility; and accordingly, a bodyguard, Ted Pikul (Jude Law) has been assigned to protect Allegra, and most importantly, the game-- the prototype of which is the only one in existence. And it is in Allegra's personal game module. And so the festivities begin, with the promise of excitement that just may transcend even all that eXistenZ has to offer.

Reminiscent of a couple of his earlier films, "Videodrome" and "Scanners," Cronenberg has crafted and delivered a thought provoking film, the message of which he presents (as he did with his aforementioned films) in fairly graphic terms. He plants the seeds of disconcerting shadows in your imagination, then waters them with visual stimuli that encompasses myriad forms of all things creepy and crawly. In addition, he weighs in heavily on the fear factor, relying on the effects blood, slime and things that ooze will have upon his audience. And it's all very effective. He sets a good pace and attempts to balance out story and F/X, but he does enjoy things that gurgle and spill out, and more often than not the F/X tend to take precedence over the story. But this is Cronenberg's style, and it works well for him in most instances.

Having such a definite visual style, however, does not necessarily lend strength to character development, and Cronenberg (it would seem) relies upon the creativity and initiative of his actors to find the tone that will most effectively convey their respective characterizations most accurately and efficiently. Essentially, the characters are a secondary consideration, if fact, so any depth that may have added considerably to the emotional involvement or impact of this film is absent. Cronenberg is too intent on suggesting the effects of all of this on "people," and as such, the individual gets lost in the shuffle of goo.

Given Cronenberg's priorities, it's no surprise then that the performances suffer somewhat from it. Jennifer Jason Leigh looks terrific in this one, and she's certainly convincing to a point, but Cronenberg has written a one-note symphony, and that is precisely what he extracts from his actors-- nothing more and nothing less. There's just not enough "shock value" to be derived from detail and nuance of portrayal, so Cronenberg simply doesn't bother with it. Jude Law also succumbs to the maestros style of conducting, but he plays the note he's given as well as can be expected.

As Kiri Vinokur, Ian Holm's talents are wasted in a role better suited to the likes of Vincent Schiavelli or Dick Miller. Furthermore, Shciavelli would have been perfect in the role of Gas, as well, which in the film is played convincingly enough by Willem Dafoe. But again, for Cronenberg's needs it was a phone-in; certainly not a stretch, by any means, for Dafoe. In fact, it would have been an interesting casting twist to have Schiavelli play both parts (and it would have saved on the budget-- two birds with one stone!). Also slipping into the portrayal Straits of the Individual Lost are Sarah Polley (Merle) and Christopher Eccleston (Levi).

The supporting cast includes Don McKellar (Yevgeny), Callum Keith Rennie (Hugo), Oscar Hsu (Chinese Waiter) and Kris Lemche (Noel). In retrospect, Cronenberg's film is something of a study in contradictions; while it has a concept that is intellectually stimulating, the presentation is designed for a target audience that will inherently lack the capacity or experience to appreciate the more profound aspects of it. Interestingly enough, this same year (1999) the Wachowski Brothers explored similar territory, thematically, in the resoundingly successful "The Matrix," which not only has superior F/X, but pays close attention to characterization, through which a sense of autonomy-- even among the masses-- emerges effectively. And it is precisely that lack of consideration of the individual human element that makes "eXistenZ" less than satisfying. Cronenberg has a terrific idea here, at the heart of which is a cautionary tale with a significant moral; and it's a shame that that is not the film he made. Instead, he delivers a film that is entertaining on a very base and basic level, but which, in the final analysis, limits itself unnecessarily.

Rating:
Summary: UN-plugged ...........
Review: NOT sure about this one . . . .some good moments, some terrible, perhaps the DVD quality? Not the greatest, but quite good for the collector - possibly a superior edition will emerge ...

HOWEVER, Mr. Cronenberg - always inventive, and never disappointing, takes us perhaps too far into the world of video games and game products, spearheaded by Jennifer Jason-Leigh - always immensely watchable - as ALLEGRA, game inventor extrodinaire, sidekick Jude Law. We traverse many a landscape peopled by People or are they Game Images? Never quite sure.

Stalwart IAN HOLM emerges as a fellow traveller - perhaps competition?

Nasty moments? The embryonic, organic game pod with it's 'unique' pseudopod attachment [somewhat reminiscent of the 'things' from "Fiend Without a Face" - what were they - crawling brains and spinal cords???] Jude Law's 'initiation' into 'pod-life' - the 'drilling' sequence.

IF you enjoy [?] body-piercing, mind-trips and some good old gross-out exotic food minus the fortune cookie - this one's loaded for you!

Choose your weapons carefully, but watch out for the bones!

[and don't play with your food!]