eXistenZ movie

[Deckerd]

Another thread just prompted me to post this. I remember seeing this after it came out in 1999 and finding it more memorable than most of its genre. Usually I really don't care for David Cronenberg but this was one of his more mainstream efforts, I thought.

What did others think of it?

 

[Pingfah]

I absolutely love this film, one of my favourite sci-fi movies. Everything about it is just spot on. The music is excellent, the two leads put in really good performances, the production design is done by the Cronenberg stalwart Carol Spiers, and as usual it looks amazing and of course it contains all the deliciously horrifying themes and morbid subverted sexuality every Cronenberg fan expects.

I have to part company with you there though Deckerd and say that Cronenberg is one of my alltime favourite directors. He made a string of similarly themed movies through the 80s and 90s, anticipating the technological revolution and how humans would ultimately engage it to do what they do best, pevert and corrupt themselves, Videodrome, The Fly and Existenz being the perfect triumvirate of deviance IMO.

He doesn't make many of these films anymore, Existenz was the first sci-fi/horror he had made in 8 years (since the wonderfully insalubrious Naked Lunch), and the last he has made to date, I hope we see him return to this arena at least once more, although I have been enjoying his other movies anyway, History of Violence was a very powerful film, and Eastern Promises is sitting on my DVD shelf awaiting viewing, possibly this weekend.

 

[Deckerd]

Is Eastern Promises the Viggo Mortensen / BBC effort? I really liked it. It's a (literally) ballsy performance by Mortensen, who uses his tendency to mumble as a strength since he is not a natural Russian speaker, obviously. The big fight scene is amazing, for many reasons, and groundbreaking.

I'm so unobservant I didn't realise that was a Cronenberg film. D'oh!

 

[Pingfah]

Yes, Mortenson is in it, although I did not know it was part produced by the BBC.

I'm glad you like it though, i've been putting off watching it because it didn't look all that interesting. But I always get round to watching his films eventually. Except Spider, the Ralph Fiennes movie, which has been on my DVD shelf for about 4 years now

 

[Shurik]

Is Eastern Promises the Viggo Mortensen / BBC effort? I really liked it. It's a (literally) ballsy performance by Mortensen, who uses his tendency to mumble as a strength since he is not a natural Russian speaker, obviously. The big fight scene is amazing, for many reasons, and groundbreaking.

I'm so unobservant I didn't realise that was a Cronenberg film. D'oh!

Mortensen's Russian in that movie is actually very good. He has some accent, but most of the pronunciation is flawless.

I love Cronenberg's movies and eXistenZ is one of his best, on par with Videodrome, The Fly and Dead Ringers.

 

[FredH]

Truthfully, I disliked it. I felt Videodrome had already covered the same territory, and with much more imagination. (Although I liked the "But he's so nice!" line.)

 

[barnaclelapse]

I love it, but it's definitely nowhere near one of my favorite Cronenberg films. It's really good, strange and certainly weird territory though. I'd say it's one of his most underrated films.

 

[TGTheodore]

Holy crap! Glancing through the thread titles, I thought this was eXtenZ Movie.

--Ted

 

[Dane_Whitman]

Truthfully, I disliked it. I felt Videodrome had already covered the same territory, and with much more imagination. (Although I liked the "But he's so nice!" line.)

I agree with this. I felt it was a lackluster retread of Videodrome.

 

[Luckyflux]

I rented it based on this thread, and the movie stunk. It wasn't terrible per se, but it certainly wasn't good.

The movie couldn't take off. I kept watching the minutes pass and thinking when is something going to happen, and it never did.

Then the "pay-off" at the end was just bad. Not stupid or boring or predictable, but at that point I didn't care, I was just happy the movie was close to being over.

It felt like it was right on the edge of Sci-Fi and action, but failed to do both. I don't want to spoil anything in case anyone else wants to see it, but the movie just never made it out of second gear.

 

[Pilot Ace]

I love eXistenZ!

Never seen Videodrome, although I am aware of it. I should check it out someday.

 

[Harvey]

You know, I haven't seen this one.

But I've enjoyed Cronnenberg in his many forms -- earlier, low-budget science-fiction/horror (Scanners, Videodrome), his latest more mainstream films (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises), and his big-budget science-fiction/horror (The Fly). Naked Lunch was worthwhile, too, though I'm not sure where to classify it.

I'll check it out sometime, I think.

 

[Dr. Chandra]

Holy crap! Glancing through the thread titles, I thought this was eXtenZ Movie.

--Ted

Me, too!

Still waiting for the OnlineBootyCall.com: The Movie trailer.

 

[john titor]

rubbish

 

[Holdfast]

OK movie, though nothing really special.

The pretty Jennifer Jason Leigh is the best thing about it. Well, apart from some amusingly revolting scenes in there too.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Then the "pay-off" at the end was just bad. Not stupid or boring or predictable, but at that point I didn't care, I was just happy the movie was close to being over

I noted a little reference to Philip K Dick in the film. Looking back it felt like one of his short stories, but without the quick pace and verve.