Grease up your Bio-Port, because eXistenZ is the Greatest Movie EVER!
Review in a Nutshell: An inspired and unsettling piece of metafiction, eXistenZ is also a sexually-charged, reality-bending science fiction film. Long live the New Flesh!
This movie contains:
Mutated Amphibians.
Exciting Advances in Game Technology.
Symbolism, maybe?
Ewwwwww! Don’t stick your tongue in my Bio-Port!
EDIT! This podcast contains:
Jeremy, from Destroy All Podcasts DX. I’d insert another witty caption to go with this picture,
but I’m too entranced by the sheer manliness of his passionate bass playing.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
Meta … hmmm? I just wrote a review for Synecdoche NY and that was meta. I’m not sure if ExistenZ is meta or just a perception is reality kind of thing more like The Matrix? Maybe though it does deal with the narrative as a possible contrivance or “game”. Whatever, I’m looking forward to this review!
Sure, don’t even mention that I’m on this podcast!
Amusingly enough, I love Sky Captain too.
This film sounds interesting.
As I mention in the podcast, “metafiction” is a term that is roundly abused on the Internet. Still, I think it’s safe to say that eXistenZ, which uses film to highlight the absurdities of both video games and movies in general, is a genuine piece of metafiction.
Jeremy, fix’d.
How come Paul gained a habit of inviting the most retarded co-hosts ? First Dave&Joel, now this guy ? And yes, anyone who claims Lucky Star is 100% pedo, and even tries to bring his questionable film college degree as an argument – is utterly retarded. Like this Jeremy person here.
Karry,
You’ve made your discontent with my choices in guest hosts abundantly clear at this point. Perhaps you could try offering something positive for a change? So far, all you’ve done is call my friends retarded. I like working with Dave, Joel, Luke, and Jeremy. I think they all have different strengths that they bring to my show. Since I enjoy having them on, I’m going to continue to invite them back for episodes in the future. If this really bothers you so much, perhaps my podcast is not right for you?
@Karry: Love you too, honey.
I think the word teenagers use is ‘dramz’. Anyway, I liked the co-host on this podcast – he had a nice voice.
– Zac
I was also concern that Jeremy as co-host could never match Dave and Joel’s cool dry wit and manly, intellectual style but I was please to find that may fears where unwarranted.
What was the name of that 1931 movie you guys were talking about? It sounded interesting, and I wanted to check it out. As for the guest hosts, I like almost all of them, and Jeremy’s always a treat to listen to on this podcast.
The film is called “M”, it’s supposed to be loosely based on a real serial killer, though Lang always denied this. It was also Fritz Lang’s first talkie.
This was one of my favourite Greatest Movie Ever! podcast the analysis of this complex movie (and one of my favourites I might add) was excellent.
Glad you guys enjoyed the podcast! Hope to be back soon for some more dissection!
I haven’t seen this movie in a long time, but I remember it being all about the anus whereas videodrome was all with the vaginas.
Literal Cronenburg style dissection (guts and stuff)? Generalised Metaphorical dissection (alá rational breakdown)? Cronenburg Metaphorical dissection(Cronenburgs rational breakdown of a subject logical sequence of metaphors)?
Or Pretentious recursive dissection like this embarrassing internet pseudo intellectualist this post pertains too. Because that would be seriously sweet dude
Damn can’t delete previous post have to live with a badly spelt permanent record of internet pretentious stupidity forever. When “‘Dissection’, that could be a pun, wink wink, nod, nod” would have been fine.
@graz: I did say at one point you could probably interpret the bioport as an anus if you wanted to.
Installing the vagina is a fantastic line.
Paul I’ll do a guest host stint via Skype or something if you want? That’d give your friend Karry another person to hate. I’d be game for anything with Brian Denehey or zeppelins.
Zeppelins? Sky Captain then.
Best. Ending. Line. Ever.
agreed Firest, agreed
I kind of like this, but you could definitely see Cronenberg working with a budget here. I’m not sure, but I believe this is probably the last film he did with purely Canadian investment. For instance, the film stock looks too grainy and the squib effects are badly placed given the context. This is especially true in the last scene, where the assassins are comfortably shooting people at point-blank range, they empty their guns into their chests of the victims instead tilting the gun upward and mulching their face. And, you know from “Videodrome” or “History of Violence”, if given the opportunity, Cronenberg would give you that.
I agree that it is a better philosophical piece than “The Matrix”, but the tight budget does work against it.
I gotta disagree with Jeremy about “Crash”. It has Cronenberg’s “new flesh” theme in it as well, but it’s far more subtle than his other works.
I love how Sarah Polley gets billing on that DVD cover, but is only in the last five minutes of the movie.
Having seen “Shivers” recently, it also follows that “detached observation cutting back and forth to emotional involvement”. There’s a lot of scenes in that have that “squick” factor, like the scenes were you see children being effected by the parasites.
I would be interested in seeing you do more Cronenberg films, like, say, a whole month of them.
I loved eXistenZ and I thought that the review was excellent. I would like to see more of this type of film though and have already seen Oshii’s Avalon. Would love suggestions.