Z/Web

Author: Brandon Boyce (based on Stephen King’s novella)

Director: Bryan Singer

Interesting, though I’m not sure I quite figured out the point. This is basically a psychological chess game between a 16-year-old student and a Nazi war criminal he’s uncovered. However, instead of turning the Nazi in, he blackmails the old man into telling him gruesome stories of Nazi attrocities. In turn, the Nazi blackmails the boy, and the game escolates into murder and intrigue. Fascinating, with excellent performance by Ian McKellar as the Nazi (and the guy in the bed next to him in the hospital was awesome as a Jew whose family the Nazi killed). But overall we’re left with a feeling of voyerism and no clear explanation of why the boy’s so messed up. Watch this one for the performances and concept, but don’t expect to grow from it.

Author: David Cronenberg

Director: David Cronenberg

A David Cronenberg film that’s weird. Quel surprise!. Actually, this one was better than I expected. I liked it. It was more action-oriented than I expected. It’s bizarre, but with a rather obvious point. The plot deals with a game designer who’s invented a new virtual reality game called “eXistenZ” (written just like that). Of course, reality gets all subverted and confused, and soon you can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. That’s the whole point. The two best parts of the movie were the organic game pods (similar to joy sticks) and the title thought where game designer Jennifer Jason Leigh is in conversation with a boy. She explains, “You must play the game to find out the purpose and goal,” and later he says something to the effect of “But there’s no point, no explanation, no rules. I don’t think people are going to like this game.” and she responds: “But everyone’s playing it already.” That was obvious but still cool. If you’re a Cronnenberg and/or VR fan, you’ll like this trip.