Movie Gadget Friday: eXistenZ Metaflesh Game Pod
posted August 27th 2004 4:04PM
Phillip's a busy man these days (he's hard at work in the lab trying to top his
Search Engine Belt Buckle), so
Josie Fraser is taking over Movie Gadget Friday for us:
I'm kicking off with eXistenZ, possibly the best film ever made about the cutthroat world of computer game manufacturing. Canadian David Cronenburg is a man of many the appealing obsessions, notably a compulsion to include new and varied types of penetration in his movies and to mash up the technological and organic. Preferably through penetration of some kind. Just count the ways in which the Demon Computer Programmer Allegra Geller (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) makes use of Jude Laws port in the movie.
In the future, game programmers have terrible hairstyles, spend most of their time in their rooms alone, and have to create whole new worlds in order to be pleasured by anyone except themselves. So far so same ol'.
On the progress side, Louise Bourgeois has somehow become the Jonathan Ives of console design. The Metaflesh Game Pod is a handheld "grown from modified amphibian embryos," pink-flesh-toned and distinctly maternal looking, that throbs and trills like a baby when you stroke its smooth, nipple-shaped control buttons. The pod connects via the literally named Umbycord to the system's output device – the central nervous system. On the down side, you have to have a port plug inserted into your spine in order to play. There's no firewall, so any viruses you pick up during play have to be treated at your local clinic. And backing up your files may require a surgeon. Maintenance seems fairly minimal though: excited ports can be lubricated with either spit or WD-40.
Existenz is one of my favorite movies of all time. Great sci-fi flick, and it even brings in video games! what could be better!?
I'm confused. Is this a movie review? if so, why? This film came out at least four years ago.
I just bought it online after remembering I saw it so long ago.
Very interesting movie, though I don't tend to agree with the sticker on the wrapper insisting by one reviewer that it's better than The Matrix.
the post is here because every Friday Engadget highlights a movie gadget. The Metaflesh Gamepod is the movie gadget highlighted today.
Or was I the only one to think this pathetic excuse for a 'movie' sucked big time!
Cronenberg's trademark of warped flicks (ie. crach; existenz etc) are all the same. CRAP! of course thats just my take.
Cronenburg's movies tend to be cult-classic type themes, you'll either love it or hate it. Server obviously hated it.
I agree the Matrix analogy was stupid. It's only similar in the vague theory of alternate realities by pluging something into you. That was an obvious marketing technique to get more sales. I'm sure the sight of it made Cronenburg scream.
Nevertheless, I always highly recomend this movie as it is probably one of the director's most commercial flicks, and a good entry point to the rest of his filmography. If you liked this movie, I highly recommend 'Videodrome'. That one is even more crazy.
Very interesting movie, though I don't tend to agree with the sticker on the wrapper insisting by one reviewer that it's better than The Matrix. http://www.fedown.com
I remember when I went to see this film, I was about 15 - I hated it