Science Fiction & Fantasy > Cronenberg, David Science Fiction & Fantasy

Touching romance and gruesome effects

Advantages: The relationship between Seth and Veronica, the gruesome effects.
Disadvantages: It does look aged now - you can't avoid that.

The Fly is a remake of a 50s B-movie which involves a teleportation experiment gone wrong. Somehow a fly gets trapped in the machine with the poor scientist, Seth (played by Goldblum). The after effects have him marvelling in some new-found powers but, far from Spiderman-like transformation, little does he know he's slowly and grotesquely turning into a monster rather than some superpowered hero. This film largely surprised me. It has definitely ...
...me about this film was the relationship between Seth, the scientist and Veronica, the journalist. It was actually quite touching. In some way I can see such deterioration of a man having some metaphorical significance in the real world outwith B-movie horror. Forgive me if you hate the comparison, but a lot of couples see their other half deteriorate due to diseases of the body and mind and it must be quite heartbreaking. Not that I am suggesting ...

Renza 17.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Fly (DVD)

YuK bUt GoOd.

Advantages: Entertaining.
Disadvantages: A Bit Sick.

...and then he pointed out eXistenZ that he thought looked rubbish. I told him to give it a go so we sat down and watched it and I for about the fifth time watching this film loved it again and here is why. ----- The Film: Some point in the future and people gather in a hall eager with excitement and anticipation. They are all there to test the newest and most real game that is not even on the market yet. They will also meet their hero, the world ...
...demonstration of her new game eXistenZ which promises to be an extremely wild ride. As it soon becomes apparent that Allegra's life may be in danger she and a "PR nerd" as she calls him go on the run together to save Allegra. Ted Pikul who has never even played one of Allegra's games is scared and does not particurarly want to go on the run and would rather go back to Antenna research which is who Allegra works for and keep her safe there. However ...

katygriff 30.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Existenz (DVD)

Kill your television

Advantages: Stylish, intelligent, creepy
Disadvantages: None that I can see

...sexually excited by automobile accidents. Videodrome is no less strange, or disturbing than that film. Videodrome is the strangest, and most socially relevant of his films. It is a surreal journey through the world of underground TV, and pirate video. Max Renn (James Woods) runs a channel 83, a small but aggressive independent TV station. They specialize in soft core sex, and hardcore violence. Max is a bottom feeder. He seeks out the worst, most ...
...a scrambled satellite channel. Videodrome is an hour long program in which nameless people are tortured and murdered by men in black rubber suits. No plot, no characters, just violence and death. Videodrome is snuff video. Max and Nikki are both excited by the program. Max wants to broadcast it. Nikki is turned on by it. "It aint exactly sex", Max tells her. She thinks it is, sex in a dark, dirty way that appeals to the unevolved reptilian brain. ...

nathanctyree 19.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Videodrome (DVD)

Good Head Action

Advantages: Good effects, Patrick McGoohan
Disadvantages: Boring, overlong, withdrawn, sterile, cold, fragmented...

...are fundamentally sh*te. And yes, Scanners is one such movie. The premise is a fantastic one. There are a number of people in the world called Scanners (like the title, get it?), who have the ability to tune into people’s minds and make them do whatever they want. Kind of like Jesse Custer in the comic book “Preacher”, only they don’t need to talk. They have heightened ESP powers that can cause nosebleeds, epileptic attacks, ...
...this (hope not) – try Scanners 2 – The New Order (dir: Christian Duguay of The Art of War ‘fame’ – and yes! Scanners 3 – The Takeover, which has the great tagline “Get ready for the ultimate display of brain power”!) Also produced the spin-off “Scanner Cop”. Hmmm. ...

peppersinclaire 08.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Scanners (DVD)

More Fallen Than Revenge

Advantages: Visually very impressive
Disadvantages: Too long and without a terribly good story

...when I was a kid, Transformers were one of my favourite toys. The fun of having something that was a car one minute and a robot the next took a long time to grow old. As an adult, I've found I can get similar enjoyment from watching the same thing happen on the big screen. It's a lot more sophisticated than it was back then, but I try to fool myself that I am as well. Following on from the events of the latest "Transformers" film, the Autobots are ...
...the film, in that the Transformers are a little too human at points. Maybe this is a deliberate attempt to portray them that way as they've now been living and working with humans for some time, but it did blur the line between them slightly. This was particularly noticeable with Skids and Mudflap, who played the joker roles that are usually assigned to a human sidekick in a film like this. They're funny and they do get the best lines, but it shifted ...

Soho_Black 29.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Transformers - Revenge Of The Fallen