No subject

into the camera (which pulls back to reveal him drinking a glass of milk), 
Stanley Kubrick's Clockork Orange announces itself as a completely new kind 
of viewing experience. Set in an unidentified future, the film overwhelms the 
senses with its almost comic depictions of violence set to an upbeat 
classical and pop music score; its magnificent, colorful, futuristic set 
designs; and its utter determination to shock, frighten and thoroughly 
entertain its audience.

Kubrick based his chilling masterpiece on Anthony Burgess's culture-shaking 
novel about a young man, growing into adulthood, who has a bit of a problem 
with authority figures. When Alex (a career-defining performance by McDowell) 
and his droogs go out for a little bit of the old ultraviolence, he is caught 
and forced to undergo controversial treatment that will make it impossible 
for him to commit violent acts - but has severe side effects. Kubrick's film 
purposely confuses crime and punishment, cause and effect, hero and villain, 
irony and satire, filled with oxymoron and paradox, taking on science, 
politics, societal mores, education, sexual awakening, and parental  
responsibility all in a new language (both verbal and visual) that would 
change the cinema forever. No one who has seen it has ever been able to hear 
"Singin' in the Rain" or Ludwig van again in quite the same way.


February 21, 2003
eXistenZ (1999), 97 minutes
Directed by David Cronenberg
Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) creates a new game called eXistenZ, one 
that connects with a 'bioport' installed in the spine.

When something goes terribly wrong during the first public testing of the 
game, Allegra and public relations trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law) go on the 
run. Out in the countryside they expect things to be safer, and Allegra takes 
the opportunity to check and see if all is well with her game. Naturally, she 
needs a friendly playmate to come along, so Ted, a virtual reality virgin, is 
called into service.