Five Great Movies About Videogames
- Thread starter MovieBob
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eXistenZ is a really well made film. I wonder what the people who hate it thought of Cronenberg's other films Videodrome and Naked Lunch. Maybe they just hate it because it is weird and has what can be called an "anti gaming" message.
If you look at board games as well as video games then I think Jumanji is pretty good film about a game. Games can be used as a good trigger for crossing the threshold from the normal to a strange world of adventure. Films about game mechanics or video game stories are just crappy though.
If you look at board games as well as video games then I think Jumanji is pretty good film about a game. Games can be used as a good trigger for crossing the threshold from the normal to a strange world of adventure. Films about game mechanics or video game stories are just crappy though.
Cronenberg's film is on another planet in terms of quality to the other films but that is the one that gets the hate. Really, The Wizard is a fine example of the art of cinema but eXistenZ is horrible?LiquidGrape said:
You know, I rented that on a whim ages ago and watched it all the way through. To this day, I have NO idea what it was about, and that's after reading the wikipedia article on it. Great film though, and you're right, could easily have been a video game.ckeymel said:
OT - I agree with the top three. The Last Starfighter was just so awesome that it still remains one of my favourite movies, even after I've taken off rose-tinted nostalgiavision.
It's one thing if a film is weird, but another if the plot goes nowhere other than a BIIIG STORY TWIST that almost seemed like a excuse for the plot going nowhere. And if the Dialogues are horrible. And it proves to have as much knowledge about videogames as other films have when they show a kid wildly swinging around a Playstation 2 Controller with 8-bit "boop-be-doop" sounds (Made even worse by the constant "I'm a Game Designer!" Lines).More Fun To Compute said:
I like Cronenberg, but for things like Eastern Promises, History of Violence and The Fly (one of the best horror movies ever made). But even when you compare it to stuff like Naked Lunch, eXistenZ is STILL pretty unremarkable and tame.
Good choices Bob. Tron was definately a good one.
Good list MovieBob, although I honestly think that The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters should replace The Wizard as #5.
people on the internet apologize to much, its the internet your going to offend someone, see you offended me by apologizing for offending other people.
T.R.O.N. should have been number one. Being the only game movie to spawn the game from the movie.
Resident Evil and Advent Children are probably the better "based on a video game" movies.
tho Advent is probably lost on non-ff7 fans.
tho Advent is probably lost on non-ff7 fans.
Definitely agree. The plot had stagnated about halfway through, and so by the end I found myself apathetic about the whole situation. The "twist"... honestly at that point I yawned and said, "really? you're going with that? that's not a twist, that's a cop-out".Frybird said:
I guessed every movie on that list. I must say I had an awesome childhood.
I would put a case forward for the Matrix (first one) It ticks a lot of boxes the other ones do too. (also ticks a lot of Campbell's boxes) although you can argue that it seems to be about video games considering how much it inspired them retrospectively.
Something for your mind-grapes.
I would put a case forward for the Matrix (first one) It ticks a lot of boxes the other ones do too. (also ticks a lot of Campbell's boxes) although you can argue that it seems to be about video games considering how much it inspired them retrospectively.
Something for your mind-grapes.
A solid list, but I still vote for Crank + High Voltage for their portrayal of GTA-style video game violence.
Avalon is an okay film, but I think the tone is better than the actual execution. It's a shame, because I really wanted to love Avalon.
Also, has anyone seen Brave Story? It has a surreal video game vibe.
Avalon is an okay film, but I think the tone is better than the actual execution. It's a shame, because I really wanted to love Avalon.
Also, has anyone seen Brave Story? It has a surreal video game vibe.
It's not movies ABOUT video games that always suck, it's movies BASED on video games that always suck.
Sad fact, I'm afraid. But like you said in the Transformers: Revenge of the Suck review, there is potential for a good movie in anything. The idea is in there for video game movies, it's just poorly executed.
Sad fact, I'm afraid. But like you said in the Transformers: Revenge of the Suck review, there is potential for a good movie in anything. The idea is in there for video game movies, it's just poorly executed.
A big story twist that whole movie was a foreshadowing of. Right.Frybird said:
Which is a very accurate aside about how horrible the dialogue is/was in games.
It is a science fiction film so of course the technology is nothing like real technology. eXistZ is about drama management AI and virtual reality that is as convincing as reality. Two technologies that people who are into games should know about but are not even attempted by most games and may not even be technically possible to do well in 50 years time. The film is about players dropped into a realistic dramatic role playing game having no idea what they are doing. They say stupid things that they think their character's might say, "I'm a superstar game designer, guh huh." They have inconsistent and bizarre motivations that would have a dungeon master rolling his eyes and the game AI struggles to cope with them.
It may not be his best film but it is still a lot better than the best of the rest in this narrow criteria.