Netflix

[Glen-i]

7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I really enjoyed it and actually liked how things played out but I imagine certain things will not sit right with a lot of fans.

I watched it with @Ugh first aid

Spoiler

Are you out of your mind with that ending!?

I mean, REALLY!? What kind of stupid arse-pull was that!?

It was quite enjoyable, despite the cut scenes (Unfortunate, but necessary) and the fact the daughter was nowhere to be seen. But I could forgive that, the animation was great and the story was well paced after the whirlwind of info at the beginning. The nods to Dragon Quest fans was very amusing. (I need a GIF of that Metal Slime scene, it's so perfect)

But there I was, ready to see a Nimzo fight scene, and instead I was like...

The movie completely crapped the bed, a perfectly nice bed for a lame twist that Shyamalan would be proud of. It's not clever, it's just stupid.

A real shame, we were almost at a decent video game movie.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Like I said, I can see why people wouldn't like it but I personally found what they did very touching. I do think there's no middle ground with it though. You're either going to like it or hate it.

Seeing as you gave Glen a thanks, @S.C.G I take it you watched it and felt the same way?

Edited February 14, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Grazza]

17 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Will you be watching it, @Ike, @Jonnas and @Grazza?

 

I'll definitely watch it when I get a chance, but I don't use Netflix so that might be a while.  Thanks for the heads-up though.

[S.C.G]

7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Seeing as you gave Glen a thanks, @S.C.G I take it you watched it and felt the same way?

Nope, I don't have Netflix, probably never will and so I've just accepted that certain things which are exclusive to it I just won't watch until they become non-exclusive, if at all.

Knowing this and also wanting to know whether this Dragon Quest film would be worth my time or not if I did get the chance to watch it, I clicked the spoiler box.

I'm still none the wiser as to what the spoiler actually is really but from what I understand from the reactions so far from those who have seen it is that the film seems to be one of those cases where you're either going to really like it or hate it depending on what your perspective of the Dragon Quest series is.

Would it be accurate to say that it's a good thing that this Dragon Quest film exists but if it didn't... that would be fine too?

I mean, clearly it's a good thing for the franchise that it does exist and I get the feeling that it mostly comes from a place of love but equally, there wouldn't really have been a way in which this could have been made and made in such a way that the film and the ended would have pleased everyone, it's just not possible.

Anyway, I am curious... @Glen-i let me know when Gif's featuring that character start appearing, I can appreciate those in the meantime.

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Nope, I don't have Netflix, probably never will and so I've just accepted that certain things which are exclusive to it I just won't watch until they become non-exclusive, if at all.

Knowing this and also wanting to know whether this Dragon Quest film would be worth my time or not if I did get the chance to watch it, I clicked the spoiler box.

I'm still none the wiser as to what the spoiler actually is really but from what I understand from the reactions so far from those who have seen it is that the film seems to be one of those cases where you're either going to really like it or hate it depending on what your perspective of the Dragon Quest series is.

Would it be accurate to say that it's a good thing that this Dragon Quest film exists but if it didn't... that would be fine too?

I mean, clearly it's a good thing for the franchise that it does exist and I get the feeling that it mostly comes from a place of love but equally, there wouldn't really have been a way in which this could have been made and made in such a way that the film and the ended would have pleased everyone, it's just not possible.

Anyway, I am curious... @Glen-i let me know when Gif's featuring that character start appearing, I can appreciate those in the meantime.

Despite my misgivings about that one aspect, it's a good movie. I did enjoy the journey. Destination was utter poo though.

The animation is really nice and exaggerated, which fits the slightly goofy tone of Dragon Quest, and the majority of DQV's story works well for a movie, voice acting was pretty great too. But the pace is a bit frantic (40 hour RPG, less than 2 hour movie, valiant attempt) and I had to explain a few plot points to @Ugh first aid (Basic knowledge of how DQ games play, but hasn't actually played the fifth one.) But we were both enjoying it until...

Spoiler

Spoiler

This is purely for @S.C.G's info, but...

OK, so our Hero and his family have defeated the villain, but it's too late for them to stop Nimzo (Final Boss) from breaking the seal he's in.

No big deal, time for an epic action scene. Looking forward to that, the action scenes in this movie have been fun. Right when Nimzo is set to make his appearance, everyone stops except for the protagonist.

After a bit of confusion, some dude who is certainly not Nimzo floats down. Doesn't look remotely like a Dragon Quest monster.

UFA asks me if that's Nimzo, I'm just as confused as she is.

So yeah, this random guy turns out to be...

...sigh... He's a hacker, who just locked up the game.

Oh right, turns out the whole movie was some dude playing a VR remake of Dragon Quest V and no, there was no clue that was the case beforehand.

Anyway, the hero starts going on a spiel about how games are just as real as the real world while the hacker argues that's dumb and to grow up and to stop getting immersed in games.

Anyway, suddenly, the Slime that's been accompanying Hero throughout appears, reveals it's an anti-virus of some sort and boots the hacker and his virus out of the game.

Game's ending happens and the world is saved.

Nimzo never shows up.

Man, it's still dumb even typing it. I wish it just ended like DQV and didn't try to pull off that clumsy meta-twist, sours the movie for me.

 

 

[S.C.G]

Wow... you're right @Glen-i that is a really dumb way to end a film like that, it would ruin it for me as well, I think I'll just appreciate Gifs and clips from the film as they crop up.

I'll just go and play Dragon Quest V instead, that'd probably be a better use of my time.  

It's a shame though, sounds like it could have been a perfectly good film aside from that.

[Sméagol]

Wow. I didn't mind the spoiler in this case, and I was curious.. And yeah, that's a pretty dumb ending. Time for a director's cut?

 

[Hero-of-Time]

My take on the ending was...

Spoiler

...the hero or player is a guy who chasing his childhood.

The film shows flashbacks of him as a kid playing DQV on his SNES, even going so far to show him blowing his cartridge. It then skips to showing him playing the remake on his PS2. Finally, you see him once again trying to recapture his youth by playing the game in its newest form, which is the VR version. Hence the title of the film- Your Story.

He says how these games were real/important to him which is something surely we as gamers can relate to when we were younger. The journeys, characters and battles fought in these games felt very real to him. 

This is why I like the ending and find it touching. There are games I played as a youngster, such as Link to the Past and OOT, that are special to me and playing them now can take me back to a simpler times. Both of these games were a big part of my life at the time and so I can see exactly what they were going for with this twist.

I suppose it's all down to interpretation. 

 

[Glen-i]

13 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

My take on the ending was...

  Spoiler (Hide contents)

...the hero or player is a guy who chasing his childhood.

The film shows flashbacks of him as a kid playing DQV on his SNES, even going so far to show him blowing his cartridge. It then skips to showing him playing the remake on his PS2. Finally, you see him once again trying to recapture his youth by playing the game in its newest form, which is the VR version. Hence the title of the film- Your Story.

He says how these games were real/important to him which is something surely we as gamers can relate to when we were younger. The journeys, characters and battles fought in these games felt very real to him. 

This is why I like the ending and find it touching. There are games I played as a youngster, such as Link to the Past and OOT, that are special to me and playing them now can take me back to a simpler times. Both of these games were a big part of my life at the time and so I can see exactly what they were going for with this twist.

I suppose it's all down to interpretation. 

 

 

Spoiler

I knew exactly what they were aiming at, I still think it's a dumb twist with no foreshadowing whatsoever. It just hijacks the last 10 minutes to shoehorn in a message that the movie didn't really need. If there were clues beforehand that it's still a game, I might be more open to the idea. Maybe a "Blink and you'll miss it" visual glitch in the background to signify to eagle-eye viewers when the hacker breaks into the game's code. Maybe have some details of the plot be wrong compared to the original game during the final act to further hint that something isn't quite right. It could've been done well, but it wasn't.

A certain visual novel I played recently (Can't mention the name, because it would spoil it) actually played with this idea and did it amazingly well. So it definitely can work.

And I have to wonder how the player didn't realise he was playing a game though, is that world so technologically advanced that it can have that much effect on someones awareness of what is real? Does that mean he feels the pain he'd feel from getting hit while playing Dragon Quest?

Because if so, that jumps to utterly terrifying in my view. I'd never want a game to feel THAT real.

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by Glen-i

[S.C.G]

Now that @Hero-of-Time has added some more context to the ending... I don't know what to think.

It doesn't sound like a bad film overall... I'd only bother watching it if it got a general release though, on a disc... and even then I wouldn't buy it as soon as it comes out.

Though it really doesn't sound like something they would want to release on disc, except in Japan of course, where you can get everything on a disc I assume, especially when it's something related to Dragon Quest.

[Glen-i]

Just now, S.C.G said:

Now that @Hero-of-Time has added some more context to the ending... I don't know what to think.

It doesn't sound like a bad film overall... I'd only bother watching it if it got a general release though, on a disc... and even then I wouldn't buy it as soon as it comes out.

Though it really doesn't sound like something they would want to release on disc, except in Japan of course, where you can get everything on a disc I assume, especially when it's something related to Dragon Quest.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is great until the last 10 minutes. Just those 10 minutes make the whole thing feel misguided.

[MindFreak]

My wife got to pick the movie for yesterday and picked Marriage Story (I voted for Shazaam but lost). She ended up falling asleep after the first hour but I finished it. It was quite spectacular and in particular the fight scene was excellent. I have never seen anything that seemed so real in movies before. It was really good.

Generally, the movie itself was fascinating and well-acted and -written. I only have one gripe with it:

Spoiler

It seemed like they wanted us to feel sorry for Charlie the most and I think they should have included more angles from Nicole. It seemed like she was doing more to hurt him than the other way around - and how much of it was actually Nora's doing? Of course, it's something you'd have to analyse but I feel like I'd never be able to reach a good conclusion. I think Nora advised her to do and say stuff that she didn't want her to say/do.

But an excellent movie all in all.

[Ike]

Watched the Dragon Quest V move last night. I have to admit I was sceptical about it at first but I ended up enjoying it a lot. The music and the well places sound effects from the games helped. Still not sold on the graphical style expect the monsters looked really good and Bianca is really cute, including some of her interactions with Luca. Although she's not really a country bumpkin in this version. I dunno why their hands were so big. The Metal Slime scene was great though.

I didn't mind the ending and I see it the same as @Hero of Time. Although I felt it was a little bit too meta, and taking a dig at the Internet. Although it wasn't wrong. The ending was hinted at in the dialog, at least in the subbed version, so I could tell they were dropping hints but it still came out of left field. I'm more mad they cut out the daughter to be honest.

I was a but surprised they had the Japanese version and it was the default option, so might watch it again with the English dub (unless it wasn't very good?).
 

Hoping it gets a physical release, I know they've released the Castlevania series on DVD/Blu-ray.

 

[Sméagol]

Wow. Just watched the 1st episode of Altered Carbon, and it starts with a song. I never heard of Korean singer Jihae before, but that cover she did of "I've got you under my skin" was spine chilling. Blasphemy they don't play out the full song (well without having dialogue in the way). Unfortunately I can't find it anywhere, so it may be something specially produced for the show (the other song is on Spotify).

[Ike]

Pokemon Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution was released on the 27th as part of Pokemon day. Like the Dragon Quest movie, it went for the CGI style. Although slightly less creepy than DQV (apart from Brock). Like DQ:YS, the Pokemon looked great. It's been a long time since I saw the movie back on it's original release so I think there was maybe some new stuff at the start, but the rest of the movie seemed pretty familiar. 

Interestingly since it was released via Netflix, they also had the Japanese audio which I think is a first. The subs weren't great though with some odd choices ([grunts in determination]). It still had the English opening song, which I'm curious if that was also in the Japanese release. Although the English song is better so no complaints there.

Enjoyed watching it more than I expected.

[Dog-amoto]

Saul is back, only just got round to watching the first two. The scenes with Gene in are absolutely mesmerising. 

[Goafer]

Anyone watched Tiger King yet? It's batshit insane. Just when I think they've introduced a decent person, it's revealed that they're the leader of a sex cult or something. Utterly mental stuff. 

Oh, this guy's straight? Not any more he's not. Bam, he's now Joe's second husband. Here's their awkward 3 way wedding.

[bob]

Anyone watched Tiger King yet? It's batshit insane. Just when I think they've introduced a decent person, it's revealed that they're the leader of a sex cult or something. Utterly mental stuff. 
Oh, this guy's straight? Not any more he's not. Bam, he's now Joe's second husband. Here's their awkward 3 way wedding.

Its so good. And it just keeps getting better (and weirder)!

[Ashley]

I half-watched it. Was often doing other things at the same time so I missed some of the final details but it was certainly wackadoodle.

Finished season 3 of Elite last night and it was the escapism I needed. Murder, betrayal, pool threesomes, secret trysts discovered because of glow-in-the-dark paint, stupid decisions, lavish parties put together at the last minute every day, a graduation ceremony with a light show and DJ. But amongst all the ridiculousness they did manage to put in some actual character development.

[Goafer]

44 minutes ago, bob said:

2 hours ago, Goafer said:

Anyone watched Tiger King yet? It's batshit insane. Just when I think they've introduced a decent person, it's revealed that they're the leader of a sex cult or something. Utterly mental stuff. 
Oh, this guy's straight? Not any more he's not. Bam, he's now Joe's second husband. Here's their awkward 3 way wedding.

Its so good. And it just keeps getting better (and weirder)!

I think it speaks volumes when something like this is said and I barely even acknowledge it anymore:

[Goafer]

Anyone watched The Platform yet? It's a fairly simple film, but pretty interesting, especially with the recent/current panic buying that's going on.

It centres around a sort of prison, where there are lots of rooms on top of each other, with a platform that works its way down with food on every day. The people at the top get first pick, then the next floor and so on. There's enough food for every level, but naturally the ones at the top eat lots and the lower levels go without. Every month, the prisoners are reassigned floors and the process begins again. It gets pretty interesting, exploring the motivations of people, which basically boils down to "I was on the lower floor before, now it's my turn to eat lots" or "If I don't eat lots now, I might end up on a lower floor next time and starve" (sound familiar?).

The trailer is dubbed, but the original Spanish soundtrack is available with subtitles for those that want it.

 

[Sméagol]

No, but I've heard of it, and it sounded intriguing. I'll give it a watch in the weekend maybe.

[bob]

Finished Tiger King last night.... what a wild ride. I think this image sums it up for me:

 

 

I think that perhaps Joe was set up, but that he also did a lot of the other crimes like animal abuse and fraud. Still, perhaps 22 years was a bit much.

 

I'm in two minds as to whether CB murdered her husband. I think it's plausible, but similarly, he was defo a druglord who probably flew to Costa Rica and lived out the rest of his days there.

 

 

[Goafer]

13 minutes ago, bob said:

I'm in two minds as to whether CB murdered her husband. I think it's plausible, but similarly, he was defo a druglord who probably flew to Costa Rica and lived out the rest of his days there.

I don't know either, but she definitely took advantage of whatever happened and essentially stole all his money from whoever was supposed to inherit it. 

Also, that image is the perfect summary of the show. My personal favourite images to come from the whole thing:

 

 

[MindFreak]

Watched the first three episodes of Tiger King with my wife the other day. It had its moments but overall I grew bored with it. Yeah, those people are nuts but other than that it doesn't seem to have any substance. 

Instead, I went on to watch I'm not okay with this. Two episodes in, it seems really good and I like that it's rather short.