Squid Game

Was this your first time watching Asian cinema?

Overacting is the gold standard for all their content.

People don't watch, or like, these shows/movies because they are cinematic masterpieces. They like them because the Asians are savage, the shows/movies are brutal, and they tackle things in a way Hollywood is afraid to.

This specific show has been done quite a lot in Korean/Japanese multimedia. It's nothing new. It's just new to a lot of the western audience because the ripoffs of previous installments we get (i.e. Hunger Games) are toned down and benign in comparison.

Nope, this was a first. Probably a last, too.

Gravel said:

Nope, this was a first. Probably a last, too.

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That's probably the right choice. You have to kind of want to watch a brutal spectacle to enjoy it.

It's definitely not "good" in the traditional sense of the word. It's good the same way B horror flicks are "good" for the people that enjoy those.

What makes it easier to digest is that it's foreign so you aren't quite hit over the head with just how bad the dialogue and acting is because you're too busy reading and can't quite get the actor tone/delivery as a result.

The VIP stuff is kind of the perfect example of that. It's... really.... REALLY bad. Like they found the most low rent english speaking "actors" they could because they know their Asian audiences will only be reading and not really getting just how bad the dialogue, delivery and tone is. But as English speakers we get the full effect.

spronk said:

heard Hellbound, another korean drama show, is pretty good

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I’m about 3 episodes into hellbound and wouldn’t recommend it. There might be a reveal that makes it interesting, but at this point I’d rather just read a plot summary. I suspect it will save me some time.

Lanx said:

if youre up to eps 3 and you cant take it no more, don't bother then, it only gets even more "draggier" and drawn out

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I watched a summary, I’m glad I skipped finishing it.

I had the same reaction to Hellbound except I didn't even finish the first episode.

Turned it off after the episode with the marbles.

Couldn't stand the shallow allegory of anti-capitalism.

People keep saying that is it the best show of the year but they won't remember it in five years.

I watched it because of the hype. It was quite boring to be honest, couldn't give a fuck about any of the characters, the "kid game" absurdity became mundane after the first episode and the VIP thing was both horrendous acting wise and stupid for its lame symbolism. Everything felt very generic, the characters, the story, the "capitalism is... le bad" angle, I'm wondering if all of this could have been a less boring 1h30 movie, instead of almost 9 hours cliche characters, boring story and shallow "message".

I'm glad I watched it before all of the hype. It's definitely not the best show of the year, but it was entertaining for a weekend.

The girl from the final 3 really grew on me as the show progressed. She was cute. Here's a picture of her with red hair.

And finally I just finished the show. This was a good watch, and I wonder where season 2 will take things.