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Anyone else watching Squid Game on Netflix?

Kev Kev

Member
Finished it. I liked it a lot, but damn the acting is highly variable in quality lol. Why are the fake rich Americans so fucking bad? Are they Koreans playing Americans? Also that shrill girl was really bad lol.
i noticed that too.

it was so weird how they were talking, like they were deliberately trying to sound bad lol. and it wasnt just actual script, it was the tone and inflection of their voice. nothing about it felt organic or real. and they looked american to me so i dunno? does anyone have the answer to this? is that normal for korean films with "americans" or english speaking people in them?

the only thing i could think is that they were slowing the speech down for korean viewers who also spoke english, or just to make it sound less foreign? fuck i dunno, it was so bizarre
 

Algan

Member
I started watching this series with low expectation, but I was positively surprised at the end.
The combination of cute scenarios with the scenes of deaths during the games creates a very interesting atmosphere.
I hope you have a second season with even more creative and deadly games.

squidgame-975189.jpg
 
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Fbh

Member
What are the good European shows on netflix?

I liked Dark, Equinox, Suburra, Money Hesit (though only S1-2, goes downhill afterwards), Katla, Bordertown (I'm not sure if it's a Netlix original though), Giri/Haji (though that one has the obligatory woke elements).

Now, sure, not all of those are amazing. But I tend to like them more than their American originals
 

Enjay

Banned
They took the movie 13 and decided to make every character annoying and stretch the plot to an original netflix series about rich=bad poor=good. This will be the most overhyped thing for a while.
 

sol_bad

Member
I enjoyed this series but absolutely hated the last episode. I wanted to punch Seong Gi-hun in the face.

Crying over his friend in the final game not wanting to kill him even though he was a massive prick, wanting to cancel the game because he is a selfish cunt.Then walking around the city like a fucking homeless loser. I understand that his mum passed away but that would have happened even if he didn't play the games. I should have owned up to how shitty he had been to his mum and become a better person straight away. He was given so much money and he could have made so many other peoples lives better. Jesus, I understand that he didn't want to use the money but he could have helped the homeless, given money to charity, go to bloody hospitals and give money to those who needed surgery or cancer treatments. So much he could have done but he just kept being selfish.
 

pel1300

Member
I finish it the other day. Pretty good.
As always, do those Asian shows get all the foreign character from near pub? Awful acting lol.

the Pakistan guy was cool 😭
They get foreign English teachers and tourists a lot of the time.

I met a few of them in Tokyo at a party. They told me they would get drunk right before filming and that they did a terrible job on purpose for laughs.

Mind you they were referring to low budget kdramas from the 2000s (former ESL teachers in Korea who swtiched to working in Japan later).
 

flipme

Neo Member
just finished it. not bad! i was pleasantly surprised by this and definitely recommend trying it out. its nothing amazing, but worth the ride. they dove more into the characters than i thought they would, so that was cool. and it looks like they definitely want a season 2 to happen. id be down for a second or third, nothing too crazy long tho. there still a lot of story to tell i think.
Ditto - This is exactly the review I came to give
 

Azurro

Banned
I loved it, binge watched this in one day. However, I have to say I disliked the ending, they are trying to set up hype for the second season, but I don't understand what they'd do with it.
 

Kev Kev

Member
I loved it, binge watched this in one day. However, I have to say I disliked the ending, they are trying to set up hype for the second season, but I don't understand what they'd do with it.
They will almost certainly do another round of games somehow. How it gets to that point will be interesting to watch unfold. I’m imagining it’s going to get bonkers and all twisty/turny, as that seems to be the thing with TV shows these days, and I’m pretty stoked to see what happens. The interesting thing about this show is that it is on the same level as western television quality, imo, but there is still that Asian kind of flare to it and I think people find that interesting to watch in itself, me included.

That being said, this certainly could have been a neat 1 season and done type of show, and I wish more creators would have the balls to do stuff like that. It’s really fun to go back and rewatch stuff, but once it gets past 5 seasons, I’m pretty much set on never rewatching because it’s gone too long. I think breaking bad set the standard for me, 5 seasons and ended just before the quality was about to degrade.

I couldn’t see Squid Game going any longer than a few seasons, so I kind of hope they find a way to keep it slim and tight…… but I would also understand if whoever made this wanted to ride out the success a bit longer, lol couldn’t blame anyone for that.
 

Azurro

Banned
They will almost certainly do another round of games somehow. How it gets to that point will be interesting to watch unfold. I’m imagining it’s going to get bonkers and all twisty/turny, as that seems to be the thing with TV shows these days, and I’m pretty stoked to see what happens. The interesting thing about this show is that it is on the same level as western television quality, imo, but there is still that Asian kind of flare to it and I think people find that interesting to watch in itself, me included.

That being said, this certainly could have been a neat 1 season and done type of show, and I wish more creators would have the balls to do stuff like that. It’s really fun to go back and rewatch stuff, but once it gets past 5 seasons, I’m pretty much set on never rewatching because it’s gone too long. I think breaking bad set the standard for me, 5 seasons and ended just before the quality was about to degrade.

I couldn’t see Squid Game going any longer than a few seasons, so I kind of hope they find a way to keep it slim and tight…… but I would also understand if whoever made this wanted to ride out the success a bit longer, lol couldn’t blame anyone for that.

Well, the thing is, by the end of the show, it gets really frustrating. The main character, while not the giant loser he is at the beginning, he's still very annoying. He's all depressed that he went through that experience, but still, he DID sign up for it and still refuses to take responsibility for anything that happened there. To make it worse, for a year he does nothing with the money, while he lets the north korean girl's brother rot in the orphanage for one year, doesn't visit his daughter and then gets pissed off in the end and...what? What will he do against this organization? He doesn't know where they are, he's got a lot of money for an individual but not it's not THAT much money against a bunch of billionaires. Is he going to sign up for another game? And then what? He'll cry more and then be more depressed if he gets lucky enough to win.

Anyway, I bounced between liking the humanity of the main character at times and then hating how much of a loser he was. I was rooting a lot more for the police man that infiltrated the place, but well, he ded. :(

As a side note, maybe it's just a coincidence, but a few of the Korean movies I've seen seem to star some loser that goes through a traumatic experience. It's a trope they like it seems.
 
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Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
Really wore thin towards the end, the main guy is an unlikable twat who could easily have saved his mum and relationship with his daughter but keeps making terrible life choices
...That weirdly happens in real life too, i've seen it, infact the main character was more likable than the real people i've seen do it. A lot more. Hell, he didnt even have a coke habit.
 

Droxcy

Member
We went in completely blind show is awesome these korean and japanese shows are hitting out of the park recently can’t wait for Alice in Borderland season 2 as well! This show is adaptable for any country too can’t wait to see what they do next.
 

Hardensoul

Member
I liked Dark, Equinox, Suburra, Money Hesit (though only S1-2, goes downhill afterwards), Katla, Bordertown (I'm not sure if it's a Netlix original though), Giri/Haji (though that one has the obligatory woke elements).

Now, sure, not all of those are amazing. But I tend to like them more than their American originals
Add this French show to that list
 

vpance

Member
i noticed that too.

it was so weird how they were talking, like they were deliberately trying to sound bad lol. and it wasnt just actual script, it was the tone and inflection of their voice. nothing about it felt organic or real. and they looked american to me so i dunno? does anyone have the answer to this? is that normal for korean films with "americans" or english speaking people in them?

the only thing i could think is that they were slowing the speech down for korean viewers who also spoke english, or just to make it sound less foreign? fuck i dunno, it was so bizarre

I think it's normal, especially for those English roles. In general, the acting in Asian films or shows can be overdramticized, some extremely so. It can come across as fake but it's more fun, in a way? That annoying lady is there for comic relief, and is more of a cartoon character than anything else. Not unusual to see a role like that in Asian films.

Anime/manga adaptations suffer from this a lot in a bad way. What works in animation form when turned to live action becomes fucking cringe as hell. Part of the reason I didn't like Alice in Borderlands.
 

sol_bad

Member
It's not just the English voice acting that was bad, those characters looked like they were wearing cheap as fuck suits and didn't look rich at all. It annoyed me. lol
 

Tschumi

Member
I seriously can't even, i don't get the point of these gratuitously shockingly violent films and shows. It feels like one of those things i missed the chance to develop an interest in during my a-typical late teens. i just think it's visual clickbait. Dolla dolla bills y'all...

Also, I don't get the appeal of getting drunk every weekend.

Edit: drastically trimmed this message to reduce amount of quotes from pointlessly triggered violent tv fans in future
 
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22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
I seriously can't even, and don't get the point of these gratuitously shockingly violent films and shows. It feels like one of those this i missed the chance to develop an interest in during my a-typical late teens. I don't think it's funny, i don't think it's awesome, i don't think it's instructive, i don't think it's inspiring, i don't think it's educational, i don't think it's a slice of life, i don't think it's stylish, i just think it's visual clickbait. Dolla dolla bills y'all...

Edit: I should insert here the point that daily life in South Korea is pretty horrible for certain groups on certain levels, that it has huge problems with abuse, suicide and inequality, that in that sense this show is relevant, so i do give it props for that.

I also totally don't get the appeal of getting drunk every weekend and puking with a bunch of guys. I don't get the reasoning behind the thought process: "this Friday won't be complete, this work week won't be capped off, if i don't find some group of people somewhere to go get drunk with". Like i don't know why anyone would like that unless they associated healthy friendships with bar crawls. It all seems like a very globalisation kinda deal.

It's just a show mate. Different strokes and all


With that said I'm on ep 4 I think and like it so far, very much so. I really like that woman, the smoking one
 
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Kev Kev

Member
I seriously can't even, and don't get the point of these gratuitously shockingly violent films and shows. It feels like one of those things i missed the chance to develop an interest in during my a-typical late teens. I don't think it's funny, i don't think it's awesome, i don't think it's instructive, i don't think it's inspiring, i don't think it's educational, i don't think it's a slice of life, i don't think it's stylish, i just think it's visual clickbait. Dolla dolla bills y'all...

Edit: I should insert here the point that daily life in South Korea is pretty horrible for certain groups on certain levels, that it has huge problems with abuse, suicide and inequality, that in that sense this show is relevant, so i do give it props for that.

I also totally don't get the appeal of getting drunk every weekend and puking with a bunch of guys. I don't get the reasoning behind the thought process: "this Friday won't be complete, this work week won't be capped off, if i don't find some group of people somewhere to go get drunk with". Like i don't know why anyone would like that unless they associated healthy friendships with bar crawls. It all seems like a very globalisation kinda deal.
its really not gratuitously violent or all that shocking tbh. and it dives a lot more into the characters in some episodes. there were actually times where i was wishing for more "games" bc i was getting a little tired of the character development.

have you watched the whole thing yet?
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
its really not gratuitously violent or all that shocking tbh. and it dives a lot more into the characters in some episodes. there were actually times where i was wishing for more "games" bc i was getting a little tired of the character development.

have you watched the whole thing yet?

Told my dad who watched it all already that I was expecting more games although I don't mind the character development even if it isn't super good.

I feel the violence should be harder
 

bitbydeath

Member
I’ve finished it now, was alright. I don’t think it was as strong as Alice in Borderlands overall but decent.

Alice had more focus on the games and had more twists.

On ep 7
I don’t know why someone didn’t try jumping onto the glass panels that lay over the beams. It’s still technically glass and not against the rules they set. They could have even made it look real by keeping a foot hovering over the middle of the glass panel.
 
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Fbh

Member
Ep 2 was surprising, a bit on the slow side but pretty good.
Ep3 was fun too, though I agree with the others that the girl they introduce this chapter is pretty bad.

Going to watch episode 4 tonight.

So far it's really fun. The writing and acting is a bit over the top though, it's sometimes hard to tell when it's in a foreign language but just comparing it to other Korean stuff I've watched everyone seems a bit like caricature here. Feels a bit like Space Sweepers in that the acting and dialog would fit better if it was an animated show.
 

Mossybrew

Member
I seriously can't even, and don't get the point of these gratuitously shockingly violent films and shows. It feels like one of those things i missed the chance to develop an interest in during my a-typical late teens. I don't think it's funny, i don't think it's awesome, i don't think it's instructive, i don't think it's inspiring, i don't think it's educational, i don't think it's a slice of life, i don't think it's stylish, i just think it's visual clickbait. Dolla dolla bills y'all...

Edit: I should insert here the point that daily life in South Korea is pretty horrible for certain groups on certain levels, that it has huge problems with abuse, suicide and inequality, that in that sense this show is relevant, so i do give it props for that.

I also totally don't get the appeal of getting drunk every weekend and puking with a bunch of guys. I don't get the reasoning behind the thought process: "this Friday won't be complete, this work week won't be capped off, if i don't find some group of people somewhere to go get drunk with". Like i don't know why anyone would like that unless they associated healthy friendships with bar crawls. It all seems like a very globalisation kinda deal.

What the fuck are you even talking about? Sounds like you have some personal issues to work out mate.
 

Tschumi

Member
What the fuck are you even talking about? Sounds like you have some personal issues to work out mate.
*Blink*

What kind of personal issues that require working out cause someone to not like gratuitously violent tv shows?

Debilitating fear of.. pulp? Oh save me

Dangerous lack of... alignment with mossybrew's preferences? My bad lol but that's an "issue" I'm happy with lol

Willing to present dissenting takes? Sue me?

You on the other hand seem to be happy telling strangers they have issues if they list off what they don't like about a tv genre.. i think you're the one with a fissure in your personality mmmmmmmmmmmmMate
 

Mohonky

Member
Fuck episode six. Fuck me.
When they stated the rules for the game I was like 'oops.'

Anyway I watched this over 9hrs straight, I was hooked. I actually picked both character twists; the big one in the very first episode and the second
when the younger cop realised his brother had won back in the day
.

But I loved every minute of it. I always find it really cliche when people say they really loved the chasracters of the film; but this is genuinely the first time I've actually felt like the characters were perfect. And visually? It's a stunning series. Definitely the most interesting and creative series I've seen for a long time.

Maybe I'm just one for torture porn but I would have liked to have seen more games.

There's no way this doesn't get a sequel, but I'm also cautious about it. I dare say we will and I would expect them to go more into the backdrop of the organisation, the motivations and lives of the workers and the backdrop of the whole situation.

I also strongly doubt
the young police officer is dead, his brother purposefully shot him in the shoulder and took a gamble on him living because he can't hold him and he won't kill him
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
When they stated the rules for the game I was like 'oops.'

Anyway I watched this over 9hrs straight, I was hooked. I actually picked both character twists; the big one in the very first episode and the second
when the younger cop realised his brother had won back in the day
.

But I loved every minute of it. I always find it really cliche when people say they really loved the chasracters of the film; but this is genuinely the first time I've actually felt like the characters were perfect. And visually? It's a stunning series. Definitely the most interesting and creative series I've seen for a long time.

Maybe I'm just one for torture porn but I would have liked to have seen more games.

There's no way this doesn't get a sequel, but I'm also cautious about it. I dare say we will and I would expect them to go more into the backdrop of the organisation, the motivations and lives of the workers and the backdrop of the whole situation.

I also strongly doubt
the young police officer is dead, his brother purposefully shot him in the shoulder and took a gamble on him living because he can't hold him and he won't kill him

Did you watch Brand New Cherry Flavor?
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
Yeah start watching some niche Korean show, couple of weeks later it's set to be Netflix's most watched series ever.

Yeah how did this happen? Artificially through bots on social media? It's a OK show for sure. Much better than the usual but still..

I feel it's a bandwagon thing

I have to admit, and not proud about it but I almost didn't watch it because it's so popular. Stupid right
 
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Korea ripping off Japanese entertainment concepts again? Shocking.

After trying to watch Sweet Home, I can't get over the awful presentation of Korean shows. Battle Royale was a big "deadly game" story when it came out, but Stephen King's The Long Walk was an even earlier example from the 80s that's having it's own film adaptation coming out within the next few years(maybe). Cant wait to see kpop fans call it out for ripping off Squid Game.
 
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Mohonky

Member
still not got around to watching it. people are really raving about it. my netflix is back on now so will probably watch it next.
Definitely worth it, I'm not much for watching series and I watched the whole thing in one sitting.

I definitely got a 'Willy Wonka' vibe from the ending, like Il Nom was looking for a protege; particularly as he could easily have won the marble game but feigned his dementia as being confused; then purposefully loses. There is no reason for him to do that outside of the soft spot he has generated for Gi Hun. But it also played into Il Noms view of people that they are ultimately selfish and Gi Hun chose to kill the old man rather than play fairly. But I think meeting Il Nom after the games again is what breaks him out of his slump after the game and his mothers death where he basically can't move on from the guilt; he's always been the person that gives but he waskind of broken in the end. But the bet he makes with Il Nom brings him back round that there are people who will do the right thing and his view isn't as cynical as Il Noms ultimately was.

But I think his pursuit of trying to shut down the games may inadvertly twist him. He's abandoned his daughter again to chase down the game. Whether for the right or wrong reasons. I also think theres a chance they were related as Il Nom said he used to slap his kid for turning down milk the say Gi Hun tried to refuse the milk (something that occurred to me at the time was kind of a hint that at some point they might reveal they are related and why Il Nom seems be closer to Gi Hun than anyone else ) and Gi Hun also recalled that the street of the marble game was just like the street he grew up in, the location being designed after Il Noms own memory. Plus while we meet his Mum, I don't recall anything ever being said of the Dad? Just a theory.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
Definitely worth it, I'm not much for watching series and I watched the whole thing in one sitting.

I definitely got a 'Willy Wonka' vibe from the ending, like Il Nom was looking for a protege; particularly as he could easily have won the marble game but feigned his dementia as being confused; then purposefully loses. There is no reason for him to do that outside of the soft spot he has generated for Gi Hun. But it also played into Il Noms view of people that they are ultimately selfish and Gi Hun chose to kill the old man rather than play fairly. But I think meeting Il Nom after the games again is what breaks him out of his slump after the game and his mothers death where he basically can't move on from the guilt; he's always been the person that gives but he waskind of broken in the end. But the bet he makes with Il Nom brings him back round that there are people who will do the right thing and his view isn't as cynical as Il Noms ultimately was.

But I think his pursuit of trying to shut down the games may inadvertly twist him. He's abandoned his daughter again to chase down the game. Whether for the right or wrong reasons. I also think theres a chance they were related as Il Nom said he used to slap his kid for turning down milk the say Gi Hun tried to refuse the milk (something that occurred to me at the time was kind of a hint that at some point they might reveal they are related and why Il Nom seems be closer to Gi Hun than anyone else ) and Gi Hun also recalled that the street of the marble game was just like the street he grew up in, the location being designed after Il Noms own memory. Plus while we meet his Mum, I don't recall anything ever being said of the Dad? Just a theory.
You should check out Alice in Borderland next if you haven’t seen it. Similar premise but a lot more focus on the games.

images
 
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bitbydeath

Member
Crazy!
The success of “Squid Game” however is looking to dwarf not just them but the streamer’s biggest English-language hits too like “Bridgerton” and “The Witcher”.
 

Keihart

Member
Korea ripping off Japanese entertainment concepts again? Shocking.

After trying to watch Sweet Home, I can't get over the awful presentation of Korean shows. Battle Royale was a big "deadly game" story when it came out, but Stephen King's The Long Walk was an even earlier example from the 80s that's having it's own film adaptation coming out within the next few years(maybe). Cant wait to see kpop fans call it out for ripping off Squid Game.
Ripping off battle royale is like talking about ripping slasher films or doom clones, shit has been a sub genre for decades. How is this particular show ripping of anything in particular?
Also, if anything, sadly i may add, Korean film and TV shows are running laps around contemporary Japanese films and TV shows.
Most Korean TV shows have more care put into cinematography than most Japanese movies, it's a pretty sad state of afairs.
 
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