Episode #0172 (12 April 2009)

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:00 pm

BEST MOVIE EVER1

QuantumDestiny · Post by **QuantumDestiny** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:15 am

Castor Troy wrote:BEST MOVIE EVER1

Agreed!

I went to see the movie twice. It was so entertaining. I have never laughed more. Sequel please.

I dreaded hearing this podcast, but it wasn't so horrible...

The opening of the movie shocked the hell out of me and my mouth was hanging open all the way until Goku got smashed into those watermelons, and then I was grinning with my sister.

Oh my GOD I thoroughly enjoyed the Goku/ChiChi dynamic. It was way different than the anime/manga, but that made me so happy because I love that couple and the anime was never kind to them. Just to see those scenes was HILARIOUS. Both times I went to see it the strawberry scene sent the whole theater into guffaws. And during the torch scene, one older gentleman who sat beside us was nearly dying with mirth.

I agree that the plot and the fight scenes needed work, but I really didn't notice because I was too impressed by the interactions and hilarious dialogue! It was so great to see these incarnations of my favourite story doing things which were different but still sorta familiar!!

But most of all, I loved the movie because it really brought DragonBall out into the world outside of just people who watch anime or read manga. I felt such a rush being able to say "2 tickets for DragonBall". There is nothing that makes me happier than knowing that the story is still inspiring enough to make the West want to tell it again to everyone.

Oh, and I really don't think there needs to be a revamp or anything. Fox shouldn't listen too much to the fans and should keep going with their own creative spin, because fans will NEVER be completely satisfied by an adaptation. I am a fan of this new strain of DragonBall!

plusloud · Post by **plusloud** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:55 am

This is sort of a rehash, but the one thing stopping Fox from making a sequel along the lines of "Dragonball: Annihilation" is that the first film was annihilation enough.

Saiyavenger2941 · Post by **Saiyavenger2941** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:11 am

Kiriyama BRX wrote:"Dragonball: Annihilation"

"GOKU! YOU MUST FEEL YOUR ANIMALITY!"

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:02 am

I noticed the only music-related topic anyone's interested in is "Rule". It was rather nerve-grating to wait a whole ten minutes after the movie to finally hear it...

... The Soundtrack?
It was good.
But it was horribly, horribly used.
Every single action scene had the same level of intensity. So the final battle was incredibly underwhelming.
Not only that; the way surround-sound was used early on was rather engaging and added to the sense that there was effort put into the movie.
But it seems like the editers got lazier and lazier as the movie went on, so by the time we get to Goku Vs. Piccolo, it felt like it was something on a screen in the distance...

And while the 'target audience' thing is the only remotely believeable explanation for all the holes in it, that immediately reminds me of the idea of insulting the intelligence of younger people because hey, ADD sells. >.<.

Neah, was a decent movie, I s'ppose. And it's cool how it referenced Dragonball by naming its characters after some from DB.

(And hey, we had a ChiChi line ripped straight from Deadzone: "Who the hell are you?" )

[edit] Ah, advertising. I saw several commercials ... Ur, I mean, the same commercial played several times. Not once did I hear it and recognize what it was before hearing either Goku's name or Gohan/Roshi's voice. Quite literally into hours before seeing the movie. Also, we had a hard time finding a showing, because it had like three, while Hanna Montana had like ten over the same span of time...). [/edit]

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:17 am

Gah, I had more to say than I realized.
Since my previous post was all my ranting, I'll use this one to go over other people's responses.

So it was me, my dad, and two cousins--one ten and a DBZ/Naruto/Onepiece/Starwars/PowerRangers/ you get the idea -fan, the other almost 8 and extremely layed back in terms of multimedia.
Now, I wouldn't say the ten-year-old is particularly nerdy or anything (never mind randomly challenging me to "name as many characters from this series as you can"-type things quite often...), but "nerd-rage" came to mind a lot with his reactions. "Where's Puar?" "They made the dragonballs too small" "Shenlong doesn't look right at all..." "They just happened to be there?" "'luckily they had one'?" "DBE? It's Dragon Radar; how hard is it to get _that_ right?"
... I think he was too distracted by those sorts of things to notice the gaping plotholes. XD. Though he agrees that Bulma throwing capsule-bike as an attack was awesome.

Other cousin said "That was a good movie", and expressed interest in seeing the sequel. I think he commented on something more specific, but I don't remember what it was...

And my dad echoed the majority here: "It's good if you don't know anything about Dragonball..."

As we left the theater, we stopped at a Sonic to get icecream. The battery of the van died, so we had to call for help. While waiting, an enormous muskrat suddenly appeared at a nearby ditch, and pictures were taken, and Dad comments that "He doesn't have a care in the world.". And this makes me think, "We finally got to see Goku..."

Saiyavenger2941 · Post by **Saiyavenger2941** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:22 am

caejones wrote:. While waiting, an enormous muskrat suddenly appeared at a nearby ditch, and pictures were taken, and Dad comments that "He doesn't have a care in the world.". And this makes me think, "We finally got to see Goku..."

While I'm sure a furry or three will now draw Goku as a muskrat, I must say, that was a rather cool ending for the day, as crappy as it must've been for ya.

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:30 am

Saiyavenger2941 wrote:
caejones wrote:. While waiting, an enormous muskrat suddenly appeared at a nearby ditch, and pictures were taken, and Dad comments that "He doesn't have a care in the world.". And this makes me think, "We finally got to see Goku..."
While I'm sure a furry or three will now draw Goku as a muskrat, I must say, that was a rather cool ending for the day, as crappy as it must've been for ya.

Hee, well, despite all I complain about, it was nice overall. XD.

Captain Awesome · Post by **Captain Awesome** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:51 am

I really enjoyed the podcast, but I found the review underwhelming.

It was kind of a "general thoughts and comments" affair, like the original Rule/Sparkle review, I probably sound like a spoiled brat, but I was hoping for something a little more in-depth, especially when video-game reviews are often spread out into two parts, it feels a little strange to see something as big as the live action adaption of the series get such a superficial (though entertaining) treatment.

..Perhaps for the dvd release?

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:51 am

Captain Awesome wrote:but I was hoping for something a little more in-depth, especially when video-game reviews are often spread out into two parts, it feels a little strange to see something as big as the live action adaption of the series get such a superficial (though entertaining) treatment

Technically, this was the second review of the movie...

Captain Awesome · Post by **Captain Awesome** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:04 am

VegettoEX wrote: Technically, this was the second review of the movie...

I didn't count Julian's review because I didn't remember it until after I posted

.

Anyway, I guess I was hoping for a more detailed analysis, in the same vein as the "Manga review of awesomeness", I didn't want to see a super serious "tear it a new asshole" review, I just expected a closer look at the movie itself.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:19 am

There are a LOT of things I want to say with regards to the comments and my own thoughts on how this episode ended up, but I would definitely argue there are plenty of extremely in-depth and analytical takes on the movie contained within this review. It's book-ended with a "fun" recording atmosphere, but it's there.

Also, don't expect this to be the last look at the movie. There are other forms of reviews that can and will take place.

Ramoro-san · Post by **Ramoro-san** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:48 pm

I liked how the group discussion format changed things up a bit; it was fun to hear the different persectives from new people & non-DB fans. Interesting stuff.

But to be honest, I was a little dissappointed in that you guys weren't nearly as brutal as I was expecting you to be. I was totally looking forward to you guys bashing every technical aspect of this piece of craphouse cinema. Let me say, I had as much fun watching this movie as anybody, I really did have a great time with DBE-- but let's get real. It is not good film-making in any way, shape, or form except in the sense that it's merely fun to sit back and watch.

For the most part though, in regards to this podcast, I liked all the things you covered-- the things you made fun of and the DB-"homages" you pointed out.

One thing though: In the post-credits "twist" ending, my friend and I understood it differently:
If I recall correctly, that lady is the same woman that Mai killed early on in the film after they attacked her village and took her dragonball; therefore, I believe that's actually supposed to be Mai disguised in the form of that lady as she nurses Piccolo back to health. In other words, it's not just some random nice lady who picked piccolo up, it is actually suggesting that Mai (in disguise) and Piccolo are both still alive.
...Which, of course, renders the adventures/struggles of Goku and Co. entirely meaningless, but let's not try to make sense of something that didn't even try to make sense of itself...

Chrono Trigger · Post by **Chrono Trigger** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:59 pm

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone wanted them to just sit there and point out the obvious for an hour...

VenomSymbiote · Post by **VenomSymbiote** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:05 pm

I'm very glad to see that everyone thought the moive was enjoyable, or at least watchable.

I was so happy to have to so many people on the podcast. For some reason, I thought Maggie and Castor Troy would be on. Eh, whatever. At least Mr. Deluxe was there, along with Bryce, no less! (Which reminds me. With Jeff, Andrew, Mike, and Bryce there, not a single plug for VGConvos was made?)

Also, I complelty agree with Scott. I love DBZ for the women. If anything, the movie had good eye candy.

tlsmith1963 · Post by **tlsmith1963** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:31 pm

I wonder what the James Marsters fan in the podcast thought of James' appearance in Torchwood, if she saw it. He was especially hot in that, & the kiss...whoa!

Ramoro-san · Post by **Ramoro-san** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:56 am

VenomSymbiote wrote: ... Also, I complelty agree with Scott. I love DBZ for the women. If anything, the movie had good eye candy.

DBE sure had women. I get that.

But as for DBZ ... Um, what women? You mean like Android #18? Ha.

But I'm not even on that team so it's no biggie to me.

tinlunlau · Post by **tinlunlau** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:47 am

Y'know, being Chinese myself and having grown up through watching Hong Kong films, you can be rest assured that I know my Hong Kong films well. And having heard the misconception of Chow Yun-Fat on this podcast, I'll have to give y'all the confirmation once again that Chow Yun-Fat is NOT a martial artist. Not all Chinese train in martial arts. I sure as hell ain't!

Chow Yun-Fat has even told the Hong Kong press that he has never read or seen the source material. (Although I've heard that he is a very nice, down-ti-earth guy. My friends in Hong Kong hung out with him in Lautau Island, his hometown. They spent a day doing some farming in the area.) But the "producer" Stephen Chow has definitely read Dragon Ball. He has the entire manga collection shelved up on the wall of his Hong Kong office and has even paradied the Kamehameha pose in a classic Hong Kong film called "The Flirting Scholar". And as far as I know, he has been trying to come up with suggestions for the movie to make it closer to the manga but FOX just declines 'em all. For all its faults, it should be blamed on FOX.

Kirbopher · Post by **Kirbopher** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:49 am

That was a lotta fun, I'm glad to hear Bryce and especially Scott included again. Definitely helped the time pass while animating and this was one that I was lookin' forward to again. Can't wait to see the commentaries down the line :]

SHINOBI-03 · Post by **SHINOBI-03** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:30 pm

I just came back from watching it.

My impression is: "As a movie by it self, is OK. But as a Dragon Ball movie, Not good."

It felt like the writers took random things from the series and put in a blender, or so to speak...

Not enough exposition. We knew that Piccolo was trapped somewhere, but who freed him and why?

Also, the pacing felt so rushed like when somthing happens, you jump to the next thing in a minute.

The characters... It is sad, but I felt that Yamcha and Piccolo were the closest to the original story. The others? C'mon... Goku is a playboy? Bulma is a ruthless gunwoman? Roshi was kinda close, but his serious side was bigger than the perverted fool. Chichi felt Ok? She was in love with Goku and knew more than him... but with fighting? And Mai...... is a joke......!!

The Incredible Hu- I mean Oozaru... no comment... too bad he didn't turn into a Super Saiyen 4 after he turned back to Goku.

The *cough* Fu Lums sucked balls

Shen Long was... *Meh*

The Sound Track... was there any? I hardly remember any thing of it...

Mr. Popo... do you have any last comments for anyone who wants to see the movie?

Mr. Popo wrote:You're all going to die!!

Kanzenshuu

Episode #0172 (12 April 2009)

The podcast and the post-credits ending...

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