Great Film overall

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This title was not heavily promoted in the English-speaking world, which I find a curious omission, as I am sure that it would have attracted attention. I knew nothing about the film until seeing it being sold very cheaply by the local public library (They had no use for a DVD in German).The addictive nature of the game referred to in the title is underscored by showing players using VR sets in a squalid den resembling a heroin "shooting gallery" and going through the motions of life with the sole purpose of returning to the game.Eventually the heroine manages to find a level of the game which is better than real life. She is, however, cognizant of the fact that in reality she is very likely to be a brain-dead hospital case, depending on the care and charity of others to keep her alive.Should she just play on on the new level, considering that to be her "reality", as another character advises, should she try to reach the ultimate level, or should she deliberately lose? This is the moral problem which she has to solve.A minor problem with the film is the rather purposeless prolongation of the scenes of grinding debasement at the expense of the time spent in the "new" level. This can cause the plot to become somewhat boring in the middle of the film.If you can find this film dubbed into or subtitled in a language you understand, my advice is to watch it. If you're interested in cyberpunk, this is the real thing!

It looks like a live-action movie about anime, about Artificial Reality, about Gaming and Society. Yes, this is Correct.It Looks like a Movie about a Fictional Game played in a Fictional Dystopian Future. Yes. . .But mostly Not quite what you think.It will NOT give the average viewer the usual Hollywood thriller blood 'n' guts Bang-Bang FPS shoot-em up. Instead, the creators of this movie, which could NEVER have come out of Hollywood, are using the Artificial Reality/Game to pose a dramatic question. Some reviewers have called the plot/pace slow...No-- it's called 'Drama', folks. It's not a recorded screenshot of ADHD paced shoot-em-up gameplay foisted on us and called a Movie. It's a Movie that dares to call itself a Drama and pose a QUESTION about Gameplay. It's seems 'slow'-- because you are supposed to wonder what IS ACTUALLY happening.Yes, it is about What is Artificial vs what is Real. But it does it with music, lighting, a play on color and a poetic sense.If you are willing -and able- to sit back and take in this movie as a Dramatic Event instead of the expected Blam-Bang-Boom action flick, you will be surprisingly moved.The Opening Theme at the beginning is stunning. The Musical Performance at the end is simply Beautiful.Girl-Friend Test! If she sits thru the first hour and then can't stop watching...she's a keeper.

When is an Asian film not an Asian film? When I finished watching Mamoru Oshii's ("Ghost In The Shell", "Patlabor 2", etc) movie, "Avalon", I was surprised to find it filmed in Poland with a Polish cast. Not only that, but the English writer Neil Gaiman wrote part of the screenplay. "Avalon" certainly has a mixed pedigree but is certainly one of the best films I've seen in recent years.Imagine "The Matrix" and "eXistenZ" mixed with a good measure of Japanese and European film styles and you have the feast that is "Avalon". The opening sequence to this movie is simply jaw dropping...this movie uses CGI in a way that is both original and highly effective. I am still gobsmacked by the action on the screen...simply brilliant.The plot revolves around virtual reality gamers in a distant and very grey future where success in computer battles leads to financial rewards and a hope of some creature comforts. Gaming is not without risks - many players suffer brain death by becoming trapped in the imaginative worlds created for their pleasure. The main character, Ash, is a beautiful woman who has become an extremely successful player and who now wants to access a higher level than the other competitors. This level is almost mythical amongst gamers and many fear to attempt entry as the stakes are high....I won't say anymore about the storyline as this film should be discovered and I don't want to spoil any surprises. What the film offers is visuals that are amazing...I've criticised the use of CGI before but the effects in "Avalon" are, in my humble opinion, far more successful than those in "Attack of the Clones" and other Hollywood fodder.The film also has the most incredible soundtrack...I can't recommend it enough. Beautiful.If you like your science fiction dark and gritty, this may be the movie for you.9/10 on the DVD Connoisseur Score-O-Meter....

I've passed this one over too many times. It always hooks me, but I'm too impatient. Now I have to get it for keeps.This is a unique gem. I'm concerned, as others have already suggested, that the people who were involved in this movie will not be recognized for what they have done. This is such special magic.What made me come back and take another look at this was a chance viewing of another often-misunderstood gem, "Vampyr" (1932). I see many similarities: the slow pacing, the sullen and underplayed characters, the unusual lighting and camera-work, the haunting, creepy feeling one is left with for *weeks* after. It seems to me that either (or better yet, both) of these movies are a one-stop film-making class. So many unusual techniques, so many encouragements to experiment without restraint.Well worth the time and intellectual excersize.