Unlikely Champions

Summer is technically over. Usually I would post a Summer Re-cap post which usually falls on October-ish (blame the weird movie schedules of Japan). I still have Star Trek Beyond and Jason Bourne to go. I intentionally skipped Ghostbusters though. But even right now I can already single out two champions for this summer. For the record, 'summer films' is a really broad term but I'd only like to include the studio films, so sorry Sing Street and other indie gems.

Runner up for the summer,
The Conjuring 2
I remember the first film as a very expertly-crafted piece of horror. However I did not remember it to bring something new and also engaging at the same time. It was good but never great. Nevertheless I'm really excited to see the second installment. And yes The Conjuring 2 delivers. It is far superior than the original while also showcasing James Wan's inimitable expertise on building tension and showing off horror money shots. Wan has so many moments in the film that might be bad in other director's hands. The cast is also great, headed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film has child actors better than those guys you see on the overrated Stranger Things. It's a great film and a great time at the movies. The Conjuring 2: rated 3.5/4


Champion of the summer,
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Yes it has a formulaic story but what happens with Popstar: NSNS is that the premise does not grow old. Great premise on comedy films usually makes the film barely standing to the end credits, like The Dictator, This is the End, and so many other films. Popstar is still standing tall and even wanting the audience to have more by the time the credits roll. Props to The Lonely Island crew for making a such engaging mockumentary, complete with 'interviews' with other singers and music industry faces. Andy Samberg is on his A-game here, usually he just comes off as annoying in some films but this is the role he's born to be. The cameos are all unexpected and great. And the songs are just so funny. Conner's 2nd single caught me off guard and I ended up laughing so hard at that sequence. There are so many other great comedic sequences in the film. The film also does not overstay its welcome as it is greatly edited and packed making it, bar none, the most entertaining summer film of the year and the funniest comedy I've seen for so long. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping: rated 4/4


Let's see if Star Trek Beyond could overtake the champion position after I finally watch it on October.
God that's so far away. But I boldly go. (stop. just stop).

Oh My Squad

I went to the Japanese premiere for Suicide Squad! Unplanned, but so happy. Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Karen Fukuhara were there and I was in the same room with them (see the next post for this one). But yes, Suicide Squad. I was so pumped for this film ever since the first Comic-Con preview was released a year ago. The cast looks great and I'm down for a David Ayer superhero pic. Even after the whole bad press on BvS, I'm still looking forward to this film. Then the reviews hit, so I was more cautious with my expectations. BvS was ruined for me because I had overwhelming expectations that the movie could be super great.

The story actually caught me off guard. I was expecting the film to be the Squad vs. the Joker, but then it turned out to be the Squad vs. The Enchantress and her character-wise highly underdeveloped brother Incubus. The Enchantress locked down another DC Comics' fictional city this time Midway City and for some reason Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince were too busy so it's up to the Squad to save the city.

Overall, the film was disappointing because the hype was too much for this film. The great cast was kind of undeserving for a film of this mediocrity (grammatically this sentence was baddd). Let's do the good parts first. Will Smith and Margot Robbie as Deadshot and Harley Quinn respectively were the only reason this film did not suck as it should be. The other characters were also very likable even though they are villains. The standout scene in the film belonged to Harley and Joker's scenes. The energy just lit up everytime they shared the scene. I believe that's it. The other parts were not downright bad but just so-so. Like the dossier sequence at the beginning was nice and fun but it felt like a character featurette you see on YouTube rather than on a finished film. There are so many things that could've worked better. We know Amanda Waller is a mean badass but a few lines and her shooting some random FBI guys don't define her as badass. I feel Viola Davis deserved better. The same goes for Jared Leto as the Joker. His scenes were too lacking, the film wouldn't be a lot different if he did not appear in the film at all.

Then comes the technical parts. The soundtrack felt like it was added randomly. Most particularly the classic songs. It came out of nowhere and didn't fit the visuals. The editing is another part to blame. Especially after hearing the rumors that this version we see in the theatres is a mix between a group of official editors and a trailer editing company. I mean in the main credits John Gilroy was credited but then if I'm not wrong there were another three people. Then comes the issue from the studio. I believe right now Warner Bros. is scratching their heads, like what should they do. I believe right now is to let the filmmakers do what they do. Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition turned out to be massively better without studio notes. And so would Suicide Squad, especially given that they have entrusted the property on a very talented director like David Ayer, even though he still needs some more hits because his films are mostly hits and misses right now (for every Fury we get Sabotage). Fans would still watch these movies but the general audience might give up if they keep on shelling out half-baked films like this. I really want this to have at least mixed reviews though. But this is downright embarrassing for all people involved in this film. Suicide Squad: rated 2/4.

Half Flag

Sorry for being away too long. It has been a crazy two months for me, with writing my thesis, some exams and other stuff. In the last two weeks I only watched one episode of Better Call Saul. That's it. Last month I only saw Money Monster, which was a pretty decent film. And before that I watched The Huntsman: Winter's War, which was mediocre but entertaining (I mean, it's a film with Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron and Jessica Chastain). But just today, I treated myself with Independence Day: Resurgence, allegedly an anticipated sequel to the arguably the best blockbuster of the 90s.

Basically 20 years have passed, the Earth now has adopted alien technology but still stupid like in the 90s, except Jeff Goldblum who's still witty and entertaining. So the aliens now are attacking Earth one more time, this time with only one ship but bigger, yet dumber. Just like the whole film.

Let me use this first sentences to say that the casting (on paper) is the best thing in the film. How do they convince the old cast to return in a film this stupid? And also get Maika Monroe and Charlotte fucking Gainsbourg to do this? But then again, I totally understand if they're just cashing in for this film, because I just don't see any kind of acting from the most of them. Then the CG is passably good. Jeff Goldblum is the best thing in this film. His "Stand behind the yellow line" line is also the best thing of the film. However everything else is just empty. Starting from the disaster porn that should be devastating, the sense of place here is just wrong. Resulting in a hollow destruction sequence. Or the stupid alien techs that just looks stupid. President Whitmore who gave an amazing speech in the first film is reduced to a bumbling crazy ex-president. and oh my god the stupid sphere. Oh and Will Smith pictures. There are so many bad things in this film that I just couldn't list (or bother myself to do so). I believe that the story is too compact that it didn't let the story beats to build itself and seep into the audience. It just plays and it feels empty. The stupid Chinese product placements didn't improve anything. The unfunny jokes are also unbearable. The music doesn't help either, I believe this film holds the title for the worst score ever created for a summer tentpole, and it has two composers. The gay rights people might be proud to have a scientist gay couple on screen but they shouldn't be because this movie is bad as fuckkkk. I have never wanted to leave the theatre this bad since Transformers 4. And fuck them if they're making a sequel to this shit. Random spheres and humans vs. the Aliens. Independence Day: Resurgence rated 1/4.

Train of Thoughts Vol 2

I'm back on this lazy feature on my blog. Basically if I were too lazy to write a long treatment of something I'd turn to this. Now you know.

On Zootopia,

Finally I watched this film! The trailers and concept were nothing new for me and it didn't sell to me unless I'm still 4. But with all the great buzz surrounding this film, I became intrigued. I believe it was an okay animated feature in general but its message is exceptional. The movie said so much about society that it challenges you to imagine the parallels with our real life. But then, the movie builds its own world nicely that it became impossible to compare it to our daily life, which is even better so we could refrain from calling some group a fox, or a predator (which is totally bad in real life haha). I liked the social problems and complications presented in this movie and it could create conversation for the kids but also rethinking for the adults. A great treat. And let me share the best line in this film. I couldn't stop laughing thanks to this line. "He's the opposite of friendly. He's unfriendly." HAHAHAHAHAHA Zootopia: rated 3.5/4

On Gods of Egypt,

I have a certain soft spot for a bad-looking, good-fun movie, like this AMAZING (sarcasm) film titled Gods of Egypt which to use stupid YouTube comment summary is Jaime Lannister v King Leonidas: Dawn of Pyramids, with special appearances by Elektra and Black Panther. Anyway, I believed it was going to be worse than Clash and Wrath of the Titans. This movie is pretty similar looking to those two. I enjoyed Clash though, if it were on TV I would sit through it. But what surprised me is that Gods of Egypt might have a better story than Clash. Not the same action excitement, but still a better story. It has character development, many supporting characters (that are essential), pretty cool Egypt-legend bending (still racist though). Yes, it is laughable for the first 30 minutes but if you got over the silly God-transformers or the awkward size of Egyptian Gods, you'd be fine. It's a pretty decent adventure film but the ending is disappointingly Hollywood. I thought with all those silliness they would have the guts to do something different. Gods of Egypt: rated 2.5/4

On Pride & Prejudice & Zombies,
This is one of my most anticipated films of 2016. I'm not ashamed. I was a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, that movie was the bomb. I was hoping this movie would be on the same level. I only have some words though. Lily James and the sisters fighting zombie in period costumes. YASSS. The Bennets were warrior daughters. YAASS. Mr Darcy is a Batman-wannabe. meh. I liked the fight scenes but as a whole not so much. PPZ: rated 2/4.

On Zoolander No. 2,

Are you disappointed to hear that I liked Zoolander 2? It's less about the silliness of male modeling, but with all the cameos in the film, I'm sold. (spoiler alert) I was disappointed that Milla Jovovich wasn't in the trailers but when she showed up I was internally screaming with joy (I saw this during a flight). The third act was filled with pure awesome silly crazy stuff. There's a bunch of fashion designer cameos and Anna Wintour being mocked by Will Ferrell's Mugatu, which is the best thing ever. Nothing makes sense in this movie which is totally fine. What do you expect from a male model who has the power of telekinesis with the look of his face? Probably the only movie where the power of cameos could make the movie better by a very large margin. Zoolander 2: rated 2.5/4

On Daddy's Home,
Two words. Linda Cardellini!
(movie is 2/4. It's fun and harmless but not very funny). But yes, Linda Cardellini!.

On Hamilton: An American Musical

I'm currently addicted to the songs from this smash hit musical. It's the first time that I listened to songs from a musical without watching it first. I have no regrets this time. My picks: Alexander Hamilton, My Shot, Schuyler Sisters, Satisfied, Guns and Ships, Non-Stop, Wait For It, Say No to This. Planning something related to Hamilton, I hope it will come true.

Masterclass

I've been given the great opportunity to visit back my country for two weeks. I didn't hesitate to make use of my limited time there to watch movies that haven't been screened in Japan. (I know, you thought I was gonna join some volunteer activity to help starving children). So, I watched Jon Favreau's amazing The Jungle Book, Jeff Nichol's sci-fi Midnight Special, and the new X-Men installment, which I already reviewed below. I also watched two Indonesian movies to redeem me not doing anything on my thesis which, surprise surprise, is about Indonesian movies. I was going to watch Jeremy Saulnier's buzzy thriller Green Room but I didn't find the time (or someone to go with). That movie was released at the same time with Apocalypse so it didn't get a fair screen time, and also it had to compete with three local movies, one of them was pretty high profile.

The Jungle Book

I only remember images from the animated version. I had a laser disc version back home and of course it hasn't been used since 2001. But of course we remember the hit songs like 'Bare Necessities' and the timeless characters like Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan (actually I'm only familiar with those three and Mowgli of course). So, Jon Favreau is given the chance to direct a live action adaptation which serves basically as something Disney must do so that they're not presumed to bloodsuck other properties for a living (jk). The voice cast is exceptional, listed by me according to awesomeness, Lupita N'yongo (we can agree an Oscar winner deserved to be seen, not only heard), Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito (LOS POLLOS), Christopher Walken (IN A VERY AMAZING ROLE), Bill Murray (YESSS) and Idris Elba (YAAAASSSS). Let me get myself together for a moment.

I don't actually remember the story in the animated version. I only remember it as like a child-Tarzan singing with animals, so I'm the worst person to compare. But I'm gonna call it that this film has a satisfying story that is marvelous, heartbreaking, and full of great messages. But the real star here is the invisible CGI. Move over Avatar. I'm actually scared to rewatch Avatar only to make myself disappointed because the CG doesn't hold up. If this doesn't win an Oscar next year I'm going to be very pissed. This movie could basically pass as an animated movie for all I know. My favorite sequences would be the first time Shere Khan arrives and the songs. Neel Sethi as the sole human performer could also carry the movie as Mowgli with so many character traits. I would recommend this movie to anyone who respects a film and filmmaking process. Andy Serkis must be panicking right now. The Jungle Book: rated 4/4


Midnight Special

I might be the only one but I liked Take Shelter more than Mud, and both are great films. Writer director Jeff Nichols followed up those two exemplary movies with Midnight Special, a star-studded backed-by-studio indie sci-fi film. Starring his man Michael Shannon with Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver and Kirsten Dunst. It's so refreshing to see a sci-fi made in a very intimate way and not in the way that it's going to destroy the whole world. The film was probably less about sci-fi and spectacle rather than its touching father-son relationship drama. The film was shrouded in mystery which makes it even better to watch as you see it all unfurl before you. I also like how the film puts us right into the moment without having any downtime at all. It's all fluid and despite being backed by Warner Brothers, it never felt like a studio film. It felt like a small sci-fi and that is the beauty of the film. The film's score was also amazing I was surprised it wasn't scored by a big name composer.

While many might argue on the film's final twist, (spoiler will follow) I thought the film was never about the sci-fi elements but more about the human aspects of it. The father-son, familial relationship, the friendship and even a man's discovery of something that awed him. (spoiler here) The third act twist felt like a sequel to Disney's inspiring yet flopping Tomorrowland last year with George Clooney. It's not a 'holy shit awesome' twist but a touching one. I don't know how to explain it. The film built up to it nicely and even if you're disappointed about it you wouldn't rant about it because it never was that important to the whole movie. I would like to know more why Michael Shannon didn't say anything to his son before parting. I would like to know how Adam Driver's character and the rest of the world who saw the world above our world react. It's a thought-provoking film and a great sci-fi. The title alone is amazing. It almost had nothing to do with the film. I cannot wait to see it again. Midnight Special: rated 4/4

Apocalypse No

I've always thought the X-Men series being separate from the MCU as a blessing. They've created their own universe without giving in too much on the influence of MCU (you know unlike DC who's hell bent on catching up with MCU). They've amassed a great cast and even hit restart with flying colors, which might be something Marvel could struggle to do once their RDJ and the Chrises decide to quit the franchise. So after the mega-success that was Days of Future Past, the X-Men followed up their adventures with an introduction to an alleged mega villain En Sabah Nur (I dont read the comics bro cut me some slack). Reboot faces return with even newer faces with my loves Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark and Olivia Munn aka Sloan Sabbith (why are their characters' initals SS?). Directed once again by Bryan Singer, who's just actually collecting paycheck nowadays. I mean he's the guy who made The Usual Suspects for crying out loud.

So, like thousands of years ago, a great mutant lived and died because some normal people betrayed him. And then fast-forward to 1983, through an unfortunate incident that mutant is resurrected and start to bring hell to Earth. He recruited help in the form of Four Horsemen which is Magneto, Psylocke, Storm and Angel. So naturally the X-Men should be the group to stop this new emerging villain.

So my first impression of this movie is disappointed. I've been disappointed lately by superhero movies. It's just probably the fatigue kicking in. On BvS I was massively disappointed. On Civil War I was mildly disappointed. And on Apocalypse I was averagely disappointed for the averageness this movie was compared to even X-Men: The Last Stand. Harsh I know. At least The Last Stand has Magneto played by the great Ian McKellen sans makeup as the main villain. Here? It's not even Oscar Isaac. Oscar Isaac played a better villain in Sucker Punch than this movie, not his fault really. Firstly, I don't feel the menace from the villain. Probably due to the fact he's a power blind old guy and he's blue and I don't know what his powers are. His plans are stupid. And he's stupid. I like how he just gives the Horseman position to any mutant he meets. "First mutant I see is Storm and so you'll be my Horsewoman." I would also like to point out that his powers includes costume designing and the fact that he's also a 50000 year old perv who dresses Psylocke in latex while he gives face tattoos to Angel. He's not relatable enough. We're in an age where our Star Wars villain is basically a teen with dad problems and there even was a robot whose plans were to destroy the world but still spits out mean one liners and jokes. Apocalypse/En Sabah Nur is weirdly one-dimensional. Also by making Magneto his aide, the movie robs us of the electric bromance between Erik and Charles which is the constantly enjoyable aspect of the series. The movie also doesn't justify why do we need this 1980s setting, again, thanks to En Sabah Nur (I'm not calling him Apocalypse because he doesn't deserve the title). First Class was set in the 60s because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, DoFP was set in the 70s because of Vietnam War, and here? I don't know. The only reason would be to justify the jab on both Disney and Brett Ratner by including Return of the Jedi, a.k.a. the third one that always turns out bad. (Too bad Simon Kinberg, Apocalypse is the third in the prequel series and you fucking wrote The Last Stand).

The cast did their best. With the exception of my bae Jennifer Lawrence who seemed super disinterested and just here to hangout with the other cast members. The thing is the cast did their best but their characters doesn't get the chance to shine which is something Kinberg should learn from MCU. The story is pretty predictable too. And it doesn't connect with the logic. I mean, after 20 years being an-all powerful mutant, Magneto still wants to destroy the world because he was swayed by ESN? The action sequences felt hollow. Much like the maligned version of Fantastic Four's destruction sequence, it doesn't connect with the audience. It aimed bigger but fell short. Even G.I. Joe Retaliation had a better nuclear launching sequence and I hated that movie more than anything. The fight sequences was somehow poorly directed compared to DoFP. The big fight between Psylocke and Beast was even shakier and more unfocused than the first time Paul Greengrass held a camera. I mean, don't we all want to see Olivia Munn kicking ass clearly on the big screen? I was gonna buy an IMAX ticket just for that you know? To my defense, if you think I'm a perv, you've got to see ESN. But I like the final boss fight between Charles & ESN + a new character (wink). It's so beautifully done that it possibly could redeem the dullness of everything. OH the new Quicksilver sequence is also fun, it's bigger and more ambitious than the standout sequence in DoFP! Finally some positive points. Now back to the negativity, the last complaint probably is MCU and Deadpool's fault but the whole movie seemed overly serious and took itself too seriously. Sure we can do a little zinger at Charles' bald head? I mean he literally lost a whole lot of hair in 2 seconds. Also blame it on Oscar Isaac because everytime ESN hesitates to speak all I can think of is someone saying 'so who talks first? you talk first?'. I can find other examples but I need to stop. I just wished this movie is relevant to the series. But it wasn't. For me, it ranked lower than X-Men: The Last Stand in terms of story, relevance and philosophy/the whole mutant-human connection stuff. But as a whole movie of course this is better. And for god's sake apply more make up on James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, it's been 20 years since First Class but they seemed to only age 8 years. X-Men: Apocalypse: rated 2/4.


PS. Is it only me but is Sophie Turner less attractive with an American accent?
Oh but I forgot to tell you that she's super gorgeous throughout the movie that I want to take pictures of her. Anyway, back to the North!

PS. part two
Place your bets! Would I be disappointed by Suicide Squad? or Doctor Strange? It's 3 out of 3 so far in terms of disappointment. (edit: I forgot Deadpool, but seeing it as an unconventional superhero film, we can leave it out of the discussion. Note: I liked that movie I thought it was a 3/4 for me)

Bonus guysss, thanks to ESN's costume designing skills

Civilized War

Marvel's answer to DC's Batman v Superman is here. With considerably more heroes in one movie. More heroes than Avengers: Age of Ultron. It stars Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr with newcomers Tom Holland and Chadwick Boseman, directed by The Russo Brothers who did The Winter Soldier. The film continues the story after TWS and also Ultron. I was pretty hyped on this movie, and it's gonna be fun to see after BvS. 

Captain America's Avengers team is creating a bit of a chaos in of their missions. The UN called a council to keep the heroes on check. Captain disagrees but Tony Stark agrees because of the casualties in Sokovia and also his own guilt for creating Ultron. In the meantime, Bucky resurfaces and is currently a fugitive, so Cap, being a bro that he is, tries to find Bucky and also protects him.

First things first, Civil War is better than BvS, if you want to compare. The storyline was well-fleshed out, the characters were given enough screentime and the fights were satisfying. The jokes were the best part of the movie and although it almost became annoying, it thankfully didn't. I loved how they introduced Spider-Man almost seamlessly while also making fun of Marisa Tomei's casting. Also Black Panther was alright even though it would be annoying in his solo movie if he keeps that accent (Scarlet Witch's Russian accent was diluted tho, and she is still amazing af). That titular fight that has been teased was satisfying. It was more than the 8-minute Batman vs Superman fight and each character gets his/her own moments to shine. Nevertheless, the film felt super safe without any consequences. And the villain's endgame, played by Daniel Bruhl, was a tad better than 'same mom's name Martha.' The film kept it really safe and still maintains to keep us excited for future films. I, once again, doubt the Russos could deliver a Joss Whedon-caliber Avengers film. This film was bland compared to the two Avengers films. There's no killer shot like the slow-mo fights between the Avengers and Ultron robots or that killer opening shot where all the Avengers were in one frame or if you still want to compare to BvS, no Wonder Woman entrance-type moment that makes you cheer or leave you in awe. There were some cool and pleasant moments but it was everywhere. Probably each time Tony Stark suit up, but we've seen them in five previous films. The Russos did a crowdpleasing but merely functional job. Also have I mentioned that the film felt hollow because the score by Henry Jackman couldnt match all the action that are happening on screen. Bottomline, Civil War is a good movie, you'll recommend it to your friend but I don't think a conversation around this film would last longer than three minutes. It's a good Marvel movie, but it's an okay movie in general. Captain America: Civil War: rated 3/4.

note:
Probably Batman v Superman hurt and helped this movie. It helped us to praise this movie more because our basic instinct was to compare it to that underwhelming film. However, it hurt this film because after that lackluster of missed opportunities, we want this film to be more than what was shown in the trailer and we want it bad but it didn't. I mean, BvS left such an impression (be it good or bad or mixed) that I am still thinking about that film even after more than a month. BvS made us audience more critical about similar film which is Civil War. As a whole, I don't think Civil War is even better than The Winter Soldier. Or probably we have reached the superhero fatigue.

note part II:
Am I the only one who's disappointed that Spidey's suit was enhanced by Tony Stark? As cool as it may sounds, I always thought the idea of Spidey as a self-made hero and anyone could be him. A nerd guy who was given an extraordinary power to help others, thus the help from Tony Stark might break that idea for me.

Train of Thoughts Vol. 1

Let me introduce a new feature in this blog. So, 'Train of Thoughts' would be a series of posts that would be dully titled, like 'Train of Thoughts Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 100' and so on. But it would hopefully be produced weekly, or anytime that I collected enough materials that usually don't qualify for one full post. Ever get that feeling when you want to praise or rant but Twitter can only hold 140 characters and Facebook is too public for you to do it? Yes, 'Train of Thoughts' is exclusively designed for those. So, with no further ado, the first edition of 'Train of Thoughts'! (It's still beta-testing so I hope I can do better with the formatting)

On the latest episode of Empire,
It's still my favorite guilty pleasure. The all-too-important drama is great for entertainment. Music is still good, I mean, Jamal and Freda Gatz is fire y'all. And Lucious Lyon is still slimy as hell. But let me give you these two screenshots of Cookie responding to Anika's Lyon heir announcement. It's so great and very Cookie.

On the new trailer for Jason Bourne,

I still think it's a silly ass title for a landmark continuation of an exceptional action franchise. But I'll forgive it for having Alicia Vikander in it. Fingers-crossed for a last minute title change though. Also on the subject of trailers, The Magnificent Seven and The Girl on the Train looks good. Oh, first trailer for Doctor Strange! I was already excited knowing that Benedict Cumberbatch is in it despite the whole concept and idea of it is super strange (hence the name) and weirdly off-putting. But then I was reminded that Rachel McAdams in it and also Tilda fucking Swinton is also in it! Marvel did a good job putting seats in theatres in movies that sounds so fucking dumb because I am now 120% sold on the movie purely based on its casting.

On Black Mirror,

I know I'm late to the party but I just started Black Mirror, the Brit TV series that's like Sherlock, only has 3 episodes in one season. It's quality TV for a one-off 42-minute episode and up until the first episode of the second series, it boasted famous British actors that has become familiar faces in Hollywood such as Domnhall Gleeson, Toby Kebbell, Jessica Brown Findlay and Hayley Atwell. Every episode really resonates with you especially because it's technology-related and how it serves as a reminder that technology could be the bane of our existence or it may has already.

On The People v. O.J. Simpson

Holy shit this is such a good show! I was unfamiliar with the 'trial of the century' but now I am familiar, too familiar. The casting of the show is amazing, although they could find someone who looks more like O.J than Cuba Gooding Jr, but it's great to know that Gooding is getting work that someone could show him da money (bad joke). Sarah Paulson is great. Courtney Vance is sensational. Camerawork, direction, production design is top-notch. I binge-watched the whole show in 3 days and I still had some work and also an earthquake going on. It's so good that I just can't put down. Yes, I spent the next two days after that watching documentaries on about the case. Emmy is well-deserved, and if not, Emmy would be as innocent as OJ if you know what I mean.

 On Joy,

My expectations were low on this one, seeing that it's about a woman who invented a mop. Pretty sure there were stuff more important to turn into a film, I thought. While that may still stands true, this movie is so well-made that I couldn't help but loving it. Cast is great and even when you catch David O. Russell on a bad day, he's still so fucking amazing. Also music is so good. Jen Lawrence is too lovely and talented that all this movie oozes her charisma and it's also a movie with charismatic actors like De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Edgar Ramirez in it. I loved this movie, if I must rate it like on a regular post, I'd give it 3.5/4.

That's it for the first edition of Train of Thoughts! See you soon.
Will try to write more because as of right now, I'm so behind compared to previous years. At this point of the year I have only written 8 posts, last year it was 13 and last year I wrote the least in four years! To rub more salt in the wound, at this time of the year in 2014 I had written 20 and in 2013 I had written 14. Gotta catch up! (and not chili sauce).

(another bad joke)

Night is Darkest Before the Dawn?

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might be my most anticipated film of the year. I loved Man of Steel but I always thought the idea of bringing Batman to square off with Superman as one gigantic mistake. Even I disliked the logo they showed during Comic-Con in 2013. But after two and a half years I probably have become accustomed to the idea. The first two trailers were solid and it sold me. I didn't see the one with Doomsday in it though, I actively avoided that one. The cast was pretty okay too I guess. With the exception of wild card Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Then again, I have become accustomed to the idea. Probably this would affect the film later on. I would be accustomed to the movie. But not right now.

So Bruce Wayne lost an old guy in the Metropolis battle, he disliked the idea of having Superman praised as a God. While Superman still performs his duties as a hero while also undergoing scrutiny for certain allegations that he killed innocents and he disliked the Batman being a violent night crusader. Then there's also Lex Luthor who found Kryptonite in the World Engine. Then Bat and Super fight. Joined by Wonder Woman. Wondering where's the coherence? That what I was looking for too.

Probably I went in with a really high expectation. I haven't been let down this much since I don't know. I'm disappointed with the film. There's so many potential there. I mean, the plot is not that bad either. It's just, they should be emphasized more, maybe packed differently. I know I could suggest some edits to certain parts. The talented cast was stranded save for Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Jesse Eisenberg. I would love to see more of Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane and even Amy Adams, who's just there without doing much. The opening sequence was pretty cool. The fight in the end was also cool. The introduction to Wonder Woman is probably the coolest entrance ever given to a superhero character. I have that Wonder Woman theme song as my ringtone now. And I'll walk away from a flight casually with that song in the background.

There are many cool imageries that are literally on the screen. However, we lost the more subtle imageries like the symbols as seen in Man of Steel and in Nolan's trilogy. This one has become a straightforward comic book flick. This film played a really insider game, this film might not be accessible to kids because the story's too serious and it might not work with the general audience because it's too comic-bookish. I watch DC's animated films but sometimes it gets too comic-bookish and I don't even like it, and I don't like the comic-bookish feel of this film (you'll get what I mean if you see the movie). This film works like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, to world-build and tease for further installments. This one tried and pretty much failed. If you remember TASM2, which for the record I love, there were a lot of characters being introduced. But this film has even more which is already a burden to begin with. This film doesn't know the difference between tease and show. Let's tease the Justice League! I would tease by showing their logos. But this movie's idea of teasing is showing what/who they are. And fuck Cyborg. I hate him. Bring on the Martian Manhunter.

Let's talk about something good. Zack Snyder is still the master of visuals. I like/love all his films and this one might rank lowest for me, and I love Sucker Punch. I'm an easy guy to please. He works best if given the right script and this one isn't right. Sorry, something good. Wonder Woman is awesome. Gal Gadot did a great job. Ben Affleck shut the critics, and how I wished we were introduced to him in a solo film prior to this one. All the cast is good. There are some good moments, but then again they are not explored well. They weren't given the time to sink to the audience. They were there and bam, gone, moving on. The fight scenes were functional at best. Man of Steel had the best, and I'm not exaggerating, best fight scenes in the whole superhero genre. This one had Batman beating up Superman with a sink. Something good, sorry. The opening scene was quite nice. Some scenes was good. Also the ending's pretty good for a messy movie like this. It keeps you curious for the next one. But it's kinda classified for spoilers. Like I said, this movie might work better as soon as I have become accustomed with it. Just like we all have been accustomed to the idea of this movie two years after it was announced. Probably this wasn't even the dawn of justice. I hope this is still the night. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (by the way, still a really bad title): rated 2/4. (Frankly I could go lower but I love Batman & Superman so much that I just couldn't do it. Sorry. I couldn't stay objective this time).


Come to think of it, I probably enjoyed Green Lantern more. The last time I was this disappointed in a film was probably Wrath of the Titans. But it's like comparing apples to watermelons. I was disappointed in Transformers 4 but at least I know it's gonna be bad from the get go. It's really my fault, I went in with a very high expectation. Okay so, disclaimer: come with the lowest possible expectation. Think of it just Batman and Superman having a talk at the park.

But for now let me treat you with this gorgeous pic of Wonder Woman. Because even if I watch this movie again, Imma watch it for Diana.

Up next, is the promised 2015's bests.

Las Ketchup

I mean, let's catch up. It's probably these jokes that killed my blog. Anyway, it's been too long since I posted a movie review. I watched quite a lot of movies though. I caught up on Ron Howard's In The Heart of the Sea, which is quite a satisfying watch in my opinion, I was also the last man on Earth to see The Martian, and I watched Room just a couple of days ago. I don't know where to start.

Let's just divide the films I watched during these past few months in a ratings category and then I'll absolve my sins by stating my top picks for 2015 (which is supposed to be controversial because I haven't even seen The Revenant or The Hateful Eight).


Rated 2/4
- The Danish Girl
It's beautiful to look at and acted amazingly by Alicia Vikander. But Eddie Redmayne came off as annoying and the story that was supposed to be meaningful and moving just fell flat. I don't know if Einar is vocal to be a transgender or if he's just a bitch by default, it certainly is the latter in this film. It's harsh, sorry, I know I have to respect the LGBT community, but I'm just being honest. I'm sure the real Einar wasn't like the person portrayed in the movie.

- Crimson Peak
I also would like to love this film more but I just couldn't. The production design is stellar and awesome. The gothic feel of the movie was captured from the set and costumes. The actors are also amazing. But the story was quite frankly boring, uneventful and predictable. I know the ghosts are supposed to be a metaphor but it doesn't mean the movie should be moving as slow as those red ghosts are right? Nevertheless, I still love Guillermo del Toro and would like to see more original ideas like this.

- The Night Before
If you've seen the trailers, then you've seen the movie. This is not an exaggerated take on an overused statement, but it is the truth. This film is a film that does not know what to be. Is it a comedy? A drama? A sci-fi? It has a Hangover feel over the trailers but all we get is a by-the-numbers friendship drama that revolves around Christmas. Some parts felt stretched too long, some parts came out of nowhere. On that last part, something good came out of it: Michael Shannon. Best part of the movie. It struggled too hard to be that classic Christmas movie, but it did not know what to be at the first place.

Rated 2.5/4
- In the Heart of the Sea
I think this film is underrated. It came out the week before Star Wars so it was buried both in the box office and headlines. It is actually a solid film directed by a solid Hollywood director, Ron Howard. The cast is great with Chris Hemsworth at the lead. I'm so happy that Benjamin Walker finally starred in a major film after the amazing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The visual effects was great, and the film itself felt enormous but still, if explored more could be even more epic.

Rated 3/4
- Black Mass
A complete return to form from Johnny Depp. The true White Oscar snub. It is a performance that carried the whole film. Pair him with an underrated actor Joel Edgerton and you've got yourself a winner. Add that with a slew of amazing actors, and you've got yourself a solid film and a tense story acted greatly. My favorite among the supporting actors were Jesse Plemons and Dakota Johnson. Dakota Johnson, who single-handedly made Fifty Shades of Grey worth at least one go earlier this year, had two scenes in this film with Johnny Depp in his full make-up but can still be on the same level, that's just great.

- Brooklyn
It's undeniably a beautiful and good movie. I give a 3 out of 4 mainly if it's compared to the other 7 Best Pic nominees, it's the most bland. it does not mean the movie is bland, it's just a wonder for it to be nominated. It has a sweet screenplay penned by Nick Hornby, a great performance by Saoirse Ronan (in her original accent!), and an all-round beautiful cinematography that captured both the location and the mood of the lead actress. Wait, come to think of it, this is definitely a 3.5/4 film. Brooklyn: rated 3.5/4

Rated 3.5/4
- Bridge of Spies
YES. Another Steven Spielberg film this year. The subject of the story might be a bit boring but the film is beautiful. The look of the movie and the production design are great. Of course we also have the Oscar-winning performance from Mark Rylance, performing in a quiet but effective acting that is pivotal to the film. Tom Hanks also delivered a great performance.  The movie is just satisfying to watch while it definitely does not belong in among the other Spielberg greats.

- Spotlight
This is your typical best picture winner. It's a great movie but I don't believe it deserved the title. It has a tight script that keeps you wanting more and a great ensemble cast led by Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo. It's great to know that this film is written and directed by that guy who died on a freak accident in a modern ark to save humanity from doomsday in 2012. What a range. Anyway, Spotlight, while not a really really great film, is still an important film to address important issues of today.

- The Walk
JGL's French accent and constant narration from the top of the Statue of Liberty might be annoying. But once you saw through that, the film is stripped down to the most intense final sequence ever filmed. Ah also, you have too look past the awkward CGI during the first half of the film at least, because definitely all the CGI budget went to the final walk. That last sequence is just amazing it felt surreal. It felt super real. Great stuff.

Rated 4/4
- The Martian
Hands down the best sci-fi of 2015, or at least behind Ex Machina. Matt Damon gave a defining performance in a movie that relied solely on himself. Also with a bunch of talented supporting actors in it, the movie is just amazing. It is an effortless go by master director Ridley Scott who directed this film beautifully. Don't forget the amazing script by Drew Goddard too.

- Carol
Beautiful film. Great script. Beautiful direction. Amazing actors and actresses. Great cinematography. Great costume design. Surely this is among my 2015 greats. I don't even know how to describe more of this film. You know this is a lesbian film right, so you'll watch it anyway.

- Room
For me, this is the best picture of the year. It has a story that can move you, can leave you scarred, or it can leave you happy and inspired. Amazing acting by Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. Effective and outstanding direction from Frank director Lenny Abrahamson. The script is written by the woman who wrote the book herself too. Amazing film. A must-watch. Definitely. I'd rather watch this 10 times then see anything else.

You know that year recap might have to wait. I'm sleepy.

I'm Probably White (Oscars Predictions! and Winners!)

That's a clickbait title. I'm not. It's just my annual Academy Awards prediction for this year. It's a joke okay? OscarsSoWhite, so if I'm watching it and actually excited about it, I'm probably white? Get it? Anyway, I have accomplished to watch six out of eight films this year, leaving probably the frontrunners The Revenant and The Big Short. I like this year's nominations, with The Martian and Mad Max: Fury Road, the barrier between mainstream and art films are blurred. It's great. Let's just get on with the predictions shall we? I'm trying something new here. Official predictions are made based on how the film fared at other awards and also the film itself. Personal predictions are made solely by how I think about the film. This post will be updated by winners later. [updated with winners Feb 29, with scores! (my personal predictions are worth 0.5 *wink)]

Best Picture
Favors go for another Inarritu this year with The Revenant, but apart from the awards season and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film didn't create much buzz. This year's race is pretty much open. The possible top three for winners are The Revenant, The Big Short and Spotlight. It won't be surprising if suddenly Mad Max or Room came out on top though. Especially Room, it hasn't created much buzz mostly because it remains underseen. Without Carol in the mix, Room is the best out of the bunch by a long shot (that's a bold statement but I stand by it).
Official prediction: Spotlight
Personal prediction: Room
Winner: Spotlight (1/1)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
All signs lead to Leo. Obviously. But instead let's mentioned the snubbed actors who deserved this nom more than I don't know, say, Bryan Cranston as (who?) Trumbo: Johnny Depp for Black Mass, Michael B. Jordan for Creed and Jacob Tremblay for Room. I haven't seen Concussion so don't get mad at me Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Official prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Personal prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (2/2)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Brie Larson! YES. It's great to see Jennifer Lawrence nominated once again, but yes for Brie Larson. She's in it to win it. At this point, you'll realize how I'm obsessed with Room.
Official prediction: Brie Larson, Room
Personal prediction: Brie Larson, Room
Winner: Brie Larson, Room (3/3)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
I'd love to see Idris Elba in this category for his role in Beasts of No Nation. I really do. But let's talk facts. Based on nods and performance, I would give the statue to Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies. He's been consistent in every awards show. Then again Mark Ruffalo's performance in Spotlight was also spotlight-stealing. Supporting actors and actresses are always the hardest to pick. Then again, the Academy might go for Sylvester Stallone.
Official prediction: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Personal prediction: Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Winner: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies (3/4)
Note: I was heavily hoping that The Academy relied on nostalgia rather than sheer brilliance, they did that a lot. But I was wrong.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
I would give the Oscar straightaway to Alicia Vikander if it's for Ex Machina. But then again, I would gladly give any award to Alicia. The Danish Girl is an empty film, especially after you watch it last in a marathon of great films starting from Room, Brooklyn, and Carol. The film works for the performances of the actors. Nevertheless, I could see Rooney Mara stealing the trophy from her.
Official prediction: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Personal prediction: Rooney Mara, Carol
Winner: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl (4/5)


Best Director
This category has too much snub. I'd pick Todd Haynes, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Cary Fukunaga and more to be nominated here. Despite Inarritu's DGA win, I only see two men who deserves this the most: George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road or Lenny Abrahamson for Room. I haven't seen The Revenant so I couldn't actually say anything.
Official prediction: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant
Personal prediction: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Winner: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant (5/6)

Best Original Screenplay
Despite it being 'original', most of the screenplays here are based on real stories, so they have their work half done at least. I'd say the most deserving here is either Inside Out or Ex Machina because they are truly original. Nevertheless, this one's Spotlight to win.
Official prediction: Spotlight
Personal prediction: Ex Machina
Winner: Spotlight (6/7)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Out of the nominees, I only haven't seen The Big Short, which is probably the one most likely to win. If it's a fair game, I have my money on The Martian. Oh scratch that, Room should win.
Official prediction: The Big Short
Personal prediction: The Martian (or Room)
Winner: The Big Short (7/8)

Best Animated Feature
Bing Bong.
Official prediction: Inside Out
Personal prediction: Inside Out
Winner: Inside Out (8/9)

Best Cinematography
The heavyweights are here. I don't know who to pick. I really don't. All are great-looking films. I don't know if Chivo should win. He got two already. How about give it to a man who came out of retirement to do a magnificent work?
Official prediction: John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Personal prediction: Edward Lachman, Carol
Winner: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant (8/10)
Note: I know he's going to win, but I was hoping for a shocking Mad Max upset.

Best Production Design
The Martian boasts a great production itself so that should win, right?
Official prediction: The Martian
Personal prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road (8.5/11)

Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell is a double nominee this year. It's her vs her and Carol is the most beautiful film I've seen of 2015.
Official prediction: Carol
Personal prediction: Carol
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road (8.5/12)

Best Make-Up
Why isn't Black Mass here? Why?
Official prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Personal prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road (9.5/13)

Best Editing
Those frenetic sequences in Mad Max must be fucking hard to edit.
Official prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Personal prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road (10.5/14)

Best Original Score
Quentin's smug acceptance speech in the Globes must have boosted Ennio Morricone's chance of winning a bit in an already (what I've heard) a standout score. I wouldn't be surprised to see Carter Burwell snag that gold though
Official prediction: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Personal prediction: Carter Burwell, Carol
Winner: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight (11.5/15)

Best Song
This year's nominees are pretty shit. I'd be happy to see anyone win but Fifty Shades of Grey
Official prediction: Writing's On The Wall, Spectre
Winner: Writing's On The Wall, Spectre (12.5/16)

Best Visual Effects
If The Revenant wins we'll riot. It's just a BEAR. But given The Academy, I won't be surprised to see The Revenant wins. But I'm not picking that film.
Official prediction: The Martian
Personal prediction: Ex Machina
Winner: Ex Machina (13/17)

Pretty good on me to have that quite accurate predictions. The only I didn't see coming is the Best Costume Design. My money's all the way for Carol. Anyway, for the first time in five years, I didn't watch the Oscars live, instead I was going to my part-time job. Is that a sign of maturity? I will watch it soon but for now I have to leave it here. Will update this as soon as I finish watching.

It was an entertaining telecast. But honestly I have enough of the OscarsSoWhite protest. Chris Rock's monologue, while on point on that matter, lacked nods or jokes about the nominees themselves. Then came that random girl. Or the shockingly bad intro for Room by Sacha Baron Cohen. The Black History Minute was funny though. The black people inclusion mashup of this year's films was also funny. The cookie thing? Not so much.

Recap
Mad Max: Fury Road 6 wins
The Revenant 3 wins
Spotlight 2 wins
Room, The Big Short, Ex Machina, Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl, Spectre, Inside Out, The Hateful Eight 1 win
Carol 0 *gasps in surprise

Companion Piece to 'Coin Laundry'

So, last year around late November-early December we shot our new short movie titled 'Coin Laundry', which is set in (surprise!) a coin laundry. This is the third short movie we made in Japan. The movie is divided into three segments, as I like to call it. The first and the third segments, spiritually titled 'Two for One' and 'The Hang Out' respectively, are pretty much straightforward. But the second segment, or 'The Book Club' as the screenplay titled it, is pretty reference-heavy. Therefore this blogpost is dedicated to put things in place and help you with all the references made by Angga (Anshar Safri), our main guy in the second segment.

1. 'Moskva River' (04:29)
Nandi, Angga's customer, read the last verse of the poem entitled 'Moskva River' by the legendary Indonesian poet WS Rendra as the password to meet Angga. It has five verses which, in my opinion, is about this Russian girl Valya who walks down the Moskva with her lover during the end of winter. This is the last two verses of that poem translated by yours truly.

"Upon the green water
we glide
followed by blurry shadows.
Passing the bridge's arch
like passing the arch of emptiness.
Spring has arrived.

Valya laughs.
Her chest trembles 
inside her sweater.
Spring has arrived"

I would not go as far to translate the whole thing fearing I would diminish the original text. If you'd like to read the original Indonesian version of the poem, click here. You can google translate it, so if it's weird you can blame google instead of me. I'm the Pontius Pilate in this matter.

2. Scorpions (04:40)
Scorpions is a German rock band who gained spotlight because of their iconic song that symbolized Europe during the late 80s and early 90s, around the fall of the Berlin Wall. Their iconic song, Wind of Change was mentioned by Angga as it was created when the band visited Moscow, making it somehow relevant to 'Moskva River'. The river itself is mentioned in the opening lyrics of the song.

"I follow the Moskva. Down to the Gorky Park. Listening to the wind of change"

Also mentioned, another memorable song by the band, Rock You Like A Hurricane. This one is frequently used in TV ads, montage videos, and many more. I personally became familiar with this song after watching Rock of Ages where Tom Cruise covered the song with Julianne Hough.

3. Lost Generation (05:02)
This refers to Ernest Hemingway and friends. I first read the French word of this term (generation perdue) when I read Hemingway's Paris memoirs 'A Moveable Feast'. Then I researched it and found that Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce and Franz Kafka belonged to this generation, a generation after the World War I. Basically the people you see in Midnight in Paris belonged to the Lost Generation. That's why Nandi lend Angga a Fitzgerald book titled 'Tender is the Night', a lesser known work (but still very good) from the author of 'The Great Gatsby'.

4. Anna Karenina (06:05)
Angga found it fitting to lend Nandi his copy of Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina' because of its Russian origins and setting, once again linking it to 'Moskva River'. It is also true that Tolstoy regarded 'Anna Karenina' as his true novel because his other masterpiece, 'War and Peace' (now turned into a BBC limited series with Lily James starring), was deemed too history book-ish rather than a novel.

5. Metamorphosis (06:29)
This is a landmark book by Franz Kafka, a Czech writer (also one of the Lost Generation people). People said it is really good. I haven't read it myself. I first heard about this during an English lesson back in elementary school, and my teacher described the story of this book as follows: it's about a man who suddenly and disgustingly turned into a moth. That imagery is so strong it's still etched in my brain. I will try to give it a go sometime.

6. Paris & Tokyo (08:44)
This reference was made when Angga advertised his stuff to Abel, the guy who frequents the coin laundry. He mentioned Ernest Hemingway and his mentor Gertrude Stein as the gateways to Paris. Also mentioned, an American cook who most of the time cooks French cuisine, Julia Child. You might know her from Meryl Streep's portrayal in the delightful film Julie & Julia. As for Tokyo, he mentioned famous Japanese author known for his work like 'Norwegian Wood', Haruki Murakami's Tokyo-set novel 'After Dark'.

Also important in this film is this elementary school-level mathematics on HCF and LCM (07:37). If those abbreviations seemed unfamiliar to you, HCF stands for highest common factor while LCM stands for lowest common multiple. (In Indonesian it is FPB and KPK, faktor pembilang terbesar & kelipatan persekutuan terkecil). This was actually a very interesting lesson which had nothing to do with real life. The usual questions that came up during my exams were either making me a stalker or a weirdo who tries to count when would those traffic lights turn red at the same time, which is illogical because they have a special algorithm for that. If this doesn't recall familiar lessons, this stuff has to do with factor tree and prime numbers (I'm obsessed with this particular lesson, please understand, I was so good at it that it frustrated me that it had no real life application. Like I was really good at logarithm and integrals too. Sooooo, sequel?).


I hope this could make you understand the references made by the characters. So you can get the full 'Coin Laundry' experience. Please laugh at that last sentence. Because what is a coin laundry experience. This movie is okay at best, but still am very proud, like I'm proud of my so-so life right now. Now there's too much self-deprecation that it borders on depression. Just kidding, I'm very happy with everything. I'm very happy with the hard work that we poured to create this film. I'm very happy that this film turned out like this. I'm very proud with my new skill in color grading consistency! Okay, this calls for another post. Anyway, thank you for reading and watching the film! I love you for doing so. Like really love you, I-could-hug-you-until-you-suffocate love you, even if you hate this film, I'll still love you for hate-watching it. If you love it, I will love you until oblivion (I'm copyrighting this line, btw. I've had it since forever to use it in one of my future films).


PS. try re-watching it again and see the color of the costumes each character has when they are interacting with the other. And also the background actions while the main story is going. (I'm not tricking you to waste another 16 minutes on my movie--or maybe I am)

Be True - Part I

I decided to turn this blog into a very personal one. I ripped off one of Empire's episode title to do so. But don't fear, this will still be relevant to movies--but my short movies (What a narcissistic bastard!). I'm not accomplished enough to actually dignify this post, but you gotta think big to be big right? Then you can go big or go home. Anyway, putting this to context, I always love creating stories and in each story that I wrote, there's a sliver of my personal self inserted in it. For this first part of the big 'Marcel-Tell-All', let me take you back to 2013, to my first ambitious short film, titled Cops/Thieves (read it as Cops and Thieves rather than Cops or Thieves). Yes, the slash is just for show. It's my first film cut me some slack.




Despite the shortcomings that are clearly visible in this film, I am still very proud of this baby. The story came from a very rough idea my friend (who is now studying film in England!) and I had, although whenever I told her this, she recalled nothing of sorts but I remember vividly that we talked about this idea. It came from us making two separate horror films that were set in our school which allegedly was built on a cemetery complex (a complete bullshit by the way, once you're old enough you realized it). Our school was really scary at night though. I made a movie titled The Classroom and she made one called 100 Ghost Stories (I still remember her phenomenal camerawork and premise). We sort of brainstormed more ideas, and then I came up with the idea of making a real slasher based on the card game cops and thieves (or police and killers who cares). We talked about it but never took it seriously. I loved sharing ideas with her because we kind of speaking in the same frequency and we ended up co-directing a play together, which I am also still proud to be a part of. She now specializes in sound department or art directing, my memory is stupid about this, but I know whichever is it, she's doing better than I do. Her latest film, which was short but superbly meaningful, won an award at a festival film. She being in any film school is already better than me, stuck in nowhere city with no foreseeable future in sight.

I revisited the cops and thieves idea after enrolling in college. I didn't know how the third act should be though, like who the killer is and why is he/she doing it-stuff, until several days before shooting. What I want to discuss here is not that big twist at the end though. It's more like how the film represented a certain moment in my life (ew, who do you think you are bitch). When I revisited this movie, I always see a pretty high amount of angst in it. This trait in the film might be attributed to the fact that I loathe going here to Japan for university. It shows a lot in this film through the atmosphere of the film, the violence, the mood, the colors. The one I draw upon from myself the most was the basic human action and reaction on the leading girl's character, which put her in a new situation with a new person she's not comfortable with. That's basically me in Japan, being reluctant to do anything, to learn anything.

The violence in the film was born not out of my masochistic/sadistic potential, fortunately. I was developing another angst-filled script just before this and was planning to do it Inarritu-style with the film being a very long tracking shot (this was 2012-2013, way before Birdman, btw). That script was titled 407, a room--much like the one in Cops/Thieves--which became a very haunted place for the main character. This main character is put in the same situation as Ella's character: new place, new people. 407 was the base for Cops/Thieves so there are many things in common. The main character in 407, found all the new people he met commit suicide in his room, only to find out he's the one who has killed himself at the end, not those people. The suicides were 'creatively' done, in some ways similar to the killings in Cops/Thieves. One hanged himself with some hangers, one poisoned herself by drinking soap and bleach, one jumped from the window, and the other one slashed her wrists with a scissor or a kitchen knife. I loved the idea of killing with hangers that I actually 'tried' whether it could work logically (I don't want to go into details but I can safely say it was not an attempt at suicide). You get the idea, 407 is the embryo for Cops/Thieves. 


I like that this film represented a certain moment in my life. Like it was when I really really was in love with Cliff Martinez's music from most of his work. The entirety of the score in this film are all Martinez's music, from the soundtrack of the modern classic Drive to modern cult Spring Breakers. Even for the trailer I used one of his tracks for The Company You Keep. I feel that his music really fit the mood of the movie. I couldn't find a suitable moment, or a moment that deserved to be scored with his master track from Only God Forgives but I'm pretty content with the way it turned out. It was also when I was really really addicted to Metric. I still find them awesome but I don't listen to them religiously like I used to. Fun fact, instead of using 'Raw Sugar' for the ending, I wanted to use 'Synthetica' which is the other side of the pole from the former. 'Synthetica' has this energy that I wanted to show for my leading character but 'Raw Sugar', suggested by one of my DoPs, is the sensible choice to end the movie. When I'm successful, I'm gonna license all these songs so it could be legit used in the movie. I still get copyright infringement from YouTube, you know.


Next up:
Bridge of Spies review
also to come Part II of this Tell-All

Fighting Harder

I decided to have a very exciting day yesterday. Woke up and spontaneously planned to see Creed. I caught the bus right on time, caught the train right on time, and went to the movie right on time (literally when I sat down, the film started!). Didn't waste any time at all yesterday. Creed is the first spinoff from the Rocky franchise and it stars Michael B. Jordan and Rocky Balboa himself, Sylvester Stallone and directed by Ryan Coogler of Fruitvale Station fame. Honestly, I only watched the first Rocky film so I'm not actually the right person to talk about Rocky franchise in detail like Rocky's turtle or even Rocky's secret match with Apollo Creed. But bro, the movie is too awesome.

The spotlight is now on Apollo Creed's illegitimate son, Adonis Creed. Apollo Creed was Rocky's rival-turned-friend who was killed in a brutal boxing match against a Russian boxer, Ivan Drago. Adonis had a boxer's blood in him and he's called to the ring by destiny. However, he opted to use his mother's last name and not the famous Creed surname. He tried to find a trainer and found it in his father's friend, Rocky Balboa. With Rocky, he trained and paved his own way as a great boxer and making his own legacy.

The movie is phenomenal. It's an amazing feat to have a great reboot like this especially in the year when so many franchises tried to reignite their spark. Plot-wise, it is inspiring and mature. The cast is great. Michael B. Jordan is super committed to the role. Tessa Thompson delivered a complex character like it was nothing, and she has a killer track titled Grip which everyone should give a listen. And Sylvester Stallone in a form we haven't seen for a long time. In this film Rocky is vulnerable and he presented it just right, while still being the tough guy Rocky is. Directed greatly by Ryan Coogler who I think is just too damn good for Black Panther. Be very afraid Alfonso Cuaron, Ryan Coogler and his DoP Maryse Alberti presented us with an unbelievable tracking shot of a fucking boxing match! A boxing match! Without any cuts! Soundtrack and score by Ludwig Goransson are very much on point. It's hard to believe this is the work of a guy who did Zooey Deschanel's New Girl. The score is hands-down the best of the year for me. It has a very distinguishable quality and it improved an already 100% film to 120%. Definitely one of 2015's best and I hope to see more of this film in the awards' season. Creed: 4/4


Check out these stand out tracks in both soundtrack and score: Waiting for My Moment, Lord Knows/Fighting Harder, Grip, You're a Creed and Creed Suite. Either these gonna be the tracks that will motivate you or be in your workout playlist (it's the former for me, cos what is workout?)