RISE! (not the apes)

I don't actually do trailer reviews. Trailer breakdowns and reviews usually ruin the actual film. Well it's not a trailer review, I'm just posting The Dark Knight Rises trailer because it's a sin not to embrace this! Let's fast-forward to July 2012!



"After you watched this movie, you have my permission to die" - Bane


I'd like to say a few words about some trailers as well :)
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Solid crap. Returning cast: 3 - one is Channing Tatum, going to be killed off in the movie anyway, one we never see the face and the other is resurrected from the dead. What's a sequel without its returning cast? Instead we get to see Dwayne Johnson's crappy-ass smile and Bruce Willis perfect bald head. At least, I want to see Rachel Nichols and Sienna Miller in their tight suits.
- The Hobbit
Epic trailer, with the dwarves singing a song that makes your heart pound. Only complaint: too early for a trailer which makes us wait for a full year until December 2012.
- Wrath of the Titans
Yeah! a true action movie starring Sam Worthington now with longer hair fighting monsters with rock music. But no Gemma Arterton? damn.
- Snow White and the Huntsman
SUPER COOL TRAILER. nuff said.
- Mirror Mirror
Super crappy trailer. nuff said, direct-to-dvd material.

Mission Accomplished

Prior to seeing the fourth Mission: Impossible, I immersed myself to a Mission: Impossible marathon. The first one by Brian DePalma was fun and classic. John Woo's version took itself too far with all those slow-motion and strange story but still enjoyable. My personal best is the 2006 J.J. Abrams version, simply action film. Judging from the trailers, the fourth film looks cool but I see no Luther in the trailer so I was expecting a surprise in the film. This is a movie you can't refuse, although it is a choice should you choose to accept this.

Simply put the story is about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) along with other three agents Benji Dunne (Simon Pegg from the third M:I), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and the mysterious Brandt (Jeremy Renner). This group of agents is the last active part of the disavowed IMF. Disavowing IMF is only a small part of a bigger plan to put Russia and USA in a nuclear war (so old school). It is up to the four agents to stop the biggest mastermind of this crime before the world gets in World War 3.

The story is soooo flat :| I enjoyed the spectacular yet unclear story about the Rabbit's Foot in M:I 3 but this one's too easy. The only interesting bit about the story is (sadly) about Brandt. Initially, I don't like Jeremy Renner in this movie because after The Hurt Locker, he stars in too many films, such as Hansel & Gretel with Gemma Arterton, The Avengers as Hawkeye and the most irritating the Jason-Bourne-without-Jason-Bourne film, Bourne Legacy. And the rumors that Renner will take the franchise after Tom Cruise left is even more annoying. However, he seemed to be a great asset for the film. The best scene in this film is the Dubai scene and the world agrees with that so I'm not gonna discuss that. Despite the flat story, this film will kick James Bond's ass. The gadgets and globe-trotting story overwhelms James Bond's standards, especially with Bond's new direction after Casino Royale. Tom Cruise is as usual, is best when in action-mode. Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner (surprisingly) is funny and adds the humor to the film. Paula Patton is jaw-dropping. I think it's mandatory for female agents to have a superb eye-catching dress in a party. However, I like Lea Seydoux's character Moreau better. I have a thing for crazy women assassin, I think (let's forget this sentence). And where is Luther? Mission: Impossible is attached to Ving Rhames' face! The sub story with Julia (Ethan's wife, Michelle Monaghan) is quite good so I dismissed all my complaints about not having her in action anymore. Apart from the story, I'm more disappointed with the villain, played by Michael Nyqvist (Blomkvist in the original Millenium trilogy). The villain is easy for Mission: Impossible standard (reference: double-faced IMF agent, rogue IMF agent, sadistic black market arms-dealer. but a crazy war-lover activist? no). I thought Abduction was so bad that it wastes Nyqvist's quality, but this doesn't improve that. It's time for Nyqvist to have a decent Hollywood role. Maybe he should learn from Noomi Rapace who signed on to some good looking films and in good looking roles (Sherlock Holmes 2 and Prometheus, for a start). Bottom line, it's a fun film but it wouldn't hurt to include Luther Stickell and a better story. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: rated B-

Sorry! Introducing New Feature

I know no one's reading my blog, so for all those ghosts who read my blog daily, I apologize for not posting in such a long time (4 months! I thought I'm dead already!) But now I'm going to start again reviewing some of review-worthy films. Well, for a bit--here are two-sentence-review for 10 movies during my 4-month-vacuum:

10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Seriously great action portrayed by CGI since Avatar. And yes, I think Andy Serkis is brilliant as Caesar. B

09. Abduction
You know it's a problem when you're rooting for the villain than the hero. Taylor Lautner is disgusting and he cannot act (I'm hearing Razzies--I'm putting this on review because I hate this so much). F


08. Crazy, Stupid, Love
Fun, heartfelt, and incredibly surprising. This is one of the best films of the year. All of the casts are adorable! A-


07. 50/50
Amazing story supported by talented casts, and Seth Rogen is not irritating here. A-


06. Real Steel
While the story seems to be rushed, it did give you a great feeling when you left the theater. Hugh Jackman is as usual, cool and Dakota Goyo is promising. B+


05. Johnny English Reborn
Not as funny and fun as the first one. Rowan Atkinson never fails to entertain you though. B-


04. The Smurfs
Great animation for the blue creatures and it's highly fascinating if you're under 5 years old. D+


03. Warrior
Amazing film. Great performance by all actors. Superb story. A-


02. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Bloated and slow-paced, in order to split it into two parts. Better than New Moon though. C


01. The Adventures of Tintin
This is what I call great entertainment. It also brings back childhood memories :) However, not so faithful to the book particularly The Red Rackham's Treasure. B+

The Potter Line-up

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. 


Since Harry Potter series have come to an end, it's fair to rate all eight movies. Starting from the least liked, until my ultimate favorite. Counting down!

8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Definitely the worst of the series, I wonder why did the critics gave this one pretty good reviews. Story flow is a bit boring compared to the other seven, too much portion for romance. I was hoping more Snape and of course a small battle in Hogwarts. David Yates acted like a false God by changing and cutting important events from the book. rated C-


7. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (2007)
As a book adaptation, this sucks. But as a movie, it's quite amazing especially for a first-timer like Yates. His decision to focus on Harry's struggle is questionable. A conflict about Ron and Hermione being student prefects and Harry isn't can support his struggle. And also, no Quidditch! I'd like to see Malfoy beaten up by Fred (or is it George?) and Harry during Quidditch. Best thing in this film is the fight choreography. rated B


6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
The problem with the first two films is that they are too faithful to the book, that could make the movie interesting with small details but also boring with too many details. But this one deserves it all, this one started everything that lasted for 10 years. Wingardium Leviosa, not leviosar. rated B


5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
More dangerous and darker, also it is the longest entry in the series. When I first watched it, it gives me the chill (Basilisk's voice is too scary for second graders). rated B+


4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
This one could either go down or make it to top 3, I need to watch it again. I was thinking that this one's better than Goblet of Fire, but due to sooooo much difference to the book, this could only make the top four. I was waiting for duels and more fights and others (look to the previous post). But it was one of the best 131 minutes of my life, and David Yates, I wouldn't mind if you give me 200 minutes of Deathly Hallows Part 2. Just like Order of Phoenix, as a movie this one's amazing. rated A-


3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
This one's got it all. The action, the adventure, and Lord Voldemort kills Edward Cullen. It would be a sin to say that this is not one of the best cinematic experience you've ever had. rated A


2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
This film is just beautiful; the story, the score, the scenery, everything. rated A


1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
THE BEST. Thanks to Alfonso Cuaron, this one's is a game changer. It sets the tone for the rest of the series and also a scenery change for Hogwarts. Beautiful. rated A+

Mischief managed.

End.

After half a year without major studios' film releases, ranging from Black Swan to Captain America, a spark of hope emerges with the release of the eighth, second-seventh part and finale of the Harry Potter adventure: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It took a bit of effort to get the tickets since everyone in the country is crazy for seeing it. I bought tickets 2 days in advance, which I never done it before especially here in Indonesia. But I dont care as long as I get to see it. In 24 hours time, I saw the movie twice. The story continues where the beautiful Part 1 left off, Part 2 go straight to the action and story. Starting by breaking to Gringotts and sneaking to Hogwarts through a secret passage. Still continuing the quest from Half-Blood Prince which is to destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry Potter must also join the grand fight between the good and evil.

I learned that the seventh part of the Harry Potter saga, Part 1 and Part 2 are like wine. It grew better if you watch them more than once. Part 2 was a satisfying ending indeed. Everything falls perfectly in place and if you are not a book reader but you follow the films it will leave you satisfied. Best performance(s) in the films goes to Alan Rickman as Severus Snape. He has demonstrated the cold yet vulnerable double agent (oops spoiler) perfectly as shown in the Pensieve flashbacks and also the earlier seven films. Other best performances go to Helena Bonham Carter as (my favorite!) Bellatrix Lestrange and Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort/Tom Riddle. Helena B. Carter never fails to deliver Bellatrix in her total insanity from the fifth film but when Hermione Polyjuiced (i dont know if there is any term) as Bellatrix, Helena Bonham Carter truly embodies Hermione/Emma Watson. As for Ralph Fiennes he is the master of antagonist characters, starting from Amon Goeth to Hades of the new Clash of the Titans. There are some best moments of the films which I am going to spill out: the Gringotts' dragon scene, Snape vs. McGonagall (i wished it would be longer), shielding Hogwarts, Snape memories in the Pensieve, Harry Potter's death and of course 19 years later.


What left me incomplete is that the Steve Kloves chooses to leave many book elements off screen. In the film,the battle seemed to quick whereas the book pictured it to be highly epic (the film is already epic, so imagine the book version would look like). I once hoped for a Nearly-Headless Nick cameo when Harry went looking for The Grey Lady. Also I hoped for Mandrakes attack by Professor Sprout. And how about the duels, how about Grawp, about Buckbeak, about Firenze, about Invisibility Cloak oh and so many more! David Yates continues to irritates me since he helmed Order of Phoenix. I still thinks he is the wrong choice to direct Harry Potter films. I mean among other directors out there, why would Warner Bros. settle for Yates? But this last chapter actually serves as his apology to Potter fans (although I'm not still that satisfied). Oh and I need more Luna, more Aberforth, more Slughorn, more Malfoy, more Fenrir Greyback! and ultimately more Cho Chang. Skip to other things, thank you Alexandre Desplat for bringing back the real Harry Potter theme by John Williams. Despite all the book differences, I want to see it for the 3rd time and 4th time and more, so Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, rated A

#indonesiawantsharrypotter

10 Best Directors (According To Me)

The following list is highly debatable since its the source and judgement coming from me, and me only so feel free to criticize or burn me. I want to be a director someday and this list is a homage to the director I respected. It's only from the modern age, so don't expect Kurosawa or Hitchcock or Kubrick. For the record, I'm a blockbuster kinda guy. Counting down now, also with my personal favorite films from each director.

10. Zack Snyder
This is the most debatable entry on this list, I assure you. But the reason is, I saw Snyder as a genius. He combined visual and audio greatly with the soundtrack (Watchmen and Sucker Punch). His timing is perfect and his vision is, as advertised, visionary. One of the two Warner Bros' directors who had been given an opportunity to develop their own ideas (the other one being Nolan). Guardians of Ga'Hoole is boring for an animated film, but he makes it interesting with incredible owl-action and 3D. As for his latest Sucker Punch, he may have crossed the line but it's still a lot of fun. His biggest film maybe 300, but my personal fav is Watchmen.

9. Matthew Vaughn
A diverse director with only four films to date (Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men First Class). See the titles? See how he diverse he is? He is one of the promising director at the moment. With First Class getting raves he could end up doing some great films in the future. Fav: X-Men: First Class





8. Clint Eastwood
The oldest man on the list. Proves that age is not a matter at all. With recent films of quality and boldness, I wish he would never stop making films. His genre is diverse, makes him a multi-talent. He could handle every genre, thriller (Changeling), drama (Invictus), war (two Iwo Jima films) and even supernatural drama (his latest Hereafter). He may be the baddest cowboy back then, but now he is one of the baddest director. Personal faves: Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby





7. Tim Burton
The master of gothic cinema. Every dark gothic movie must be judged by it's Tim-Burton-ness. His Alice in Wonderland was a bit of a miss, and it's not like a Burton film. It's the films like the dark and violent Sweeney Todd or the absurd Charlie & The Chocolate Factory that defines Burton. He is one of the people that introduces superhero to cinema with two Batman films. Personal fav: Big Fish




6. Danny Boyle
What I love from Danny Boyle films is that he brings us to a whole new world; exotic locations and alternate universe. It's an eye-opener really. His 28 Days Later set new standards for zombie films, it's not only jump-scare moments but also humanity, the survival. The Beach starring Leo DiCaprio is also great only to be let down by the film's third act. 127 Hours could be boring too, people dont want to see a guy just being stuck. But Danny did it (i'm on first-name basis) and it's brilliant and compelling. Personal fav: Slumdog Millionaire



5. James Cameron
One word: vision. He is so visionary and incredibly creative (ambitious too) that leads him to the title King of the World. Two films combined to $4 billion? Damn. He is creative and unique, yes with films like Terminator and The Abyss. But it's the colossal nature of his films that paid off. $200 m for Titanic paid with $1,8 billion and another $200m-ish for Avatar paid back with $2 billion? Creativity. He is an exceptional director with brilliant imagination. Personal fav: Avatar (watched it 3 times in cinema; 3D, normal and special edition, with combined ticket cost of Rp 80k)


4. Quentin Tarantino
What is not to love from Tarantino? His films are fun and thrilling. His influence from many things (which most of them I don't understand) is a great thing for his films. It's very interesting to know trivia about Tarantino movies like American pop culture he put in Pulp Fiction or that yellow Bruce Lee suit in Kill Bill. Also his films included intelligent dialogue about people and stuff (the Superman bit from Kill Bill vol. 2 is kinda good), for example "Do you Americans speak any other language than English?" the satire that's from the Oscar-nominated masterpiece Inglourious Basterds. The craziness in his movies is a plus point too, (Nazi massacre in Basterds or the whole Grindhouse feature). Personal fav: Kill Bill Vol 1


3. Steven Spielberg
This is a treason. I'm putting him on number 3 because he is my favorite director of all-time. But I also have my reason. Spielberg put the summer in summer films. It matters with his blockbusters like Jurassic Park, E.T., Indiana Jones saga and many more. He may not be as active as he did but he became a godfather for many blockbusters and quality films, like this year's Super 8. He is the world's famous director and Hollywood is nothing without him. Really am excited for Tintin at the end of the year. Personal fav: Jurassic Park, a classic.


2. David Fincher
At first the idea of making a Facebook film seemed crappy and boring. I mean, what is interesting about some geek in front of his laptop? But David Fincher made it exceptional, this year's Oscar should be his (sorry Tom Hooper). One thing for sure, he is a perfectionist. He made Jodie Foster's Panic Room very engaging where it could only be an average hostage thriller film. Benjamin Button too; it's a highly boring film but thanks to Fincher it became a quite pleasant drama. His filmography is also excellent having quality movies such as Fight Club, Seven and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake for Christmas 2011. Personal fav: Fight Club

1. Christopher Nolan
Who doesn't know his name after last year's hit Inception? He is a genius. His films are intelligent and requires the audience to think like The Prestige and Inception. So instead of giving us in-your-face explanation, he wants us to make our own interpretation. The Dark Knight and Batman Begins, which were directed by him, proves that superhero movies have some depth instead of only action. It's also set new standards for the genre. Also don't forget his first hit Memento starring Guy Pearce in the lead; it's mind-boggling and smart. I've watched all of his film except for his first feature, Following. Personal fav:   The Dark Knight (just a bit ahead of The Prestige)

Some honorable mentions are Peter Jackson (LOTR Trilogy), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), Coen Brothers (No Country For Old Men), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) and Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum). I was thinking I'd put Michel Gondry but his Green Hornet was in the way.

Strong is the Man

 In this post I'm not going to review a movie but talk about my latest favorite actor. He is Mark Strong. In his current film Green Lantern, he is the best actor in that movie. His charisma is just scary, in a good way. Call me late but I notice him the first when Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is about to be released. In that film, he played Holmes' major villain, Lord Blackwood. I cannot help but to compare him to Andy Garcia; Terry Benedict from Ocean films. Garcia and Strong is strikingly similar. I thought Blackwood was Garcia at first. They both have their menacing aura when portraying an antagonist though.

Post Sherlock Holmes, I became accustomed to see Strong as a villain in movies. He is the gangster Frank D'Amico in Kick Ass and also the treacherous English/French Sir Godfrey in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood prequel. Two words only: bad ass. I mean if I'm just a normal guy, I wouldnt mess with Mark Strong's villain characters (Brace yourself Hal Jordan, IF Green Lantern 2 is happening). I just noticed that he is also Pinbacker in Danny Boyle's Sunshine starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and international ensemble cast. He didnt show any face but his voice is very Strong. Also in Peter Weir's drama The Way Back, he played a brief but pivotal role as Khabarov who generated the idea of escaping the gulag (the whole story of the film). He did make a memorable performance for me cos I was exclaiming everytime Strong gets a screen time in The Way Back, "It's Mark Strong, it's Mark Strong!"

Looking at his filmography, he did show up in several great movies and some movies I just skipped like The Eagle (now I'm curious about The Eagle). His appearance also fool you in some movies, making him barely recognizable (yeah, he's not always bald). He got hair when starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies and have longer hair in his first collaboration with Matthew Vaughn, Stardust. He is also in Polanski's Oliver Twist (I skipped that on purpose) and also George Clooney-Oscar-winning-role-movie, Syriana. He is even in that bad Vin Diesel movie Babylon A.D. The thing about his performance is the way he talks, his voice is just dreading (works everytime he stars as a villain). He is a very great actor, but I wished that although he is excellent being an antagonist, he could sometimes play the hero. The still-good Sinestro was okay but he became a villain anyway. Play both sides, dazzle me! Looking forward for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the all-star cast British film with Mark Strong too.

Adapt or Die.

Just another DVD to fill the remaining days of holiday. Tonight's choice is Hanna, starring Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, crappy film by the way), Eric Bana (Troy) and Cate Blanchett (long list of quality movies) with Joe Wright (Atonement!!!) directing. Should be good entertainment, I'm expecting good action too. It's not released in Indo and haven't been released in Singapore, so hell yeah.

The story is about Hanna (Ronan) who's being trained by her father Erik (Bana) to fight and adapt, or die in the deep forest somewhere in Europe. She's trained to be the perfect soldier for one mission. The purpose of the mission is to kill one who's named Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) whose past implicate with Hanna's family and existence.

This is a very simple film, really. I mean the plot is just that simple, but it is very stylish indeed. Especially taking places in various locations in Europe, the tone is very.....European. It's not your normal shoot-bang-revenge movies, its more human. The way Hanna discovers technology and electricity it's heart-breaking really. Seriously smooth acting shown by Saoirse Ronan and those martial arts moves were done well. Her performance in The Way Back also stole the movie, she's gonna be a great actress one day. Eric Bana is aging but never looked better. Cate Blanchett here reminds me of Irina Spalko of the latest Indiana Jones film, maybe because of her hair. But she is one of the actresses who could play both protagonists and antagonists well. I have always had in faith in Joe Wright since the superbly wonderful and heart-breaking Atonement, although The Soloist didnt match Atonement's quality it's still good. Wright proves he doesnt only excel on drama but also action/thriller. Every action scene hits the mark. Not to forget the kick-ass score by The Chemical Brothers, i'm lost for words for it, on download as I'm writing. Hanna: rated B+

Robots Finale

The wait is over! My family rushed to Mall of Asia in Manila to buy advance screening tickets of the extremely anticipated Transformers: Dark of the Moon with hopes we would catch it in IMAX 3D. Well apparently it's all booked and we had to settle with the normal 3D, still advance screening though on June 28 (nationwide on June 29). Judging from the trailers, this gotta be the biggest, most badass Transformers movie ever. I've expected cooler robots in actions and of course the newbie Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. It has new casts too like Patrick Dempsey, John Malkovich and the sometimes-funny-sometimes-overkill Ken Jeong.

It's so funny that President Kennedy gets so much screentime in 2011 movies, his mission to send human to moon landed him on this movie and so do Nixon. It's said that the landing on the moon was to investigate a strange alien thing on the dark side of the moon (there's the title). Neil and Buzz found the Ark, a Cybertronian spaceship along with the captain, Sentinel Prime (voiced by the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy). As a result of the space wars with Soviet, some cosmonauts brought back an alien part to Chernobyl and tried to figure it out. Result: nuclear radiation in Chernobyl. Optimus and the other bots  knew that the Ark carried a device, only known by Sentinel that can win the war between Autobots and Decepticons back in the great war. Some parts of the device, named space bridge, is missing. Looks like the Megatron is finally having his revenge. Sam (LaBeouf), who was given a medal of honor by Obama, now with his new gf Carly (Rosie) wanted to be a part in this great war, taking place on Earth helping their alien friends Autobots.

The story was highly interesting up until Chernobyl but then it started to fall apart, rushing to make things in motion for the final war. It's still watchable and permissible unlike the strangeness of TF2. The jokes in TF3 is funnier and it works and it's not dumb nor do annoying (well some moments with Ken Jeong are dumb). Sam Witwicky became a little bit irritating since he's now trapped in a classic Datsun instead of Camaro and he doesnt have a job. Sam wanted big things in his life, but never chase  those big things. It's tiring, but Shia manages to make it forgettable with his charm. Whereas Rosie, she could act. Not as brilliantly as Megan Fox did but yeaahh adequate for a newcomer, a model newcomer. She totally lost it when she left Sam for a while. But she's still a sight for me :) The Carly character isn't like Mikaela who seems to love Sam so much. I didn't see that infatuation in Carly. Mikaela is more badass too! Remember she's a criminal for grand theft auto and she could drive skillfully with Bumblebee towed at the back (It's TF1). All things considered, Mikaela should still be here, the story would have been better with familiar people who knew and experienced the events from the original Transformers. The action scenes with the robots are incredible and cool, just like we expected. Not to mention the wingsuit men, totally jaw-dropping. It's a pity for Megatron, who's actually in this final stand should've been fiercer but he's not. He's just "Sentinel's bitch". Also Shockwave, who's appearance is dreading but not that dreading in action, his pet is but just like Devastator in TF2 (you know what happened to Devastator). Oh and the ending is a downer, am not gonna talk about it to avoid spoilers, but it flunked. As the last entry to the trilogy and the series, it should've had a killer ending, a cool one. Instead we got a short, unsatisfying one. What could you expect anyway? It's Michael Bay, explosions come first. It feels so rushed, but at least it's better than TF2 but never nearing the ultimate masterpiece quality of the 2007 original. Transformers: Dark of the Moon: rated B-

here's the first scene from the movie that features Carly

Too Green Will Kill You

It's day two at Manila and it's day two for superheroes. This time we take on the first DC hero besides Batman and Superman, it's green, it's Green Lantern. The first thing that lured me to watch this is Blake Lively, 'nuff said. The trailer for Green Lantern didn't get interesting until the four-minute footage from Wonder-con (click here for the Wonder-con footage!). It sure have a different experience from the earthly Batman or the God-like Superman but still, it doesn't offer a new thing in general. But let's give it a go. It's directed by Casino Royale's Martin Campbell and stars Marvel's Deadpool Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong (oh yeah!)

The story is about a test pilot Hal Jordan who forced himself to believe that he doesn't know fear because it's in his job description. His destiny became fulfilled when he met the dying Abin-Sur who is a great warrior from the Lantern Corps but didn't have the intelligence to lock the warriors' nemesis, Parallax. Before he died, Abin-Sur's ring chose Hal Jordan to be the next Green Lantern. Next thing he knew, Hal was in Planet Oa with other Lanterns, Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush), Kilowog and Sinestro (Mark Strong in his usual power). Abin-Sur's founded body was examined by Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) who gets exposed to Parallax's fear entity, which makes him able to move things with his mind (telekinesis? maybe).  Hal tried to carry the burden as Abin-Sur's successor and also protect his planet from the planet-consuming Parallax at the same time.

The thing about this movie is the timing. To reach this level of special effects it needed this new decade but for the quality of the story, it should have been released in the 2000s. The superhero genre is now evolving thanks to another DC hero, Batman and many Marvel heroes like Iron Man, X-Men, and Spider-Man. Superhero is not about the action and the coolness rating, but also depth. What kind of hero would easily back-off when others told him he's not a hero? It's Hal Jordan apparently after losing a training battle with Sinestro. He enjoy being Green Lantern but he quits the corps. Strange huh? It's like being a pilot with no aircraft. But Ryan Reynolds did a great job here, but his character wasted him. Blake Lively is stunning and her Carol Ferris character is smarter than Lois Lane; she realized Hal's cheekbones! Whereas Lois remained clueless about no-glasses Clark Kent.  Mark Strong is soo goood as usual, he's very fitting to the role. The Will vs. Fear story is kinda shallow, for the sequel, it's gonna repeat the theme. As for Hal, I think the ring requires you not only to overcome fears but also have better imagination (race tracks? machine guns? jets? why not rockets?) As Sinestro said, "How human." Also, from all those Green Lantern corps, the most active one is only Sinestro. How come? And how did a newbie defeat a huge enemy alone when the group, even Abin-Sur failed? It's a strange heroic act. The timing is not quite good for me either after watching X-Men: First Class the night before. It's so different in quality. However, it's still an okay entertainment at the cinema, offering smooth effects and new take on superheroes. I wished it's better, that's all. Green Lantern: rated C+ 

First in Class

During my family's holiday in Philippines, we spared our time to watch some movies that aren't being released in Indonesia. One of them is X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaughn of Kick Ass fame and starring James McAvoy (to me his most memorable role isn't the loser in Wanted but as the Tumnus faun in Narnia) and Michael Fassbender (Lt. Archie Hicox of Inglourious Basterds). The other supporting casts are also promising: Kevin Bacon (Hollowman), January Jones (Mad Men), Jason Flemyng (Benjamin Button's dad), Rose Byrne (remember Troy? no? Insidious then) and also Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence. There's also Lucas Till, Taylor Swift's boy in her VMA-winning-Kanye-West-interrupted music video. That's what you call promising.

The other title for this film must be X-Men Origins: Professor X & Magneto because this is the story of their origins. The story begins with young Erik/Magneto in a Nazi concentration camp, so similar to the original X-Men, the one where he moved the metal gates. This time, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) saw that event. Don't want to spoil the fun, fast forward to a couple years later, Erik (Michael Fassbender) went on a hunt for Shaw to France, Argentina until he end up at US. Meanwhile, Charles (McAvoy) was asked for help by CIA agent Moira McTaggert (Byrne) to help her investigate a mutant problem dealing with Shaw. Then, Erik and Charles met in an event and aided by the secret CIA facility, search for other mutants using beta Cerebro, a device which proved to be useful and dangerous later. They found a group of mutants and with this small army, trying to battle Shaw's even smaller, but more skilled mutants including the telepath Emma Frost, teleporting-red-skinned-version-Nightcrawler Azazel, and also the mute Riptide at the staged US vs Soviets nuclear war.

One word for this movie: amazing. The best X-Men movie so far. Especially Michael Fassbender. He stole every minute with his performance. The Argentinian bar scene is just so cool (knife/hand/stomach/hand! ignore this). He's menacing, human, cold and cool at the same time. That persona can't be matched by James McAvoy, but still Professor X's bigger role in this movie helped him a lot. Unlike in the original trilogy where the professor would only be preaching, teaching and sometimes used. The other members is just amazing as well. The effects are top class. The idea of combining history with X-Men universe is incredible. The only shame is that the X-Men movies are way to connected. There's Moira in X-Men: The Last Stand and she doesn't seem to age. Mystique/Raven also have something wrong with her age in later films. There's also Emma Frost but in different transformation in X-Men Origins, or maybe it's best if we just forget Origins. Nevertheless, as a stand alone this is the best superhero film of the year, and maybe the best of the summer. Just one wish: no sequels to this please. X-Men: First Class: rated A.

here's one of the coolest scene from X-Men: First Class

Stop Pirating

This is my first summer movie ever to be watched in some low quality, Russian-filmed, pirated DVD. The irony was  I was watching a pirated copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. First of all, I'm a huge Pirates fan. I love At World's End so much that I despise the idea of having the third sequel. With all those trailers and clips, I'm not still interested. But, let's check it out.

The story picks up where it left off where Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was in quest for The Fountain of Youth. No Will Turner, no Elizabeth, no Cotton, no Marty. He suddenly met his former arch-nemesis Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who is now in under the command of the King (Richard Griffiths, uncle Vernon) who also desire the Fountain. A few unimportant details later, Jack boards the Queen Anne's Revenge, thanks to Angelica (Penelope Cruz). It was Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) ship, going for a race to the fountain with his sword-controlled ship and zombie crews. They will encounter mermaids, an awkward-Will Turner-ish missionary, and Spaniards in order to get there.

This gotta be the worst Pirates movie ever. All those billion dollars collected throughout the world was for nothing. Pirates are bound at sea, where's that 'my love is for the sea' thing? But here they only sailed for a couple of minutes. There wasn't even the Jack Sparrow entrance song! It's an outrage! No Black Pearl, the Black Pearl was in a bottle. Blackbeard wasn't devilish enough to match Davy Jones or even Lord Cutler Beckett. He never showed up on his ship before but then after Jack came, he even walk with his zombie crews! Hans Zimmer at the scoring is lazy he's using songs from the previous movies not at the right time. He suddenly put the Beckett finale in a mermaid scene, Up is Down on another. It's not creative, it's not recycle, it's lazy. This is just a chapter worth telling from Gibbs' mouth, not worth filming. Just like that hurricane in Tripoli with Norrington (see Dead Man's Chest). Johnny Depp's charm as Jack is failing, it's like he didnt even want to be here. What's up with all that powder on Barbossa's face? The pregnant Penelope is also visible, her face is getting chubbier within days. Don't let me start on that Philip missionary.The 3D shots are silly (pointing your sword to the camera is not cool, Blackbeard, nor do your skeleton hands). The only interesting part was the mermaid scene, courtesy of Gemma Ward and the thrill, other than that, nothing. since they werent even at any tides, it's not stranger tides, it's a mistake. It's way better to make your own story than to loosely adapt a book. It's a theme park adaptation, not a book adaptation anyway. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: rated D+

Groundhog Code

Thank God, somebody made Source Code and Summit decides to distribute it. If it's not, then Indonesians wouldn have the chance to see it in cinemas. It's already renowned before it's released here that this is one of the best-reviewed film of the year so far. It'd be stupid to skip this. Duncan Jones of Moon directing with Jake Gyllenhaal starring and it's said to be a sci-fi Groundhog Day.

The story is about Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in a train as someone else just to find himself blown up by a bomb eight minutes later. And then he finds himself in a place with a monitor to communicate with some uniformed agent. He learns that his task is to find the bomber of the train to stop other terrorist actions. He's able to do Groundhog Day in other person's body using the program Source Code which enables him to do so but only for 8 minutes.

The premise is engaging and it doesnt bore you a bit. It was very thrilling as we dive into the source code and clueless just like Captain Stevens. Jake Gyllenhaal proved to be a good actor in his solo show. Jeffrey Wright is also game in this movie as the creator of the source code program. As everything unfolds slowly, we learn that it's not what it seems. It's truly Groundhog Day without its jokes and groundhog of course, but still maintain some humanity. Many criticized the ending, but personally liked it because it's kinda cool. If the ending stopped at that freeze frame shot, it'd be just mainstream, but to have something else, that's creative. But then now what? Captain Stevens is trapped in someone else's body and so forever Christina would love the wrong-looking guy with the right soul inside? And the source code is able to duplicate souls? would there be hundreds of Captain Stevens's souls? Anyways, Source Code: rated B+

Still Screaming

There aren't many choices of movies in Indonesian theaters due to the prolonged imported movie tax. It's been tragedy since February and there isn't any worthy updates about it. Well, thank God they still release Scream 4. It's the third sequel of the famous film back in the 90s, the story revolves around Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and friends Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette). It's new decade, new rules. No more Maureen Prescott and Billy Loomis.

The film begins with meta-jokes from the degrading Stab franchises (why would they continue it after Stab 3 anyway?), featuring Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell too! The real story begins when Sidney returns to Woodsboro in time for the anniversary of the Woodsboro murders (go to the original Scream). You know what's gonna happen, the killer returns too. Teaming up with the old pals but not exactly a whole as they did back in the trilogy, Sidney, Gale, and now Sheriff Dewey investigate the modern murders. The killer now targets high school students, among them there was Jill Prescott (Emma Roberts), Sidney's cousin.

The fresh story is a good thing. No more dark past from Sidney's mother or the revenge of Billy Loomis' relatives. Neve Campbell doesnt seem to age, does she? She's still perfect for the role of Sidney Prescott. David Arquette too. But Courteney Cox seems to have something wrong (maybe the botox) with her appearance but still manages to be the intrepid Gale Weathers. The teen cast are good too, especially Emma Roberts. Some killings are very clever although some seems to be doubted in logic (the first murder? talking in the closet and no one hears it? really?). The story's finale is a reminder from the original and the twist is just so unexpected and nice. But I think there's gotta be a better motive for killing 10 people. Anyway, it's just a great entertainment at cinema and it's way better than the predictable Scream 2 and the wtf Scream 3. Scream 4: rated B.

Sucker Punched

The hype for Sucker Punch was enormous, at least for me. The trailers and the casts looked so good, especially with Zack Snyder helming this. I mean, this gotta be the action movie of the year. With Indonesian cinema in peril, this is my first movie that I watched in cinema after the issue with the tax. I flew to Singapore and bought tickets as soon as I arrived at the city.

The story is about a girl named Babydoll (Emily Browning) who's institutionalized by her stepfather after accidentally killed her own sister in a brawl with her stepfather. In this institution/brothel owned by Blue (Oscar Isaac), she met others with similar fate. Within days, she would be lobotomized by High Roller (Jon Hamm) and for that, she must escape. She found that her ability for dancing brings her to an alternate reality where she must fulfills her quest along the other girls to escape the institution.

The power of Sucker Punch is the action scenes, which was crafted skillfully by Snyder. And to accompany that awesome scenes, the soundtrack is so electrifying. The first soundtrack was a cover for Eurythmics song, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), it fits the scene perfectly, making it almost like a cinematic music video. In every Babydoll's quest there must be an action scene. Well, those scenes don't actually have any coherence with the main storyline. It's actually just a dramatized version of a simple task (like taking a knife from a fat guy) which was generated from Babydoll's imagination. makes you think maybe she deserved to be in that crazy house. At one point, Zack Snyder abused his trademark slow-mo action sequence and it proved to be an overkill, both negatively and positively. Positively it looks incredible and negatively, it kinda bore you. Snyder may be good at action but not at story writing. All of the sudden, the quiet Babydoll became the leader of the pack although Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) is still around? The character is not developed clearly. It'd be better if those action arent for nought. They should somehow relate to the real reality. The ending is a bit of a downer too. Emily Browning is perfect for the role and those costumes she wears is just smokin. The other girls are also adequate for the roles. Just so you know, the film may look like telling about Babydoll, but it's not. Just like Watchmen, the soundtrack is so great which requires you to buy it after watching this. And just like 300, the action sequences are the best. Sadly, the story doesn't live up to the soundtrack and the action. Sucker Punch: rated C+