I Just Love That!

One of the most anticipated film of 2012 is finally here! The Hunger Games, the first entry of the trilogy, directed by Pleasantville's Gary Ross and starring the best ensemble ever for a book adaptation since Harry Potter. Trailers are amazing, posters too. See the Super Bowl trailer because it is the best. I'm a fan of the book, so excuse me for saying things you may not understand (unless you read the book too!)

Not gonna talk about the story in details. It's about a dystopian future where North America is now called Panem and divided into 12 Districts after the war. As a reminder of the war and the power of the Capitol, a gladiator-ian game is held every year where 24 teenagers are pitted against each other until a lone victor emerges in an event named The Hunger Games. In the 74th year, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark represent District 12 to battle the other 22 teens to the death.

I watch the film twice already and I have to say, the best film so far in 2012. It doesn't disappoint. It is made seriously and expertly. I liked Gary Ross' approach with hand-held, shaky camera, leaving the conventional way of making films. The film became more intimate and epic at the same time. The amazing cast also makes this film even more amazing. Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect fit for Katniss, not sure about Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth at first but they are okay in their respective roles as Peeta and Gale. Elizabeth Banks is also great as Effie Trinket, Wes Bentley makes his expanded role as Seneca a lot better too and of course Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman is a casting gold. Not to mention another casting gold of Woody Harrelson as Haymitch and the surprisingly casted Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. It's a shame that those supporting characters don't get much screentime. The story is well translated to the screen, a few changes is inevitable but I think those come from Suzanne Collins herself, who co-wrote the screenplay too. The action and violence is well-contained, by showing what is needed to be showed. Also, thank god for the contained romance parts, I was afraid it would get too Twilight-y but thank God it didn't. It fits the atmosphere incredibly well. The out-of-the-book scenes in the control room with Seneca is great and also that Seneca-Snow conversation is also great. I've been overusing the word great with this sentence. The only thing I wanted was more Games scenes because most of the conflicts in the arena are overly simplified. And also I need a glimpse of Plutarch Heavensbee which I was really hoping I could see. All in all, it still intrigues me to revisit it for the third time. Best film so far, and best book adaptation since Harry Potter series! Can't wait for Catching Fire on November 2013. The Hunger Games: rated 4 out of 4 stars

In Response to My Own Wish

Okay, two days ago in my post titled Avenged, particularly in John Carter film review, I wished like this: "Personally I like the ending, so no sequel please." I do, I really do like the ending, in fact I might now say those magic words ob qi tu we asi Barsoom! (dafuq did I just wrote?) Yeah still in Jarsoom apparently. Anyways, my wish came true after I saw the news today! No sequel will be made, although they are already planned and is going to be titled John Carter: Gods of Mars or something.

Unfortunately, it is because of the film being a flop. Disney reported that because of this film's incredibly budget of $250m, excluding marketing costs, they suffered a $200m loss. As of this being written, John Carter only earned roughly $180m. It could recoup it's budget but the chances of making profit is really slim. It's so funny that 'John Carter loss' is on the Top 10 of Yahoo! Search but I never saw 'John Carter' on that Top 10.

I could offer some theory to why didn't John Carter succeed and went on to be a mega-hit.

1. No stars
I know it's located in Barsoom/Mars but with no star power (Taylor Kitsch is hardly a star when people across the globe never watched Friday Night Lights), the film cannot carry itself independently. I personally watched this film for Mark Strong. But who in this wide world watch that movie for the same reason except for Mark Strong's family?

2. Too violent & heavy
From the trailers, this film looks really heavy, especially for those who never heard of the books. And parents will go, "oh this is a heavy Disney film and it has some serious fight scenes which may be too intense for my kids. Let's just rent this on NetFlix and wait for Hunger Games"

3. Trailers
The trailers are not that interesting, really. $100m budget of marketing but still not a decent trailer? I gotta say the posters are quite smooth and nice but the trailers are also vital!

4. Too sexy
Princess Dejah Thoris is too sexy for Walt Disney. I could imagine young adolescent teenagers aged from 9-14 had difficulties of sitting still when the princess is going to marry that Zodanga leader. (if you know what I mean)

But I do pity two people though, Andrew Stanton and Steve Jobs. Andrew Stanton is one of the best director out there but with this film, he sinks too. I was just hoping he could copy Brad Bird's success. For Steve Jobs, I pity him because this film was dedicated to him and it turns out to be a flop.

For the actors, I don't think it would affect them. Taylor Kitsch already has Battleship, Lynn Collins at least will have herself being hanged on a wall of some teen boys, the other supporting actors are already accomplished actors so, no problem.

So, it's legit. John Carter joins the ranks with Prince of Persia, Eragon, and The Golden Compass as failed adaptations. There may be some others but I don't care to name them. I'm too sleepy.

Just a Thought

It seems that 2012 is going to be a great year for Indonesian film industry! Yay for that! Why is that so? Because Indonesian film industry is having good releases this year. There are still some ghost films and a sex-related films though but it's decreasing. I'm so psyched by all these Indonesian great films starting with Negeri Lima Menara until The Raid. But, don't you think Indonesian films are now a bit sadistic and violent? Let's take a look at these three upcoming releases.

The Raid
Being stupidly re-titled The Raid: Redemption in USA and re-scored by Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese doesn't make this film less awesome. The good thing from being so hyped in USA is that The Raid actually is one of the most awaited releases of 2012 and has a great trailer! However judging from the trailers it is VERY violent. I really want to see this film but I'm having second thoughts about its violence. They say it's ultra violent and it has non-stop violent action. The rating from MPAA says that it is rated R for strong brutal bloody violence throughout.

Modus Anomali
Newest film by Joko Anwar, it's already getting buzz from SXSW earlier. (Full house screening at SXSW!) It is already dubbed the Indonesian Cabin in the Woods from one of the critics. However it is also violent and (strangely) spoken in English. Maybe the language bit was to attract lazy Americans, who knows. Joko Anwar himself is known for his surrealistic films like Kala and also Pintu Terlarang. It's no surprise he made this kind of film though. Still, the violence makes me think twice to watch this film.

Dead Mine
This film is being produced by HBO Asia and stars an international cast including four of them from Indonesia. They are Ario Bayu (from the spin-off Catatan Si Boy), Bang Tigor, Mike Lewis and Joe Taslim, who co-stars in The Raid. The film is a genre mash-up of action and horror which kinda reminds us of the nightmarishly creepy and horrifying The Descent. Okay, that is kinda violent and gore-ish right? Again, second thoughts prior to seeing this film.


This post is just a thought from me. I have no idea whatsoever to question my fellow Indonesians' creativity in making films, knowing that I'm so far from that ability. But the violence in Indonesian films makes me a bit reluctant to watch them although I know I really want to watch them.

F*ck it, I'm seeing The Raid this weekend though. After The Hunger Games, of course (sorry, I'm a big fan of the books)

UPDATE: watched The Raid and posted the review. Watched Modus Anomali in original DVD and loved it, the twist arrived quite late but it was a damn good one. My brother watched Dead Mine and said while it's not that spectacular it has some memorable scares and visuals.

*if I'm wrong with any of my info about these films, please feel free to correct me. (lol like someone's reading this)

Avenged

No this is not a post about how awesome The Avengers trailers are, we all know they are awesome. And no this is not a post about my fascination on Avenged Sevenfold--just so y'all know I have their album but only listen to two songs. Anyways, this post is to celebrate my achievement in avenging myself for not going to the cinema for two weeks! My last film before that hiatus was a decent mess starring Tom Hardy, Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon: This Means War. After that break, I went to watch Hugo. But the week after Hugo, I went on to watch three films in one weekend. To some of you, that may not be an achievement, but to me it is.

I'll slip my opinion on Hugo before we continue. That film is a wonder. I don't know how exactly to put it but it is very touching and moving. Don't make me start on that film being incredibly inspiring. As a moviegoer, it is a very must to watch Hugo. It is everything we believe in, like Jamba Juice's boosts. You would not realize how much exactly you admire the motion pictures until you watch Martin Scorsese's new masterpiece. Incredibly setting, acting and unexpected powerful story. Asa Butterfeld is really promising whereas the others are already certified great actors. No wonder the marketing guys of the film can't market this film. Judging by the trailers, I thought the film would be just some kid running around escaping Sacha Baron Cohen. It is waaay more than that! Hugo: rated 4 out of 4 stars

Now let's begin on my avenging week.

First film: John Carter
The trailers aren't that interesting but it looks really amazing in terms of design. And it's Andrew Stanton. Furthermore, I learnt that Mark Strong also co-stars. It's legit then, I got to see this film. The story is pretty obvious from the tagline, so I won't talk much about it. The film itself is fun, and it had its moments for sure. Also it's very grand and expensive-looking. But it's a well-spent $250m, I assure you. I'd be surprised if it's not considered a contender for any awards next year for production design and maybe costume design. The weakness of the film is that it's not epic enough. With that scale of filmmaking, I was expecting a LOTR kind of epic and more regrettably, it is potential to be in the level of LOTR epic. The hero is not quite likable and it has character flaws. Like Matai Shang said, John Carter kinda lacks intelligence. However, the film really got better until the end. Like really really better. The actions are executed nicely too. Personally, I loved the ending so, no sequel please. John Carter: rated 3 out of 4 stars

Second film: The Woman in Black
Dubbed as (Wand-less) Harry Potter and the Woman in Black. I've been hearing good word of mouth about this film so, I went to check it out with my friends. Story is simple too: Harry Potter/Arthur Kipps got to finish his job to 'clean up' a haunted house before the week is out or he'd have no job. The film offers good scare and relies greatly on its sound effects. The setting is nice and the house's location is a-ma-zing. Daniel Radcliffe is yeah okay in his first major non-Harry Potter role but he's a miscast. No one looks that young as a dad, not even Aragorn. I've been accustomed to Supernatural series so, the film's solution is not that surprising. But it is still intense, and it's simply entertainment at the cinema. Did I mention that the ending is so good? The Woman in Black: rated 3 stars out of 4

Third film: Margin Call
I'm so attracted by its stellar cast. Spock/Sylar, Lex Luthor, Dan Humphrey, The Mentalist, Scar, G.I. Jane, Russell Crowe's friend from A Beautiful Mind, and say hello to Caesar Flickerman! Okay real names, sorry, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, and Stanley Tucci. Did I miss someone? Because the amount of cool men in this film is too damn high! The story is about the event that started the 2008 recession. I guess that sums the film up pretty well. The acting is amazing by everyone, the story is very exciting. I mean, I have no idea what Wall Street does everyday but this film is really interesting by not being overly smart about its topic. Also, I'm not surprised at all that this film earned an Oscar nom for Best Original Screenplay, because the screenplay is (insert awesome adverb) amazing! The words are soo meaningful and damn beautiful. I lost words to describe this film's greatness. One thing for sure, this film can make you gay just like how Gosling-Clooney pairing almost did with The Ides of March. Margin Call: rated 4 out of 4 stars



OH and one more thing:
NEXT WEEK is THE HUNGER GAMES and THE RAID! tough choice though.