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