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