Saturday, April 30, 2022

(2022) Bubble - Pretty Sweet Romance Animated Movie with Some Parkour Actions

When I was looking at the new movies released on Netflix, I noticed this anime movie which seemed interesting. It was actually released on Thursday but I did not realize it till last night. Well anyway, why don't I just get right to it.

Brief Story Line

After a strange phenomenon occurred where bubbles falling all over the world, a large explosion destroyed Tokyo and the city was somehow covered by a large bubble with a dangerous vortex inside. As more and more people leaving Tokyo, some younger generation decided to live in it and have parkour tournament for recreation purpose. One of the best was Hibiki (Jun Shison - High&Low The Worst etc) who was part of the Blue Blaze team. They were living in an abandoned ship together with a scientist named Makoto (Alice Hirose - Hyouka: Forbidden Secrets etc) and a veteran parkour athlete, Shin (Mamoru Miyano - Death Note etc)

Monday, April 25, 2022

(TV Series) Russian Doll Season 1 - An Intelligent Drama Comedy of Time Loop with Few Surprising Twists

It's funny how I never watched this critically acclaimed series in the past. Probably because I did not read the premise and ended up not realizing it was a topic that I really loved, i.e. time loop. Anyway since it was promoted that 2nd season was coming soon, I decided to give it a try more than a week ago. So here goes.

Brief Story Line

Nadia (Natasha Lyonne - Orange is the New Black TV series, Show Dogs etc) was celebrating her 36th birthday at the house of her best friend Maxine (Greta Lee - Gemini etc). In the party, there were a lot of Nadia and Maxine's friends, including Nadia's old boyfriend John Reyes (Yul Vasquez - Midnight, Texas TV series, Captain Phillips etc), her godmother Ruth (Elizabeth Ashely - Evening Shade TV series etc), and later on a young man named Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett - The Stand In, Chicago Fire TV series etc).

Sunday, April 24, 2022

The Doorman - A Standard Action Thriller Movie with Few Similarities to Die Hard

When this movie was advertised as part of April's new release on Catchplay+, I was quite happy as I did not get the chance to see it in the theater when it premiered sometime ago due to the pandemic. And so I decided to watch it yesterday, a day after its release. This time I watch by myself as my wife was finishing her series. 

Brief Story Line

Ali Gorski (Ruby Rose - John Wick: Chapter TwoBatwoman TV series etc) was a former marine who suffered from PTSD and agreed to work as a doorman for an old hotel as recommended by his uncle Pat (Philip Whitchurch - My Hero TV series etc). She was partnered with a more senior doorman named Borz (Aksel Hennie - The Cloverfield Paradox, The Martian etc). The Carrington hotel was having renovation during Easter holiday and very few people decided to stay during the work, including the family of Jon Stanton (Rupert Evans - The Man in the High Castles TV series etc) with his two children Max (Julian Feder) and Lily (Kila Lord Cassidy).

Saturday, April 23, 2022

(2022) Dog - An Entertaining Enough Comedy Drama Movie about Road Trip of a Former Army and Military Dog

This movie was released in Indonesian cinemas yesterday, and my wife and I were fortunate enough that we could see it despite the heavy rain that poured Jakarta in the evening. It was something that made us interested as we caught a glimpse of the trailer which seemed like fun. OK, I'll dive right to it then.

Brief Story Line

Army ranger Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum - The Lost City, Smallfoot etc) was trying to get another rotation but was deemed unfit. While asking for favors from his former superiors to give recommendation, he was informed of the death of his former army friend Riley. Briggs was asked to escort Riley's military dog named Lulu to attend to his funeral. 

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Fresh - A Fresh Reminder to Always be on Alert When Searching for Love

This was another movie that I watched on Friday night which intrigued me with its premise. It was released on Disney+ with a mature rating for 21+, something that still surprised me to see in this platform. Anyway, I'll just go ahead with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones - War of the Worlds TV series etc) was a young woman who had been unsuccessful in finding love in the world where dating were mostly done through apps or social medias. So when she met a man named Steve (Sebastian Stan - The 355, The Martian etc) through an old fashioned way and he seemed genuinely normal, Noa was immediately attracted to him. 

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Choose or Die - An Interesting Horror Thriller Movie with Reference to 80s Interactive Game

Like any other Friday, yesterday there were new movies and series released on various streaming platforms. And I chose to watch this one on Netflix before the others. All right, let's head to it then.

Brief Story Line

When a young woman named Kayla (Iola Evans) found an interactive 80s game called CURS<R in the house of her friend Isaac (Asa Butterfield - Sex Education TV series, Hugo etc) which offered huge reward, she did not hesitate to install and tried to play it. To her surprise though, the game somehow managed to become real with everything around her.

Friday, April 15, 2022

Blacklight - Not the Most Impressive Liam Neeson's Movie

So there's another Liam Neeson movie playing in theater today and since my wife and I are fans of him, we could not pass on to see this latest film. Well what's it all about? Let us find out now, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Travis (Liam Neeson - The MarksmanThe Commuter etc) was a fixer for the FBI directly under the director Gabe Robinson (Aidan Quinn - Elementary TV series, Desperately Seeking Susan etc). After more than 20 years working dangerously, Travis wanted to spend more time with his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and grand daughter Natalie (Gabriella Sengos). 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - A More Enjoyable Third Installment of Fantastic Beasts Movies from the Awesome Imagination of J.K. Rowling

On the first day of its release, my wife and I decided to see this film at the last minute. After going through various options of theaters and also the time, we finally opted to see it at the cinema nearest to our home at 5.50PM. Well now let's get to it.

Brief Story Line

After what happened in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law - Rhythm Section, Road to Perdition etc) sought the help from Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne - The Trial of Chicago 7, Les Misérables etc) to fight Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen - Chaos WalkingDoctor Strange etc). As per Dumbledore's guidance, Newt enlisted the help from several people including his brother Theseus (Callum Turner - The Last Letter from Your Lover etc), his old muggle friend Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler - Good Luck Chuck etc), his assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates), Professor Eulalie (Jessica Williams - The Incredible Jessica James etc) and Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam).

Monday, April 11, 2022

All the Old Knives - Intelligently Done Spy Thriller Movie

This movie was released on Prime Video last Friday but due to various options available then, I opted to see it only on Saturday night. It has an intriguing premise that made me interested. Plus I was hoping to see another Chris Pine movie which would satisfy me as the other one I saw earlier that day failed to impress me. OK, lets get to it.

Brief Story Line

A CIA Agent named Henry Pelham (Chris Pine - The ContractorStar Trek Beyond etc) was instructed by his boss Vick Wallinger (Laurence Fishburne - The Ice RoadBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice etc) to investigate in the possible leak from Vienna Station related to the hijacking of a commercial plane 8 years before.

Sunday, April 10, 2022

(2022) The Contractor - An Action Thriller Movie with too Much Emphasis on Drama Side

After unable to see this movie on its release day, I finally got to see it yesterday. As I am not sure about the quality or whether my wife was going to like it, I decided to see it first by myself. So here's more on the movie.  

Brief Story Line

When James Harper (Chris Pine - Wonder Woman 1984, The Finest Hours etc) was discharged from the military due to some health issue, he was facing financial problems. After various consideration, James later asked his army buddy Mike (Ben Foster - Inferno, The Messenger etc) for some private military contractor work ran by Rusty (Kiefer Sutherland - Flatliners 2017 remake, Designated Survivors TV series etc).

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Yaksha: Ruthless Operations - A Spy Action Thriller with Plenty of Action and Few Twists

After heavy rain pouring Jakarta yesterday evening, I was unable to go home early to see a new movie that was just released in Indonesian cinemas. Hence I decided to watch this new film on Netflix instead. It seemed to have an interesting premise, plus I was familiar with two of the stars. My wife obviously knew more as she regularly watches South Korean TV drama but as she was still finishing her own series, I watched this by myself. Anyway, will start with it now.

Brief Story Line

Han Ji-hoon (Park Hae-soo - Squid Game TV series, Time to Hunt etc) was a straight prosecutor who after handling a major case was transferred to National Intelligence Service. He was later assigned by director Yeom (Jin Kyung - My Only One TV series etc) to China to inspect on black ops operation led by Ji Kang-in (Sol Kyung-gu - Memoir of a Murderer, The Book of Fish etc).

Thursday, April 7, 2022

(2022) Death on the Nile - Another Well Adaptation of Agatha Christie's Novel

After missing out on seeing this movie during the 3rd wave of pandemic a couple of months ago, I was glad that it was released on Disney+ yesterday. Once again it proved to be a nice decision to be subscribing this streaming platform as we could get the chance to watch several movies not long after their theatrical run. This time I watched it by myself while my wife was finishing another one of her South Korean TV series. OK, why don't I get to it then?

Brief Story Line

In 1937, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit etc) was visiting Egypt where he met with his old friend Bouc (Tom Bateman - Cold Pursuit etc) and was introduced to his mother Euphemia (Annette Bening - Captain Marvel etc). He was then asked to join them in a hotel where a group of people were celebrating the marriage of a loving couple.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - A More Fun and Better Sequel of This Popular Game Adaptation

This new movie was just released in Indonesian cinemas today. It actually had an early screening last weekend, but we did not go to see it then. Due to the fasting period, my office working hours was shortened and the good thing about it? I was able to go to cinemas at earlier time. OK, let's get down to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

After the events of the first movie, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz - Flora & Ulysses, House of Lies TV series etc) was now living happily with Tom (James Marsden - The Boss Baby: Family Business, The Alibi etc) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter - The Haves and the Havenots TV series etc). When the Wachowskis were attending the wedding of Maddie's sister, Rachel (Natasha Rothwell - The White Lotus TV series etc) with Randall (Shemar Moore - S.W.A.T 2017 TV series etc), Sonic was left at home to enjoy his alone time. 

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus dibayar Tuntas - A Movie Well Suited for Festival with Admirable Effort in Creating 1980s Setting

When this movie played in Indonesian theaters sometime back, I was pretty intrigued to give a try but sadly it did not play in too many cinemas including the ones near our home. So I was delighted when Netflix was going to show it this week. And here's more to it.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in the year 1989 where a young man named Ajo Kawir (Marthino Lio - The GuysLosmen Bu Broto etc) was known as tough fighter who was not afraid to die. Some people knew that the reason for his fearlessness was actually his impotence. When one day Ajo met with a female bodyguard named Iteung (Ladya Cheryl - Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?, Fiksi etc) who was able to match him while they fought, they both somehow fell in love. Despite the encouragement from his best friend Tokek (Sal Priadi), Ajo kept his distance from Iteung as he was worried with his condition.

Saturday, April 2, 2022

The Bubble - A Comedy Movie that Might be Fun for Few but not to Most People

After no interesting new movie released on Netflix last weekend, I was glad that this time there was something that looked fun. It also starred an ensemble cast which made me more interested in giving it a try. OK so let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the production of movies was becoming a huge challenge. Gavin (Peter Serafinowicz - The Tick TV series etc) was a movie producer working under his boss Paula (Kate McKinnon - The Spy Who Dumped Me etc) who were producing a big budget sequel of successful Cliff Beast movies. Due to the pandemic, the making of the movie was done in a closed set in England and all the cast and crew had to stay in a hotel.

Friday, April 1, 2022

Moonshot - A Pleasant Romantic Comedy with Sci-fi Background

Yesterday there was this new movie playing on HBO Go which I was interested in watching as it had simple premise and seemed light and fun. So I gave it a try immediately last night. Well here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in 2049 where living in Mars was possible due to the work by self-made billionaire Leon Kovi (Zach Braff - Cheaper by the Dozen 2022 version etc). A college student named Walt (Cole Sprouse - Five Feet Apart etc) who had been eyeing to go to Mars was feeling frustrated that he could not go.