(2023) The Toxic Avenger - A Superhero Film Definitely not For Every One

As the second of our movie marathon day, we decided to see this film. It was something that I was not sure if it would be liked by my wife, but she still wanted to accompany me. All right then, let's find out more, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage - Transformers: Rise of the Beast, The Croods: A New Age etc) was just an ordinary janitor who worked for the most hazardous company in the city called BTH, owned by dirty businessman Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon -The Bondsman TV series, Leave the World Behind etc). Winston had been looking after his step son Wade (Jacob Tremblay - Luca, The Predator 2018 version etc) ever since the mother passed away even though their relationship was a bit rough. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Winston was somehow exposed to the toxic waste of BTH which gave him super strength but made him looked like a monster. Unfortunately his new looks made him frightening to everyone including Wade.

Murder Report - A Quite Captivating Slow Burn Psychological Thriller Drama Movie

Yesterday my wife and I had another one of our movie marathon day as we opted to see two films in a row. This film was released just the day before but I was already quite interested when I saw its trailer a week earlier. OK, why don't I just get right on it then.

Brief Story Line

Seon-joo (Cho Yeo-jeong - Parasite. My Daughter is a Zombie etc) was a senior journalist who had been in a bit of a slump in her career, especially after her previous failed big scoop. So when she was invited to interview a man later on revealed to be Yeong-hoon (Jung Sung-il - Uprising, Unmasked TV series etc) who claimed to be serial killer, she was curious to find out if there was any truth in it. 

A House of Dynamite - Intelligently Done Gripping Thriller Drama From Various Angles

After several weeks of missing out watching new films on Friday in Netflix, last night I remembered to give this one a try. The brief synopsis sounded interesting, plus the involvement of many well known people made me intrigued. So let us get on with the movie then.

Brief Story Line

On what started as a normal day in Fort Geely Alaska, the team led by Major Daniel Gonzales (Anthony Ramos - Ironheart mini series, Hamilton etc) detected a nuclear missile that was of unkown origin and seemed to be heading towards the US in less than 20 minutes. The White House situation room team led by Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson - Silo TV series, Reminiscence etc) immediately coordinated with Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris - Morbius, Reawakening etc). STRATCOM Commander General Brady (Tracy Letts - Deep Water, The Post etc), Deputy NSA Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso - The Strangers: Chapter Two, The Night Agent TV series etc) and also the President (Idris Elba - Heads of State, H/JACK TV series etc) on how to handle. 

Abadi Nan Jaya - Intense Indonesian Horror Movie with Some High Quality Zombie Effects

I was really interested in this Indonesian movie when I saw it was promoted in the Coming Soon section in Netflix. So when it was finally released yesterday, I immediately gave it a try. Without further ado, here's more on the movie. 

Brief Story Line

Story was set in a small town in Central Java, where a traditional company that specialized in making herbs was tasked to create a medicine that could make person younger by its owner Mr. Sadimin (Donny Damara - Kembang Api, Perwira dan Ksatria etc). When the experiment seemed to be successful, Sadimin decided not to sell the company which gravely upset his family that consisted of his new younger wife Karina (Eva Celia - Andai Ibu Tidak Menikah dengan Ayah, Pendekar Tongkat Emas etc), his jobless son Bambang (Marthino Lio - Seperti Dendam. Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas, Glenn Fredly the Movie etc), his younger sister Kenes (Mikha Tambayong - Bismillah Kunikahi Suamimu, Induk Gajah TV series etc) with her husband Rudi (Dimas Anggara - Sri Asih, Lafran etc) who came together with their young son Raihan (Varren Arianda Calief) just to sign the sale paper.

(Mini Series) Harlan Coben's Lazarus - A Pretty Interesting Psychological Horror Series with Multiple Surprising Twists

I was not aware there would be this new series to be released on Prime Video earlier. But when I got notification yesterday and read a bit on the synopsis, I was immediately intrigued and gave it a try. Having only 6 episodes where all of them were released at the same time, made it easy for me to complete the whole series last night. All right then, I'll just get right to it.

Brief Story Line

When forensic psychiatrist Joel Lazarus aka Laz (Sam Claflin -Enola Holmes, Adrift etc) was informed that his father, the experienced psychiatrist Doctor Jonathan Lazarus (Bill Nighy - The Wild Robot, Love Actually etc) had shot himself, he immediately came back to his home town. Laz did not believe that his father would have committed suicide, though his sister Jenna (Alexandra Roach - No Offence TV series, Anna Karenina etc) did not have any doubt. The suicide was investigated by Laz's old friend Detective Seth McGovern (David Fynn - Trolls Band Together, Undateable TV series etc) and his superior DCI Alison Brown (Kate Ashfield - Shaun of the Dead, This Little Life etc).

Black Phone 2 - A Rather Different Kind But Still Terrifying Horror Sequel to that 2021 Hit Movie

I was not aware there was going to be this movie until I saw its trailer few weeks ago. My wife who is not a fan of horror movies somehow remembered the original and was OK to accompany me seeing this. All right then, let's get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

Four years after the events in the first movie, Finn (Mason Thames - How to Train Your Dragon live version, Moster Summer etc) was struggling emotionally with the aftermath while his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw - Outcast TV series, Toy Story 4 etc) was still having various dreams. This time it might involve brutal killings of some young children.

From what she could find out, Gwen decided to go to the Alpine Lake Christian camp where the missing children case occurred, together with her friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora) who had a crush on her. Though reluctant, Finn also went there to protect Gwen. They were later met by the supervisor of the camp Armando (Demián Bichir - Chaos Walking, Alien: Covenant etc) and his niece Mustang (Arianna Rivas - A Working Man etc). Things though gotten worse for Gwen when her nightmares became more frequent and affected her physically, while Finn started to get calls on the phone from the Grabber (Ethan Hawke - Leave the World Behind, The Guilty etc). 

(TV SERIES) The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Season 1 - A High Octane Action Thriller Based on Characters from Best Selling Novel Series

I read about this series several months ago which was the prequel of an action thriller that I enjoyed on Prime Video 3 years ago. As usual I would only start watching when all episodes were already available. But since the final episode was released also during my long holiday trip, I just watched this after I returned and finished it few days ago. Without further ado, let's get on with the series then.

Brief Story Line

Seven years before the events of The Terminal List, Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch - American Assassin, Friday Night Lightss TV series etc) was the Chief of Navy Seals Charlie platoon who was stationed in Iraq together with Lieutenant Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper - Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, The Umbrella Academy TV series etc) and Lt. James Reece (Chris Pratt - The Garfield Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy etc). After a dangerous mission with their unit, Ben and Raife were discharged but later recruited to work for the CIA by Jed Haverford (Robert Wisdom - Vacation Friends, Barry TV series etc) for a special mission. Though reluctant at first, both of them decided to join him.

(TV SERIES) Twelve - A Rather Disappointing Developed Series for Such an Interesting Premise

When I heard about this series from my wife who saw it mentioned in various social media, I was quite interested to give it a try due to its interesting premise, plus the lead cast of Don Lee aka Ma Dong-seok. However, as usual I wanted to wait till the whole season/series is completed before I started to watch. It just so happen that the final episode was released while both of us were on long holiday. So after watching other series and films, I finally decided to watch three nights ago and finished it last night. All right then, I'll get right with it.

Brief Story Line (warning possible spoiler)

Story was set in the world where twelve Angels were created by God to protect humans. They were given exceptional powers as they had to fight against evil. After the last war centuries ago, the evil was defeated and were sealed in the hellmouth along with the Angels' power making them just like ordinary people. The angels led by their Chief Taesan (Ma Dong-seok - Holy Night: Demon Hunters, Ashfall etc) now worked as money lenders to criminals, along with his siblings that consisted of the rather hot-headed Won-seung (Seo In-guk - Death's Game TV series, Pipeline etc), the one who loved to eat Doni (Ko Kyu-pil - Tarot, The Fiery Priest 2 TV series etc) who worked together with Bangwool (Regina Lei - The Sadness, Port of Lies TV series etc) in oriental medicine shop, tech expert Jwidol (Sung Yoo-bin - Count, No Way Out: The Roulette TV series etc), the athletic Malsook (Ahn Ji-hye - Badland Hunters, Mine TV series etc) and the one who symphatize human Kangji (Kang Mi-na - Love Untangled, Welcome to Samdal-ri TV series etc).

The Woman in Cabin 10 - A Standard Adaptation of Best Seller Novel with Interesting Enough Plot

I already noticed this new movie released on Netflix last Friday. But as I returned home rather late that night after having movie marathon and finishing other series, I only got the chance to watch it two nights ago. It has interesting premise that made me curious. OK so here's more on the film.

Brief Story line

Laura Blacklock (Kiera Knightley - Black Doves TV series, Pirates of the Caribbean movies etc) was a famous investigative journalist who was invited to a private cruise initiated by wealthy couple Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce - Memory, The Brutalist etc) and his terminally ill wife Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli - Force Majeure, The Orheim Company etc) to celebrate the forming of cancer foundation. During the short cruise, Laura met with other invitees that included the rich and powerful people such as Heidi (Hannah Waddingham - Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, The Fall Guy etc) and her husband Thomas (David Morrissey - The Walking Dead TV series, State of Play etc), Adam (Daniel Ings - The Gentlemen TV series, The Gold min series etc) and several others. 

Dongji Rescue - The Awesome Story of the Amazing Rescue Act Based on Historic Event During World War 2

For the second of our movie marathon day, my wife and I went to see this Chinese film. Its premise seemed interesting from the very brief synopsis in the cinema website. But we had to move to different location since it did not play in the cinema we saw the first movie. All right then, I'll just get started.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in the year 1942 where Japanese ship named Lisbon Maru carrying 1816 British Prisoners of War (POW) was shot down by US submarine in the waters of Zhousan islands. As the ship started to sink, the Japanese saved their own crews but left the POWs inside the hatches.

Tron: Ares - An Entertaining Sci-fi Action Movie in Tron Universe

I saw the trailer to this movie last week and noticed it to be a bit different with what I expected. It was actually what made me interested in giving it a try (I'll get more into it later). Anyway yesterday my wife and I planned to see this with another film that we were interested in, so we had another movie marathon day. OK, why don't I just get right to it now.

Brief Story Line

Fifteen years after the events of Tron: Legacy, ENCOM was now led by its CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee - Russian Doll TV series, Past Lives etc) and competing against Dillinger Systems headed by their CEO Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters - Mare of Easttown mini series, American Animals etc). They had been in competition to seek for codes that would revolutionize the tech industry. While Eve sought them through the old data from Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges - The Old Man TV series, True Grit etc), Julian had created a sophisticated Master Control program that could be constructed into real world which he called Ares (portrayed by Jared Leto - Haunted Mansion 2023 reboot, House of Gucci etc). In the digital world referred to as Grid, Ares was assisted by another program named by Julian as Athena (portrayed by Jodie Turner-Smith - Bad Monkey TV series, White Noise etc).

(TV SERIES) Mobius - An Intelligently Done Detective Story with Unique Time Loop Element

I have been intrigued by this series ever since it was promoted in Netflix more than a month ago. But it was not immediately released full episodes when it was made available early last month, so I only decided to watch it last week after my return from holiday. All right then, I'll get right to it.

Brief Story Line

Ding Qi (Bai Jingting - Yesterday Once More, The First Frost TV series etc) was a police detective who somehow could experience limited time loop and used this "ability" to solve crimes. His supervisor Duan Zheng (Chen Baoyuan - Firestorm, The Hand TV series etc) was sometimes confused by Ding Qi's unique knowledge. In one of his previous cases, Ding Qi got to know and was attracted to An Lan (Janice Man - Lost in the Stars, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2021 TV series etc), an intelligent biologist who also worked as researcher in a large genetic engineering company Moma Technology.

(TV SERIES) Alien: Earth Season 1 - A Nice Addition to the Alien Universe with Some High Intensity Moments & Awesome Special Effects

When I read about this series few months ago, I was immediately intrigued. As usual, I would only watch a new series after it was completed. But since it finished during my holiday, I just got the chance to watch 2 days ago and finished it last night. All right then, let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

Two years before the events of the movie Alien, earth was led by the Five wealthiest organization including Prodigy Corporation led by its CEO Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin - Mary & George TV series etc) which developed new kind of synthetics and Weyland-Yutani that focused on space exploration. When one of the science vessel owned by Weyland with its Chief security Morrow (Babou Ceesay - Guerilla TV series etc) crash landed on earth, Kavalier decided to send his new team of hybrid synths led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler - Pistol mini series etc) along with her friends that included Slightly (Adarsh Gourav - The White Tiger etc), Nibs (Lily Newmark - Cursed TV series etc) and few others to the crash site. They were accompanied by chief scientist Kirsch (Timothy Olyphant - Havoc, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood etc) who was also the mentor of Wendy & her friends.

(2025) Play Dirty - A Not too Sophisticated Heist Movie with Pretty Entertaining Action Based on Character from Best Selling Novels

Last Wednesday, this movie was released on Prime Video but as I just came back from holiday and busy with other activities (including catching up ongoing series), I only got the chance to watch it last night. It was something that intrigued me due to its premise. OK without further ado, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Parker (Mark Wahlberg - Flight Risk, The Family Plan etc) was a professional robber who had gain fame for doing many successful heist jobs. After finishing the latest job, Parker somehow was drawn by his former getaway driver Zen (Rosa Salazar - Brand New Cherry Flavor TV series, Birdbox etc) into an even larger score involving major New York crime syndicate called The Outfit led by Lozini (Tony Shalhoub - Monk TV series, Cars trilogy etc) and his right hand man Kincaid (Nat Wolff - Body Cam, The Stand mini series etc).

The Strangers - Chapter 2 - Not as Good as the First Chapter but Still Pretty Intense

After my wife and I had a small get together with her sisters' families, we decided to see another new movie in the cinema yesterday. We opted to watch this one which I was interested as it was sequel to the film that we saw last year. All right then, let's just get to it.

Brief Story Line

Set after the events of the first chapter, Maya (Madelaine Petsch -Riverdale TV series, Jane etc) who survived the Strangers terror was treated at the hospital in the small town of Venus under the care of Nurse Danica (Brooke Johnson - Cruel Intentions TV series etc). She was also being questioned by Sheriff Rotter (Richard Brake - Barbarian, Mayor of Kingstown TV series etc) and his deputy Walters (Pedro Leandro - Portrait of Dangerous Women etc) on what happened to her and her fiancee.

No Other Choice - Critically Acclaimed Movie with Heavy Topic Which Should Please Fans of Festival Films

After weeks of missing out on recent movies in the cinemas, yesterday my wife and I browsed through various options in several locations & decided to see this film. It was something that we were interested in due to the cast, though we did not have knowledge of the story. Anyway, after finishing our important errand in the morning, we finally head to the studio and saw the film at 3.20 PM.

Brief Story Line

Man-su (Lee Byung-hun - Concrete Utopia, Squid Game TV series season 2 & 3 etc) was a manager in paper factory for 25 years and living the dream life with his wife Miri (Son Ye-jin - The Negotiation, Thirty Nine TV series etc) and their two children & two dogs. However it suddenly turned bad when he lost his job.

After months of having difficulties in managing their finances, Man-su decided to go for the only available job. But he had to face stiff competition from people more suitable such as Gu Bum-mo (Lee Sung-min - Handsome Guys, The Queen Who Crowns TV series etc), Go Si-jo (Cha Seung-won - Uprising, Our Blues TV series etc) and the one still working in the company, Choi Seun-chul (Park Hee-son - My Name TV series, The Policeman's Lineage TV series etc). In order to ensure he got the job, Man-su really went to the most extreme. 

Mantis - An Interesting Addition to the Kill Boksoon Universe

After having a one month vacation with my wife out of the country and busy with our itineraries, we finally returned home last night where I decided to watch a film released on Netflix end of last week. It was something that intrigued me and seemed like a no brainer kind. OK let's just get started then.

Brief Story Line

Lee Han-ul (Yim Si-wan - Unlocked, Summer Strike TV series etc) was a well known assassin with nickname Mantis and worked for the largest organization called MK. After the events in Kill Boksoon, Mantis who just returned from holiday was surprised with the latest condition and not sure of what to do next. Upon meeting with Jae-yi (Park Gyu-young - Sweet Home TV series, Love + Sling TV series etc) who used to be assassin trainee with him during their time with MK and their other friends, Mantis decided to form a new group and took on small jobs.