(GALA PREMIERE) Sesuai Aplikasi - A Nice Comedy Movie with a Touch of Drama

Last night me and my wife were quite fortunate to be among some of the people invited to the Gala Premiere of a comedy movie which would be shown in theaters next week. The movie had some well known stars playing in it and we were kind of hoping there would be some of them showing up so we could take pictures with them. Anyway, after the registration and ticket exchanges, we found out that the movie only start at 9.15 pm which was a surprise to us since the invitation mentioned 7.30 PM. Finally at 9.30 PM the movie started. So let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line (Spoiler Warning!)

Pras (Valentino Peter) and Duras (Lolox - Security Ugal-ugalan) were 2 childhood best friends who worked hard for a living as online ojek driver. Pras lived with his mother (Alicia Djohar) and had a girlfriend (Former Indonesian Idol Kamasean) whom he planned to marry, while Duras was financing his sister Monik (Meisya Amira) to be a doctor. With his good looks, Pras had some loyal customers including a famous Dangdut singer called Sofiyah (Titi Kamal - Mendadak Dangdut, Hang Out etc). Duras on the other hand, was not so lucky and had no choice but to borrow money from a loanshark called Ci Asiu (Dayu Wijanto - The Returning, Generasi Micin etc) for his sister's college fee.

Creed 2 - A Powerful Sports Drama with Some Quite Spectacular Boxing Fights

When the trailer to this movie was shown so many times earlier, I was intrigued by it and wanted to find out more (I never did saw the first movie). After watching that one via online streaming, I thought it was a good film and decided it would be nice to see the second one. But my wife did not really enjoy and she did not finish it. Hence I saw this new movie by myself last night when it premiered in Indonesia. OK, we will start with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Few years after the events in the first movie, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan - Black Panther, Fantastic Four etc) had been a popular figure in boxing, especially since he became the heavy weight champion of the world. His life also was in the best shape with the support from his love Bianca (Tessa Thompson - Thor: Ragnarok, Sorry to Bother You etc), his trainer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone - Escape Plan 2, Rambo series etc) and his step mother Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad - The Cosby Show etc).

Iceman: The Time Traveller - A Disappointing Sequel to the 2014 Donnie Yen's Movie

I saw the poster to this movie a while back in the cinema and was looking forward to it as it starred Donnie Yen and it's also a sequel to the 2014 movie titled Iceman which had a cliffhanger ending. So when it finally premiered few days ago, I wanted to see it immediately. But alas, it did not play in a lot of theaters and we had many activities during the past few days. Until last night my wife and I finally got the chance to see it. OK, let's move on to the film now.

Brief Story Line

Set exactly after the first movie, He Ying (Donnie Yen - Chasing The Dragon, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story etc) decided to return to his time during the Ming dynasty period to try and change the fate of his family and friends while leaving his friend/savior in the modern world May (Eva Huang - The Sorcerer and the White Snake, Kung Fu Hustle etc). 

Rampant - A Pretty Enjoyable Korean Period Zombie Movie

Yesterday my wife and I were thinking of seeing a new movie playing since Saturday but then she realized that a Korean movie which had been shown earlier from Wednesday had 2 of her favorite actors in it. Hence we decided to see this one at the 1.20 PM show. Without further ado, let's get on to the movie now.

Brief Story Line (SPOILER ALERT!)

Set in the rather ancient period in Joseon country, Prince Ganglim/Lee Chung (Hyun Bin - The Negotiation, The Swindlers etc) had just returned from Qing country with his loyal personal servant Hak Soo (Jung Man-sik - Kundo: Age of the Rampant etc) only to find out that the first village he arrived at had been damaged by monsters/zombies. He met with the so-called rebels led by Park Eul-yong (Jo Woo-jin - Inside Man, Steel Rain etc) and somehow befriended them including with a great archer named Deok-hee (Lee Sun-bin - Missing 9 TV series etc).

Ralph Breaks the Internet - Another Heartwarming Funny & Beautifully Animated Disney Movie About Friendship

This was one of the movie that I really wanted to see on its premiere day, so when it finally showed in Indonesian theaters on Friday, my wife and I wanted to buy the tickets for around 7 PM. But unfortunately there were no studios near our place showing the movie around that time. So we decided to wait until weekend and finally we saw it today in the Pluit area where my wife had various events. OK let's move on with the movie then.

Brief Story Line

Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly - Sing, Chicago etc) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman - Battle of the Sexes, I Smile Back etc) had been best friends for 6 years and living a routine life every day. That was until the internet started to be installed in Litwak's arcade where their video games were plugged in. Pretty soon Ralph and Vanellope decided to go inside the internet in search of something specific they thought could be found there.

(2018) Robin Hood - A Highly Entertaining Fresh Look on a Classic Tale

In the last couple of weeks, me and my wife have been shown the trailer to this movie few times and every time we were always hyped up by the seemingly cool action sequences. So when it was announced the movie would be playing on the public holiday on Tuesday, we immediately set our sights to see this one. We managed to get the tickets for the first show in my favorite Dolby Atmos theater and well, let us get into the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton - Kingsman series, Sing etc) was just a regular lord in Nottingham and having a love relationship with Marian (Eve Hewson - Papillon, The Knick TV series etc). But he had to leave all of them for a Crusade after being drafted by the Sheriff (Ben Mendelsohn - Darkest Hour, Bloodline TV series etc). 

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - A Sequel to Set Up the Grand Finale in Fantastic Beasts Series

I was a bit late in seeing this movie as it already premiered on Wednesday but I only managed to see it last night. This was all due to my favorite theater with Dolby Atmos sound system did not have any show around the 6 or 7 PM time on more than one occasion. Since we were already late anyway, I decided to just wait till the weekend to see the film at that theater, together with another movie which just premiered on Friday. Well we shall get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Not long after the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne - The Other Boleyn Girl etc) was back at London and trying to appeal for his right to travel. He was supported by his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) and his old friend during Hogwarts years Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz - Kin, Mad Max: Fury Road etc). He even got the support from Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law - The Talented Mr. Ripley, Sherlock Holmes etc) though not in plain sight. 

The Girl in the Spider's Web - A Different, More Action-ish Sequel to the Critically Acclaimed 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This movie started to play in Indonesian theaters on Friday, however it did not play in any of the cinemas easily accessible from my office or my home then. So my wife and I decided to just wait till the weekend to see it, together with another movie that premiered on Wednesday but we did not see due to same reasons. Anyway, as this film was a sequel and my wife had not seen the first movie, she watched it through online streaming the night before. Well let's get on with the first of our movie marathon.

Brief Story Line

Set few years after the original movie, Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy - First Man etc) now became a vigilante who sometimes protected and helped abused women. She was requested by Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant - Logan etc) to steal a dangerous program called Firefall from NSA, which prompted special agent Needham (Lakeith Stanfield - Sorry to Bother You, Atlanta TV series etc) to pursue and capture her in Stockholm. 

A Man Called Ahok - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

After few days of the movie playing in the theaters, we finally decided to go ahead and saw this one last night. This time, I prefer to let my wife share her views of the film as I thought that her personal experience while watching the movie would be more suitable than if I wrote it. So here goes below her wonderful review in Bahasa Indonesia.

[MOVIE] A Man Called Ahok – Kisah Memperjuangkan Belitung Timur *spoiler alert*

5 hari setelah film A Man Called Ahok rilis di bioskop2 Indonesia, gw baru bisa nonton di hari Selasa kemarin. Terbentur dengan lokasi bioskop dan tempat duduk yang gw incer, makanya gw tunda dulu nonton di hari pertama main. Semua bioskop penuh! Tapi terus terang, gw gak terlalu napsu buat nonton awalnya. Bukan! Bukan karena gw gak suka Ahok. Oh wow, gw justru kagum banget sama sosok seorang Ahok. Gara2 Ahok, Jakarta pernah jadi yang terbaik di mata gw. Sebelum Ahok kerja di Jakarta, gw gak kenal siapa beliau. Sepak terjang Ahok bikin Jakarta lebih baik dari sebelum2nya. Terus, apa sih sebetulnya alasan gw gak beli tiket pertama kali? Gw ragu Daniel Mananta bisa mewakili sosok Ahok. Monmaap ya Kak Daniel. Secara gw gak pernah nonton Daniel akting. Tapi setelah banyak teman yang bilang filmnya bagus, okelah gw coba nonton deh. Oya film diadaptasti dari buku dengan judul yang sama, karangan Rudi Valinka, dan disutradarai oleh Putrama Tuta. Yuk mulai nonton!

To continue reading, please click the link below:

A Man Called Ahok Review by Yennymakanmulu

Just heads up on the movie, it was mentioned by the director that it's not a documentary and certain aspects might be dramatized.

PS: You can also read her other reviews about food and travel in her blog.

(2018) The Grinch - A Wonderfully Animated Christmas Movie

Yesterday there was a new family movie that premiered in all Indonesian cinemas. My wife and I wanted to see this in the theater nearest to our home but unfortunately it did not play there. So we saw this in another one which was quite near as well. It was the one with Dolby Atmos sound system, though the movie playing there did not have such effects. Anyway, let's get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch - Doctor Strange, Sherlock TV series etc) was very grumpy and really hated Christmas day. Few days before Christmas, he grew even grumpier especially when the city nearby called Whoville went all around to make sure this year's celebration was 3 times bigger than previous year. With the help from his friend Max the dog, Grinch decided to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville.

He's Out There - A Better Than Expected Terrifying Horror Movie

This was one of the two movies playing only in the smaller Indonesian cinema chains. I got the chance to see this last night, but I saw it by myself as it was a horror movie. However, I thought it did not seem like a very scary one so I still wanted to give it a try. Well let's get down to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Laura (Yvonne Strahovski - The Predator, Chuck TV series etc), and her two young children Kayla (Anna Pniowsky) and Madison (Abigail Pniowsky) were on their way for holiday at a remote lake house. Laura's husband Shawn (Justin Bruening - Knight Rider remake, All My Children TV series etc) was coming a bit later as he had some things he had to attend to. 

While Laura was taking a rest, the girls wandered around the woods and found something they did not share with their mother. During the night, things started to get creepy as sounds coming from outside and on the second floor as well. Getting real panic, Laura tried to find help, only to find that her effort was futile, especially since no one was around in the area to help them.

Overlord - A Great Nonstop World War 2 Era Action Movie With a Touch of Horror

This was one strange movie. I had very little knowledge about the film despite it being a major movie released in the US cinemas this week. I saw the poster few weeks ago and was unfamiliar with the cast and not sure what the plot was all about. Not until around 2 weeks ago when I first saw the trailer prior to another movie. Even then I was a bit doubtful, though there was a hint of monster or whatever which made it a bit interesting. Yesterday when the movie finally played, I saw it was having Dolby Atmos sound effect and played in the cinema with such system near my home and it also played in IMAX studios. So I thought it must good movie. Well to cut the story short, let's get down to the movie itself.

Brief Story Line

Set during the World War 2, a group of US military soldiers were deployed into the German territory near a small village in France. Their target was to destroy the radio tower so that the major attacks by the Allied countries could be successful. The team consisted of several soldiers which include the explosive expert Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russel - Goon: Last of the Enforcers, Table 19 etc), the kind hearted soldier Boyce (Jovan Adepo - Fences etc), the very talkative Tibbet (John Magaro - The Finest Hours etc), the private who wanted to write books Dawson (Jacob Anderson) and Chase (Iain De Caestecker - Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D TV series etc) who loved to take photos.

(TV SERIES) Van Helsing Season 1 - A Unique Vampire Series But Might not be the One You Are Looking For

It's been a while since I tried a new series as these past few weeks, I concentrated on watching other series. I was looking for a science fiction series and thought that usually SyFy had some of the best ones, such as 12 Monkeys that I saw some time ago. So I decided to watch this one which was into their 3rd season this year and with only 13 episodes each season, it should not be too difficult to catch up. My views below would be only on the first season that I just completed last night.

Brief Story Line

In the year 2019, the world was in a post-apocalyptic state where the sun was blocked by some cloud that enabled vampires to roam the streets and did not have to hide in the dark anymore. This phenomenon was referenced as The Rising. A mysterious woman named Vanessa (Kelly Overton - Tekken, Legend TV series etc) had been in a coma for the past 3 years and guarded by a marine named Axel (Jonathan Scarfe) and Doc (Rukiya Bernard) in an abandoned building. It would later on be revealed what Vanessa could do and her importance in the war between humans and Vampires.

The Returning - A Valiant Attempt in Creating Unconventional Indonesian Horror Movie

On Friday night, my wife was given the chance to see a new Indonesian movie directed by an old acquaintance of her in a Nonton Bareng event at CGV Grand Indonesia. We were told that it would start around 7 PM but we need to register first. Since my wife had to do something relating to her activity as a food blogger in the mall near that area in the afternoon, it would not be too inconvenient for us to reach the location at the designated time. After the registration, we could finally enter the studio at almost 7.30 PM and the movie started at 7.40 PM. Well let's go on with the movie now, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Colin (Ario Bayu - Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka, Serangoon Road TV series etc) got into an accident but his body was never found, leaving his wife Natalie (Laura Basuki - Di Timur Matahari, Madre etc) and their two young children Maggie (Tissa Biani - Perfect Dream etc) and Dom (newcomer Muzakki Ramdhan) in grieve. After 3 months of living in denial as Nat could not accept the lost of her husband, she finally went to psychologist to get help. Meanwhile Maggie was very upset with her mother's condition and only found solace from her grandmother Sonya (Dayu Wijanto - Bukaan 8, Love for Sale etc).

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms - Not One of the Best Disney Movie but Still Quite Entertaining

When my wife and I saw the trailer to this movie, we actually were not really interested in it. Somehow the trailer did not create a lot of interest for us, but still since it was a Disney movie which usually translate to a good family movie, we decided to give this a try. And it so happened that the movie did play in the theater near our home and was very convenient. Well let's see what the movie was all about. 

Brief Story Line

A young girl named Clara (Mackenzie Foy - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Interstellar etc) who just lost her mother was looking for ways to fit in. During the Christmas eve, in the house of his godfather Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman - Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby etc), Clara somehow was transported to another "world" where he met with a Nutcracker soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight) guarding the realms and also a bunch of mice where 1 of them stole the key Clara got from her mother.

Down a Dark Hall - A Not Too Scary Supernatural Horror Movie

This was one of the movies premiering on a busy Wednesday in some of Indonesian cinemas. I saw the trailer to the film 2 or 3 times before and I noticed that despite being a horror movie, it did not seem too scary. So I decided to give this a try last night. As usual, I saw this one by myself due to my wife's preference to avoid watching horror movies. Ok, let's get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

A troubled high school student named Katherine (AnnaSophia Robb - Race to Witch Mountain, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory etc) was enrolled by her parents to a boarding school called Blackwood led by its headmistress Madame Duret (Uma Thurman - Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill etc). Apparently the school only accepted very few students which include the rebellious Veronica (Victoria Moroles - Teen Wolf TV series etc) and other troubled girls Ashley (Taylor Russel), Izzy (Isabel Fuhrman) and Sierra (Rosie Day).