The Courier - Not Even Olga Kurylenko's Awesome Action Performance could Help this Movie Due to its Terrible Writing

I saw the poster of this movie in the Coming Soon section of several cinemas I've been to in the past few months. But only yesterday the movie had its wide release (albeit only in 1 cinema chain). Once again for this type of movie which was unclear of the quality, I opted to see it by myself without the company of my wife. I would let her know later on if it is worth seeing. Anyway, we should go to the movie details now.

Brief Story Line

A mysterious woman with unknown background simply called Courier (Olga Kurylenko - Johnny English Strikes Again, Oblivion etc) was hired to deliver a package. However, what she did not know was her latest assignment would get her entangled with an assassination attempt on a key witness Nick (Amit Shah - Final Score etc) who was guarded by FBI and Interpol led by agent Simmonds (Alicia Agneson).

Akhir Kisah Cinta si Doel - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

Few weeks ago, I saw the various advertisements and trailer to this third movie in Si Doel's trilogy which I had seen the first and second movie with my wife. It was said to be released on 23rd January 2020 but we only got the chance to see it on Sunday. Unlike in the previous two movies, this time I would leave the writing to my wife who had done a fabulous job in giving her review of this final movie (in Bahasa) which I would share below.

[MOVIE] Akhir Kisah Cinta Si Doel

Sejak Kamis 23 Januari 2020, Akhir Kisah Cinta Si Doel udah nongol di bioskop2 kesayangan. Tapi berhubung gw ada special screening film lain di hari yang sama, jadi baru hari Minggu 26 Januari 2020 gw tonton itu film. Sebetulnya hubby udah suruh gw nonton Kamis itu siang2. Tapi kan dari pelem nomor 1 ke pelem nomor 2, nontonnya selalu bareng hubby. Jadi gw tunggu bisa barengan deh. Yuk buruan ditonton finale dari trilogi ini yang disutradarai dan ditulis sendiri oleh Rano Karno, biar kejawab gituuuuu semua tanda tanyanya.

Kalo Si Doel The Movie kisahnya seputar pertemuan kembali Doel (Rano Karno) dengan Sarah (Cornelia Agatha) dan anak mereka Dul (Rey Bong), SDTM2 seputar kegelisahan Zaenab (Maudy Koesnaedi), naaaah di AKCSD ini udah harus banget deh mengakhiri kegalauan semua pemainnya. LOL. Dari awal, perasaan kita ikut diajak naik turun bak rollercoaster, sekarang selayaknya lah kita dikasi akhir dari kisah cinta mereka. Bang Doel HARUS memilih.

To read her complete review, you can go direct to her blog:

Akhir Kisah Cinta si Doel review by yennymakanmulu

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

Start Up - A Nice Enough Drama Movie about Growing Up

My wife and I were not really aware about this movie as it did not get the hype and huge advertisement by the cinemas that showed the film. I only realized it when I saw the tweet from one of the twitter account about movies in Indonesia that I followed and when we were looking for movies we could see in CGV. So off we went to see the film yesterday noon. OK let's go straight to it then.

Brief Story Line

Two best friends Go Taek-Il (Park Jung-min - Tazza: One Eyed Jack etc) and Woo Sang-pil (Jung Hae-In - While You Were Sleeping TV series etc) were struggling to make something out of their young lives. Taek-Il was living with his authoritative mother (Yum Jung-ah - A Tale of Two Sisters, Sky Castle TV series) who was a former volleyball athlete, while Sang-pil was living with his grandmother.

Enter The Fat Dragon - Only Donnie Yen's Amazing Fight Skills was the Highlight in This Not Funny Action Comedy Movie

Last week I saw a huge poster of this movie in the cinema while I was buying tickets for another movie and noticed that it starred Donnie Yen. And then I saw the trailer and it confirmed my belief that this is an action comedy film. When it was announced in the social media 2 days ago that the movie would be released a day prior to Chinese New Year, I was so happy and we bought the tickets for yesterday's show. Well I will go straight to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Fallon Zhu (Donnie Yen - Big Brother, xXx: Return of Xander Cage etc) was a police officer who was only focused on helping people and catch bad guys but was not successful in his career. Due to an incident, he broke up with his B class actress girlfriend Chloe (Niki Chow - Nothing Gold Can Stay TV series etc) and was demoted to back office duty where he gained lots of weight.

(Special Screening) Vanguard - High Octane Over the Top and Entertaining Full Action Movie

When my wife got an invitation to the special screening of this new Jackie Chan movie, I was really excited and immediately told her to accept it (not that she needed any encouragement anyway as she is a really big fan of Jackie Chan). So off we went to the screening at Senayan City where the movie started at 7.20 PM after brief opening remarks and prize distribution from sponsor. And now let us get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

Tang Huating (Jackie Chan - The Foreigner, Bleeding Steel etc) was the leader of a private security consultant based in London with a large team of former military and experts in security. When one of their VIP client was being targeted by a group of deadly assassins, two of Tang's team members who happened to be nearby the area, Lei Zhenyu (Yang Yang - Once Upon a Time, Martial Universe series etc) and Zhang Kaixuan (Ai Lun - Hello Mr. Billionaire etc) were called to rescue, with the aid from another member Miya (Miya Muqi - Kungfu Yoga etc).

The Poison Rose - Poorly Done Supposedly Film Noir

Yesterday the only major Hollywood movie released was 1917 which I had seen earlier during its special screening. So I decided to see a John Travolta movie which had been released a day before and was playing in the theater near our home. I saw this by myself as usually this kind of film was not really my wife's cup of tea. Well let's get into it now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1978, a Private Investigator based in Los Angeles named Carson Phillips (John Travolta - Grease, Swordfish etc) was hired for a case involving the disappearance of a wealthy woman in his hometown in Texas. Despite his reluctance, Carson still took the case where he met Doctor Mitchell (Brendan Fraser - Doom Patrol TV series, Encino Man etc), the head of the psychiatric facility where the person was supposed to be treated. While doing his investigation, Carson met with his old love from 20 years ago named Jayne (Famke Janssen - Primal, Taken trilogy etc) who was now a widow with her only daughter Becky (Ella Bleu Travolta). 

(TV SERIES) Reprisal season 1 - Lacking the Intensity of a Revenge Story

I came across this series recently and felt that it has an interesting premise. So when I got the chance, I quickly went ahead and watch this. It only had 10 episodes for the first season which made it easy for me to complete. OK, I'll just head on with the series now.

Brief Story Line

Katherine (Abigail Spencer - Timeless TV series, The Forger etc) was tortured and left for dead by a gang called Brawlers led by Burt Harlow (Rory Cochrane - CSI: Miami etc). After many years, she assumed the name of Doris Quinn and decided to revenge against the people who tried to kill her earlier. She enlisted the help from Earl (Craig Tate) and Cordell (Wavyy Jones) for her mission.

Bad Boys for Life - Way to Revive an Old Franchise!

When I heard about the third movie in this franchise, I was pretty excited. I loved the action and comedy even if the movies were not liked by critics. But since it premiered on the day that I was having a special screening of the highly rated film, my wife and I only got the chance to see it yesterday. All right, I shall go on with it now.

Brief Story Line

A couple of Miami Detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith - Spies in Disguise, Aladdin live version etc) & his partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence - Big Momma's House, Martin TV series etc) had been working for 25 years where Marcus already thinking of retiring and live peacefully with his family. Meanwhile the Miami PD also had a new elite unit called AMMO that was led by Rita (Paola Núñez) and consisted of a fresher team of young and intelligent police such as Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens - High School Musical, Dog Days etc), Rafe (Charles Melton - Riverdale TV series etc) and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig - Vikings TV series etc).

(Special Screening) 1917 - A Genius and Extraordinary Work from Sam Mendes

After generating rave reviews and multiple nominations plus few already won awards, this movie certainly is on top of my to see list. So when my wife got the invitation to special screening of the film before its official premier date, I was so excited and could not wait for the time to come and see it. Well enough said on that part and let's get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

During the World War I in 1917, two young British soldiers Corporal Will Schofield (George MacKay - Marrowbone, Ophelia etc) and Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman - Game of Thrones TV series etc) were given special assignment by General Erinmore (Colin Firth - Mary Poppins Returns, Bridget Jones Diary trilogy etc) to send a message to Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch - The Grinch animated version, Star Trek Into Darkness etc) to cancel an attack on the Germans as it was a trap.

Dolittle - Great Visual Effects with Wonderful Performance from its Voice Cast, Just Enough to Cover the Lack of Emotions

I was not really aware about the existence of this movie till few weeks ago when its trailer started to be shown prior to the start of other films. I might have seen the tittle somewhere before, but did not have any memory of it. Anyway when my wife and I saw that the main star was one of her favorite actors, we were immediately intrigued and lucky enough could see the movie during its premier date last night. And how was the movie? I'll get into it now.

Brief Story Line

After a personal incident, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr - Iron Man trilogy, The Judge etc), famous for being a veterinarian who could talk to animals was not keen to interact with other people and only play around all day long with his animal friends such as Poly the very firm macaw bird (Emma Thompson - Last Christmas, Sense and Sensibility etc), Chee-Chee the always nervous gorilla (Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody, Need for Speed etc), Yoshi the polar bear (John Cena - Playing with Fire, Ferdinand etc), Plimpton the ostrich (Kumail Nanjiani - Stuber, The Lego Ninjago Movie etc), Dab-dab the duck (Octavia Spencer - Instant Family, Hidden Figures etc) and few others.

(TV SERIES) L.A.'s Finest Season 1 - A Disappointing Spin Off of Bad Boys Franchise Lacking the Chemistry Between the Lead Stars & the Spectacular Action

I watched glimpses of this series on cable TV sometime ago and when I found out that it was spin-off of the hugely popular Bad Boys franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, I was really intrigued and wanted to watch the whole season. Especially when the third Bad Boys movie scheduled to be released in the theaters soon. So how was this series? Let's get into details now.

Brief Story Line

Syd Burnett (Gabrielle Union - Bring It On, Cradle 2 the Grave etc) was a former DEA agent in Miami who had transferred to Los Angeles and working as LAPD detective with her partner Nancy McKenna (Jessica Alba - Mechanic: Resurrection, Barely Lethal etc). Aside from Syd and Nancy, there were also a couple of detectives who sometimes work on the same case with them i.e. Baines (Duane Martin - All of Us TV series etc) who loved to joke around and his partner Walker (Zach Gilford - Friday Night Lights TV series, The Purge: Anarchy etc).

Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

This movie was getting a lot of hype since early 2020 and was quite a box office hit, which made me and my wife interested in giving it a try. Last Saturday, we finally got the chance to see it in a theater not far from our home. And after seeing it, I thought the movie did justify it's rave reviews. As my wife already wrote a lovely post about the film, I would share it below.

[MOVIE] Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini

Udah liat poster film Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini sebelum gw berangkat ke Hokkaido. Dari posternya sih keliatan lah film drama keluarga gitu. Dan mereka turun ke bioskop2 di Jakarta tgl 2 Januari 2020 saat gw masih di Hokkaido. Minggu lalu itu gw ada acara annual family gathering, dan hubby masih ada jadwal nonton pelem lain, jadi gw baru jadwalin hari ini deh nonton di Kuncit, secara di Setiabudi udah gak maen donk. Sebel kan! Ok, jadi film ini disadur dari novel karya Marchella FP dengan judul yang sama, garapan Angga Dwimas Sasongko, dan ditulis bareng Jenny Jusuf. Well, apa bedanya dengan film2 drama keluarga yang lainnya? Yuk ditonton aja sebelum hilang dari bioskop kesayangan.

To read her complete review, you can go direct to her blog:

Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini review by yennymakanmulu

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

Playing with Fire - Enjoyable Only For Those Who could Appreciate Mindless Humor

After watching a heavy Indonesian family drama earlier in the day, my wife and I already had our eyes on this comedy movie to lighten up our mood. It was released on Friday but did not play in the theater near our home, so we ended up seeing it at one of the several studios showing it. Anyway I'll go ahead with the film now.

Brief Story Line

Superintendent Jake Carson (John Cena - Bumblebee, Blockers etc) was the leader of smokejumper team in California with his captain Mark (Keegan Michael Key - Toy Story 4, The Predator etc) and team members Rodrigo (John Leguizamo - Ice Age: Collission Course & its predecessors) and Axe (Tyler Mane - Halloween etc). During a fire incident, they saved a group of children that consisted of the teenager Brynn (Brianna Hildebrand - Deadpool 2 etc) and her younger brother Will (Christian Convery) & the youngest Zoey (Finley Rose Slater).

Underwater - Not the Most Original Science Fiction Horror Movie but Still Thrilling and Super Intense

As the first major Hollywood movie released in Indonesia in 2020, it was no surprise that my wife and I would definitely see this on its premier date. It was not playing in my favorite Dolby Atmos theater but I could not find any information from the website whether it would be released with such effect, so we went ahead to buy tickets for the 7 PM show in the cinema near our home. OK I'll just get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Norah (Kristen Stewart - Charlie's Angels 2019, Snow White and the Huntsman etc) was part of the crew working in the deep sea as mechanical engineer. When the facility was hit by an earth quake, Norah and other crews that consisted of Rodrigo (Mamoudou Athie), the fun guy Paul (T. J. Miller - Deadpool 2, Ready Player One etc), the captain (Vincent Cassel - Jason Bourne etc), Liam Smith (John Gallagher Jr - Peppermint etc) and the apprentice Emily (Jessica Henwick - Iron Fist series etc) must find ways to save themselves.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Overly Long Build Up with Amazing Climax

This movie was released in Indonesia while I was away on holiday in August 2019 with my wife and when I returned home, it was only playing in limited theaters which would require a bit of effort that I did not want to put. And instead I chose to see other movies that were easier to get access to back then. As so happened, during my trip end of last year, the film was already in the inflight entertainment which was good for me as it had very long duration and definitely a good time killer. Well here's my brief opinion about the movie.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1969, story was focusing on a veteran Hollywood actor named Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio - Inception, Revenant etc) with his best friend and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt - Ad Astra, Ocean's Eleven etc) who always drove him around and accompanying him everywhere. With limited job offers, Rick was hoping to be cast by famous director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) who just moved next door to his house with his wife, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie - Peter Rabbit, The Legend of Tarzan etc).

Ip Man 4: The Finale - The End of an Era

I was a bit upset when this movie was not released in Indonesia as per its original schedule. It was only shown in 1 cinema chain and was supposed to be premiering on the 20th December 2019 according to the cinema's social media (though that post was later on revised and I did not have any proof of that), which meant I could have seen this before I left for my holiday. But sadly it was rescheduled and had its wide release late last month and I ended up only seeing it last night. Well enough of that part and let's just get into the movie.

Brief Story Line

Set several years after the event from the third movie, Ip Man (Donnie Yen - Big Brother, xXx: Return of Xander Cage etc) was invited to San Francisco by his former student Bruce Lee (Danny Chan - Monk Comes Down the Mountain etc) to visit his martial arts school. However, by opening up to Americans, Bruce had enraged the Chinese society especially Wan Zhong-hua (Wu Yue - Paradox, The Brink etc) who was the leader of Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) and also a martial arts expert & master in Tai Chi. 

Spies in Disguise - Hilarious at Certain Times but Lacking a bit in Emotional Areas

I was actually interested in seeing this movie after watching its trailers many times earlier, but the premier date was exactly on Christmas day while I was away with my wife on our own holiday. We only got the chance to see it yesterday and fortunately there were few theaters still showing the movie, with one of them not far from our home. Otherwise it would be too troublesome and we might opt to skip this and wait till it play on cable TV. Anyway I'll just go straight to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Lance Sterling (Will Smith - Gemini Man, Suicide Squad etc) was a very intelligent spy and always got the job done by himself and worked at the HTUV agency. Just like any other spies, there was a team of scientists who provided equipment/gadgets during their mission. Walter Beckett (Tom Holland - Spider-man: Homecoming, The Current War etc) was one of those scientists who dislike using violence and always try to create non lethal gadgets and almost made Lance failed in one of his missions.