Sunday, January 31, 2021

(2020) The Swordsman - Cool Martial Arts Movie with Some Amazing Swords Fights Scenes

After a while not checking on new films on TVN Movies channel, I decided to find out few days ago. Then I saw this movie which already premiered on 2 January 2021. The movie itself was released in Indonesian cinemas since October 2020 and as my wife and I were still not comfortable going to the cinemas due to the pandemic, we skipped it and hoping for it to be released on TV soon (which it did). Anyway, enough of that and I'll just get to the good part.

Brief Story Line

Tae-yul (Jang Hyuk - Volcano High, Windstruck etc) said to be the best swordsman in Joseon (kingdom of Korea) had retired and living with his daughter Tae-ok (Kim Hyun-soo - Solomon's Perjury TV series etc) in the mountains. When Tae-yul's eyesight became worse due to previous injury, both of them went to town looking for medicines. However, the Qing dynasty of China led by their representative, the great martial artist Gurutai (Joe Taslim - Warrior TV series, Hit & Run etc) and his group of thugs were wreaking havoc and sadly Tae-yul and Tae-ok were caught in the middle. 

Saturday, January 30, 2021

(TV SERIES) Lupin Part One - A Highly Recommended Series based on Popular French Character, Arsène Lupin the Gentleman Thief

Actually I have watched the first part of this series few days ago and at first I wanted to reserve my opinion until the second part is released mid of this year. But then again, I could not hold myself from writing as I have quite strong opinion about the series. Anyway, why don't I just go straight to it.

Brief Story Line

Assane Diop (Omar Sy - Inferno, The Call of the Wild etc) was a professional thief who had his eyes on a long lost necklace belonging to Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre) which was being auctioned and shown by Hubert's daughter Juliette (Clotilde Hesme). Apparently there was a reason for Assane to aim for that specific necklace. He himself was inspired by the character of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin from the book given by Assane's late father Babakar Diop (Fargass Assandé). 

Friday, January 29, 2021

Wonder Woman 1984 - Might not be as Great as its Predecessor but Still Pretty Entertaining

Finally this movie could be watched officially on our small screen after Catchplay+ platform released it yesterday through single video rental. I thought it was a really smart move to capture new subscribers who wanted to watch this film without the worry of having to go out to public places like the cinema and mall. Anyway, I believe we should just be thankful that such option is available. OK, let's start with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1984, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot - Ralph Breaks the Internet, Fast and Furious movies etc) was now working at Smitshonian Institution where she befriended a geologist named Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig - Despicable Me 3, Downsizing etc). Secretly though, Diana as Wonder Woman still trying to do heroic deeds. Due to some mystical reasons, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine - Star Trek Beyond, Unstoppable etc) who has been dead for many years somehow miraculously came back to life which made Diana so delighted, although it came at such a high price.

Monday, January 25, 2021

(TV SERIES) Fate: The Winx Saga - A Much Better than Expected Series of Magic Fairies based on Popular Animated Nickelodeon Series

I saw this series promoted few days ago on Netflix and I decided to give it a try as it has magical element in it. Plus it only has 6 episodes which I should be able to complete easily in 1 day. OK, I'll just get into it now.

Brief Story Line

In the world where fairies and magical creatures exist, a 16 year old girl named Bloom (Abigail Cowen) started to go to a special school for fairies in Alfea. Being a person who just realized she was a fairy, made Bloom having difficulties to adjust with her new life. Luckily she stayed in a suite together with friendly first year students like Aisha (Precious Mustapha), Terra (Eliot Salt), Musa (Elisha Applebaum) and a snobby second year student Stella (Hannah van der Westhuysen). Bloom also befriended a second year specialist named Sky (Danny Griffin) who has a best friend fellow specialist Riven (Freddie Thorpe). Aside from those students, there was also a new fairy named Beatrix (Sadie Soverall) who had a knack for Alfea's history.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

(2021) Locked Down - A Disappointing Low-Key Heist Movie Focusing More on the Dramatic Impact on Covid-19 Pandemic

While checking new movies on HBO Go, I was surprised to see there was this film which did not seem familiar and apparently was quite brand new. I was quite intrigued by the premise and since two well known stars were the lead cast, I immediately decided to watch it yesterday. Well let's go into it now.

Brief Story Line

After living together for 10 years, Linda (Anne Hathaway - The HustleColossal etc) and her boyfriend Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor - The Old GuardThe Lion King live version etc) were having strained relationship, which was worsened due to Covid-19 lockdown in London. While Linda was still working as CEO for a famous fashion brand, Paxton could only work as delivery car driver because of his criminal past. So when Paxton's boss Malcolm (Ben Kingsley - The Jungle Book live version, House of Sand and Fog etc) gave him a risky delivery job which required someone without criminal activity background, Paxton still accepted it.

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Sightless - Not Bad for a Slow Burn Psychological Thriller with Surprising Plot Twist

I noticed this movie's trailer last week on Netflix and was quite intrigued by it especially with a scene that gave a bit of jump scare. It was actually released few days ago but somehow I forgotten about it and only watch it last night. OK let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

A young woman named Ellen (Madelaine Petsch - Riverdale TV series etc) was involved in an incident which left her blind and require the assistance from a caretaker named Clayton (Alexander Koch - Under the Dome TV series etc) for transition to new life without her sight.

Saturday, January 16, 2021

Outside the Wire - A Violent Action Movie with Some Amazing Sequence & Special Effects but not Memorable Enough

This movie was already promoted for some time and I was quite excited to watch the first action movie in 2021 in Netflix. So last night I readied myself to watch it immediately once I was home from work. Well how was the movie then? Let's find out, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 2036, the US army started to use robotic soldiers aka Gumpys with the support of drone fighters to fight war in Eastern Europe. A young drone pilot named Lt. Thomas Harp (Damson Idris - Snowfall TV series etc) was assigned to the frontier as subordinate to Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie - The Adjustment Bureau, Night Catches Us etc) who apparently was an android military officer. Their Chief in Command was Colonel Eckhart (Michael Kelly - Viral, Chronicle etc).

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Richard Jewell - Great Story of Character Assassination based on Real Person and Events

Last night a new movie was shown on HBO and released on HBO Go application hours earlier. I remember watching the movie's trailer some time ago where I thought it looked interesting. So I was glad when it was put in the Coming Soon section since last month. Anyway, we'll go ahead with more details now.

Brief Story Line

Set in 1996 during the Olympic event in Atlanta, USA, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Heuser - Da 5 Bloods, Songbird etc) who had been living with his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates - Misery, American Horror Story TV series etc) for a while, was working as security guard at Centennial Park. When he found an unattended bag under one of the bench, he suspected the content which turned out to be a bomb and went off after Richard and other security guards & officers managed to move most of the people away. 

Monday, January 4, 2021

(TV SERIES) Freud - A Fictional Tale of the Famous Austrian Neurologist & Psyhoanalysis Founder

Still during the new year's holiday (which was longer than usual this year due to it falling on Friday), I was able to watch many series that I put off for a while. This one intrigued me because of the famous name and the premise. Plus I thought I was ready to start watching series from Germany after that critically acclaimed complex time travel series Dark. Anyway we should get into this one now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1886, story focused on the young Sigmund Freud (Robert Finster) who had his own idea on how to treat mental disorders patients which unfortunately made him the subject of ridicule in the medical society. One night during one of his visit to a party by the elites of Vienna, he met with an interesting woman named Fleur Salomé (Ella Rumpf - Tiger Girl, The Divine Order etc) who seemed to be a medium for spirits.

Sunday, January 3, 2021

(TV SERIES) The End of the F***ing World Seasons 1 & 2 - An Entertaining & Sometimes Twisted British Dark Comedy Series

I have been meaning to watch this series which has an intriguing and provocative title but somehow there was always a reason for postponing it. Until on the first day of the year I gave this a try (actually should have been better to watch it on New Year's eve but I wanted to complete other series first). OK, let's see if this is as interesting as the title suggested.

Brief Story Line

A 17 year old loner boy named James (Alex Lawther - The Imitation Game, Goodbye Christopher Robin etc) thought he was a psychopath as he did not have emotions and had a hobby of killing animals. He was living only with his father Phil (Steve Oram). When he grew bored of killing animals he decided to upgrade and kill a person instead.

Meanwhile Alyssa (Jessica Barden - Scarborough, Coronation Street TV series etc) was a loud mouthed, rebellious teenager who happened to think James fit her critieria of the boyfriend she wanted. She was living with her mother Gwen (Christine Bottomley) and step father Tony (Navin Chowdhry). 

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Spenser Confidential - Not the Best Out There in Term of Action Comedy Movie

This movie was actually released on Netflix many months ago, but I might not have been really interested in watching stand alone movies then as I tend to focus my time on watching their original series. However, as I was still holding myself from going to cinemas due to the pandemic, I shifted my attention to some of Netflix movies. I finally decided to watch this yesterday after watching a comedy series (which I will write about it later). Anyway, let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

Spenser (Mark Wahlberg - Patriots DayInstant Family etc) was a disgraced former cop who went to prison for 5 years. After serving his time, he stayed at the house of his old friend Henry (Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine, Argo etc) and shared a room with a wannabe MMA fighter named Hawk (Winston Duke - Us etc). Spenser also had an on/off relationship with Cissy (comedian Iliza Shlesinger) before he was sentenced to jail.