Tuesday, November 30, 2021

8-Bit Christmas - A Kid-friendly Christmas Movie with Simple Story & Heart Warming Ending

During last weekend, my wife and I decided to watch another movie on Saturday night. It was after we saw 2 new films in a row, so the movie marathon still continued for us that day. After the intensity of the second movie, we chose a light Christmas themed film that was released just few days earlier on HBO Go. OK, I'll just get on with it then.

Brief Story Line

Story was told from the point of view of Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris - Doogie Howser, M. D. TV series, Downsizing etc) who was sharing his childhood experience back in 1988 to his daughter Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) during Christmas eve. Young Jake (Winslow Fegley - Nightbooks etc) was still living with his mother (Jude Diane Raphael - Long Shot etc), father Joe Doyle (Steve Zahn - The White Lotus TV series etc) and younger sister Lizzy (Bellaluna Resnick).

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Follow Me - A Thriller Movie Combining Aspects from Other Franchises with a Fine Ending

Yesterday my wife and I decided to see another movie that was just released few days earlier, making it another movie marathon day for us. It intrigued me especially because of the premise. Without further ado, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

A vlogger named Cole Turner (Keegan Allen - Pretty Little Liars TV series etc) was famous for taking on various challenges by his followers. While celebrating the 10th anniversary of his video channel, he was invited to do an escape room challenge together with his girlfriend Erin (Holland Roden - Escape Room: Tournament of Champions etc) and their best friends Dash (George Janko), Samantha (rapper Siya) and Thomas (Denzel Whitaker - The Great Debaters etc). 

Encanto - Another Disney's Movie with Interesting Characters, Lovely Animation and Lots of Touching Moments

Like in the past few weeks, my wife and I opted to see a new movie that was released during the weekend. This time, it was an animated one from Walt Disney Animation Studios whom we loved as they have produced some wonderful movies in the past. All right, let's get right to it then.

Brief Story Line

The Madrigal family had been known to have magical gift where they live together in a magical house in Colombia, referred to as "Casita". Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz - Brooklyn Nine Nine TV series etc) was the only one who did not posses power, which made her grandmother/Abuela (MarĂ­a Cecilia Botero) and herself depressed. Especially when it was compared with Mirabel's older sisters, the perfect Isabela (Diane Guerrero - Doom Patrol TV series etc) and the strong Luisa (Jessica Darrow).

Saturday, November 27, 2021

A Boy Called Christmas - A Quite Heartwarming Chrismas Movie with Pretty Interesting Story

Few days ago, this new Christmas themed movie was released on Neflix which quite intrigued me. My wife who is a fan of such movies were definitely interested. But due to some reasons and company function, we only managed to see this one last night. Well now I'll head right to it.

Brief Story Line

The movie focused on a young boy named Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) who lived alone with his father Joel (Michiel Huisman - Kate2: 22 etc) in the snowy area of Finland. When the King (Jim Broadbent - Paddington 2 etc) ordered his people to search for something magical that would raise the hope of the kingdom, Joel decided to do so in order to get the reward. 

Thursday, November 25, 2021

(TV SERIES) Cowboy Bebop Season 1 - Probably Better if it is an Original Series Rather than a Live Version Remake of the 1998 Popular Anime Series

As mentioned in one of my earlier post, last week there were a bunch of new series and movies released on Netflix. I happened to start watching this few days ago, which took me a while to finish as I could only see 2 or maximum 3 episodes per night. Anyway it was something that interest me as it was a live version of an anime series that I watched first (also available on Netflix) and enjoyed. OK, let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 2171, Spike Spiegel (John Cho - Wish DragonStar Trek Beyond etc) was working as a bounty hunter together with his partner Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir - Luke Cage season 2, The Deuce TV series etc) on their spaceship called Bebop. They later met with another bounty hunter named Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mercy Black etc) who subsequently became part of their crew.

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Losmen Bu Broto - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

Few days ago, this Indonesian movie was released in the cinemas. It was one that my wife has been aiming for, but alas it did not play in the theater near our home. In fact, it was kind of a challenge as not many studios showing this movie. Fortunately though, today we managed to go to one of those few cinemas and bought the tickets for 1.15 PM show. And so how was the movie then? I better let you read all about it through my wife's point of view and her lovely writing as usual. 

[MOVIE] Losmen Bu Broto - Adaptasi dari Seri Televisi Losmen

Udah lama denger kalo bakal ada film Losmen Bu Broto. Dan belakangan gw dpt info kalo bakal tayang Kamis 18 November 2021. Gak sabar kan, secara gw dulu penontonnya Losmen pas masih di TVRI. Masi inget pula gw siapa aja yang jadi Bu Broto, Pak Broto, Mbak Pur, Jeng Sri, Mas Tarjo dan Mas Jarot. Mereka emang pemain inti di rumah penginapan yang mereka sebut sebagai Losmen Srikandi. Sayang sekali saat Kamis tayang itu, Losmen Bu Broto gak main di bioskop sebelah, jadi gw harus mencari waktu di weekend dan ngajak hubby barengan nonton. Untungnya dia mau nemenin gw. Makanya pas bisa nonton di Hollywood XXI, langsung deh gw pesen pake MTix, lumayan ada diskon bogo. Woohoo. Oya, film ini disutradarai Ifa Ifansyah dan Eddy Cahyono, serta diproduseri oleh salah satunya, Mr. Robert Ronny.

(TV SERIES) Hellbound - Another South Korean Series Having Unique Premise based on Webtoon

On Friday, there were a bunch of new movies as well as TV series released on Netflix. Actually I've had my eyes on another series but this one also caught my attention. And I finally decided to watch this South Korean series first as it was having only 6 episodes which should not take a lot of time to finish. This time my wife accompanied me watching it. OK will get to it now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the near future, some scary creatures suddenly appeared to drag sinners to hell after they have been prophesized before. A religious cult called the New Truth led by Jung Jinsu (Yoo Ah-in - Sungkyungkwan Scandal, Secret Affair TV series etc) came to prominent as they seemed to know about the strange phenomenon and encouraged people not to commit a sin to avoid being bound to hell. Detective Kyunghun (Yang Ik-june - Breathless etc) was assigned to investigate this disturbing case.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - A More Compact Sequel and Entertaining Anti-hero Movie in Spider-man Universe

After few days playing in Indonesian cinemas, my wife and I finally got the chance to see this movie in the theater. But due to some reasons, we were unable to go to my favorite theater with Dolby Atmos system and we went to the one based on convenience and availability instead. Anyway, let's get more to it now.

Brief Story Line

After the events in Venom, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy - The Dark Knight Rises, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy etc) managed to get an interview session with serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson - KateZombieland: Double Tap etc) which revived his career. However, Eddie's relationship with his ex fiancee Anne Weying (Michelle Williams - The Greatest Showman, Shutter Island etc) was not getting any better. 

Saturday, November 20, 2021

The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill - Unique Story of Legendary Assassin based on Popular Manga

Few days ago, there were 2 new Japanese movies released on Netflix where one was the sequel to another. Both were having a very intriguing premise which interest me. Last night I finally got the chance to watch the 2 movies together with my wife, so it was kind of a marathon movie night for us. Right now, I am writing for the second movie which was quite brand new as it was released in 2021. 

Brief Story Line

A legendary hit-man known as Fable (Junichi Okada - Sekigahara, A Samurai Chronicle etc) was instructed by his boss to lay low and live a normal life in Osaka for a year. Now he went by the name of Akira Sato and was accompanied by his partner who was assigned as his younger sister named Yoko Sato (Fumino Kimura - 99.9 Criminal Lawyer TV series, Spark etc). While living in Osaka, Sato worked at a publishing company together with his co-worker Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto - Sadako vs Ayako, Perfect World TV series etc) and their boss Takoda (Jiro Sato - Brothers in Brothel etc).

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Eternals - Pretty Well Done Movie for the Unfamiliar Characters of Marvel Comics

I finally got the chance to see this movie with my wife yesterday after getting the seats which we preferred in one of the cinemas we have been eyeing. It was a big challenge to get the tickets since many people have bought them in advance, while we had to make sure we were able to get in the theaters before we could buy them. Anyway, I'll just get to it now.

Brief Story Line

A group of alien race called the Eternals have come to earth since 7000 years ago to kill the predator monsters called Deviants who were endangering the humans life. They were led by Ajak (Salma Hayek - The Hitman's Wife's BodyguardDrunk Parents etc) who was the wisest of them all. The rest were Sersi (Gemma Chan - Raya and the Last DragonCrazy Rich Asians etc), Ikaris (Richard Madden - The Bodyguard TV series etc), Sprite (Lia McHugh - American Woman TV series etc), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani - StuberThe Lego Ninjago Movie etc), Gilgamesh (Don Lee aka Ma Dong Seok - AshfallThe Gangster, The Cop and the Devil etc), Thena (Angelina Jolie - Those Who Wish Me Dead, Kungfu Panda trilogy etc), Druig (Barry Keoghan - The Killing of a Sacred Deer etc), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff - season 9 of The Walking Dead TV series etc) and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry - The Woman in the WindowSuper Intelligence etc).

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Red Notice - A Highly Entertaining Action Comedy Movie

When I heard there was a movie starring three popular major Hollywood stars, I was truly enthusiastic about it. So it's definitely a no brainer for me and my wife to be excited and wanting to watch immediately once it was released yesterday. Unfortunately due to heavy rain and difficulty to get a ride home, we were unable to see it last night. We ended up watching this film on Saturday morning instead. OK without further ado, let's get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Special agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson - Jumanji: The Next LevelMoana etc) was a profiler for the FBI who was working together with Interpol agent Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya - The Umbrella Academy TV series season 2 etc). They were trying to capture an international art thief, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds - Free Guy, Detective Pikachu etc) who was trying to steal an ancient treasure.

Friday, November 12, 2021

Space Jam: A New Legacy - A Standalone Sequel Which was OK but Less Satisfying Compared to its Predecessor

This movie was a sequel to one of the most popular films back in the 1990s and I was wondering what it would be like with the more sophisticated special effects now. So when it was announced that the movie would be released on HBO Go on 11 November, I made plan to watch it together with my wife. OK, let's find out more.

Brief Story Line

LeBron James (played by himself) was a great and professional basketball player who always taught his sons Darius (Ceyair J. Wright) and Dom (Cedric Joe) to take basketball seriously. However Dom who prefer to create video game instead, was not that keen with his father's teaching. And this was noticed by LeBron's wife Kamiyah (Sonequa Martin-Green - Star Trek: Discovery TV series etc) who encouraged him not to be so hard on Dom.

Monday, November 8, 2021

Pipeline - A Unique Heist Movie of a Highly Unusual Object

I read on the Catchplay+ promotion news that there was this new Korean movie to be released on Saturday, 6 November. Since the premise looked interesting, I wanted to give it a try immediately. But after realizing that the movie only played at 9 PM, I opted to see it on Sunday instead. This time I watched it by myself as my wife was watching a series that she wanted to finish. Anyway, let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

Drill-Bit (Seo In-guk - No BreathingThe Smile Has Left Your Eyes TV series etc) was a notorious drilling engineer who was able to steal oil from the pipeline using his specific skill set and equipment. When a wealthy oil refinery owner named Geon-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk - Runway Cop, Born Again TV series etc) planned to steal a large amount of oil from the main pipeline running through South Korea, he decided to recruit Drill-Bit even if his price was very high.

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Love Hard - Lighthearted and Fun Enough Rom-Com to Keep Us Interested

This movie was already released on Netflix since Friday, but somehow it seemed to have eluded me. Only when I was really looking at it that I got intrigued and decided to watch it last night, together with my wife who is a fan of rom-com. Well let's get started then.

Brief Story Line

Natalie (Nina Dobrev - Flatliners, The Final Girls etc) was a young woman truly unlucky in love after finding imperfect guys on online dating app. That was until she finally met the one she really felt connection with named Tag (Darren Barnet - Never Have I Ever TV series, American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules etc). Unfortunately he lived so far away that she never got the chance to see him.

Friday, November 5, 2021

The Suicide Squad - Shockingly Violent Movie of the Task Force Comprised of Some Villains in DC Universe

This movie had been playing in Indonesian cinemas for quite some time now. But we were not able to see it back then, and so it was a pleasant surprise for me when I found out the film would be released via streaming on 4 November. Anyway, it was released on few platforms but we chose to see on HBO Go which allowed us to watch without additional fee. OK, let's get on with it now.

Brief Story Line

When a coup happened in the country of Corto Maltese, agent Waller (Viola Davis - How to Get Away with Murders TV series, The Help etc) decided to recruit team of ex convicts once again who were referred to as Task Force X aka Suicide Squad. Due to the extent of the danger, there were plenty of them recruited. The team itself was led by Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman - The InformerAltered Carbon TV series etc).

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions - Sequel to the Interesting 2019 Thriller Movie

Yesterday there were 2 new movies released in various Indonesian cinemas (including the one very near our home). I have mentioned in one of my previous posts that my wife and I would see new movies as and when we were able to see it. As it was very convenient for us, we opted to see this film last night. So let's just get to it then.

Brief Story Line

After the events from Escape Room, the survivors of the game Zoey (Taylor Russel - Lost in Space TV series etc) and Ben (Logan Miller - Prey etc) decided to pursue Minos organization and expose their cruelty. However, before they could get to them, somehow Zoey and Ben were trapped in another series of life and death games together with other people including Rachel (Holland Roden - Teen Wolf TV series etc), Nathan (Thomas Cocquerel), Brianna (Indya Moore - Pose TV series etc) and Theo (Carlito Olivero) from different backgrounds.

Monday, November 1, 2021

(2021) Candyman - Too Much Focus on the Social Aspects and too Little Horror to Terrify Us

Yesterday during the Halloween (which was not a real holiday in Indonesia but people just love the festivity feel), my wife and I decided to see this horror movie. It was actually already released in theaters since Wednesday, but we were no longer in the habit of seeing movies on their premier day. Which was why we just see them as and when we have the time. Anyway, why don't I just get into it now?

Brief Story Line

Story was set in 2019 where an artist named Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - AquamanBaywatch movie etc) just moved to a new apartment in Cabrini-Green with his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris - Wandavision TV series etc). As he was preparing for an exhibition, Anthony tried to search for inspiration from the history of the surrounding neighborhood which he heard from Brianna's brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett - Misfits TV series etc). While looking around, he met with a local resident named William Burke (Colman Domingo - If Beale Street Could Talk etc) who told him about the legend of Candyman.