Saturday, December 31, 2022

Strange World - An Exciting Enough Animated Adventure Movie from Disney with Amazing Musical Score

I almost missed out on watching this movie that was released on Disney+ more than a week ago. I knew about the movie from news that I read somewhere and since it did not play in Indonesian theaters, it was a joy that I could watch it now. Anyway let us head to the movie.

Brief Story Line

Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal - Ambulance, Zodiac etc) was the son of famous explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid - A Dog's Journey, The Alamo etc) but did not want follow in his footsteps. Instead he preferred to be a farmer living with his wife Meredith (Gabrielle Union - Cheaper by the Dozen, Cradle 2 the Grave etc) and he wanted his son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) to be a farmer as well.

Friday, December 30, 2022

Kamu Tidak Sendiri - Only Adinia Wirasti Performance that was the Highlight in this Drama Thriller

I remember seeing this movie's poster in Indonesian cinemas some time ago but I think it failed to make real impact back then, which resulted to lack of hype surrounding it and only played for little while. However, as it is now available on Netflix (I think released 2 days ago), I got the chance to watch it easily. So I decided to give it a try last night as the premise seemed interesting enough.

Brief Story Line

Mira (Adinia Wirasti - Susah Sinyal, Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? etc) was an ambitious woman who always worked late hours to achieve her target. One night as Mira was leaving the office building, a man later on revealed to be Mika (Ganindra Bimo - Keluarga tak Kasat Mata, Jakarta vs Everybody etc) who also worked at the same floor, went inside the elevator with her. Mira was feeling really uncomfortable in the same tight place with Mika who tried to make conversations. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

(Mini Series) Treason - An OK Spy Thriller Series but not Truly Memorable

There were so many new movies and series released on Netflix in the past few weeks that I had difficulties in catching up. Especially with the addition of subsequent seasons of older series that I was invested in. But when this one was released yesterday, I opted to see it first because of the lead cast and it was a limited series that would be concluded in one season. All right, let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Adam Lawrence (Charlie Cox - Daredevil TV series etc) was the deputy chief of British Secret Intelligence Service MI6 who was married with Maddy (Oona Chaplin - The Longest Ride etc) and had two kids. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Adam had to take over from Sir Martin Angelis (CiarĂ¡n Hinds - Red Sparrow, Belfast etc) as the chief while handling a possible threat to the country.

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Cek Toko Sebelah 2 - A Drama Heavy Sequel on One of the Most Entertaining Drama Comedy Movie from Ernest Prakasa

When my wife and I were aware there would be a sequel to one of our favorite drama comedy movie Cek Toko Sebelah, we decided that we would see this movie in the cinemas. As we were busy on its release day and the following day, we only got the chance to see it yesterday afternoon. OK, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Erwin (Ernest Prakasa - Susah SinyalTeka Teki Tika etc) and Natalie (Laura Basuki - The Returning, Susi Susanti: Love All etc) who had been in relationship for 2 years, decided to bring it to the next level. Unfortunately, Natalie's mom Agnes (Maya Hasan - Dear Nathan: Thank You Salma etc) who was very protective of her and very authoritative, was against Erwin's plan to work in Singapore. The vast wealth and social gap between Natalie and his own family certainly did not help Erwin with his confidence.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - An Entertaining Sequel to that Amazing Whodunit Mystery Movie

With so much hype surrounding this movie, obviously I was highly anticipating it especially since I liked the first movie a lot. So once it was released in Netflix yesterday, I immediately see it the first chance I got. Without further ado, here is more on the film.

Brief Story Line

During the pandemic, famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig - No Time to Die, The Golden Compass etc) was getting crazy due to lock down and lack of activity. Until he got invitation to a gathering held by billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton - Motherless Brooklyn, The Incredible Hulk etc) in his private island in Greece. Along with Benoit, there were also other invitees who were Miles' old friends such as governor Claire (Kathryn Hahn - Wandavision TV series, Hotel Transylvania: Transformation etc), scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr. - Murder on the Orient Express, Hamilton etc), supermodel Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson - Deepwater Horizon, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days etc) with her personal assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick - The Matrix Resurrections, Underwater etc) and  streamer Duke (Dave Bautista - DuneStuber etc) with his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline - Outer Banks TV series etc).

Things became quite awkward though when Andi (Janelle Monae - Ugly Dolls etc) the former partner of Miles also appeared. But the worst of it all was when someone in the group was killed and Benoit had to use his wit and intelligence to solve it before there was another victim.

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

I said above that I really liked Knives Out which to me was an amazing modern day whodunit murder mystery movie and was really well crafted. So when I heard news they were making a second movie based on the character Benoit Blanc, I was really looking forward to it. It did not play in the Indonesian cinemas as the rights was bought by Netflix who produced this movie and chose to only have limited theatrical release in US. Fortunately for Netflix subscribers like me and my wife, we have the chance to watch it via streaming. 

The early part of the movie was the introduction of the people who would be involved in this story. This was where the comedy was quite strong as I could chuckled in few of the scenes which made my wife confused a bit (she was watching other movie while I was seeing this, but I would recommend her to watch this soon). However, these scenes could feel a bit long for audience if you are not patient enough. This felt like the Agatha Christie's stories where almost half of it was focused on the characters instead of the investigation. 

After the murder happened, the movie like suddenly sprang to life and the pace became quite fast. What really amazed me was the story telling subsequently where we were given twists after twists that I do not think people could have guessed. And then came the big reveal that was truly interesting as I failed to guess the culprit. It was a bit disappointing on my part as usually I could have guessed even if I might not know the real motive. I am not saying that is bad on the movie. In fact it meant that the deceptions created by the movie makers were brilliant enough that I got it wrong.

Like in the first movie, this one was also written and directed by Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom, Brick etc). His work here was really admirable as he managed to make such an interesting mystery nicely blended with dark comedy. Daniel Craig, still did a great job portraying Benoit Blanc. I also liked Edward Norton's performance who I thought was really perfect as this billionaire. Other cast were also wonderful like Kate Hudson very suitable as the fashionista and even Dave Bautista was fun to see too. Oh, there were also other actors and actresses in minor role or cameo. I better let you see if you recognized them rather than I spoiled them here. 

Overall this was an entertaining murder mystery movie where we would be engaged in the story of how it was done and the reasons to do it. The retelling of everything that occurred prior to the events that led to the murder and also how it happened was the highlight. The ending was something that was unorthodox. At first I was surprised by it, but then I realized that it was a pleasing enough conclusion. It might not have been too well received for those who prefer a mainstream ending, but for me this was pretty satisfying. So if you like the original movie and Benoit Blanc character with his characteristic of mystery solving, then surely you would like this too. On a personal note though, the first movie might be slightly better as it was continuously engaging from start to finish, while in here there were times where I felt it not entirely full of enjoyable moments.   

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Friday, December 23, 2022

(TV SERIES) Connect - Pretty Interesting Dark Series based on Webtoon, Combining Psychological Thriller, Mystery with Elements of Sci-fi

I did not notice this series on Disney+ till 2 weeks after its release. But after reading its brief synopsis, I was quite intrigued and decided to watch it 3 nights ago and finished it last night. And so how was the series? Let's find out more, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Ha Dong-soo (Jung Hae-in - Start-Up, D.P TV series etc) was a loner who was kidnapped by a gang of organ traffickers. Luckily, he somehow managed to escape but not before one of his eyes was already taken and transplanted to the body of another person, later on revealed to be Oh Jin-seop (Go Kyung-pyo - 6/45, Love in Contract TV series etc). After a while, Dong-soo realized that he seemed to be connected to Jin-seop and could see through his eyes.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

(TV SERIES) The Peripheral Season 1 - Pretty Interesting Sci-Fi Series

I noticed about this new interesting sci-fi series that was released in Prime Video since almost two months ago. As usual, I waited till the whole season was available before started watching it. Due to so many reasons, I only began during last weekend and finished it on Sunday night. All right then, let's get started.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 2030, Flynne Fisher (ChloĂ« Grace Moretz - Tom & Jerry 2021 movie, Greta etc) was living in small town with his older brother Burton (Jack Reynor - MidsommarKin etc) and their blind mother Ella (Melinda Page Hamilton - Sleeping Dogs Lie etc). As they tried to get more money for Ella's medication, Burton acquired a job to test a VR equipment which was done by Flynne as she was better at it. 

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Avatar: The Way of Water - A Visually Stunning with Some Impressive and Intense Action Sequence Sequel of One of The World's Highest Grossing Film of All Time

After being promoted and highlighted in so many platforms, my wife and I finally saw this movie yesterday. We opted to see it during the weekend as it has a 3 hour+ duration which would be too tiring during weekdays where I still have to work the following day. So now I'll dive into this movie.

Brief Story Line

Years after the event of the first movie, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington - Hacksaw Ridge, Everest etc) was living with his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana - Amsterdam, Star Trek Beyond etc) and their children, the eldest Neteyam (Jamie Flatters - The School for Good and Evil etc), the second son Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), their youngest daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and their adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver - A Monster Calls, Working Girl etc). They were also very close with a human child called Spider (Jack Champion) who was not able to return to earth when they left Pandora earlier. 

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Hell Dogs: In The House of Bamboo - Gritty Japanese Thriller Based on Novel by Akio Fukamachi

Of all the new releases in Netflix yesterday, this one caught my attention as it seemed like a gritty movie with an interesting plot. Plus I was also familiar the main stars of this Japanese movie. So I decided to watch this one ahead of other options. OK let us get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Goko Idezuki (Junichi Okada - The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill, Memory etc), was a former police officer who was assigned to work undercover in the Yakuza. In order to infiltrate, he had to approach one of the Yakuza member Muro (Kentaro Sakaguchi - Signal: Long-Term Unsolved Case Investigation Team, The Last 10 Years etc) who was said to be compatible with Goro and part of an elite group called Hell Dogs. 

Friday, December 16, 2022

The Big 4 - An Action Comedy with Some Good Enough Action though its Humor Might be More of an Acquired Taste

I was not aware about this movie till few days ago when I looked at the Coming This Week section in Netflix and when I saw the brief info, I was quite intrigued. So once it was released yesterday, I watched it last night at the first chance. Well here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Topan (Abimana Aryasatya - Gundala, Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss Part 1 etc), Jenggo (Arie Kriting - Susah Sinyal, Stip dan Pensil etc), Alpha (Lutesha - Penyalin Cahaya etc) and Pelor (Kristo Immanuel) were part of assassins crew infamously known as The Big 4. They were led by Petrus (Budi Ros) who had brought them together since their childhood. 

Sunday, December 11, 2022

(2022) Come Back Home - An Emotional Movie with Some Strong Performance by Donnie Yen in Dramatic Role

As major fans of Donnie Yen, my wife and I did not need any encouragement to see his latest movie. Even if I know this would be a different genre from the films he usually starred in, I still wanted to give it a try. Since it only played in several cinemas, we had to wait till the weekend to see the movie in a location that was convenient for us. All right, let's get to it.

Brief Story Line

A De (Donnie Yen - Raging FireIceman: The Time Traveler etc) with his wife Xuan (Cecilia Han - Para Para Sakura etc) and their children Le Le and his younger sister were travelling to the snowy mountains. Unfortunately, Le Le had somehow gone missing. A De and Xuan had to seek the help from the police, although the captain (Jia Bing) was not too receptive as he felt A De was too snobby.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Amsterdam - A Pretty Interesting Comedy Thriller Movie Though not Entirely Entertaining

When this movie was released some time ago, it coincided with few other movies and ultimately my wife and I decided to see other films. Just as I expected, it did not take too long for the movie to be available via streaming and 2 days ago it was released on Disney+. So last night I went ahead and watch it. So here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1933, Doctor Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale - Ford v Ferrari, The Big Short etc) opened a clinic for war veterans. When Burt's old friend from the army Harold Woodman (John David Washington - Beckett, Ballers TV series etc) asked his help to do an autopsy on their ex military general, they stumbled on something big that endanger their lives. During their investigation, they somehow met their old friend Valerie (Margot Robbie - Birds of Prey, Peter Rabbit etc) from their time in Amsterdam and together they tried to solve the mystery.

Friday, December 9, 2022

Horizon Line - A Standard Survival Thriller Movie Which Took too long to Get to the Suspenseful Part

I was actually aware that this movie was released on HBO Go some time ago but did not got the chance to watch it then, and I forgotten all about it. That is until it was suddenly released in one cinema chain in Indonesia 2 days ago that made me gain interest. So, I decided to watch it last night. OK, here we go.

Brief Story Line

Sara (Allison Williams - Get Out etc) was planning to attend the wedding of her best friend Pascale (Pearl Mackie) in Mauritius. Due to some reasons, she had no choice but to ride in a small airplane from a small island piloted by Freddy (Keith David - Nope etc) to the location. Unexpectedly Sara's old boyfriend Jackson (Alexander Dreymon - The Last Kingdom TV series etc) also board the plane.

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - An Indeed Special and Fun Christmas TV Movie

I watched this holiday special almost 2 weeks ago but only gotten the time to write about it now. As fans of the rag tag team of these superheroes plus the appeal from its trailer that promised lots of fun moments, I was certainly not going to miss out on this special. Well let's get to it then.

Brief Synopsis

After hearing Kraglin (Sean Gunn - Gilmore Girls TV series etc) told the story of how Yondu (Michael Rooker - Love and Monsters etc) ruined Christmas for Peter (Chris Pratt - Jurassic World: Dominion, Onward etc), Mantis (Pom Klementieff - Thunder Force, Ingrid Goes West etc) and Drax (Dave Bautista - My Spy, Stuber etc) were discussing on how to give Peter the perfect gift. They later decided to go to earth to "bring" Peter's childhood hero Kevin Bacon as Christmas present.

Monday, December 5, 2022

(2022) Troll - A Norwegian Mythical Creature Movie with Some Awesome Special Effects

I completely forgotten that this movie was going to be released on Netflix few days ago and realized it a bit late. But between new movies released in various platforms and full days out of the house during weekend, I only got the chance to watch it last night. All right, why don't I just get right to it.

Brief Story Line

When a railroad was being built through Dovre mountain in Norwegia, it resulted a quite major catastrophe in the area. The Prime Minister Moberg (Anneke von der Lippe) together with team of people from various divisions in the government were trying to find out the reason and how to solve it. Moberg's advisor Andreas (Kim Falck) decided to enlist the help of paleontologist professor Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann) to join the team.

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Decibel - An Entertaining Sound Terror South Korean Movie

I found out about this movie in the social medias of few Indonesian cinema chains and was really interested with the premise. Though it was shown in several cinemas last weekend, my wife and I were not able to go then. So yesterday we set our mind to see it in the theater not far from our home. And now here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Naval Commander Kang (Kim Rae-won - Doctors TV series, Crazy Romance etc) was getting phone calls from mysterious terrorist (Lee Jong-suk - Big Mouth TV series, Romance is a Bonus Book TV series etc) who was threatening to detonate two bombs in different location and asked him to choose which one he should focus on. To dispose the bombs, sergeant Jang Yoo-jung (Lee Sang-hee - Juvenille Justice TV series etc) was asked to specifically handle the threats because of the message from the terrorist. However the bombs were not the normal type as they were sound sensitive and were set to speed up with the increase of noise. Kang had no choice but to work together with a reporter named Oh Da-oh (Jung Sang-hoon - The Lady in Dignity TV series etc) to face these threats.

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Warriors of Future - A Hong Kong Blockbuster Sci-fi Action Movie Really Heavy on CGI

Yesterday this movie was released on Netflix which gained my interest as it was science fiction genre and it also starred some well known Hong Kong stars. I immediately watch it once I got the chance last night. So, let's dive into it now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 2055, the earth's air was becoming quite unbreathable and sky nets were built to protect the people. Unfortunately, a meteor fell on the area called B-16 bringing with them alien life form referred to as Pandora and also damaging the sky nets. The military led by Colonel Tam (Carina Lau - Dynasty Warriors, Forbidden City Cop etc) had plan to eradicate Pandora which also had the ability to purify air. So they assigned the local military team led by Johnson Cheng (Sean Lau - Shock Wave 2, The White Storm etc) assisted by the team leader Tyler (Louis Koo - A Witness Out of the Blue, Paradox etc).

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Violent Night - A Pretty Entertaining Action Movie Involving a Different Kind of Santa Claus

When I saw the trailer to this movie (which I never knew existed) in the theater last week, I was immediately intrigued by the interesting premise. So once it was released yesterday, I convinced my wife to see it last night. Luckily it played in the cinema near our home so it was convenient for us. OK, I'll get to it then.

Brief Story Line

On Christmas eve, the tired and burned out Santa Claus (David Harbour - Extraction, Sleepless etc) was doing his usual run to provide gifts to the nice kids around the world. However, his work was interrupted when he reached the Lightstone family home as a group of criminals led by Scrooge (John Leguizamo - The Menu, Playing With Fire etc) were invading and trying to rob them.

Monday, November 28, 2022

(TV SERIES) Wednesday - A Really Fun and Enjoyable Fantasy Comedy Series based on the Characters of Addams Family

When this series was released few days ago, I was still catching up with other series and new movies released a week earlier. So I only started watching it during the weekend and finished it just last night. All right then, I will get straight to it.

Brief Story Line

Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega - Scream 2022 etc) was transferred to Nevermore Academy after an incident in her old school. Her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones - Chicago etc) and Gomez Addams (Luis GuzmĂ¡n - Belleville Cop etc) were also students of Nevermore in the past and were able to convince Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie - The Sandman TV series etc) to accept Wednesday mid semester. Despite her obvious reluctance, Wednesday had no choice but to accept her parents' decision and was placed in a dormitory together with the werewolf Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) who was her total opposite. 

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Sri Asih - Entertaining and Enjoyable Indonesian Superhero Movie with Some Well Crafted Action Sequence and Great Special Effects

At last, my wife and I got the opportunity to see this movie after its premiere more than a week ago as we were on vacation then. We were pretty excited to see this Indonesian superhero film as it got a lot of hype and attention. Without further ado, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Alana (Pevita Pearce - The Guys, Sebelum Iblis Menjemput etc) was a professional fighter who had been adopted since childhood by Sarita (Jenny Zhang - Teka Teki Tika etc), the owner of fight training facility. She had to train hard to control the rage that was inside of her for years. Meanwhile, detective Jatmiko (Reza Rahadian - Benyamin Biang Kerok, Habibie & Ainun trilogy etc) had to adapt with the situation in the police department which was corrupted even from the top, including handling idealist reporters such as Tangguh (Jefri Nichol - Hit & Run etc).

Saturday, November 26, 2022

(2022) The Menu - An Entertaining Black Comedy Thriller Movie

When this movie was out last week, I was already going with my wife for holiday vacation and just got the chance to see it yesterday after a busy week at work. Anyway, I was intrigued to find out more as it raised my curiosity after seeing briefly its trailer a week earlier. OK, let's get right to it.

Brief Story Line

Tyler (Nicholas Hoult - The Current War, Tolkien etc) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy - The Queen's Gambit mini series, Last Night in Soho etc) were invited to an exclusive dining experience in a restaurant managed by celebrity chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes - No Time to Die, The Hurt Locker etc) in a secluded island. There were only few other people who were going to the restaurant, including wealthy couple Richard (Reed Birney - Lost Girls etc) and Anne (Judith Light - Ugly Betty TV series etc), actor George Diaz (John Leguizamo - Encanto, Collateral Damage etc) and his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrero - Young & Hungry TV series etc), famous food critic Lilian (Janet McTeer - Jessica Jones TV series etc) and her editor Ted (Paul Adelstein - Prison Break TV series etc) and finance executives Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang) and Dave (Mark St. Cyr).

Friday, November 25, 2022

(TV SERIES) 1899 - Another Mind Bending Series from the Creators of Dark

After being promoted in Netflix as well as circulating in some social medias, I was curious to find out more about this series that I knew nothing about. I started watching the first episode while I was on my holiday vacation trip with my wife last weekend and continued for few days until finished the final episode last night. Well here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1899, the ship Kerberos was heading to America where it was led by Captain Eyk (Andreas Pietschmann - Dark TV series etc) and his first mate Sebastian (Tino Mewes). Kerberos was filled with people from various background and countries and having their own reasons for migrating to the US. They included among others the neurologist Maura Franklin (Emily Beecham - Cruella, Daphne etc), the Spanish wealthy guy Angel (Miguel Bernardeau) who was travelling with Father Ramiro (JosĂ© PimentĂ£o), the newlywed French couple Lucien (Jonas Bloquet - The Nun etc) and Clemence (Mathilde Ollivier - Overlord etc), the woman dressed in Japanese style Ling Yi (Isabella Wei) and her mother (Gabby Wong), and the British socialite Virginia Wilson (Rosalie Craig).

Monday, November 14, 2022

(TV SERIES) Quantum Leap Season 1 - The Revival/Sequel of the Lovable Cult Classic Series

I was not aware they were planning to revive this sci-fi series which was kind of a favorite of mine back in the 80s and early 90s until I saw it in HBO Go application few weeks ago. But I was a bit skeptical of how this would fare, especially when I noticed somewhere on the internet that it was not that well received. However, I was still intrigued to find out for myself, so I decided to watch it during the weekend after the final episode has been released last week. 

Brief Story Line

Story was set around thirty years after the Quantum Leap project where Dr. Sam Beckett, the person who went into the Quantum Accelerator back then, never returned home and a new team led by Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee - Kevin Can F**k Himself TV series etc) tried to revive this project. One night, despite the machine did not seem to be ready yet, Ben somehow went into the accelerator and leapt into someone else's body just like Sam did in the past.

Friday, November 11, 2022

Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca - An Unimpressive Start of the Satria Dewa Universe

When this movie was released in Indonesia few months ago, I did not get to see it since it played in not so many theaters around my home and I was a bit hesitant to go a bit further especially since my wife was not interested. Anyway, lucky for me the film was just released in Netflix 2 days ago. So I was able to watch it from the comfort of my home last night. All right, let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Yuda (Rizky Nazar - London Love Story 2, Till Death Do Us Part etc) was a dropped out college student who had to work to make ends meet as his father Pande (Cecep Arif Rahman - Gundala, The Raid 2: Berandal etc) had gone away since he was a child, and his mother Arimbi (Sigi Wimala - Hi5teria etc) was having mental health problem.

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - A Nice Tribute to the Late Chadwick Boseman, Though as Superhero Movie, it Felt More Like a Drama

So here's another movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which as usual my wife and I would be going for it as soon as we can to avoid any possible spoilers. We managed to get the tickets on its first day of release last night at our favorite cinema. Well here we go.

Brief Story Line

After the death of king T'Challa aka Black Panther, Ramonda (Angela Basset - Gunpowder Milkshake, Mission: Impossible - Fall Out etc) was instated as queen of Wakanda, while princess Shuri (Letitia Wright - Death on the Nile etc) drowned herself in experimentations and Okoye (Danai Gurira - All Eyez on Me etc) remained as the general of the special forces. 

Sunday, November 6, 2022

(2022) Confession - An Intricate and Captivating Mystery Thriller Movie

As soon as I read the synopsis of this movie that was just released few days ago in certain cinema chains, I was immediately intrigued by the premise. So once my wife and I were available during the weekend, we went to the nearest theater that showed this movie. OK, let's get started then.

Brief Story Line

When Yoo Min-ho  (So Ji-sub - The Battleship Island, Doctor Lawyer TV series etc), a CEO of successful IT company was named as the primary suspect of murder in a close room, he was trying to engage the lawyer who never lose a case, Yang Shin-ae (Kim Yun-jin - Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area TV series, Ode to My Father etc).

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Enola Holmes 2 - A More Enjoyable Sequel than its Already Interesting Original Film

As I pretty much enjoyed the first movie, this sequel was certainly something that I do not want to miss. Hence when it was released yesterday, I opted to watch this film as soon as I got back home from work. All right, let us get to it then.

Brief Story Line

After the events of the first movie, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown - Godzilla vs Kong etc) was trying to start her own detective agency. However, it proved to be challenging to get clients as she was considered too young and people comparing with her brother, the famous Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill - Mission: Impossible - Fall Out, The Witcher TV series etc). 

Thursday, November 3, 2022

See How They Run - A Pretty Fun Comedy Mystery Movie Set in 1950s

Last night, I came across this movie that was just released on Disney+. As a sucker for whodunit plot, I was immediately interested in giving it a try, especially since it also looked like comedy. So I decided to watch this ahead of other series that I was going to watch last night. 

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1953 London, the play titled The Mousetrap written by Agatha Christie had been quite a success. A party was held to celebrate where some people that included the play's producer Petula (Ruth Wilson - His Dark Materials TV series, A Streetcar Named Desire etc), the main stars Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson - Where the Crawdads Sing, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil etc) and his wife Sheila (Pearl Chanda - War of the Worlds TV series etc) attended. During this party, other people also came such as producer John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith - In the Earth etc) who wanted to adapt the play into a movie, along with the director Leo (Adrien Brody - Blonde, The Pianist etc), the screenwriter Mervyn (David Oyelowo - Chaos Walking, Selma etc) and Woolf's wife Edana (Sian Clifford - Fleabag TV series etc).

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

(TV SERIES) House of the Dragon - An Interesting Prequel to One of the Most Beloved and Critically Acclaimed Fantasy Series

As a major fan of Game of Thrones series and had watched the whole seasons, obviously this prequel series made me excited. I waited patiently till the whole first season was released a little over a week ago and finished it in 2 days time. All right then, why don't I get to it now.

Brief Story Line

Set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, Viserys from house of Targaryen (Paddy Considine - The Outsider mini series, The Girl with All the Gifts etc) had just been chosen as the new king of Seven Kingdoms despite being younger than his cousin and firstborn Rhaenys (Eve Best - Fate: The Winx Saga TV series, The King's Speech etc). 

King Viserys was supported by the Hand, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans - The King's Man, Berlin Station TV series etc) whose young daughter Alicent (Emily Carey - Anastasia: Once Upon a Time etc) was very close with young princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock - Upright TV series etc). Otto and the members of the council that also included Rhaenys' husband Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint - The Knock TV series etc) were worried of Viserys younger brother, the rogue Prince Daemon (Matt Smith - Morbius, Last Night in Soho etc) who always seemed to create trouble.

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Barbarian - A Horror Movie that Felt More Like a Suspenseful and Intense Thriller

I did not notice about this movie till I began searching for newly released films in Disney+ yesterday, and I was intrigued when I read more about it on the internet. So I decided to watch it immediately last night. OK will get to it now.

Brief Story Line

Tess (Georgina Campbell - Krypton TV series, All My Friends Hate Me etc) arrived at the house he rented from Airbnb in Detroit only to find that it was occupied by another man. The man who later on revealed to be Keith (Bill SkarsgĂ¥rd - It Chapter Two and its predecessor, Hemlock Grove TV series etc) had rented through another application. 

Saturday, October 29, 2022

(Mini Series) The Watcher - Pretty Intriguing Psychological Thriller Drama based on True Events

And another series that I was a bit late in watching because of so many new movies and series released on Netflix in the past few weeks. But after few days, I finally finished this one last night. Well, here goes.

Brief Story Line

Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale - BlondeSing 2 etc) and his wife Nora (Naomi Watts - Boss Level, 21 Grams etc) decided to buy their dream house in the suburb through the real estate agent Karen Calhoun (Jennifer Coolidge - The White Lotus, American Pie movies etc). After moving in with their teenage daughter Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) and young son Carter (Luke David Blumm), Dean and Nora met with various people in the neighborhood such as the elderly couple Mitch (Richard Kind - Spin City TV series, Cars etc) and Mo (Margo Martindale - Instant Family, The Americans TV series etc) and the woman who wanted to preserve history Pearl Winslow (Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby, Alice etc) and her younger brother Jasper (Terry Kinney - Oz TV series, Save the Last Dance etc).

Thursday, October 27, 2022

(2022) Ticket to Paradise - A Pleasing Rom-Com Movie that would Delight Fans of Julia Roberts and George Clooney

After playing in theaters for weeks, finally my wife and I got the chance to see this movie last night. We have been planning to see it even from the first weekend of release but due to so many things, we were unable to do it. Yesterday there was actually a new movie released in theater. However as it was a horror movie which seemed very bad, we decided to see this one instead. OK, I'll get right on it.

Brief Story Line

David Cotton (George Clooney - The Midnight Sky, Michael Clayton etc) and his ex wife Georgia (Julia Roberts - Eat Pray Love, Erin Brokovich etc) had been divorced for 20 years and always fought whenever they met, but they had a daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever - Last Man Standing TV series, Dear Evan Hansen etc) who they loved very much. When Lily graduated from law school, she decided to go to Bali for summer vacation with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd - American Horror Stories series etc) before starting work at a major law firm in the US.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

(TV SERIES) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 - A bit Incosistent in Pacing but Still Pretty Entertaining Series in the Middle-earth Setting

This series was released in Prime Video since 1st September and its last episode was shown almost 2 weeks ago. Just like in the past, I would wait till the whole season complete before I began watching. This time though, due to various reasons, I only started to watch it last week and it took me a while to finally finished it yesterday as it has longer than usual duration in each episode (> 1 hour). All right then, I will head straight to it.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in Middle-earth thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, where Galadriel (Morfydd Clark - Maud etc), a commander in the Elf army believed that the evil Sauron still lived despite no apparent proof for centuries. Even her old friend, the half-elf Elrond (Robert Aramayo - Behind Her Eyes TV series etc) and the King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker - The Ice Road etc) did not believe it. The king himself also ordered the elves tasked of watching over the men in the Southland to return, including Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova - Berlin Station TV series etc) who was a bit reluctant to leave the woman he loved Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi - Ben-Hur 2016 remake etc).

Sunday, October 23, 2022

6/45 - A Comedy Movie which was Personally a bit Overrated

After seeing this movie promoted in few social media by people who had seen it before, my wife and I were definitely interested in giving it a try. Especially since it was said to be very hilarious, funniest of the year and so on. So after our activities, we finally went to see it at the 5.05 PM show in the cinema not far from our home. Well how was it then? Let's find out, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Park Chun-woo (Go Kyung-pyo - Reply 1988 TV series, Decision to Leave etc) was a sergeant stationed at the border of South and North Korea. One night he somehow came across a winning lottery ticket (called 6/45 lotto) with a huge prize. Unfortunately, the ticket flew to the North Korean border and picked up by sergeant Yong-ho (Lee Yi-kyung - Hitman: Agent Jun, Welcome to Waikiki TV series etc).

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Usogui - Live Adaptation of the Popular Manga

After being released for more than a week on Netflix, I finally watched this movie yesterday as I was quite intrigued with the premise, plus it has been a while since I saw a Japanese movie. OK, here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

Madarame Baku (Yokohama Ryusei - Your Turn to Kill TV series, The Journalist etc) was a gambler who could always tell when his opponent was cheating or lie. Hence he was also referred to as the lie eater (Usogui). Baku previously was part of the gambling organization called Kakero and now he tried to take the leader out one by one by challenging other gamblers.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Side Story of Fox Volant - One of the Best Adaptation of Jin Yong's Works

I do not usually write a martial arts/wuxia series as I prefer to reserve my opinion or views to myself. But I think it's about time that I start writing such series as well, if not for others to read, at least to remind me in the future why I loved this one. So without further ado, I will get to it now.

Brief Story Line

The story focused on a young man with strong sense of justice named Hu Fei (Qin Jun Jie - Curse of the Golden Flower, Noble Aspirations series etc) who had been orphaned since baby. As he was roaming the world while trying to be powerful enough to beat his nemesis, the great swordsman Miao Ren Feng (Lin Yu Shen - Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre 2019 series etc), Hu Fei experienced a lot of trial and tribulation. 

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Black Adam - An Enjoyable and Entertaining Anti Hero Movie that would Excite us of the Future of DC Extended Universe

I have been excited of this movie for quite a while now, so when it was announced there would be advance ticket sales, I did not hesitate and bought two tickets for its first day release. My wife and I saw this last night at the 6.55 PM show with surprisingly not a full house, but still crowded enough. OK, I should get started now.

Brief Story Line (warning possible spoiler)

In the city of Kahndaq, the people were oppressed by a group of military personnel called Intergang who were digging for rare materials. Adrianna (Sarah Shahi - Sex/Life TV series, Bullet to the Head etc) who was trying to locate the Crown of Sabbac somehow unleashed Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson - Red NoticeFast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw etc) who had been asleep for 5000 years. Teth-Adam was known to be the hero of Kahndaq and Adrianna's son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) along with other people were hopeful he would free the city from Intergang.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

(TV SERIES) She-Hulk: Attorney At Law - A Truly Unconventional but Quite Fun Addition to the MCU Series

When I found out that this series was already finished last Friday, I set the target to watch it immediately after completing another series. So two nights ago I started watching it and managed to finish by last night. OK, lets get into the details now.

Brief Story Line

After an incident, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany - Perry Mason TV series etc) who was working as Assistant DA had gotten the same powers as the Hulk. Although she tried to hide her powers, Jen did not have a choice when danger threatening the life of the people around her. 

While she juggle with her new identity as She-Hulk, Jen started the career as an attorney at a large law firm, accompanied by her paralegal Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) and supported by another lawyer in her team Augustus Pug (Josh Segarra - AJ and the Queen TV series etc). 

Monday, October 17, 2022

(TV SERIES) The Midnight Club Season 1 - A Greatly Done Horror Mystery Thriller Series

After two days release on Netflix more than a week ago, I started watching this series as I was intrigued by the premise. But due to various reasons, somehow I was not able to complete the first season as fast as I would have hoped for. Which is why I only managed to finish it last night. Anyway, let's get right at it.

Brief Story Line

When high school graduate Ilonka (Iman Benson - BlackAF TV series etc) was diagnosed to have thyroid cancer, she decided to enroll in a hospice for the terminally ill young adults called Brightcliffe which was ran by Doctor Stanton (Heather Langenkamp - A Nightmare on Elm Street, Just the Ten of Us TV series etc) and assisted by nurse Mark (Zach Gilford - L. A's Finest TV series etc). In this hospice, Ilonka befriended with other patients that included the kind Kevin (Igby Rigney), his room mate Spencer (Chris Sumpter) and the bitter Anya (Ruth Codd) who later would be Ilonka's roommate. Aside from them, there were also the wealthy Cheri (Adia), the Church faithful Sandra (Annarah Cymone), the playful Amesh (Sauriyan Sapkota) and last but not least Natsuki (Aya Furukawa).

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Don't Worry Darling - An Intriguing Enough Slow Burn Drama Mystery Thriller Movie

This was actually the first movie that my wife and I saw during our movie marathon day yesterday. But I only write it today as it require longer time for me to write since it is a more complex type of film. There were 2 other movies that we both were considering but ultimately we decided to see this as the time was just right, plus we were intrigued by the premise. OK, why don't I just get right to it then.

Brief Story Line

A young couple of Alice (Florence Pugh - Little Women, The Black Widow etc) and her husband Jack (Harry Styles - Dunkirk) were living in a small town of Victory in the 1950s. Alice was best friend with her neighbor Bunny (Olivia Wilde - DC League of Super Pets, The Lazarus Effect etc). All the men of the neighborhood always work everyday at the Victory's headquarter while the wives would stay home cleaning house, cooking dinner and occasionally went for shopping. Only thing the wives were not allowed to was to go to the headquarter which was located in the desert.

Saturday, October 15, 2022

Halloween Ends - A Satisfying Enough Conclusion of the Latest Halloween Trilogy

When this movie was released in Indonesia few days ago, my wife and I were considering to see it in theater on that day. But at the last minute we decided to see it in the weekend instead and have a movie marathon day. Something that we have not done in a while. Anyway, I will just get right to it.

Brief Story Line

Four years after the events in Halloween Kills, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All at Once, Trading Places etc) was now living with her grand daughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). As recommended by Deputy Hawkins (Will Patton - The Forever Purge etc), Laurie decided to write a memoir of her experience with Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) who had not appeared during that period. 

The Curse of Bridge Hollow - A Very Light Horror Comedy Family Movie

Just like in the previous years, Netflix has a habit of releasing horror themed movies and series during the month of October. Yesterday this movie was first released and since I was in the mood for something light, I decided to watch it. Well let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

14 year old Sydney (Priah Ferguson - Stranger Things TV series etc) was unhappy when she had to move with her father, science teacher Howard Gordon (Marlon Wayans - Scary Movie, G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra etc) and mother Emily (Kelly Rowland - Freddy vs. Jason etc) to the small town of Bridge Hollow. She became more excited though as they moved during Halloween period where she could properly celebrate it, unlike when they were in Brooklyn.

Monday, October 10, 2022

Ngeri Ngeri Sedap - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

As I am not the biggest fan of a full drama movie, I decided to skip this one when it played in theater few months ago. My wife though, had seen the movie and felt it was really good. When it was announced that the film would be released in Netflix, she immediately recommend me to watch it. So last night, I finally got the chance to do it. Anyway, as my wife had written a nice post about the movie, I wanted to share it like I did previously. Well here's her views in Bahasa Indonesia.

[MOVIE] NGERI-NGERI SEDAP

Begitu filmnya tayang di bioskop, gw masi sibuk deh ngurusin entah apaan hahaha. Padahal sebelum filmnya nongol, udah liat pas dipost sama Acho. Udah penasaran. Hubby diajakin nonton kaga mau. Dia emang kurang gitu sreg sama drama film Indonesia ya. Entah kenapa. Jadilah gw akhirnya kudu nyari waktu buat nonton sendirian. Enak nonton sendiri? Enakan rame2 lah, tapi gw gak masalah kok sendirian. Rabu ini tgl 22 Juni 2022, gw mo nonton td jam 12 sebetulnya, eh ujan mayan gede. Daripada gw sakit kan, mending gw tunggu besok. Etapi pas jam 2 terang benderang tuh, langsung deh meluncur ke XXI terdekat, trus beli tiket. Film Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap ini disutradarai dan ditulis oleh Bene Dion Rajagukguk. Rumah peoduksinya milik Ernest Prakasa. Jelas bagus!

Sunday, October 9, 2022

Werewolf by Night - A Surprisingly Violent but Really Stylish & Entertaining TV Special in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

During the weekend staycation with my wife, I watched this TV special after finding out it was already released on Disney+. However, as I began rather late, I was unable to finish it then and only managed to do so this morning. Usually I would be writing it the next day, but I could not wait to do it immediately. All right, I'll get to it now.

Brief Story Line

When the monster hunter leader Uysses Bloodstone died, his wife Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris - Desperate Housewives TV series etc) called other hunters including Jack Russel (Gael Garcia Bernal - Old, Mozart in the Jungle TV series etc) to join in a deadly hunt to find the next leader. The winner of this monster hunt would be given the powerful bloodstone weapon previously held by Uysses.

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Luckiest Girl Alive - A Quite Captivating Drama Mystery Movie Based on Best-Selling Novel

Once again, I opted Netflix as my first choice to seek new movies during the weekend. And this time my eyes were set on this seemingly interesting thriller movie (at least that was what the trailer suggested). But as I came back late last night, I only managed to watch this movie today. So here's more on it.

Brief Story Line

Story was narrated by Ani Fanelli (Mila Kunis - Wonder Park, A Bad Moms Christmas etc), a woman who seemed to be having the perfect life. She was getting married to very wealthy Luke Harrison (Finn Wittrock - American Horror Story TV series etc), while also working as the editor to a famous magazine in New York under her boss Lolo Vincent (Jennifer Beals - Swamp Thing TV series, The Book of Eli etc). Ani also had a best friend from college named Nell (Justine Lupe - Succession TV series etc) who was always very supportive of her. Coming from average family, Ani's mother Dida (Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights etc) was also very proud of her achievement.