(TV Series) The Hardy Boys Season 1 & 2 - A Quite Interesting Adaptation of the Quite Popular Mystery Novels with Various Alterations

I have known about this series for a while now but it was only available in Hulu streaming platform as it their original series. Lucky for us, after the second season was released, both seasons were now available in Disney+. So I finally got the chance to watch it since last week. Well, let's get right at it then.

Brief Story Line Season 1

Set in the 1980s, the story focused on the brothers Frank Hardy (Rohan Campbell) a 16 year old high school student and his 12 year old brother Joe Hardy (Alexander Elliot) who moved to small town Bridgerton and live with their aunt Trudy (Bea Santos). Bridgerton was the home of Frank & Joe's mother Laura (Janet Porter) where their grandmother Gloria Estabrook (Linda Thorson - The Second Time Around etc) belonged to one of the most powerful family. She did not have the best relationship with Laura's husband Fenton Hardy (James Tupper - Big Little Lies TV series etc).

(TV SERIES) Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area (1st Part) - A Nearly Identical Remake of the Incredible Spanish Heist Series

After experiencing myself the original Money Heist series on Netflix, obviously I was intrigued and excited at the prospect of seeing this South Korean version. So when the series was finally released last Friday, I immediately started watching it. It took me a while to finish the first part as I was enjoying my weekend holiday, but I managed to finish it yesterday.

Brief Story Line

Set in the near future, a group of criminals and ex military personnel join together to do a heist on the Korean Mint where money is printed. The group was led by the person nicknamed Professor (Yoo Ji-tae - Healer TV series, The Swindlers etc) with 8 other people using their own nicknames based on cities of the world. They consisted of the ruthless Berlin (Park Hae-soo - Squid Game TV series, By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture etc), the former North Korean soldier Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo - The Call, Burning etc), the drilling expert Moscow (Lee Won-jong - My Boss is a Million Youtuber TV series etc) and his son Denver (Kim Ji-hoon - Rich Family's Son TV series etc), the young hacker Rio (Lee Hyun-woo - To the Beautiful You TV series etc), the con artist Nairobi (Jang Yoon-ju - Three Sisters etc) and the gangster brothers Oslo (Lee Kyu-ho) & Helsinki (Kim Ji-hun).

Everything Everywhere All At Once - A Exciting Action Comedy Movie with Interesting Concept of Exciting Multiverse

My wife actually got an invitation to the special screening of this movie on Friday in CGV Grand Indonesia, but sadly we were unable to attend it due to some reasons. Yesterday though, we finally decided to watch it together as it was something that really intrigued us. OK I shall dive into it now.

Brief Story Line

Evelyn Quan (Michelle Yeoh - Gunpowder Milkshake, Last Christmas etc) and her husband Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies etc) were Asian Americans who had been owners of a laundromat for years. Unfortunately, the laundromat was being audited by the IRS led by inspector Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis - Knives Out, Freaky Friday etc). Evelyn was feeling frustrated due to the audit and also having strained relationship with her only daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel TV series etc). Things became more complicated as her father, referred to as Gong Gong (James Hong - Turning Red, Kungfu Panda 3 etc) was coming to visit to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The Man from Toronto - A Pretty Standard Mistaken Identity Action Comedy Movie

Like any other Fridays, there were few new release on Netflix that were available to choose from. This time I opted to watch this movie as it was an action comedy, a genre that I like as it usually translate to some good action and fun comedy. So here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

Teddy Jackson (Kevin Hart - The Secret Life of Pets 2, Jumanji: The Next Level etc) was just a regular man who had been trying to sell his not-working inventions online for years with no success. On the birthday of his wife Lori (Jasmine Matthews), Teddy wanted to give a weekend getaway present at a secluded romantic place. However, he somehow went to the wrong address and was assumed as a notorious hitman called the Man from Toronto.

The Black Phone - An Effective and Amazing Horror Thriller Movie

There was a brand new movie released yesterday in the Indonesian cinemas which seemed really interesting. And despite being a horror thriller movie, my wife was willing to accompany me to see this in the theater last night, albeit with some worry it might be too scary. OK, why don't I just get to it then?

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1978 in a small town in the US, few young boys were missing and said to be kidnapped by someone nicknamed Grabber. As Finney (Mason Thames) and his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw - Secrets of the Sulphur Spring TV series etc) separated themselves while going home, he became the next victim of the Grabber (Ethan Hawke - Moon Knight TV series, 24 Hours to Live etc). 

See For Me - An Interesting Enough Thriller Movie

I was interested in this movie when I saw its trailer a couple of times earlier. So I kind of looking forward to the movie's release. But it had its premier date on Friday when I was feeling a bit reluctant to go out after work day. Hence I decided to see it only on Saturday. Anyway, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Sophie Scott (Skyler Davenport) was a skier who had to retire early when she was diagnosed with an illness that cause blindness. Feeling frustrated, she preferred to do freelance jobs rather than trying for the paralympic. She later answered an ad to do a cat-sitting job for a wealthy woman named Debra (Laura Vandervoort - Jigsaw, Bitten TV series etc) while she was away on holiday. 

Spiderhead - Interesting Idea, Sadly Lacking in Execution Making This a So So Thriller

When this movie was released yesterday on Netflix, I was a bit doubtful whether to watch it first or wait the following day since there was also a new movie released in the cinema that intrigued me. But then I decided to give this a go as I was in the mood to watch something from the comfort of my home. OK, let's get right at it then.

Brief Story Line

In a remote island, Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth - Extraction, 12 Strong etc) was conducting a new kind of drug research where he would test them on subjects who happened to be prisoners of the state. He was aided by his assistant Adam (Sam Delich). These prisoners agreed on this arrangement as opposed of serving normal jail time while also reducing their sentence. 

Gunpowder Milkshake - An Enjoyable & Stylish Action Movie

This movie was finally released in Indonesian theaters after it was shown in other countries last year. I read somewhere about it in the internet and was intrigued by it. As usual, for non major blockbuster movies, I would give it a try first before my wife, just in case it's not to her liking. Besides, she was focusing on her TV series last night anyway. OK, let's get right to it.

Brief Story Line

Sam (Karen Gillan - The Bubble, The Circle etc) was a professional assassin working for a group called The Firm under one of their leaders Nathan (Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man, Shoot 'Em Up etc). She had been working for the Firm for the last 15 years after her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey - Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Game of Thrones TV series etc) who was also an assassin, left her. In her line of work, the Firm was supported by a group of women who were the supplier of weapons. They were Madeleine (Carla Gugino - Spy Kids trilogy, The Haunting of Hill Eyes TV series etc), Anna May (Angela Bassett - Bumblebee, Black Panther etc) and Florence (Michelle Yeoh - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Crazy Rich Asians etc).  

(Special Screening) Broker - A Drama Movie with Lovely Story and Some Strong Performances from the Cast

It was another one of those times where my wife got the invitation to the special screening of an upcoming movie. This time it was a South Korean movie selected to compete in the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. My wife and I were really excited as we got the chance to see it before its official release in the Indonesian cinemas. OK, I'll get to it then. 

Brief Story Line

Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won - Train to Busan: Peninsula, A Violent Prosecutor etc) was working in a church which was frequently used as a place where mothers gave up their unwanted babies inside a box there, hoping for them to be raised by the church. Together with his partner Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho - Parasite, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance etc), sometimes they would act as broker and sell the babies to other people. However, their business was disrupted when a young woman later revealed to be So-young (Lee Ji-eun - My Mister TV series, Hotel del Luna TV series etc) put her baby in the box only to regret and decided to "reclaim" him. 

Ben & Jody - A Completely Different Type of Filosofi Kopi Movies

Last week, there was this new movie released on Netflix. It happened to be an Indonesian film that I wanted to see when it was shown in the cinemas few months ago, but I was not comfortable yet to go to the theaters due to the surge of Covid-19 cases. So I was quite happy that I could see this one only few months later, especially having seen the first and second movies earlier. OK, let's get right to it then.

Brief Story Line

During the trip to his hometown, Ben (Chicco Jerikho - A World Without, Surat dari Praha etc) was involved in a demonstration with some villagers coordinated by Mr. Hasan (Arswendi Bening Swara - Habibi & Ainun 3 etc) against an illegal logging company. Unfortunately, the company hired some thugs led by Tubir (Yayan Ruhian - John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, Beyond Skyline etc) to stop the strike, including by way of kidnapping Ben.

Jurassic World Dominion - Still a Fun and Entertaining Dinosaurs Movie with Absolutely Amazing Special Effects

As one of the franchise that my wife and I loved, obviously we were excited to see this movie and see more dinosaurs terrorizing the world. Usually I would love to experience movies like this one on its premier date, but lately we prefer to do it on the weekend/holiday. So we only did see it yesterday after 3 days of release in Indonesia. OK, I'll get right to it then.

Brief Story Line

Four years after the events in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom where dinosaurs were now roaming the world, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt - The Tomorrow War, Passengers etc) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard - Rocketman, Gold etc) were living with Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) in a secluded area. 

(2021) My Son - An Interesting and Intriguing Drama Mystery with Some Wonderful Performance by James McAvoy

Last night I was feeling adventurous and decided to watch a new movie on HBO Go that I was not aware at all, but seemed to have interesting premise. Plus it starred quite famous names as well. So I gave it a try immediately after coming home from hanging out with my wife. OK, let's get started now.

Brief Story Line

Edmond Murray (James McAvoy - His Dark Materials TV series, Glass etc) was called back from his work to his hometown in a small town in Scotland where his ex wife Joan (Claire Foy - First Man, Breathe etc) told him their 7 year old son Ethan had been missing. The lead investigator was Inspector Roy (Gary Lewis - Outlander TV series etc) who together with the local police force were trying to locate Ethan near the camp where he went missing.

Interceptor - A Mediocre Action Thriller Movie

After a hard day's work, I was looking for some fun time from watching new movie on Netflix. And this one seemed to fit the category. So without further ado, here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky - Fast & Furious 6 - 8, Snakes on a Plane etc) was a captain of the US army who was just re-assigned in the interceptor station on a rig in the middle of the sea. The station was the last defense system for the US against nuclear attack. 

When a group of mercenaries led by a man named Alexander (Luke Bracey - Holidate, Hacksaw Ridge etc) wanted to take over the station, JJ had no choice but to fight against them as they threaten to attack the US using 16 nuclear missiles. 

(Special Screening) The Roundup - An Entertaining Action Thriller Movie with Some Really Exciting Good Old Fashioned Hand to Hand Fight Sequence

My wife and I were aware of this movie for some time as it was shown in the social media quite frequently. Since both of us are fans of Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee, we were looking forward to see the movie once it's scheduled to be released. Fortunately for us, my wife got the invitation for special screening last night before its wide release today. So after brief opening remarks, the movie finally started at 7.15 PM.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 2008, four years after the events in The Outlaws, Detective Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok - Eternals, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos etc) and his captain Jeon (Choi Gwi-hwa - Long Live The King, Bad Guys 2 TV series etc) were assigned to Vietnam for some task. However, what started as a simple enough job turned to be something far more dangerous.