Friday, December 29, 2023

13 Bom di Jakarta - An Indonesian Film with Some High Quality Action Sadly Downgraded by Poor Acting of Majority of the Cast

With so many publicity about this Indonesian movie in the past few weeks, I was obviously intrigued to see if it lived up to the hype. It was released yesterday in all cinema chains with the studio near my home as one of them, so it was convenient for me and my wife to go. All right then, I'll just get right on it.

Brief Story Line

When Jakarta was rocked by a terror attack in the middle of the day by a group led by the mysterious Arok (Rio Dewanto - Foxtrot Six etc), the Indonesian intelligence agency (ICTA) was in disarray as they were caught off guard. Arok later sent video threatening to blow 13 bombs they have planted in Jakarta. The ICTA head Damaskus (Rukman Rosadi - Srimulat: Hil yang Mustahal - Babak Pertama etc) instructed his team leader Karin (Putri Ayudya - Mudik etc) to investigate immediately, although she was heavily doubted by the tactical team leader Emil (Ganindra Bimo - Kamu Tidak Sendiri etc). 

Monday, December 25, 2023

Migration - Fun Adventure Animated Movie from the Studio that Brought Us the Hilarious Minions

During the Christmas holiday weekend, this movie had its limited theatrical release in Indonesia for two days in a row but only in several cinemas. Yesterday my wife and I decided to see it while we were available. OK, why don't I get to it then.

Brief Story Line

A family of Mallard ducks that consisted of the protective father Mack (Kumail Nanjiani - EternalsMen in Black: International etc), the more adventurous mother Pam (Elizabeth Banks - Charlie's Angels 2019 version, The Lego Movie 2 etc) and their children Dax (Caspar Jennings) & Gwen (Tresi Gazal) had been living in a small pond safe from the predators outside.

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - Not a Better Sequel but Still a Fun and Entertaining Superhero Action Movie

This was the last superhero movie of the year which I surely would not want to miss on the big screen. Having seen the last few movies from the same genre under performing, I no longer push myself to see it on its release day and just wait till I was more available. So my wife and I went to our favorite Dolby Atmos theater near our home yesterday and still manage to get nice seats without hassle. All right then, let's get on with the movie.

Brief Story Line

Few years after the events of the first movie, Arthur (Jason Momoa - Fast XDune etc) had become the king of Atlantis, got married with Mera (Amber Heard - The Danish Girl, Drive Hard etc) and had a baby boy named Arthur Jr. Arthur had to juggle between life at sea and the surface where he stayed with his father Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison - The Book of Boba Fett TV series etc). However their peaceful life were soon interrupted with the reappearance of David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - AmbulanceCandyman  etc) who was now working with scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park - Totally Killer, Paw Patrol: The Movie etc) to search for artifacts that would help Kane to revenge on Aquaman.

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Rebel Moon - An Epic Space Adventure Movie with Some Wonderful Visual Effects and Cool Action Scenes

This movie has already been promoted by Netflix for quite some time and looked interesting. So on the day of its release yesterday, I immediately watch it once I got the chance last night. Well here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in the galaxy where it was ruled by an empire called Motherworld led by Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee - Hawkeye TV series etc) along with his right hand man Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein - MidwayDeadpool etc). They always used force to conquer the whole empire while fighting some rebels called the Bloodaxe. 

Monday, December 18, 2023

The Family Plan - A Fun to Watch Action Comedy Movie

I was not aware about this movie until I noticed it in the website of newly released film/shows in various streaming platform. As the premise really looked interesting for me, I watched it as soon as I got the chance on Saturday, a day after it was released on AppleTV+. Let's get on with it then.

Brief Story Line

On the outside, Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg - Me TimeAll the Money in the World etc) seemed like a normal suburban man working as car salesman and living with his wife Jessica (Michelle Monaghan - Echoes mini series, Eagle Eye etc), their teenage children Nina (Zoe Colletti - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark etc), Kyle (Van Crosby - Splitting Up Together TV series etc) and baby Max. However, apparently Dan used to work for a dangerous person named McCaffrey (Ciarán Hinds - Treason mini series, First Man etc). 

Sunday, December 17, 2023

The Boy and the Heron - The Latest Studio Ghibli's Production and Highly Praised Work by Hayao Miyazaki

When my wife and I found out there was going to be a new movie from Studio Ghibli, we were eager to see it. But we only got the chance to do so yesterday after it was released few days ago. We decided to see the film in the cinema where the picture and sound quality was better than others. OK, I'll get right at it then.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1943, the 12 year old Mahito (Soma Santoki) had moved with his father Soichi (Takuya Kimura - Long Vacation TV series, Hero etc) to a big house in the country side belonged to his wife's younger sister Natsuko (Yoshino Kimura - Masquarade Night etc). 

Saturday, December 16, 2023

(TV SERIES) Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 - Live Adaptation of the Popular Manga Series with Plenty of Wonderfully Crafted Fight Scenes

I saw the notification of this series few weeks ago on Netflix and was immediately intrigued. Despite never watched the anime it was based on or the manga series, I was interested due to its interesting premise. So when it was released two days ago, I started to watch and finished it last night. All right, let's get into the series.

Brief Story Line

Yusuke Urameshi (Takumi Kitamura - Tokyo Revengers movies etc) was a deliquent high school student who was infamous for skipping school and getting into fights, particularly with Kuwabara (Shuhei Uesugi - River's Edge etc). At school he was only close with his childhood friend Keiko (Sei Shiraishi - Prince of Legend etc). When Yusuke got into an accident and died, he was approached by a spritual being named Botan (Kotone Furukawa - Konto Ga Hajimaru TV series etc) who told him he could be resurrected.

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Leave the World Behind - A Good Adaptation of the Highly Praised Novel

I saw this movie in the "Coming This Week" section in Netflix and was quite interested with the premise and the stars. So I did not hesitate to watch it on its first day of release yesterday. And so how was the movie? Let's find out more shall we?

Brief Story Line

A family that consisted of Amanda (Julia Roberts - Ticket to ParadiseMoney Monster etc), her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke - The Black PhoneValerian and the City of a Thousand Planets etc), their teenaged children Archie (Charlie Evans) and his younger sister Rose (Farrah Mackenzie - Logan Lucky etc) left New York city to go on a short vacation to the Long Island. They rented an expensive house and were enjoying their time there.

Sunday, December 3, 2023

(TV SERIES) OBLITERATED Season 1 - An Action Series that Managed to Nicely Combine with Some Extreme Hilarious Condition

I knew about this new release on Netflix since last week and was interested in watching this. But when it was available on Thursday, I found out it was a series and not a movie. So I decided to watch another film that was released on that day instead and postpone it later. I only began watching this series on Friday night and finished it this morning. All right then, I will get straight to it.

Brief Story Line

A special ops team that consisted of the leader, CIA agent Ava Winters (Shelley Hennig - The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window mini series etc), operation chief Chad McKnight (Nick Zano - DC's Legends of Tomorrow TV series etc), Navy SEAL Trunk (Terrence Terrel - B Positive TV series etc), sniper Angela (Paola Lázaro - The Walking Dead TV series etc), Air Force Pilot Paul Yung (Eugene Kim), tech expert Maya (Kimi Rutledge) and explosive expert Haggerty (C. Thomas Howell - Gettysburg etc) were given task to stop terrorist attack in Las Vegas.

Saturday, December 2, 2023

(TV SERIES) Based on a True Story Season 1 - An Entertaining Comedy Series on True Crime Podcast

While I was looking for something to watch on HBO Go as it had been quite some time since I watched anything there, I came across this series which looked interesting. So I gave it a try 2 nights ago and managed to complete it last night. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

Ava (Kaley Cuoco - Man from Toronto, The Big Bang Theory TV series etc) was a pregnant woman working as real estate agent and had been married for years with Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina - I Care a Lot, The Mindy Project TV series etc), a former tennis star who now worked as coach in a luxurious country club. They lived with Ava's younger sister Tory (Liana Liberato - Totally Killer, Light as a Feather TV series etc) and were best friends with several rich people, including Ruby (Priscilla Quintana - Pandora TV series etc).

Friday, December 1, 2023

Family Switch - An Enjoyable Christmas Comedy Movie Based on Children's Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I was aware about this movie when I saw its brief trailer in the Coming This Week section in Netflix. So I have set my time aside to watch it when it was released yesterday, as I thought the premise looked fun. OK, why don't I just get to it?

Brief Story Line

Bill Walker (Ed Helms - Ron's Gone Wrong, Tag etc) and his wife Jess (Jennifer Garner - The Adam ProjectPeppermint etc) used to be very close with their children CC (Emma Myers - Wednesday TV series etc) & Wyatt (Brady Noon - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem etc). But they seemed to grew apart as the children reached their teenage years. Three days before Christmas, Jess decided to go to the Planetarium for once in a lifetime occurrence with the whole family, including baby Miles and the dog Pickles.