Sunday, July 27, 2025

A Normal Woman - Interesting Idea but Execution Wise not Exactly to My Liking

This new original movie from Netflix that was released last Friday seemed intriguing for me with its brief yet mysterious synopsis. As I went to see a blockbuster film on that night, I only got the chance to watch it yesterday. OK, I'll just get right to it.

Brief Story Line

The Gunawan family that consisted of housewife Milla (Marissa Anita - Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, Air Mata Buaya etc), her successful husband Jonathan (Dion Wiyoko - Imperfect, Falling in Love Like in Movies etc), their teenaged child Angel (Mima Shafa) and Jon's mother Liliana (Widyawati - Sabar Ini Ujian, Sweet 20 etc) were living together in their large & beautiful house. From the outside they looked like a harmonious family, but Milla was actually having a bit of stress. 

Saturday, July 26, 2025

The Fantastic Four: First Steps - An Exciting Addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe


Once again another movie in Marvel Cinematic Universe was released and available in Indonesia since Wednesday.  As I wanted to see this in the studio with Dolby Atmos system, my wife and I waited for it to be available in our favorite cinema last night. Without further ado, here's more on the movie. 

Brief Story Line

Set in the 1960s, austronauts Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal - The Wild RobotThe Mandalorian TV series etc), his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby - Mission: Impossible - The Dead Reckoning Part One, Napoleon etc) and younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn - Gladiator II, Warfare etc) with Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bacrach - No Hard Feelings, The Bear TV series etc) became superheroes known as Fantastic Four after their return from an outer space mission. As they fought plenty of villains for several years such as Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser - Inside Out 2Cruella etc) and few others, the four of them became quite well known through out the world.

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Wall to Wall - A Simple Yet Intense Thriller Movie

When this movie was released last Friday, I was in the midst of watching another new series on Netflix. So I decided to watch only after I finished that series on Sunday night. My wife who had seen it before thought I would enjoy and should give it a try. All right then, I'll get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Few year ago, Noh Woo-sung (Kang Ha-neul - Streaming, Tastefully Yours TV series etc) a normal working man decided to sell everything that he owned and borrowed money from the bank to purchase a new apartment unit in Seoul. However, the real estate market plummeted and he ended up doing double job and save on food & utilities just to pay his monthly instalments. His condition worsened with loud noise inside his unit that constantly disturbed his sleep.

Monday, July 21, 2025

(Mini Series) Untamed - Interesting but Quite Heavy, Dark & Tragic Murder Mystery Drama Series

Last Thursday, this interesting new series was released on Netflix but I did not get the chance to watch it as I went to the cinema with my wife for a new movie. So I only began to watch on Friday and finished it last night. Without further ado, let's get on with the series.

Brief Story Line

When the body of unknown young woman was discovered in the Yosemite National Park in California, special agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana - Back to the Outback, Troy etc) was called on to investigate. Park Rangers chief Paul Souter (Sam Neill - Jurassic World: Dominion, Dead Calm etc) assigned rookie Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago - La Brea TV series etc) to partner with Kyle. Behind his cold personality and drinking problem, Kyle was actually a very good investigator and was able to find some clues that would lead to bigger issues.

Friday, July 18, 2025

(2025) I Know What You Did Last Summer - The Fourth Installment in the Movie Series Which Brought Some Nostalgic Feeling but not as Memorable as the Original

I heard about this movie few months ago and got to see glimpses of its trailer two or three weeks ago. The title itself caught my attention as it was one of the many films that were memorable to me during the 1990s. My wife and I tried to see it on its first day of release but due to "logistic" issue, we were only able to do it last night. All right then, let's get on with the movie.

Brief Story Line

Five friends that consisted of Danica (Madelyn Cline - Outer Banks TV series, This is the Night etc), her fiancé Teddy (Tyriq Withers - Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead 2024 remake etc), their best friends Ava (Chase Sui Wonders - Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Studio TV series etc), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King - The Little Mermaid, World on Fire TV series etc) and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon - The Wilds TV series etc) were celebrating the fourth of July holiday in their hometown Southport. However they were involved in accident which they tried to hide with the help from Teddy's father, businessman Grant Spencer (Billy Campbell - Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV series, The Brylcreem Boys etc). 

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Detective Chinatown 1900 - Not the Best Installment in The Hugely Successful Comedy Mystery Buddy Film Series

When this movie was released in Indonesia some time back, I did not get the chance to see it due to some reasons. So I was obviously delighted when I found out it was going to be released on Netflix. Even though I was in the middle of another series, I decided to watch the film last night once it was available. All right then, let's get on with the movie.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in San Francisco, USA during the year 1900 where the Chinese population had grown a lot and mostly lived in Chinatown, but still being discriminated by the Americans and other immigrants. The tension escalated when the daughter of US Congressman Grant (John Cusack - Utopia TV series, High Fidelity etc) and a native American were found murdered with Bai Zhenbang (Steven Zhang - My Huckleberry Friends, Skate into Love TV series etc) became the only suspect. Zhenbang's father Bai Xuanling (Chow Yun Fat - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Project Gutenberg etc) believed he was innocent and sought the help from outside party. 

Monday, July 14, 2025

(TV SERIES) Ballard Season 1 - A Well Made Police Procedural Drama Set in Bosch Universe

As I was browsing through various streaming platforms mid of last week, I came across this new series that looked interesting on Prime Video. I decided to give it a try on Thursday night and was able to finish it on Saturday. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

LAPD Detective Renee Ballard (Maggie Q - Fear the Night, Nikita TV series etc) was the lead of Cold Case Unit together with a team of retired police Thomas Laffont (John Carroll Lynch - Big Sky TV series, The Trial of the Chicago 7 etc), reserve officer Ted Rawls (Michael Mosley - Hot Pursuit, Scrubs TV series etc), volunteer Colleen Hatteras (Rebecca Field - The Client List TV series etc) and legal intern Martina Castro (Victoria Moroles - Snow Falls etc). The team was formed to focus on the murder of politician's sister that occurred many years before. 

Saturday, July 12, 2025

(2025) Superman - A Fresh and Lighter Tone Superman Adventure Story

After years of hearing about this movie, finally it was released in various countries including Indonesia this week. My wife and I wanted to see it on its first day but our favorite cinema was having movie premiers for two days in a row and we only got the chance to see it last night. All right then, let's get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

Superman (David Corenswet - Twisters 2024, Lady in the Lake mini series etc) had been saving the world for many years and was loved & admired by the people. As his secret identity Clark Kent, he was working for Daily Planet with reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan - The AmateurPatriots Day etc) and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo - The RIghteous Gemstones TV series etc). Sometimes Superman would coordinate with Justice Gang that consisted of Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Cars 3 etc), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi - StartUp TV series etc) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced - Alien: RomulusDora and the Lost City of Gold etc) to fight against various enemies.

Friday, July 11, 2025

(2025) Brick - Interesting Enough Mystery Sci-Fi Movie

I found out yesterday there was a new movie released on Netflix which intrigued me due to its premise. Even though I was in the middle of another new series, I paused it just to watch this film last night. All right then, let's find out more shall we?

Brief Story Line

Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer - ElioArmy of the Dead etc) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee - Army of Thieves, Polar etc) had been together for several years and living in an old unit of apartment. One morning, the two of them were shocked when they found the building was blocked by mysterious brick structure that could not be opened.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Jurassic World: Rebirth - Another Entertaining New Installment on the Jurassic Park Movie Series

As major fans of the Jurassic movies, my wife and I definitely would not want to miss seeing this in the cinema. We decided to see it in our favorite studio which almost never disappoint me with its Dolby Atmos sound system yesterday. OK, let's just get started.

Brief Story Line

As the dinosaurs were having trouble adjusting in the current climate and started dying, most of them now living in islands across the Equator prohibited for visit by the governments due to its danger. Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend - A Simple Favor, Anatomy of a Scandal mini series etc) who worked for a large pharmaceutical company tried to recruit former covert operation specialist Zora Bennet (Scarlett Johansson - Transformers OneThe Jungle Book live version etc) to acquire samples from three largest dinosaurs for creating medicines. Though reluctant at first, Zora finally agreed to the assignment and were later joined by paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey - Wicked, Bridgerton TV series etc), her former army friend & boat owner Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali - Leave the World BehindMarvel's Luke Cage TV series etc) and few crew members.

Saturday, July 5, 2025

(Mini Series) Ironheart - A Surprisingly Heavier than Expected Marvel Series

This mini series was first released mid of last week and I thought it would continue for next few weeks till its completion. But then I read all episodes were already available on 1st of July. Apparently Disney+ decided to release 3 episodes twice which was pretty unusual. Since I do not like to watch ongoing series, I was quite pleased that I could start watching this so soon. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

After the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne - Freaky Tales etc) decided to return to her hometown in Chicago, bringing back the ironsuit she created in MIT. Though surprised, Riri's mother Ronnie (Anji White - season 4 Fargo TV series etc) still welcomed her with open arms. With her desire to enhance the iron suit, Riri had no choice but to join a group of criminals led by Parker Robbins aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos - Twisters, A Star is Born etc) to acquire some much needed cash. After their first job, Riri felt uneasy and started to doubt if working for Parker was a good decision. However she was worried of his power and tried to find out more on it, which was obviously a dangerous thing.

Friday, July 4, 2025

Heads of State - A Very Fun Action Comedy With Nice Chemistry of Its Lead Stars

I said in my previous post that there were two movies released in different streaming platforms on Wednesday. Though I was interested in this film which was released on Prime Video, I opted to watch the other one first and only see it last night. All right then, why don't I just get to it?

Brief Story Line

Will Derringer (John Cena - Ricky StanickyPeacemaker TV series etc) was the US president who used to be a famous action movie star. Meanwhile Sam Clarke (Idris Elba - Sonic the Hedgehog 3The Dark Tower etc) was the British Prime Minister and also an army veteran who disliked Will as he believed him only using popularity and did not really have political ability. When both met for the first time in London, they were unable to see eye to eye especially related to the joint CIA and MI6 mission earlier to capture international arms dealer Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine - Deep CoverHouse of the Dragon TV series etc), led by senior agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas - Citadel TV series, The Matrix Resurrections etc).

Thursday, July 3, 2025

The Old Guard 2 - A Rather Disappointing Sequel that Was Just a Filler for a Yet Confirmed Third Movie

Yesterday was kind of unusual for Netflix to release a new major movie since they normally would do it on Friday. I think it has got to do with its competitor releasing their own original as well on the same day (which made me a bit upset cause I had to choose which one to see first). Ultimately I decided to see this film cause I was already excited about seeing the action once again. OK let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Six months after the event of the first movie, Andy (Charlize Theron - Fast XLong Shot etc) together with Nile (KiKi Layne - Don't Worry Darling, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers etc), Joe (Marwan Kenzari - GhostedMurder on the Orient Express etc), Nicky (Luca Marinelli - Diabolik etc) and ex CIA Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor - Venom: The Last DanceThe Lion King 2019 remake etc) were still working on saving the world from various bad guys. After one of their latest mission, they realized that it might be related to another immortal. Andy decided to seek the help from her old friend Tuah (Henry Golding - Another Simple FavorSnake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins etc) who disclosed the info on the immortal called Discord (Uma Thurman - Down a Dark Hall, The Truth About Cats & Dogs etc).