(2025) Ballerina - An Enjoyable Addition to the John Wick Expanding Universe

After the announcement of this spin off to the John Wick universe, I was really excited to see what would be in store. So when it was finally released few days ago, I already set plan to watch the movie yesterday as it happened to be public holiday in Indonesia. Without further ado, let's get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas - Ghosted, No Time to Die etc) had been training to become a ballerina assassin with Ruska Roma led by its Director (Anjelica Huston - Prizzi's Honor, The Addams Family etc) for many years as she wanted to get revenge to the killing of her father. In one of the nights living in the head quarter, she encountered for the first time John Wick (Keanu Reeves - Sonic the Hedgehog 3, The Matrix movies etc) and was given brief advice on this dangerous life. 

(2025) Havoc - An OK Enough Movie from Gareth Evans with Some Over the Top Action but Poorly Done CGI

The last few days have been so hectic for me which resulted to bringing home some of my work load and did not have time to watch anything. Hence I was unable to catch up with lots of new shows and movies in various streaming platforms. However last night I decided to watch this new movie released on Netflix yesterday which intrigued me. OK let's just get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Patrick Walker (Tom Hardy - Venom: The Last Dance, Dunkirk etc) was a dirty homicide detective who was working with his new partner, rookie police Ellie (Jessi Mei Li - Shadow and Bone TV series etc) on Christmas eve when they were called to investigate a case involving the killing of Triad leader. The suspects Charlie (Justin Cornwell - The InBetween TV series, Jingle Jangle etc) and his girlfriend Mia (Quelin Sepulveda) managed to escape but were caught on camera. 

Deadpool & Wolverine - The Highly Entertaining and Still Very Hilarious Sequel to the Merc with the Mouth

After many weeks of seeing this movie heavily promoted on social media and internet, finally it was set for release on last Wednesday in Indonesia. Since I wanted to ensure seeing this in a studio with great sound system, we decided to wait till the weekend so we can buy the tickets for our favorite seats without fighting over with other people. And so we made it yesterday in the studio not far from our home. All right, let's get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds - IF, The Croods: A New Age etc) was already retired as Deadpool and working as used car sales together with Peter (Rob Delaney - Ron's Gone Wrong, The School for Good and Evil etc) and still friends with his ex girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin - Fast Charlie, Homeland TV series etc). When he was approached by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) high ranked officer Mr. Paradox (Matthew MacFayden - Succession TV series, Anna Karenina etc) to become one of their agents, Wade was very excited and decided to come out of retirement.

Abigail - A Fun, Enjoyable and Unique Vampire Movie

When this movie was released in Indonesia on Friday, I was a bit disappointed that it did not play in the cinema near our home. So I had to postpone it till Saturday when we already made a lot of plans including seeing another movie. Anyway I finally saw it yesterday and had another movie marathon with my wife. OK, I will get on to it then.

Brief Story Line

A group of criminals were hired by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito - The Gentlemen TV series, Maze Runner: The Death Cure etc) to kidnap a young girl later on revealed to be Abigail (Alisha Weir - Matilda the Musical etc). The group were known by their aliases with its leader Frank (Dan Stevens - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Legion TV series etc) and included Joey (Melissa Barrera - Scream VI, Tanto Amor telenovela etc), the sniper Rickles (Will Catlett - True Story mini series etc), the muscle Peter (Kevin Durand - Take Point, The Strain TV series etc), the hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton - Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Detective Pikachu etc) and the driver Dean (Angus Cloud - Euphoria TV series etc). 

The Beekeper - An Entertaining Old School Action Movie with Some Greatly Done Fight Scenes

As fans of Jason Statham, my wife and I did not want to miss out on seeing him in action once again. So when this latest movie of his was released yesterday, it did not require too much convincing for my wife to see it in the theater near our home. It was the 6.30 PM show which gave me plenty of time to be there after my day's work. All right then, let's get into it.

Brief Story Line

Adam Clay (Jason Statham - Meg 2: The Trench, Fast X etc) was a beekeeper who was neighbor with a retired teacher, Mrs. Parker (Phylicia Rashad - Creed III etc). When she got scammed by a group of scammers and lost her savings, Adam decided to take matters into his own hand. He tried to pursue all the people responsible, especially their ultimate leader Derek (Josh Hutcherson - Zathura: A Space Adventure, Future Man TV series etc) who had a resourceful advisor Wallace (Jeremy Irons - Red Sparrow, The Mission etc).

Thanksgiving - A Pretty Entertaining Slasher Movie with Good Background Story

There were few new movies released in Indonesian theaters yesterday which interest me. However, only one that played in the cinema nearest to our home. So if felt like this film was chosen for us to see first. Anyway my wife who is not a fan of horror movies was still OK with this one as it was a slasher genre. All right, I'll get on it then.

Brief Story Line

One year after a fatal incident at Rightmart Superstore on Thanksgiving night, people were not comfortable with the idea of having same Huge Sale event. However the owner Thomas Wright (Rick Hoffman - Suits TV series etc) was adamant that it should continue as they have taken more precautions with the support from the Sheriff (Patrick Dempsey - Enchanted, Grey's Anatomy TV series etc) and his deputies.

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.

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).  

(2022) Ambulance - Enjoyable and Intense Michael Bay's Action Movie

I've caught a glimpse of this movie's trailer a while back which seemed to promise lots of action and with the name of Michael Bay as the director, made me quite excited. But as the 3rd wave of the pandemic hit Indonesia in the past few weeks, I was skeptical if I would get the chance to see it in the cinema. Fortunately, the situation seemed to be better swiftly so my wife and I had the courage to go to theaters since last week. Although it was certainly helped by the fact that not a lot of audience dared to see movies in cinemas yet. Anyway, let's get on with this.

Brief Story Line

Will (Yahya Abdul Mateen II - The Matrix Resurrections, The Greatest Showman etc) was a war veteran who was having financial problem. He sought the help from his adoptive brother Danny (The Guilty, Brokeback Mountain etc) who suggested him to join his crew in robbing a bank.

Jolt - An Interesting Action Comedy with Unique Lead Character

I was looking forward to this movie when I first saw it in the Coming Soon section of HBO Go as the premise seemed interesting. So once it was released on Saturday, I immediately watch it on its premier day. Well let us get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Lindy (Kate Beckinsale - Underworld: Blood Wars and its predecessors, Click etc) was a woman who suffered from intermittent explosive disorder which made her easily irritated and became violent on other people. Her psychiatrist Dr. Munchin (Stanley Tucci - The Witches 2020 version, The Terminal etc) put on a vest which could give Lindy electric jolt whenever she wanted to hurt other people. He also advised Lindy to start having personal relationship that might make her better.

Copshop - An Action Thriller Movie with Simple Story and Sufficient Thrill

Yesterday, there was this new movie released in one of the cinema chains in Indonesia. It was an action thriller movie that interest me due to its lead cast and the seemingly intriguing story. I have never seen the trailer shown at all, so not sure what I would be getting into. Anyway, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Teddy Muretto (Frank Grillo - The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, Beyond Skyline etc) was a fixer who was on the run from people who were chasing him. In order to save himself, he purposely punch a rookie police officer in a small town named Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) to get himself in jail. Meanwhile, a professional hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler - Angel Has Fallen, Geostorm etc) who was after Teddy, managed to be put in the same jail.

Kate - Violent Action Movie with Really Simple Story

This was another new action movie released by Netflix on a Friday. After seeing its interesting trailer few times earlier, I was obviously excited to give it a try. And let's find out more of this.

Brief Story Line

Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead - Gemini Man, A Good Day to Die Hard etc) was a female assassin working for an organization with her handler Varrick (Woody Harrelson - Solo: A Star Wars Story, Midway etc). When she somehow was poisoned and only had 24 hours to live, Kate decided to look for the culprit.

As she went rampage across Tokyo to find the persons responsible and get her revenge, Kate had to go through numerous dangerous Yakuza members including their advisor Renji (Tadanobu Asano - Mortal Kombat 2021, Battleship etc) the 2nd in command of Kijima (Jun Kunimura - Dream Raider TV series etc). Kate also encountered a teenaged girl named Ani (Miku Martineau) who she used as bait to get to her target.

Vacation Friends - Fun Comedy with Some Humor that could Make Us Laugh Out Loud

I almost missed out on watching this movie which was released on Disney+ on Friday. But on Saturday while I was having regular car maintenance, I searched for movies that I could see while waiting. And there it was, a film which seemed raunchy enough to get me laughing. So let us go into this now.

Brief Story Line

Marcus (Lil Rel Howery - Good Boys, Bird Box etc) and Emily (Yvonne Orji - Insecure TV series etc) were having a week's vacation in Mexico. They met and befriended with a wild couple who just want to have fun named Ron (John Cena - Playing With Fire, The Wall etc) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner - Search Party TV series etc). Though at first Marcus and Emily had reservations, they ended up having a wonderful time together. But they tried to forget everything once they returned to their normal day to day lives in Chicago.

(2020) The Old Guard - Good Enough Action Movie Adapted from Popular Graphic Novel

During the weekend, there was a new movie released in Netflix, which has been promoted quite a lot. I was definitely intrigued by the premise and since cinemas are yet to open due to Covid-19 pandemic, the release of this movie was certainly a huge welcome. OK, what was the movie all about? Let us find out, shall we?

Brief Story Line

A group of mercenaries with extraordinary ability led by Andy (Charlize Theron - The Addams Family, Atomic Blonde etc) with her friends Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts - Red Sparrow etc), Joe (Marwan Kenzari - Aladdin live version etc) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) were hired by an ex CIA agent Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor - Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Sherlock Gnomes etc) to free some kidnapped children in Sudan. However when things went sideways, they had to save themselves from people who were after them.

(2020) Extraction - A Really Bloody Violent Action Movie

The other day I noticed there was a new movie released in Netflix which starred Chris Hemsworth, so I was obviously intrigued by it. I got the chance to see it on Sunday and wanted to write about this movie right away. So here goes.

Brief Story Line

A young teenager named Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) who happened to be the son of India's drug lord Ovi Mahajan Sr, was kidnapped by his competitor and biggest drug lord from Bangladesh Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). Ovi Sr assigned his right hand man Saju (Randeep Hoda) to do whatever means necessary to get his son back.

Saju sought the help from a team of mercenaries that included Nik (Golshifteh Farahani), Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth - Men in Black: International, The Huntsman: Winter's War etc) and few others. With so many challenges ahead of them including to escape from the pursue of whole city's dirty cops and soldiers in Asif's pocket, Tyler had to find whatever ways necessary to save the kid.

(Special Screening) Guns Akimbo - Fun, Entertaining, Freaking Violent and Gore Action Movie with some Stylish Action Sequence

After just seeing the poster to this movie shown in the social media, it was certainly a pleasant surprise when my wife got the invitation to its special screening last night. Prior to the movie's start at 7.15 PM, we were shown several trailers of upcoming movies that would be released in CGV cinemas which also excited us. OK, let's head on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Miles (Daniel Racliffe - Harry Potter series etc) who worked in video game developer was a nobody and did not seem to have a life. Until one day, due to an incident, Miles was caught up in an underground fight club managed by the ruthless Riktor (Ned Dennehy). In order to save his life Miles had no choice but to fight against the toughest opponent Nix (Samara Weaving - Ready or Not etc) who seemed to kill people for fun.

Birds of Prey - Chaotic, Cartoonish and Colorful Superhero Movie with Fabulous Performance from Margot Robbie

As one of the latest movie in DC universe, obviously I had my eyes on the film. With advance ticket sales since last week, my wife and I bought the ticket for last night's show, sadly though not at our favorite theater with Dolby Atmos system as that one was likely booked for a special screening of sort. Anyway, we went to another cinema which had a big screen that I liked as well. So let's get down with the movie.

Brief Story Line

After breaking up with Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Focus etc) who had been under his protection suddenly found herself in the pursuit of enemies and the police, in particular Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez - White Men Can't Jump, Fearless etc).

Good Boys - One Hell of a Fun Ride and a Really Entertaining Coming of Age Comedy

This was the movie that I wanted to see as soon as I came back from my business trip last week, but I only got the chance to do it yesterday. It was still playing in many theaters and available in all cinema chains, so not too difficult to search for a studio. OK, I'll just head down to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Three young boys who just reached sixth grade and named themselves the Bean Bag Boys which consisted of Max (Jacob Tremblay - Wonder, Before I Wake etc), Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon) wanted to become cool kids at school.

As luck would have it, Max was invited to a party held by one of the popular kids named Soren (Izaac Wang) and managed to convince Lucas and Thor to be invited too. However, things got really complicated when they got entangled with a problem involving two high school girls Hannah (Molly Gordon - Animal Kingdom TV series etc) and Lily (Midori Francis).

Angel Has Fallen - The Third Movie of the "Super" Secret Service Agent Mike Banning Franchise

I noticed about this movie few weeks ago when I was looking at the list of upcoming films in Indonesia. It was another sequel to the action movies I quite enjoyed then. But it did not seem to be garnering a lot of hype here, probably because the trailer was never shown at all and it only played in 1 cinema chain, albeit the largest one. Anyway, my wife and I went to see this in our favorite Dolby Atmos theater. OK I am going to go ahead with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler - The Vanishing, Hunter Killer etc) was now given the assignment of protecting president Trumbull (Morgan Freeman - The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The Shawsank Redemption etc). His life seemed to be in best shape as he was in contention to be promoted and had a real good life with his wife Leah (Piper Perabo - Coyote Ugly, Covert Affairs TV series etc) and baby daughter plus enjoying his friendship with his old army buddy Wade Jennings (Danny Huston - Wonder Woman, The Aviator etc).

Stuber - A Fun but not Hilarious Action Comedy without Spectacular Actions

This movie had been released in the US theaters since more than 2 weeks ago but it was only premiering in Indonesian theater on Wednesday. As I had been catching up with the movies released earlier, I just got the chance to see it yesterday. My wife was having a small get together with her family so she was not able to accompany me. OK, will go on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Stu (Kumail Nanjiani - Men In Black: International, Silicon Valley TV series etc) was a part time Uber driver who also worked at a retail store. While looking for a customer, he was connected to a police detective Victor (Dave Bautista - Final Score, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy etc) who was trying to catch his old foe, a major drug lord named Tedjo (Iko Uwais - Mile 22, Headshot etc), despite being asked to stop by his captain McHenry (Mira Sorvino - Mimic, Human Trafficking etc).