Srimulat: Hil yang Mustahal - Babak Pertama - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

Yesterday this new movie was released in Indonesian theater which was based on the famous group of comedians that my wife and I sort of grew up with. So for sure we were interested in seeing it. And despite not playing in the theater nearest to our home and the not so favorable starting time, we still managed to get to the location and enjoy our time. As usual, my wife has already done a well-written post of this movie. Hence I am going to share her review below.

[MOVIE] SRIMULAT: HIL YANG MUSTAHAL - BABAK PERTAMA

 Lupa deh kapan gw tau bakal ada film Srimulat: Hil yang Mustahal - Babak Pertama ini. Cuma emang jadi gw tunggu2 sih krn kebetulan gw digedein dengan lawakan mereka. Kayanya yang selalu rajin ditonton itu emang cuma Srimulat sih. Konyol2nya, receh2nya, nyambung aja gitu sama konsep lawak di otak gw. Berhubung gak maen di bioskop deket rumah, mayan effort jadinya gw gojekan ujan2 ke Kuningan City, bawain indomie goreng buat hubby yang langsung meluncur dr kantor. Iye, jam tayang 17:40 emang riskan sebetulnya. Untung kaga telat tadi nontonnya. Film ini ditulis dan disutradarai oleh Fajar Nugros.

Ford v Ferrari - An Extraordinary Sports Biography Drama

I was looking forward to see this movie when it was scheduled to premier on Friday. Unfortunately once again my favorite Dolby Atmos studio was having an event at around 7 PM and no shows were available during that time. My wife and I ended up seeing this one only yesterday at that studio. Anyway, I'll go on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon - The Adjustment Bureau, The Great Wall etc) was the owner of automobile manufacturer Shelby American. When Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts - Lady Bird, The Post etc) wanted to create a new race car for Ford capable of winning the Le Mans and beat their competitor Ferrarri, he assigned one of his executive Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal - The Punisher TV series, Baby Driver etc) to engage Shelby with this difficult task.

Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch - Sadly an Uninteresting "Sequel" to that Entertaining 2017 Movie

This was a movie that was released few days ago and intrigued me due to its title. I read the synopsis and thought it might be worth to try. However there were not a lot of theaters showing the film, and it was only playing in 1 cinema chain. But it did play in 1 of the theater not far from my home. Anyway, I will just get on with the film now.

Brief Story Line

Set in 1996 before Hong Kong was to be returned to China a year later, the police was keen to reduce crime by capturing criminals. Their target was one of the most notorious, a ruthless & intelligent criminal named Logan Long (Tony Leung Ka-fai - Double Vision, The Myth etc) with his favorite MO to kidnap wealthy businessmen for ransom. In order to do so, they assigned undercover detective named Sky He (Louis Koo - Paradox, Rob-B-Hood etc) to infiltrate Logan's gang.

A Man Called Ahok - A Review by Yennymakanmulu

After few days of the movie playing in the theaters, we finally decided to go ahead and saw this one last night. This time, I prefer to let my wife share her views of the film as I thought that her personal experience while watching the movie would be more suitable than if I wrote it. So here goes below her wonderful review in Bahasa Indonesia.

[MOVIE] A Man Called Ahok – Kisah Memperjuangkan Belitung Timur *spoiler alert*

5 hari setelah film A Man Called Ahok rilis di bioskop2 Indonesia, gw baru bisa nonton di hari Selasa kemarin. Terbentur dengan lokasi bioskop dan tempat duduk yang gw incer, makanya gw tunda dulu nonton di hari pertama main. Semua bioskop penuh! Tapi terus terang, gw gak terlalu napsu buat nonton awalnya. Bukan! Bukan karena gw gak suka Ahok. Oh wow, gw justru kagum banget sama sosok seorang Ahok. Gara2 Ahok, Jakarta pernah jadi yang terbaik di mata gw. Sebelum Ahok kerja di Jakarta, gw gak kenal siapa beliau. Sepak terjang Ahok bikin Jakarta lebih baik dari sebelum2nya. Terus, apa sih sebetulnya alasan gw gak beli tiket pertama kali? Gw ragu Daniel Mananta bisa mewakili sosok Ahok. Monmaap ya Kak Daniel. Secara gw gak pernah nonton Daniel akting. Tapi setelah banyak teman yang bilang filmnya bagus, okelah gw coba nonton deh. Oya film diadaptasti dari buku dengan judul yang sama, karangan Rudi Valinka, dan disutradarai oleh Putrama Tuta. Yuk mulai nonton!

To continue reading, please click the link below:

A Man Called Ahok Review by Yennymakanmulu

Just heads up on the movie, it was mentioned by the director that it's not a documentary and certain aspects might be dramatized.

PS: You can also read her other reviews about food and travel in her blog.

Bohemian Rhapsody - The Best Biography Movie of Legendary Rock Band I Ever Experienced

Yesterday morning I saw the tweets from the Indonesian cinema chains that this movie would be playing earlier than the usual Wednesday premiere. I was a bit doubtful whether I could make it to see this as it was the day that I had to use the infamous Jakarta's unreliable public transport. Especially since the shows in the various theaters near my office were all playing at 6.15PM. Anyway I decided that I want to see it and my wife bought us the tickets for the show nearest to our home. Well let's get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

In 1970, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek - Mr. Robot TV series, Papillon etc) who later on renamed himself as Freddie Mercury joined a group of university students rock band named Smile, with the lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee - Midsommer Murders TV series etc) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy - X-Men: Apocalypse etc). Later on there was also the addition of bassist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzelo - The Social Network etc) and the group was renamed to Queen by Freddie. Freddie also grew very close to Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton - Murder on the Orient Express etc) and later on became lovers. However, Freddie's parents, especially his father was not too approving in his music "career".

After making a recording in a studio, Queen garnered the interest of a manager named John Reid (Aidan Gillen - Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Game of Thrones TV series etc) with his partner Paul Prenter (Allen Leech - The Hunter's Prayer, Downton Abbey TV series etc). Queen also had their own legal adviser named Jim Beach (Tom Hollander - Pride & Prejudice, In the Loop etc). They would later on tour to various countries and make numerous albums together. But behind the seemingly successful life, there was something else going on with Freddie which would later on changed his way of life and also disturbed his relationship with everyone.

So how did Queen and Freddie Mercury became so legendary today? Find them all in this breathtaking biography movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Phew this move was totally awesome! I loved every minute of it and my wife sometimes were very emotional as well during several scenes (as I did too). The movie started off very brightly with some hint of what it would become. Then the story was focusing more on the Freddie Mercury's life and how Queen was formed. The pace was moving in a steady but surprisingly not slow and certainly not boring. The movie was filled with some story relating to Freddie, but most interestingly were the scenes showing the process of some of their hit songs creation, especially the song Bohemian Rhapsody. Those scenes were very entertaining (although some might be dramatized, but still it was a very nice way of showing us).

Apart from the story of Freddie's earlier life and Queen's earlier process of making their other albums, it later on also evolved to a more serious and dramatic turn around on Freddie's personal way of life. The movie showed us quite significant amount of Queen's performance in various locations. These were also very interesting. There was 1 scene where the very popular song of Love of My Life shown that was truly emotional. 

When I read they were making a movie about Queen, honestly I thought that OK, it was another biographical drama which I may or may not like. But I saw the trailer to this film several times in the past few weeks and it really made me interested. So I was really happy that I decided to go ahead and see this last night as it was one of the best experience I ever had watching a movie about a rock band's biography. However, what I did not know earlier was the fact that it focused more on Freddie Mercury, even though it was supposed to be about Queen. And to let you in on it, Rami Malek was amazing and magnificent as Freddie Mercury. Sometimes I really could picture him as the real Freddie and the prosthetic teeth effects were also great making his face feature also similar, especially after he had the mustache. The sound effects were very good, which would have been much greater if I saw this in a studio with Dolby Atmos system.

All the Queen's performance on stage and when creating the songs were wonderfully done. The crew did fantastic job recreating those scenes. The best of it all would surely be the performance during the 1985 Live Aid concert. That was really great, impressive and truly spectacular! It was a really grand finale that captivated me and my wife. I was in awe by the huge performance and got a bit of goosebumps seeing those tens of thousands of people in the Wembley stadium singing together with Queen. And I know that my wife was really emotional, especially when the song We Are the Champions were sung. 

Now I know that critics were not really receptive to this movie due to some historical inaccuracy, but I thought if the rest of the band who had some influence on the movie as creative consultants did not object to it, then it may not really mattered to them? Although I could understand that if it was a biography movie, it would have to be as accurate as possible. It also had some internal problems as well with the original director Bryan Singer (famous for directing movies like X-Men series, Valkyrie and several others) unable to finish directing and was replaced by Dexter Fletcher. 

Anyway, my take of the movie is, despite the possible inaccuracy, it was a truly enjoyable and memorable film. Remi Malek gave undoubtedly a great performance to my opinion and apparently all critics were unanimous in praising his performance. For me and my wife who apparently knew more Queen songs that we realized, we really had a wonderful time, and I personally did not have a single objection to the movie.

Oh before I forgot, despite the movie categorized as PG-13 in the US, it got the 17+ rating in here, which I thought was probably more suitable since there were scenes more for adults (few scenes were cut by Indonesian censorship body). When I saw the end credit which showed a real life Queen's performance, I noticed there were so many songs mentioned (no surprise there) but there was no post end credit scene. Overall, this would be a really recommended movie for Queen fans, or audience who loved to see a movie about legendary rock band and the personal life of Freddie Mercury. But if you are like one of those critics who believed that historical accuracy is a must, then you might not enjoy it. The choice is yours.

Happy watching!

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

First Man - The Powerful Biographical Drama of Neil Armstrong, the First Man on the Moon

There was a new movie premiered in Indonesian theaters yesterday which was a biography drama about the first person on the moon. What surprised me though was the limited theaters showing this film as apparently audience were still flocking to see Venom and a lot of the cinemas still having more than 1 studio showing that movie. After going through the list of the theaters, my wife and I decided to see this at Kuningan City that had a 6.20 PM show. OK let's start with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

In 1962, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling - La La Land, Drive etc) was trying to apply for the NASA astronauts program called Gemini in 1962. When he got accepted, Neil together with his wife Janet (Claire Foy - The Crown TV series, Breathe etc) were relieved as they felt they needed a fresh start due to prior tragedy involving their child. Neil was the only two civilian astronauts selected for the program with another one Elliot See (Patrick Fugit - Outcast TV series, Saved! etc). The head chief of Astronauts office was Deke (Kyle Chandler - Game Night, Zero Dark Thirty etc). 

The Greatest Showman - A "Could Have Been" Better Musical Movie of The Man Who Created Circus

Today, after weeks of watching the trailer to this movie, finally it premiered for the first time in Indonesia. My wife and I were expecting to see this one as it seemed to promise a wonderful story of P.T. Barnum, the man who created the Circus. Since there was not a lot of theaters playing the movie, we had limited options to see this. Luckily it played in the cinema not too far from our home at Lotte Avenue. Anyway, let us get on with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman - Wolverine in various X-Men movies, Real Steel etc) was a man of poor background and had very huge imagination. He was not satisfied with just having a life as a regular working people and since he promised his wife Charity (Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain, Dawson's Creek TV series etc) that he would give the best kind of life to her and to their daughters Caroline and Helen, he always tried to do something grand and earn wealth plus people's respect.

Chasing the Dragon - Semi Biography of Crippled Ho, Hong Kong's King of Drug Dealers

This movie premiered in Indonesian theaters on Wednesday, but as I was already having plans with my wife on another location, we only saw this movie a day later. It was a very rare moment where a Hong Kong/Chinese movie had a wide release opening in Indonesia. But I guess the big name of Donnie Yen and Andy Lau were quite well known that the cinema chain decided to show this movie in quite a number of theaters as opposed to the usual previous limited releases. Since my wife had an event in Gandaria City, we decided to see this one there. So let us continue with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

The story was set in the 1960s where times were tough in Hong Kong and it was still under the British colonials government. A group of 5 immigrants with their "leader" named Ng Sek-ho (Donnie Yen - Ip Man trilogy, xXx: Return of Xander Cage etc) were doing lots of odd jobs in order to survive there. During a major gang fight where Ho and his 3 best friends were only there to earn some easy money, he was saved by a police detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau - Infernal Affairs, Running on Karma and many many more) who was accompanied by his trusted right hand man Piggy (Kent Cheng - Ip Man 2 and 3, Run Papa Run etc). Ho felt a real gratitude towards Lee since then. But Ho also made an enemy with a British chief inspector called Hunter (Bryan Larkin) who would be his nemesis in future.

American Made - The Biography of Barry Seal's Unique Life

When I saw the trailer to this movie few weeks ago, I was not so sure if this would be interesting. As my wife had mentioned it, it looked a bit like B class movie. However, since the main lead character was Tom Cruise, we decided to give it a try as usually his movies were generally good or full action. So when it premiered on Friday, we immediately bought the tickets. One interesting fact was the movie would only play in US cinemas in 4th week of September which was quite unusual as in the past few months, most movies were playing in US first before playing in Indonesia. Anyway, we should move on to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise - so many movies to his credits) was a pilot in the TWA airlines who flew to various countries from 1970s. While going through those trips, he was also doing some petty smuggling. But it was found out by a CIA agent named Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson - The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens etc) who decided to recruit Barry and use his wit and exceptional ability of flying various airplanes to do some reconnaissance work on South American countries. Barry was told by Schafer not to share what he was doing for CIA even to his wife Lucy (Sarah Wright - Walk of Shame).