Richard Jewell - Great Story of Character Assassination based on Real Person and Events

Last night a new movie was shown on HBO and released on HBO Go application hours earlier. I remember watching the movie's trailer some time ago where I thought it looked interesting. So I was glad when it was put in the Coming Soon section since last month. Anyway, we'll go ahead with more details now.

Brief Story Line

Set in 1996 during the Olympic event in Atlanta, USA, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Heuser - Da 5 Bloods, Songbird etc) who had been living with his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates - Misery, American Horror Story TV series etc) for a while, was working as security guard at Centennial Park. When he found an unattended bag under one of the bench, he suspected the content which turned out to be a bomb and went off after Richard and other security guards & officers managed to move most of the people away. 

(Special Screening) 1917 - A Genius and Extraordinary Work from Sam Mendes

After generating rave reviews and multiple nominations plus few already won awards, this movie certainly is on top of my to see list. So when my wife got the invitation to special screening of the film before its official premier date, I was so excited and could not wait for the time to come and see it. Well enough said on that part and let's get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

During the World War I in 1917, two young British soldiers Corporal Will Schofield (George MacKay - Marrowbone, Ophelia etc) and Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman - Game of Thrones TV series etc) were given special assignment by General Erinmore (Colin Firth - Mary Poppins Returns, Bridget Jones Diary trilogy etc) to send a message to Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch - The Grinch animated version, Star Trek Into Darkness etc) to cancel an attack on the Germans as it was a trap.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Overly Long Build Up with Amazing Climax

This movie was released in Indonesia while I was away on holiday in August 2019 with my wife and when I returned home, it was only playing in limited theaters which would require a bit of effort that I did not want to put. And instead I chose to see other movies that were easier to get access to back then. As so happened, during my trip end of last year, the film was already in the inflight entertainment which was good for me as it had very long duration and definitely a good time killer. Well here's my brief opinion about the movie.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1969, story was focusing on a veteran Hollywood actor named Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio - Inception, Revenant etc) with his best friend and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt - Ad Astra, Ocean's Eleven etc) who always drove him around and accompanying him everywhere. With limited job offers, Rick was hoping to be cast by famous director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) who just moved next door to his house with his wife, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie - Peter Rabbit, The Legend of Tarzan etc).

(Special Screening) Green Book - A Remarkable Movie About Friendship of Two Completely Different Personalities

Two days ago I got information from my wife that there was a special screening event of the movie which got multiple Academy Awards nomination and won Golden Globes awards as well on Tuesday. As it would only premier in Indonesian theaters today, it was nice of us to catch a glimpse of this outstanding movie earlier. The event itself was held in CGV Grand Indonesia and scheduled to start at 7 PM. After few minutes of introduction and 2 movie trailers, it began at 7.15 PM. 

Brief Story Line

Tony Vallelonga aka Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen - The Lord of the Rings trilogy, A History of Violence etc) was an Italian-American bouncer who worked in a night club. But when it was closed for renovation, he had to look for various odd jobs to support his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini - A Simple Favor, Daddy's Home 2 etc) and his 2 small kids Nick and Frankie. 

All the Money in the World - The Story Behind Kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's Grandson

While I was on the flight home using Garuda last Saturday, I had the chance to watch few movies as the duration of the flight was a little over 7 hours. I was a bit undecided to see which movie first and after few minutes of scrolling back and forth, I finally chose this one as it had few nominations in Golden Globe and in Academy Awards. And I happen to know that the movie already played in Indonesian cinemas sometime ago where I did not get the chance to see it. So here goes my views of the film.

Brief Story Line

The movie was set in the year 1973 where John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer - Granite Flats TV series etc) was kidnapped in the streets of Rome. One of the kidnappers named Cinquanta (Romain Durais) later on called John's mother Gail (Michelle Williams - The Greatest Showman, Manchester by the Sea etc) and asked for a huge ransom which Gail immediately told them not possible as she had no money. But the kidnapper insist that she should get it from John's grandfather, the richest man in the world: J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer - The Sound of Music, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo etc).

La La Land - The Lovely Romantic Musical Movie

During a month where the HBO cable TV was promoting Oscar, they showed various award winners until the day of Academy Awards on 4 March 2018. Two days ago, this movie was shown on the Saturday Night Premiere and since I had not seen it (unlike my wife), I already set my mind to see this on TV. So both of us went back home before 8 PM when the movie started. Well here goes my views of the movie.

Brief Story Line

A struggling young actress Mia Dolan (Emma Stone - Zombieland, Easy A etc) was working as a barista to cover her living cost while trying to get her big break in movie industry. However, she was not having the best of luck during casting process due to various reasons. One night while walking home, she heard a beautiful song played in the piano (titled "Mia & Sebastian's theme") by Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling - Blade Runner 2049, The Nice Guys etc). But she did not get the chance to say too much to him.

Downsizing - A Surprisingly Rather Disappointing Flat Drama of A Wonderful Topic

Yesterday evening, my wife and I decided to have a movie marathon which we had not done for quite some time. It was actually due to our vouchers to experience Gold type cinema in CGV were expiring by end of the month. So when there were 2 movies premiered last week and both were playing in the cinema, we set our mind to do so during the weekend, after our weekend staycation. It was quite fortunate that when we arrived at Grand Indonesia mall, there were still few seats available. Now let us get on with the first movie.

Brief Story Line

A Norwegian scientist Dr. Asbjørnsen (Rolf Lassgård) had invented a process where he could minimize living organism to a much smaller size and it was called "downsizing". The only catch was the process was irreversible. 15 years after that first discovery, downsizing had become quite a popular process used at humans. Paul Safranek (Matt Damon - Jason Bourne, Good Will Hunting etc) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig - 2016 version Ghostbusters, The Martian etc) were an average couple living in Omaha and were having the usual average people's problem, i.e. financials.

Ferdinand - A Nice Story of An Extraordinary Bull

Today, there was an animated movie that premiered in Indonesia. I was a bit surprised that this movie would be premiering on the same day as in the US since we were already shown Star Wars: The Last Jedi earlier. In any case, it is our gain as we are not too far behind like in other previous new movies. My wife and I utilized our final vouchers that we acquire from my credit card (which would expire in less than 2 weeks time). So we were quite happy to see the movie for free 😀. Anyway, let us get on with the movie.

Brief Story Line

A very big bull named Ferdinand (voiced by WWE wrestler John Cena - Daddy's Home 2, Trainwreck etc) was having a nice life with a girl that loved and adored him named Nina (Lily Day). He was a gentle kind-hearted bull who unlike other bulls did not enjoy violence and loved flowers. One day, due to some reasons, he was separated from Nina and ended up at the place he despised the most, where he would meet with other bulls who had been trained to fight matadors all their lives.

(TV SERIES) The Blacklist Season 1

This was one series that I was intrigued to try and watch. My only challenge was the fact that the series had been playing for 3 seasons, as it would take quite some time for me to catch up (the 4th season already started since 22 September 2016). In addition, the series itself was quite long as it had like 22-23 episodes per season. However, since the rating and popularity was quite high, I decided that it should be worthwhile for me to watch. So without further ado, here is the information & more details.

Brief Story Line

The pilot episode started with the scene of a person wearing hat and suit getting ready to go to FBI headquarter in Washington DC. When he came inside the building, he introduced himself as Raymond "Red" Reddington (played by James Spader - Sex, Lies and Videotapes, Stargate, Boston Legal TV series etc) and looking for Assistant Director Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix - Ray, Stomp The Yard, Man of Steel etc). Immediately the lobby was swarmed by so many agents pointing their guns at him as it turned out he was in on the most wanted list of FBI. He was then brought into a special prison to be interrogated.