Reviews

First, let me give a quote straight from this movie: "Is it funny? Your sense of humor is so dry!" That sums up all of what is happened in this movie. Repeated formula with the previous movie, same template, lame and outdated joke, bad acting, cheesy conversation, and many more. Back in the days, I can't see why the first movie was getting a sequel in the first place, the movie itself already boring, not that bad but just so so. I think because of the number of viewers of the previous movie which is mostly the fans of the director who also an influencer/Youtuber that made the previous movie getting a sequel, but now it seems doesn't work anymore. The hype from the fans already down and some of them already realized how mediocre this movie actually is.

The main character with crazy friends is already stale and boring formula nowadays, moreover, the main character is disgusting, the actor already played this kind of template character in all of his movies. The plot is also predictable and really annoying, we can found many characters cut off the conversation of other characters which is I found really annoying and unforgivable because it is wasting the time and stretching the duration while the conflict that could be solved immediately always delayed because of this. There are also the same sentences or conversations are repeated over and over again by almost every character in this movie marked that this movie is not well written. But the good point is the cinematography is good and the main female character is also hot. Sadly the ending is still unclear, do they still want to continue this dead franchise? Please don't!

Again, I will write a review for the Warkop DKI Reborn franchise starting from Warkop DKI Reborn Part 3 and then Part 4. Years after Warkop DKI Reborn Part 1 and 2 were released, the new Warkop DKI Reborn movie was released (initially without Part 3 in the title of this movie). Many viewers felt cheated after watching this movie because they thought this was a stand-alone one because of the movie title, in reality, the movie ends up continue to the next one, the unwanted sequel. Not only that, the three main characters (Dono, Kasino, Indro) played by the new young actors are also very annoying, inaccurate, and useless. Only Dono's character is slightly similar to the original character because of the looks, while the Kasino and Indro characters are total failures.

The early parts of this movie were still forgivable to watch, but all of that disappeared when the setting moved to Morocco in the middle of the movie and continued to the next movie, Warkop DKI Reborn Part 4, which is still set in Morocco. I don't know their purpose for choosing this Morocco setting. If in Warkop DKI Reborn Jangkrik Boss! Part 1 and Part 2 chose Malaysia as another setting for the movie, it may because they want to attract viewers from Malaysia (Indonesia's neighbor) and I am sure that there are Malaysians who are also interested in watching it. However, in Warkop DKI Reborn Part 3 and Part 4, I do not understand why they chose Morocco, because it is unlikely that Moroccan citizens will be interested in watching this film besides this film is a complete failure. Why not another country or only shoot it in Indonesia? What is the purpose of wasting money so that it can be shot abroad which results are just as devastating? Does this film also a money laundry case product like the synopsis that is told in the movie Part 3? We don't know. Maybe so.

I will write a review for the Warkop DKI Reborn franchise starting from Warkop DKI Reborn Part 1 and then Part 2. Warkop DKI Jangkrik Boss! Part 1 was quite promising at the beginning, with massive promotions, they offered a new taste for the legends of Dono, Kasino, Indro (characters in the Warkop movie franchise) with all the new casts. The actors chosen are also among the top promising actors and their looks are almost close to those of Dono, Kasino, Indro although they are a little forced with the help of make-up.

Jangkrik Boss! Part 1 is quite good as an opening, although it still has weaknesses in the comedy parts which is the main selling point. However, it is still greeted with great fanfare by the Indonesian people as evidenced by the highest-grossing Indonesian movie in the year this movie was released. After that, Jangkrik Boss! Part 2 is a disaster, after quite convincing in Part 1, the audience hopes for something better and funnier in Part 2, but all of the hopes is wasted. Jangkrik Boss! Part 2 was terrible, especially how they ended the story.

This anime is definitely the best anime of this year so far. Previously only available in +Ultra programming block of Fuji TV (same block with Beastars), but now it is coming to Netflix. Only 14 episodes released until now because it is imitating western series by having mid-season finale for the first half of the series.

The Cowboy Bebob's jazzy vibes and Catch Me If You Can's heist vibes feel really strong in this anime along with its opening theme song and title sequence. You must be really sure that this anime is truly good when they have Freddy Mercury of Queen for this anime ending song. Lastly, this is produced by Wit Studio who produced Attack on Titan Season 1-3 and Vinland Saga, what more can you expect?

Another romantic-comedy (rom-com) movie from Taiwan that I watched. This is a coming of age rom-com movie about a boy who enters one of the universities in Taiwan and lives in the university's dormitory with his new friends. Conflicts happen when they are forced to leave their dormitory which is full of memories to another place by a conspiracy between the university chancellor and evil property developer.

The early part of the movie really depicts the life of the students in Taiwan when they are in the university's dormitory. But after that, this movie still has the same formula as the previous Taiwanese rom-com movies that I watched. Like the most coming of age movies, the story tends to be cliché, the plot runs sometimes without a clear explanation, and the motives of the characters that are not convincing enough are also somewhat bothering me. However, as a rom-com movie, this movie is still fun to watch. Better than Café. Waiting. Love (2014) and At Café Six (2016) which are far more cliché. Maybe its quality almost equal to Our Times (2015), but still far below the quality of Taiwan's biggest hit, You are the Apple of My Eye (2011).

This is one my favorite Taiwanese movies all the time, and one of the best movies that I watched recently. This movie is also more mature than the usual Taiwanese rom-com movies. Tells the story of a woman from Beijing who came to Taiwan to look for her grandmother's long lost love, a civil war veteran that moved to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. But she has no information about that person at all, only his name. Eventually, he met a local man who worked as a civil servant in New Taipei City who helps her track down the person. Along the way, they get to know each other, throw many arguments, and many clashes because of the cultural and political differences between Mainland China and Taiwan.

I once lived in Taiwan in the past, and everything in this movie really cures my longing for Taiwan. What I saw and visit in Taiwan is featured in this movie, starting from dumpling shop, traditional market, claw machine, countryside, northern beach, Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, lanterns in Jiufen, many more. The chemistry and interaction between the two main leads are also natural, funny, and emotional. The comedies about Mainland China and Taiwan's political relations are also smart and thought-provoking which may understood by those who have the same reference. Truly a heartwarming and bittersweet movie with extraordinary cultural studies that we rarely got from any movie.

This movie title translated literally from its Chinese title as "Children of the Sun". Tells the story of a journalist in Taipei who came from one of the indigenous tribes in Taiwan returned to his hometown, a village in Taitung County, to defends their family ancestral land that would be bought by a hotel developer. In this movie, we will get to know closer the traditions of the aboriginal people. I am really glad that we will not only hear the Mandarin language is spoken but also one of the aboriginal languages of Taiwan. You will also get to see the life in the countryside on the east coast of Taiwan that mostly populated by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples and stunning nature such as the expanse of rice fields, rural houses, and the beautiful landscapes that truly spoil the eyes of the viewers.

This movie is also very personal for me because it brought back my childhood memories. The atmosphere is very similar to my hometown, in a small village on the edge of a hill that also has an equally beautiful expanse of rice fields. Too bad while living in Taiwan I did not have the opportunity to visit Taitung County and its surroundings even though this area was included in my wishlist. However, I was only reached to Hualien City, which is also on the east coast of Taiwan. Hopefully, there are still opportunities to visit it another time. Overall, this is a decent movie that teaches us to respect the heritage of the ancestors and preserve it for good.

To be honest, I watched this movie in the first place is pure because Nittha Jirayungyurn is in it. After I finished her other movie titled "One Day", by chance this movie is in the cinema at that time. I thought this movie was a lighthearted romance movie like any other Thailand romance movie that I usually watch, but I was wrong. This movie is so depressive, the tones of this movie also gloomy. Not a romance movie that I was hoping for, because when I see the trailer it looks like a comedy romance movie. And also my fault that I did not aware that this movie is not coming from GDH 559 film studio which usually produced popular Thailand movies with much lighter tone.

Actually, I don't mind about the tone of this movie, although I have put the wrong expectation. I also curious and want to know how the story goes. But, the story itself is not that interesting. The premise of this movie is interesting, although at first, you will see the theme is almost similar to a South Korean movie titled The Beauty Inside (2015) and a Hollywood movie titled Every Day (2018). If you did not watch the trailer before watching this movie, you will think that this movie is more focused on cooking than romance. The plot is not so smooth, because I feel at the most part of this movie especially the transition between past and present scenes is so sudden. The acting of the male lead actor is also not memorable to me, instead, I am impressed with the other character which is the main character in different bodies. Overall, I am not satisfied with this movie, there is something bothering me in my brain that made me didn't enjoy this movie.

I watched this movie after the original authors of the Death Note released the Death Note Special One-Shot manga in February 2020. I enjoy the first two live-action movies of Death Note, they give a good alternate story to the Death Note franchise. The third movie is not that good but still watchable. After 10 years of the first movie, is it still a good choice to continue the Death Note movie? To be honest, I did not have much expectation for this movie. I only hope at least it is entertaining regardless of the story it tells.

I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole movie feels really flat. I am sure it is because I've read the One-Shot manga first that made me feel this movie is mediocre. After the innovative storyline from the manga, people expect something different from the story of this movie. But again, repeated formula and lame twist. This is still a disease for Japanese live-action movies in general. The action and drama also did not well. The six death notes in the movie have no impact at all to the narrative aspect of the story. Although the story is flat, I have a bit of hope at the end of this movie. They might end it like I hope it to be. But, the ending is also disappointed. At last, if you want you can still watch this movie. But if don't want to, it still is okay, you did not lose anything important at all.

I have to admit that this movie is looking fresh because it is using Javanese language instead of Indonesian language and this is new for Indonesian commercial movies. Javanese language is an unofficial language in Indonesia which is commonly using in Java Island, especially in Central Java and Eastern Java. As an person who lives in Javanese neighborhood (though I am not a Javanese), I can relate to this movie more than who doesn't. The gestures and behaviors of the characters in this movie really familiar to me because I have seen many people like this around me everyday. People who doesn't live in Java may not understand and relate about this movie and ended give a bad ratings or reviews. So, I can say this movie is a segmented movie.

The story is a about the boys who form a music band in order to become popular in school and attract the girls they like. The story sounds so cheesy and belong to last decade, so does the songs and soundtracks that used in this movie, they are outdated too. But, I still like how this movie utilizing stereotype of local people and make fun of it, I also appreciated how they use some local jokes smartly. Beside that, the plot is so standard, you even already forget how the story ended after watching this in short time.

Emotional, that is the first time I felt after watching this movie. Just like what I felt after watching another sports movie like Rush (2013) and Warrior (2011), but maybe this is more heartwarming because more about family. Whether I miss this information or not, watching this movie enlightens my curiosity about wrestling like WWE SmackDown, WWE Raw, and something else which are all of those are not a pure fighting sport like UFC or boxing. Wrestling is a show and entertainment which is full of scenarios and acting by the wrestlers. Before the show begins, the wrestlers discuss with the promotors about how they will act and who takes over in each part of the show. Everything is done just to entertain the people. My childhood felt cheated because I used to watch wrestling shows like SmackDown and play them on game consoles, and I believed those all were real.

Besides that, this movie also tells the story behind the scenes about the wrestlers who fight in the ring. They are all good friends outside the ring even though in the ring they act separately as groups called Face (as a good-side) and Heel (as bad-side). Those who are usually labeled by the public as bad people in the ring are actually just an ordinary and friendly people. Mickey Rourke gave an awesome performance here, this is the best of all his career. I also felt what he feels from his face and eyes. His wistful expression made us believe that his character is a man full of life's problems. Even though this movie is about wrestling, we will witness more inner conflicts than physical conflicts. We will see how Ram wrestles in his real life as an ordinary person who also needs others by his side. For the movigoers regardless they like wrestling shows or not, watching this movie is surely a must.

When the first trailer came out, I think the idea of this movie is really interesting. An ordinary family suddenly become very rich because of something unexpected happen to their life is a fresh idea that you rarely see in Indonesian comedy movies. With that idea, we already can wonder what will people do with their money if they suddenly become very rich. I have high expectations from this movie because it is written by Joko Anwar. Also, Ody C. Harahap in the director seat is interesting as well because last time I am so impressed by his movie Sweet 20. But this movie could not fulfill my expectation, the execution of this movie is rush and weak. There are some scenes that I think would be interesting if it is included in the movie instead of being cut out. The sound volume of the dialogues in this movie is very low in some scenes, the background music sound even louder than the dialogues sound. The conclusion of this movie is also not satisfying and not clear to me.

But this movie not bad at all, the casts are pretty solid. Their characters are relatable in our daily life. You can easily found the people with the same character in this movie around you. The best character in this movie is Cut Mini which has a very interesting character as the real "emak-emak", also we rarely see a good performance from Derby Romero in nowadays movie. Raline Shah's performance is great as well, I think she is not suitable at all as ordinary people because basically she is already that beautiful. Although this movie can be better, we still can enjoy this movie because it is really light and fun.

Garuda Superhero movie is really bad because of its CGI. They used too much CGI even for a simple scene that doesn't need any CGI at all. Actually, they can shoot the conversation scene in a room or a certain place using the real-life setting not using CGI, I think it would be better. For action scene, it is okay using CGI even the CGI is not good, I understand it because of Indonesian CGI technology is not that advanced compared to Hollywood.

When you use the tagline "The first Indonesian superhero action film. The first Indonesian film made using the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) technique", you don't have to make all the scenes using CGI, that would be a waste of time and money. You can save the money and spent it on researching a real-life location that suitable for the same scene. I am okay with the story, it's a fresh idea for Indonesian movies although the execution is really bad. But, this movie is become worst because of using too much CGI and too much CGI make the audience headache.

I have no expectation first when this movie starts. Because based on my experience, crossover Kamen Rider Movie is not that good, but it is not all bad, just average and I can still enjoy it. But when it comes to this movie, everything changes. The ensemble cast did a really good job, the storyline is also brilliant, and the action is more than enough. Only one thing is missing from this movie, which is lack of appearance from Kamen Rider Kiva. Although its title contains word which refers to Kamen Rider Kiva, he only appears less than 15 minutes. If we look again, Kamen Rider Den-O is the Kamen Rider with the most number of movie, this movie is the second of those all. So, basically this is totally a movie for Kamen Rider Den-O, Kiva is only hitchhiking in the title name.

R-Ryotaro (Ryotaro possessed by Ryutaros, the purple Imagin) and Kohana (little Hana) really stole my attention. Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro) is a very talented actor, no wonder he is really successful right now. Tamaki Matsumoto (Kohana) is very cute as well and badass at the same time. The quartet imagins are funny as usual. The comedy is stable from the beginning to the end of the movie. The villain is also not disappointed. Highly recommended!

The first time when I watch this movie, I didn't follow the series because they said the series is not that good. They said the first half of the series is pretty good, but the rest is really poor. So I am not sure about watching the series and decided to watch this movie instead without knowing too much information about Kamen Rider Kabuto before it. After watching this movie for the first time, I am really amazed and feel that this movie is already represented the whole series, maybe it is because of the alternative storyline that this movie chooses made it also proper as a stand-alone movie. I also feel that I can watch this movie like a thousand times or more and I can not stop it. Everything is perfect for me in this movie.

Good storyline, post-apocalypse setting, the badass main character, awesome action, and cool final form from Kamen Rider Kabuto, everything is complete. This movie still has the spirit of the early Heisei period of Kamen Rider with its dark tone. I strongly recommend you to watch this if you are a Tokusatsu fan. You may a little bit confused if you already watch the series first, but if you haven't trust me you would really enjoy this.

After some time ago watching Ben Affleck in Gone Girl (2014), I also found out that Ben also wrote and directed almost the same themed movie, Gone Baby Gone (2007). This is Ben Affleck's first feature movie as a director. The movie tells the story of a mother who lost her child, the police who were assigned also found no result. Finally, a local private detective (Casey Affleck) is hired to help for searching her nephew. The premise of this movie is almost similar to Gone Girl, isn't it? Both of those tell about a lost person, the difference is in Gone Girl the one who lost is a woman, while in Gone Baby Gone is a kid. We all hope Ben Affleck doesn't lose the momentum in directing this movie, his very first debut.

At first, I thought this was a usual crime movie like any other. But no, I was wrong. This movie is pretty thought-provoking. The good thing and bad thing boundaries are not clear and that makes us wonder whether the characters do the right things or not. Casey Affleck was very brilliant under the direction of his brother Ben Affleck. Ben Affleck made a remarkable behind the scene debut with this movie after having been a triumph with Good Will Hunting (1997) as a writer. As an actor, he did not really succeed in the early 2000s. Only Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001) steal my attention. But after those movies, he only appears in mediocre movies such as Daredevil (2003). We all know, after this movie he really did a good job as a director and his movie finally won an Oscar in 2013. All of his movies are also have darker tones and stylish, and I really like it!

I accidentally discovered this movie when I was looking for anime movie in a list of animated movies on IMDb based on its rating. Surprisingly Batman: Mask of Phantasm is among that top list. This movie has all the elements that must have by top-class superhero movies such as Batman (1989) and The Dark Knight (2008). Back then, along with the success of the series Batman: The Animated Series, DC allowed Bruce Timm to create the first DC animated movie based on the same series. The result is this movie which its quality is not far away from the other top animated movies like Spirited Away or Toy Story. However maybe due to animated feature movies are not very popular at that time, this movie failed in the box office and only a few people knew about it until today. But over time, more and more people have discovered this "lost diamond", including me as well.

To date, many DC animated movies only focus on the element of action and ignoring its narrative aspect. But Batman: Mask of the Phantasm surprised me with its narrative style because it seems like this movie is directed by Christopher Nolan. Batman's portrayal is also very accurate here, considering this year (1993) only two versions of Batman in the screen were known, the Tim Burton Gothic version and the ridiculous Adam West version. All I can say is this movie is one of the best DC movies ever produced, and it is made this movie is a must-watch by the Batman fans and animated movie fans. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.