Change Your Image
adamafrixal
Reviews
Venom (2018)
Venom (2018) : not as Venomous and deadly on screen
First, I wanted to say that I have a quite a big expectation and look forward for the Venom Movie as it stars Tom Hardy (from mad max: fury road). But, reality often strikes hard as the film was mediocre at best and there are only few notable things from the movie itself. I would rate it about 6 at best.
The only fun things here are the interaction between venom and tom hardy, even though when they are not fighting and just in daily life. The action scene is nothing spectacular and felt can be unique and special by utilizing venom's power. The hue is kind of blueish horror but the movie can be felt jumping from comedy to action and then to horror and then back to action again which felt somewhat unfitting for the tone of the movie.
The story was nothing special, but I felt the villain is very inconsistent with his principle. I think riz ahmed can be good, but the character he plays seems to be so boring and have unclear or yet conflicting motive for doing what he does. I think that the more suitable villain for venom should provide more brawl than the one this movie provide.
My biggest disappointment is of course, the lack of violence and blood. I mean it is venom, the enemy and rival of spiderman which is vicious, but in the movie there are barely any bloods and graphic scene. It was hindering the viewers to grasp the true nature and the danger of Venom. I am sure that this movie is not made for kids, so I was wondering why the movie does not have more violence.
Well, not all is lost because by the credits scene rolls, we are presented by Eminem Song - Venom. Which is great and I love the song better than the movie.
The Meg (2018)
The Meg (2018) : Giant Bite Chunk of Story You will Enjoy
If you like Jaws, you will like the Meg that is my honest opinion. The Meg got a lot of to offer for you starting from Multi racial representation casts, simple and easy to understand plot and action, Mini Submarine, Big Underwater Aquarium, Deep Water Exploration, JASON STATHAM as main character, and most importantly A 25 FEET DEEP SEA GIANT MEGALODON. I really enjoy this movie and would rate it 7 or 8 out of 10 because I like shark.
The story starts during first exploration in the deep sea, Jonas Taylor played by Jason Statham encountered giant shark during his rescue mission and cause him to leave some people to die to save other from the shark. However, his statement about big shark was deemed unbelievable and people scorn him, thus making him quit his rescue job and live by himself in Thailand.
The story then follows a team of ocean researcher that explore deep sea. The researcher team consist some diversity it has black people, Asian, and of course white people. This was expected since it was a china-american movie. The acting is somewhat mediocre, and was nothing noteworthy. But I still like how Jason statham managed to stay badass in all situation even when facing the great giant shark.
Oh yeah if you have kids and children they will be amazed and awed when the Megalodon showed up. It was so much fun seeing their reaction about the giant shark. However, for adult even though the film is enjoyable the conclusion is so unnatural and seems forced as I think the giant died in unsatisfactory manner.
But even with all its flaw the meg stays an enjoyable ride with a lot of waves and thrill accompanied by shark. I recommended this movie for you that enjoy jaws or monster movie alike, or even like ocean.
Siccin 4 (2017)
Siccin 4 (2017) : Experience Islamic Horror of an Unwanted Inhabitant
Siccin is a Turkish horror movie which is a bit unusual for me to watch. Well, I guess not many people watch non english horror movie and this is the same feeling I had when I watched it. The setting is unusual as it is Turkish movie, the family involved is actually implied to be moslem. That alone is pretty unusual as many horror flick usually involved curch or priest, not moslem.
By the first five minute into the movie, I can already tell that this is pretty scary and not for everyone. It can be pretty frightening and may cause you to startle a lot during screening. They open with a scary montage that give you a depiction of scary ghost encountered in the story.
The story revolves around a family in turkey that due to financial problems, have to move in their grandmother Saadet's house. But Saadet is not living alone as known. Saadet's old house, which is also a tomb of her deceased husband, is inhabited by beings from another dimension.
I have to say that the family is consisted of a stressed father who keeps looking for a way to make money even want to sell the grandmother's house, her wife the mother who is worried about her husband and the children. The main important characters is actually the children, the big sister who have to console the weird younger brother named Omar because he is often being haunted in his dreams. They lived alongside their grandmother and her personal caretaker, who is called aunt Rehime.
Most of the character have their own creepy quirk such as the two-faced aunt Rehime who can act meek and mean depending on the people she interact with. The younger brother, sister, and the father who always get haunted in the dreams by a ghost depicted as a violent black or burned lady with a big long hair. Omar the younger brother, aunt rehime and the grandmother are especially creepy, as omar will always cover his head in pillow cover when he is scared and the interaction between grandmother and the caretaker can send shiver down to your spine because it is uncomfortable and creepy.
It was pretty mysterious to see how things unfold and kinda interesting to uncover the cause of hauntings in the first place. I was just felt kind of disappointed about how the story get the solution out of nowhere. Nevertheless, I think it is a pretty scary horror movie which you can enjoy safely with your family as there are no explicit scene. Furthermore, you can experience something unusual watching horror movie set in turkey rather than in America.
I really recommended this film for those that love horror film. If I have to give a score for this film as a horror I would rate it 7 or 8 out of 10. Give this trailer a try first.
American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho (2000) : Twisted Mind or Twisted Reality?
Really, I have no high expectation for this movie when I watched it and just go for it because it was Christian Bale playing Bateman before Batman (get it? Such bad joke). I found myself surprised at the interesting plot twist and intense moment the movie managed to portray even under normal conversation in the office.
American Psycho tells the story of seemingly perfect young man named Patrick bateman played by Christian Bale. He seems like the perfect young man, which have his life managed, but seems to have controlling tendencies, perfectionist to the extreme and can look like a freak at times.
I think the story exert the tale of control over one self and hidden story every people have behind their façade to "fit in" in life. I personally hate the affair thing, but they are all jackass and rude in their own way. They love to compete over simplest thing in the office from clothing, reservation at dorsia, Work performance even business card.
Patrick Bateman seems disconnected from people, and seems like a sore loser. Overly competitive and killing he deemed unworthy without batting an eye or anyone he felt threatening to his presence. Such as a hobo, and Allen Paul. He wanted to be different and be special in a sea of people with similar attributes and quality in this world. However, he did it by becoming a psychopathic killer.
The story really takes a nice turn when his killing tendencies are started to be unraveled by the appearance of Detective Donald Kimball played by William Dafoe who have been hired to investigate the disappearance of Paul Allen. Patrick felt his reality threatened and become more and more unstable with time. Thus, he cannot accept to continue his usual life and killing habit. Moreover, in the end it is questionable whether he is mental that cannot accept reality or he now accept that he is living in a twisted reality with lack of empathy within the people.
There are so much things to learn from the movies, and I believe I understand the mind of people better, and how our society are shaped and how twisted it can be. A fun twisted and confusing ride from start to finish. I rate it 8/10.
Haunting in Japan (2016)
Haunting In Japan (2016) : Dissapointly Blank
I will just say it that this movie is weird. I actually never expected much from a Thailand horror movie, yes Thailand. I thought it was a Japanese horror film because of the title, turns out it was a movie about a group of Thailand men who want to make a music video in Japan. It was typical horror-comedy-romance between human and ghost, which is somehow, become a usual tropes for Thailand horror movie. I believe that it is not the first movie I watch from Thailand who had this kind of plot. So for you that wanted to watch it keep in mind to have low to mediocre expectation.
Well let's get to the point. I always have problem with Thailand horror because I can't seem to place it quite well. Sometimes it takes itself too seriously and too dramatic on the story but then give a cheap joke or reference out of nowhere. Somehow from the first scene I can imagine what kind of plot that this movie will have. So those that expect something new, you should watch something else.
Like I mentioned before, the story follow a group of men who wanted to shoot a music video In the middle of a white winter, in a countryside in Japan. However, the house that they have rented is haunted by several ghosts. There's a pair of mother and child ghosts with pale faces. Then there's the mysterious Thai woman who floats around sadly, looking neither alive nor dead. She just might be the legendary spirit from the Japanese folklore - Snow Woman.
The way they told the story is weird and confusing. They go back and forth between a man of the group who fall in love with mysterious lady and the mysterious lady with lack of time explanation. I myself wondered whether several scenes happened in the past, present, or the future. I just think it is a mess.
The ghost lady and the child is pretty scary especially when no mask is worn. I just wish they get more explored rather than the mysterious lady. The characters are comical and cannot be taken seriously and felt out of place when serious things happened. There is no character that I stay attached with, other than the good weird exorcist.
The setting is only in the house and its surrounding, and the shown cast is only several people. This movie felt really really small. I did not manage to explore the snowy atmosphere and beauty of winter from this movie.
I rate this movie 4 out of 10, but because it really take its closure and help from other people for granted I will give it 3 out of 10. I did not enjoy it, it was not scary enough and I will not recommend you to watch it. Regardless if you wanted to you should give the trailer a taste.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
No Country for Old Men (2007) : Old Classic Silently stays Golden
No Country For Old Men (2007) have been regarded as one of the classic western film. The film featuring Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem managed to stays monumental due to its different take on the genre and very interesting acting by the cast. After watching this movie myself, I can say that this is a good movie with so many levels of message. If you like western and unusual take on its storyline, it is a must watch.
The story follow three main standpoint as Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter or welder accidentally stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande. The hunter named Lwellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) then being hunted back for the cash by a hired hitmen Anton Cigurth (Javier Bardem). The story then also switch to the perspective of a local sherriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) who seems reluctant to get involved but still got involved anyway.
Personally, I felt that this movie is somewhat random at times, and event will happen unexpected. The message delivered is also very gray as there is ambiguous message regarding heroes and villains, justice and evil. While the storyline may kind of messy at first and switching back and forth between many characters it still manages to grasp your attention and won't let it go.I believe your attention is already glued to the movie thanks to the strength of each character in the movie especially Anton Cigurth.
Anton Cigurth managed to be one of the most unique villain in the movies that I watched. From the first sight, he already gave a different atmosphere, as he appears to wear all black like a grim reaper with a funny hair (which no one dares to laugh at). Not only his appearance, his character is so much more complex. While he is evil he is much more than that. as he acts based on a set of principles, which is very awesome for a character and especially villain to have, since many villain did not have enough conviction on their belief and can be convinced by heroes at times.
My favorite moment is always when Cigurth takes act and give his victim a chance to decide their fate by calling a flip of coin (similar to Harvey Dent in Dark Knight). I think it manages to create more tension than the gunfight, even though this movie provided some very good gun fighting with a good build up and action.
Another thing that stands out from this movie is that it has no music or soundtrack whatsoever all the time the movie plays. It is very quiet, but I think the silence is being utilized very well by the director the Coen Brothers as tools to elevate tension in every scene and make things more thrilling. Not many movie managed to do this thing very well, the other I know are quiet and mute film like hush and a quiet place.
My worries is that for some people that likes fast action, I will not recommend this as this movie builds up pretty slowly and may need your attention to understand the story and characters motivation. If you just want fun stupid gun action, you will be disappointed and most likely drowsed only to be awaken later with no understanding of what is happening.
I wanted to mention that this movie would let you know that you have limitation, as for the old men in this film and their justice are powerless to the force of nature, law, and chaos. This message can be quite summed up by Ellis's quote below.
Ellis: Whatcha got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.
I really recommended this movie and I won't hesitate to give this 8 out of 10. If you like cowboy and western movie I say this is a must watch.
Bleach: Burîchu (2018)
Bleach Felt Rush
Bleach used to be one of three the most famous manga in shonen jump alongside one piece and Naruto. Recently I went and watched the live action film adaptation of Bleach. One thing I have to mention is even though they have some differences in adapting the manga in terms of appearance, I think that casting sota fukushi as Ichigo the main prontagonist is a nice choice as he managed to potray his character well enough.
The story tells the tale of a high school student named Ichigo who have supernatural power to be able to interact with ghost, and spirit. One time by chance he met a Shinigami (death reaper) armed who use their sword to purify spirit. The Shinigami named rukia, have the objective of purifying dark spirits known as hollow, specifically a great one called grand fisher. When Ichigo and his family got attacked by hollow, Rukia is forced to give her power to Ichigo enabling him to wield the power as Shinigami. This is the start of adventure of Ichigo accepting his new power and facing challenge of spirit world.
If you are an avid manga reader, you know how interesting the first part of Bleach is. The journey Ichigo took to protect his friends while discovering more about himself stay as the main focus of Bleach in all of its story. The portrayal of Ichigo by Sota Fukushi managed to display this inner conflict within ichigo about what is important to him. To be in danger or let his justice die out. Thus, he choose to protect his friends as Shinigami and follow his heart through many and I mean MANY CGI Battles against hollow and other challenges. The music is pretty fun and pretty much have the same funky atmosphere from the anime series and seems so fitting.
As I mentioned before, to deliver this story as closer as they can to the manga they need to rely a lot on CGI, which may turn off some viewers. If you like cool battle and CGI moment, furthermore if you are a Bleach fan you should watch this movie. It was a pretty fun ride that stays true to the manga direction, but have too much crammed in it. I believe they make three arc compiled into just 1 hour long film, which I say, do not suffice at all. You will see some story got sidelined and seems not too important or just being there for no further explanation like Ishida Uryuu and Ichigo's friends. Furthermore, they do not explore soul society further and only view it as some sort of cameo appearance, efven though they look awesome.
I believe that this movie is pretty generic to people who doesn't read the manga, but if you are a bleach fan prepare for a nice treat. Nevertheless, through this movie you can see some interesting fight between Ichigo VS Renji, and Byakuya using Shinigami power, which is special treat for the manga lover. My final verdict for this movie is about 6 or 7, considering I read the manga before.
In the age where there are bad manga adaptation like death note Netflix keeps popping. Movies like Bleach and Ajin can somehow give you hope. Keep your soul clean everyone
Ajin (2017)
Ajin : Immortal Demi Human as Weapon, but Would You become one?
What would you do if you become an immortal and can kill yourself to death only to be alive well again to kill yourself to be alive again? Ajin the live action tells the unusual story about half human half immortal beings or the demi-human called Ajin who seeks acceptance of their existence and rights from government through a series of terrorism after they are exposed to the world. It was based on a manga with the same name as the title.
The story concern a nihilistic man named Nagai Kei (Takeru Satoh), who doesn't know that he is an ajin and later found out and get found out by people during an accident. Because they cannot die, people are treating them with fear and confusion, so he is being hunt and captive by the government for experiment purpose. During his confinement, he is tortured and then saved by a group of Ajin terrorist led by a charismatic ajin leader named Sato (Go Ayano). Nagai who only wants his peaceful life with his sister back and doesn't want to follow ajin revolution that sato proposed, and so they are now fighting against each other. It was human vs Ajin, with Nagai Kei the Ajin acts as the ace on the human side.
As you know, that Ajin cannot die and will always be resurrected in their prime form after the death. So, the action promised on the film was top notch, you can see action that will not be possible on normal human action film. The interesting fact is that how creative they use their ability to not die to fight each other. And as Ajin they have a unique black particle Monster called BIM which they can control. It was pretty fun to watch how they use their limited power to control a fight and try to fight authorities.
I personally watched it because I like takeru satoh since Kamen Rider Den-O and have always followed the manga since the beginning. And at first I think casting Go Ayano as Satoh seems like a mistake because he is a bit too young for playing satoh. But Hot Dang I was mistaken, he managed to bring unique charisma and charm to Satoh as a character. I really applaud for both of their acting in this film.
For the moment the manga is still continuing, and if you want to know further about the difference between the live action and the manga you should read it. As for the live action itself, I really enjoyed it, the soundtrack used is pretty good ,the action is done pretty good, and most of all the action are so enjoyable because how creative they are.
There are not many films that can adapt fantasy concept of a manga series, but I think that this live action for once managed to deliver it very very well. I really recommend it for those that like Japanese film or action film in general. It was an awesome ride even though the plot seems to be moving too fast.
Mile 22 (2018)
Iko Uwais's Wasted Opportunity in Long Stretch
It is my personal opinion, I think the acting is not done too well. Some of the cast was just loud, and so rude you wouldn't believe that some professional have the privilege to be a loud asshole and curse so much in their life. Because I don't like them at their personality, I didn't really get attached to any of the cast and didn't really care for them beside Iko Uwais.
As for the action scenes (particularly Iko Uwais), which is the main reason I watched this it did deliver but only for a little. Instead, they make him incapable of showing his great martial arts from the raid by making him handcuffed for the latter half of the movie. They replace most of the action in the latter half from melee fight into a chase and shooting scene between characters.
I think the best scene is from when they handcuffed iko uwais in a bed and he have to fight agents with a handicap. It was very well done, but I think that is the only memorable scene from the film for me. It was not such a great film, and i think it will pale in front of the memories since mission impossible fallout screen not too long before this movie premiered.
Mile 22 (2018)
Iko Uwais's Wasted Opportunity in Long Stretch
It is my personal opinion, I think the acting is not done too well. Some of the cast was just loud, and so rude you wouldn't believe that some professional have the privilege to be a loud asshole and curse so much in their life. Because I don't like them at their personality, I didn't really get attached to any of the cast and didn't really care for them beside Iko Uwais.
As for the action scenes (particularly Iko Uwais), which is the main reason I watched this it did deliver but only for a little. Instead, they make him incapable of showing his great martial arts from the raid by making him handcuffed for the latter half of the movie. They replace most of the action in the latter half from melee fight into a chase and shooting scene between characters.
I think the best scene is from when they handcuffed iko uwais in a bed and he have to fight agents with a handicap. It was very well done, but I think that is the only memorable scene from the film for me. It was not such a great film, and i think it will pale in front of the memories since mission impossible fallout screen not too long before this movie premiered.
Aura (2018)
Aura : Bad Feeling over Horror Movie
The world of supernatural is always an interesting concept to be brought in form of movies. Movies like exorcism, the ring, ju-on, and paranormal activity is a proof of how successful a horror film about ghost can be. In other hands, there are films like Aura (2018) which have shown me that horror can be boring.
I cannot concentrate throughout the screening of the film and halfway there I wanted to watch something else because it is not so engaging. The film tells the stories of a family and a photography apparatus in their house. The stories starts when they capture photos of people in the house, there is a specific aura that will be included in the result. Somehow, the aura actually points out that there is a greater evil.
The main stories actually simple, if you want spoilers then go ahead. The brother, his wife, his mother, tried to exorcise a presence from the house that is actually disturbing the sister. They do that by enlisting the help of a séance. *By the end of the film, the séance died but managed to free the sister only to have the presence moved to the wife.*
The story actually have a good concept to utilize photography in capturing paranormal presence, but I see games like "fatal frame" can did it a lot better and have more mysteries to be invested. Moreover, what I think is lacking from this film is the characters and act. I really cannot sympathize with the family at all and how they act throughout the film.
One of the most disappointing character is the paranormal expert and the demon. First of all, I wanted to say, that a good paranormal expert can carry the movies through their success. Insidous movies even got so invested on their own that they decided to make a special film about the paranormal expert. But in this film, I almost wanted to scream that you will be scammed by that paranormal expert. She was very unconvincing somehow and not so interesting. *I even felt nothing by the time she died at the end of the film*. The demon that appear as antagonist doesn't feel very threatening and dangerous as well. It failed to bring sense of danger and suspense to the film.
In the end, I do not think it is a good movie. I will not recommend other people to watch it. However, if you wanted to try it, please do so. Personally, I will watch other film if I wanted to get scared and thrill. I just hope that Aura will not be a sign of what horror movie in 2018 will look like. I already have high expectation since I watched Hereditary.