November Movies

Hiya, world!

Since we're talking about movies in this entry, i want to pay a tribute first to one of Hollywood's talents-gone too soon : Paul Walker. 

I was super shocked this morning  when my hunny told me "Paul Walker passed away!!" and part of me wished really hard that it was just a hoax. But alas, it was a reality. Such a shame, another one of the younger Hollywood actors, gone at such a young age (and he looks so much younger than his 40 years, i saw pictures of him and his 16-years-old daughter and thought she was his girlfriend!) (UPDATE : Eh sorry, apparently those pictures i saw really was of him and his girlfriend zzz. But his gf's 23! And they looked like they didn't have too much age gap between them, so i stand by my words about him looking younger than his actual age by a mile) Although i was never a huge fan of his, i loved his performances in one of my fave action movie franchises : Fast and Furious. My heart goes out to his family and friends, may God give them strength during this difficult time and may his soul rest in peace.

Okay, now let's start with the movies i watched on November! It was not a very long list, but there were quite a few of very good ones!

About Time

November started with a bang for me because the very first movie i watched in November was one of my favorite! I read a few reviews from some blogs i followed and they all raved about this movie. I was a bit skeptical at first but curious as well. I was also quite intrigued on how Rachel McAddams took on another role of being a wife of a time traveling husband (but i didn't watch The Time Traveler's Wife, so i can't really compare. I did read the novel)! Usually actors would avoid such a stark repeating characters, at least that was what i thought! I also had my doubts of Domhnall's ability to be a leading man, seeing how scrawny and ginger he was-not exactly your usual Hollywood heartthrob! But boy, how i ended up loving this funny, heart warming, not only romantic but also very family oriented movie! Domhnall also proved to me you don't have to have a six pack and classically handsome face to be a strong leading man!

When Tim (Domhnall Gleesoon-how do you pronounce his name???) was 21, he found out that he can time travel and change what happened to his life (so he can correct any mistake he made!)-but only to the past and not to the future. He didn't have any grand plan, he just wanted a girlfriend! But even with his ability, getting a girlfriend was not as easy as he hoped it would be. 

It's really good! It made me laughed a lot, and cried as much! I thought it would just be another romantic comedy/dramedy, it tells as much about familial bond as well as the love story itself. As a part of a close-knit family, it totally tug at my heart string and i left a soggy mess but with another possible all-time-favorite movie. If you haven't, go watch it (or rather, get the DVD, don't think it's still showing at cinemas)-i think it's a must watch for dramedy/romance/family movie lovers! Remember to leave the skeptic in you at the door since the story line's not exactly that believable though.

Emergo

One of the worst horror movies. EVER -____-. I was so looking forward to this movie (I'm confused, it was listed as Apartment 143 instead of Emergo in the IMDb but since Indonesian cinemas listed it as Emergo i'm gonna stick with Emergo-not that i know what Emergo means) because i always look forward to any horror movie-and the poster of the ghost scaling the wall also looked promising. Lesson learned : never judge a movie by its poster WTF. Anyway, this is a very old movie (2011 apparently).

The White family recently lost their wife/mother in a car crash and they had been experiencing weird things ever since, even after they moved. They contacted a group of parapsychologist team to help and investigate what's really happening to them and to clarify their suspicion that their wife/mother had not moved on and causing all of the strange happenings around them.

The movie was DULL, boring and not scary AT ALL. I was battling sleepiness all through the movie, and i kept on waiting when it's gonna peak and it never happened. Yes, there were some intense (as in loud and with things flying around violently, not like a very scary apparition or whatever) moments, but they were very far in between and just consisted of confusing images (because it was shot in home-video style at time. You know, Blair Witch/Paranormal Activity style). Even during those moments i struggled real hard to keep my eyes open zzz. It's a total rubbish, horror movie lover or not, SKIP IT!!!

The Big Wedding

I normally love movies with ensemble casts, especially if i see names like Robert Deniro, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams alongside Topher Grace and Amanda Seyfried (i'm not a fan of Katherine Heigl, i used to like her-but somehow her persona seems to be less and less appealing somehow)! Plus the plot seemed to promise a funny, family oriented story-but it was pretty disappointing for me. No wonder it only rated 5.4 in IMDb. 

It tells a story of a once married couple (now divorced because the father cheated on the mother's BFF, that now lives as his long-time partner at the house he used to raise his family with is ex-wife with and got accepted as the children's second mum even though they were never married) with three kids (two biological and one adopted) that must pretend to have never been divorced for the sake of their beloved adopted son who's getting married (and didn't want to disappoint his avid Catholic biological mother).

It's just too damn crazy and messy! So many things happening (from the parents' problems to the problems of every single one of the kids being touched but never really explored on) and it just got out of control. It's like they tried too hard to be funny, it ended up being too forced. I find it hard to keep track on what's happening-to a point that i gave up trying. I'd say it's super sloppy and not really worth your time (such a shame, coz if they stopped trying to be so crazy i think it could be pretty decent), unless you have the hots for a certain Prince  Caspian like me :p. I didn't even know Ben Barnes was in this movie until he showed up in the screen, looking buffed up and tanned and 10x sexier than he always was.

Ben Barnes

I must say Ben Barnes is one of my ultimate Hollywood crush, i found him to be super sexy as Prince Caspian (and especially as Dorian Gray) with his flowy hair and sharp features, i didn't know i'd like him even better with clean shave and short crops! When i read Fifty Shades Of Grey, he was the only guy who popped into my head (i thought i was the only one, but just clicking to the link to this movie's IMDb will prove that i am not!) as Christian Grey! So if you love him as much as me, i guess enduring this erratic and messy movie would worth your time because he looked abso-bloody-lutely delectable here! (Even though i really didn't buy him trying to be Spanish)

Carrie

I didn't know they were remaking Carrie (or maybe i did and i forgot...), but even though i didn't watch the original, i did watch either the made-for-TV 2002 version or the sequel it was so long ago and i watched it on DVD, it didn't leave any impact on me so i can't really remember. But it is written by one of my fave horror writer Stephen King so i am very familiar with Carrie and knew it has quite a cult-like followers/being a classic and somehow, i knew the plot by heart (not the nitty gritty detail, but like-in general. There's a possibility that i read the book too *LOL*) but they re-made (or, as they said, re-imaging) it so well that it didn't bore me at all and found lots of new things too in this 2013 version.

I imagine lots of people knew the storyline like i did (but apparently i was really wrong because more than a few people thought it was a ghost movie zzz), it follows the story of a teenage girl named Carrie who's a social outcast being her shy and sheltered (raised by a very fanatical-borderline crazy mother) self, always mocked and bullied by her peers. She then realized she has this telekinesis power and unleashed it (somewhat unconsciously) at the senior prom when pushed too far.

I thought i would be bored (because the focal points were not changed), but i was entranced by Chloe Moretz' (i dunno why i ever doubted she would, she's one of my fave younger generation actors in Hollywood now! This girl really kicks ass-and yes i am also referring to her role in Kick Ass movies) portrayal of Carrie and Julianne Moore's Academy Awards-worthy performances! I'd say it's a must watch for both Carrie fans (or anyone who has seen it before) and those who never even heard of Carrie (and thought Carrie's a ghost...). Just don't make the same mistake that i do, snacking since the beginning of the movie? It's quite yucky and bloody, you'd find your appetite fading quickly *LOL*.

Las Vegas

Hollywood heavy weight senior citizens actors did it again, and let me repeat what i Tweeted after watching this movie "Those old bas**** still got it!" LOL. My other firm favorite movie in November for sure!

The Rat Pack had been best friends since childhood, and at the blink of an eye (literally, they jumped to like, 50 years later or something immediately) they found themselves to be (despite still feeling young at hearts) in their 70s with the usual problems that comes with old age. The last bachelor (Michael Douglas) was getting married (to his thirty two years old girlfriend) and they all went to Las Vegas to throw a bachelor party (like they did every single time one of them got married) and relive their glory days.

It was HILARIOUS and heartwarming (the ultimate combo to steal my heart!) at the same time. I guess it didn't hurt that they kept on referring to the 32-years-old fiance as a "child bride" or "infant"-i've been feeling so old lately that it's refreshing when i hear people referring to people in their 30s as being very young *LOL*. There's no doubt about the acting part (this is Robert Deniro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline we're talking about!), their chemistry was insane, and story also flowed nicely that there's not a second left for me to feel bored. It's somehow reminded me of Grown Ups (the first, brilliant one, not the B grade sequel), senior citizen version (them being BFFs and always will be stuffs) combined with The Hangover! I'd say you'd want to give it your time to spare!

The Hunger Games : Catching Fire

November was closed with a bang too! I actually violated my own movie going rules while watching this because we brought Baby Boy along (we were on our last day in Bali, hunny insisted on watching it to kill some time before out flight) and it's not suitable for such a young boy (bad mommy! Never again!) so i had to keep on shielding his eyes and stuffs *LOL*. Baby Boy was (although restless because the first half of the movie was a bit slow with a lot of dialogs, he enjoyed the arena part a lot obvi) not noisy and didn't disturb any other movie goers (except me and hunny LOL) so that's at least didn't violate my other rules hehe.

I am not a fan The Hunger Games, before the first movie i never even heard about it. I had mixed feelings about the first movie as well, it was better than i expected (it kinda grew on me) at the same time i wasn't so keen that i was waiting for the sequel. But i ended up enjoying the second movie a lot more than i expected to (should've been more patient and watch it in Surabaya sans Baby Boy, i'm sure i'd enjoy it a lot more!), i'd say it's a LOT better than the first movie (especially the chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson which practically non-existence in the first one).

Katniss and Peeta had to go on the Victor tour where they had to visit all the districts, all the while keeping up the story of them being madly in love (in connection to the first movie). President Snow saw Katniss as a threat that would stir rebellion in the districts then targeted her (and eventually Peeta as well) for the 75th Hunger Games or known as the Quarter Quell, which unlike usual he made the previous winners (by vote from every districts) compete again at the game with their lives as the stakes.

As i said before, the first half was about the Victor touring (and the rise of the rebellion), it was a bit slow (but not so slow that it was boring, not unless you're under the age limit they set-it's 12 i believe?) and political with lots of dialogs while the other half was about the deadly game itself, very fast paced, exciting, quite magical and full of fantasy. I LOVE it! Hehe. I think it's so much more exciting and believable then the game at the previous movie.

As for the casts, you might already know that i don't really like Jennifer Lawrence, but i do think she's quite perfect for the role of Katniss Everdeen (but i don't read the books, what do i know *LOL*), while i always thought Josh Hutcherson was this very handsome little boy (i noticed him since he was just a little boy in Zathura ) and it was pretty hard to accept that cute boy is now all grown up and started his kissing scenes already haha. I love Jenna Malone's acting and i always have a soft spot for Lenny Kravitz, but i'd say for the girls, Finnick played by Sam Claflin totally stole the limelights!

Sam Claflin

Now, i always love Arman's movie reviews and his review on The Hunger Games totally reflected my own opinions (even though i am not as attached/as big of a fan as he is for sure, and i don't know the characters as much because i'm didn't read the books so i have no strong opinions for the actors playing the characters) down to the part where he hated Jennifer Lawrence make up at the ball (very transvestite he said, and i couldn't say it better. I was so disturbed seeing her face during those scenes!), but i definitely do not share his disapproval of Sam Claflin as Finnick (he said he was not charming enough, again this might be because i do not read the books and i do not know how Finnick's character should be)-nor a lot of other girl bloggers that reviewed this movie (one even described Sam as scorching hot, he burned the screen *LOL*) seems to be haha.

All i know that he was super cute hahaha. And i kept on thinking to myself "He's so familiar!!! Who the hell's he????" and apparently he played Phillip (the young priest? Or was it priest-to-be? the one who was in love with the mermaid) in Pirates of the Carribean : On Stranger Tides. He also had a (more forgettable) role in Snow White and the Huntsman. I did like him better as Phillip because he looked cuter with brown hair and was more endearing than obnoxious, but he looked very hot with his buffed up body so all was forgiven *LOL*. 

Oh wow, i think this is one of the longest mini review i ever wrote for a movie (usually i'd write three to four paragraph most, yes?) but i need to add one more thing! In case you do not know yet (what rock have you been hiding under?), the drop-dead-gorgeous wedding gown Katniss wore (that created a total buzz in Hollywood as well as the rest of the world!!!)?

This!

Yeah, that was designed by Tex Saverio, an INDONESIAN designer. OMG!!! I'm so so so proud of him!!! 

Bottom line? This is another must watch movie, even for those who didn't like the first movie all that much! #Undecided hated the first movie (she said it was pointless), and i'm not gonna force her to watch it (the more i force her to, the more she'd be convinced that she's gonna hate it and in turn, she WILL hate it. LOL. That's just the way her brain works hahaha, don't kill me #Undecided) but i'd encourage everybody to give this movie a try. It might surprise you like it did me!

And that's all for November movies (so much for writing the reviews on the draft as soon as i finished watching it, i ended up writing this at one go anyway. Thank God the list was not very long!), we actually watched Frozen (which in one word : SUPERB!!!! Go watch it!) this evening but since it's the 1st of December already i'm gonna feature it in my December movies entry. 

Hope you enjoyed my reviews :D!

In our rented car in Bali, i'm working on the entries i promise!

#Pink