December Movies

Hellooo, my dearies!

Time for movie reviews again :D! Not too much (for my standard) in December because somehow they lagged in playing new movies that month so i didn't have too much choices too watch. Super weird, isn't the holiday season should mean more exciting movies? Especially for children. But no, only two kiddies movies this month (and we watched both, of course).

1. Frozen

In one word? LOVE!!!! Favorite movie of the month, and probably my favorite Princess-type of movie from Disney! Strange but again, i didn't even know about this movie before-Baby Boy and hunny spotted it first. Then we saw the trailer (and Demi Lovato's Let It Go video. Must clarify first : i 100x prefer Idina Menzel's version!) playing over and over again on Disney channel when we were in Bali, Baby Boy kept on asking when we're going to watch it zzz... And we all loved it! I guess i love it more than Baby Boy (who thought Olaf the snowman would be the main character and kept on asking when he's going to appear :p), but he also enjoyed it very much and even keeps on asking me to play the soundtracks whenever we're riding the car hahaha.

Anna and Elsa are two princesses/siblings who used to be very close to each other when they were little, but Elsa has this strange and uncontrollable power that almost brought Anna to harm-ever since Elsa locked herself in her room and shut Anna (who didn't know why because they managed to erase her memories of the incident) out completely. Elsa, the elder sister was crowned as the kingdom's queen where Anna unintentionally caused her to reveal her power, afterward she flee the palace and left the kingdom in eternal winter. Anna had to chase after her and make everything right again. 

I am not much of a Disney Princess' fan (even though i apparently have a Princess syndrome WTF), i enjoyed all of those princess movies but had no favorite (and no fave princess as well) before this! Now, Elsa and Anna's my fave! Gravitated more towards Elsa (who doesn't need guys to save her! She's definitely no damsel in distress!) more, i guess she doesn't qualify as a Princess because she's a Queen right??? Anna's kinda annoying at times, but super adorbs as well-and Kristen Bell totally brought her to life! And the soundtrack, ohh the soundtracks! Love every single song and cannot stop belting them all out!!! A must must must watch! I need to watch it again soon!!!

2. Home Front

 

It's Jason Statham's movie, what do you think? Every testosterone-filled guys would enjoy it, and as i've learnt to enjoy most action movies-i did too. If you've watched Jason Statham's movies before, you'd know that they are all pretty similar *LOL*, i guess they know the winning formula, eh? This one's no exception (except that this time he's playing a dad and didn't eh.. errrr... you know, get laid), nonetheless i found it pretty nice and entertaining. Plus-there's James Franco in it (even though he's kinda annoying in this movie).

A former DEA agent who's been questioning himself ever since his action against a biker gang (who held grudges ever since) went horribly wrong which caused the boss' son to be killed. He is recently widowed and moved to a suburban with his little daughter, who's gotten into trouble by standing up to a bully in school and sets in motion a round of events that eventually made him confronting the local meth drug lord and the biker gang also entered the picture. 

Oh well, i shouldn't spoil it for you but really, nobody'd even think this would end any other way right? Of course Statham went and saved the day :p. I was quite shocked with Kate Bosworth's appearance in this movie though! I dunno if she deliberately lost weight for this role (she's playing a junkie slash the bully's mum), but she looked super duper triple scary!

I think she used to be so so CUTE with her chubby cheeks and athletic, sexy body

So THIS totally scared the shit out of me!!!

I hope she's only doing this for a role and go back to her healthy, sexy body! Wynona Ryder's in this movie too and she looked so skinny as well (but she's always been skinny, yes?), and so old... LOL. So, no hot girls in this movie sadly, guys! Is this movie worth your time? Yeah, if you're an action movie/Jason Statham fan. If you're neither, this is not a must watch then.

3. Don Jon

Warning : This is highly unsuitable for kids, even teenagers! Make sure you're a full grown adult if you decided to watch this hehehe. More warning : i find this movie to be super hilarious, but it's definitely not for everybody. Watch it if you're familiar with Jersey Shore (and find them hilarious), a fan of parody and not easily offended. 

Don Jon is a good looking, fit and shallow New Jersey guy (think The Situation! LOL-but i wouldn't call The Situation good looking though) whose world evolves around fitness, his family, friends-and the Church (yeah, this made the whole thing even funnier) keeping a secret : he is addicted to porn and set himself an impossible expectations when it comes to sex. He then met his match, a sexy girl (Scarlett Johansson. Seriously, i've never seen Scarlet in a more silly role than this, with her constant gum-chewing, hair twirling and nasally voice. Think... JWoww) who was not easy to get and then an older, mature woman (Julianne Moore) who made him learn about love and life unexpectedly.

Again, i must warn you that lots of you might find this movie a total crap hehe, but i enjoyed it and laughed a lot in those ridiculous scenes. A UK blogger described it as a movie with too much porn, vulgarities, and fake Jersey accents. And it's true, but unlike her, i find it too hilarious to pass on. And i am speechless with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's transformation. I've always loved him, and now i think he's both a brilliant actor and writer/director. Now i know he can do more than a goodie goodie boy role.

From this (covers eyes and whimper)

Final transformation : left pic *drool* (yes, you know it-i like my buys beefy hahaha)

4. The Four II

This sequel to The Four is a fantasy, kung fu, comic-book-style Chinese movie that is definitely not for everybody *ahem, #Undecided hehe*. I didn't like the first movie much (even though i am quite a fan of Chinese kung-fu/fantasy movie) but the sequel's a lot better! Less cartoon-ish and with more in depth story (still a bit ridiculous at some points, but better). Annoying ending though, but then again every trilogy are like that (except the last movie of course) so i can't complain.

The gang of four consisted of (of course) four highly skilled constables with different super powers, when they were investigating a serial killer in the suburbs, they stumbled into clues of Emotionless' (seriously. I just love Chinese caracters names. #yesit'ssarcasm) family's massacre 15 years ago. There were a lot of mysteries needed to be solved (well, i kinda guessed the "mysteries" pretty early in the movie so...), lots of things aren't like what it seemed, and they also had to face lots of bloodied battles.

Pretty entertaining, might be a tad confusing if you haven't watch the first movie (especially regarding the characters' relationships) but you can still watch it even if you haven't watch the first one. Not a must watch, but won't be a total waste of your time either if you do. No eye candy for the girls, but i know the guys would go crazy over this girl.

Liu Yifei

Is it just me but i think she looks a lot like my niece BB (a skinny version of course, sorry BB LOLOLOL)...

5.  The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug

Second fave movie of the month! I liked it even more than the first movie! I guess i am a huge fan of fantasy movie, and if you are too then of course The Hobbit's a must watch lah! But honestly, i don't remember much of LOTR movies except that Orlando Bloom was scorching hot as an elf and how it's so annoying that whenever Liv Tyler appears it'd be in slow motion and super blurry picture *LOL*. The Hobbit's exciting, entertaining, and funny too!

Thorin and company continued their journey, without Gandalf at some point and with Bilbo Baggins (who used to be quite annoying in the first movie for me) becoming more and more courageous (with little helps from "my precioussssss") and proving to be super helpful for the gang. We'll get to know Legolas' background more (i guess i'm a bad geek but i don't read the books so i didn't even know that he's actually some sort of a Prince!)-oh issit just me but was Legolas' eyes always been blue??? I thought it was brown in LOTR movies (sorry if i'm being stupid). They also stumbled upon Bard (who helped them smuggle into Girion), and who's apparently more than your typical pheasant.

I'd say The Hobbit series is a must watch, especially if you enjoyed LOTR trilogy (or not). Fantasy movie lovers united! Oh, even if you're not and your boyfie/hubby made you watch it-fret not! Lots of eye candies here, ladies! I for one, finds Orlando Bloom hot only as an elf! 

Orlando Bloom as Legolas. I prefer him with pointy ears, long flowing blond flocks and jumping around arrowing people LOLOLOL (eh, i mean ogres?)

Then there's also Lee Pace, whom i loved ever since Possession (which made me daydream nonstop about him for a while), unlike Orlando, i prefer him in real life (he looks too comicky for me in elvin costume hahaha), but he still looked stunning as Thranduil (and i guess elves doesn't age or something because he looks the same age as his son, Legolas. Well, they are only two years apart in real life anyway).

Oh-so-handsome Lee Pace

And of course, the forever handsome and hot as hell :

Luke Evans as Bard

Eye candy fest!!!

6. Soekarno : Indonesia Merdeka

As both a supporter of good local movies and a history buff, we went and watched this movie about Indonesia's first (and much loved) President. This movie followed the footsteps of Soekarno from his early childhood up to when he became the President. This is a biographical/history/drama/love story, so don't expect any war or whatever, you won't find it.

The movie started with young Soekarno who was know as Kusno, a sickly kid whose name then changed into Soekarno by his parents (lots of Asian believe that unmatched name can cause sickness and other misfortune to the kid and a change of name is necessary in several cases). He grew up dreaming to free his people from the colonialism that's been holding them down for centuries. He was then thrown into jail and even exiled because of his strong political speeches. When Japan came to defeat the Dutch in Indonesia, he and his partner (brilliantly played by Lukman Sardi) played along as if to work with the Japanese, all the while waiting for the opportunity to claim Indonesia's independence.

This movie had been causing a lot of uproar, both from Soekarno's family members and others. Gossip was, Soekarno daughter who was once an advisor for this movie disagree with the producer's choice in Ario Bayu (why??? He acted brilliantly in this movie!!! Of course, he looks nothing like the real Soekarno. Wayyy too tall and muscular! But the daughter's choice, Anjasmara??? Talk about EWWWW!) and tried to boycott the movie-but it's still playing and receiving good feedbacks until now. She also claims minor hystorical errors, but hey.. this is a movie, dramatization and hyperbole's only to be expected right?

I find this movie to be very interesting, engaging and fascinating-even though it can be a bit slow and draggy in parts. I didn't know much about him before (what we studied in school didn't cover the essence of the person, just the name and dates you know) but this movie caused me to obsess about my own country's history for days. And i'm so so fascinated on the fact that he's been married to 9 women!!! He's such a ladies killer and even though they only touched on two women on his life in this movie, i guess the family member wasn't happy about the playboy portrayal (and the less than flattering way they showed the daughter/ex-advisor's mother-who was the third wife). I don't know what's all the commotion about, it's a beautiful movie and Indonesian should totally all watch this! And kudos to the brilliant acting, especially by Ario Bayu and Maudy Koesnaedi who made me cry as the president's second wife-and somewhat a woman scorned hehe.

7. Walking with Dinosaurs

It's a real kid movie okay, so i'd say only watch this if you have a little boy (or maybe little girls too) who are fascinated by dinosaurs. Having said that, i managed to enjoy the simple and wholesome movie with the help of smart and cheeky narration by the kookie prehistoric bird hehe. 

This follows the life of Patchi, a little runt that learn to be a hero and leader for his pack. The story itself was very straightforward, you'd bee taken to "walk" with the pack and see how they live (and love haha) and there's also lots of lesson for the kiddies about the dinosaurs names and features.

I thought this movie would bore the hell out of Baby Boy, i forgot that he's 6 and fascinated with dinosaurs haha. So he totally loved it (and obsessed even more) and was wide eyed from start to finish. I and hunny on the other hand, got bored in some parts (whenever the smartass Alex' not around) and played with our phones. Very very simple movie, perfect for little boys (not too young though, they'd get bored by the lack of silliness one might expect in animation movies) who love their dinosaurs!

8. 47 Ronin

Hunny's choice, of course... I usually like this kind of samurai stuffs, but this one... I think it's so so lah. A bit boring, slow and draggish in the beginning (fighting off sleep because i was so sick and i slept the whole day before going to the cinema and was still high during the movie *LOL* but if i was wide awake i'm sure i'd like it as much as i did :p), got better after the first half, but i wouldn't say this is a must watch. Last Samurai this was not..

A young, half breed (meaning : Eurasian) kid was found half-dead in the forest and saved by a Japanese Lord. He was then adopted into the clan but was never fully accepted because they didn't believe in half-breed (they called them evil) back then. The kind Lord was then fell by trickery of a ruthless other Lord, the band of Samurai-now masterless and became ronins went to avenge their master's death, even if their mission can only end in their deaths. 

Yeah, i've heard of 47 Ronin before, but thanks to the review i read in the IMBd i was no longer confused by this movie's comic-bookish quality. It's NOT based on the history of 47 Ronin, but INSPIRED by it and been twisted into a dark, fantasy movie. That explained a LOT. LOL. Still, it was not fast paced or engaging enough, i got bored a few times during the first half of the movie. Keanu Reeves, well... he's a bit wooden as usual IMO, and the chemistry between him and his Japanese princess lover just wasn't there, i didn't really buy that they were in love. The Japanese actors delivered strong acting though.

Oh, we saw Zombie-Boy (i never even heard about him before i saw him in Merilla's blog haha) on the poster and i was pretty looking forward to see him, turned out he only had a cameo role and showed up about 5 secs on the screen and delivered one line *LOL*. I have no strong opinion about this one, i didn't detest it but i certainly didn't love it. You can watch or not watch this, wouldn't make much of a difference-your call!

9. Laskar Pelangi Sekuel 2 : Edensor

The first two movies made me fell in love with these "Rainbow Troops", with their simple ways and big dreams-i don't know why i never read the books, now that i think about it! I need to go and buy the books ASAP hahaha. Sadly, this third movie was nowhere near as good and enchanting as the previous two, i read in a review that this might be because it was no longer set in the beautiful island of Belitung but instead in generic Paris streets, but for me i think it's probably because they are all grown up already and there's only two of the previous members continuing the story? I dunno... I really need to read the books and see if the story really became less interesting in the third one or if it's the cinematograph's fault :p.It's still a pretty good and nice movie, just not in the same league as the first two.

Ikal, the curly haired little boy with big brains and big heart full of dreams finally realized his dream of studying in Paris, together with his distant cousin a.k.a best friend, Arai. They studied hard and worked hard too, trying to balance making the best out of their scholarship and making money to send to their poor family back in Belitung. Ikal then got infatuated with a pretty blonde who somehow chose him to be her girlfriend (at the same time he never managed to forget Aling, his first love, a Chinese Indonesian girl with whom he fell in love with at elementary school because, i quote "She has such beautiful nails." LOL!!!), which made him forgot his priority and caused him to get bad grades and into big fights with Arai because Ikal was annoyed at him constantly nagging about his grades and told him to focus. 

The movie was shot beautifully, Paris was breath-taking as usual, Lukman Sardi and Abimana (so weird calling him that, he was a cover boy when i was in junior high school and i've always known him as Robertino) acting was very solid and it became the biggest pull of this movie. Now i know there are superb Indonesian actors out there, gave me hope for Indonesia's movie industry (i wouldn't guess that from those stupid sinetrons my mum loves so much. Horrible storylines and horrible actors only make me cringe and change the channel FTL, this is why i do not watch local TV channels)! It was a very flat, but quite funny and entertaining movie-like lots of Indonesian movies-it just never peaked.

One thing to complain about according to hunny would be Lukman Sardi being cast as a young university student, he just looked way too old there (well, he was just playing Hatta, Indonesia's first vice president in Soekarno that i've reviewed above and it was much more age appropriate!)! He is 42 years old and look way older than Abimana (and he should be, since Abimana IS 11 years younger than him and like lots of 31 years old i know around me-can still safely pull playing a university student hehe). But i told hunny that his superb acting (he was stern, old and very convincing in Soekarno while acting cute, naive and child-like-believably so!-in this one. This guy's like one of Indonesia's best actors right now!) totally made up for it, i would suggest him do some botox and teeth bleaching (oh! And hair transplant) next time he's set to play someone half his age though!

Laskar Pelangi's definitely one of current best Indonesian movie (s), and while this third installment's not as great as the first two, it's still good enough to watch (if only to see the pretty pictures, beautiful Paris and see Lukman and Abimana's banter, those two were totally solid and believable as BFFs, even the accent's not fake sounding to my untrained ears). If you want to be touched, tickled and fell in love with Belitung's breath taking views however, i'd suggest you to watch the first two movies. But if you do, then you'd have to watch this one (and the next one) because you'd want to know how Ikal's adventure ended and if he ever get together with Aling!

Anddd.... that's it! I haven't watch any movies at all in January, am super looking forward to Paranormal Activity : The Mark Ones (that is said to be the most disturbing out of the 5 movies), can't wait!

Still exhausted (both looking and feeling haha)

#Pink