One redeeming quality from “Battleship” is that it doesn’t bother to try to pretend that it is more than a mindless action. The naval battles are actually quite entertaining and not too shabby but honestly, what do you expect? I’m buying a ticket to this movie just for that, and some of the explosion fest are somewhat enjoyable. I dare say that if you love naval battles you’ll get some okay moments from this movie. But of course, you need to wait for some considerable time before the not-too-shabby stuffs starting to happen. And ultimately, they are just that, not-too-shabby, okay, and in other word, forgettable.

But hey, welcome to a blockbuster season when movies are made to be enjoyed, best with a high dose of saccharine and a healthy dose of an idle mind.

In the end, I ended up quite sad to see Liam Neeson in this charade. I couldn’t care less about the rest of the casts and I’m having trouble believing whoever gets to play Sam is the love interest. Yes, she has a considerable boobs size but really? I don’t even bother to look up her name and hoping that this is the last time I’m seeing her (although I wouldn’t remember if I ever see her again in the future). Hey, even Rihanna whom I say should stick to singing, has a more lasting impression than her. And that is a devastating testament of her acting performance. Or should I say, “acting.”

All in all, don’t listen to me. If you’ve seen the advertisement of this movie, you’ll know exactly what is coming your way and you’re silly if you’re expecting something more sophisticated out of it. Just know that for the first forty minutes there will be absolutely nothing of importance. In fact, you could take a multiple extended bathroom breaks from this movie at any time and still wouldn’t miss a thing. Even more, you’ll probably have a better life if you spent 130 minutes of your time elsewhere. Read a book, or have a session of “Battleship” (the board game) with your loved ones.

Oh, and any similarity nuances you’ll have with “Transformers” franchise is well, inevitable.

When it comes to movies, I’ve got four biased preferences. They are, in no particular order, Batman, Western, Musical, and in the vein of this movie’s theme, Martial Arts. Classic Jackie Chan, Shaw Brothers, Ong Bak, you name it, a tale of men trading fist, elbow, knee, and kick always got me hooked. This movie, for all it’s worth, is equivalent to pornography for martial arts lover as myself. It is a no nonsense, literally wall to wall action and amazing fighting choreography, mixed with a rather graphic display of violence. Together, they boils down to probably the best martial arts genre that I’ve seen in quite a while, with a level of violence that is several cuts (no pun intended) above most. I’m going to this movie knowing full well of what I’m looking for, and I’ve got to say that I am satiated.

It is tempting, however, to skip all the talking parts and dive straight away to the good stuffs. Fortunately, the movie didn’t linger much too long on premise and had started the ball rolling relatively quickly. And when the ball is rolling, boy, it was unstoppable. Even so, I really liked Ray Sahetapy in this movie. Acting as the crime lord, his delivery of dialogs is menacing, although unintentionally funny, and given the lackluster of acting talent throughout the movie, his presence steals every single scene that he was in. Of course, this movie is, in essence, a mere device for the action choreography team to show off their enormous talents. Talking or acting, is rarely necessary and most of the time, proved to be a hindrance.

There’s a semblance of a plot that transcends a little bit from what little actually required. Understandable, because from what I know, Gareth Evans had planned this movie as the first of a trilogy. And of course, given its doubtless massive success and recognition after this movie, I am really excited and hoping that Iko Uwais and his action choreography team would outdid themselves on the next installments.

All in all, this movie is very violent. And even if I was taken aback by how much I cheered for the violence I’ve seen from it, we are all knowing full well that we are expected to get blown away by how much death and blood is going to be on display. In that respect, Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, and the rest of the team that had pushed the limit of what a human body could do and sustain, are doing a terrific job, and deserved every clap, and every standing ovation that was given. I was on the edge of my seat during the finale, and standing and clapping when the end credit rolls with the rest of the audiences. Remarkable job and it is made even more remarkable by the fact that most of these guys are my fellow Indonesians. This country is really in dire need of a good news that makes me feel a little bit of pride inside my chest. And if it comes from a movie that promotes and celebrates violence, I’m still going to take it.

One last note, I have an utmost respect to Mad Dog, one of the villain character of this movie. As a one who’d like to think himself as a professional, I see Mad Dog as a true professional. He is passionate with his craft by constantly upping the ante, challenging himself in order to get better. He is, surprisingly, the only high note other than the fighting choreography that I could harvest from this violent fest flick.

In Panem, long after a failed rebellion, its twelve Districts were required to send a couple of Tributes, a boy and a girl of a certain age, by way of volunteering or in most cases, a draw, to participate in an annual “The Hunger Games.” In this game, they were sent into an arena where they fought each other until only one victor left standing. One victor. Alive. Sounds brutal, and it is. Although the idea isn’t entirely new, because “Battle Royale,” who also flirted with the idea of school age teenagers pitted in a make-shift arena to kill one another has been existed for quite a while but it’s still a controversial idea and not everyone out there knows about “Battle Royale.”

Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen, the Tribute from District 12, one of the poorest District in Panem. As with the book, it is effortless to root for Katniss and Jennifer Lawrence makes it even more easier. She is portrayed as tough, but not susceptible to fear and thus makes her a human we could very much identifies with. The way I see it, we are in parallel with the citizens of Panem in this part. Katniss, helped by her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz. He’s awesome, by the way), her mentor, Haymitch (always awesome Woody Harrelson) and even Effie Trinket, representation of District 12 portrayed by always recognizable, always desirable Elizabeth Banks even under those heavy and ridiculous make ups, works behind the scene to transform herself into a lovable underdog. This is I think where the social commentary is. Had the movie devoted its attention to let’s say, the designated villain of this movie, Cato from District 2, it will find a way to get us root for him and perhaps, even, cheered for him when he mercilessly hack his way into victory instead. But of course, that’s not the case. In the end, I think it boils down into a reality TV stigma portrayed in this movie where you could turn everyone into something else they don’t. Even gets us rooted behind their acts which sometimes, in a real life, not entirely morally acceptable. Ah, I don’t have a degree in Sociology so I might be wrong but that’s how I take of this story.

But solely taken as a movie for an entertainment value, this movie works. Very well. My only qualms with the movie is that it downplays Katniss’ Tribute counterpart, Peeta. I suspect that many would’ve written him off and their eventual relationship as no more than meets the eye while on the other hand, it was so much more than that.

The most exciting part of the book is when the Tributes arrived to the arena for the first time. The movie knows it and in turn, does it pretty well, although I have some ideas playing inside my head of how I’d make it more into my liking, but overall, it was good. Setting the tone of the game (still a PG-13, parents, no worries there), and would definitely put the Katniss team on the edge of their seat for a while. So therefore, if by some weird circumstances you found yourself really bored, give this movie a chance to arrive to this point and then decides for yourself.

A bit of spoiler, here, so skip this paragraph if you hated being spoilt (I don’t). When Katniss smiles, I take a good long look into her eyes, and see nothing. And I smiled. I wouldn’t have expected less from Jennifer Lawrence.

It opens with the titular character, delivering a message that he speaks for the trees and then opens up the curtain to unravel the story of Tneedville where trees are just things of the past, and the air so polluted, its citizens have to buy a supply of fresh air from a very definition of capitalism represented by the movie’s villainous character, Mr.O’Hare. It takes a puppy love stricken young boy to breaks out the confines of the city in order to seek the truth behind the disappearance of the trees and perhaps, brings back the world to a state it was once, taken for granted.

As a proponent of a musical movie, I approved the songs selection of this movie. Not necessarily “catchy” in an usual term where you hum one of its tune on your way out of the theater (I had completely forgotten any original tunes this movie has to offer once the movie ends), but I really love the song’s rhymes (don’t read subtitles if you could afford it). They are ever hilarious, sometimes ridiculous, but I strongly felt that there were integral to this universe created by Dr.Seuss. Spot on. I really really love it. Other than that, the characters were also well designed and voice actings are not too shabby. At the very least, some of their little quirks are pleasant to watch.

The message itself, about the need to preserve the nature, especially trees, is I think one that rings true to what we currently have right now. I’m not sure how the message would be accepted by the (far) younger minds, but I’d like to believe that it would hit the mark. You know, for the, yeah, future? (says a thirty year old boy who obsessively collected dead trees on his shelf). My point is, the movie had successfully shown us that things that we took for granted, would not be missed until it’s completely gone. But then, it would be already too late. And regrets always came after.

Moving on. All in all, “The Lorax” is a cut above a decent animated movies could go. Entertaining, catchy songs, a none too preachy message, and well, it’s short. It might not stand a chance against the stiff competition this coming weekend. Not with both “The Hunger Games” and “The Raid” coming out at the same time, but if you have a toddler old enough to watch a movie, you might consider this movie as your and your toddler’s quality time. Although of course, I would advice to go soak a warm morning/afternoon sun in the park instead. Oh, wait, we don’t have a decent public park here in Jakarta. So, yeah …

“The Women in Black” has all the correct ingredients for a medieval gothic ghost story. A secluded, abandoned mansion in a middle of a moor where the only road that leads to and from is subject to sea tides, and an ominous history revolving around its titular character that involves the case of many missing or dead children. One has to wonder why the town folks still chose to live within the proximity of the mansion when the fact is already clear. Something is not right, something walks in the dead of the night, and on its wake, Death awaits.

The movie’s second act was actually pretty effective. This is where Daniel Radcliffe had the camera mostly to himself as he strolls in and around the aforementioned spooky mansion. You know how it is, even if you are in a room, alone, and your parents are downstairs, and suddenly the lights went out, the shadows are always moving. And it is quite obvious that this was one of such case, except that the shadows aren’t the only ones that move, and it is foolish to think that they are actually shadows. The scares that follows, even if most of the time they came cheaply (accentuated by a proper music and sounds, “boo” scenes, and a crafty, if not clever camera placements), is quite good. Probably not the scariest stuff that I’ve ever seen, but close enough. It does, however, takes away the attention from Mr.Radcliffe as the audiences were, most of the time driven to anticipate what lurks in the corner rather than the delivery of his craft. But all in all, I think it was still a fun time. If, that is, your idea of fun is getting surprised by a sudden appearance of a scary looking old woman. Among others.

Just like any story involving ghosts, or supernatural beings, the story doesn’t have to make sense. In fact, I could slightly appreciate the movie a bit more because it doesn’t try to rationalized things. I remember thinking during the movie that yeah, if all fictions were to try to make sense, there won’t be any good fictions. For me, part of enjoying a fiction is by getting involved, directly or otherwise, with my very own imagination. And although I wouldn’t be so quickly to give a praise to this movie, at the very least, it doesn’t try to shove its version of truth down my throat which in turn would ruins my own invested imagination. And that, in my book, is one step closer down the right path. The movie’s ending is quite good as well, because it’s bittersweet. May not strike a good chord to others, but for all it’s worth, I’m really satisfied with the ending.

In the end, the movie benefited more with its smart decision to cast and put Mr.Radcliffe on its front line banner. I couldn’t vouch more confidently with how this movie would affect Mr.Radcliffe’s career choices in the future, one thing was clear. The movie would fare significantly worse had it not featuring Mr.Radcliffe fresh out his Potter days.

I have to say this. But if you don’t have a good guess on what will happen on the next hour after going through the first act, you really haven’t seen a lot of movies. Although this mostly has something to do with easily identifiable faces that you’ll know that they would have a significant part later on, it should be easy to guess the plot right away. At least, not entirely taken by surprise by it.

Just like most heist movie, the motivation behind “Man on a Ledge” is relatively simple and fueled with redemption or vengeance (they are not that different in my book anyways). And it always works. The movie had a pretty good job in putting Sam Worthington solidly in the good guy territory many would’ve hard pressed not to root for him and in this kind of movie, a sympathy would go a very long way toward the end. Also supported by Elizabeth Banks, and Ed Harris (actually the foremost reason why I had went into this movie), and some of “that guy” actors that you often see but would have to look at the internet to learn their names and although I’m being partial, some awesome eye candy for men treatment from Genesis Rodriguez.

As far as heist movie goes, this movie employs everything correctly. Yes, it’s not perfect and some questions regarding the plot holes would undoubtedly surfaced, but there are the required “plan goes wrong,” “thinking on your feet,” and the likes. It won’t work if you don’t rally behind the “good” guy doing the heist, but as I’ve said there’s no problem in that. Given the nature of the good guy and the bad guy, the decision would be easy for most of the audiences.

Not a perfect movie. Some characters are underdeveloped and some decisions should be frowned upon, at best. But just like a properly seared steak (medium rare, the way I like it), you could serve me one without any garnishes or anything at all for that matter, just a slab of meat on my plate and nothing else, I would’ve loved it nonetheless. In the end, among notable heist movies, this movie, for me, feels like a single piece of steak sans garnishes. It may not hold the candle but it would suffice. At least it was better than “Tower Heist.”

Based on what considered as the staple of adventure sci-fi, Edgar Rice Burrough’s “A Princess of Mars,” “John Carter” is a hero in the making, transported to the red planet (“Barsoom” as the locals have it) and pitted in the center of a civil war between the humanoid “red” team and “blue” team while making an alliance with the Tharks, the race of four armed green horned aliens of Mars. He is unwilling to be involved in the politics of Mars but as he tries to find his own way back home to Earth, he found solace and probably in the end, a place he could call a home.

This is an origin story. And although it moves through its first act with a break-neck speed, I felt that there’s nothing to a very small coherence to hold the plot solid. I mean, I could read a book during this act, and only occasionally glanced on the screen and still didn’t miss a thing. Of course, it was made with a considerable budget that mostly, understandably, went to polish and although it was pretty good, visually, but I don’t think that an extra dimension is really necessary. Obviously, I was never a fan of 3D technology to begin with. The meat of the story itself is wedged between one set piece after another and I should say that it was the bare essentials of the story. Just enough for a cause of civil war, and just enough for a background story. I figured that there should be more to it, but even at that, the movie didn’t lured out my curiosity.

The casts were solid. That is at least, as solid as an adventure movie goes which is to say that not any of them would be considered for an acting award anytime soon. Which also means that nobody in this movie would be singled out (probably Mark Strong, but that is a stretch) and all of them are forgotten once the movie ends. But, for a light entertainment on a Saturday evening, this movie will suffice for most. Although, if I should chose between having a chat with a friend or seeing this movie, I would opt for the former option. All the time.

There is a saying that we are all born creative. But this creativity is sort of waning and fading as we grow old and trapped in a rat race that has no cheese in sight. This is true to most of us, but I’m quite sure that only a few cared or missed about this flickered out creativity. Most of us would have just accepted it, went through the motion, and live miserably for the rest of her life. Yeah. Well, I’d like to think myself as one who is still stubbornly clinging to be (more or less) creative. I wrote software for a living, and occasionally wrote some of my thoughts here, to a point where I’m writing for my very own benefit. And I kept saying to anyone who cared to listen that I’m keeping the child in me happy and as far as I could tell, I’m doing okay.

From that perspective, a point of view where the child in me takes over with his many imaginations fueled by mere words or mere pictures, “Hugo” is a love letter from Martin Scorsese to which I read through with excitements and butterflies in my chest. Here, a boy and a girl, each bear a sadness, and each an obsession to fill the void. They met, find solace in one another and I am in love again. I see myself in Hugo Cabret who was obsessed with marvels of industrial designs, about how the gear, the winding mechanism, and clockworks went through their designated motions to achieve its purpose. And I see Isabelle, as a crush that I wish I had had. I mean, I grew up as a bookworm, and as far as I could tell, nobody in my childhood has a comparable degree with my enthusiasm on stories. I was an outcast back then but unlike in the movies, unlike in “Hugo,” I hadn’t met another outcast to share my dreams and my obsession with. Not until I’m 26 anyway. All in all, this is a feel good movie, and it effectively kicked me back to my childhood. The better part of my childhood, the better version of it.

On its second half portion, “Hugo” also tells a story that would rings true only to a cinema buff (or those who had seen and remembered Queen’s “Heaven for Everyone” or The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight”). A brief history of cinema and about its preservation. In this part of the story, the center of attention is Georges Méliès (Sir Ben Kingsley at his best), who was among the first ever filmmaker. He built a castle on his dreams and had to see it crumble with he himself picking it apart. It was sad, and although I had never built my castle of dreams (still working on it), it’s a feeling that I could very much relate to. Other than that, we get to see a glimpse, a re-creation of a creative process that was once employed to make one of the very first moving pictures. They may look silly (the younger audiences I had mentioned earlier think they does) but only because we are so already used to moving pictures. One could only imagine how were the reactions of those first people who had never even heard or imagined about a moving picture before. “Hugo” did a pretty good job in capturing it, but still I wonder. In every conceivable way, Méliès is an inventor, one that pushes the boundary, who brings the magic to life into what we had been so used to. Really, it infuriates me a bit when the audiences I’m watching this movie with, mocked him the way they does. If it wasn’t for a man like Georges Méliès, there would be no such thing as moving pictures and anyone who claimed to love movies should give nothing short of a deepest gratitude to the deeds that he has done.

During the length of the movie, I was waiting for Martin Scorsese’s signature shot, and I am very pleased when the shot arrives. And at a very precise moment, as well. It brings smile and a tear of joy to yours truly here. “Hugo” is a celebration of story. And I don’t see why anyone who had the same love to stories not liking this movie as much as I do.

Two hours is definitely not enough to capture the whole of the “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” the book, into a movie. I have never read the book, but it is easy to see why it will infinitely works better on a reader’s imagination rather than shoved at a viewer’s eyeballs. The movie’s nature, an intricate espionage drama, one that doesn’t involve any big action scenes, but rather involving quite a lot of subtle moves, and lots and lots of talk, would prove quite a challenge for most who merely wants a moment’s respite of a light entertainment. But like a game of chess between two grandmasters, some would intensely involved with each move (and long minutes that precedes it), most would simply yawned and walked away.

I would forever associate Gary Oldman with Gotham’s Commissioner Gordon. Uniformly praised in this movie, he is as assertive, and as true as Gordon ever was. Perhaps even more. He acted as an experienced (I actually wanted to use the word “super”) agent working with a small team from outside of the system to uncover the high-ranking mole in “The Circle,” during Cold War period. He walks a thin line between friends and foes that a simple slip would cost him his life. In order to appreciate this movie, one has to appreciate his role. And again I say, the appreciation would come easy if one is to pay attention. Question is, can you? Because the way I see it, most are can’t.

Apart from Mr.Oldman, this movie is generously featured a lot, and I mean a lot of familiar faces. I think it was necessary to instill a familiarity because otherwise, I would have lost on who’s who. With familiar faces, it was easier to associate names, and therefore easier to follow the story. Although arguably, it doesn’t necessarily make it any clearer. Gary Oldman is obviously the one that carries the movie forward. If the story is a storm, his character was easily the eye. Benedict Cumberbatch is the one to watch, though, I was enjoying every second of his screen time and also because he gets to do a lot of excitement inducing part of this movie.

All in all, though, I would say that the story in this movie is best enjoyed on its original medium. But it’s worth it if only for Gary Oldman manic performance. Heck, every single actor in this movie had held their share of bargain as well, and as I had pointed out earlier, I really liked Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance. And I can’t wait for his next appearance at “Star Trek 2.” Ultimately, this movie would set a hard line between an easy going, light entertainment seeking crowd and their more serious counterpart. You had to be the latter to be able to enjoy the movie as it is.

Led by Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, a setup that, *wrongly* reminds me to “Training Day,” this movie had a huge talent pool that includes Vera Farmiga (having heard virtually nothing about this movie beforehand, I was eagerly surprised to see her name flashes across the screen), and Brendan Gleeson (although to be quite honest, for me, he is a “that guy” actor whom I recognized but had to actively looking for his actual name). However, their screen presence are limited to only inform us a backdrop story to the leading characters.

It’s probably due to the quality of the theater I’m watching this movie at. Sounds were loud (in a good way), crisp, and very appropriate for a decent action movie. And there’s this car chase sequence at the first act of the movie when our leading duo met each other for the first time. The scene was, for me, and I’m willing to bet that it was the case for many others as well, the highlight of this movie. Unfortunately, the whole story, is a stale rehash of a same old formula that won’t surprise anyone. Not necessarily a bad script, but it was a rather weak, uninspiring, and more fit to a second grade spy thriller movie. I wonder how it had attracted these many big names to sign on it in the first place. Probably a good check.

Credits due where the credits are due, though. All in all, it was a decent action movie with some memorable moments that were thrilling enough to wake me long enough. The latter part is far more inferior than the earlier part though, and it proves as a challenge for me to stay interested for the whole duration of the movie. Especially, given
that there’s no surprise on which destination the movie is eventually headed.

Denzel Washington breeze through his role like a pro tennis player up for a set against a hobbyist tennis player. He is a professional, though, and therefore if he is bored, he didn’t show it. But I’m pretty sure he does bored. I mean, this role is practically made for him and I could easily imagine him strolling casually into the set, briefly scanned the script, took his scene with a precision of a brain surgeon, without breaking a single sweat. Ryan Reynolds is definitely not Ethan Hawke and he is largely just “meh,” as he wont to do in his movies of late. It’s a shame, really, because I have been rooting for him for quite some time, but his performance is more or less stayed at the same level. Check “Buried” for what, in my opinion, is his best performance thus far. The rest, talented as they are, as I was saying above, is no more but to merely provide verbal informations about our main characters’ background story. It is a waste.

One last note. I didn’t recognize Robert Patrick. And that, I think, is actually a good thing.