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Reviews
Biola Tak Berdawai (2003)
Pretentious!
One of the most pretentious movies ever made. An Indonesian ballet dancer? A young violist who asked "can I help you?" in a waiter's manner? A doctor-by-noon and Tarot-reader-by-night with an over the top hair style and make-up? Come on! And above all .. a lame story with songs that are ear-breaking rather than heart-grabbing.
A super-holy solitary girl fell for a young violist (who magically, miraculously can play beautiful notes by using only a single string!) after his music could live up a disabled toddler under her care. These two silly lovebirds hug each other instead of hugging the kid after the miracle took place. Wow ... what a hyper-romantic characters!
Soon, the violist will discover the dark past of this Mother-Mary-wannabe ... which is no surprise to me, thanks for the annoying flashbacks!
Best time to go for this movie: you have a blind date, and he / she turns to be a total moron. Watch this movie as a warning to him / her that you are even more idiotic!
Mou gaan dou (2002)
"Face/Off" without any face off
What a twist! What a cast! What a conflict!
This is one of the best Andrew Lau's pieces; a culmination of the whole "Young and Dangerous" series.
It's no bang-bang-bang flick, but think-think-think.
It's no look-at-me-I'm-handsome show, but look-at-me-I'm-in-dilemma.
Andy Lau's acting is surprisingly mature, while Tony Leung's as fantastic as usual. I love the idea to cast young stars Edison Chen and Shawn Yu as the juniors of the two mega-stars. With no doubt, they are the next big things in Hong Kong film industry.
Also, it's cool to cast the funny-faced Eric Tsang as the godfather, while bad guy Anthony Wong as the cop leader with a fatherly heart. This strengthen the concept of the whole movie, that is black-vs-white with the confusion which is black and which is white.
Big fans of Hong Kong action flicks will die rotten in hell if they miss this one!
The Quiet American (2002)
quietly sneak out!
The poor script doesn't focus in one certain thing ... is it a war movie? Or a love story? Or both of them? Nothing is convincing enough. The political background is not strong, and the love story has no compelling characters. What is Michael Caine doing in this film? And why, why, why Brendan Fraser?
Even Christopher Doyle doesn't delivery anything here. Is that really Ho Chi Minh or just a set? Please .... The location doesn't look good at all. So sad that Graham Greene's classic can end up like this on the big screen!
Titik Hitam (2002)
He sees dead people. (Mmm ... where have I heard this line before?)
"Titik Hitam" is a horror/drama ... so there's a horror plot with bad CGI ghosts and a drama plot with lots of death. Yet, the two don't go hand-in-hand to create a clear storyline.
Heru sees dead people (Quick! Mention one horror movie you know!), and has a close bond to his cousin Retno. Heru learns to make film. Heru has a retarded elder brother and a strict father. Heru also has a girlfriend Rianti. Retno gets jealous. Gosh ... so much to tell in a movie!
If you wanna see the horror plot, just sleep through the middle part of the movie. If you wanna see the drama plot, just come late and leave early. Isn't it nice to buy a ticket to watch two stories?
And what's with the use of DV? It hurts my eyes.
Rumah Ketujuh (2003)
a good first date material
"From the makers of 'Ada Apa dengan Cinta?' and 'Eliana, Eliana'." Considering the heights of 'Ada Apa dengan Cinta?' and 'Eliana, Eliana', the statement above is quite considerable. But 'Rumah Ketujuh' is not as grand as that statement sounds.
Childhood pals Cakra and Lintang are in the search of their soulmate. Virgo-girl Lintang strongly believes that she should find a Taurus guy before her 25th birthday, while not-so-sensitive Cakra insists that he will find the girl of his dream in a situation quite exactly with what he finds in his dreams: amidst the crowd (of a party).
While going their own way to finding Mr. and Mrs. Right, they soon discover that their paths are not far separated. A full-of-dialogue journey that is quite enjoyable, especially if you are a Jakartan who's familiar with Hollywood's romantic comedies.
'Rumah Ketujuh' has all the potential to knock me out snoring in the cinema with its never-ending dialogues and never-there actions, but ... magically... I STAY AWAKE all the way. Even when I saw it for the third time! Indra Birowo as Cakra and Dewi Rezer as Lintang deliver a naturally-flowing chemistry.
The flick is supposed to be of a character-driven kind, yet the characters are not extraordinary. Yes, they believe in dreams and astrology, but then... they don't go to the extremes in this case. It lessens the height of the movie, however that's the way to make it enjoyable. And moreover, these characters are those next door people. We easily relate and go along with them.
Indra Lesmana's score swing high and low, making 'Rumah Ketujuh' an audio roller coaster. The movie is a good first-date activity, while the soundtrack is gonna be my all-time fave.
Ying xiong (2002)
a heroic masterpiece
This visual exposition on what defines a hero is gives a magnificent feast to my eyes. Please, don't expect a story out of 'Hero', but a spirit and meaning. The soul of a 'Hero' is sacrificing your heart, your love, your dreams, and your revenge.
Yet, 'Hero' is still enjoyable as a kungfu flick. From all the cast, Jet Li and Donnie Yen are the real martial dancers, so director Zhang Yimou entrust the first duel scene to them. Under the choreography of veteran actor and kungfu visionary Tony Ching, the first duel - rendered in black with brown accent in Yen's costum - is fast, furious and fabulous.
Other masterpiece scene includes the blue lake that stays calm after every movement of two assasins: Jet Li and Tony Leung. With a natural lighting, the serene lake reflects the beauty of love between Leung and his lover Maggie Cheung.
Compared to his fellow choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, Tony Ching uses another approach to kungfu. His movements are more imaginative and wild. Enjoy Maggie Cheung creating a twister of falling leaves with her mighty sword, and Jet Li running faster than the waterdrops.
Tan Dun's music is excellent, supported by Japanese drummer KODO and violist Itzhak Perlman. Wong Kar Wai's cinematographer buddy Christopher Doyle works to the limit of excellence.
To no doubt, 'Hero' is a heroic masterpiece!
Fight Club (1999)
l-e-g-e-n-d-a-r-y !!!
This one-of-a-kind movie grabs my mind and heart from fade-in to fade-out. The insomniac narrator keeps the audiences widely awake along the presentation about how many parts of our lives are actually meaningless.
Edward Norton performs convincingly as a guy who screams out of the boredom of his days just to find the exciting new life during his sleepless nights. This new life includes serial visitation to support groups where he meets the disturbingly charming Marla (played disturbingly haunting by Helena Bonham-Carter). While he's wishing that his plane will crash, suddenly the charismatic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt at his best!) appears, and brings him to a whole new (underground) world.
They both invent the fight club, and in this fighting community they struggle for peace and better life. Actually, it is not the story that counts, but the values and twists. Based on the novel of the same title by Chuck Palahniuk, "Fight Club" changes the paradigms of everyday life: countering neatly ordered life, blasting consumerism, and glorifying chaos.
The dark and compelling ambience is successfully achieved by director David Fincher. The opening title is as breath-taking as the ending of this movie.
This film is a legend!
Eliana, Eliana (2002)
a humble masterpiece
A tale of mother-daughter conflicts told in a very simple way to touch viewers' heart. The emotional bond between Eliana (the daughter, by Rachel Maryam) and Bunda (the mother, Jajang C. Noer) is real, and at some points is very gripping. All cast performs out of their skin, especially the magnificent Jajang C. Noer, in whom is laid the heart of this feature. The corners of Jakarta sets a strong background. The ending is gently heart-touching. Director / Screenwriter Riri Riza successfully creates this masterpiece on a relatively low budget.
Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (2002)
to see again and again
It's a local champ, and can be a very entertaining teen flick worldwide. Real characters fill this high-school love movie. The script smoothly runs the story, and strongly constructs the whole first love theme. The love-and-hate chemistry between the main characters works very well too. Actually, the scene where Rangga (the guy, Nicholas Saputra) dropped his precious book in Cinta (the girl, Dian Sastro) is too much of a coincidence... and simply the easiest way to move the story forward. Still acceptable, though. Supporting actress Ladya Cheryll (as Alya, Cinta's friend) delivers a very natural screen-stealing performance. Good music, good faces, good ending too. Overall, this is the kind of movie for a date, for a lazy Sunday afternoon, and for all time.
Road to Perdition (2002)
all time classic
Without being melodramatic, this harrowing tale of a father-and-song sharply touches audiences' heart. Without too many action scenes, this revenge plot delivers high tension. "Road To Perdition" is dark but beautiful, simple but haunting, and masculine but emotional. The scene where Michael Sullivan Jr. suddenly hugs his senior after they have a conversation is very real and heart-wrenching. Tom Hanks shows his greatest performance here without too much of an action. He delivers the persona of Michael Sullivan successfully. Paul Newman as John Rooney is the great ... as usual. But the very important performance to notice is Tyler Hoechlin's. Perfect script, and perfect cinematography by the great Conrad Hall. More than just an Oscar-grabber ... it's an all-time classic.