MOVIE SYNOPSIS

Ever since her near-Oscar win for the role of CIA Operative Maya in Kathryn Bigelow's  Zero Dark Thirty , Jessica Chastain has built a career portraying strong female characters in the films she's tackled. This trend continues in Niki Caro's World War II drama, The Zookeeper's Wife . But even with the feature's amazing true story and its formidable lead actress, Caro's work lands as an early-year release and not an Oscar-season contender for a reason. As Nazi Germany begins its invasion of Warsaw, Poland in 1939, Zoo-owners Antonina and Jan Zabinski (Chastain and Johna Heldenbergh, respectively) lose many of their animals due to the bombing of their facilities. And as the Nazi occupants begin rounding up Jewish residents and relocating them to an enclosed ghetto, the Zabinskis devise a creative plan to help these persecuted individuals escape from the ghetto and take refuge in their Zoo. But under the watchful eye of German soldier Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl), the ...

Horror fans can rejoice with today's trailer release for Andres Muschietti's re-imagining of Stephen King's It . This new edition looks wonderfully shot as we journey back to Derry, Maine where a group of children are united by their terrifying encounters with a clown named Pennywise. It comes with a massive amount of hype leading up to its September 8th release date. See what all the buzz is about and check out the debut trailer for the horror re-make below. The Impossible 's Tom Holland gave us a sample of what to expect from his stand-alone film with a reassuring cameo in Marvel's Civil War . This summer we get a large dose of Spider-Man in the new film, Homecoming , where a teenage Peter Parker tries to balance his struggles with school-life and a web-slinging alter ego. Mentored by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Spider-Man faces all he can handle when the villain Vulture emerges. Homecoming is destined to be a box office success, but we'll see just how w...

DC Comics has been playing catch-up to the Marvel film universe for quite some time now, but it hopes to make its mark with the November release, Justice League . Following the dispute between Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill), Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) recruit a team of super-humans to combat a new threat. Zack Snyder has been handed the keys to this necessary success, but I haven't been too impressed by his Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice prequels. Catch the new trailer for Justice League below. One of the most talked-about films from this January's Sundance Film Festival was David Lowery's A Ghost Story . Lowery re-teams with his Ain't Them Bodies Saints stars, Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, in the story of a recently deceased presence masquerading in a white-sheet who returns home to make contact with his grieving wife. Blending together drama, mystery and fantasy, A Ghost Story 's debut trailer unveils an intr...

Telah ada sepasang sejoli lain yang lebih ikonik dan muncul jauh sebelum Cinta dan Rangga di Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? . Sepasang sejoli ini muncul dari karakter yang dibuat oleh Eddy D. Iskandar lewat tulisannya di sebuah karya novel berjudul Gita Cinta Dari SMA. Kisahnya pun pernah divisualisasikan oleh Arizal di tahun 1979. Muda-mudi di kala itu pun begitu menggilai kisah cinta dua insan manusia ini. Galih dan Ratna, kisah cinta mereka bersemi di bangku SMA dan abadi dikenang sepanjang masa. Kisah manisnya masih memberikan rasa yang tak pernah lekang oleh zaman. Hingga di generasi yang sudah berubah segala kebiasaannya ini, rasanya perlu dikenang lagi kisah cinta mereka. Maka, datanglah Lucky Kuswandi membawakan kisah cinta bahagia mereka dengan caranya sendiri. Lucky Kuswandi mengadaptasi bebas sumber utama kisah cinta Galih dan Ratna ini dan mempersembahkannya sebagai surat cinta kepada generasi remaja millenial untuk merasakan degupan cinta yang bahagia. Bukan lagi ‘Gita Cinta Dari...

Some things are completely worth the wait. And in anticipation for Danny Boyle's upcoming U.S. release for the sequel  T2 Trainspotting , one that took him over two decades to complete, I finally had the pleasure of encountering my favorite filmmaker at an exclusive Q&A. Boyle's stylish approach and unique ability to capture raw emotions make him an absolute treasure within the industry. Therefore, it's with great pleasure that I devote March's Movie List of the Month to Danny Boyle's finest films ( February's list ). Honorable Mention:   Millions , Steve Jobs and T2 Trainspotting #5. 28 Days Later  (2002) Fresh off the mixed reception for his ambitious 2000 endeavor, The Beach , Danny Boyle teamed with writer extraordinaire, Alex Garland ( Ex Machina ), to deliver one of the finest zombie films of all-time. Cillian Murphy stars as Jim, a comatose man who awakes to find that the city of London is a ghost town. Jim crosses paths with a few other survivors wh...

I recently finished my first trip to Austin, Texas for the wildly popular SXSW extravaganza. During my 5-day venture to the film festival I caught 15 different titles that reaffirmed the strong current state of independent filmmaking. Here is a look at the best screenplays, performances, directors and overall films that I had the pleasure of viewing last week. Note:  Due to large crowds I avoided most of the headliner films such as Baby Driver , Song to Song , Free Fire , Atomic Blonde and The Big Sick , therefore they won't appear in my lists below. Best Screenplay Honorable Mention: Person to Person , Us and Them and Win It All #3.   Gemini #2. T2 Trainspotting And the winner is ... #1. Small Town Crime Writing and directing duo, Eshom and Ian Nelms, deliver an exceptional script flooded with timely humor and massive intrigue. Small Town Crime gives off a Coen brothers feel, making it a top-notch selection for a multitude of reasons. Best Supporting Actress Honorable Men...

Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director, James Gunn, lends his twisted and unusual imagination with the screenplay for Greg McLean's latest horror film, The Belko Experiment . In this wicked blend of  The Hunger Games  meets corporate America, 10 Cloverfield Lane 's John Gallagher Jr. learns just how far human decency and compassion goes when society's rules and structures are thrown out the window. So if you're a horror fan with a taste for violent and visceral behavior, The Belko Experiment isn't exactly groundbreaking material, but it definitely delivers on the gore. Nestled away in the farmlands of Bogota, Columbia, a United States Government facility houses many local and American workers. Yet, something rings different when Michael Milch (Gallagher Jr.) notices heavily armed guards greeting employees at the front gate and turning away all the local workers. And not long after their work day begins, security panels turn the building into an inescapable fo...

It feels like ages ago, but back in 1996 an unknown filmmaker named Danny Boyle made his mark on the industry by shaping an entire generation with the revolutionary heroin-addiction drama, Trainspotting . Two decades have passed and Boyle has emerged as one of Hollywood's elite directors thanks to the overwhelming success of films like Best Picture Winner Slumdog Millionaire , for which Boyle won a Directing Oscar, and Best Picture Nominee 127 Hours . So what's left for a man who's clearly reached the pinnacle of his profession? How about a return to his roots with the wildly anticipated sequel, T2 Trainspotting . As this year's official SXSW "secret screening" selection, unsuspecting audiences were given a wonderful treat. Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the streets of Edinburgh 20 years after ripping off his best friend Simon (Jonny Lee Miller) by running away with their 16,000-pound score following a successful drug deal. Renton hopes to make things right...

One of the greatest perks to attending the SXSW festival is having the opportunity to view world premieres of films. Over the past two days I've had the pleasure of catching the first-ever showing for two of my festival favorites. First up is Small Town Crime , a comedic thriller from the minds of California-born sibling writers and directors, Eshom and Ian Nelms. The film bridges a taut story with immense acting talent, namely Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer and the Oscar-nominated SXSW favorite, John Hawkes, to create a uniquely pleasant movie experience. An alcoholic ex-cop (Hawkes) awakes in the middle of a field after an evening of binge-drinking and somehow avoiding a DUI. As he climbs back into his car and begins driving away, he soon discovers the body of a pretty young woman on the side of the road. The man's former police instincts take charge as he dives deep into an unauthorized investigation of the girl's murder that uncovers a small-town secret which puts...

Joe Swanberg has been a staple in the indie film community as a writer, director and actor for the better part of a decade. His pinnacle of success came in the form of Drinking Buddies , a 2013 dramedy in which a pair of brewery co-workers, Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde, wonder if their flirtatious behavior will ever develop into something more. Swanberg makes his return to SXSW this year for the world premiere of his newest collaboration with co-writer and star, Jake Johnson, in the indie dram, Win It All . Eddie Garrett (Johnson) works odd jobs throughout the week to fund his late night gambling addiction at an illegal basement casino. But when a loan shark from his past returns with a simple proposition, Eddie agrees to watch a duffel bag while he goes to jail for 6 months. However, Eddie's curiosity gets the better of him as he searches through the bag's contents only to discover a huge collection of money. Things go south quickly when he burns through an insurmountable sum...

In an era full of reboots and remakes, chain reactions often open the door for classic characters and beloved films to make a return to the big screen. Inevitably, 2014's $500 million worldwide box-office smash, Godzilla , ultimately paved the way for The Kings of Summer director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, to reintroduce the world to King Kong. And with an infusion of energy and some fresh new ideas, we're given a version of Kong that we've never seen before. A pair of scientists (John Goodman and Straight Outta Compton 's Corey Hawkins) piggy-back on an expedition to an uncharted island in the Pacific where they sense some strange occurrences are taking place. Escorted to this dangerous and unknown territory by an Army helicopter fleet headed by a war-hungry Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), an unexpected encounter with Kong sends the surviving few deep into the woods of this mysterious island. Forced to withstand attacks from multitudes of different ...

I'm thrilled to announced that I'll be attending the 2017 SXSW Film Festival (courtesy of Geekscape ) beginning in Austin, Texas this Friday. The festival offers an eclectic selection of world premieres and upcoming releases featuring some of Hollywood's most prominent acting talent and unique visionaries. I can't wait to enjoy 5 days of binge movie-watching! But before I head to the wonderful city of Austin, here's a quick look at some festival titles that I'm looking forward to seeing: Documentaries Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web - directed by Annie Goldson Debuting at the festival is a doc surrounding the internet's Most Wanted man, Kim Dotcom. As one of the largest copyright infringement sources online, Kim Dotcom was taken in by New Zealand authorities in 2012 and awaiting serious penalties for his described theft of intellectual property. Stranger Fruit - directed by Jason Pollock The ongoing debate surrounding police discrimination against members of ...

If you haven't finished capitalizing on the hefty collection of titles released last month, you should definitely start your movie watching there ( February's suggestions ). However, if you're caught up with this year's top selections, March includes a bunch of new offerings that landed in my "honorable mention" section of 2016's Top Films . Here's a look at the movies you should keep an eye out for this month: 20th Century Women - 3 stars out of 4 - ( Read my rapid review here ) Just missing out on my Top 10 annual list was Mike Mills' latest effort, 20th Century Women . The film follows a teenage boy in the 1970s growing up under the roof of his single mother (Annette Bening) and her two tenants, Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and William (Billy Crudup). And when the teen's mother begins to question her ability to properly guide him into manhood, she enlists the help of Abbie and the boy's best friend and crush, Julie (Elle Fanning). This trio of ...

As a fan of their sketch comedy show, it was reassuring to witness the everlasting humor from both Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in 2016 titles such as  Keanu and Don't Think Twice . And much like Key's satisfying dramatic transformation in the latter film, true artists make branching out of their comfort zone appear so effortless, Now it's Peele's turn, as the creative mastermind unveils his new horror release, Get Out . Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his Caucasian girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) are planning to head to her parent's quaint middle-of-nowhere home for a proper introduction. But when Chris arrives and immediately notices that all of the other African-American friends of the family and house-workers are acting peculiar, he begins to wonder if a more sinister plot is brewing. Yet, addressing the issue could complicate things with the love of his life. Jordan Peele shows off his second-level thinking with a heady screenplay that transitions fluidly...

The return of Marvel's misfit superhero group, the Guardians of the Galaxy, is primed for an enormous box office conquest. Vol. 2  kicks off the summer blockbuster season on May 5th and follows Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) search for his father's true identity. The latest trailer for writer and director James Gunn's anticipated sequel recently premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live  and broadens the scope of the film. Ridley Scott returned to his classic Alien universe with the cryptic 2012 prequel Prometheus . Scott is back again in 2017 to follow-up the film with the buzzed-about installment, Alien Covenant . Michael Fassbender is set to reprise his role as the robot David who travels alongside a new crew that stumble across an uncharted planet. While they search out this unknown piece of paradise, they discover that it's actually a very dangerous world. Covenant reaches theaters on May 19th and you can check out its latest trailer below.