MOVIE SYNOPSIS

Kebrutalan dalam film Martial Arts adalah sebuah indikator baru dari kualitas sebuah film milik perfilman nasional. Di poin inilah, ada sebuah titik balik yang muncul di dalam perfilman nasional. Diawali oleh film The Raid yang disutradarai oleh Gareth Evans, film ini menjadi sorotan banyak orang dan juga perfilman Internasional. Kedigdayaannya diakui oleh banyak pihak membuat perfilman nasional setidaknya mendapat citra baru baik domestik maupun mancanegara. Dengan adanya poin itu, keragaman genre di perfilman nasional pun semakin bertambah. Film-film Indonesia berusaha mengekor keberhasilan The Raid dan film-film sadis menjadi sorotan banyak orang. Sebelum The Raid menjadi tersohor, ada The Mo Brothers yang terdiri dari Timo dan Kimo yang pernah membuat genre horor thriller yang tak kalah seru yaitu Rumah Dara. The Mo Brothers pun memiliki banyak penggemar karena setidaknya pada waktu itu berhasil membuat alternatif tontonan, apalagi dalam genre horor yang pada kala itu minim akan pe...

Once the calendar switches to December it becomes difficult to convince me to see anything other than the weekly Oscar contending releases that swarm theaters nationwide. Yet, for movie watchers trying to avoid venturing to the big screen and who prefer relaxing and enjoying a new flick in the comfort of their homes, December has some worthwhile options arriving this month ( November's suggestions ). Here's what's on tap for the upcoming month: Don't Think Twice - 3 stars out of 4 - ( Read my rapid review here ) Mike Birbiglia writes, directs and co-stars in this brilliantly handled indie comedy. It's so rare for a comedic endeavor to combine legitimate laughs with a soulful story, yet Don't Think Twice achieves this and so much more. The film follows a popular New York City improv group called The Commune who aren't just talented performers, they've become so close that they're basically a family. But when scouts from a major sketch comedy show ca...

Winning a Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival is a crowning achievement for any filmmaker, let alone one who only has two works to his name. Tom Ford burst onto the scene in 2009 with his warmly received debut, A Single Man . The effort landed lead star Colin Firth an Oscar Nomination and left everyone in the industry wondering what Ford would be doing next. It took quite a while to get here but Ford returns with Nocturnal Animals , a taut thriller that far surpasses his admired debut. Susan Morrow is an art gallery owner who receives an unexpected package from her ex-husband of many years, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). Inside she discovers a manuscript of his new novel which Edward dedicates solely to her. As Susan becomes engrossed in this violent and sinister novel she begins to reflect on the torment she caused her former lover. Everything from the film's trailer to its detailed premise would lead you to envision  Nocturnal Animals  as a mind-bending and b...

Disney di era yang baru ini memiliki misi di dalam film-film miliknya. Sehingga, filmnya tak sekedar menjadi film animasi pelipur lara biasa tetapi ada nilai-nilai yang berusaha disematkan lewat karakter-karakternya, terutama karakter-karakter putri yang biasa mereka buat. Disney berusaha merombak segala identitas Princess yang kadang kelewat putih dan terlihat sempurna. Mulai dari Princess and The Frog, Tangled, dan Frozen, Disney berusaha untuk mengontruksi ulang identitas dari sosok Princess. Tak berhenti di ketiga film tersebut, Disney kembali berusaha mengonstruksi identitas karakter-karakter Princess-nya dalam film teranyarnya berjudul Moana. Film ini ditangani oleh orang-orang lama Disney yang pernah berkecimpung lewat Aladdin dan The Little Mermaid yaitu Ron Clements. Sehingga mungkin proyek Moana ini sudah berada di tangan yang tepat karena rekam jejak sang sutradaranya yang sudah terbiasa berkecimpung di karakter-karakter tuan puteri. Di era sekarang di mana ilmu pengetahuan...

Martin Scorsese has given us all something to be very thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday. The first official trailer for the legendary filmmaker's upcoming release, Silence , has officially landed and it provides a story and perspective of Scorsese that we haven't seen in quite some time. Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star as a pair of 17th century Jesuit priests who venture to Japan and face persecution as they try to find their religious mentor (Liam Neeson) and restore his faith in God. Word has it we're in for another marathon as Silence pushes towards 160 minutes of screen time, but we should still expect a gripping story and phenomenal direction from this assumed Best Picture contender. Like many great pairings in this this world, it wouldn't feel right mentioning Martin Scorsese without his long time collaborative partner, Robert De Niro. The all-time great performer has chosen some questionable roles of late, and early word isn't too favorable for his...

With Golden Globe nominations less than 3 weeks out, the Awards season is just starting to heat up. Both Ben Affleck's Live by Night  and Denzel Washington's Fences  have recently screened for the first time while Martin Scorsese's Silence will premiere later this month, leaving the Oscar picture a bit cloudy at the moment. However, there's still enough buzz floating around to mold together an idea of how the major races appear to be shaping up. Let's take a look. Best Supporting Actress Likely Nominees:  Hindsight is 20/20 and, although I even felt it at the time, it's impossible not to look back and acknowledge that Viola Davis should have won the Best Actress Oscar for her work in 2011's The Help (Meryl Streep won for Iron Lady ). Yet, history has a funny way of correcting itself as Davis could be in line for some Oscar glory for her work in Fences . Other safer bets to land in the final five include Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) and Naomi...

A lot can change in the matter of a few months. Prior to its October premiere at the New York Film Festival, many penciled-in Ang Lee's new adapted feature, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk , as a viable Best Picture candidate. Lee's well-documented success with the Academy, mixed together with a war-time drama, the film checked-off all the necessary boxes. Yet, now, having watched Billy Lynn for myself, Lee's latest work is far from the Oscar-player we all expected and, sadly, it's one of the year's most disappointing entries. This non-chronological adaption follows its title character (Joe Alwyn) and the other members of his Bravo squad who are home from Iraq on a victory tour. And as Billy prepares to be honored during the halftime show of an NFL football game for one of the worst days of his life. he recalls the harrowing events of the battle and contemplates his future as a soldier altogether. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk stands as a rare fatally fl...