//June 20, 2009//

Hmm… Okay, highlight of this week. 17 Again. Debat Capres putaran pertama 2009-2014. Djarum Indonesia Open, pertandingan Taufik Hidayat. Di akhir debat Capres, Iwan Fals menyanyi dengan luar biasa. Memperlihatkan setiap urat dan peluh di kening untuk mengantarkan sebuah lagu luar biasa menakjubkan dan menggetarkan jiwa. Sayangnya Trans TV dengan tak berperikemanusian memotong siarannya dengan sangat nggak ens. I hate you for doing that.

And congratulation Mr. Hidayat (terdengar seperti dosen Kalkulus waktu TPB, yeah well..) for making to the semifinal. The 8000 people on the stadium just happen to get their adrenaline rush during the match. The match is to die for, the audience screaming on and on and on again, seems like they’ll get sore throat on their way home. My dad and I just enjoy the match, and jump afterwards when Taufik enjoyed his victory moment. And thanks to you Mr. Hidayat, Indonesia is singing once again. The audience was singing ‘Gebyar Gebyar’, the song burned in my heart till now. Yes, I envy you for becoming a hero.

Biggest highlight. 17 Again. Yey!

No one rated popcorn movies better than I do.

Yep, I love popcorn movie. It is simply because they’re giving a sale on dreams in the movie. I bet my best partner in crime, Mega, would also love this movie as much as I do.

High school bon-bons, Zac Efron, returns again in the super typical movie, 17 Again! Yet, seems Efron doesn’t want to leave his safety zone. Yes, he dances in the movie and throw some basket t-shirtless. The thing is, the movie is unexpectedly hilarious. The acting was much better than I thought and Efron—like a dream—charmed the audience effortlessly. And you should highlight the dinner scene between Ned (Thomas Lennon) and the Head Principal (Melora Hardin). It’s funny and yet genius! The myth is right, only a geek can love a weirdo. Though the story is expectedly—you just know how the story will end before entering the cinema—you just have to enjoy it without prediction. And you’ll end up, leaving the cinema happily entertain enough with the movie. (This is, by the way, the rule of thumb on watching popcorn movie. I happen to use the theory over and over again, and believe me, it works all the time.)

The story is about Mike O’ Donnell (Matthew Perry), who just happen to lose all things in life. A divorce, the kid, the promotion. He then, took a trip to his glory days in high school, when he was 17 and seems to have everything in the world. A popular seat as a basketball player, a scholarship which coming for him, and a beautiful girlfriend. The time stop for him since that day. He left all the glitter in life for the love of his life, Scarlett (Allison Miller). And yet, 20 years later, he seems regretted all the time about that. Second chance came, in the hand of, which we believe a spirit guide, a janitor. He gave Mike a second chance to be 17 again! Same problems, same time, in a different body. And that is how the story rolled.

The big surprise is, the audience I’m watching the movie with, were dominated by middle aged woman around maybe 23-27 years old. And yes, the audience just keeps swearing “Zac Efron ganteng banget!!” all time during the movie. Dan gila aja, di akhir film, seorang tante-tante yang terlihat seperti socialite-Jakarta-yang-abis-belanja-ke-PRJ-dan-mau-ke-Sale-di-Centro berteriak sambil keluar bioskop, “Gila ya, ganteng banget!” Seems Efron deliver the movie so damn good that everybody just happen to forgive all mistakes on the script. Well, by the way, congratulations for graduating the high school, Mr. Efron.

Recommended Consensus: 17 Again was hilariously charmed and a worth to see movie for people who wants to enjoy a weightless movie before seeing the entire summer filled with Tom Hanks, Autobot and a house that fly by thousand of ballons.

//January 26, 2008//

“Black, when the sky turns black… why do I feel so blue?”

Baru-baru ini, saya nonton Tekkonkinkreet the Movie. Kayaknya belum banyak yang nonton film ini, karena saya juga beli DVDnya secara gk sengaja di sela-sela rak DVD Vertex, itupun tinggal satu. Film animasi ini diproduksi oleh studio Aniplex kalo gk salah, yang bikin Animatrix, dan disutradarai oleh Michael Arias, jarang animasi Jepang memakai sutradara Amerika, tapi hasilnya ternyata memuaskan.

Tekkonkinkreet is a tale about two street urchins, named Kuro and Shiro. As they possessed the Treasure Town as ‘My Town’, they’re trying to protect the city from yakuza and assassins who wants to demolish the city and replace it with a giant amusement park. Like their names, Kuro (Black) represents the darker side and violent. Unlike the younger Shiro (White), he represents innocent and hope. The two of them need each other to survive. The classic black and white battle served with a heartwarming story about the unbroken relationship between Kuro and Shiro.

Penggambaran karakter di film ini sangat kuat, saya nggak berhenti memuji bagaimana kegalauan hati Shiro yang dipisahkan dari Kuro, bagaimana brutalnya Kuro ketika menerobos markas para yakuza untuk pertama kali dan pertempuran pertama Kuro dan Shiro dengan para pembunuh bayaran yang nggak mati-mati itu. Banyak yang membandingkan film ini dengan Paprika, but I like this one better. Yah, sebuah tontonan segar ketika melihat ramainya film-film Indonesia yang sok-sokan menunjukkan adegan mesum, tanpa bobot cerita sama sekali.

“What is it about the fire?

So calm and peaceful but inside, all power and destruction.

It’s hiding something.
Just like people do.
Sometimes you have to get close to find out what’s inside.
Sometimes you have to get burned to see the truth.”