how i don't really hate breaking dawn

TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART I
Director: Bill Condon

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pantinson
Year Released: 2011

I was staring at my computer screen for 30 minute before I began to type the first word regarding the experience I had last Saturday watching the first part of last book from Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn. Before I watched the film, I talked to some friends about it. Like there's a memo I didn't receive, everyone unified to trash the movie. And when I asked whether they've seen the film, most of them said no.

So I decided if I was going to hate it (or trash it), at least I needed to watch the film to earn that right. So there I was last Saturday, watching on the big screen how Edward Cullen married Bella Swan, knocked her up and made her go through hell (kids, appreciate your mother now!) to deliver a baby.

You know, before a movie (a big Hollywood movie anyway) is released, usually there are people who try to sell the movies by creating hypes surrounding that movie which lead us to believe that movie is actually good.  Some movies are as good as expected, some in other hands fail.

In this case, I heard nothing about Breaking Dawn but how terrible the movie is. I did call New Moon a stupidity and seriously I cannot even remember what happened in Eclipse. With that in the back my head, I assumed Breaking Dawn would be as bad as the previous ones. The key words: I expect nothing but another stupidity.

And I was not completely right.

Yes, the movie is still terrible, but I don't hate it. I can see all the flaws, unnecessary scenes here and there, but I wasn't really bothered. It's cheesy, tacky and occasionally causing pharyngeal-reflex, but those were expected and I'm okay. There's the logical reason why I didn't leave the cinema before the movie ended. I even stayed until the last scene when Michael Sheen looks like a clown. HAHAHA.

I'm so into making a list, so it would be only proper if I make a list of interesting facts regarding Breaking Dawn. It could be straight facts, or indirect related facts or even simply unrelated facts. HAHAHA.

1. They had to cut down some scene just to get a PG-13 rating (initially the movie received an R rating), so some teenage girls could giggle when the barely legal Taylor Lautner took of his shirt. HAHAHA.
2. It's pointless to even try to figure out how it's possible for a vampire to inseminate. Even the writer(s) is too lazy to explain it. 
3. The first and the most important rule of surviving the horror of the Twilight Saga: never sit next to a bunch of teenage girls. Their giggles just kill whatever left inside of you to continue watching the movie.
4. I was very surprised to know that Bella actually is a fan of S&M. But again, what's pleasure without pain? HAHA.
5. Is there any better beverage than Red Fanta? I don't think so. Blood. Vampire. Red Fanta. Du'uh!

So, to end my post, I would answer the most significant question everyone probably has in mind right now. Will I recommend this movie? Well, I can only say this: if you wish to say how the movie has caused you a traumatic experience in movie-watching, you need to earn the right by actually watching it.

9 things about inafff and 10 things to learn from the movies

Today was the last day of the 2011 INAFFF and I am officially not a INAFFF virgin anymore. For the last two weeks, I had a pretty good time. I enjoyed my own selection, which even I must admit it's not bad for a first-timer. Overall, the movies this year are not disappointed. Some of them are exceptional, some of them are okay and yes, some of them are not even supposed in this festival. 

However, to appreciate how awesome these two weeks were, I decided to point out things either they're related to the movies, events occurred during the festival or almost unrelated, but worth mentioned. HAHAHA.

1. Immortals might not be a good film, but it's a perfect way to commence a film festival. It's grand, it's graphically gory and it involves Greek mythology. 
2. Audience of each movie are expected to participate in choosing their favorite movies. We received this very effective card which was collected by the end of the movie according to our taste. If you like it, rip off the one side that expressed your likeness. 
3. Most of the movies I chose unfortunately were not as gory as I thought they would be. I totally couldn't believe that Livid was actually from Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo who basically grossed us out with Inside.
4. Thumbs up for the committee who was working so hard to please their die-hard fans. The gifts during each screening, some of the committee were so friendly enough to personally greet me in some occasions anyway are just proofs how committed they are. So I must mention that they did a very good job.
5. The surprise movie, A Lonely Place to Die was not what I had in mind. I mean it's a good movie (well, half of it anyway), but it doesn't really represent the core of the festival. I was hoping for something extremely sick or gory.
6. Age restriction. I was surprised to see probably a 12 years old kid who watched one of the movies. 
7. Although Breaking Dawn premiered in the second week of INAFFF, but I don't think it was affected in any way, so I must say INAFFF owns tons of die hard fans.
8. Our local movies got a lot of attention this year. The Raid was definitely one of them and those short movies are quite a hit. So I'm pretty happy and pretty ashamed to admit that I didn't watch any of those. HAHAHA. I know, I'm a total loser!
9. In my very humble personal opinion, Fanta Merah is the perfect option of beverage for this event and I was excited that they actually served this specific drink at the cinema snack counter. So, I'm happy!

You can always learn something from a movie, no matter what kind of movies they are. From watching more-less 10 movies at the festival, I learned these important 10 lessons which I will carry for the rest of my life.

1. Take a plane, no road trips unless it's less than 8 hours ride. You never know some psychopaths might stop you by dressing as the authorities (Territories), which leads us to number 2.
2. Always ask for a validation if some authorities stop your vehicle in the middle of nowhere. 
3. Always make sure you know exactly what you're digesting when you're dining out. Even if it's good, I don't think I want to consume literally well-cooked men, even they're jackasses (The Claypot Curry Killers).
4. Say NO to a risky job and go for that Burger King waiter even it pays less. Being a hit-man for a certain satanic cult which you're going to be the leader is one terrible thing. I'd rather be poor. (The Kill List).
5. Combination of a bad sport: mountain-hiking, a remote quiet place, less than 5 persons to do the sport with. If you're really for a mountain-hiking, make sure they have a Starbucks nearby and you're going with at least 3 dozens people. (A Lonely Place to Die).
6. If you must work in an asylum for extreme-mentally ill people, make sure they have a back-up generator. If you do work in a such place and you read this, I salute you! (The Incident).
7. Don't judge, even the saints can be sinners. (Le Moine)
8. There's a reason why absinthe is illegal. (Sennentuntschi)
9. Don't steal from an old woman in coma who rests in a very old house. (Livid).
10. Last but not least, do not mess with Iko Uwais. That man can kick ass. (You know which movie, don't you?).

HAHAHA.

So, like I said before, I had a good time this year and I'm so looking forward to having more terrifying - grossing me out kind of experiences next year. I thank some cool people I did get a chance to talk to for these two weeks and also you, the girl who sat next to me during the surprise movie, next time less talking while watching a movie, okay? 

akhir pekan dan teh dari sisca

Saya sudah dari tadi duduk di depan komputer memandangi layarnya dengan berharap pada satu kesempatan, semangat saya tiba-tiba membara dan kemudian memotivasi semua organ motorik saya untuk berkreasi. Hati boleh berharap, namun kenyataannya setelah 1 kali sarapan, 2 potong kue, 1 cangkir kopi, 1 episod Masterchef US dan 1 film dengan durasi 100 menit, Nowhere Boy (yang mana adalah film yang baik), saya masih belum dapat disebut produktif.

Kembali ke film yang sempat saya tonton dalam usaha saya menjadi produktif di hari Sabtu ini, Nowhere Boy bercerita tentang kisah nyata masa remaja John Lennon. Tanpa bermaksud mengorelasikan segala sesuatu di sini, saya teringat salah satu kutipan dari Lennon yang lumayan popular, yaitu: "time you enjoy wasting was not wasted". HAHAHA, iya ini usaha saya untuk membenarkan aksi saya menikmati mendungnya Sabtu ini dengan tidak melakukan apa-apa. Hey, dolce far niente!

Sebenarnya saya berencana untuk keluar rumah dan menikmati keramaian di pusat belanja di dekat rumah, tapi apa daya, rasa malas ini kuat sekali apalagi didukung dengan mendungnya langit Jakarta siang ini. Selain rasa malas, jerawat sebesar jempol juga menjadi alasan yang kuat kenapa saya memutuskan untuk menempelkan pantat di rumah saja. Lagipula berjalan-jalan sendiri di akhir pekan akan seperti misi bunuh diri. Lalu kenapa saya tidak mengajak teman-teman saya untuk berjalan bersama? Alasan sebelumnya, yaitu jerawat sebesar jempol. HAHAHA. Dilema, dilema!

Oya, beberapa hari yang lalu, saya menerima hadiah-hadiah kecil (maklum hadiahnya banyak) yang mahal sekali dari sahabat baik saya yang terkasih, Sisca. 

Sebagai sesama peminum teh, saya mendapatkan 5 bungkus gula dari Gulaku dalam kemasan dengan corak Bali yang sempat membuat saya berdecak kagum dan sampai saat ini masih tersusun rapi di atas printer saya. Tidak rela saya pakai. Kemasan yang menarik ini kembali mengingatkan saya akan indahnya, beragam dan berwarnanya pulau Bali. Dalam konteks apapun perjalanan saya ke sana, saya selalu mengalami pengalaman-pengalaman yang menarik.

Nah selain gulanya, tentu saja saya juga mendapatkan tehnya. Teh yang diberikan oleh Sisca adalah teh dari China yang harganya mahal banget! Saking mahalnya, saya sampai saat ini masih belum rela membuka bungkusannya. Teh daun yang dalam bungkusan kedap udara itu bagi saya seperti seonggok emas, yang konon menurut Sisca hanya perlu sedikit untuk menghasilkan segelas teh. Jujur, saya masih tidak rela membuka bungkusannya. Mahal, bu! HEHEHE.

Yah, kalau Sisca, sang pemberi, membaca artikel ini, terima kasih, sekali lagi terima kasih!

Yah sudah, selagi  langit masih mendung dan hujan belum membasahi bumi, saya mau jalan-jalan dahulu yah. Nanti kita bersambung lagi. Eit, selamat berakhir pekan!

a windy day on the 4th of november 2011

So yesterday I finally couldn't make it to work due to illness after days of suffering from cold, flu, cough and everything that associates with those diseases. I finally came back to work today and found out that more than half of people were taking a day off today. Well, it's going to be a lonely day.

Actually when I came to work today, it's quite windy. And to find out that I was going to be actually alone in my area, it increased the coldness level of the day. I'm totally fine with being alone in my room. I find it a bit fun since I had (or have) tons of works to be done (and yet, I'm blogging here. HEHEHE). I had my coffee with a piece of banana cake (which was too sweet) and said my prayer before I started the day.

The other advantage was probably I can turn-up the volume of my iTunes to the level where I can actually hear the music. This rarely happens at work and I must admit I enjoyed it! To have Miss Jo Stafford singing Blue Moon, or Miss Billie Holiday singing Stormy Weather (can you find a more suitable song for the weather?) which followed by the always awesome Nerina Pallot singing the haunting Sophia (Yes, my strange preference of music!).

Anyway, what I'm trying to share here is that I enjoy working in a slow quiet phase. Although usually in a horror movie, something "unusual"' tends to happen when one's alone. Urrgh, wait, where's everybody? ARRGHHH! 

how the year ends with good movies

Long time ago, I was introduced to a boy named Nandy. Nandy is a bored accountant whose dream is to be a movie critic. Nandy loves movies. From a very small number of our encounter, Nandy said that the last four months of the year are his favorites. Not fully agree to his opinion, but I understand why the Fall/Winter are his favorite seasons.

In Hollywood, January & February are the months of the awards. All the "important" awards are scheduled on those two months. So for all movies that want to be considered for the awards season of the year, they have to be released before the previous year ends. So let's say for the Oscar 2012, all movies must be released before 2011 ends. Well, I could be wrong about this (probably about the timeline), but then that's why the last four months become Nandy's favorites. For this year and the first two months of next year, I have so many movies I'm hoping to see (at least in the big screen). Most of the opinions here are collected from movie resources, such as: imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com, and many others.

SHAME

Director: Steve McQueen

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

Why must we not miss this movie? Two words, my friends! Michael, that's one and Fassbender! Undeniably that Fassbender is the actor of the moment right now. He already had a couple of awesome movies released this year, X-Men First Class and Jane Eyre. This NC-17 rated movie (which means only adults are allowed to watch the movies) talks about a compulsive sex addiction. Shame will be released in December, but before that another Fassbender's movie, A Dangerous Method will be released in November.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Director: Sean Durkin

Stars: Elizabeth Orsen, Christopher Abbott

This is a playing-with-your-mind drama thriller with some first class acting. It was said that Elizabeth Orsen gave the best performance of the year and there's no way she's not getting any Oscar nomination.

WEEKEND

Director: Andrew Haigh

Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New

It has been hailed by critics when it was showed in Sundance this year. I was also intrigued by Jim Ridley when he commented Weekend as this countdown to farewell romance that will stay with you, may break your heart a little bit and shouldn't be missed. The Antlers singing I Don't Want Love in the movie trailer also helps a little bit to raise my interest. It's going to be a very sad movie. 

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Director: Simon Curtis

Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench

The first time everyone saw the official photo of Michelle Williams posing as Marilyn Monroe, I believe everyone thought of Oscar! Well, maybe some of us, maybe just me and socialitenews.com. But seriously, Michelle Williams has transformed to be an amazing actress. I still cannot get over her powerful performance on Blue Valentine and I think she's going to kill it with this one as well.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Director: Steven Spielberg 

Stars: Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg

I used to read the comics and I must not miss this movie, that's all I can say. Although Spielberg's last movie, the Indiana Jones was a huge disappointment, I have my fingers crossed on this one. 

CHRONICLE

Director: Joshua Tank

Stars: Alex Russel, Michael B. Jordan

The trailer doesn't speak much, but it reminds me of the mystery of one of my favorite movies, Cloverfield. It also actually has the same exact way how the movie was shot. From what I know, these there teenagers were exposed to a strange substance that gave them power. That's all I know. Unfortunately we have to wait until next year to know what it's really about.

LIKE CRAZY

Director: Drake Doramus

Stars: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones

About that first love, about being apart from it, about constantly thinking about it when you're already with somebody else. Does it sound like your love life? Well, this year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner will explore that how love depicts the hopefulness and the heart-wrench of love.

TYRANNOSAUR

Director: Paddy Considine

Stars: Peter Mullen, Olivia Colman

I always enjoy watching movies that involve two different persons, such as Tyrannosaur. Winner of various awards in the Sundance Film Festival and it has been hailed as this year's British best film, surely it should not be missed.

W.E

Director: Madonna

Stars: Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy

When it was screened at this year's Venice Film Festival, not everyone thrilled with Madonna's attempt to direct. W.E. received mixed reviews. Many hate the movie, but those who actually love it, praise it.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Director: Lynne Ramsey

Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly

Again, two words: Tilda, that's one and Swinton! Another psychology thriller, but then again, anything associate with Tilda Swinton, it must be a first class acting movie, includes this one. 

I didn't have much time to mention every movie, but there are other movies that I really want to mention, such as Roman Polanski's Carnage with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslett, The Descendants and Ides of March with George Clooney. What a happy season for movies!