ready to scream at the iNAFFF 2011

So finally the Indonesia International Fantastic Film Festival 2011 (or iNAFFF) is here and if you have no idea what iNAFFF is, don't worry, this is my first time to attend the film festival too. So yes, I'm a iNAFFF virgin. In the past, I wasn't interested enough to attend the festival mostly because the films are mostly gory and violent. Okay, I admit it, I was afraid I'm going to scream like a little girl in public. Not a pretty scene.

This year,  iNAFFF 2011 will be in Blitz - Grand Indonesia from 11 - 20 November 2011. But I think the ticket sale will be available a week before the 11. I don't know much about the festival, they have this website, if you want to know more about them. 

However, since my last film festival (the French Film Festival), I assume it's time for me to attend another one. I decided to google all the movies and filtered a few that I really want to see. Since I love sharing, so here they are, movies that I think worth watching (or simply because I have a weird taste):

1. Immortals - a Hollywood Blockbuster-esque with myths and Greek Gods. It might hurt my eyes and ears, but hell, I'm so watching this one
2. The Disappeared - UK has produced many good sci-fi/horror movies lately, remember Attack the Block. Hopefully this one won't DISappoint (get the DIS joke?).
3. The Claypot Curry Killers - it's about food and mystery. Good enough to watch!
4. Territories - a made-by-French movie, it's a bit Hostel-esque, but we'll see.
5. Kill List - everyone keeps saying how good this movie is. I'm hoping to be able to see this one.
6. Angels and Airwaves present LOVE - the only sci-fi movie, I think. A bit disappointed that not too many sci-fi movies this year.
7. Le Moine - a french movie which deals with Christianity, so I assume this one would be quite dark
8. Sennentuntschi - at first, I wasn't sure about this one, but I decided to give it a shot, since it was in the same day with the movie I really want to watch
9. Livid - another french movie which I cannot find the trailer, but I found the comments from other people who have seen the movie. They all said it's super-gory and super good.

Other movies that I really wish I could watch but due to my busy schedule (halah!), I might just have to wait for the DVDs: The Bell Flower, Super and Retreat.

Hey, if you happen to be in the iNAFFF, make sure you say hello. 

save the date, bridesmaids rocks!

BRIDESMAIDS
Director: Paul Feig
Stars: Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy
Year Released: 2011

Before I started commenting how I feel about the movie, I just want to say that Bridesmaids just had just the best new answer to the "how are you doing?" question. When Lilian was asked by Annie that question after a fiasco at the bridesmaids dress-fitting, she answered, "I just crapped at my wedding dress." That's how you know this movie ROCKS! Girls can actually go mad and boy, they went all the way!

When her childhood friend, Lilian was engage, Annie was asked to be the maid of honor. Annie, who failed at her cake-making business and always seem to choose the wrong guys to date - knowing exactly nothing, she agreed to carry on the heavy duty which ends up in many hilarious events. Especially after being introduced to Lilian's other friend, Helen, suddenly the war of the bridesmaids was on. The other bridesmaids however didn't help much, but making more and more hilariousness. 

In the end, Wilson Phillips sings Hold On and everything just fell into places perfectly.

Bridesmaids shows everything nasty one probably had done in life but not really proud of (crapping at a wedding dress or even in a sink for example). It also had that nineties culture reference that probably tickles us who lived through that era as a teenager (well, at least for me), like Wilson Phillips, Tom Hanks in Cast Away.

And talking about the movie character, Annie is the person I always wish that I would never be, but she is also the person I want to be friends with. Kristin Wiig, who wrote and co-produced the movie had done an amazing job, she is "the new improved - cost efficient - everyone can related to" Tina Fey. In an interview, Wiig mentioned that before shooting the film, everyone got together and improvised how the chemistry of the relationship should be and many of the scenes in film are the result.

Others shines too. Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melisa McCarthy, Matt Lucas, even the always serious Mad Men star, Jon Hamm successfully makes me laugh. All these women are real comedians, even Rose Byrne who was always more a dramatic actress. I just bought the DVD and I'm not embarrassed to post the information that I have watched this film 4 times now and I probably am going to watch it again. So if you're looking to laugh your ass off, I so recommend this movie. 

how actually mila wins and justin can act

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Director: Will Gluck
Stars: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kurnis
Year Released: 2011

Basically it's about these two persons met at a single occasion and became friends. Then one night, they decided to be sex-buddies, exactly like that other movie with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher which was released earlier this year. Then like many other things in life, the non-relationship became more complicated and they fell in love with each other, well sort of anyway.

It's quite brave to release two movies with a same idea, but Hollywood has done it before (remember Dante's Peak and Volcano? Deep Impact and Armageddon?). And you can imagine how skeptical I was when I was about to watch this movie after a big disappointment from the other version (you know, the one with Portman and Kutcher).

But I was wrong. Friends with Benefits is funny, charming and much better than the other version (again, you know which). Although it's trying so hard to differ itself from many other rom-coms, it actually works as one, maybe this is the 21st century rom-com. Will Gluck only directed a very few movies and I must admit I've been his fan for the last two movies he made, this one and Easy A.

Kurnis and Timberlakes work really well. I can see/smell/feel the chemistry. Subjectively I never like Justin Timberlake. I still believe that he was the weakest link in that David Fincher's The Social Network, but I must admit, that dude is a pretty good actor. And Mila, sweet lips Mila, oh girl, you made the right choice. I'm so glad you didn't go with that lame PG-13 version with Ashton. Natalie might have her Oscar, but Mila honey you have a much better follow-up. HAHAHA.

The other supporting casts are not disappointed. Woody Harrelson is always a good comedic actor, Jenna Elfman, even a very tiny role of Emma Stone colors the movie. Probably the only disappointment would be Patricia Clark. In my mind, Patricia is always this elegant lady, even she plays a house wife (Easy A!), but as a bohemian mom, she kind of misses it. 

And oh boy, did I mention that Friends with Benefits has many of the best pop songs as its soundtrack? Let me start with that Boys Don't Cry from the Cure (the movie version was rerecorded by Grant Lee Phillips, still a good song), Semisonic's Closing Time, Rogue Wave and many others.

Last reason why it's good: it was shot in New York. Period. 

something new: watch, listen, read or eat

Hello again, everyone! I added something to my blog. It's a feature basically informing everyone what I've been watching, reading, listening and eating. If you could scroll down this page, it is on the right side of my blog. 

the power of pink goggles

Oh yes, I hadn't been able to write anything for a very long time, until just now this friend whom I barely know asking about my job and what has been keeping for updating my blog. So I'm a little overwhelmed knowing some strangers actually read my blog. HAHAHA. 

Anyway, it has always been in my new year's resolution to learn something new each year. This year, in the last quarter of the year, I decided to learn how to swim. I read somewhere that swimming actually a very good sport. To practice swimming, you actually works out all your muscles. Not just that, it also increases your endurance, produces (not quite sure it's the perfect term) cardiovascular fitness and in short, it relaxes you.

So I started my lessons two weeks ago with this man who has taught people (mostly kids) to swim for at least 16 years. His name is Pak Made. He has been very patient with me. As I wrote this post, I still have 3 lessons to go with him. 

For as long as I live, I shall never forget my first lesson. The first stroke (or style) that I learned was the breaststroke, which I found a bit weird, because when I was in school, I remember the teacher told me that everyone should start learning how to swim with the free-style. But Pak Made said that the breast-stroke is actually the easiest one to learn and actually it has not so complicated techniques. I must admit that he's absolutely right.

The other interesting thing was my classmates (or poolmates). I kept having these different classmates for the last 5 swimming lessons I had. My first lesson, my classmate was a 5 years old girl, named Celine, who apparently not even a meter yet, but she swims like the wind. She loves water and she's super-brave. She just jumped right into the pool without any supporting tools or even a bit of fear. I also met these two brothers, Marco and Matthew, who practically swimmers already and I think the reason they're still taking this lesson to make me feel embarrassed. I remember they called me "OM" and Matthew asked me why I just learned how to swim at my age. Those pricks! They're actually really nice kids who are not allowed by their mother to swim in the deep end. 

Take that, suckers! HAHAHA.

Now to a more serious thought, during these two weeks of swimming lessons, I learned that sometimes, like many things in life, we need to relax, to enjoy little things. Pak Made constantly reminded me, as I swam from one side of the pool to another that I didn't need to be in a hurry. That I need to relax which actually makes swimming more rewarding. A few times, he said that I swam like I was really angry and impatient to get to the other side.

And he was right, I was impatient and I was worried by a lot of things as I swam. I was thinking about a lot of things, like whether my legs are synchronized, whether I did justice to my performance or whether people were laughing at me. Of course none of those happened and I needn't be worried. I guess, that's the biggest lesson I've learned so far.

O yes, in case you're wondering whether I'm a good swimmer now. Well, I can assure you that I can do the breaststroke in the deep end without Pak Made's supervision. The free-style is quite challenging because it's so tiring. Hopefully the next three lessons, I'll learn other strokes.

These frog-legs just cannot wait to dance under water.