Gulliver's Travels

"Black is the new big." What kind of tag line is that? Sorry for the immediate sarcasm, but how come with $112 million budget ends up something like this? Rob Letterman directed Gulliver's Travels which is loosely based on the novel of the same name back in the 18th century. And using Jack Black as the main magnet, they think that they could do something cool.

Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) is a mail room guy who spent almost his entire time in the same position, while having a crush to Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet) for five years. Darcy is a writer in the office, and she seeks for a new travel-writer. Trying to impress her, Gulliver tries his luck to apply. On his first job, he was tasked to go to the Bermuda Triangle to prove the theory. While on his way, his boat is capsized by watersprout and he wake up in the middle of nowhere. He then realized that he is surrounded by tiny people called themselves, the Liliput kingdom. And so, his adventures in the tiny people island starts where he meets new friends and also enemies.

The plot itself follows a small portion in the novel. Sadly, nothing good on it. Jack Black is pushing himself too hard, doing those kind of slapstick act. Seriously, dancing around with your body for sometimes is not funny. At all. But I'm not gonna put all the blame to Jack Black, as the entire crew contributed to the awfulness of this movie.

I don't know who is the movie is targeted for. But I think it is not suitable for children, teenager, young-adult, adult, or even the elder. If you want to see Jack Black in action, go watch Kung Fu Panda. It is much more hillarious. And nothing beats The Hangover in the comedy section.

Final words, this is the worst movie in 2010 as far as I know. I see a lot of movie this year, but nothing worse than Gulliver's Travels.

The Next Three Days

"What if you had 72 hours to save everything you live for?", well for me, I'll just contact some bad-ass mercenaries, round them up and blast our way to save everything I live for. Let me add something, you're an ordinary people with no military background or huge enterprise to wage off a full scale-war. You can say that's the general storyline of The Next Three Days, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Paul Haggis.

Based on a French film in 2007, Pour Elle, John Brennan (Russell Crowe) is a teacher in a Pittsburgh community college whose wife got charged for man-slaughter. He always believes that her wife, Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) has nothing to do with the murder although the police found solid evidences and an alibi for her to kill. One day, he comes to an idea to break her off jail and ran off together with their son. He then contacted a book author, Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson), who managed to escaped jail seven times, to consult a way to get her wife escape the prison. Starting from that point, he prepares everything his family needs. Until on one visit to the prison, Lara tell him that she will got transferred in three days thus forcing him to start the plan right away.

I haven't watch the original French film yet, so I cannot compare the consistency to the original. But the idea is great, how an ordinary man risks it all to save someone he loves. Before, we watch a lot of prison-break theme film and tv series (still loves the Prison Break series.) but The Next Three Days offer something new.

Unfortunately, I don't think that this is the best work of Paul Haggis, as we all can see what he capable of in some of his film likes Million Dollar Baby. Especially that the movie is based something that already existed. So, some improvement could be done, Hollywood-style. Some of the scene is somewhat unimportant and slowing down the entire story. Considering of the talent Russell Crowe has, it should have been maximized to its full potential. Liam Neeson, although only appears in a small portion of the film, but deliver a good performance (also not his best performance.)

Conclusion, The Next Three Days whole idea is good. But the execution is not that smooth. It's kinda a waste to not dig the potential of all of the stars.

Unstoppable

"1,000,000 tons, 100,000 lives, 100 minutes," well after watched the movie, I'm still confused where is the 100,000 lives and 100 minutes themes? Oh wait, it should be the epilogue. It is Unstoppable starring veteran actor Denzel Washington and the new James T. Kirk, Chris Pine. The action thriller is directed by the one of the so-awesome director brothers, Tony Scott. Well, if you already watched some of his movie (Don't tell me you haven't seen it before. From Top Gun to Taking of Pelham 1 2 3? You've got to watched at least one of them.) you know what'll you get. A brilliant thriller. One more thing, Unstoppable also inspired by a real story, the CSX 8888 incident. All of the basic ingredients to an epic movie.

Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) is a veteran train engineer who works at the Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad company stationed in Pennsylvania. One day, he got to worked with a new conductor, Will Colson (Chris Pine). They then both went off in a locomotive to grab Colson first job. In the mean time, another cargo train containing dangerous chemicals goes on unmanned with full speed. This is caused by the mistake taken by the engineer, who decide to leave the cabin to switch a lever without activating the air brakes. Back at the AWVR office, yard master Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson), tries her best to stop the train before reaching Stanton. After several attempts to derail the train failed, Frank Barnes and Will Colson decided to go after the train and try to stop it.

Tony Scott, once again, did it. A brilliant thriller, you'll never get bored watching it. 98 minutes goes by packed with heart-pounding action and also emotional moments of how old worker' feeling when they're about to get laid off. Combined with the experienced actor Denzel Washington and also promising actor Chris Pine, this movie is awesome. The cinematic scene is wonderful, the cinematography section did it well. Not relying on heavy special effects, just pure acting. This is one of the movie that can set the parameter for action thriller.

Although, I still don't get the tagline. The movie runs for 98 minutes, the attempts to stop the train is more than 100 minutes, the population of Stanton is not 100,000 lives. And also, I don't really sure that the train contain 1,000,000 tons of goods. But don't mind of the tagline, maybe I get it wrong. But from technical aspects, storyline, acting,cinematography, soundtrack, simply great. You should spare your time for Unstoppable (especially if you never saw Tony Scott's works before.)

Eat Pray Love

"See you later, alligator," a memorable quote that is made even more memorable when it is said by Hadi Subiyanto, who played Ketut Liyer, in the book-adaptation Eat Pray Love. The way he pronounced it with Indonesian accent is very funny. Eat Pray Love, which is directed by Ryan Murphy and produced by Plan B Entertainment, owned by Brad Pitt. Julia Roberts portrayed Elizabeth Gilbert, the real writer of the book and also the one who experienced the journey.

Elizabeth Gilbert, or Liz, is a successful writer who loves to travel. One day, on a job to interview Indonesian herbalist (or 'dukun' in Indonesian.) named Ketut Liyer, he told her that she will have two marriages, the short one, and the long one. And also, she will lose all of her money, and finally, she will come back to Bali and teach him English. Then, it returned to New York where she lived, when she started to have trouble with her marriage with Steven (Billy Crudup) until she decided to leave and embarks on a journey to find her true self. The first country she visits is Italy, where she learns to enjoys life and find the pleasure of eating. After that, she went to India, to experience the spiritual life in an ashram. Along the way, she met a lot of new friends who help her to finding who she really are. Finally, just as Ketut Liyer predicted, she came back to Bali. In Bali, she also met a struggling single parent named Wayan (Christine Hakim) because that in Balinese tradition, if you're divorced you will be an outcast, leave you with nothing.

The actor and actress who stars in the movie done their job well. Especially for Julia Roberts. And also I found myself enjoying the cinematic view of the old city of Rome, the uniqueness of India, and also the beauty of Bali Island (well, I already see Bali many times, since I'm Indonesian.) How they managed to catch the scenery is just perfect.

Despite all of that, I feel kinda empty after watching this. I keep thinking why they must make it for more than 2 hours? If the story is like that, there is absolutely a waste to make it that long. I expect for the depth of the story, but for me, for 2 hours long the story is too shallow.

And maybe it will not attracts us who come from Mars. This movie is really for the one who come from Venus, as it is revolves around them. But if you want to enjoy the cinematography, you maybe find it interesting.

The Expendables

"Big is not always beautiful," that's my impression after I finished watching The Expendables. We saw the returns of Sylvester "Rocky" Stallone in the big screen, not only as an actor, but also as a director. The tagline sounds pretty awesome, "the most awesome action cast ever assembled." Yes it is. Imagine, all of the iconic action heroes, from Stallone to Jason Statham. Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, or from the newer generation, Steve Austin, Terry Crews. And also, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. What? He played in the movie? Yes he is. So it is a big guarantee that this movie rocks! (Don't stop reading, that sentence is not a recommendation yet)

The Expendables is the name of an elite mercenary team, which consist of well everyone I stated above except, Bruce Willis, Steve Austin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke (Well, technically he's on the team, but sort of supporting guy, as he's an ex-member.) They are asked to do a mission on an island called Vilena. Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) also offered the job to Barney Ross's (Sylvester Stallone) rival, Trent Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger) but he refuse it. At this point, one moment really made me laugh. Go ahead and see it. So, Ross and Christmas (Jason Statham) go to the island to do a recon mission. Over there, they met their contact Sandra (Giselle Itié). But, their recon gone wrong, and they decided to leave immediately. Leaving Sandra behind, Ross decided to call it off and not doing the job. But after hearing the story of Tool (Mickey Rourke) about not saving a girl, he decide to save Sandra on his own. And the action began (it's already began since the first moment of the movie, FYI.)

Okay, since it already quite late here, and I'm starting to stare at the bed, I'll make it quick. The story is so predictable. Madam in distress, the bulletproof heroes, and bunch of explosions. Too bad, Stallone didn't manage to make the characters of everyone being digged. Seems pretty plain, and all we see is Stallone in his 60s still buffed up body. Maybe because it's a tough job to balancing the story to make a good use of every single actor. But, maybe he didn't need to try that hard to fit everyone to less than two hours duration. He could extend the duration if he wants.

Yes I know this is somekind of tributes to the action heroes from all generations. But at least makes the story more interesting, so all we know about action heroes not about those massive explosions.

Overall, I'm not satisfied, seeing the movie's potential to be awesome and not maximized. I hope someday, Mr. Stallone can create another giant ensemble cast movie, without ruining the awesome cast with straightforward story and lack of character development.

Centurion

"Legio nona Hispana", or the Ninth Legion. The legion that once been commandeered by Julius Caesar, is the main subject of the 2010 British film, Centurion. Directed by Neil Marshall, who also directed the critically acclaimed horror, The Descent, it holds a great hope to be another great film coming from Britain land. Starring Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, who should give us hope of solid performance.

Legio IX Hispana, a Roman legion which went missing in the 2nd century. And the main story of the movie is take place from one of the debatable mystery of the legion. Which is, they went missing in the land Britannia while marching to destroy the Picts rebels.

 Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) is the second-in-command of the Roman frontier outpost in Britannia. One night, in a raid, the guerilla Picts slaughter all of the garrison, capturing Dias in the process. Meanwhile, the governing governor in Britannia, Agricola (Paul Freeman) sent an order to march the Ninth Legion, led by General Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West), to the northern frontier to seek and destroy the Picts. He also sent Etain (Olga Kurylenko) a mute Brigantes scout to accompanies them toward the Picts hideouts. Along the way, Dias who managed to escape his captors, cross path with the legion. He then agreed to lead them to the Picts. On the way, the legion got ambushed by the Picts, and almost the whole legion got massacred unless few lucky legionnaires. Knowing that their general is still alive and taken captive, the survivors continues their way north to save their general. And, the adventures of Quintus Dias and a small band of legionnaires begins.

With a solid historical background served as the main plot, the movie shown the brutality of the war in the North. How could the unorganized rebels takes on the might Roman Empire, how did they employ the hit and run tactics, is beautifully shown. And what am I saying with brutal, is really brutal. Head chopped off, throat slits, and many more.

Not forget to mention, the beautiful Scotlands, where the filming location taken, with their lush forest, cold mountain, well you can say it can par to the beautiful land of New Zealand in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And finally, planned to be release in February 2011 is a film titled Eagle of the Ninth, another film based on the Legio IX Hispana, starring Channing Tatum, which also using the disappearance of the legion in northern part of England. Well, we'll see who managed to comes out as the winner, as both film served us exactly the same background.

Salt

"Who is Salt?" It's an ingredient. No, the tagline is not about a cooking class. It's the tagline of Philip Noyce's Salt starring Angelina Jolie. Well, it's been sometimes since we last saw her.2 years since her last appearance in Changeling. Salt was originally has Tom Cruise as the lead, but later on Angelina Jolie casted as the lead.

Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a CIA agent who is being accused of being a sleeper agent working for an organization built in the Cold War. A defector named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) told the CIA, that Evelyn Salt is a Russian agent named Chenkov who's tasked to kill the Russian president at the funeral of the vice president of the United States. Her friend, Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), didn't believe the accusation. But later on, Salt escape from the CIA office. She then rushed to her apartment to search for her husband, Mike (August Diehl), only to find her husband missing. She managed to escape the counter-intelligence agency and goes to New York, where the Russian president will attend the ceremony.

Recently, I played Assassin's Creed 2, and I found out that Salt has similar things in common. Free running, jumping around the place, do some undercover stuff. Except of course, Ezio used hidden blade, not spider or guns. Angelina Jolie did all of the action scene herself without stuntman involved. What a dedication she made for this movie.

In general, Philip Noyce works is awesome. Although still it cannot beat Inception, in my opinion, but it is creating a new franchise. As there is no female agent out there as a theme right? (You know we're bored of the triple JB. James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Justin Bieber. Oh no, I mean Jack Bauer.)

Last thing, from the last scene, we can expect for a sequel come later. It clearly said that it should be another sequel. As the ending is not the happily ever after thing.

Inception

"Nothing to said, must watch movie of 2010." You really should do anything to watch this movie. The other agenda can wait, just watch Inception. Even if you goes straight back to the cinema to watch another Inception at the same day, it'll still be exciting to watch. Oh hey, why I put my conclusion paragraph upfront? Because Inception is too good to be true.

Okay, back to the basic, Inception is directed by the praise-and-hail-upon-him Christopher Nolan. The Prestige? Batman Begins? or the mega blockbuster, The Dark Knight? All of his movie are perfectly-pitched. Also features, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cottilard, Tom Hardy, and Cillian Murphy.

The $160 million movie is about dream extractor. What is it? Well it is someone who can show up in your dream, and steal your idea. Confused? Me too. And it's not just an ordinary dream, it's like another world. Dominic Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) is one of them. He said, his the best on the job. Together with him is his friend, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he's already done many extraction job. Then it comes when Saito (Ken Watanabe) a powerful man asked them to do 'inception', the opposite of extraction, and much harder job. Inception is the act to plant an idea into someone. To do this they need a new dream architect (okay, I'll explain it, dream architect is the one who creates and design the dream world, so the victim won't recognize that they're dreaming.) So he recruits his father best student, Ariadne (Ellen Page), to be his architect. And also joining his team, Eames (Tom Hardy) and the chemist, Yusuf (Dileep Rao) to help him. His target is the heir to Saito's rival company, Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy). And so their bank-robbery type crime begins.

Hmm, I'll make it clear. I'm not gonna spoil the plot. So I only gave you the basic. Because, got to watch it for yourself to understand it.

For the review, as far as today, this is the movie of the year. Every character has its own depth, beautifully developed. Each scene is flawless. The raw idea is wonderful, and the process to make it comes true also smoothly done. No, I'm not being exaggerated. I'm not paid by Christopher Nolan or what. Inception is indeed a masterpiece.

But I'm telling you, go to the bathroom, buy some food, buy some drinks, before you watch Inception. And, turn off your phone, tell your friend to be quiet. Because any slight intervention that makes you turns away from the movie, and voila, you just got yourself confused. The plot is moving in fast-paced. Just as the other heist-type movie or thriller movie (remember Ocean's eries? or maybe Michael Clayton? Burn After Reading?)

"Nothing to said, must watch movie of 2010." You really should do anything to watch this movie. The other agenda can wait, just watch Inception. (Yes, I know, I'm repeating the first paragraph.)

Toy Story 3

"No one gets left behind." Oh wait, it's a tag line from Black Hawk Down. "No toy gets left behind." is the actual tag line for the sequel of the legendary franchise, Toy Story. Yes, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and their friends are back on Toy Story 3. With Lee Unkrich, the director of Toy Story 2, and John Lasseter, the director of Toy Story, both of them give a guarantee that Toy Story 3 will be as fun as the prequels.

After 11 years, the old cast making their reunion. Tom Hanks reprises his roles as Woody, Tim Allen also comes back as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack with Jessie, well you can say all of the stars from previous Toy Story return.

A scene opens with Woody chasing Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and his wife Mrs. Potato Head (Estelle Harris) who intended to blow a train. It turns out it some sort of dramatization of Andy's playing with them. Now, Andy is 17 years old and he's preparing to move to college. Andy's toy already feels abandoned as they always tried to grab Andy's attention. But they stick to their believe, that toys should remain loyal and always be there for their owner. Surprisingly, Andy decided to take Woody to college with him. As with some unfortunate events, the other toys found out that they're being dumped by Andy. And later on, together with Woody, they all donated to a daycare named Sunnyside Daycare. There, they're greeted with fellow donated toys with the leader, Lots-O'-Hugging-Bear (Ned Beatty), who smelled like a strawberry according to Rex (Wallace Shawn). They're given the room, "Caterpillar Room" while Lotso stays in the "Butterfly Room". Excited about the kids, Andy's toys patiently wait for the break time over. Woody, feels that he is Andy's toy and he should always stays with Andy leaves to gets back to Andy's house. Soon later, they all found out that Caterpillar Room is not a heaven for toys. And so, their journey to gets back to Andy begins.

I watch Toy Story 3 in 3D, and I was entertained. Even though I didn't watch Toy Story and Toy Story 2 at the cinema (I'm 1 year old at the time Toy Story released, and 4 years old at the time Toy Story 2 released; do you expect me to watch it on the cinema?) I did watched it on TV. And yes, for Toy Story 3 really reminds me about the old day. And it even made me feels bad about my old toy, who I didn't even remember where did I kept them. If they can speak like Andy's toy maybe they'll be upset. 

For children (and also adults) Toy Story 3 is a blast. It teaches us a lot of things, such as friendship. And it remind you, your old toys can be made useful once again by donating it to children who really needs it. To entertain kids, that is the purpose of toys. So please respect your toys. See you later, amigo. To infinity, and beyond!

Karate Kid

"No pun intended, was raised by the power of Will." A piece of the lyrics of Justin Bieber ft. Jaden Smith, "Never Say Never". Curious about the power of Will? Yes, you're right. Jaden Smith is the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. The song itself serves as one of the soundtrack for the 1984 remake, Karate Kid. The Smith family works together, but with Jaden Smith's parents being the producer. The director is Harald Zwart who directed Pink Panther 2.

So the film sets in China. No, I'm not making a mistake. And yes, I know karate is originated from Japan. But, how do they convinced you that this is the remake if they named it, Kung Fu Kid? I remind you, this is a remake. A pretty good one. Why? If I'm telling you one by one the page won't fit. I recommend you, no, I insist you to go to a nearby cinema and watch this.

The story follows closely to the original Karate Kid, Dre Parker (Jaden Smith), who lost his dad, and his mom, Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson) move to China because of his mom's career. He's so upset about moving, as he is leaving his friends in Detroit. Arriving in his new apartment, he befriend fellow American, Mark (Christopher Hillman) who assists him around the neighborhood. At the local park, he has a crush on Chinese girl who plays violin, Mei Ying (Wenwen Han). Suddenly, Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) approach him and tells him to keeps away. Agitated, Dre attacks him only to be beaten up, as Cheng learns kung fu. At school, Dre gets bullied by Cheng and his gang. Until, he is attack fiercely by Cheng and Cheng's dojomate and saved by his apartment maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) who apparently proficient in kung fu and beats them all. He requested Mr. Han to accompany him to visit to Cheng's dojo and tells that Cheng's teacher ways of teaching kung fu is not kung fu. Then, they're challenged to fight but Mr. Han says that Dre will fight at the upcoming tournament. Mr. Han then agreed to teach Dre, and this involve kind of training that Dre doesn't understand, just putting his jacket on, putting it off, hang it, drops it, and repeat the same move every day. He even thinks that Mr. Han knows nothing about kung fu. Soon later, he learns that the move itself is the basic technique. To cut the story short, he finally comes to attend the tournament.

Mother and son moving from their old city to a new place, gang of bully with brutal move, crush with local girl, kind and wise maintenance man who mastered self-defense, strange training, tournament. Reminds you of the old time? Daniel LaRusso and Mr.Miyagi? Yes, as it is a remake, it follows the story line of the original movie pretty close. But they did it in a very magnificent way. Brilliant. And this movie is one whole package, emotional time, funny but not cheesy, fun to watch. You know what? When I watch Karate Kid, the whole audience clapped not only at the ending, also at the tournament scene. It feels like I'm watching a live tournament.

Jaden Smith is indeed showing his big talent in acting, also in singing for the soundtrack. He is the son of Will Smith. I'm pretty sure that he has pretty bright future in the industry. Also we see the other side of Jackie Chan, who usually plays funny role, but he is also plays pretty well portraying a wise man with a dark past. He managed to catched our emotion, at least mine. To be honest, I nearly cried watching the scene when .... (No no I won't give you a spoiler here.) But a clue, similiar scene when Mr. Miyagi made you cry (If you cry back then.)

I don't know what to say. I give Karate Kid a perfect score. Especially for a remake. Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Harald Zwart, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Taraji P. Henson, all work pretty hard to make this movie. And they did it. I'm pretty sure Pat Morita who portrays Mr. Miyagi in the original series would be proud seeing the remake if he still alive. I really appreciate his works on Karate Kid, as he's one of my favorite. Too bad he died on 2005, thank you for your great contribution Mr. Miyagi!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

"Have I told you that I fell in love with Gemma Arteton?", well, there's not making relevance to the movie. But, I tell you, Gemma Arteton is indeed beautiful. I first saw her in Clash of the Titans, and immediately fall in love for her. As soon as I heard Prince of Persia movie adaptation is out, I think that I should check it out. Beside that I'm a gamer and I know Prince of Persia franchise, there's Gemma Arteton starring! Ok, enough with my praise for Gemma Arteton. Seating in the director seat is Mike Newell, and Jerry Bruckheimer as one of the producer. And the studio, beside Jerry Bruckheimer Films, is Disney! Don't worry, Mickey doesn't makes his appearance in the movie, nor the movie become a cartoon.

Like many movies, the movie opens with a narration about destiny. Then the story shifted to the royal city of Persia (sorry, I forgot the name.) where the King (or Sultan?) of Persia adopts an orphan named Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) who astonished the King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) with his courage. 15 years later, he and his two brothers, Tus and Garsiv, together with their uncle who serves as the vizier, Nizam (Ben Kingsley) planning to attack the holy city of Alamut. Dastan become a hero, by opening the gate to the city throughout some acrobatical stunts. In the battle for the city, he took a dagger from a fleeing general. He's then presents a robe to his father, who is later poisoned by the robe. Being framed as a murderer, he ran from Alamut together with the princess of Alamut, Tamina (Gemma Arteton). Funny interaction occurs between these two, and soon it revealed the dagger he took before is the Dagger of Time which is capable of turning back time. Tamina always tries to retook the dagger, as she feared that it would fall for the wrong hands. And later on, Dastan learns who kills his father, and the main reason for the attack on Alamut.

The movie is action-packed, and if you already played the games, you can expect the acrobatic moves the Prince did in the games. And also, many of the historical or myth along Persia found here. Such as Hashshashin, I think the movie spelled it Hassansins, or the Persian Empire itself. Hey, I forget to tell you, Alfred Molina has a funny appearance (at least for me) as Sheik Amar, a merchant who wants to escape taxes.

To everyone who thinks this is a movie for your children, I think not really. Just because it has Disney emblem at the beginning, it doesn't mean that it could works for your children. Remember Pirates of the Carribean? They also had Disney emblem on it. But maybe it could awe your children with the acrobatic stunts, maybe even inspire them to learn Parkour.

Kick-Ass

"Shut up. Kick-Ass." Interesting tagline from the independently budgeted superhero film taken from the comic with the same title (what a long introduction). The comic itself has just ended around 2 months before the US premiere of the movie. Guess what, it's a Marvel comics! Maybe it's not in the A-team rooster, but yeah Kick-ass definitely kick some ass with "unique" form of presentation. With Matthew Vaughn as the director, also with Brad Pitt as the producer.

A narration open and we can see a so-called superhero preparing to jump over a skyscraper. Then it turns to the life of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who is not a popular guy, average academic score, not a hardcore gamer, and has no girl. His love of comic books makes him thinks why there isn't anyone who try becoming a superhero. So he tries to put on a mask and scuba suit, naming his superhero, Kick-Ass. He's fell in love with Katie Deauxma (Lindsay Fonseca) who thinks he's gay, and when she complain about a drug dealer, he tries to serve the justice himself. Nearly getting killed, he's safe by Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) with her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). Big Daddy himself was once a hero cop who gets framed by Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) who become the main antagonist. His wife died, and he intended to do vengeance his style together with his daughter.

Hmm, it's sounds pretty superhero? Wait until you hear this part, there is no-one who have a superhero power. Yup, no superhuman strength, no invisibility, time warp, and so-called power who is given to a refugee from a doomed alien planet (quoting from Dave, you know who is it right?). So the superheroes are so human, just like Bruce Wayne minus his fancy tools.

Did I mention that is the most interesting part? No, it's not. You know what makes Kick-Ass kick ass? Gore. Yes, total violence, decapitation, blood, bones-breaking, immolation, you named it. That's why Matthew Vaughn funded the movie himself, every studio want to reduce the level of the violence. Good thing, he didn't. This thing makes both the comic and the movie rocks! Even it's not a prime Marvel heroes.

Last, "This film is not suitable for children, or any person who is against violence. And tells your anti-violence group also not to watch this. Blood and human parts are everywhere." 

You have been warned. Any personal mental injuries occurred after watching the movie is not the responsibility of Republic of Movie.

Robin Hood

"Rise, and rise again. Until lambs become lions." The inscription Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) found on a sword. Robin Longstride is also known as Robin Hood who once again adapted into the big screen. Directed by the man behind Gladiator, Ridley Scott, who also directed many of epic movie, there is no doubt about this movie. Also, rejoining with him is Russell Crowe who perform magnificently in Gladiator as Maximus Decimus Meridius. Also, Cate Blanchett is casted on this movie to plays as Marion Loxley, the love interest of Robin Hood.

The film opens with a somekind of error, which the narration said "... the turn of the 12th century" which we'll see that the story take place at the 1200s so it should be 13th century. It followed back to France where Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston) is returning from the Crusade, and on the way raiding the French castle. On his ranks there is a longbowman, Robin Longstride, who is wishing to return to England with some of his comrades. On the middle of a siege, King Richard got struck by a bolt and died soon after. Seeing opportunity, Robin and his friends escape through the forest. As later on they met a band of English knights carrying King Richard's crown ambushed by French legionnaire. A dying knight, Sir Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge) asking Robin to bring back his father's sword to Nottingham, England. To cut the story short, they returned to England and went to Nottingham where Robin meets Robert Loxley's wife, Marion Loxley. After informing the news, soon spread the words that the barons from the North raises an army to oppose King John (Oscar Isaac) while from the South, the French troops arriving fast. Robin then realized his father's works and managed to unite the British man and also save Nottingham. Then they come face to face with the French and finally drive them back to the sea.

What? Confuse with the synopsis? Where's robbing from the rich, giving to the poor part? Well, as the movie poster said, Untold story behind the legend. So, it some kind of prequel before Robin Hood journeys as an outlaw with his fellow Merry Men.

Ridley Scott showed us his superiority in terms of directing a movie, the story was solid, although to some of us who read or learn about the fact get disappointed. Their missing some, or maybe many of the historical accuracies. One example, how could the French already invented the landing boat that was used on World War II in the 13th century (or maybe 12th century as the narrator said)? Or if Robin Hood is already at that age before being an outlaw, how long he can lead his Merry Men in the woods?

Besides all of the inaccuracies, or the lack of character development, Ridley Scott still did a good job. If you're okay with the strange history, or maybe just want to enjoy the epic works of Ridley Scott, this movie still serves you well.

Iron Man 2

"I'm Iron Man." That dialogue continues from the ending of the first Iron Man movie, where at that time Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) announced to the press that he is the Iron Man. That line is also repeated as the beginning for the sequel, Iron Man 2. Still with Jon Favreau as the director, and also with many casts from the original Iron Man except Terrence Howard who got replaced by Don Cheadle.


In Moscow, Anton Vanko is dying and he gave his son, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) the blueprint of the arc reactor which turned out to be invented together by Anton Vanko and Howard Stark (John Slattery), Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) father. Then Ivan Vanko built a weapon utilizing the arc reactor, in purpose to revenge on Stark, who he think has stolen his father's idea. In the United States, Stark is enjoying his popularity because of his Iron Man suit. And in the mean time, the government tries to take the suit from Stark's hands. And the one who is being tasked to take the suit is Tony Stark's friend, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Stark himself is holding the annual Stark Expo, and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) being the competitor, tries to overthrown Stark out of business. As the story goes, Justin Hammer also turned out to be the primary antagonist. In Stark Industries, also come a new character, Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) who later on the story gave a significant roles. And Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) also back with more prominent role as he tries to make the "Avengers Initiative".

The movie will serve as a basis for many upcoming Marvel movies, since over here we've been introduce not only with Iron Man's friend, War Machine. But also, the other superheroes of Marvel which one by one will coming to the cinema. Who is it? Well I suggest you to watch Iron Man 2 and try to catch who is hinted in the movie. As from the rumors I read, somewhere around 2012, the Avengers movie will be true. Avengers itself is a group of Marvel superheroes, so expect the movie to have a pretty badass casts.

One more thing, Jon Favreau also make his appearance back in his movie. He plays Happy Hogan, Stark's personal bodyguard. Anyways, for closing words, Iron Man 2 maybe not as much of the action that Iron Man gave. But, Iron Man 2 serves you a lot more emotional part of being superheroes. And also this will be the bridge to many Marvel superheroes movies. A hint from me, don't leave the cinemas until the credits ends, an interesting scene. Also DJ AM aka Adam Goldstein making his final appearance on this movie, as he died at August 28, 2009. Rest in Peace!

Clash of the Titans

"The Clash Begins in 3D; Titan will clash." That are the tagline for Clash of the Titans, which is a remake of the 1981 film. Starring Jake Sully of the Avatar. I mean, the guy who play Jake Sully, Sam Worthington. And also Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, and bond girl Gemma Arterton. There is also an actor who involved in another Bond's film, Mads Mikkelsen. The stars list sounds pretty convincing right?

A narration about the overthrowing of the Titans by their sons, Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes), and Poseidon (Danny Huston), opens the movie. Then, the scene shifted to a fisherman, Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite), who rescued a coffin containing a baby and his dead mother. He adopt him, as the time pass by Perseus (Sam Worthington) grows as a strong man helping his adoptive father at the sea. Then he and his family see the Zeus statue being destroyed by the soldier of Argos. Suddenly, a group of devilish-faced harpies rises up from the sea and massacre the soldier. Then form a black cloud, which is Hades, who strikes Perseus's boat. His family was killed, and he's rescued by the surviving Argos. Then in the city palace, the king of Argos declared war with the Olympians. Hades comes and threat them to sacrifice Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) to the Kraken, or else the Kraken will destroy Argos. Perseus, who is a demi-god then sets forth on a quest to takes Medusa's head to defeat the Kraken. He is accompanied by a small group of soldier, led by Draco (Mads Mikkelsen) and also guided by Io (Gemma Arterton).

The CGI effects on the battles looks cool, some of them are the Medusa fight, and Pegasus flight scene. Sadly, the script only developed a small portion of the character development. Likes the Olympians, who almost do nothing except sitting in throne on their shiny armor. Also the Argos soldier, who has the potential to grow, lacks of character depth. And a spoiler for you, but I must tell you as this is pretty important, there is no Titans at all. Why they named it Clash of the Titans?

One pretty good thing, Louis Letterier, the director managed to optimized Gemma Arterton, both in her beauty and her acting skill. She looks magnificent in every angle shot. If you really wish to see Clash of the Titans in 3D, I suggest you not. Gemma Arterton's beauty can still be enjoyed in 2D.

How to Train Your Dragon

"Every creatures deserve to live. Even the scary-looking one." Well, I'm pretty confused in choosing what to use for opening line. So, I write one of the lessons I got after getting out of the cinema. After hit the big screen with Monster vs. Alien last year, DreamWorks Animation returns with How to Train Your Dragon, a computer-animated film. Based on the 2003 book, and directed by the guys behind Lilo and Stitch, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Jay Baruchel, who hit the big screen with Tropic Thunder leads the cast together with Gerard Butler and Ugly Betty's America Ferrara.

The story takes place in a Viking village, who periodically raided by dragons. All of the villagers, men and women, are trained to kill dragons. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is the son of Stoic (Gerard Butler), who is the village chief, he always wanted to become a dragon hunter just like the others. But, he never made it. He always ruins the dragon hunting event. So, his father places him under the surveillance of the village's blacksmith and veteran warrior, Gobber the Belch (Craig Ferguson). In one raid, Hiccup tries to shot a dragon with a cannon and apparently did it. Nobody in the village trust him. And he ran off to the forest searching the dragon he apparently shot. Later, he found a dragon trapped with his shot, and identified the dragon as the Night Fury. A dragon which no one has ever faced, a very powerful dragon. Hiccup felt pity on the Night Fury, and let it go. Curious, he followed the dragon, and slowly become friend. On his quest, he also always tried to hook on a beatiful, yet powerful dragon-hunter girl named Astrid (America Ferrara).

The story flows so smoothly, the emotional moments also delivered in a brilliant way. Nice voice-over acting by the cast, and a really beautiful animation. It proves that animation film is still a giant powerhouse on the industry. And not like the other animation, you'll get a surprise at the end of the movie. The 2D version is already a big blow, and if you have a 3D cinema near your neighbors, you should definitely watch the 3D version, it will pack a huge blow for you.

Daybreakers

"2009, a virus carried by bats slowly turns human population into vampires." You can now enjoy your beer, as it is not really happens. Because if it is really happened, you'll be craving for blood right now, as you reading my post. Anyway, back to the case. That sentence become the background of the Spierig Brothers' Daybreakers, a science fiction with a touch of horror. Ethan Hawke sits as the main cast. Yes, you already seen him at the 1997 film, Gattaca. So at least he got a background to the the stuff.

Edward Nelton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire-hematologist who works for Bromley Marks, a pharmaceutical company who supplies the United States needs for bloods. It is 2019 and the virus almost turned every living people on earth into a blood-drinker vampire.The blood came from a facility that serves like a big farm, with the human as their sheep. As the human numbers goes dwindling, Nelton believe that there is a blood substitute that can be use for replacing human blood. On his ways home, he saves a group of human led by Audrey (Claudia Karvan) from getting caught. It turned out that the last living people who hasn't turned into vampire, gathered up. Audrey then invited Nelton, as he seems not a blood-lover, to meets the rest of the group. Their being led by Elvis (Willem Defoe), a former vampire who return into his former human-self. And then the quest for the blood-substitute, or maybe even the cure starts.

Daybreakers gave us a fresh air into the sci-fi horror genre, as we haven't see a lot of them around lately. A well performance delivered by Ethan Hawke, and not forget to mention the solid performance of Willem Defoe, combine with the Spierig Brothers equal a worth-to-watch movie. The story is also good, original as far as I know. And it gave us a glimpse of future, if somehow there is a virus carried out by bats. We all gonna work at the night, and driving using eye-cam at the morning. So maybe you can start to search for a protective sunglasses, who knows? Maybe there are already vampires, right behind you.

Up in the Air

"Men got such hardons from putting their names on things. You guys don't grow up. It's like you need to pee on everything." A memorable quote from one of the most memorable movie, Up in the Air. Directed by Jason Reitman who also delivered the award-winning Juno. And here comes the greatest George Clooney's performance so far. Up in the Air is based on a novel with the same name, written by Walter Kirn in 2001.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate downsizer expert who fly around United States to fire peoples. He rarely found himself at home, for him the lounge, the cheap sushi, and the light at the edge of the airplane wings tells him he's home. He also finds his time to deliver motivational speech, telling people how relationships are dragging their life. On his way, he met a middle-aged woman, Alex (Vera Farmiga) who turned out to be a frequent flyer just like him. They started to do a relationship everytime their schedule come across. Then come a young bright girl, Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who want to cut company expense by doing the downsizing online. Her boss, Craig (Jason Bateman) tells her to stick with Ryan as his pupil. On their trip, Natalie found out that Ryan's personal goal is to achieve ten million frequent flyer miles. She gets confused to the way Ryan think about relationship, as he really doesn't want one. As the time goes on, Ryan found out that he can't live on like that. He said, "If you think about it, your favorite memories, the most important moments in your life... were you alone? Life's better with company."

Up in the Air really tells us how important relationship is. We just cannot enjoy our lives alone. There are a lot of things to share. And Jason Reitman successfully deliver the message. In a very brilliant way. And in this movie also we saw how important the roles of family in the hard times, even it is only shown in such a little time it still done the job.

This is the movie that you want to watch, or even collect the DVD or Blu-ray. You won't be disappointed with it, especially with George Clooney's performance. And remember to watch it with someone, cause life's better with company.

Edge of Darkness

Father's love for his daughter knows no limits. In general, that sentence shows pretty much about the film adaptation of the 1985 BBC television series, Edge Of Darkness (They both shared the same name). The director and the producer of the television series, Martin Campbell and Michael Wearing work together again. With Mel Gibson and Ray Winstone star as one of its cast, this is a great show of the old breed.

Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a homicide detective from Boston Police Department. One night, he went to pick up his daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic). At home, Emma suffered from nosebleed and vomits. Thomas hurries to leave to the hospital. As soon as they open up the door, someone with a ski mask yells and shot shotgun shells. It hits Emma pretty bad, and she died on Thomas' arms.

The police thought that the hitman intent to shoot Thomas, but incidentally hit Emma. Thomas didn't believe it, so he do his owns investigation. This soon lead to Emma's boyfriend, David (Shawn Roberts) who tells that Emma works at Northmoor, a company that utilized nuclear energy. In his own investigation later on, he encountered Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) who served as "security consultant". He was tasked to prevent the leaking of Emma's information. But Jedburgh soon gained faith in Thomas, and help him with some clues.

And then the film rolls on, following Thomas Craven in his vengeance quest for his late daughter. This all packed in a journey which will thrill and pump your adrenaline. Martin Campbell and Michael Wearing managed to tell us, the old breed is good. Even it's based on 1985 series, they managed to make the 2010 version works pretty well. Is one of the best crime-thriller film of 2010 so far. I do recommend for you to watch this, eventhough this movie didn't managed well in the box office. But it still will give you the thrill of a thriller. And, who didn't want to see Mel Gibson?

Legion

God had lost his faith in humans, so He sent the angels to exterminate the humans. Quiet interesting topic to be a movie. And that's what Scott Stewart served in the movie he directed, Legion. With an ensemble cast, such as Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid, this should be good. And yes, we haven't see a apocalyptic movie with angels being the weapon of mass destruction for some times.

Let us just go straight to the story, Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) once served as the grand general of God's Legion of Angel. But he ran away, cut off his wings when he ordered by God to finish off the human race. He got sympathy for the human. To cut it short, he drove (yes, he lost his wings so he don't fly) to a roadside dinner way deep in the middle of the desert. Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid) owned it, together with him is his son Jeep (Lucas Black), Percy (Charles S. Dutton), and the pregnant waitress Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). And there are some visitor, a troubled family and a single father, Kyle (Tyrese Gibson).

It turns out that the baby Charlie has is the would-be saviour of the humankind. And the Legion are after him. So it all about turning a roadside dinner into a roadside fortress. Wave by wave came the humans whose already possessed by the angels and become something like a monster, with the capability of jumping and crawling on your ceiling, and also has a big appetite for raw meat. And it pretty straight forward, the humans managed to hold off, so God sent Michael's old angel friend, Gabriel (Kevin Durant) to quickly kill them once and for all.

It just like that, the story, for me is to shallow. Some part which could be good get screwed up, wasting of star potential like Dennis Quaid, weird presentation of apocalypse, and so on. It seems that this movie is not a well-done steak. Although it has the potential to be good. For me it still pretty much raw. Nothing special at all. If you still persistent to see it, just wait and go the your local video store and rent it. Don't waste your time going to the movie theater just to watch it. Well anyway, it's in my honest opinion. But it's up to you, what you're going to do about the movie.

He's Just Not That Into You

We are all programmed to believe that if a guy acts like a total jerk that means he likes you. A line from He's Just Not That Into You, a romantic comedy film with Drew Barrymore serves as the executive producer. It features an ensemble cast such as Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, and not forget to mention Drew Barrymore. And of course there are some more that would takes a lot of this page if I list it one by one. Speaking to that, again love is proven to be one of the biggest theme in the showbiz world.

Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a young woman who many times misinterprets the signals men give about their level of interest in her. Her stories in searching for love will intertwined with the stories of others 8 individuals. Which in turns have connection between them. Like Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Neil (Ben Affleck), a couple who have been together for seven years but haven't married yet. Beth herself is a colleague of Gigi and Janine (Jennifer Connely), a woman who has trouble in her marriage with Ben (Bradley Cooper). In their marriage, Ben secretly started a relationship with Anna (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga teacher who also a singer. In the other side, Anna herself already has a close relationship with a real estate agent named Conor (Kevin Connolly), who really wish a relationship more than what Anna's feels. In the end, every story have a connection between each other.

In general, it speaks a lot about relationship problems that happens to many people in their twenties or thirties. And also tells that women usually misinterprets the signs men give them, so they always wishing more. In fact, many of them suffer from it because of, they usually consult the signs to other women. They tend to comfort each other, so they're blinded to think men like them.

And maybe to us the men, we should always watch how we're giving women signals. Because small misinterpretation could end up in a mess.

Technically, He's Just Not That Into You is another romantic comedy film you see that shown almost every two weeks. Nothing new, nothing special. But yes, like other romantic comedy film, it is a menu to serve for a dating couple. Careful girls, don't jump right to the conclusion about your boy' sign given to you right after the movie. It can be wrong.

New York, I Love You

Finding love in the Big Apple. Pretty much that is the theme of New York, I Love You which premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. It has the same producer as Paris, je t'aime; Emmanuel Benbihy. And it's also follow the structure Paris, je t'aime has, first premiered in film festival and the second one is being stars an ensemble cast. Big name like Andy Garcia, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Christina Riccie, Hayden Christensen, Maggie Q, and many more.

Well, the title tells it for you. For the story, it's basically a romance film. But the unique thing is it's a collaboration of eleven directors. Each of them made a 10-minutes short story and combine it as one. Simple right? And for you who haven't been to the Big Apple before, like me, this movie gives us the insight of how the ordinary people life in New York.

Some of the short film that I like is the first one, directed by Jiang Wen starring Hayden Christensen as Ben, a young pickpocket-master who fell in love with Molly, played by Rachel Bilson, whom he followed to a nearby cafe where he pretend that she left her wallet, in fact he stole it, in order to get knows with her. It turn out that she's a college student who is waiting for her boyfriend, the already married Garry (Andy Garcia), which is her lecturer. And so the situation goes awkward and I'm surprised to see how a 10-minutes film could be this interesting to me.

But for me, not all of the short film are good. As I can't understand the plot of some film. Maybe you'll find out other part more interesting. It depends of your taste.

Anyways, this movie is the choice if you want to see how the collaborative works of many directors, also not forget to mention the ensemble cast. Well, it's not a perfectly pitched movie, but it still make an interesting one.

Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr. is back on the big screen. You must be remember  about his appearance as one of the Marvel's heroes in the movie Ironman, which the sequel is coming this May. For me, it was spectacular performance. And let's stop chit-chat about that iron-clad guy. I think every one of you already known, at least heard the name once, Sherlock Holmes. The character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who sets the standard of crime mystery novel. And now the legendary detective made his big screen with Guy Ritchie directing.                                                                       

Forget about the image that's already engraved on your head, the Sherlock Holmes with the deerstalker hat. This Holmes don't wear an ear flapped travelling cap. The story itself developed from a story by Lionel Wingram, and I warned you, it is action-packed.

Of course, Sherlock Holmes won't be complete without his loyal comrade, Dr. James Watson (Jude Law) and in this movie they fought together back-to-back against Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) who use somekind of black magic and also killing young women in his sacrifice ritual. And for all who sceptical to this mambo-jambo things, you might be watching the movie with low impression. But don't get out of your couch yet, as you'll get surprised in the end of the story. Here also we can find the love story of Dr. James Watson and his fiancee, Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly), with one of my favourite scene of the movie, when Watson invited Holmes to a dinner with Mary and Holmes pretty much ruined it. And also the strange love-hate relationship between Holmes and Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), an infamous femme fatale who successfully outwitted Holmes several times and also become his only love interest.

The story was finished in a gorgeous way and also leave us hunger for sequel. As in the movie hinted there will be a new villain, for those who already read the novel knows this man as Holmes's arch nemesis. No, I'm not going to tell you the name. But, from the rumors circulating around the web, Brad Pitt is one of the actor that's projected to have that role.

Two thumbs up for Robert Downey Jr. who can delivered a wonderful performance. You'll be amazed by him. How he portrayed Sherlock Holmes personality, which is annoying to many people with his arrogant yet witty personality and also he can ignores the rest of the world when he found something interesting. He's a loner after all. With all of that, Guy Ritchie made a perfect choice by casting Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes.

Last, don't forget Hans Zimmer is the man behind the musical score. Simple words for me, magnificent works!

Avatar

The Old King is back. 5 words to describe Avatar. You maybe (you must) remember the 1997 all-time highest-grossing film, Titanic. And you maybe think, where in the world did the director, James Cameron, goes? And now, his back with an epic. Also backed up by the high-budget, and the latest edge-cutting 3D stereoscopic technology combined with the CGI technology, deliver you the mind blowing sci-fi epic, Avatar.

Australian actor Sam Worthington, who plays as Marcus Wright, the human-hearted terminator in Terminator Salvation, gets his major role as Jake Sully, a paraplegic former marine on Pandora, a planet located in the Alpha Centauri star system. The story takes place entirely on Pandora, where the human comes there to mine Unobtainium, a rare ore that serves as a high-efficiency energy sources. The Pandora itself has it own indigenous people called Na'vi. This blue skinned, 9-feet tall humanoid live in harmony with the nature. The main problem is, their home, which is a huge tree, stands above a large quantity of Unobtainium depot. The human tries to relocate them, but they're getting resistance, not only from the Na'vi but also from the poisonous-for-human atmosphere of Pandora. While military waging the war, a group of scientists try to understand the Na'vi under the form of a genetically-altered Na'vi bodies called Avatar, which is controlled by the mentally-linked and DNA matched human operator. Jake Sully himself comes to replace his twin brother, an operator who is killed in a mugging. He then placed as the bodyguard of other scientists Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore). He soon found himself fell in love with the local Na'vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Later on, he also pitted in the war between the human, his race; and the Na'vi, the race that gave him freedom to move in his avatar form.

There is a sensitive issues, if you think it is, in the movie. Well you see, a local nature-loving people with traditional tools fight with the outsider with advanced technology that want to exploit their natural resources. Sounds familiar? Maybe you'll think of the European Invasion of America, or more recently, American Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq? Whether you agree with it or not, I can guarantee that at least you'll be amazed by the universe James Cameron has made. For your information, he already worked on this project since 1994, but because of the lack of technology that time, the movie finally made it to the theaters on 2009. He and his team already created the Na'vi language, the wildlife of Pandora, and all of the aspects to create a universe. By the CGI, you'll be given the amazing view of Pandora inhabitant, the beautiful yet deadly carnivorous plant Helicoradian, the hammerhead rhinoceros Titanothere and also with many places in Pandora. Looking at the wide fictional universe, we all can expect for another sequel to come, and maybe the start of a cult, just like when The Lords Of the Rings did.

And again, Avatar has proved the capabilities of James Cameron. Not long before I wrote this, I've read in the news that Avatar reign on top as the all-time highest-grossing film, beating Titanic. And for the record, Avatar and Titanic both are the works of James Cameron.

As for the upcoming 82nd Academy Awards, I'll be expecting to the reunion of James Cameron and his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. Because one of the main fight that may be occured is Avatar versus The Hurt Locker, not forget to mention Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. But, the tradition told that usually the one that garnered a lot of money will get the award. But who knows? Let us just pray and sit waiting for the 82nd Academy Awards on March 2010.

Ninja Assassin

Fear not the weapon but the hand that wields it. Ninja Assassin,  a hollywood movie delivered by the Wachowski Brothers together with the Asian rising-star Rain as the main cast. Well, to remind you, Wachowski Brothers is the man behind The Matrix Trilogy and also Speed Racer. And yes, if you think that means this movie will have a lot of action. I mean it, A Lot Of Action.

The movie main story is quiet simple, a young ninja apprentice named Raizo (Rain) who has been trained under the surveillance of Lord Ozunu (Sho Kusanagi), the head of the Ozunu Clan. Later on, he developed a romantic relationship with Kiriko (Kylie Goldstein and Anna Sawai). She then try to escape only to be executed by her ninja brother Takeshi (Rick Yune). Raizo then grows a hatred toward his ninja clan, and betray them. And then the story goes straightforward, yes, a revenge.

Also you can see the director of V for Vendetta, James McTeigue, who has worked in a lot of Wachowski Brothers' project, back into the director seat. The main point that the movie has is the wonderful martial art scene, that is shown in the Matrix style (I mean, slow motion).

Last but not least, for you who hate gore, violent, blood, and their friends, I'm not recommended this movie for you. As in the 99 min. of its running time, it'll be full of blood and slow-motion decapitation scene. But for you who enjoy adrenaline rush or maybe want to be a ninja, This movie is designed for you.