ian-purnomo Reviews

Caché (2005)

Artistic Cinema, in every sense

[9/10 · 13 July 2006]

Caché is arguably a good example of an artistic cinema. Have you ever been to a modern art museum and caught yourself in front of an art piece, which you know what it is but you don't really know what it means, literally and artistically? Well, Caché is that kind of movie.

The plot... well you should see it for yourself. It seems like a thriller, but it's not really that.

The visual style is 'different'. There is no unique point of view, strange dream like visions, nor special effects. The view is quite simple. You recognize what you see, but you don't really know what it means and its actual contribution to the plot.

The film kind of reminded me of Oldboy and some other Chan Park Woon's films, where there are a lot of single long take. Sometimes it made me bored (I won't spoil which one). But it also makes you wait and observe the scene to expect something to happen.

Also the long take shows how great the actors are. Imagine that they have to memorize, to talk, and to act magnificently that long is unbelievable. This is sort of like in plays where the actors have to be perfect. This is something that is lack in Hollywood films where they often takes for hundred of times just to get 2 seconds scene.

Auteuil did an amazing job as the lead character. He gained the viewer's trust and then at some point you really couldn't believe him anymore. And Auteuil did it superbly not only via dialogue and its tone, but also by the way he acts.

Binoche is always beautifully talented. Similar to Auteuil, her acting makes me doubting her character. It's like there is something hidden, which is the translation of Caché.

Finally, I can't stop talking about this movie. It has so many layers and like I mentioned earlier, you don't really know what it means. Just watch it. The story is not non-linear, so anybody who just gets to be interested in artistic movie won't be that confused.

Everybody Hates Chris (2005–2009)

Move Aside Cosby!!

[10/10 · 30 June 2006]

I love this series! At first, my friend told me that it's the visualisation of Chris Rock's stand up comedies. It got me thinking if it's still going to be as funny as what I listened. But yeah it is. It delivers and delivers well indeed.

Let me break down what's so good about Everybody Hates Chris: The fantasy scenes. Most of them are taken from Chris Rock's thought that he performed in his stand ups. Obviously the one that finally got made in the series are the tame ones. However I like this feature because normally in the sitcoms, they just talk about it, not really showing the funny possibilities it ala the Simpsons or Family Guy. Although it take out some of the funny point that you have while imagining it, but so far Everybody Hates Chris shows the funniest non-cartoon fantasy scenes on TV.

A black comedy which is not that black. Without being racist, this comedy is not that 'black' I mean everybody can watch it, enjoy it, and relate to it. I don't think Everybody Hates Chris only applies to a specific race group. I am an Oriental dude and I still laughed my ass off watching the show.

A black comedy which is not being white. Now this is very important. Remember the Cosby Show, anyone? But I just think that it's too white, similar to Fresh Prince from Bel Air. Those shows were kind of like white people's comedy, but they have black actors. Without being racist again, the series shows a natural and honest look of African American family, where the father is not a doctor or a lawyer. They barely made the end's meet, not living in a house with ten bedrooms. But above all they are happy.

Chris Rock as the narrator did a great job in connecting the show with us in this time period. Many of his comments are showing the results of the trends or what happened in the period that affects popular culture in our period. For examples are the many hip hop references Chris narrated.

The soundtracks are awesome. The songs are in the same time period when the show is supposed to be set.

The kid's expression. The kid actors in the series are top-notch. They act naturally and I love their expressions. They seem to be innocent and their faces show a willingness to learn and to know new things, which are very typical kids' reaction to the new stuffs they experience.

Everybody Hates Chris is a great sit-com. If My Name is Earl is a great sit-com about white-redneck Americans living in a small town, Everybody Hates Chris does the same thing about African American living in a big city.

Lucky Louie (2006–2007)

Lucky Louie is the Coolest Comedy on TV right now!

[10/10 · 30 June 2006]

I had my doubts before watching Lucky Louie. Seriously, a conservative sit-com from HBO did not really register in my point of view. But yeah, the first episode blew me away. I haven't laughed that hard from a sit-com in years.

First time I saw it, I drew comparisons with Coupling. Well, not the American ones, the original British ones, of course. It is because Lucky Louie is as honest as Coupling. The dialogue is raw and natural. They don't say 'Crap' to replace 'S**t' or 'Freak' to replace 'F**k'. I honestly think that it is closer to our daily lives than any other sitcoms who are trying to be raunchy but polite. I mean when people are in trouble , they don't normally swear in censored words. That is why I still find it impossible that Jack Bauer of the 24 series has not ever swore any F-word or S-word. I mean if I were him and in the same situation like him, I'd say the meanest words I could imagine.

Anyway, back to Lucky Louie, I find not only the dialogue is natural, but the plots are too. Louie is just a simple father/husband who is just like us. So far I found the show is very raunchy, but I think it's not cheap or too over.

I am looking forward to see how the show goes. I hope it can be as good comedy as Entourage, which I love for the honesty of the dialogue too.

Commander in Chief (2005–2006)

Command Me, My Chief!

[7/10 · 30 June 2006]

At first I didn't really want to see this series, since it looked like a West Wing rip off only with a female Bartlet. However, but then my mate told me that Geena Davis won a Golden Globe for her role as the first female leader of the free world. Although it's not a guarantee, but being considered and won a major award should mean something about the series. Then, I decided to see it and after seeing a couple of episodes, my opinion was changed. I found it's pretty good.

I'm not saying that this series is the best TV show available right now, but I can say it can be compared with all the best ones available. The plots are quite simple. I must say it's a bit too soap opera-ish. However, with current TV series who are trying to be smart, it is good to have some escapism in quite an intelligent way with a political background.

Silent Hill (2006)

Silent Hill, the first video game to be adapted to a movie

[8/10 · 30 June 2006]

OK, lots of you will surely protest against my statement. Of course there were other movies which were adapted from video games, but as long as I (a video gamer) concerns, all of them only shared the title with their respective so-called adapted video games. I don't even know where to begin with. Super Mario Brothers (what the hell?). Street Fighter (seriously, guys!). Resident Evil (even Dawn of the Dead felt more like the game than that Milla Jovovich movie). Tomb Raider (pretty decent, but NAH!). Doom (Ow guys come on! They only adapted the 3 minutes first person scene). I might have missed the others, but I just can't stand them anymore.

Anyway, let's get back to Silent Hill.

Why this movie is 'video game' to me? It is simply because the filmmakers were faithful to the visual style, the look, the feel and the plot of the game. For those who haven't played the game, Silent Hill games put you in the role of characters who are lost in the town called Silent Hill. Each Silent Hill game has its own character and plot/mission. Therefore if the plot in the movie doesn't have anything to do with the games, it is because that it is kind of 'another tale' of Silent Hill, although the movie version has a lot of similarities with the first Silent Hill game.

Anyone who had played the games would soon recognized that the strange creatures are very much alike the ones in the games. The filmmakers also made a very good compilation of the creatures from the video game series to be featured in the movie. Those creatures did a great job in the movies to be very freakish and out of this world, just like in the games.

Another thing is that the filmmakers implemented some element of the gameplay in the movie and its story. Without giving out anything, there is one point when the main character has to memorize a map in order to reach a specific place. That part surprised me so much; it is because that in the game you actually have to do exactly the same thing as well. There were moments when I played the game that I had to check the map, paused for a bit to memorize it (sometimes I drew myself a simple map), and then returned to control my character. Also, for those of you who had played the game, you'd know that Silent Hill is about finding out clues and sometimes items in order to reach the main goal. And that was also implemented by Christophe Gans and Roger Avary. The main character in the movie had to read some old newspaper articles, asked other characters, and finding things. I think those game play implementation was pretty well done, although there can be more.

Bottom line is, it is quite obvious that Christophe Gans and Roger Avary are huge fans of the game that they pour all their skills to faithfully adapt the game. However, this caused that only Silent Hill players would likely to enjoy the movie fully. I heard some of other viewers who never played the game that they did not really like the film and it was a bit too confusing to them.

Nevertheless, I give four thumbs up to the filmmakers. One thumb is for making such a great adaptation. One thumb is for implementing the game play. One thumb is for respecting video gamers. One thumb is for having the Pyramid Head.

Superman Returns (2006)

Super great for everyone who has seen and enjoyed the previous Superman movies, and GREAT for who hasn't

[8/10 · 29 June 2006]

After a long wait, I finally get to see the Superman Returns. I don't think I need to tell you the main plot here, you can see it for yourself.

Let me break my comment down in two categories: First, to anyone who has seen previous Superman films, this movie is a very nolstalgic movie, especially to anyone who grew up in those years. The first Superman movie I saw was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Well as a 7 years old kid, that movie completely blew me away. I mean, before the movie I knew Superman from the comic only and to see him to fly in action was out of this world. Anyhow, I finally got to see the other Superman movies and I can honestly agree that the first and second one were much better than the rest, but the fourth one with Nuclear Man was still like my first love.

Well, let's get back to the Superman Returns, I said that it's super great since it retains the universe that was left in the first and second Superman and also the story continuity. It still has the same Daily Planet office (albeit with computers and plasma TVs, instead of just typewriters). The Metropolis feels like Metropolis we knew before. Even the clothes of the characters are still somewhat in a similar era of the first and second Superman. Ow yeah and the cars, I know it's a bit strange, but when I saw the movie I got the feeling that the cars are in the same time period of the previous Superman. I mean, I didn't see any modernly pimped out cars or any hybrid SUV's around, which didn't exist back in late 1970's-1980's. The cars look... classic, I guess, although I did recognise some obvious modern cars. I think Bryan Singer and the rest of the production crews had done a wonderful job in retaining the Superman we knew.

Second, to anyone who has not seen previous Superman films, this movie is an excellent summer blockbuster movie. The visual effect is first rate. This means that the effect is enough to awe viewers without trying to be over the top and too out of this world. It has also something to do with the plot where the writers did such a great job. Without giving out anything, any new Superman viewer will be able to understand the story without watching the other Superman movies, but I recommend you to see the others (just the one and two only!). Everyone knows that Superman is a saviour, well in this movie he is one, too. But the threat to the world is enough to give him trouble, without being too silly, which is in conjunction with what I said about the visual effect.

The actors were great. The cast selection was amazing. Brandon Routh is the new Superman for the new generation. He did a great job, as good as how Christian Bale delivered the new Batman in Batman Begins. Kevin Spacey is always ever a great actor. Parker Posey gave an enough presence without being too shiny, which is enough for her role. James Marsden did a great job, although I still portrayed him as the Cyclops from X-Men. Frank Langella was perfect as Perry White, although I was very excited to hear Hugh Laurie was the first choice. I guess it's cool to see the mad doctor House yells at a bunch of reporters to get news of Superman. Kate Bosworth, I love her. She's great. Every time I heard her name, it always reminded me of Blue Crush and her cute surfer chick character. But now... Kate Bosworth equals Superman Returns. One complaint though, I think the costume department should have given her a smaller outfit. I mean her clothes is fit, but there were some scenes, especially the outdoor ones, when she wears jacket and the jacket seems to be too large. I don't know, it's just my opinion though.

But this film is not without any flaw. I find the length is a bit too long. I had to run out to pee, which I don't normally do. I don't really know why I complain about the length, because normally it's never enough for me. However, there were moments that I want to skip some part and get to the action. I guess all I wanted was more action for the Superman.

So go and see it. It kicks ass. Ow yeah, make sure you enjoy the greatness of Panavision Genesis HD. I am gonna see Superman Returns again in IMAX.