A film review: 'Hacksaw Ridge'

Origin: United States, Australia · Language: English
Director: Mel Gibson
Writers: Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan
Genres: War, biography, drama
Release: November 4, 2016

Casts: Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving,
Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington,
Luke Bracey

More info: IMDb

A film of this calibre does not deserve my usually lame wordplays on the title of its review. Two words: Mel Gibson. I'm glad I've waited this long for its big screen release at our shores; my patience was rewarded very handsomely!

I didn't really follow about any of his notorious outings or his acting career, but everyone knows that he's damn good when he's calling the shots behind the camera. I was psyched as everyone else out there when those two names are uttered and is out to helm yet another film involving guts spewing in the air in very large numbers. However, it has an epic twist on its own (which includes pretty boy Andrew Garfield in a rather demanding lead role).

In regards to his muse in filmmaking, everyone knows for a fact that Gibson's really into violent imagery in most of his films and have its protagonist doing morally questionable things by being violent in order to uphold what is right for them. A grand exception can be applied to this one though; it's a true story about a combat medic during the Battle of Okinawa who chooses to participate in the war... without firing even a single bullet. Wait, what? A pacifist WAR film? Really?

Read on through this NON-SPOILER review, even though it's already been talked about to death by now and it's already past the bullshit Oscars 2017 season.

A TV review: 'A Series of Unfortunate Events (S1)' is impossible to look away from!

Origin: United States · Language: English
Creators: Barry Sonnenfeld, Mark Hudis (TV)
/ Lemony Snicket (Novels)
Showrunner: Mark Hudis · Genres: Black comedy, drama
Season in review: 1 · Episodes: 8
Air date: January 13, 2017

Main casts: Malina Weissman, Louis Haynes,
Presley Smith, K. Todd Freeman, 
Patrick Warburton, Neil Patrick Harris

More info: IMDb

I was never fan of sequels or a series of films, unless it's warranted. This title is an example where such exemption is applied. I never read any of the novels honestly, but I really LOVE the film version, and I really would like to see a continuation on the fate of the Baudelaire trio of orphans in this order: Violet, Klaus and Sunny and what's next for the fiendish Count Olaf, with Lemony Snicket (the fictitious version of Daniel Handler, the author of its original novel) telling us their predicaments in a flesh. Alas, the sequel was shelved altogether. Thankfully though, the core team found a workaround to somehow breathe a new life into the children's tale; a rather messed up children's tale at that, by turning it into a television series! And it's on Netflix of all places! Oh my!

Enter 2017. The Baudelaires and Count Olaf are back! While the actors are different, most of the key behind the scenes people are more or less the same. The Baudelaire children are now played by Malina Weissman, Louis Heynes, and Presley Smith respectively, Count Olaf is now played Neil Patrick Harris and Lemony Snicket himself is now played by Patrick Warburton. While the same irreverent tone is kept intact, most of the titles' humour and charm, as well as the backstories of the children are more fleshed out in this series, and that totally makes up for the sequel to its film that never happened. Read on through this SPOILER-FREE review to know more.

A film review: Don't you DARE 'Split' while watching this movie!

Origin: United States · Language: English

Writer & director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Psychological horror · Release: January 20, 2017

Casts: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy,
Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula

Haley Lu Richardson

More info: IMDb

I'm not really a follower of this director who was previously known as Mr. The-Director-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. All I do know is the fact that he pretty much have a bad rep since The Last Airbender, an ill-received and poorly-made adaptation of Nickelodeon's awesome Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series. Then, he made a soft return to making good movies through the safe-ish route that is The Visit, a found footage horror thriller that have shots of self-depreciation jokes and dark humour with decent performances by its two upcoming young actors (which I have reviewed here). Enter 2017, where he has made a legitimately triumphant return!

I first came across this film when I was watching its trailer in theatres. James McAvoy of Wanted and X-Men film series fame is the lead and he went batshit crazy in it. After some more exposure on this film via the good old web, I was informed that the film also features Anya Taylor-Joy, also an upcoming rising star, who rose to prominence thanks to the indie horror flick The Witch which I also have yet to see, and people really liked her in that film. I was coloured impress by Split's trailer. I guess I should give it a chance to see if it really spooked me without anticipating the "twist" that Shyamalan is known for before The Last Airbender. Oh it has that, indeed, but I did NOT see it coming, ESPECIALLY THE ENDING!

Since this film is hard to review without giving away much of the events, this review is going to be SPOILER-FILLED. Consider yourself warned!

Film reviews: A Marvel Vs. DC showdown - 'Doctor Strange' Vs. 'Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders'

"Hello, DC fans! I'll annoy the hell out of you guys!"

What's up people of the world! After getting decommissioned from writing blog posts due to unforeseen circumstances (such as my new laptop getting a technical hiccup and me getting involved with a road accident), I think it's appropriate to talk about the talk of the century. The unnecessary debacle between two mighty brands in the Nerdrealm (I'm spelling this a-la Mortal Kombat style) that is... Marvel versus DC! 

Nanananananananana Batmaaan~! Aaaaaand Robin too!

With that said, during my absence from my tool of the trade, I managed to catch two films from the respective brands which are both 2016 releases: Doctor Strange, the latest addition to the long-standing Marvel Cinematic Universe / MCU cannon and Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, which is a loving tribute to the super-campy live-action 60's series with both Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their roles from that series as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dick Grayson/Robin respectively, which I may have or have not watch as a kid. Batman was watched two days ago, while Doctor Strange was viewed a day after its Malaysian premiere (and yes, I'm aware that I'm way late in the reviewing game while the hype was hot for this due to the incidents that was stated earlier). And guess what? I like them both! 

Yeah, yeah. I might have voiced my disdain over DC's sorry efforts to take a jab at Marvel's success with the DC Extended Universe / DCEU AND the underwhelming The Killing Joke which does not fall under the DCEU cannon, but thankfully DC hasn't gone too far astray from delivering yet another satisfying diversion for home releases with quality animated feature! And I think Marvel has also yet again doesn't seem to dissatisfy me with their latest offering! Let's see what I have in mind about these, shall we? Oh yeah, these reviews are SPOILER-FREE too!

A film review: 'The Accountant' or When Murdock Meets Castle.

 Why cover half your butt-chinned face, Batfleck? You're just a goddamn accountant!

Origin: United States · Language: English

Director: Gavin O'Connor · Writer: Bill Dubuque

Genres: Action, thriller, drama · Release: October 14, 2016

Casts: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick,
J.K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robbinson,

Jeffry Tambor, John Lithgow

More info: IMDb

So, this movie happened. I had no anticipation whatsoever, as to me it came out of nowhere. Also, in the style of the previously reviewed Midnight Special, Warner Bros. yet again managed to shoehorn a few product placements to show us that they are highly involved with this film (other than of course the appearance of Batfleck himself as the lead, alongside the future James Gordon, which is not that apparent especially for the uninitiated); a glimpse of Action Comics (a comic book series that was responsible for introducing us to DC superheroes like Superman, for example) and using Solomon Grundy's (a zombie supervillain in the DC Comics universe) name as a plot device. Yeah. I'm catching on here.

Well, you're probably sick of me mentioning the name Movie Addict, but I have to thank them again for getting us film buffs a free preview to the film. Also, I knew about this film from that Facebook group. What's interesting though, again, I'm intrigued by the poster more so than I do the trailers. I don't touch that thing even once for The Accountant. It's definitely the film's poster alone... or maybe reviews from film critics whom I trust (I'm talking about Chris Stuckmann and Jeremy Jahns) that sold me. I mean, come on! The title is The Accountant, but Affleck is holding a sniper rifle and his face is half-obscured? How does that add up? THAT'S why I want to see it! And then there's Jon Bernthal? What are the odds? Former Daredevil AND current Punisher in the same film? And did I buy it? Not the tickets obviously. But the movie itself? It's fantastic, though it mildly affected my head for its offbeat approach to storytelling that is surprisingly well-handled!

Oh. This is a SPOILER-FREE review. So read on if you feel like catching a film not based on anything, in which this kind of film is scarce these days... that would make accountants smirk, thinking that everyone would think they are cool just because The Accountant can shoot people in the head. I'm kidding, yo!

A film review: 'Kubo and the Two Strings'

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director: Travis Knight
Writers: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler
Genres: Action, adventure, fantasy · Release: August 19, 2016

Voice casts: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron,
Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes,
George Takei, Rooney Mara, Brenda Vaccaro

More info: IMDb

Here are a few reasons why this film, which popped out like out of nowhere, tickled some sort of bone in me. First, it's because of this awesome teaser image.

Secondly, I found out that this was made by Laika, the same studio that had an impressive debut with the adapted work of Coraline (the only one before Kubo that I've watched) and since then, consistently-praised works for their painstakingly-detailed stopmotion masterpieces. Yes. In an era where CGI rules, this is one of the few studios that still honour the old-school and alternate way of making animated films, which I think was made super popular by Henry Selick (coincidentally the director of Coraline) and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas... or please correct me if I'm wrong about this. Nevertheless, I can't believe what I've just experienced yesterday. It was worth more than the admission price of RM20, as I think this studio deserves more money thrown at the screen for this exquisite motion picture  (and emphasize on MOTION picture) made with sheer, literal fluidity!

This easily kicked the big giants' asses when it comes to stunning visuals and heartfelt storyline as well as screenplay, accompanied by chilling scores, immersive sound designs, stellar voice acting by big names and an up-and-comer, and then some. Too bad that this impressive animation didn't get that much love from filmgoers both locally and overseas at the moment. Thankfully, this review is here to convince you guys why it is IMPORTANT for anyone who reads this review to go and catch this film like pronto on the BIG SCREEN. And yeah, this is SPOILER-FREE.

A film review: 'Don't Breathe' or Stick: Origins.

Origin: United States · Language: English

Director: Fede Alvarez  

Writers: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues

Genres: Horror, thriller · Release: August 26, 2016

Casts: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, 

Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang

More info: IMDb

Look at that. The core team from the Evil Dead reboot is back again but for another kind of horror;  a home invasion thriller! While I am aware of the abundance of films that utilise this trope, I am not a follower of it. I think the last home invasion flick I actually watched was the original Purge, but that was going for the political satire route. This one? A rather streamlined kind of home invasion film in which the aim was to make you shit bricks. And oh boy, bricks was shat in the cinema, I tell ya. Despite the highly scaled-back violence, this is nonetheless an awesome horror film which is just as effective as the Evil Dead reboot! 

Simple plot, terrific execution, awesome technicalities, complex acting, equals profit! And I am being entirely positive here! Oh, this review is SPOILER-FREE.

A film review: 'Saving Mr. Banks' is a heartfelt rescue mission.

 

Origin: United States, United Kingdom · Language: English

Director: John Lee Hancock · Writers: Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith

Genre: Drama · Release: 2013; Nov 29 (UK), Dec 13 (US)

Casts: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, 

Jason Schwartzman, Collin Farrell

More info: IMDb

Hello, again! This was supposed to be a simple, on-the-nose review (a.k.a. a short review) which is a section within my Facebook page, but turns out I got a lot more to spew off my chest about my latest viewing experience.

This is a rather stellar companion piece to the more whimsical Mary Poppins, the case study of this period drama centering on the making of the said movie anchored by Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks as the backbones of the film, P.L. Travers (the author of Mary Poppins' source material) and Walt Disney (do I even need to tell you who this is?) respectively. You could say it's a prequel of sorts, but not in the traditional sense.

A film review: 'Whiplash' pounds!

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director & writer: Damien Chazelle
Genre: Drama · Release: January 16, 2014

Casts: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons,
Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser

More info: IMDb

My reviews are all over the place right now! Damn it! No matter. It's finally time to address about the worthiness of the hype that Whiplash have been buzzing amongst critics and filmgoers. The reasons why I wanted to watch this movie are as follows:

• It bears the name of Iron Man 2's antagonist
• I am fond of drums in songs even though I only touched the real thing once or twice in my life
• The new Mr. Fantastic and that annoying hack in the Divergent film series is leading a universally-praised film together with J. Jonah-Fucking-Jameson
• Finally as of late, because I learned of Melissa Benoist's (my current crush) involvement

However, as I watch this film, the second reason resonates more than the others and then some, with the final reason kinda reminds me of how sort of disappointed I was on the underutilisation of Samuel L. Jackson in The Goodfellas. But I can't be too mad at that, since they are not the focus here.

A film review: 'Suicide Squad' enters the uncharted Ayer Keroh.

Origin: United States · Language: English

Director & writer: David Ayer 
Genre: Superhero · Release: August 5, 2016

Casts: Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Will Smith,
Margot Robbie, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney,

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara,
Adam Beach, Jared Leto, Cara Delevigne

More info: IMDb

A Watchmen and The Killing Joke later, it's here.

The most anticipated film in the DC Extended Universe / DCEU (yeah, not Batman v. Superman OR the other movies, but JUST THIS) is finally released! Even though this team was out there for a while, I was hooked when Batman: Assault on Arkham was out. Why? It's because of the team's dynamics. Most of the members are incarcerated supervillains plus extra participants tasked by the ruthless head of the ARGUS program Amanda Waller. In exchange for a shortened time in their jail cells, they had to do covert operations for the US government that could kill them due to either getting wasted in the field or got their brains blown to bits thanks to a nanobomb implanted into their necks should they disobey; but the thing is, the US government will not be responsible for their deaths whatsoever. This makes for an interesting spin on the whole live-action superhero genre, right? Keep dreaming. And thanks to my regular movie-going buddy, he managed to wake me up to the atrocities that the film have before clouding myself into thinking that the film is good just because Cara Delevigne is barely clothed and Margot Robbie couldn't stop flirting with me. Oh, wait.

Thanks to Movie Addict again, I am one of the very few to preview the film before its release on Thursday, August 4, without spending a dime. And just like Snyder's previous DC outings, this is yet another polarizing film... and he's not even the director/writer of this one! His aura is strong in this cinematic universe! What is this Ayer Keroh you give to us (super inexcusable pun is definitely intended), David Ayer? I had high hopes when I saw Fury and Sabotage, two films with some elements that I think can totally be incorporated into Suicide Squad! What's up? Even an excellent casting and performances couldn't mask how choppy the movie really is! But there are some good things here and there. Follow me as I review DC's latest attempt at keeping up with Marvel's Hollywood dominance in this third installment of the DCEU.

I will try my best to do a SPOILER-FREE review, so bear with me.

A film review: 'Midnight Special' is a layman's 'Interstellar.' Yay!

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director & writer: Jeff Nichols
Genres: Science fiction, fantasy, drama · Release: March 18, 2016

Casts: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Jaeden Liebeher,
Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard

More info: IMDb

Hello there. The only reason I watched this movie was because the awesome film group on Facebook called Movie Addict held a giveaway for a FREE screening, and I was one of the chosen ones. Then, I saw Michael Shannon and Adam Driver's name as per the poster above. Kylo Ren vs General Zod! Nope, there's not really... like, ANY feuds between their characters in here. And then there's a blatant Superman product placement in the form of a comic book (which doubled as a minor plot device and as a reminder that Warner Bros. is distributing this film). Let's see if I think it's any good. 

A film review: 'Super'

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director & writer: James Gunn
Genres: Superhero, black comedy, drama  
Release: September 12, 2010


Casts: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon,
Liv Tyler, Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry,
Michael Rooker, Andre Royo, Sean Gunn,
James Gunn, Stephen Blackehart, Linda Cardellini

More info: IMDb

It is finally time, after a couple of weeks of watching it and pure laziness, to review this indie superhero feature made by the big Gunn (get it?) who directed and co-wrote Marvel's surprise hit of a bottom-of-the-barrel-residue called Guardians of the Galaxy. However, this is not his first try at exploring the superhero mythos; the first one was The Specials. While it shares similarity with another superhero film also released around the same time called Kick-Ass, this one is less loud, almost absent of Hollywood's fantastical elements (save for that dream sequence of course), far more grounded, and moodier (yes, moodier)!

A film review: 'Dawn of Justice' is basically Supes feat. The Dark Knight and The Princess.

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director: Zack Snyder · Writers: Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer
Genre: Superhero · Release: March 25, 2016

Casts: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot,
Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Diane Lane,
Laurence Fishbourne, Scoot McNairy, Michael Shannon

More info: IMDb

Hey there. I initially wanted to write about Super first, a way earnest superhero tale than Dawn of Justice (I'm gonna call it by the subtitle, for a solid reason), but it's hard to pinpoint my thoughts on that one. I guess I'll do this one first, since it's the freshest I had in mind (just watched it yesterday, FYI).

There you go; a follow up to Man of Steel that is NOT Man of Steel 2. I guess since DC is jealous of Marvel when it comes to their Hollywood dominance, DC decided to replicate their whole shared universe thing in the form of the DC Extended Universe / DCEU, but not really: DC wanna start with a string of team ups first before making solo films for their characters, and what better way to launch the franchise than to give in to every geeks' dream as its first official step: to see the showdown of two pop culture icons to finally get the Hollywood treatment they thought they deserved, but didn't actually get. You know, a similar scenario actually happened in a direct-to-video flick before, but hey, who gives a shit, right? Thankfully, I didn't ride on the hype train, so there are no high expectations whatsoever. I came in purely as a spectator and nothing else since I don't really follow the comics like at all. But sadly, it still didn't deliver, yet... a tiny bit satisfying. To simply put, I'm polarized by the film.

Oh. This review is totally DEVOID of SPOILERS. Go on an read what I think about this movie!

2-in-1 film review: 'You're Next' and 'The Visit'

"Crikey! Blood!"

This is initially a review of a single film. But since it's way overdue (I watched like probably weeks or months ago), I decided instead to rack up the review of the film in question, You're Next, with the most recent horror flick I just watched from the master of twist endings who managed to comeback with a twist from his streak of lame movies, The Visit, in a single review. 

"Blergh! Totally not scary!"

I'm honestly more of an in-your-face, over-the-top, and balls out funny/exaggerated kind of guy when it comes to films. These however, while these two are comedies, it felt way buried inside of a dominantly horror premise; especially the former film.

A film review: 'The Hateful Eight' loves each other!

Origin: United States · Language: English
Director & writer: Quentin Tarantino
Genres: Western, mystery  
Release: December 25, 2015
 
Casts: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell,
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins,
Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen,
Bruce Dern, Channing Tatum

More info: IMDb

After being a long time Tarantino fan and going through the excruciating wait to see his eighth film in local cinemas (I didn't really get why it didn't reach our shores when the equally sadistic Django Unchained was actually shown here) which he initially refused to make, I finally decided to review one of his films after watching it through illegal means, and it has to be The Hateful Eight. Oh, Quentin. Eight's full title just had to be as cheeky as your attitude towards your love with cinema: your eighth film had to be called The Hateful Eight. 

After abandoning the non-linear approach to storytelling since Kill Bill, Tarantino decided that it is his next Western film that should get that treatment again. And as with most of his flicks, expect to see his film appreciation getting jizzed all over the snowy landscape outside the cabin where the titular Eight mingle.

Oh, this review is SPOILER-FREE. So, don't be afraid to read on!

A TV review: 'Jessica Jones (S1)' wished she said "Sweet Christmas" to Kilgrave. Really.

Origin: United States · Language: English

Creator & showrunner: Melissa Rosenberg

Genres: Superhero, crime, drama, thriller

Season in review: 1 · Episodes: 13

Air date: November 20, 2015

Casts: Krysten Ritter, David Tennant, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor, Wil Traval,

Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, Carrie-Anne Moss

Network & distributor: Netflix

More info: IMDb

There's always the first time for everything. For this entry, I'm gonna have a crack at reviewing a TV show. Interestingly though, this show did not come from traditional television. I guess by now everybody has heard of Netflix, right?

Just like their ballsiness before in turning an obscure team of Guardians of the Galaxy to be a sensation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe / MCU, Marvel Studios decided to do so again with an even more obscure choice that is more adult in nature to the small screen (or big, since Netflix is a service for many devices and all): Jessica Jones, one part of The Defenders (MCU's next team up after The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy) that will have its own miniseries. Together with her would be Daredevil, Luke Cage (Jessica's fling and a recurring character in Jessica Jones, portrayed by Mike Colter) and Iron Fist.

I think this is SPOILER-FREE. So, read on!

A film review: "It's 'Deadpool' Time! Come on, grab your friends (but NOT kids)!"

Origin: NOT from X-Men Origins! It's USA! USA! (But I'm a Canadian, goddamnit!)
Language: English, motherfu--! (Oops, sorry; wrong movie)
Director: Tim Miller (... is awesome? I'm outta line here)
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Laura Shuler Donner, The Handsome Ryan Reynolds (YAY!)
Writers: Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese! The Walking Dead, look it up (Oops! Wrong one again...)!
Casts: The Ryan Reynolds Show! featuring Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Ed Skrein,
Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand and Stefan Kapičić!
Genres: Deadpool! I mean... superhero? No, he's a jerk! Also... a very morbid comedy.
Release: ALMOST Valentine's Day 2016! Damn it!
Studios: Marvel Entertainment (yes, Le Marvelous one!), Kinberg Genre, The Donners' Company
Distributor: Good Guy 20th Century Fox!

Damn it! Stop messing with my format, Deadpool! Go bother the other audiences or something and let me review your movie in peace! Geeze!

Oh yeah! I just realised that this is the only successful superhero film review I have ever done! I mean, I tried before, but it falters so damn badly, I just ditched it altogether. I decided to fully go with this 20th Century Fox-produced one, mainly because... it's different. I still love you though, Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don't worry!

Anyway, that pendejo who messed with my brief description of the movie under his euphemism for penis up there proves a solid point. As you can tell, 20th Century Fox a.k.a. Fox, the same studio who got some love for sorta reinventing the X-Men franchise (which I haven't properly seen in its entirety as the following are solely judged by the franchise's critical receptions) in a good way through Days of Future Past and in an off-rails kind of way through the abomination called X-Men Origins: Wolverine - where they totally shoved imaginary katanas up Deadpool's ass and totally sewn shut the mouth of, I don't know, the "Merc With a MOUTH," and gave him all the wrong superpowers - managed to finally produce a novel attempt at a reboot of the failure of the latter. Because of this, we forgive you for those sins (and that includes Fant-FOUR-Stic), dear Fox... for now.

Together with Tim Miller (a VFX artist turned a newbie director responsible for the out-of-thin-air test footage and of course the film itself) as well as Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the duo who brought you the pop culture-ridden screenplay of Zombieland), Ryan Reynolds have somewhat delivered the closest representation of one of the most widely celebrated fan-favourite in the Marvel pantheon of characters. As a toddler comic geek, I approve this shit! What an impressive debut by Miller and a comeback by Reynolds!

Does it live up to the hype the studio have constantly pumping out while counting down the release of this most anticipated superhero film of early 2016? Well, let's find out!

Film reviews/opinion pieces: Wayang@Budiman Presents 'Sinema Selera'

Official flyer for 'Sinema Selera.'

Good day ol' chaps! As you can see, I am NOT good at constantly updating my blog. Life happens, and laziness happens. And this shitty intro happens. 

Anway, this will be a collective review, short or long, of a handful of films that filled the 'Sinema Selera' slot (literally translates as Delicious Cinema or Cinema of Taste) which is held throughout September and October at Wayang@Budiman, a screening session organised by Pusat Kajian dan Apresiasi Filem (Centre of Film Research and Appreciation). More info on these screenings, I already blabbed about it on the intro in the first review of the first film in this slot, so go ahead and click that. It's right after the posters.

I got to say... I haven't really thought about food the way these filmmakers do. From Japan to Mexico, each of these countries sees food very differently, and maybe these functions would/wouldn't be discussed in each of the film's review/opinion. So let's get it on!

Posters for the films screened at Sinema Selera.

Reviu imbas kembali #7: 'The Evil Dead' (1981) & 'Evil Dead' (2013).

Hai, korang! Sejak reviu Nota aku tu di-feature-kan di laman web The Daily Seni, aku rasa susah nak move on. Haha! Klik SINI kalau tak percaya.

Tak tipu, kan? Kan? Oh ya. Terima kasihlah Deric Ect, juga seorang pencandu filem di
group Movie Addict, kerana tepekkan reviu aku yang tak seberapa ni!

Eh, tak penting.

Ini sebenarnya aku nak cakap. Selalunya bila aku reviu, aku akan gunakan bahasa dominan filem tersebut. Kalau itu filem Malaysia atau nusantara, aku akan reviu dalam Bahasa Melayu; kalau filem antarabangsa atau tempatan yang berbahasa asing, aku akan reviu dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Kali ni aku rasa segmen reviu imbas kembali aku ni istimewa sikit; sebabnya aku reviu filem omputih dalam Bahasa Melayu! Kira aku dah langgar sikit aku punya peraturanlah ni. 

"Hoi, Deadites! Mampuih boleh dak?!" habaq Ash Williams.

Dua reviu ni aku goreng dekat group Movie Addict di Facebook pada hujung bulan Julai dan awal bulan Ogos. Untuk pengetahuan anda, reviu-reviu di bawah ialah ulasan kepada dua daripada empat filem daripada francais filem Evil Dead; The Evil Dead tahun 1981 dan reboot-nya, Evil Dead pada tahun 2013. Aku tengok semua sekali, tapi rasa nak reviu original dengan reboot je. Jangan tanya aku kenapa.

"Barua yang dok bocoqkan paip ni mintak kena kerat ka apa?!" komplen Mia Allen.

FYI, kedua-dua reviu ni dibuat betul-betul lepas aku tonton kedua-dua Evil Dead, dan kali ni diedit dari segi wording agar tak rasa terlalu awkward untuk dibaca. Selamat!

A film review: 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day' is not terrible at all.

The before and after poster. This is a damn easy-to-read film, ain't it?

Origin: USA

Language: English

Director: Miguel Arteta

Producers: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Lisa Henson

Writer: Rob Lieber

Casts: Ed Oxenbould, Steve Carrell, Jennifer Garner, Kerris Dorsey, Dylan Minnette

Genre: Comedy

Release: October 10, 2014 (US), December 4, 2014 (MY)

Studios: Walt Disney Pictures, 21 Laps Entertainment, The Jim Henson Company

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Ah, hello there fellow readers. My ol' routine is back! Only because I feel like doing it. And I got excited because of a few things about this film; not really because of Steve Carrell and especially not Jennifer Garner; kind of because light, simple films like this are hard to come by these days (I mean, simple and light in terms of its immediate resonance with real life situations); TOTALLY because of its teaser poster and the 'after' poster pictured above; and MOSTLY because of that wordy title (reminds me of the good old days of Fall Out Boy's wordy song titles; a mouthful to say, but catchy nonetheless, and most of the time doesn't even say much about its content).

Now. Let the review commence!