The Martian

Back in 1979, Ridley Scott stunned moviegoers with Alien. Then, he made another movie called Prometheus (I watched it three times in the cinema. Now, the visual storyteller returns to outer space – with a super-suspenseful saga of an astronaut accidentally stranded on Mars. I'm not a big fan of movie that was based on novels (exceptions was made for Harry Potter), but The Martian was one of the movie I really looking forward to watch because it's about space and humanity. Growing up being a Starkie wasn't a bad thing after all because somehow I'm very interested in space explorations and I believe that one day humans can travel wherever they wanted. We don't have the power to travel and know everything about this galaxy, but this kind of movie gives you an idea what it looked like out there. 

What follows is a very entertaining and pretty darn technically accurate story of how Watney tries to stay alive long enough to let Earth know he’s still among the living and figure out how to get rescued.  One of the things that sets this book apart from many others in the genre is the detail it goes into describing how Watney, who’s a mechanical engineer and botanist, applies his skills to survive.  Watney must figure out how to stretch 50 days of supplies to the nearly two years it will take for the next mission to arrive, how to communicate with Earth and finally how to traverse the Red Planet to the location of a possible rescue. I really enjoyed his sarcastic and sometimes rather dark sense of humor.  I suspect that would be a key survival trait for someone stranded on another planet! Get me this, can you imagine yourself living all alone in a deserted planet and you're the only living out there waiting to die? I keep asking myself this throughout the entire movie. I can't do anything that he did in this movie, let alone survive it for two damn years! I bet I'd die the second I know I was stranded and all alone.

One of the many lessons that I liked in this movie was those solutions didn't always work. Just like in the real world, not all of Watney’s brilliant ideas work out.  In fact, some of them prove to be nearly fatal, such as his first attempt to generate water from hydrozine.  Kids, don’t try this at home! Plus, can you imagine yourself mastering both science and engineering? It's a life bonus if you can master them both and applied it in our daily life.

Personally, one of the downers about this movie was they didn't actually captured the moment when they had a 'slingshot' to go back to Mars. I wanted to see their faces and how fast that capsule can travel with the help of gravity (just like in Interstellar). Remember in Armageddon when they had to go very fast their body ached and screamed like a bunch of mad men? I was looking forward for that scene in this movie when they mentioned they have to go back to Mars by using the laws of gravity in order to save their fuels, but I didn't quite get that expression I was searching for.

It's possible to nitpick and complain about the structure of The Martian, but at the end of it all, I can't help but say I was inspired by it and that's what matters the most. Like Interstellar before it, deep down The Martian is all about telling the kids growing up now that, yes, you can dream about going to Mars. When we work together, or even when we're alone and determined – "where there's a will there's a way" – and we can accomplish anything, even the impossible. If everybody says it won't work, screw them, just go out and do it. I love that Ridley Scott is having fun with the sci-fi genre again. Go see The Martian and be inspired again.

p/s: Please stop comparing The Martian with Interstellar and biased by it. They are not the same, end of story.

Insidious: Chapter 3

Before I started going all crazy about this movie, there's something that I wanted to say; I hoped it's a trilogy. Yes, deep down in my heart, I wanted it to be a trilogy, no more, no less. Why? Because Insidious: Chapter 3 is a prequel and it wrapped the whole trilogy perfectly.

Some say that it wasn't going to be a trilogy, but I believed in James. As long as it good, I'll pay for his movie.

Insidious: Chapter 3 was very good compared to the previous instalment. I really liked it. In fact, I wasn't alone on that thought. Usually, sequel sucks (Child's Play 3, Jaws 2, Scream 3, Cruel Intentions 2), but Insidious built up its reputation around character development.

As we know, characters are very important in a movie. In Chapter 3, at first I was like "Oh look, there's a new hot girl in town," but eventually, towards the end, I really cared about her. I do. Remember the movie Annabelle that came out a few months back? Yes, I don't care about the characters in that movie. "Oh, she's dead. Oh, another one is dead. Death everywhere!" and I can't stop laughing back then. Some of the characters in Annabelle were not important and it was kinda confusing, why James had them in the first place. Just saying, by the way. You don't have to agree with me, you know.

The other thing that I liked about this movie was its element of surprise. Being a horror extremist wasn't easy. I watched horror movies since I was little and to be honest, I missed being scared by a stand-alone movie and the good old days where I turned the lights on in the middle of the night. The thing is, James' element of surprises are very good. There were a few moments where I nearly knocked my Coke off (because I put it on the floor and the bloody seat does't have a bloody holder for my Coke) and I must admit, it was really good.

As for its storyline, it wrapped everything with a touch of bow on its top. I really, really liked it. It wasn't confusing, no cliffhangers, it does explained every little details that we missed out and everything was falling in line perfectly.

Honest to God, because of this movie, I'd like to take back what I said earlier; astral projection is a cool power (I'm a big fan of Charmed and yes, up until to this day, I like Prue very much). No, I don't want to travel or be in two places at the same time. Big no-no.

As a fan, I'm really looking forward for his new movies. James is a brilliant man and I hoped that he will stay in this industry by making more horror movies.

Interstellar

"Love is the one thing that transcends time and space."

I wrote a review about Interstellar last year, but I didn’t post it. Interstellar was my movie of the year in 2014 and until now, I can’t get over the fact that Cristopher Nolan did that movie in a brilliant way. In my opinions, Interstellar was one of the most ambitious movies from him. Despite the fact that Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy did so well in the past few years, people wanted more from him and he did it brilliantly. The thing about Interstellar is that everything in that movie was based on science and Nolan was really being realistic in shooting this movie. Everything Nolan did was real, from the camera, lighting, props and other smaller things. You have to watch its Blu-ray and then you’ll know what I mean.

Now, where do I start? I’m going to categorize my review into smaller parts so I can be thorough with this movie. I hope everyone have watched this amazing movie before reading this post.

Casting

From McConaughey’s emotional scene to Hatheway’s dramatic acting, these people were born to act. To be honest, I cried a little (not so much, I guess) here and there (and swipe it away immedietly before everyone noticed) because I can feel those emotions. As a guy (and one day I’m going to be a father), leaving your daughter behind for the sake of mankind was really hard. So, I can relate myself with the main character. Try to put yourself in their shoes and imagine everything that happened in that movie was real. At some point, we actually care about these characters. These familiar faces were simply amazing and I think Nolan did it right by having them on sets.

Soundtrack

Hans Zimmer. Do I need to elaborate more? Okay, I need to elaborate more. His composing skills were really beyond my imagination. I’ve fallen in love with his work since Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl. Every time I wanted to do something dramatic, I’d always have He’s a Pirate, Dream Is Collapsing and The Fire Rises on shuffle. These tracks are some of my favorites, but Hans Zimmer did it differently in Interstellar. This time, he composed it using a pipe organ and that’s what makes it so interesting. Those tracks have soul in it. I can feel those notes in my bone. He tried to give the audiences of feeling alone and vulnerable at the same time. He did one hell of a job and I really liked it. Interstellar OST is a must have for everyone.

Storyline

After you watched Memento, The Prestige, Inception and other Nolan’s work, your expectation towards his new movie will be higher than before. I still remember the day they launched a teaser of Interstellar, I was quite down by it because it shows nothing. The big idea here was space exploration. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. So, as I was waiting patiently for this movie to come out, Nolan did release a few new trailers about his sci-fi movie. Then it hit me; I wanted to watch this movie so bad because of its secretive elements. You can’t judge a movie by its trailer, no. Then I promised myself to watch it the second it hits the theater. To be fair, I was awestruck with everything Nolan did in this movie. At first, I was having a hard time grasping on the scientific facts, but after a few minutes, my train of thoughts catch his drift. The science behind this movie is so real I got chills in my bone. I’m kind of into sci-fi flicks, so theories about wormholes and whatnot are kind of easy to me, but then I discovered a whole new level of scientific theories because of this movie. Not just that, the plot between what’s going to happen, what just happened and what the future holds is kind of interesting; I really, really liked it. You overthink about a simple idea they were trying to tell you and that’s great. I bet this movie inspires young generation to become an explorer and see life differently in future. Interstellar is the kind of movie that you can watch it over and over again, no matter how old you are, it will stay in your heart.

Nolan’s modus operandi ended with a beautiful scene. Interstellar is a masterpiece. It’s visually beautiful, ingenuous in parts and left you dumbfounded. I wish I could express it more enthusiastically, but this is one of my favorite movies and I think it will suit you well.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

This post was actually written three days earlier.

I thought my last post was over a month ago, where did the time go? That’s the thing about being an adult; time seems faster than it should be. I’ve been busy with my student life and I don’t have enough time for everything. I wish I could be in different places at the same time. Devastating, isn’t it. Well, let’s put my problems aside, let’s talk about something far more important; Avengers: Age of Ultron.

As I mentioned before (I mentioned it quite a few times in Twitter), I got an early passes for the most anticipated movie in 2015. You heard me, it’s the Avengers: Age of Ultron! As I predicted (and most of us did), the cinema was packed with Marvel fans!

You don’t have to be a Marvel geek to get with the vibe. Everyone’s waiting for this sequel since 2012 and now it’s here. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers was ranked third in the worldwide domination of box office, so people are expecting more from the sequel. Guess what, he gave us what we wanted.

From the epic battle between Hulk and Hulkbuster to the ass-kicking fights between good and evil, this movie was packed with action. Don’t get me wrong, I love this movie, but some of the parts are just plain wrong. I’m not going to give out spoilers or anything, but some facts should stay as facts, I don’t care about Hollywood or fame, you have to get the facts right. Joss Whedon changed some of the major facts about the character and I really hate that. Other than that, this movie was too amazing in my own words.

One thing I forgot to mention, this movie has too much jokes in it and I don’t like that. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t mix serious business (especially when the bad guy was about to throw a punch at you) with cheesy jokes. Well, too much of anything can make you sick.

One character that drooled my eyes to the floor was Scarlet Witch. Wanda is my favorite character in Marvel Heroes, gamers can only feel her supernatural power in games and so my expectation about her was barely on a scale from one to ten. All I must say is, we should give Whedon a standing ovation because he did an amazing job potraying Scarlet Witch on a big screen. Plus, Elizabeth was amazing and she did her job well. But, one thing I was hoping for was Scarlet loses her shit and blows everyone to pieces, of course that didn’t happened. If that happen, then this movie would be swooshingly amaazing (is that even a word?).

Put the moral conundrums aside and go watch it while you still can. One thing for sure, Whedon was born to make this movie and he did one hell of a job. Eventhough this will be his last Avengers movie, I still think he should do more and continue his work in Phase 3 of Marvel Cinematic Universe. It won’t be the same without him.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

So..

My last review was almost a year ago, I guess growing up sucks the time out of you then. The thing about being 22 is that you don't have much time for everything. A little tad of this and that, then suddenly blinking brightly in front of your eyes like a neon sign; 2014. Not to forget, 2015 is just around the corner. *sigh*

I should stop ranting about time because you people will get bored and I'm not Einstein (amen to that?).

Let's talk about the highly anticipated movie that has been released last week, Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Roughly speaking, everyone thought it was bad. It was real bad even some of you guys are not willing to pay to see it on the big screen. Is it really that bad? Come on guys, there's no bad movies. Especially from Michael Bay, give that man some credits. Growing up watching Armageddon and Pearl Harbor made me realized what kind of man he is and make no mistake I'm not even close to where he is standing right now, if you know what I mean.

The thing is, after I watched Age of Extinction, I feel great and not bad at all. I still remember what I said after it has ended, "That's the kind of Transformers I'm talking about!" and I stand by what I said. When I was a kid, Transformers has been playing a major role during my free time. I'm not the kind of guy who goes out anytime I want because I preferred staying in my room and watch these awesome movies, where the real imagination whistled. Yes, I'm a nerd, get over it. I like the way all of  the Autobots kicking Decepticons' ass and they always win, every single time. It gives us kid hope and now Michael transformed it into a big, cinematic movie. Every fanboy in every corner of the world will watch this and I'm one of them.

In my opinions, a lot of people complaining about it mainly because they are too hooked up on the first trilogy. What's more irritating and annoying is they keep comparing those two Transformers. Before Age of Extinction was released, Michael did say that it's going to be a reboot and it has nothing to do with the first trilogy. But we are aware with the timeline of the Transformers universe and Age of Extinction has taken place a few years after the apocalyptic event in Dark of The Moon (spoiler alert).

About the cast, some preferred Shia and to some, Mark Wahlberg is the perfect choice for this reboot. I'm a big Marky fan and I think he did great. Not to mention that hot lady, damn that girl needs to be in every movie ever produced because she's too hot. I'm just kidding, I think she's hot and she is too, did a great job on this movie.

What about the plot? I'm not gonna write any more spoilers for you guys but what I can say is, Transformers movie should be about Transformers and this time, Michael did it. Who gives a damn about human and other political stuff, I watch Transformers because I wanted to see them fight real bad and at some point, Michael gave us the idea of vulnerability of a hero and I liked it. I was confused at first what's been going on but towards the end, I managed to grab the straight-into-hole plot. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with this movie. A lot of action has taken place and honestly, sometime I find it hard to know what's been going on because them robots got into fight and at the same time, there was debris all over the place and I have difficult time to differentiate what's what. I guess it's just me, don't mind that. The CGI in this movie was too amazing I almost forgot it wasn't real. You kinda feel it in your eyes, you know what I'm saying? I love CGI, thank you to whoever invented those tech. Highlight of the day for me was when Optimus riding Grimlock and the way he screamed before slashing and tearing them bad guys apart. The kind of chills I've been waiting for a long time, again maybe it was just me.

To round things up, for those who haven't watch it yet, what about give it a try? Forget about the first trilogy and don't bother with what's everyone been talking. Just buy the ticket and imagine you watch the Transformers for the first time. Trust me, it gets better.

Happy Ramadan.

The Conjuring

"She made me do it!"

It has been years since the last time I watched a very good horror movie. James Wan did it once again. This is so far the scariest movie from him. If you want goriness, you can always watch the Saw franchise, if you want creepily disturbing movie, you have Dead Silence, but The Conjuring is downright scary.

After the Saw franchise, I wanted more from him. He delivered a good scripted movie in Insidious, it's about the astral traveler in our modern time. Then I heard he's currently writing a sequel, next chapter of that movie. Back then, I wasn't aware of The Conjuring. Yes, I saw the teaser poster of The Conjuring and I thought it was okay, until the second poster came out. To top that poster, it says based on true story. After a while, the third poster blown my mind, which I featured in this post. This poster immediately grabs my attention.

If you put a face on horror movie, you already won people's heart. It's much more scarier if there's a face in horror movie. Let's take Wes Craven, we have Freddy Krueger and The Ghostface Killer. Not to mention John Carpenter's Michael Myers and Victor Miller's Jason Vorhees. In The Conjuring, we have the doll that looks like James' Billy in Dead Silence.

In my opinions, James did an amazing movie. From the beautiful mid-century sets to the mind-boggling casting, this movie fits everything perfectly. Vera Farmiga's facial expression in this movie was beyond my imagination. She did an amazing job in the Orphan and she did it again this time, so far the best performance from her.

The script was simple, beautifully written and yet nightmarish. No poltergeist, no serial killer and no killing doll, for sure, but James did delivered that dreadful feeling in this movie. It's hard to make a scary movie, but when you do, you have to make the audiences wanting more and more. That's what good horror movie is all about, wanting more even though it's killing you on the inside. I won't watch scary movies with people, I'd prefer watching it alone because when you are alone, you can actually feel the movie, feel the creepiness behind it's audio and surround yourself with a blanket of darkness.

Talk about the audio, The Conjuring delivered a very good grisly and horrid sounds. I think it's the same composer from Insidious, might do a reading on that. It's nothing like Hans Zimmer's or Gerrard Marrino's, it's more of a combination between Akira Yamaoka's and Jason Graves'. It has that creepy essence of eerie and spooky, which is perfect.

Horror fans out there should watch this movie. You can either leap out of your skin or sit tightly in you safe heaven without giving it a try. This movie left me feeling terrified and I hope there's more from James Wan.