Movie Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Movie Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, 2016, dir: Burr Steers. 

I'll go on full spoiler in this review! Sorry! But you for sure know the storyline of Pride and Prejudice, right? 

I don't know which scene was more appealing to me. Seeing the Bennet girls went into battle to fight zombies? Watching them putting on their blades and guns attached to their undergarments? Watching Mr. Darcy suffered being headlocked by Liz's legs after confessing his love to her? Seeing sweet sweet Jane without fear took out her small dagger to kill a zombie running towards her? I don't know, but I like them all!

This movie was adapted from a book under the same title, written by Seth Grahame-Smith with Jane Austen as the co-writer. When I saw the book on display a couple of times back in Dussman, I always thought, it'll be quite a cheesy easy gothic story kind of book. I'm sorry, but I'm still hurting after a renowned (late) writer took Pride and Prejudice into an investigative crime novel, Death Comes at Pemberley, and absolutely botched it. So I take extra caution to read any extra adaptation of Jane's book.

So I also didn't bother when the movie was out. Remember the 1999 version of Mansfield Park? Where the movie writer or the director decided to infuse Jane Austen's character into Fanny Price? The shy, closed, Fanny Price turned into another Elizabeth Bennet. What a shame. And until now, we still haven't got a proper Mansfield Park adaptation. Oh look, when it comes to Jane I always rattle out from my original plan.

Anyways, so with caution did I watch the movie. The Rotten Tomatoes rating was not very good, so I expect nothing, actually. But it turns out to be quite and enjoyable take of the novel. So Great Britain was infected by a plague which turns people into zombies, and so people on that Island after years of attack had to learn to defend themselves, including the amazing Bennet girls who, unlike most people who'd learn martial art in Japan, studied in Shaolin temple in China. So the rest of the story was pretty much like Pride and Prejudice (even with scenes which remind me of the 2005 adaptation: the cleaning up the house when the Bennets left Netherfield, Liz entered the dining room to visit her ill sister, and the room where Darcy (almost) confessed his feelings to Liz). And plenty of scenes took the original script from Jane's book. But it also in a way, felt quite original and fresh. Like some of the reviewers (of the book), saying that the zombie story was infused nicely to the original P & P plot, this also applies in the movie.

I checked the plot of the book, and it seems quite different to the adapted screenplay, so I think I can still read it and feel surprised. But it was really a fun watch to see my favorite characters got involved with zombie war. The Bennet girls felt more badass in this adaptation, and gosh seeing Jane and Liz taking out their swords to fight is just sooo exciting! So although the movie might not be the best of the best, it is still a very entertaining one. And I'd suggest it to fellow Jane Austen's lover who would agree that Jane's sense of humor would appreciate this. Because, really, it's so funny and entertaining to see Liz cut off a zombie's head in front of the love of her life!! Would non-Jane Austen fan love it? I'm not so sure, because the fun part is seeing how the characters from the original story got their own twisted story line. But I can't really tell, because I'm really biased :P

Ah, and I decided to watch this movie because of Condro. So here goes my review, Condro :D

"Liz, let's spend the rest of our lives hunting zombies together. Do you like the idea of it?"

Movie Review: Independence Day: Resurgence

Movie Review: Independence Day 2: Resurgence, 2016, dir: Roland Emmerich.

I had a hunch that when they have Liam Hemsworth in the trailer, despite the awe-making scenes, this movie might simply be an easy going summer flick that you shouldn't let your brain think too much. But it was bad and in the end made me think too much out of passionate disappointment.

This review will be on full spoiler, so move forward with caution!

I didn't watch the first movie. I didn't know why, I mean I watched Jurassic Park which is the other revolutionary movie in terms of special effect around that era, but didn't bat an eye on this one. So I spent the hours before watching it reading through the original storyline.

Oh my God, the movie was filled with 'why aren't they thinking straight?' moments which is just mind goggling for me. First was the first alien ship which was already mentioned to be looking 'not intimidating' but they blew it anyways. Wow. You see, the movie said that after the attack from 20 years ago, the world has created cutting edge technologies due to learning alien ships landed on earth, etc. But... they can't make a comprehensively thought over decision? Why attack something which doesn't look intimidating? ('because the writers can't find better reason for the story to move forward!' said me in the background)

the alien ship

Second, the scene where they scanned the landed (bigger) alien ship, and found heat center in the middle of the ship, suggesting 'ah this is the mother alien, if we kill her, the-similar-to-beehive-community will for sure destroyed'. I immediately thought, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A TRAP, but the movie dragged another 10 minutes or something to show, and act surprised, OH WELL THIS IS A TRAP! Why? How can high level military personnel, experienced scientists, came to such decision SO SO EASY. Gah. I felt insulted.

And then the typical 'I'll sacrifice' scene plus the 'We will overcome this together' speech close to the ending which was shot so cheesy-ly, I cringed, like how does the actor able to even say these words? If you wanna use it, use it well! See for example, Pacific Rim, scene: Marshal Pentecost giving his final speech. That's the way to deliver this over-used type of scene! Gah.

And although I love seeing Maika Monroe on the screen, I wish there were more to it. Liam Hemsworth's scene where he pissed the aliens by literally pissing WAS ABSOLUTELY stupid, the conflict between Liam and Jessie Usher's character was so standard I don't know why it matters. Plus, Jessie Usher's character is also handsome and has this sweetness in his face, why not have him date Maika's character if you need to add ((an) unnecessary) a love scene.

I told my husband, 'Maybe, the producers of the movie thought that they are sick of complicated storyline during the last few years, so they thought 'Hey, let's make an oversimplified movie, just for fun', so they make this one, where everybody ended up being happily ever after and now 'let's hunt the villainous alien with this cutting edge technology' aka let's make this a new franchise and make more movies and hence more money' GAAH (if it's good, keep it coming. but if it's not, why spent all those money to make bad quality movie -- this one must be expensive, just look at the CGI and special effects).

And so... I'll watch the first movie, maybe I'll know something more?

The fun thing about this movie experience is because I went to watch it with Bizki, his older brother Agah, his younger brother and the younger brother's wife Ihsan and Dania, for the first time hanging out as a big family (usually it's just me and my sis and sometimes with mbak Dian ;D). And I get to spend the evening before the movie walking around CiWalk which I rarely go to when I was studying in Bandung because I didn't have money to hang out in the cafes, etc (I usually go to the shopping mall where they have the cheapest movie tickets). And I had my first Bakmie GM. And I get to spend the evening discussing about movies with Bizki and Agah. Found out that Ciwalk is a pretty cool place, looking like a forest with building structures with plenty of restaurants and cafes. I mean, it's so futuristic for me, so I enjoyed it a lot. So yeah, the movie was pretty crappy, but I had some fun time :D And I guess that's more important :)

Movie Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)

Movie review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition), 2016, dir: Zack Snyder

Batman v Superman was one of the last movies I watched in Berlin before going home to Jakarta. I didn't like it at that time, for me there were plenty of times when I feel like the story got botched and edited in a bit of a messy way. Then, last week another movie goer (whom I trusted) posted in his Facebook that the Ultimate Edition, with the extra ~ 30 minutes is out, and it really made the film better. So I hunt it down and finally got to watch it last night with Bizki.

This will be a total spoiler review, because I need to get to the details, so... sorry!

I was happily surprised to find out that yes, the film now makes more sense. For example, one of the arguments from the movie critics about the movie is the lack of acting on the side of Henry Cavill/Superman. As if he was in the movie only to be shown as the Messiah figure with no relevance. I myself, and I guess as mentioned in the movie critics by the time the movie was out, thought that there are plenty of story going on on the side of Batman, but there wasn't much on Superman side. Well, the Ultimate Edition gave a balanced view of the two sides fighting. We already knew Batman's motivation in hating Superman, but why is Superman trying to pursue Batman back, and this edition explained it.

the Trinity

Another scene which makes me absolutely confused was when Batman was aftering the kryptonite moved by Luthor's thugs. Suddenly, Superman came unto Batman to tell him to back off. I was so confused, why? Don't you know that Batman is hunting the kryptonite? Well, again, it was explained by the apparent sadism of Batman towards the criminals in Gotham, which message didn't delivered that well in the original version, but understandable from the Ultimate Edition.

There is also the scene about the suicide bomber. It wasn't suicide after all! It totally changed the mood of the movie. Lois's investigation which made her realize that the bomber wasn't doing it as a suicide attempt, and also the added scene where the woman from Nairomi  was explained to be giving false testimony, well that gives a lot of weight not just to Lois's role in the movie, but also explained the on going motive and conspiracy behind the accusations of Superman being the vigilante. Oh and the scene where Superman helped people after the 'suicide' bombing? Was it there, or was it added? Because that gives that 'missing' humanistic side of Superman.

Oh and one other thing is... JENA MALONE'S SCENES!! HOW DARE ONE CUT OUT HER SCENES, COMPLETELY OUT OF THE MOVIE! Really, it's not that long, but her character was important, adds to Lois's investigation, and it's JENA MALONE! (i love her because of the Hunger Games :p).

As some people said, this version is the original vision of Zack Snyder, which makes sense because it's really wrapped up much better. Connectivity between the scenes, background story to explain the motivation of the characters, all makes it a better story. As mentioned by that movie goer friend, this also has something to do with the need to get a PG-13 rating for the movie rather than the R rating for the Ultimate Edition. The film is already pretty long with 151 minutes of running time. This edition made it extended up to 181 minutes, so this might be one of the other reasons why the movie got cut (I'm leaning more towards the rating thing. Big studios would get more money if it's PG-13 rating rather than an R one).

But yeah, so glad that this version was out. Can't wait for Wonder Woman's full movie. Some people complained about the abundance of super heroes movies these days, but I'm a happy fan to have all these sci-fi stories flying around, so just give it to us, please please please!!

Discussion: The Conjuring 2

This one's only for people who have watched it or absolutely don't care about spoiler!


So there are some parts and mysteries which I like best about Conjuring 2:
1. the intro music and animation. The scene where they just showed 'THE CONJURING 2' in the beginning, black background and text in yellow, taking the whole space of the screen and the screeching music which just put you on the very edge of your seat. Damn it.
2. the fact that Valak, the nun ghost, showed up in the middle of the comfort of Ed & Lorraine's home, under daylight sun. like, seriously. they can't stop, can they?
3. I like that they added some mysteries in the story. the fact that the ghost which haunted Janet is only a pawn, used by Valak, disabling him from moving to the other side, and that Valak scared Ed and Lorraine so they won't want to send any more devils back to hell in addition taking the vision as a nun which is like a holy symbol for Lorraine, so it's like an extra abomination. nice touch.
4. I like the scene when Lorraine imitated Ronald DeFeo Jr when he was killing his family. The way she pretended to shoot using the big gun! Nice scenes!!

Movie review: The Conjuring 2

Movie review: The Conjuring 2 (dir. James Wan)

Here's the spoiler discussion

I was very cautious when I was about to watch this movie. My sister and I avoided any rumors and spoilers and only see other reviewers' reactions to know more or less what to expect in the movie. We were so worried that it's gonna be so scary that we can't sleep or anything. It got even scarier in the cinema as we realized that there weren't that many people watching it, damn it! (if it's crowded, when it got scary, at least there are plenty of people that can dilute the creepy atmosphere)

So I love watching (1) horror movie (2) ghost movie (3) exorcist movie, well you get the idea. But it's so hard to find a good one. It's not enough to have scare jumps, you have to built an atmosphere, have interesting characters, a good story, and most of all, a good mystery. That's why I like all Insidious series, and It Follows, but disliked Annabelle. And boy oh boy, The Conjuring 2 is certainly one of the best horror movies out there.

pic from here

The story takes us back a few years after the Amityville incident, where we're back with our duo exorcists/psychic, Ed and Lorraine Warren, this time investigating a case of a haunted house of Hodgson's family in Enfield, England. Despite the many incidents that happened, especially centered around one of the kid in the family, Janet, they were still unsure whether they actually do have a case of a haunted house. Why? Well, you should watch it yourself. In any case, how the case was disentangled were more complicated as you'd think a horror movie should be, and it's just good that they've decided to do it like that. One of the best scary character would be the haunting nun. Ugh she/he freaked me out. Especially when it came unto you while you're simply enjoying your daily bliss.

The movie was also made in such a way that you were given moments of brief relief just to drag you back into anxiousness, damn it. I screamed twice and held my sister's hand too hard (sorry). But, like my friend said in his facebook post (Jombang), the movie was ultimately a romantic story. And it's really partly true. It is also a very well executed horror movie, and I'd love to re-watch it.

*still, the ultimate source of really really scary horror movies, you gotta give it to The Ring and all those good Japanese horror/ghost stories.

Book Review: A Strangeness in My Mind

Book Review: A Strangeness in My Mind, 2014, Orhan Pamuk

As posted in goodreads

After being traumatized reading the Museum of Innocence, I still somehow want to indulge myself to read Orhan Pamuk's work again. There's just a sense of magnetism to keep on coming back to his home city Istanbul. And when I read the general plot of the story, I was simply hooked. Hoping, please, don't let it be too hurtful this time.

And oh boy.

I have to write back a little on Museum of Innocence to be able to put my thoughts properly here. Museum of Innocence tells a story about a rich Istanbul man who fell in love with his distant, somewhat poor cousin, Füsun. Throughout their relationship, he grew obsessive, following and setting her up for his advantage and by the end of the book, I was so mad and stressed, and I can't figure out why some people can say that this is a romantic love story. Ugh.

YOĞURTÇU (yoghurt street seller). Cihangir neighbourhood, Istanbul, 1950s.

(https://de.pinterest.com/jeancriel/street-vendors-in-turkey-former-ottoman-territorie/)

So I was slightly worried, but curious at the same time, when I found out that the central theme of A Strangeness in My Mind is a love story as well. But it turns out that it has have an opposite atmosphere compare to Museum of Innocence.

The two books have some similarities, though. In addition for both being set up in Istanbul, the story tells about the changes the characters experienced in relation to the development of politics within the decades when they lived in Istanbul. Funny enough, while Museum of Innocence delved inside the life of Istanbul's upper class where it's more 'Western' dominated, A Strangeness in My Mind is being told from the eyes of the more poor (very very poor), traditional, lower classes, migrants from villages part of Istanbul. I have to check, but maybe the two books are actually set in the West (Museum of Innocence) and the East (A Strangeness in My Mind) sides of the city?

So the book tells about a boza seller, Mevlut, who came from a village near Istanbul trying to make a living in the big city, starting when he was a young 12 years old boy. It further described about Mevlut and the dynamics of his family - dad, cousins, uncle, aunt, best friend - and later on his wife, his in-laws, children, nieces, nephews, as they struggle to survive, and how Istanbul's  landscape changes from the 1950s towards 2012. There's of  course the whole political situation, both within the country and outside, used as a background or sometimes directly affecting the characters. The  book described (mostly in a fun way) of the life and culture of Turkish people, and the different people who lived there, and how they clashed, or get together.

Anyways, as I've mentioned about the atmosphere of the book, I couldn't help myself to be so comforted along the reading experience. Sure, it's so stressful to see the main character, honest boyish looking, Boza selling, Mevlut, working throughout his whole life trying to make ends meet by working various jobs with such optimism and earnestness. Or the people around his life who are simply ordinary people with the greatness and complexity of human beings. But while Museum of Innocence left me feeling depressed, this book comforts me about the reality of a changing life, of being young, falling in love, growing older, the relativeness of success, of happiness, of what home means, of how changes are unavoidable, and the fleeting lives of our species, and how time waits for no man. This book have so many ways to make the readers sad and depressed, but through Mevlut's heart and his soft feelings, you'd be comforted knowing that kindness and love can cure your heart.

The nights when Mevlut walks down the old small streets in Istanbul, carrying his boza drink, knocking peoples' doors, listening to their story and peeking on their lives; the comfort of knowing that you have loved and shared blissful years with your beloved, going home to a place where your heart can rest; when you can be comforted by the quiteness of the night, taking a refuge from the craziness of the world under daylight; for all that, I just need to say, thank you Mr Pamuk for writing such a wonderful story. Thank you for letting us know about Mevlut's life and the amazing people around him. Especially, Rayiha. It's always been her.

Kindle AND Printed Books

So what is the purpose of this particular blog post? Me, using my bragging right that, 'Hey, I have a kindle y'all!'. Or is it some sort of bragging under the disguise of being humble? Hahaha. Well, I hope that this is purely my sincere writing about one of the thing I love the most, which is reading. And this time, it's about the medium which I used for reading.

Let's start with a story. When I was planning to go home, back to Indonesia, I thought to myself, a. I'm not earning money myself; b. For books that I want, access to a printed version would be difficult. So sad we're not on the level of Singapore or Malaysia when it comes to literacy; c. I've collected during the last 6.5 years almost all books which for me would be the 'required' reading - so far LOL -; what can I do about it?

An illustration by my sister, original can be seen here

See more of her work here

My friend Roshni, has long suggested that I should get myself a Kindle. The one from Amazon was the obvious option, because I have been used to use my amazon account to get books, etc. And hey, there's an incorporated built-in light for the KindlePaperWhite version. Which means I can read in the dark (good for when travelling, etc). I checked Roshni's copy, and she's right, the surface of the Kindle isn't like a computer screen with its strong light, but it's simply looked like a page of a book. Plus, the coolest thing for me is, this thing only has internet connection so you can have your books sent to your Kindle address. You can't browse the internet, or waste your precious reading time doing anything else. So I thought, it is pretty awesome. It will solve my a-b-c problems.

And the other funny thing was this. So I was being super cheeky on money before going back home, it's just there are plenty of expenses that I need to pay, etc. That's another reason why I was a bit resisting on getting one, because a Kindle Paper White costs 120 Euros, holy cow, I can't spend money like that. But THANK GOD, one day I was finishing some lab work, during the weekend, and I found a 50 Euros bill on the way out. I thought holy cow this is a lot of money. So I took it, and when I opened, there were two 50 EUROS BILL!  THIS IS CRAZY! POOR PERSON MUST BE GOING CRAZY!

So I thought, well, if it's an outsider's money, than that person is screwed (sometimes, people came in and out through the garden because it's usually unlocked; and I've seen a couple of times people got lost coming inside the green house garden). If it's someone who's working here, students most likely, there's still a possibility to give this money back. So I sent an email to the group where most of the people who works here belong to, and it took another week before the email was posted, but I still hoped someone would contact me to get this money back.

A month passed and no one contacted me. Oh well, I guess I can use this money. Don't worry, my fellow muslim friends, I paid out 25% of the money for charity (it's an obligatory rule in Islam, if you found treasure who no one claims to, you should pay out 25% off it as zakat).

Now, when I checked Amazon to see the Kindle Paper White's price, it was strangely discounted for 40 Euros (Easter holiday discount!). So now the price was 80 Euros. It was just 10 Euros higher compare to Roshni's Kindle, the one without the built in light, but I still have my doubts because come on, 80 Euros is a lot. Maybe I can it the usual way, using the Kindle I got in my Smartphone? (with the small screen and runny battery) But I thought to myself, there might not be any better chance, and if I postpone it even later, it might be too late for delivery because I have to fly home.

SO I FREAKIN' ORDERED IT! along with a black cover so I wouldn't scratch the surface too much. All and all costs exactly 100 Euros (I found the money one or two weeks after I bought the Kindle).

When I got the Kindle, I was soo happy. I rarely buy new electronics, but looking at the super light, rechargeable, version of a book, made me soo freaking happy.  I packed it in my bag and it's small enough and light enough to carry around (just a few weeks before, I ruined my bag because I carried 2-3 books at the same time. poor thing).

The Kindle Paper White's battery lasts for weeks. I can just finish one book, and there'll be enough battery for at least 10 more books or something like that. I learned to use only MOBI extension, because pdf or other format would not be comfortable for browsing. Roshni and I once took the u-bahn and saw a guy reading a Kindle (maybe other brand) and we both looked at it while giggling, wondering which version that is.

Now to the Kindle vs Printed book thing!

So during the last few months, I've finished three books in my Kindle. The first one is a book I wasn't sure would be worthy for collection as a printed version. And I was right. The book wasn't as good as I expected, so I was left wondering, is it the book that makes the Kindle experience feel lesser, or is it just the Kindle? Next was Room which for me was also not that very good of a book. So still, an unfortunate Kindle experience.

But then, there was Santonius's Twelve Caesars. This book started off awkward, it felt a bit like a wikipedia page. But as I move on deeper, I found it very enjoyable. I just couldn't take myself off the Kindle and just rowing through and through.

I also finally was able to use the built in light function when my husband and I were traveling to Bandung, and the night falls, and the trip was long and it has a weird tinted windows so everything outside looks so much darker and sinister. Kindle saved the trip by letting me going back to the world of pages. Comforted me as books always do.

I also read some printed books, in between: The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio. Which was in addition for being a pretty awesome book, I realized what's unique in a printed version, and no matter how efficient a Kindle might be, it won't replace this experience. Well, I guess it's just not meant to replace it in the first place. But there's the essence of turning pages, the feel of the book weight in your hand, or when you had to turn back some pages back, putting your finger in the current page while skimming back. Or yeah, the sentimental 'smell of a book'.

So here's my verdict. If you don't have to, just get printed books. But if you know that you need to be efficient (like myself, I ended up sending in total 12 boxes standard IKEA box, mostly filled with books. Plus all the other books I brought along on the in between trips to home), and you're truly an avid reader, then own both of them. Give yourself the printed version when it's truly your special writer (Jane Austen, Orhan Pamuk) (like I can't help myself to get A Strangeness in My Mind on a printed version. It's just the magic of the book is in both the written text and the way you can skim it through under your fingers!), or a book you know will lasts in your heart (Steinbecks', Baldwins'), keep them in your cupboards, and hold them to remind you of their stories. Have copies of books you love in your Kindle so in case you don't bring them along, or you feel the urge to return, there it is your old pal Kindle ready to take you home (I sometimes put it back in my cupboard along with my other books).

But I guess, most importantly, if you can, and if you know you'd really love to do it, read more and more books. They'd take you to places you wouldn't have expected. I'm currently in the streets of Istanbul in early 90s, walking together with a boza seller, and I keep on hoping he'll get enough boza sold before going home (on a side note, geez, Orhan Pamuk must love Istanbul A LOT). The book is weird and funny, but enjoyable and at least the tone isn't depressing like *cough-cough* Museum of Innocence.

And well, thank you for reading my rant and jumbled notes! Till next time :D

Oh and happy fasting!