Call It, and Raised It

After the release of Iron Man and Incredible Hulk consequently, Marvel Studios were riding high. The new Hulk movie managed to restart the franchise after Ang Lee's failed attempt in 2003, and Iron Man was gaining critical praise left, right centre as well as commercial success with Robert Downey Jr brilliant portrayal of Tony Stark. They also put out the plan to create the Avengers movie, with cleverly put cameos in the two movies.

Rivals at DC/WB needed an answer. After Superman Returns failed in the box office and their JLA project is languishing in development hell, they need to come up with something. And oh boy do they have the perfect response in The Dark Knight.

The sequel to 2005 Batman Begins managed to do what few movies can, being better than the original. Begins is already praised for its realistic and dark portrayal of the comic book characters, but this movie just take it to another level. It's gaining massive positive reviews from the critics, and at the time this review is written, has broke 8 box office records, including the biggest income from the opening weekend, breaking previous record that was held by Spider-Man 3.

I should admit though, that after Kevin Smith's comment that this is the Godfather 2 of comic book movies my expectation went so high that I feel that I'm going to be disappointed when I finally saw it. Rest assured, that not only it met my expectation, but also succeed it.

The movie itself is action packed, but it never got dumbed down into a typical action movie. The story is worthy of a great crime saga, and the characters development was fantastic.



Batman and Gordon effort to clean up Gotham from organized crime received a huge boost with the emergence of the new hot shot District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Dent's hard stance in prosecuting criminals proved to be more successful than Batman vigilante ways, and it gives Bruce Wayne a glimmer of hope that one day he can finally hang up his cowl and lead a normal life.

Meanwhile, the mobsters are getting desperate with all this, and in this desperation they turned to their last hope, a guy who claims that he can killed Batman for a price, The Joker. However, the Joker wasn't really interested in reward or money, all he care about is chaos. Like what Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) said to Wayne when the latter is trying to figure out The Joker, "Some people just like to see the world burn". And Joker pretty much got what he wanted. Chaos. Utter chaos.



That's pretty much as far as I can go without spoiling it. Rest assured that that two paragraphs is just scratching the surface.

Chris and Jonah Nolan together with David Goyer managed to wrote a story get each major character development perfectly, and the actors didn't disappoint. Bale's Batman and Wayne growth as a hero and a person, Aaron Eckhart brilliant performance in Dent portraying the rise and fall that created Two-Face, and Gary Oldman again shine in Jim Gordon's struggle to do the right thing. All was given enough arc and background stories. And much has been said about Heath Ledger final complete role, and let me tell you this. All the hype was justified. He was THAT good. His Joker is scary as hell, but you'll find yourself laughing at his jokes and felt shit afterwards, because you know you shouldn't be laughing. If let say 20 years from now, they're gonna make another Batman movie with the Joker in it, people will say "Can he play it as good as Ledger?" about the actor whose gonna play him.

To say that this is a great comic book movies is doing a bit disservice to the movie. Sometimes a movie is just so damn good it doesn't matter what genre it is.

About Two Years Ago

Approximately two years ago, France and Italy met in the World Cup Final. I wrote the piece below after the game. Considering they'll meet again tonight in the Euro 2008 do-or-die group match, I repost it again below.

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Well, the world cup has ended about 4 days ago, and life's back to normal again. No more waking up in the early hours of the day to watch a game. I, as most football fans around Indonesia will be relieved that, our routine wont be disturbed.

But the after effect of the final is stil going strong. Not because of the game itself (which is not very good since only France who were going for the win while Italy defended with their lives), but what happened 10 minutes before the game's extra time ended.

When the referee was going to signal a freekick for the Italians, he was brought to attention by other players at Marco Materazzi, the Italian defender, who was lying on his back while holding his chest in pain. After the ref consulted his assistant, he sent off Zinedine Zidane, the French captain, who has been inspirational for his side in this tournament, for violent conduct. TV replays a few minutes after that shows that after exchanging a few words with Materazzi, Zidane crash his head to the Italian chest with some power.



This is the huge talking point after the game. Most newspapers printed this incident as their headlines. Football forums filled with comments on Zidane's action. Italy, who won the World Cup after beating France in penalty shoot-out, got some nice articles about their achievement, but nowhere near the intesity that Zidane's incident.

The incident has been polarizing football fans around the world. Zidane's skill is well respected in the football world as one of the best in the world. Many people would like to see him get a proper goodbye since the final is his last game before he retired from football this year. What would make him do that is the question that's been asked.

Rumours that come out from the French camp was Materazzi was making racist comments about Zidane's mother. Materazzi himself denied that he made racist comments, but doesn't go into detail of what he actually said. Zidane only said in his latest press release that Materazzi insulted his mother and sister due to the point that he can't take it anymore.

No one really know what's been said, and I doubt we can answered the above question if either both of them won't tell the truth. FIFA are allegedly conduction an investigation on this issue, since racism is quite a serious crime. Materazzi could face quite a punishment if he really did said racist things to Zidane. Even though personally, I think he might have. Materazzi is well known as a dirty player who used every trick in the book (and write one himself), to be believed that he didn't try to get Zidane sent-off.

But, even after all this, even his exit was disgraceful, I think he's still one of the best player in the world. Zidane in his prime was an absolute joy to watched. His vision, ball control, power, passing range is absolutely top class. And he did all that with the economy of movement, unlike the Brazilians who tend to show off to display their skills. He's probably the only player that can make me woke up at 3 in the morning just to see him play his skill on clubs that I don't even support.
I've been priveleged enough to see him at his best, so I have no complaint about how he ends his career.

Au Revoir Zidane, merci beacoup pour la mémoire

What's now Doc?

So what's up now for Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) and the rest of the gang? House M.D season 4 finale was shown last week, and it certainly brings up some really interesting questions. While I'm not particularly liked this season for reasons I'll explain below, the finale thankfully brought something good in the series.

Season 4 started with House diagnosing a case on his own. After disbanding his team at the end of the previous season, House is adamant that he can work alone. Well, he's not actually disband them though. Foreman (Omar Epps) feared that he'll turned into House the longer he spent time around him and he resign. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) too has had enough and also resign. Only Chase (Jesse Spencer) that was fired against his will, even though House gave the reason that Chase already learned everything he needs to know from him.


But after subsequent events Cuddy managed to convinced House to hired a team, but House being House, he didn't do conventional interviews. Instead he selected them through 'reality show' elimination process. He gathered all 40 applicants and inform them that he'll eliminate them one by one after each case, and the remaining 3 will be his team.

This is what I think the weakest part of the series though. Even though the series initial idea was 'CSI against germs', where House and his team must find the cure to mysterious illness, the show has evolved into something much more interesting in its 3 year run.


When House began the contest, it decrease the amount of personal interaction between House and the applicants (in subsequently with the patient) because of their sheer number. The best moments on previous seasons was when House is at odds with the people around him. House idea that love, humanity and faith is stupid constantly clashed with Foreman's values, Chase's beliefs and Cameron's ideals. And that's what makes it good. I love the way House constantly undermined his team, but he also secretly admired them in different ways. I also like the way House seemed to take Wilson for granted, but came through when Wilson finally need him. I also like the fact that Cuddy, who as his boss, often clashed with House, but there's a hidden fondness between the two of them, as both know each other like no other person do.

When House finally picked his team, the show was a little better (Although one could argue his team can be predicted since some names are too well known to be just another guest star), but I regretted that the writers can't come up with something new, since this new team, was essentially the old team but with different people.


Taub (Steve Jacobson) was the only people in the team who's willing to stand up to House and provide a medical diagnostic that House could appreciate, much like Foreman. Kutner (Kal Pen) wants to impress House so much, and willing to take the risk, much like Chase. 13 (Olivia Wilde) is gorgeous, idealistic but with a damaged past, which pretty much is what Cameron is all about.

Throughout the season, I can't help comparing it to previous seasons, because even though it has some great moments (Frozen was an excellent episode), it lacked what made it good in the first place.

However the last two episodes brought back what's good with the series and increased it tenfolds. In the 15th episode, aptly titled House's Head, we take a journey inside House mind, he suffered mild amnesia after the bus he was riding had an accident. It was interesting and superbly done, as House only remember someone's dying but he can't remember who because he can't remember anything before the accident. The last episode deals with the after math of the previous episode, and more importantly asking questions about House friendship with Wilson and Cuddy too (No, not THAT kind of question you perverts). I always wondered why Wilson put up with House all this time, and after the finale, I wondered no more.

All in all, this bad season was rescued by the superb finale, and thankfully this made the next season a whole more interesting.

Wow

It finally sink in after a week.

Can't you believe it? Double Champions. It's so good to hear that. Let me say it again. Double Champions.




Who would thought it eh?

Well certainly not 3 years ago, when we were trailing in the league by a mile behind Chelsea, and finished bottom in our Champions League group, scoring only 3 goals. We've come a long way since then.

Although we came close to similar achievement last year and was probably fucked up by injuries, we're a little more than prepared this season to win both. You can see it in our play. We've become more tactical more astute in defending, especially in Europe. We can shut out team and annihilate them equally. And speaking of which, while Ronaldo gathered most of the praise this season, Rio Ferdinand stand the tallest of the red shirt. Put it this way, if we have to play a Champions league final and have to choose between those to who to miss the game, I'd take Ronaldo any day.

Rio leadership at the back spread through out the team, even when he's not wearing the armband. Notable mentions to the likes of Anderson and Nani. New comers at the club, but kept their nerves in the penalty shoot out. Anderson, I thought was the biggest revelation this season. He managed the hardest thing to do at Manchester United: Making Scholes unavailability from the football pitch almost unnoticeable, especially during the league run in. His maturity is astonishing. His strength and willingness was came as a surprised. We thought we're getting a Ronaldinho kind of player, when in reality, he's more a all-arounder than the older Brazilian.

Not that the Ginger Prince didn't have his say this season. While only scoring two goals all season, he choose the perfect time to score his second. A scorcher of a winner to the top corner in the Champions League semifinal.

Ryan Giggs also wrote his name in the history book, if he hasn't already. Let see, broke Sir Bobby Charlton records of 758 appearance for Manchester United, won a record 10th league title (the most of any player in the English league) the previous week. And between that achievement, he also scored United's second in the 2-0 win against Wigan, which ensured the Premiership title, and he also the one who scored the decisive penalty in the shoot out against Chelsea in the Champions League final. Not bad for a player who's been dismissed as 'past it'.

So let me extend my gratitude to other players:
Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra: Part of the best defensive unit in Europe and England. Especially pleased for Brown. A local lad, coming through the ranks, replacing the club captain, and he come out with flying colours.

Michael Carrick, passing extraordinaire and defensively underrated. Capello must be blind to overlook him in the England setup.

Owen Hargreaves, right winger, right back, central midfield, supreme penalty taker? No problemo.

Ji Sung Park: I'm sorry to see him missed the final, but he's more than worth his medal for his outstanding contribution in the quarter and semifinal.

Carlos Tevez, whose late goals was very Solskjaer-esque. Thanks for that equaliser against Spurs, Blackburn and Lyon.

Darren Fletcher, Arsenal season fucker.

John O'Shea, Mr Versitality.

And last but not least, thank you Edwin.

God bless.

I love this team.

A Perfect Start to the Summer

For those of you who lived in a tropical country like me, summer doesn't mean sunshine and holidays. But it does signal something else. It brought a whole bunch of blockbuster movies coming to the theaters.

The first of these movies, are Marvel Studio's Iron Man (2008), based on the company's comic book character. It hits the theaters at 30 April 2008, and based on last night viewing, if the rest of them is at least as good as this one, we're in for a real treat.

Prior to his involvement in the long running Civil War storyline in the comics, Iron Man wasn't one of Marvel A-list character. If one wasn't a comic book fan, he or she probably never heard of Iron Man before.

But I reckon after a few weeks, most people would know what he's all about. In the hands of Jon Favreau (Swingers, Daredevil), Iron Man looked like every bit a summer blockbuster should be. It's fun, it has fantastic special effects, it has also surprisingly good story and acting too. Perhaps it helps that the four main actors in this movie, was nominated for an Academy Award sometime before in their career.

As with any first comic book movies, this one starts with an origin story. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a genius with a knack at electronics and machinery. Continuing his father business with his father old friend Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), he made his millions as a weapon designer and manufacturer, selling them to the US Military. As with people who have serious amount of money, Stark was living in the fast lane. He parties and slept with beautiful women. He spent ridiculous amount of money on art works, cars and everything else he can buy.

Stark life took a drastic change after he was captured in Afghanistan by a group of terrorist after he demonstrate his latest invention, a high tech missile called The Jericho. The terrorist ordered him to build this missile for them. But instead, being a resourceful guy that he is, he used the resources to built his way out of there, in the form of a high tech armor suit.

Stark's beginning to re-evaluate his life after this experience. He found that the terrorist already used some of the weapons that comes from his company. His friendship with Yinsen (Shaun Toub), an Afghanistan doctor who is a fellow captive, made him realised that his life doesn't have a purpose before. And he wanted to make sure that he had one this time around, by building a better version of the armor and put it to good use.

Even though as I said before, the cast was full of talented actors, this is clearly a tour de force by Robert Downey Jr. His acting hit the all right notes as the cocky and arrogant Stark, but still very likable. His personal journey from a jerk to a jerk with a heart was acted really well. I don't think I've ever seen an actor nailed a part like this so completely, other than Christopher Reeve's Superman.

The rest of the cast was pretty good. Gwyneth Paltrow played Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, Stark personal assistant (and love interest) well. She wasn't given that much, but she has good chemistry with Downey, and she doesn't play the annoying damsel in distress role. The writers did a good job in not forcing the romance between Stark and Pepper. Jeff Bridges, without giving too much away, was also really good in his role. Terrence Howard as James Rhodes, a military officer liaison for Stark company, was underused, but there are hints that he'll playing a much more important role in the sequel.

The special effect was breathtaking. Stan Winston really outdo himself in creating the armor suit. I like the fact that Favreau took the time to create an actual armor for shooting rather creating all the Iron Man shots with CGI.

I'm not particularly wasn't an avid reader of Iron Man, only read his comics here and there. But if this movie doing as well as I thought it should be, I reckon there'll be a whole new generation who will loved Iron Man because of it.

This is going to be a good summer.

PS: Oh, and make sure you stay until the credits end. There'll be a nice surprise for the comic fans.

Now, I'm Going to Meet You

One of the great thing about having cable at your house, is having choices at the tip of your finger. My favorite past time concerning TV is browsing channels while not particularly watching anything.

In one these time wasting activity, I stumble this little gem, a Japanese movie called Ima, ai ni yukimasu (Now, I'm Going to Meet You (2004), in one of the channels.

The story starts out as your usual drama movies. After fighting a long time illness, Mio (Yuko Takeuchi) finally passed away. She left Takumi (Shido Nakamura) her grieving husband and Yuji(Akashi Takei), her son, to live on their own.

The family of two really struggled at first. Takumi suffered a medical condition since high school that made him suffered fainting spells if he got too excited. He's feeling guilty that Mio wasted her life by taking care of him until her death. Yuji wondered whether he was responsible for her mother illness (Mio's health took a downturn after giving birth). The only thing that kept Yuji remotely happy is that a storybook that Mio created for him. The book shows that Mio will come back one year later during the rainy season, before returning to what she called, 'The Star Archive'.


This is where the movie is getting interesting. On the first day of the rainy season, both Yuji and Takumi found a woman with striking resemblance to Mio, right in the place where the storybook said Mio will return. However this person seems to suffer amnesia since she didn't remember anything, her name, her life before showing up there, and she definitely didn't remember Takumi and Yuji. Nevertheless, they took her home and take her to heart, believing that Mio has come back from the dead. They all lived happily until they found out the reason behind all this.

It's very rare a movie can mixed drama, supernatural, and perhaps science fiction elements, and provide a touching story about love and sacrifice. The movie itself took time in revealing all the facts, but when it did, it really hit home and fits the puzzle perfectly.

The ending itself is curiously good. It's not what I called a regular happy ending, but you felt heartwarmingly satisfied when the credits rolled. Perhaps because even with the other wordly element, this movie is essentially a story about how love prevails.

I also read that this movie has been opted for a 2009 Hollywood remake. I really hope though, that when the adaptation come out next year, it will make people to want to watch the original.

Here, there and Everywhere

Hayden Christensen was probably one of the most confusing actors in Hollywood nowadays. His performance in Star Wars movies was deemed too wooden, static. In short, he was rubbish. However, he surprised everyone with a strong performance on Shattered Glass, where he played based-on-a-true-story journalist who was accused of fabricating his stories.

Unfortunately in Jumper(2008) it was Star Wars all over again.

The movie had a potential to be a really huge hit. It has interesting premise about a boy who suddenly found teleporting (or in this movie, jumping) powers. He first used it for his personal gain (rob banks, travelling around the world), until he was hunted down by a mysterious organization. It has all the material to be a great action summer blockbuster, especially because I think, besides flying, teleportation is probably the most wanted fantasy power out there. It promised great action and special effects bonanza. However, there's also has to be a balance with the acting to really enjoy movie like this.

Hayden who played David Rice, the main character, wasn't be able to carry the movie as the main character. I can't shake the feeling that the guy on the screen was Anakin Skywalker, put in different situations with different powers. I found myself more enjoying Jamie Bell performance as Griffin, a fellow world-weary jumper. Rachel Bilson performance as David love interest is sufficient to say the least, as I don't think she was given much anyway.

The special effect though deliver in spades. The jumping scenes was well portrayed, especially on using jumping powers for everyday use, and using it for fighting purpose.

Having said that, I found myself enjoying this just enough. Perhaps because I went in without any expectation at all, or read the novel it was based on. But nevertheless, after the credits roll down, I can't help feeling of a great opportunity missed.

I Have A Cunning Plan..

When my friends said that I should check out Rowan Atkinson's old comedy show The Black Adder(1983), I admit that I was a bit skeptical. My only experience with Atkinson comedy was Mr. Bean, and while it was funny at times, his physical humour was sometimes too much and too gross for my liking. So I kinda ignore his advice. However, when WGA strike means that I run out of new TV shows episodes (namely House M.D), I reluctantly turn to this show.

The result was unexpected. I was completely hooked, from the first season to the last. I watched all four season in order in about just a week. I laughed so hard on every episode, that I hardly remember when's the last time I did so.

The series revolved on the lives of Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and his descendants (also played by Atkinson). Each of the four season potrayed each generation of Edmund Blackadder. From the coward and dumb Prince Edmund Blackadder in the Dark Ages, to the cunning and smart Captain Edmund Blackadder in WW I era.

The comedy was nothing like Mr. Bean. Here, the jokes are much more cerebral and located in the dialogs. It pokes fun at just about everybody, notably the French, the Scots, the Germans, and even the English themselves. Most of the humour owed to Atkinson and the cast brilliant delivery. Atkinson brought sarcasm and witty to a new level, especially on second season onwards, and the other actors compliment him perfectly. Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick (and his descendants) in each season was the target for most of the jokes as Blackadder's servant/busybody.

It helped that the rest of the supporting cast was also a group of good actors. The talented Tim McInnerny played his role as Lord Percy Percy (and later Captain Darling) wonderfully. Hugh Laurie and his comedy partner Stephen Fry, fresh from their successful turn out in their comedy show, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, join the cast in the second and third season, while Miranda Richardson played as the child-like Queen Elizabeth I in the second season.

Futhermore, in it's fourth season, set in WW I era, it pokes fun and criticized the wastefulness of war in a funny and touching way. It's very rarely to see a comedy show that can managed to bring a serious message like that, and didn't feel out of place.

I don't know what else to say, but go and see this.

America's alright..

Again, in my resolution to finished my piled up DVDs, I watched In America (2001) last week. This is one of the movies that I bought purely based on reputation alone. I remember seeing it nominated in Academy Awards way back in 2002, and decided to pick it up. Although as usual, once bought, it got forgotten for quite a while before I finally watched it.

Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) who directed and wrote the movie with his sister said that it was a bit autobiographical. It was based on his own experience, growing up in America after moving from Ireland as a little boy with his family. It explained why when you watch the movie, it appropriately felt personal.

It started with an Irish family moving into America after the death of Frankie, their youngest son. Trying to cope with the tragedy, they moved out to New York Hell's Kitchen to start anew. It wasn't easy at first. Johnny the father (Paddy Considine), is a struggling actor who can't get roles. Samantha Morton played Sarah, the mother who have to work at an ice cream parlor shop to help supporting the family. Their two daughters were probably the only people in the family who brought a positive note in the grieving family. Most of the movie was seen through out the eyes (and video camera) of their daughter Christy (Sarah Bolger). She provide a touching assessment on her family, her apartment neighbors, and living in America generally throughout the movie.

In essence I was really quite pleased with it. The two main actors, Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton did a great job. Considine who I thought was underrated (Oscar nominations went to Morton and Djimi Hounsou who played Mateo, the family neighbor), played the grieving part of his role brilliantly. One of the most powerful scene was when Mateo told him that Johnny didn't believe in God. He replied:

"I asked Him a favor once. I asked Him to take me instead of him. But He took both of us. And look what He put in my place."

But despite the brilliance of the adults actors I gotta say, the real life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger who played their daughters was the pick of the bunch. Despite her young age, Sarah managed to portrayed the maturity of someone who are forced to grow up quickly because of all the hardships her family went through. Emma on the other hand, played Ariel, probably the only person in the family who can still see all this as an exciting adventure through her 6 years old eyes.

The story I gotta say was predictable, and more likely in the hands of other directors and actors, it would come up as something boring and unsympathetic. But props up to Sheridan and the actors. They managed to give this one life and emotion, and that alone made it worth it

Blown Away

I got another confession to make. I have Spirited Away DVD for 4-5 years but only managed to watched it yesterday. Yes, I know how scandalous that sounds. It was the only animated movie to be rewarded by an Academy Award, best grossing non-US movie in the world, and a whole lot of awards. To be honest, I bought it because of the hype, but I never actually think about it that much until last night. I have loved another Miyazaki work, Princess Mononoke, but somehow I managed to ignore Spirited for 5 long years.

After last night, I kinda regret it. I regret that I waited this long to actually watch it. Spirited Away deserve all the accolades it received and a whole lot more. The animation, as usual, is outstanding. Miyazaki's style never failed to amazed me. I was impressed by Mononoke, and this one is no different. For a story which is quite personal and small scale, the art managed to give a sense of grand and epic in the movie. And instead of making it out of place with the spirit of the movie, it managed to add that sense of wonder which the movie needs. The story itself on the surface was simple, but if you look deeper, it contains much more meaning that what it actually showed. As in his previous movies, Away was filled with critiques on environmental issues. And also as in his previous movies, Away managed to get the message across, without being preachy or pushed it down our throat

Chihiro adventure in trying to release herself and her family from the curse of the gods was fairly simple. But the characters are anything but simple. The evil witch wasn't exactly that evil, the monster wasn't a monster in the truest sense, but simply someone who's looking for a friend. Chihiro was your usual teen at the start of the movie, but by the end, her character had developed into a more mature and appreciative person.

I read that Miyazaki was supposed to retired before Spirited Away, but a friend daughter (who became the inspiration for Chihiro character) persuade him to continue working and made Away. So, Mr Miyazaki friend daugther, whoever you are, wherever you are, thanks.. thanks a lot.