FinnTalks

This film tries to tell how constant sorrow can ruin anybody. The story revolves around a woman who deals with an unexpected tragedy and learns to live the ensuing months of grief. Does it succeed in delivering the story? Not really.

The lead surely delivers some convincing-yet-not-believable performance; but unfortunately, the poor script and terrible direction made this whole drama as bland as its dialogues, let alone its unrealistic overlong (thirty-damn-minute) home labour scene (in which its portrayal of accuracy is highly questionable and feels redundant). The slow glacial-burn paced plot doesn't bother some viewers (like me) but their extraneous shot choices ruin this movie, big time.

I mean, what's with the vague close-up of neck and shirt collar shot? Do they try to show us the character's vein and heartbeat or something? And that's not even the least of it. To be fair, the film score is fine. The third/final act is, I think, supposed to be melodramatic climax but it's just as hollow as the lead's unnerving speech; not to mention its rushed, inexplicable ending.

Overall, the film's writing was dreadful, and its direction even worse. The filmmakers failed to portray the "feel" of such broken-hearted person and people who live around them. The drama depicts a lot less emotion and soul. Audience can hardly sympathize and feel the sadness of its characters. The writer and director should be accountable to this heartless drama.

I am totally befuddled by them high praises and glowing reviews of this piece of overrated drama. I would say this film is pieces of a sorrow montage--if not a huge mess.

1.7/10.

This flick tells about a long-lasting friendship drama. The story is based on Sseo-ni (2011), a south Korea's dramedy hit. It's basically a remake; and as a remake, Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana (along with Gina S Noer) interpreted the original perfectly. They made a few changes to the narrative elements but not the storyline: Transferring the South Korea in the 80's setting to the dark days of Jakarta in the 1990's during the brink of Indonesia's new order regime downfall. They managed to change the narrative (except for cultural and social adjustments), adding and omitting some characters (which was a bold move) to follow the original movie plot; and they done it faithfully without ruining the movie premise. As the same as its original source, the narrative moves alternately between present timeline and the past (90's). I didn't know any of these differences until I watched the original movie---right after I watched this one. IMO, one does not need to watch the original movie to enjoy this pretty well-made drama. Bebas brings audiences to a heartfelt nostalgia.

The issues I had with this dramedy are the quite-overlong music and dancing sequence (the scores are spot on tho), some cringy scenes (audiences will figure them out), weak motives of several conflicts, too good to be true resolutions (a bit unrealistic although relatable to some people) and the not-that-smooth blocking & cuts. But with those being said, the characters are likable, the film manages to deliver its touching story and message. Overall, it's a heartwarming nostalgic drama. This glorious remake is worth watching.

6,9/10.

Aside from its minor flaws, this is easily a heartwarming drama about seven women who formed a powerful friendship since they were at school. Life happens and pulled them apart yet their friendship lasts forever. Definitely worth watching dramedy.

7/10

Posesif offers a predictable cheesy teen romance; it addresses the often-overlooked issue of an abusive relationship, and portrays a seemingly harmless courtship. The idea of how possessive relationship can occur among pubescent teenagers is well delivered but it's handled so poorly, writing wise. The female lead looks like uttering lines instead of really acting throughout the scenes. Aside from its beautiful shots, you'll get to see an utterly lame teen drama; the tedious cliche lines are just really painful to hear.

2/10

I don't really watch Indonesian flicks---except for them certain ones that caught my attention. I don't normally check out this kind, and yet somehow, I found this one a tad enticing. And for that, it deserves a credit. I still frown at their cringy choice of using 'gokil' as their movie title but I'm not gonna talk about the lousy title.

The story revolves around a man who's desperate to selfishly make a name for himself. All out of luck and money, he returns to his hometown and moves back in with his Father. He fakes a diploma to fool the faculty at a nearby school in order to fulfil his cruise-ship dream job. Then later he meets an attractive young teacher who kind of 'wakes' him up from reality. Long story short, with his colleagues, he tries to save the school's huge financial debacle.

I should let all know that Crazy Awesome Teachers is just another so-so yet quirky drama comedy which has some violance in its storyline; parental discretion is advised. The movie claims that the lead discovers the joys of teaching but it never shows on screen. The audience never actually see that development occurs and that's violating the first rule of good storytelling: Show, don't tell. Personally, I think it's way below average but I give generous 5 for the lovely shots.

5/10

Now this, is a solid story and, for the record, I'm neither a MCU or DCEU fan. I'm just a movie connoisseur; I enjoy movies in general. I absolutely adore stories and the way they're told--over any other aspect--in terms of audio visual or motion picture. Here, we're talking the way Zack Snyder retells stories about superheroes. I'm fine with any kind of story.

Apart from the aspect ratio and other complaints e.g the glaring awful CGI, too many slow mos and whatnot, the film delivers what moviegoers deserve: Good storytelling, strong characters and lovely shots/visual; surely, movies do have flaws. Zack Snyder's cut connects the missing plothole dots of the previous theatrical (Whedon's) cut. It really added the character depth and emotion that the previous cut lacked. It's got more soul.It's really worth to watch.

I'm quite satisfied. Thank you. Well done, Zack Snyder and the team. Anyone who considers themselves as DC/superhero movie fan or just movie fan in general should give themselves a chance to watch this movie.

7.9/10

My little research on Love for Sale 2 (2019)'s trivia brought me here. Little did I know, there's another new young filmmaker who's set to direct the forthcoming--fantasy romance--flick which is connected to that movie I mentioned beforehand; so I scrutinized Jason Iskandar. This piece of review is basically a part of my trivial scrutiny result.

I'm compelled to give the director credit for making an effort. I like how Balik Jakarta depicts one of Jakarta's densely populated neighborhoods accurately. I've been working in Jakarta for a few years now; I've driven all around Jakarta roads and ventured its vicinity. I can relate to the struggle and frustration, traffic-wise.

Beside the messy lines, shaky cam, and amateurish cinematography, this short film has also got an unfinished ending. Although, the conflict started out good and the main characters are quite solid. The director has offered a really good premise but he should've been prepared for a strong script. Now I'm worrying about the director's next 'feature film' project which I linked above.

5/10

In Love for Sale (2018), Andibachtiar Yusuf offers an intriguing 'companion-for-hire' premise and introduces us to Arini (Della Dartyan), the enigmatically enchanting, mysterious yet iconic character. Love for Sale's screenplay is written by Yusuf and Ramly. It tells about a lonely mature single man named Richard (Gading Marten) who attempts to overcome his desperate love life by hiring some woman of a dating app called Love Inc. whom he begins to slowly fall for later on. The storyline flows in between sorrow and melancholy; and yet the love-struck chemistry between the leads brings out an emotional engaging romantic drama. The plot pace moves absurdly slow, but having said that, it's bearable. The plot sequence's delivered well. I personally think that the original idea was good, the cinematography was done beautifully, but the drama execution (esp. the dialogues) was pretty lame nonetheless; perhaps that's due to its not-well-written script. Hence the mediocrity.

Love for Sale 2 (2019) doesn't emulate its predecessor, albeit still uses the same formula, namely the love-for-hire premise; only this time, the dimension of drama scope is broadened out around Arini's role. Arini returns in a totally different setting. The script's still written by the same duo; now it's about a 32 year-old single guy named Indra Tauhid (Adipati Dolken) who's tired of matchmaking by his mother, hires some woman's service from--the same dating app called--Love Inc. to calm his mother dismay. While the prequel focuses on a gloomy lonely man with his bittersweet game of love; this sequel concentrates on a lovely light-family-theme drama. What a surprise.

This sequel's enlivened by the role of Rosmaida (Ratna Riantiarno) as Indra's mother; the story then works even better when Arini and Rosmaida intertwine to form a heartwarming bond. Arini's hired by Indra to pretend to be someone she's not but, unexpectedly, she winds up being a solace to Indra's family. Arini's existence makes a big difference which later impacts slowly on Indra's feeling towards her. While most characters' performance are likeable, the clear standout is Arini's relationship with Indra's family.

Love for Sale 2 portrays a relatable family drama significantly. The conflicts that surround the family is basically reflections of the Indonesian family nowadays: Marriage and its problematic issues amidst Indonesian society norms. The storyline runs smoothly from start to finish. The plot pace and sequence are easy to keep up. The viewers will get to see some visual treats that are flaunted by the filmmakers, e.g. the insightful traditional wedding scene that's shot in one long take and lovely view of the city. The movie tone looks warm. Somehow, they also have managed to capture an honest nuance of the Indonesian life to the screen. The film scores are just suitable for the family theme. Kudos to the team.

Unfortunately, while all the casts got indepth character development, Arini's character remains vague. The audience's not been given any of her background information whatsoever. The film ends rather abruptly. It feels a bit rushed with poor conclusion. Audience's left with strange feeling of uncertainty. Some viewers need clarity. However, Love for Sale 2 is easily a pretty good wholesome family entertainment.

6/10

I'm only in it for Tom and Jerry scenes. The rest of the film? Meh. The story is super lame but the animation is awesome (5 stars)! The crossover is way over the top. They should've made the whole movie about Tom and Jerry instead of unnecessary Preeta and Ben. Such a huge disappointment.

I enjoyed the first Croods; such an amusing, worth-watching animation flick directed by Chris Sanders, the man behind the creation of Mulan (1998), Lilo & Stitch (2002), and How to Train Your Dragon (2010). I was "kind of" satisfied with the prequel, not that amazed by it but I was fairly entertained and that was that. I didn't think there'd be more of it. Little did I know, they made a sequel, apparently. I didn't set any expectation whatsoever 'cause I thought one time spectacle of The Croods was enough. So when it came out worldwide, I sat down trying to enjoy the sequel. I didn't think I was going in for any type of great family animation like Chris Sanders' previous work (esp. How to Train Your Dragon), or Brave, and etc. I just wanted to watch a fun vibe animation film; I was thinking of similar movies like Ice Age, The Good Dinosaur, or Onward.

Surprisingly, the sequel is a lot FUNNIER than I expected. I've never thought that The Croods: New Age (this time it's directed by Joel Crawford) could be this fun. It lived up to some of my expectations: Good direction, storytelling, got a decent plot, colorful set and plenty of humor. I laughed here and there. What a pleasant surprise.

Nevertheless, this sequel is not any better--than its predecessor. If anything, the most disappointing part is the story. It lacks originality. Feels like the writers copied the plot from How to Train Your Dragon; not to mention that this sequel focused heavily on Eep & Guy's teen lovebird story. It could've been way interesting if they'd expand more on its prehistoric story instead of nonsensical "prehistoric love drama". For that reason, the movie's flawed, not horribly but enough to give you that 'meh' feeling towards the typical holliwood flick. So is it great? No. Is it bad? Not necessarily. To sum it up, this is an enjoyable spectacle.

7/10

I like the mystery, story-wise, albeit seems like a copy of other films; and the twist too. The cinematography is pretty darn good. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau delivers such good performance among other okay-casts. Overall, this film is good but there is still room for improvement. It's not that wow but it's watchable.

I'm not sure about others' sense of humor but I only chuckled once. Probably the hall, I mean whole jokes won't pass 2020 and will stay in the past. The end clip (the one with Stephen Merchant scene) is way funnier than its whole movie.

This sci-fi is actually good but hollow. It's adapted from a manga/ anime with action sequences yet the action scenes are less convincing. I have never read or seen the original. Despite its delighting visuals, the story line is shallow and the plot isn't that engaging. The visual interpretation is what I like and appreciate the most. It's okay..ish for one time spectacle.

What a quite enjoyable ride. I was trolled by its trailer; I thought the story would be more...um, nevermind. I kinda enjoyed the comedy. Although the music in this one isn't as catchy as its prequel, these lil trolls know how to troll through music and humor. It's not that great nor bad, it's nothing but "a quite good" entertainment.

At first, I thought this would be--at least--as decent as Paul Feig's Spy (2015): decent story, standout and likable characters, quite intense action with a pretty smooth plot, good drama, an action comedy that is actually funny and entertaining. Turns out I was wrong. I am so disappointed.

This one is lame, script writing-wise. I only like the idea of the bond between two main characters yet unfortunately the execution is mediocre. Everything else is just boring, predictable cheesy drama, not even close to being a solid action comedy. Dave Bautista is a good actor. I like him (his performance) best in Blade Runner 2049 (2017). But not in this spy thingy.

I wonder what Peter Segal thought when he read the lame script and why he'd accept it in the first place. I feel sorry for him. I like his 'more entertaining' work in Get Smart (2008).

I give my generous 3 stars for the warm lil family vibe--despite its predictable cliche.

I was a little excited when I saw its teaser trailer; not because I'm familiar with the comic book. It's just that I love good action movie. Long story short, this one is not that good, apparently; not really 'doing it' for me' (IMO, of course).

OK. I'll sum it up: the story is weak, the characters are forgettable, it's got too many plot holes; the tech. thingy is all over the place (I mean, do those make any sense? Seriously). I'm not sure with other viewers but I don't care about the main character; unfortunately, the cool VFX cannot save the whole mess. After all, it's only a subjective opinion. Go watch it in theater. Prove me wrong.

Good premise. No character development. Pretty bad execution. I don't mind with profanity when necessary, to liven up characters/ story; the lead character in this story is not bad but sounds unnatural with her excessive profanities. I wish every character here played their role as well as Adam Brody; the rest are insipidly boring.

I give four out of ten for the idea and cinematography.

I'm just gonna cut it to the chase. Apart from tons of its flaws, this movie is such a solace--to me. Having been hurt and infuriated by some horrible Christmas flick, now I'm sort of relieved. This Santa Kurt version is quite entertaining. At least a lot more better than Noelle (2019). Ho-ho-ho!

6/10

Where do I start? Alright, first of all, it's DreamWorks standard animation. By standard, I mean not that 'wow'. It's good tho, graphic/ animation-wise. I'd say, terrific (kudos to the team!). But if you expect something special or an unforgettable mindgasm, you may skip it. This movie doesn't have any great thing to offer. It tells a really simple premise: a yeti--with unbelievably unique magical power--wants to go home to his family. There's nothing new or particularly surprising to the story yet it's okay. It's still likable.

Second of all, I love Jill Culton's work in Monster, Inc. (2001). Her story lingers in my head until today. Eighteen years later in 2019 she brought her new story up to the big screen, only this time she also directed it. But I'm not sure if her adorable Yeti story will linger as I don't find any great nor memorable scene, except the music/ score. The violin scenes are such an eargasm. Despite the story, some likable characters, beautiful music, the plot is flat and somewhat rushed. It lacks a bit of emotion. I find some characters annoying and unnecessary. There are also many continuity factual errors, logical fallacies and goofs throughout the movie--i.e. the smartphone & drone scenes, and some other unbelievable stuff that I can't mention all of em. Those technical stuff would probably bother adult viewers. Big time. But hey, this is an animation flick! Ignore them lacks. Kids won't even care. They'll certainly like this film since--I think--it's fun and enjoyable family movie.

Then again, it's not great nor bad; It is good and enjoyable, almost worth watching. I give it 6,5 out of 10. Whoop whoop!

This British comedy is based on TV series, which I've never seen it before.

Whenever I see Nick Frost, I'm in. I usually love any of European comedy. But not this one, since it's bland and boring--so unusual for British humor. Maybe this is not for everyone, I reckon. For me, it's so cheesy that I skip all the musical parts, as they're just "lame" and unfunny. Not to mention the toilet jokes. Meh. I still love Nick's performance tho. He's the only 'not-tedious' actor in here.

Speaking of British comedy, the B-movie such as Bill (2015) was done better and way funnier than this horrible rotten thingy. Some of you may have noticed or known--the fun fact--that Bill (2015) was starred by some blokes from Horrible Histories TV series; and it's a lot funnier.

I can't help writing about this ridiculous flick as I am sick of these typical 'Muricans' so-called comedies. I thought it was a good decent family drama. Turns out it's super cliche, absurd, and utterly horrible. I don't need to elaborate the details. Every negative review has done it. I'll sum up my thought about this Noelle story in one word: CRINGE.

Anyway, WATCHING THIS feminist-holliweird lil flick RIGHT AFTER WATCHING the old heartwarming woodsman's story in KLAUS (2019) is too bloody painful! The whole idea of this film is a joke. This is easily, I mean, absolutely one of the worst Christmas---trying-to-be---comedy flicks I've ever seen.

I only know a little about cars and I effing love it! Ford v Ferrari is a movie that non race cars fans can experience such thrilling historical moments and I'm sure they'll enjoy it.

I heard that this American sports drama was adapted from a memoir called The Carroll Shelby Story which was published in 1967 by Pocket Books. The memoir describes his days as a race car driver, the challenges, the victories, and the crashes--the worst of which he describes as an "explosion." The memoir also discusses the genesis for the revolutionary car he created, the Shelby Cobra. In Chapter 21, Shelby describes his life changing win at Le Mans in 1966 with driver Ken Miles against rival car manufacturer, Ferrari. (Anyway, this passage contains a little bit of spoiler, although in fact, it's not. It's merely a flash info I got from wikipedia right after I got out of the cinema and mesmerized).

I like the idea of how Shelby and Miles are really the heroes of the story. Their relationship in the movie is spot on, portrayed really good by James Mangold and his team. My only complaint about this film is that, unfortunately, their in-depth story (relationship and adventure) wasn't dug deeper. We get to see the huge intrigue between two corporations. But that doesn't ruin the whole story. This drama is based on true event of an unsung hero. I didn't know all the true story until I watched this epic biopic the other night. I'm happy that I learned something from this movie. Even Matt Damon himself--in one of his interviews along with Christian Bale--didn't know the real story till he read the script. The way I see it, this film's not about winning or losing; this is all about "achieving the goal". I'm so impressed. It's totally worth to watch. No, it's actually a highly recommended film of 2019. Go ahead and see it in imax for better experience!

A mother of three hires a night nanny to help with her newborn. ----- This is a heartwarming drama about Marlo (really well-played by Theron), a mother of three--including a newborn--who's suggested to hire a night nanny by her brother. She's hesitant to the extravagance at first, but later she forms a unique bond with the charming, thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis). There's nothing new about this movie plot and/or story as you will find the same difference in many other sort of drama genre, but Reitman presented it well with a little bit of comedy, plot twist--thanks to Diablo Cody, the script writer--and I love it. To me, this is worth to watch. I give Tully a B.

As a sci-fi film lover, although the scenes look pretty cinematic, I find this beyond mediocre. Poorly written, filled with logical fallacies, slow pace, the plot is just silly, bad directing (the previous episode is well directed and is better, obviously). Unlike any other sci-fi series that are so intriguing and able to make everyone stay for more, this show is a big no. Two episodes are enough for me. I won't waste my time for any of this tedious show. Anymore.

To be fair, this movie only proves that any attempt to follow up James Cameron's finest works is futile. In spite of the superiority over its previous 'terminators', this Dark Fate does not surpass Cameron's very first two-finest-prequels(?); I believe Tim Miller didn't attempt to beat his predecessors' work, he's just directing the ruined story (ironically, Cameron ruined his own original story) he chose to direct; thus, Miller's work is not really futile. I did enjoy the spectacle. James Cameron and David S. Goyer are responsible for the whole dejavus they put in this one. Then again (if we must) who's to blame? It's nobody's fault . Let's just blame it on Holliwood. lol.

And then again, the intensity and the depth of this sequel never reach the level of the first two movies. Despite the ruined story, I was so pleased by this so-called 'proper sequel' as a standalone action film. If you're a Terminator fan, I suggest you to not expect too much from this one or else you're gonna get disappointed. Well, for those who only want a bang bang boom kinda flick, this flick is for you.