my flowing river of minds

Buried

Dec 26, 2010

This one could be ‘the most low cost budget film ever’ in 2010. Just had been set only inside a wodden coffin, it took one set to do this film. But, don’t underestimate it, i brought you the new definition of terror, gripping heart-pounding, thriller genre. Rodrigo Cortez, had indeed turned ‘cellular’ and ‘phobebooth’ into new level. The big question for Cortez was “how to turn this one man show packed action scene with one place scene create horror and terror of unimaginable sense?” he succeeded in answering that and the plus was, he did it with low cost budget. How it was not, all the entire scenes were filmed just inside a coffin. All you need was a wooden coffin, blackberry, 2 stick of phospors, torchlight, zippo, a knife, sands, and snake. Well, we should also consider mr.reynolds payoff. And i bet the last one had the biggest share. Cortez did a great work with a sudden zoom in and out technique to add lot of dramatic intense. The film really worked to annoyed and terrified the audience, to made us felt the reality inside the movie, the dark, damp but hot, cranky and small space pressure seemed to get over us. Nice work for Cortez. Ryan Reynold was also magnificent, his performance was superb, to delivered sich a convincing act. His expressions were countless great ones. From angry, confused, scared, panicked, despaired, sarcastic, cynical, and vulnerable and more. Altough i didn’t like the ending, and it’s kinda sucks to get buried dead with the thought of being rescued right at the very end. One thing odd was the blackberry, it screen was always active all the time (noticed it before paul ever knew about it) and the one bar battery indeed last more than the rest of the 3.

Monsters

Dec 10, 2010

Akhirnya g nonton monsters juga. Yang pertama kali terbersit dlm pikiran g ketika denger atau tau ini film adalah ‘district 9’ dan ‘cloverfield’. Well, mungkin yang paling deket genre-nya dengan film ini yaitu film-film tersebut. Yang disebut-sebut sebagai ‘the most realistic science fiction movie ever’ tentu membuat imajinasi dan harapan g berterbangan. Tp setelah melihat filmnya, ternyata sungguh tidak sesuai dengan harapan g. G ga bilang film ini jelek, hanya saja masih tetap di bawah ‘district 9’ dan ‘cloverfield’.
Ceritanya dimulai ketika seorang fotografer surat kabar New World Chronicles diberikan tugas oleh sang atasannya untuk menjemput atau mengantar putrinya dari mexico melewati perbatasan pulang ke amerika serikat, ketika ditengah-tengah menyeruaknya resistansi mahkluk asing dengan pihak pemerintah. Karena tiket ferinya dirampok orang mereka terpaksa harus melewati perbatasan melalui darat dengan melintasi zona terinfeksi yang sangat berbahaya dan lebih mahal biayanya.
Dalam perjalanan mereka yang berbahaya, mereka semakin mengenal dan dekat satu sama lain, hingga ketika mereka telah sampai di amerika serikat dan dijemput tim patroli, mereka sadar bahwa mereka tidak ingin pulang, mereka ingin tetap bersama.

Sebenarnya film ini punya dasar cerita yang original dan menarik, hanya saja menurut g, kurang gitu bisa dieksplor. Penempatan time setting yg kurang dramatis, dan respon masing2 orang atas semua kejadian aneh dan mengejutkan yg menurut g terlalu ‘normal’. Well, it’s like ‘district 9’ but in such a weird way without any kind confrontation. It’s like they were just there, doing nothing and nobody even cared.
The survival concept didn’t get the ambiance. Ya, g percaya film ini tentang sebuah perjuangan keselamatan diri, atas kejadian atau peristiwa invasi alien. Tp di dalamnya lebih banyak unsur drama dan interaksi kedua tokoh utama yg lebih mendalam. It’s just they were crossing the border in some weird nights. The monsters even acted weird. Apa maksudnya dengan adegan interaksi kedua makhluk di depan pompa bensin, terlihat sedang melakukan seks.
Yeah, g yakin akan banyak orang yg ga akan suka dengan film ini, karena jujur ‘district 9’ dan ‘cloverfield’ pun yg jauh di atas ini masih mendapat predikat jelek oleh hampir sebagian banyak orang.

Paranormal Activity 2

Dec 15, 2010

Is it subjective to review the film without knowing or watching the first?
I haven’t had the chance to watch the first, which had a spectacular records or feedback among the viewers. So, here’s my review…
Actually, i don’t prefer this kind of genre, which i mean horror movies, not that it scares me, not even the slightest, and to be more dubious, no western horror movies ever scared me (the most terrifying was ‘twilight zone the movie’). I stick to that asian films are more potent to show us some scary shits. But, nevertheless, i watched this one with half the curiosity about people’s feedback and the hype out there. The first minutes seemed dull (noticed the likeness in ‘cloverfield’), about some random family activity shots. And after the vandalism, they put surveillance cameras in the house, there’s the real deal begun. It started to make u wondering, examining, focusing your attention to the screen. Honestly it kinda shocking and amazingly the most gripping was the unknown entity or spirit inside the house. But after it possessed the people inside it, it ruined the fun of the game. Yeah, it didn’t scary like before.
I see the film more in general or you could say complex. Not just from the viewer eyes or the storyline, but more thorough, about what the director trying to achieve, technical film making, casts, the basic concept, and the ambiance it created. This horror movie was different, from other previous ones. And i meant it’s a good difference. Fresh and dramatizing. It’s like you’re there. U see the whole picture, and it created a real performance that you could see and feel.
The thing is, that surveillance cameras angle and handy cam shots made a great effect, it’s the important aspect that created this film different. The static and long stillness of the shot makes u wondering, searching, examining, giving extra attention, and imagining things. That’s the best part to shock people, when they’re serious or focus giving attention to something, and BANG! You don’t know what’s coming and the next thing you know your heart pounding like boiled water. And that’s what you get, but too bad the climax was not a heart pounder, i could read the rest of the ending bla bla bla. The most interesting part was when the spirit or entity showed a number of signs, well you could say paranormal activities. That’s so real lifelike. Like the ones you had in real life, doors opened or creaking, the wind from nowhere, and some things just unexplained move or you heard something. It’s a mind and heart bending experience.
And for the addition the film was noted with title scenes of days and time line information, which made it looks like real events. Although this kind of ghost based movies are kinda get into mediocrity attentions and opinions it seemed just as an entertainer for those who believe that kind of thing. Not a good or educational one i must say.