Yang Paling Perih Dari Sendirian...

Sudah agak lama gue nonton Cinta Silver, tapi tiba-tiba kok teringat ya kata-kata yang diucapkan Wishnu (Christian Sugiono) ke sahabatnya, Levi (Restu Sinaga):

"... yang paling perih dari sendirian itu bukan pas kita lagi sedih, Lev. Justru pas kita lagi ketawa senang tapi ngga ada yang bisa kita ajak untuk ikut ketawa ..."

Sekalipun udah hampir satu dekade gue sendirian, agaknya gue mulai ngerti apa yang dimaksud Wishnu.

(Ini sedikit cuplikan dari Cinta Silver)



(Dan salah satu lagu soundtracknya yang bagus banget, My Everything, dinyanyiin oleh Glenn Fredly)

Across the Universe

[Today is the opening day for the 9th Jakarta International Film Festival and my third time attending JiFFest since 2005. I watched Across the Universe and am writing about it in Bahasa this time as you can read English comments about it in many other places.]

Tadinya gue kirain ini film animasi Jepang, Paprika, soalnya pas gue ngantri beli tiket gue ga bawa daftar film inceran gue. Terus ngga tau kenapa ya tapi Paprika ga ditunjukin di buku sinopsisnya JiFFest, ya ga tau lah gue kalo ternyata film itu bukan Paprika yang gue mau. Berhubung film2 yang gue incer ga maen hari Jumat, ya udah lah gue beli tiket buat Across the Universe, abis udah cape ngantri dan pilihannya cuman itu atau Quickie Express, yang emang diputer di XXI. Temen nonton gue udah nonton Quickie Express jadi practically pilihannya jadi cuman satu.

Ya nonton lah gue Across the Universe bareng temen gue "ditemani" beberapa insan perfilman yang kayanya abis dari undangan film perdana JiFFest, Persepolis. Celakanya buat temen gue, Across the Universe ga ada teksnya, jadi rada2 bingung dia. Anyway, film ini rada unik karena semi-musical serta lagu2nya semuanya dari Beatles. Terusnya lagi, settingnya di tahun 60-an, di mana Beatles emang lagi ngetop2nya. Dengan berlatar belakang era perang Vietnam dan Flower Generation, tersebutlah kisah cinta antara dua insan, Jude dan Lucy, di tengah kemelut situasi masa itu. Banyak karakter pendukung yang juga menambah kekayaan cerita dengan berbagai side-plot beserta lagu2 Beatles yang bisa aja nyambung ama scene yang lagi diceritain. Lumayan lama sih ini film, sekitar 2.5 jam dan soundtrack-nya udah pasti oke punya lah ya.

Buat penggemar Beatles dan film2 ber-setting retro, cocok banget nih film dan pasti puas lah. Orang gue aja yang bukan fans berat Beatles merasa sangat terhibur kok nonton ini, apalagi yang emang fans. Visual-nya juga keren karena ada adegan2 simbolik dan psychedelic, terus kebetulan si Jude itu pelukis jadi banyak gambar/lukisan keren sepanjang film.

Washington DC - Day 90

It seemed like a movie-out weekend or something. We ended up watching another movie last night. This time, it was the movie that we had planned to watch two weeks earlier, if only Salman didn't get into a car accident (don't worry, it wasn't his fault, read my Day 76 posting for more details). Yes, the movie was Star Wars: Episode III. Finally, after it has gone from most theater, we watched it at Arlington Cinema 'N Drafthouse. It is a bar/drafthouse that shows "old" movies which have been phased out from mainstream theaters. The place is rather unique. I personally haven't watched movies in a restaurant-like setting where servers come and go while people are munching their buffalo wings. But I digress.

The movie is by far, the best of the new trilogy (Episode 1-3). George Lucas finally got his act together. While the new trilogy won't be able to beat the old trilogy (Episode 4-6) in its masterpieceness, episode 3 ties all loose ends and provides good continuity with Episode 4. Maybe that's why it is better than the other two, because there are many more elements from the old trilogy in episode 3. It's a quite different type of movie I'd say, we knew what the end would be, but we didn't know how it got there. We knew that Anakin would become Darth Vader, we just didn't know how. Well, the movie answer this and then some.

Graphics are cool as usual, it's rather given since it bears the Star Wars franchise. Storyline, though much improved, still lacks the originality and depth of the old trilogy in my opinion. Overall, I probably gonna give it a maximum of 4 stars out of 5.

Washington DC - Day 88

This is a fun day. After I got of from work, I came back home to meet with Salman and we decided to spend the night watching Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at AMC Hoffman 22. We have been planning to watch this movie for a long time. It's among the top 3 movies to watch on both our list.

The movie is very entertaining. The graphics are as spectacular as expected. It's a far cry from the 1970's Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Almost every aspect has been modernized, including the Oompa-Loompa's various songs. It's quite amazing to think that it has only been 35 years since the original was made. The core of the story remains the same, though some slight twists are added in Charlie and the ending is a major surprise. I won't spoil it for you but the ending is very different than the original, and there's also some scenes which are deleted from the theater release since I saw them on Yahoo's video clip before.

Like most movies I watched, I haven't read the book (of the same title, authored by Roald Dahl) yet, but Salman told me that it was dark and creepy. This movie is darker than the previous installment, but I don't think it is as dark as what Salman told me about the book. Oh, and one more thing, even though Johnny Depp denies this but his character reminded us too much of Michael Jackson. I mean there's the skin, then the voice, then the gloves, and not mentioning the hair! Still, I think it's a very entertaining movie and should deserve 3.5 rating out of 5.

Star Wars vs. Star Trek - Part 3

Star Wars episode 3 has been out for four days now... and I still haven't watched it.

I know that the first week release would generate a tremendous amount of excitement and would result in extremely long lines. I didn't even bother to try watching it in the first week. Perhaps, after Memorial Day?

Oh, and did you know that Forbes.com wrote an article with the same title, "Star Wars vs. Star Trek"? Talk about coincidence...

Yeah, you can read the article at http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/05/16/cx_de_0516match.html

Star Wars vs. Star Trek - Part 2

Star Wars episode 3 is looming on the horizon...

From what I have seen at its website (www.starwars.com) and the trailer, I think this one could be a lot better than the previous two episodes. The original trilogy is still the best, and since episode one flopped big time, the second trilogy wouldn't live up to its original standard (story-telling wise).

Special effects has always been a treat for Star Wars. There's just plenty of it! even in comparison with Star Trek. Action are more hands-on thanks to the light-saber and lightning fast thanks to smaller and nimbler ships. Wired magazine rated the light-saber as the second-coolest sword in the motion picture history (the first being Hattori Hanzo sword used by Uma Thurman character in Kill Bill). Ships in Star Wars galaxy are extremely fast and maneuverable, which of course result in plentiful action.

Compared this to Star Trek. Ships in the Trek universe are big and slow. Plus, the action is brief and simplistic (fire a phaser and you're done). However, the appeal of Star Trek is different than Star Wars. Ships in the Trek universe have high consistency (aesthetically and technically). Technologies are advanced, and yield a high degree of possibility, even the transporter. Star Trek production really make use of its consultants, so a lot of the technologies used in the series can be explained by real-life science. (Even the modern cell-phone is said to have similarities with Capt. Kirk's communicator used in Star Trek series in the 1960s).

As for the action, Star Trek has been catching up in the Dominion War storyline, but I think it really is not the main attraction.

[break] Star Wars vs. Star Trek - Part 1

[Since what is left from Astocenter can span for another 10 parts or more, I am taking a prolonged break until further notice.]

I've been watching several science fiction series and films recently, namely Star Trek Voyager and the Star Wars trilogy, and have been thinking of my renewed interest and about what I like from both. It's quite rare, even for science fiction afficionados, to develop an equal interest to these two alternate universes of franchise. In most cases, people tend to favor one over the other, and I am no exception.

I think Star Wars archetype stories are more universal and the adventure has more action in it. It probably because there's only 5 movies about it (will become 6 soon), although novels regarding backstories and alternate characters are enough to make Star Wars universe as expansive, if not more, than Tolkien's LOTR. It actually resembles LOTR in many ways by replacing characters and universe to be somewhere far, far, away, distant from our reality, perhaps purely imaginative (who knows, there might be a wookie somewhere there). Star Wars (like LOTR) universe is too distant from us that we realize immediately of its fantasy. Most of the main characters are humanoid and human-like, but we know that they are not us, nor can we ever become them, even in hundred years. They are alien, and it is clear that they never have contact with Earth and probably never will. But, that's where the appeal lies. We can indulge in our imagination completely and be them imaginatively. Star Trek limits us in that department.

I consider myself to be a Trekkie, so I identify more with the Star Trek universe. Star Trek has the advantage of having continuous TV series (well, it actually started from TV before expanding to the silver screen), so it has more developed characters that more people recognize (admit it, it's far easier and memorable to watch something than to read it, or maybe that's just me). Though, novel-wise, the Trek franchise has published as many novels if not more than Star Wars'. Yes, people can devise backstories and alternate characters for Star Trek - in effect, expanding its universe - but the TV series become its undoing since they can't deviate too far from what is presented on TV (it is, the de facto"reality", if you may say so, of the Star Trek universe). The stories should have been more closely identifiable, because Star Trek reality can very well be an actuality someday. Characters are born on Earth, not pseudo-human born in other galaxy or other Earth. Perhaps, maybe because it is somewhat too "real" that it does not have quite the mass appeal that Star Wars (and LOTR) enjoys.