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My One-Minute Reviews

Berhubung lagi males, jadi utk formalitas biar g kosong, gw bikin review kecil2an aja buat film2 yg terakhir gw tonton :

13 Beloved
Keren2. Gw bukan penggemar film Thailand sih sebenernya, tp film ini IMO cukup menyenangkan untuk ditonton. Temanya g beda jauh sm Saw, sejauh mana loe bakal bertindak untuk ngedapetin apa yg loe mau.. Endingnya yg bikin beda drpd yg lain, agak “dingin” tp berkesan.

Superbad
American Pie ala Kevin Smith sayang IMO endingnya gitu doank

Lantai 13 
beda dr film2 horor indo lain, film ini lbh mentingin atmosfer drpd cheap scares nya, ckp menarik krn berusaha tampil beda lwt cinematografi dan mood filmnya, tp sayangnya critanya cm gitu doank + dialog si hantu di endingnya ancur bgt, ky sinetron jaman dulu :p

The Hamiltons (dir. The Butcher Brothers)

Jangan terkecoh dengan poster filmnya yang stereotype bgt, film ini lebih dari itu

(***1/2)

The Hamiltons seem to be an ordinary American family, living in a small town in Northern California and dealing with the problems of everyday life. They’ve also been recently adjusting to the untimely death of their parents. David Hamilton, the oldest, has taken it upon his shoulders to pick up the responsibility for the orphaned family. Twins Wendell and Darlene are darker than the other two siblings and have become more conniving in the past few months. The youngest and most sensitive of the family is Francis. Francis recently found an old video camera his parents owned, and is using it to work on a school project about his family. It’s through Francis’ eyes that we soon get to know the Hamiltons and realize that there are much more disturbing elements lurking below the surface of “ordinary.”

The Butcher Brothers mendeskripsikan film ini sebagai versi horror dr film dokumenter Capturing The Friedmans. Sama seperti The Friedmans, The Hamiltons kelihatan seperti keluarga biasa saja dari luar, namun tidak ada yang tahu kalau mereka memiliki kebiasaaan yang mengerikan.

Bukan sesuatu yang baru sebenarnya, tapi usaha si sutradara untuk menghasilkan sesuatu yang artsy, sadis dan gloomy. Sama halnya seperti film horror modern akhir – akhir ini, The Hamiltons tetap menawarkan sosok psychotic yang gemar menyiksa orang, namun yang membedakan film ini dengan yang lain adalah cara penyampaiannya yang dramatis. Kita bisa merasakan apa yang dialami adik mereka, yang ingin hidup normal namun tidak bisa meninggalkan keluarganya. Sepanjang film, kita akan dibuat penasaran dengan alasan dibalik pembunuhan yang mereka lakukan dan kenapa si adik tidak bisa pergi dari situ. Dengan unsur drama yang kental, kita diajak untuk masuk ke dalam kegelisahan para anggota keluarga dan konfliknya masing – masing. Hal ini yang sangat jarang dilakukan para sutradara2 film2 horror jaman sekarang.

Walaupun begitu, film ini masih jauh dari sempurna, banyak detail – detail yang cukup mengganggu dan seluk beluk The Hamiltons sendiri masih samar – samar dan menimbulkan banyak pertanyaan, Tapi diluar itu, salut untuk The Butcher Brothers yang setidaknya menampilkan sesuatu yang baru di tengah film2 horror modern yang semakin lama semakin membosankan.

New Asian Horror Sprays the Screen by Todd Wardrope

“New Asian Horror” is well on its way to becoming a staid film studies expression like “French New Wave.” While there certainly was an explosion of style and variety in the late 1990s, the “newness” has faded into film history. However, if you are reading this, do not be discouraged, for watching most of the movies discussed below will certainly provide you with novel entertainment. For the viewer with discriminating taste, these films offer an amazing and hard-to-repeat experience. Of course, that isn’t stopping Hollywood from trying.

Audition

1996 is a good place to start. This is the year something started to happen in Asian horror filmmaking. In Japan, Kei Fujiwara unleashed an unexpected torrent of shock and gore with Organ. While investigating a human organ smuggling ring, Detective Numata’s partner falls victim to the criminals, giving the case the personal edge required for this kind of drama. But Organ isn’t really about plot, it’s a tour-de-force full of hallucinatory, graphic and gory mutilation along with bizarre, drugged-out torture and disjointed moments that fans of Asian cinema will recognize and love. This is a movie for gore fans, those who enjoy shock cinema or those with a mature sense of dark humor.

Takeshi Miike matched the horror of Organ with his own artsy brand of revulsion in Fu Doh (Gokudô sengokushi: Fudô). Fudoh offers us a glimpse into the lives of a very unusual and special assassination squad. Wonderfully over-the-top and playfully offensive, this was a good preview of the films to come from Mr. Miike.

Anthony Wong, king of psychopaths, in Ebola Syndrome.

With his aptly titled Ebola Syndrome (Yibola bing du), Herman Yau opened up a new kind of Hong Kong Category III cinema, following in the tradition started by Shaw Brothers shockers like Human Lanterns. Previous to this, most Category III films were excuses for soft-core nudity, sex and the usual exploitation tropes. Ebola Syndrome is not only everything the title suggests, it also pushes the Category III movie into new and more disturbing realm in terms of subject matter. While there is some sexual content, the real thrill here is the total disregard for PC sensibilities – or sensitivity of any kind for that matter. Actor Anthony Wong, who has made quite a career portraying psychos, plays a serial killer who has become infected with ebola and uses his disease as an opportunity to avenge all of the abuse he has suffered in his life. Sensational title, sensational story, but probably a big letdown, right? Not in the least. Almost every frame of this film oozes, sprays and splatters blood or infected fluids. This really needs to be seen to be appreciated, and again, not by the humorless or weak-stomached. This is a horror film in every sense of the phrase.

These two films demonstrated a new approach to horror that had not previously been seen in live action Asian film. Suddenly, it was ruder, brighter, more graphic and much more willing to explode out of the box that American and European horror films had drawn around the genre. Something distinctly Asian and radically different was being created. Certainly, these films were shocking and graphic, but they were also fluid and fun, rocking and rolling like some of the better HK action cinema. Other films to consider from this year would be Kenichi Yoshihara’s Baptism of Blood (Senrei), and Kai Ming Lai’s The Imp (Xie sha). Also, Hideo Nakata released his first feature film, the chilling and moody ghost story titled Don’t Look Up (Joyurei). While this was more traditional than the gore fests, it was noteworthy for its serious intent to scare and not rely on camp or genre to reach an audience.

South Korean cinema first contributed to “New Asian Horror” in 1997 with Ahn Byung-Ki’s Nightmare (Gawi). While the plot wasn’t groundbreaking stuff, the tough visuals and chromatic flair made this stand out from most films of this time in horror filmmaking. The plot concerns a group of friends who share a secret; they also happen to be dying one by one in strange and grisly ways. We are to meant to wonder if a ghost or merely a psychotic peer is responsible for the murders. This is a stock Hollywood plot, but it is here directed with such verve that it puts the retreads from LA to shame.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa began a vibrant part of his horror career with the deep and resonant Cure (Kyua, 1997). While the core of the plot has a detective search for a serial killer, the manner of the killings and the personality of the killer give the film its unique chills and also provide a thoughtful subtext. Stylish, mature and creepy, this film is a good example of the more serious and sincere kind of scary movies New Asian Horror has to offer. Japan also experienced the terrors of Masayuki Ochiai’s Parasite Eve (Parasaito Ivu) that same year. Oddly sentimental and uneven, Parasite Eve is a much different film from Cure.

You have one week to live after seeing this picture from the opening of Ringu.

If there is a date that changed everything in the world of Asian horror films within the last ten years it is January 31, 1998. A tidal wave of pop culture and guerilla marketing culminated in the very successful release of Ringu (The Ring). Hideo Nakata’s very chilling story about a cursed videotape and the secrets it reveals was a smash in Japan, and rumors of its high fear factor spread through the horror grapevine. The effectiveness and profits of The Ring opened a new cycle of filmmaking in Asia, and produced a thirst in the rest of the world for more of the same. Still, the wave was about to crest.

The Ring was released nearly simultaneously with its sequel, The Spiral (Rasen). Directed by Joji Iida, this movie picks up where Ring left off and follows Dr. Andou (Koichi Sato) as he investigates the mysteries of the videotape. Rasen suffers from sequelitis and lacks some of the sincerity that made Ring so frightening. Regardless, it was still a one-two punch of creepiness and the audiences loved it. There was no way The Ring series could stop there.

Even the undead need love in Bio Zombie.

A rival for horror fans’ attention in 1998 was the Hong Kong cult smash Bio Zombie. Woody Invincible (Jordan Chan) and Crazy Bee (Sam Lee) face off against a small army of toxo-undead in a melee of mayhem and humor directed by Wilson Yip. Plenty of laughs with smart in-jokes and bodily fluids make this fine film a terrific entertainment. Essential viewing.

South Korea was starting to have a “New Wave” of its own. New South Korean Cinema was getting its ball rolling, occupying some of the void left behind by the dwindling Hong Kong film industry. South Korean action films moved at a different pace, had more humor and offered greater thematic variety. This spilled over into the dark fantasy film The Soul Guardians (Toemarok), directed by Kwang-Chun Park. In this movie, the child survivor of a suicidal satanic cult grows up to have strange visions as an adult and a group of heroes must defend her from the forces of darkness to prevent the birth of the Antichrist. That’s quite a mix and the movie falters as it tries to do too much at once, but the cinematography is amazing and Park stages some remarkable action and horror sequences. It’s a taste of what was yet to come from South Korea.

Hideo Nakata was very busy throughout 1998 and 1999. He directed Chaos (Kaosu), another guilt-inspired ghost story but a non-Ring film. In this film, the victim of a kidnapping gone awry haunts the kidnapper who discovers that there may be another angle to the criminal plot he hadn’t counted on. No real gore or explicit violence in this one either, but it employs a Memento-like technique and provides thrills rather than chills.

Sadako’s all-seeing eye returns in Ringu 2.

Nakata also made his sequel to Ring, which was simply titled Ring 2 (Ringu 2), not to be confused with Ring 2:Spiral. This film extends the plot of Ring in another direction, as we follow Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) and her boyfriend’s son, Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka), as they try to escape the clutches of the ghostly Sadako (Rie Inou). This film is on a par with The Ring in many ways and does not lose many scares for being a sequel. Sadako becomes more frightening as we learn more about her, which is a rare thing for a horror sequel.

As if two good films weren’t enough, a plethora of other quality horror was hitting Japanese screens that year. Atsushi Muroga unleashed the amazing zombie film Junk (Shiryour Gari); full of gut-chomping, exploding heads and many walking corpses, this was a re-invigoration of the zombie genre well before 28 Days Later as well as a return to the stylish gory onslaught of Organ.

A zombie takes a snack break in Junk.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa completed his second film, Charisma (Karisuma), whose protagonist, a police detective who has gone even further off the mental deep end than the detective in Cure, finds himself in a surreal and foreboding forest. Starker and more atmospheric than Cure, this film is an echo of the more avant-garde filmmaking that has emerged from Japan in the past. Headier than Nakata, Kurosawa deals in dread and angst more than horror or fear, and his films are nearer to art than shock.

Takashi Miike unveiled his own brand of shocking art film with the severe and brutal Audition (Odishon). This twisted film begins harmlessly with two lost souls who meet each other, fall in love and so on. However, something goes very wrong, and what follows is an unrelenting psycho-horror descent into cruelty and mutual revenge. What separates Audition from other run-of-the-mill exploitation is the gorgeous imagery and subtle performances – it’s an exquisite nightmare.

South Korean filmmaker Dong-bin Kim took his run at the Ring story with Ring Virus (Ring). This is more a remake than sequel, but there are some interesting stylistic differences. Livelier and more colorful, this film also relies on mood and atmosphere to tell the story of the haunted videotape. Ring Virus is an example of how derivativeness was starting to creep into New Asian Horror, but it is still worth watching.

Memento Mori (Yeogo goedam II) is another Korean chiller that draws on some of the same Ring-like themes, using a haunted diary instead of a tape, but the sympathy for the doomed characters in this film makes for a different experience than Ring Virus. A softer touch and more gore adds up to a horror film that is still better than most genre films.

The Thai film industry got into the swing of things, releasing the superior Nang Nak, a new version of a folk ghost story that terrified the country and found a worldwide audience. Colorful, sincere, this melancholy and moody Asian ghost story is not to be missed.

2000 saw Japan carrying the torch further than the rest of the New Asian Horror wave. Joji Iida released the shocking and sentimental Another Heaven, a film that alternates moments of tenderness with some serious ultra-violence. In this movie, two Tokyo cops chase a highly unusual serial killer. Fans used to abrupt mood shifts will find this less off-putting than new viewers, as there are some odd tonal moves from scene-to-scene.

Wild Zero set a new standard for what rock and roll movies could and should be. Specifically, they should have zombies in them. In fact, they should have zombies from space in them! In this one, directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi, the worldwide rock stars Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf and Drum Wolf find themselves defending the Earth from evil undead attackers. Much in the same style as Bio Zombie, this one mixes up the camp, the rock and roll and the chunk-blowing for maximum effect. Very highly recommended.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa may have stumbled a bit with his next film, Séance (Korei), a film that concerns a psychic’s attempts to manipulate a kidnapping investigation to her benefit. A bit short on the art and mood of his earlier films, this is more standard fare that still offers plenty of creepy visuals and spaces. Almost imitative of Hideo Nakata’s work, one has to wonder what market forces had to do with this one.

Speaking of market forces, there was also a Ring prequel, Ring O: Birthday (Ringu 0: Baasudei) which was directed by Norio Tsuruta and was an omen of things to come. The wave was beginning to crash. There were a few interesting films from South Korea, but they were mostly imitative of the lesser Hollywood genre offerings and cultural difference is the only thing that makes these films appear fresh.

2001 was pretty much the last big hurrah for New Asian Horror. However, it did go out with a grand finale instead of a sad cycle of redundancy. Some of the most startling films of this wave were released in 2001. Takashi Miike gave the world the twin monsters of Visitor Q (Bizita Q) and the mind-blowing Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1). Visitor Q’s subject is a severely dysfunctional family that takes in an even more dysfunctional guest. Bodily fluid, necrophilia and lactation abound in this sprayfest. Ichi the Killer’s spray is of a more crimson hue; Ichi (Nao Omori), an anti-hero pervert, visits his extreme revenge on the underworld. Scenes without juicy violence or sexual perversion are hard to find in this ratings defiant masterpiece.

On the subject of movies that will never be released theatrically in the States, the violent and fun Battle Royale thumbed its nose directly at the American taboo of high school violence. The premise here is that high school students are stranded on an island and must fight to survive, last-man-standing style. Vicious, mean, funny and unpredictable, it is safe to say this film by Kinji Fukasaku will never be remade by Hollywood.

Hideo Nakata made his last “horror movie,” at least according to him, the superb Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara). Taking another cue from social problems, this plot is about a divorced mother who tries to discover what happened to a missing girl that used to live in her new apartment. A palpable sense of loss and mourning hangs over this moody and frightening film. Where Ring went for thrills, this one goes for a bone-deep and soaking chill. Again, this is a must-see.

New Asian Horror expended itself as tidal wave after 2001. There would continue to be a string of derivative horror offerings along the lines of what Hollywood was releasing, but the flow of adventurous and challenging films slowed to a steady trickle. Notable films to be released since 2001 include films such as the Thai horror-comedy The Beheaded (Pee Hua Kurd); the Korean/Thai/Hong Kong anthology production Three (San Geng); the Pang Brothers’ worldwide hit The Eye (Jian Gui); the Japanese shocker Suicide Circle (Jisatsu circle); Takashi Miike’s inspired gangster-horror film Gozu and the much lauded The Grudge (Ju-on).

The ghostly horror of The Eye.

While Hollywood is picking and choosing among many of these films for remake material, it is doubtful that the energy and sheer creativity of many of these films will translate well in the corporate world of Los Angeles. Even a sampling of these original films will provide for an eye-opening and thrilling film experience. How the energy and verve of these films will affect filmmaking globally is yet to be seen, but I dare say they have gone a long way toward reinvigorating interesting fantastic filmmaking across the international community of film artists. Soon, we will be considering another refreshing “new wave” of filmmaking, and it will likely be from shores beyond the United States. Cinephiles of all stripes have much to look forward to.

This Is England (Shane Meadows)

Seneng bgt hari ini

Tadi ketemu film This Is England nya Shane Meadows yang dari beberapa bulan yang lalu sudah direkomendasikan sama temen di Flixster. Ceritanya sendiri tentang anak kecil yang bergaul sama Skinhead di sana. Belom nonton, tp pas td ngintip dikit, keliatannya bakal seru nih. Dah lama juga soalnya gak nonton film – film Inggris kayak gini

Ini sinopsisnya :

2007 film written and directed by Shane Meadows, director of other films such as A Room for Romeo Brass and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands.

The film is set in a drama centred on young skinheads in early-1980s England. Much of the film was shot in The St Ann’s area of Nottingham with one section involving some abandoned houses being filmed at the former airbase RAF Newton just outside of Bingham, Nottinghamshire.

The film was shown at various international film festivals, including London, and then special permission was granted to Meniscus for it to be shown at Grimsby’s Whitgift Film Theatre. The film was given an 18 certificate by the BBFC due to its racist language and incidence of violence. However, some councils such as Bristol, Camden and Westminster have chosen to overturn this, feeling the film should reach its target audience of teenagers. The film won in the Best Film category at the British Independent Film Awards, with Thomas Turgoose winning the Most Promising Newcomer award.

Turgoose has appeared on TV and radio shows such as Soccer A.M., South Bank Show and GMTV, and has been interviewed by Edith Bowman on her BBC Radio One slot.^[1] Turgoose had never acted before, had been banned from his school play for bad behaviour, and demanded £5 to turn up for the film’s auditions. ^[2] The film was dedicated to Turgoose’s mother, who died on December 29, 2005; before she had a chance to see the film.

Ley Lines (Takashi Miike)

(*****)

Ley Lines adalah bagian terakhir dari film Trilogy milik Miike yang berjudul Black Society Trilogy. Berbeda dengan kedua film yang pertama, di film ini, Miike menampilkan unsur2 yang artistik dan penggunaan simbolisasi warna di sepanjang filmnya.

Ryuichi, seorang anak muda keturunan China, tidak mendapatkan ijin yang legal untuk meninggalkan Jepang. Merasa frustrasi dengan kehidupannya di situ,Bersama adiknya, Shunrei yang pendiam dan temannya yang agak gila, Chong, merekea memutuskan untuk bersama – sama mencari cara2 ilegal untuk segera keluar dari Jepang.
Tujuan mereka : Brazil.

Ley Lines bisa dibilang salah satu film Miike yang paling menarik dan indah. FIlm ini membuktikan bahwa Miike bukan sekedar sutradara yang mengandalkan adegan kekerasa yang berlebihan saja.
Jika Audition bergantung pada endingnya, dan Ichi The Killer menjual adegan2 sadisnya, maka Ley Lines tidak sama sekali bergantung pada satu adegan saja karena setiap adegannya memiliki kekuatan masing – masing.

Penggunaan simbolisasi warnanya di sepanjang adegan juga menarik dalam menggambarkan keadaan emosi dan suasana dalam film ini. Satu hal yang menarik perhatian saya adalah penggunaan warna biru dan pink sebagai simbol dari laki – laki dan perempuan, kebanyakan berupa warna payung.

Tema cerita yang cukup serius dan depresi ini dalam film ini berusaha untuk diimbangi dengan penggunaan unsur2 black comedy yang acak dan karakter absurd yang ditemui sepanjang film ini.Inilah salah satu kelebihan Miike. Dasar cerita yang biasa saja bisa berubah drastis menjadi menarik kalau ditangani olehnya.
Di tangan Miike, Ley Lines bisa menjadi salah satu puisi visual yang tragis dan artistik scr teknik tanpa harus terkesan berlebihan.