Jakarta – Tema hari kiamat yang akan terjadi di 2012 sudah beberapa kali diangkat di film. Berbeda dengan film sebelumnya, ‘2012‘ garapan sutradara Roland Emmerich lebih menyuguhkan visual efek yang fantastis.

Beberapa tahun sebelum 2012, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) terbang ke India untuk menemukan bukti kalau inti bumi tengah mengalami pemanasan yang jauh kata normal. Melihat hal itu, Adrian bersama staf ahli kepresidenan Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) buru-buru mengadu ke presiden Amerika Serikat yang saat itu dijabat Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover).

Presiden Thomas pun mengadakan rapat rahasia dengan beberapa pemimpin negara G8. Mereka berniat menyiapkan misi khusus untuk menghadapi bencana besar yang akan melanda seluruh bumi.

Di California, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack ) seorang penulis yang telah bercerai mengajak anak-anaknya untuk berkemah di Yellowstone. Ketika hendak mengunjungi danau, mereka mendapati danau itu sudah kering. Di sana, Jackson juga bertemu dengan Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) seorang penyiar radio amatir. Charlie yang setengah gila memberitahu Jackson kalau bumi akan kiamat.

Hingga akhirnya, semua yang diceritakan soal kiamat Charlie menjadi kenyataan. Jackson berusaha menyelamatkan anak-anaknya sementara California pun diguncang gempa hebat. Nah mulai dari situ, berbagai visual dari berbagai macam bencana mengalir deras sepanjang film, mulai dari gunung meletus hingga tsunami.

Meski menghadirkan banyak karakter, plot ‘2012′ tidak terlalu sulit untuk diikuti, malahan tergolong biasa-biasa saja. Dari segi cerita, film garapan Roland Emmerich ini tidak jauh beda dengan film-film lain yang mengangkat tema bencana, macam ‘Deep Impact’ atau ‘The Day After Tomorrow’.

Namun kalau ngomongin visual efek, ‘2012′ patut mendapat acungan dua jempol. Visual berbagai macam bencana yang tampil di film tersebut mampu membuat Anda sedikit menahan nafas. Visual efek ‘2012′ cukup halus dan detil.

Sedikit trivia, ‘2012′ merupakan satu dari sedikit film yang menampilkan karakter presiden Amerika Serikat diperankan oleh aktor berkulit hitam. Presiden Thomas Wilson diperankan oleh Danny Glover yang sukses mendampingi Mel Gibson di ‘Lethal Weapon’.

(hkm/hkm)

A Moment to Remember - The movie begins with Kim Su-Jin, a 27 year old fashion designer, being spurned at the train station by her lover, a colleague who is also a married man. Depressed, she goes to a convenience store where she bumps into a tall handsome man with whom she has a slight misunderstanding. Following that, she returns home and receiving the forgiveness of her father, decides to start life afresh. One day while accompanying her father, who is the head of a construction site, in making his rounds, she coincidentally meets the man whom she earlier bumped into at she convencience store. Kategori: Drama Korea Sutradara: John H Lee Penulis: John H Lee Produksi: Sidus Durasi: 117 Menit Tgl. Rilis: 2004. Pemain: Son Ye-Jin , Jeong Woo-Seong.

Komentar saya:

Ini film yang saya tonton di hari libur ini: A Moment to Remember (Nae Meorisokui Jiwoogae) Film yang bagus, ceritanya mengharukan. Pertemuan yang unik dan romantis. Meski status sosial Soo-jin (Son Ye-Jin) dan Cheol-soo (Jeong Woo-Seong) berbeda jauh, tapi akhirnya  mereka menikah. Tapi siapa menduga,  penyakit lupa Alzheimer yang diidap Soo-jin mengganggu usia kebahagiaan pernikahan mereka (penyakit ini biasanya menyerang orang usia lanjut, ternyata anak muda juga bisa jadi korban hag siah ). Soo-jin berusaha merahasiakan penyakit itu dari sang suami, meski pada akhirnya Cheol-soo mengetahuinya, dan ia menerima dengan sabar dan berusaha setia melakukan berbagai cara menyembuhkan penyakit istrinya. Hm, adegan-adegan yang menarik. Son Ye-jin si wajah cantik nan sendu yang berhasil memerankan tokoh wanita. Jeong Woo-Seong yang tampil memikat. Jalan cerita yang patut diacungi jempol! Hidup angkot!!

]]> http://notablenoise.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/loins-of-punjab-presents-movie-review-orlando-weekly/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:35:38 +0000 Jason Ferguson http://notablenoise.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/loins-of-punjab-presents-movie-review-orlando-weekly/ http://ssnyc.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/dvd-review-bad-lieutenant/ Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:06:41 +0000 ssnyc http://ssnyc.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/dvd-review-bad-lieutenant/

While I’ve enjoyed several of Abel Ferrara’s films, 1992’s Bad Lieutenant unfortunately left me feeling nothing but wronged and dirty, and not in the good way. “Gambler, Thief, Killer, Cop” is the film’s mantra, and Harvey Keitel’s character is all of these and more.The film starts out with strong visuals of sex and drug use (it is rated NC-17,) but as the movie progresses and Keitel’s character spirals into destruction, so does the movie. Films that fall under the category of “disturbing” typically leave audiences with a new or altered perception of society, but I felt many scenes in this film did nothing but add unnecessary raunchiness and repulsion.

It’s one thing to portray sex, rape, drug addiction and corruptness within the murky backstreets of New York, but when they do nothing to support a character’s downfall or redemption, they ultimately serve no purpose. After the first quarter of the movie, I ultimately forgot that Keitel’s character was even a cop; he simply seemed like a perverted coke addict with a gambling problem. And even after all of the ridiculous religious imagery, I felt not sympathy, but ambiguity towards his character. Plus, it doesn’t help when audiences can predict the end of a movie forty minutes before its conclusion.

Overall, I think the film may have worked if Keitel wasn’t cast as the main character. While the role was superbly acted, I suppose I’ve seen too many Keitel films that trumped this one big time, or at least left out a ten-second visual of the actor’s penis. The special edition DVD does contain worthwhile commentary from the director, along with a documentary special feature that fills you in on tidbits of information you probably wouldn’t find anywhere else (such as Christopher Walken being initially offered the lead role as LT.)

Lucy Tonic

Let me begin by saying that I have been waiting for the release of The State on DVD for a long time. I only had a handful of episodes and skits on tape so I became kind of like a DVD stalker–checking The State website all the time hoping to find out information about when my dreams would come true. In the meantime I would get my fix of my favorite comedy troupe by going to see Stella or watch White Hot American Summer and Reno 911—but it just wasn’t enough…I needed something more to dip my balls in!!

Then one day recently–it was on my doorstep…and in honor of such a joyous event I threw a pizza party, inviting friends I’ve had since High School who also were excited to relive great 90’s sketch comedy. Honestly, it was really worth the wait–laughter was abound in my apartment for hours. It was delightful seeing all the great characters and rediscovering some skits that I had forgotten. My party guests reflect on their favorite skits…Marisa: “I liked “Staring Contest” because it was silly and surreal. And that scene of Michael Ian Black dressed up like a crazy blonde clown stuck with me for so long into my 20’s…” Allison: “I like Tammy Wilkinson, the notebook artist because it’s so satiric.” I quote lines from that notebook artist skit to this day–their work really did have a lasting impression on its viewers. Personally, I was excited to sing along with “The Jew, the Italian and the Red-Headed Gay” and “Porcupine Racetrack.” The bonus features on the DVDs are fun old MTV news interviews with the cast.

With all the love I just spewed–I’ll comment on the one bummer about the set. Most of the original music has been replaced and some scenes have blurred imagery. The little insert in the DVD mentions the fact that getting the rights to the music and the images would have taken more time and cost millions of dollars. I was only really upset with these changes in the “Tammy Wilkinson” skit where her homemade collage of teen heartthrobs of the day like Jonathan Brandis and Andrew Shue have been blurred over and the prom scene lost some of its impact because you can’t hear them singing “You’re the Inspiration” by Peter Cetera. Even though the music has been replaced by generic similar songs–the comedy and genius of the show is still there.

I would like to end my review of The State Complete Series DVD set in the words of Blueberry Johnson—”I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!”

Leslie Torre

Alleen West Wing fanaten zegt het iets. Kreeg dit zakje cadeau van een andere fanate WW. Ze was voor een congres in Amerika en wist dat ze een grote glimlach op mijn gezicht zou toveren.

Serie 1, episode 9 begon het misverstand. Gail’s debuut,  Danny gaf haar aan CJ als aardigheidje.

Danny dacht dat CJ van vissen hield, in werkelijkheid was ze verslaafd aan dit Amerikaanse zoutje. 

Waarom is een film als je er over nadenkt nu echt jouw film? Film heel erg belangrijk vinden als statement is voor veel jonge volwassenen, denk ik, de ultieme benadrukking van de eigen identiteit.

Luna hoorde bij mij in het rijtje: do the test. Kon een beoogde vriend of, veel belangrijker nog, een beoogd vriendinnetje deze film van Bertolucci uit 1979 niet op MIJN waarde schatten, dan was er direct een situatie.

Alleen al om die reden kan ik niet meer objectief naar Luna kijken, Luna kwam als de belangrijkste film aan het einde van mijn adolescentie. Een van mijn beste vrienden (nog steeds) was net als ik volledig overtuigd van de onbetwistbare kwaliteit van deze film van Bernardo Bertolucci. 

Wat de critici er nu van vinden, nu de film na bijna dertig jaar op dvd is uitgebracht, doet er voor ons niet meer toe.

Ik heb een lopende afspraak met een filmexploitant. Op het moment dat ik dat wil, kan ik deze film in een private setting laten zien aan intimi die ik daarbij wil uitnodigen.

Ik zal de vrienden en het moment heel zorgvuldig uitkiezen.

Dinner for One (ook wel bekend als Der 90. Geburtstag) is een komische sketch die in de jaren ‘20 van de twintigste eeuw geschreven werd voor het theater door Lauri Wylie. De sketch wordt nog regelmatig in theaters opgevoerd.

In 1963 maakte de Duitse omroep Norddeutscher Rundfunk een televisieversie van Dinner for One met de Britse acteurs Freddie Frinton en May Warden. De televisieversie duurt 18 minuten en is in verschillende landen, met name in Duitsland en Oostenrijk, een vast onderdeel geworden van de televisieprogrammering op oudejaarsavond. De sketch werd hierdoor één van de meest herhaalde programma’s ooit.

Opvallend is dat Dinner for One een van de weinige programma’s op de Duitse televisie is die niet is nagesynchroniseerd.. Freddie Frinton vroeg hier specifiek om toen hij akkoord ging met een opname van de sketch. Voor die kijkers die wat minder goed zijn in Engels wordt de sketch ingeleid door presentator Heinz Piper die in het Duits kort uitlegt waar de sketch om draait en een vertaling geeft van de twee bekendste zinnen uit de sketch: “Same procedure as last year?” en “Same procedure as every year”.

Miss Sophie (May Warden) is een rijke Engelse dame die al sinds jaar en dag de traditie heeft om op haar verjaardag haar vier beste vrienden Sir Toby, Admiral von Schneider, Mr. Pommeroy en Mr. Winterbottom uit te nodigen voor een verjaardagsdiner. Er is alleen een probleem: Miss Sophie is zelf niet meer de jongste, het is inmiddels haar negentigste verjaardag, en alle vier haar vrienden zijn inmiddels overleden.

Miss Sophie vindt dit echter geen reden om met de traditie te breken. Daar de heren niet langer persoonlijk aanwezig kunnen zijn zal Miss Sophies butler James (Freddie Frinton) de rollen van de vier gasten op zich nemen, inclusief hun karaktertrekjes en eigenaardigheden.

Bij elk van de gangen van het diner (Mulligatawny-soep, vis, kip en fruit als dessert) kiest Miss Sophie een geschikt (alcoholisch) drankje. James serveert de drankjes niet alleen aan Miss Sophie, maar ook aan haar imaginaire gasten. Bij elke gang brengt James in de rol van elk van de heren een toost uit en drinkt zijn glas leeg; hij drinkt hierdoor bij elke gang vier glazen. Hierdoor raakt hij steeds meer onder invloed en wordt het steeds moeilijker voor hem om de drankjes in te schenken en om niet over een tijgerkop van een op de grond liggend vloerkleed te struikelen.

Voorafgaand aan elke gang vraagt James aan Miss Sophie: “The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?”, waarop zij antwoordt: “The same procedure as every year, James!”

Aan het eind van het diner geeft Miss Sophie te kennen dat zij naar bed gaat, waarop James haar bij de arm neemt en ze samen de trap op lopen. James vraagt dan: “The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?” en Miss Sophie antwoordt: “The same procedure as every year, James!”. James zegt hierop, knipogend naar de camera: “Well, I’ll do my very best.”.

Gillian Welch
Revival ••••
Hell Among The Yearlings ••••  
Time (The Revelator) ••••
The Revelator Collection [DVD] ••••
Acony 

While some new music from Gillian Welch and her steadfast musical partner David Rawlings is long overdue, it’s nonetheless a pleasure to revisit the duo’s earlier work via Acony’s reissue of their first three albums and the international debut release of The Revelator Collection DVD. Welch’s influence on the Americana scene (and beyond) has become increasingly apparent in recent years, both in the wide range of musicians who have chosen to cover her songs and her own collaborations with artists including Emmylou Harris, Jenny Lewis, Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Robyn Hitchcock and The Decemberists, not to mention Ane Brun’s recent, reverent tribute song on Changing Of The Seasons [review]. There’s a timeless quality to Welch’s work which clearly appeals across the board, and it’s heartening that even in a noisy culture music as quiet as this can have such a significant impact. From a relatively limited palette of mainly guitar and vocals, Welch and Rawlings have fashioned bluegrass, blues, folk and country traditions into their own distinctive version of what Welch terms “American Primitive” music.

The unadorned nature of Welch and Rawlings’s work extends to the packaging of these reissues which offer nothing in the way of bonus tracks or new liner notes. With its statement-of-intent title, relatively straightforward storytelling, and appearances from Nashville stalwarts James Burton, Jim Keltner and Roy Huskey Jr., Welch’s 1996 debut Revival remains perhaps the most user-friendly and instantly accessible of the three albums, offering engaging, tightly constructed narratives and character sketches such as ‘Orphan Girl’, ‘Annabelle’ and ‘One More Dollar’. That said, despite T-Bone Burnett’s sympathetic production, and the individual appeal of almost all of its tracks, Revival is not a particularly well-structured album, and the juxtaposition of contemplative spirituals with a couple of rockers (‘Pass You By’ and ‘Tear My Stillhouse Down’) jars a little. 

Starker, sparser and spookier, 1998’s Hell Among The Yearlings found the duo appropriating some of the genre’s quirkier tropes – a revisionist murder ballad on ‘Caleb Meyer’, the narcotised yodel on paean to addiction, ‘My Morphine’ – and cultivating an even more stripped and self-absorbed sound. Superficially, the album might be described as music to hang yourself to, but, contrary to reputation, it’s not an entirely grim experience: witness the simple beauty of the elegantly resigned ‘I’m Not Afraid To Die’ or the closing ‘Winter’s Come & Gone’, which welcomes a redemptive thaw after the frost.

Three years later, the self-produced Time (The Revelator) found Welch and Rawlings exploring more esoteric lyrical territory on the meandering, philosophically-inclined title track and the sweeping, ambitious two-parter ‘April The 14th’ / ‘Ruination Day’, which veers like a particularly wide-ranging motion picture from the assassination of Lincoln to the sinking of the Titanic to the Dust Bowl. The Napster-inspired ‘Everything Is Free’ brings the album right up to date, while the extraordinary 14-minute epic ‘I Dream A Highway’ closes proceedings with a Dylan-esque barrage of off-kilter imagery including a choice reference to Emmylou and Gram. The record also offers somewhat simpler pleasures in the shape of the timeless waltz ‘Dear Someone’, the standard-in-the-making ‘I Want To Sing That Rock & Roll’, and ‘My First Lover’ with its wonderfully strident banjo and Steve Miller references.

The DVD makes a lovely accompaniment to the albums, showcasing videos of ‘Elvis Presley Blues’, ‘My First Lover’ and ‘Revelator’, as well as a selection of live performances. If Welch and Rawlings seem somewhat ill at ease in the videos, they’re relaxed, wry and confident in front of a crowd. The previously unreleased original ‘Wichita’, and compelling covers of Bob Dylan’s ‘Billy’, Neil Young’s ‘Pocahontas’, Bill Monroe’s ‘I’m On My Way Back To The Old Home’ (with Rawlings taking the lead) and Townes van Zandt’s ‘White Freightliner Blues’ are standouts of the set.

Welch’s reedy, moody voice is not the kind that you fall for instantly. It doesn’t seem to develop much across the three albums either, but new depths and subtleties are revealed the more you hear it, and combined with Rawlings’s harmonies it can generate its own particular power. If there’s a criticism to be made of their music it’s that there’s not a lot of air in it: the close harmonies and intricate guitar work can feel a bit claustrophobic and arid after a while. Perhaps conscious of this, the pair expanded their horizons on their last album, 2003’s Soul Journey, resulting in a work of greater spaciousness and spontaneity.

Another criticism that is sometimes made is that these two Berklee Music School grads are simply playing at being hillbillies, assuming the externals of these genres without the lineage. Viewed cynically, Welch and Rawlings can seem to be the duo for listeners who prefer their country music not to be made by actual country people. This might, perhaps, account for the lack of deep emotional punch to their work, the fact that, although always engaging and sometimes fascinating, their music is never really moving in the way that, say, Iris DeMent’s is. But while there are all kinds of debates about ancestry and authenticity, roots music and roots, that might be had about Welch and Rawlings’s work, the sincerity of their love and respect for the musical traditions they’re immersed themselves in is never in doubt. (Re-)acquaint yourself with these fine records and look forward to their new album due later this year.

Alex Ramon
UK release 02/03/09; www.myspace.com/gillianwelch

‘Time (The Revelator)’