chrysoberylz Reviews

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Fun, Entertaining, Hilarious, and Badass

[8/10 · 2 November 2013]

Far better than the first movie. Sorry, but I found the first movie is a bit boring... I do not read the comics so I will just write what I know from the movies version. This sequel of Thor (2011) is simply amazing and obviously becomes a movie that you want to watch over and over again like Marvel's The Avengers (2012).

The main characters from the first movie come back. With a bit of change in the cast, I think (Zachary Levi!). Begins with a war in the "space" between Malekith and Asgard, Loki with handcuffs brought to prison, another battle in present time with the appearance of Asgardian warriors. Thor, of course, came up with a dramatic entrance. Kicking-ass as usual, then the story moved to a peaceful, everyday life in Earth/Midgard. Jane, Darcy (Kat Dennings is still awesome), and Ian (intern!) found a dimension portal as told by a group of kids, Jane disappeared into another world, the Aether made Jane its host, Jane came back to surface, and finally met Thor.

Thor brought Jane to Asgard and tried to get out the Aether from Jane's body. But yeah, it is not that easy. Then Malekith invaded Asgard resulting Frigga's death. The scene when Frigga and fallen Asgardian warriors were burnt and brought to afterlife was really awesome and gave me chills. Thor, seeing this, would not just sit around while Malekith and his army brought grieves to Asgard. He asked for Loki's help to escape Asgard. Of course also with the help of Sif, Volstagg, and Fandral. Epic battle with Malekith ending with Loki's death (no, he is not). Thor then came to Earth with Jane and battled Malekith for the last time. With those portals being unstable, some of the teleport scenes are hilarious and awesome at the same time. Malekith was killed after being teleported to Svartalfheim, with Malekith's own ship crashed over him.

And do not forget the post-credit scene. There are two of them. Seeing this post credit indicates the possibility for the third movie. Overall, this movie is awesome. Action, drama, comedy, science-fiction, mythology things, you can find all of them in this Thor: The Dark World. All of them are in right position and makes this movie amazing. But with all those amazing things about this movie, it also has a bit of minus side. I think Loki needs more screen time than that, no sign of S.H.I.E.L.D. at all??? (only mentioned once), and why should Frigga dead? Thor: The Dark World is highly recommended. Especially for the fans of Thor, Marvel movies, and action-genre. You will not be disappointed and I am sure you want to watch this over and over again.

Escape Plan (2013)

The 80's Heroes Epic Escape

[8/10 · 19 October 2013]

Bring the good old days back! Everyone agrees that Stallone and Schwarzenegger are the top kick-ass icon during 80's. They may age and become slower than their younger selves but they still kick-ass.

Well, I missed the first minutes of the movie. Yeah, I was embarrassingly late :( I came in the cinema when the title "Escape Plan" came up on the screen. So what is it? Five minutes late, maybe? But with the flashback, I know what happened in the part I missed. Stallone's character, Ray Breslin is a Houdini, but in this case, he is talented in finding his way out of prison. No, he is not a criminal. Just to test the prison's quality in the security aspect.

Then the plot moved to a lawyer from CIA (Yeah, Langley..) who asked Breslin to test a prison prototype's security. He agreed and nothing is wrong until Breslin realized that his evacuation code did not make any sense. Like he is being put into prison for real. Then as usual, prison fight, a stranger, Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) suddenly became a best friend, then planning to escape from that prison. And, of course, they finally escaped from that prison.

The theme is not new. We all know there are lots of movies and TV series like this, like Prison Break and Escape from Alcatraz. But this movie is executed perfectly and I really enjoy this movie. A bit boring the first twenty minutes but the rest of the movie did entertain me.

Action is a must. Blood, fight, guns, and most;y anything available in nearest location. And some gags, humors, everything hilarious add more excitement to this movie. The detail of the prison is amazing. This movie is like a "Escaping Prison 101". Using available stuff and human resources to escape from a prison.

This movie is highly recommended. Stallone and Schwarzenegger still kick-ass and also can be funny at the same time. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Riddick (2013)

Not So Good But Not a Bad Movie, Though

[7/10 · 7 September 2013]

Well, I am not a really big fan of this Riddick series/franchise so I will just give my opinion about this one movie. The trailer first.. Yeah, the trailer is always awesome, because trailer is a form of promotional media which persuades us to watch the movie. It succeeded in persuading me to watch this movie.

And honestly I am a bit disappointed. It is not as spectacular and amazing as The Chronicles of Riddick. It does not mean that this movie is that bad, I just think that this movie did not entertain me. I must admit that the visual is really good, the sound effect is thrilling, and the "creatures" are so awesome. But I think the story plot is flowing so slow in the first one hour. Honestly, although the visualization is good, the first one hour of this movie is really boring.

I do not really recommend this movie. But if you are still curious, or maybe a big fan of this franchise, just watch it. I just give my opinion and my opinion is subjective, so you maybe think differently about this movie.

R.I.P.D. (2013)

This Movie is Truly a Rest In Peace!

[5/10 · 4 September 2013]

I thought this movie is gonna be a blast, but I am totally wrong. I saw the trailer and I think it is awesome, but the movie is really a total failure. Well, not that epic fail, I admire the concept and the idea but I just dislike the whole movie.

In my opinion, the first half of this R.I.P.D. is really so boring. To be honest, I almost fell asleep on my seat. Some of the jokes are not even funny. Well, when we watched the trailer, it seems hilarious, but in the full movie, all the gags and jokes are just like that. I could only laugh sarcastically.

I must admit that the SFX is good with all those deado and many other things, but no matter how awesome the SFX is, it cannot save the whole movie. The acting is not so good, below standard, I think). Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges are both disappointing. Ryan Reynolds looks soulless, both when he is still alive and dead. And Jeff Bridges' accent in this movie is just awful. It is funny but still awful. Not to mention Mary Louise-Parker, I know I dislike her and she is truly awful in this movie. And Kevin Bacon is just like that.

The conclusion, I do not recommend this movie at all. I think watching this is just a waste of time and money. But if you are still curious, then go ahead and watch this movie. I am not responsible for the consequences.

Elysium (I) (2013)

Well, uh, Awful

[6/10 · 26 August 2013]

As this movie genre is Sci-Fi, I really expect something like, at least, awesome environment, robots, cyborgs, and everything hi-tech. And this movie's director is District 9's director. So I did have high expectation for this movie. But then when I saw the trailer I just frowned. The trailer is so awful and I do not see anything "WOW!" from this.

I still watched the movie. Same as the trailer, it is so awful. The first half of the movie can put me to sleep and at least the second half is better, although it is not really that "better". The only thing Sci-Fi is only that Elysium thing.. and the steel armor (whatever is that called, the armor attached to Max's body) and the weapons. I think the story is really ridiculous. To conclude Elysium's story in one sentence: everyone is just being egoistic. That's it. There is no better explanation than that.

The characters in this movie are not so "WOW" or anything. Just plain characters. Plain and damaged characters. Matt Damon is not really good in this movie. I think he should just stay as Jason Bourne. Jodie Foster. Nah. Sharlto Copley is a great actor and I expect much from him. But he is just like a crazy killer with big weapons. Even his Murdock character (from The A-Team) is better than this.

The story has so many plot hole. Like, why Frey left Max when they were child? And then suddenly Frey showed up in a hospital where Max accidentally there? Ang then suddenly Frey had a daughter? And then Kruger kidnapped Frey and Matilda? Maybe some people think that it is just a normal story. No. It does not make sense at all.

So, I am really disappointed with this movie. It suggests nothing new. Well, I mean, Star Trek and Pacific Rim's idea is not new at all but they can execute all the things right in their places. This Elysium is just another "failed" Sci-Fi. Well, I think some of you who watched this Elysium may think in different way. Maybe you think that Elysium is good. Okay, I appreciate that. But personally I think this movie is bad. But if you still insist to watch it, okay, just watch it and have your own opinion.

The Wolverine (2013)

Different Approach, but Fun to Watch

[6/10 · 24 July 2013]

*6.5 / 10 Well, don't expect a parade of mutants in this movie because the amount of mutants appeared in this is really a few. Only 3, maybe? But it doesn't matter as Wolverine can take over the whole movie and no one will ever dare to interrupt him.

This "The Wolverine" movie is not just action like in the previous X-men movies featuring him. A bit of plot twist and drama is added to make this movie more interesting. Well, actually adding plot twist and drama spices to this movie is a good effort, but it doesn't feel right. Like turning into chick-flick.

Jean also appeared in this movie, only in Logan's dreams (and nightmares). I think, even if her scenes are removed, it won't change anything in this movie. A new character, also a mutant, Yukio, a seems-like Harajuku girl with red hair, is well-played. I love her chemistry with Logan as "master and bodyguard". And Mariko, she is just a sweetheart. Enough said.

And, the Wolverine himself. Hugh Jackman is still a badass. As the Wolverine character is just like Jackman's other personality. And well, I cannot comment much on Logan because he's fierce as usual.

The conclusion is, this movie is still worth watching, if you are a fan of Marvel or X-men movies. The action is just, yeah, action. No new action concept in this movie. Although fighting above shinkansen is a new idea. And the adamantium armor robot... This is not Real Steel, please. I know Hugh Jackman is in this movie but the armor robot is just so wrong.

Oh, and don't get up from your seat after the movie is finished. There is a post-credit scene. And you all will be shocked!

Pacific Rim (2013)

This Makes Godzilla and Transformers Look Bad

[9/10 · 11 July 2013]

*9 / 10 This first thing that came into my mind when I watched the trailer is that this movie is like Mobile Suit Gundam. Yeah, that anime. Unless that the robot is controlled by two pilots. The robots here are called "Jaeger". Then the monsters. Godzilla's friends? Ultraman's new nemesis? They call the monsters "Kaiju".

I have great expectation in this movie. Guillermo del Toro is a director with lots of experience and I don't think that this movie will go wrong or mocked by the audience. Not only as director, he also wrote the screenplay! We know that Guillermo del Toro is not just a director, he is also a writer, sometimes as producer, too. We all know that his Hellboy movies are awesome so this Pacific Rim should be entertaining.

The movie's prologue told us about the Kaiju attack all around the world. Then the human race built giant robots to fight the Kaiju to save the world. Then the main characters were introduced one by one. Their past, their characters, and their craziness. The storyline is set in perfect proportion and perfect order. No character's story is too short or too long. We know that Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) is the main character but everyone got their screen time equally.

And, uh, a bit applause for the budget. This awesome movie's budget is "only" US $180,000,000! I don't believe that, actually. The special effect is awesome. This is what I call "Sci-Fi magic"! Awesome shot, and the scene when Gypsy Danger sliced the Kaiju's wings above the Earth's atmosphere was so stunning. I cannot erase that scene from my mind. My gosh that scene was really awesome, and more stunning than any scene in James Cameron's Avatar (2009). That. Scene.

Many said that this movie is quite similar as Transformers. Nope. It's not same at all. Transformers are basically aliens and these Jaegers were artificially made by humans, and had pilots. The concept is like playing Wii or Kinect games, like a simulator. The pilots controlled the Jaegers by moving around and also lots of buttons that I don't understand.

The drama thing in here is also good. The sad moment when Stacker (Idris Elba) said goodbye to Mako (Rinko Kikuchi), also Herc (Max Martini) and Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky)'s last encounter. Those scenes almost bring me to tears. The only hilarious character in this movie is Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman), and Dr. Newton (Charlie Day), maybe. Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) is another extra point to this movie. He's smart but, like typical smart people in movies; he is also stubborn but in the end he could accept another people's opinion.

To conclude all of the things above, this movie is really worth watched. This is not just a gigantic robots movie. The storyline, the action, the special effects, the concept and the execution are balanced one to another. Pacific Rim is the black horse in summer movies so far.

The Lone Ranger (2013)

"Hilarious" Version of Western Movies

[9/10 · 6 July 2013]

Western movies are widely known with their cowboys, horses, deserts, plains, Texas, sheriff, rangers, Indians, something like that. All those aspects are in this The Lone Ranger movie. This movie is not bad, this movie is entertaining both to western movies genre lover and Johnny Depp's fans. Don't expect this movie to be really serious as Django Unchained. When there is a Johnny Depp in a movie, never expect that movie to be serious.

Typical Johnny Depp movies (Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, etc.). Hilarious jokes, eccentric acting and appearance. What else can you expect from Johnny Depp? His acting is not so brilliant here but it's enough to make us burst laughing.

The movie itself has a quite long duration, 2.5 hours. I think this movie will be really bored but I was wrong. All the scenes in this movie are amazing and the landscapes shots are awesome. So wild west.

Conclusion, this movie is enjoyable. Great action, hilarious, funny Lone Ranger and Tonto's conversations, 2.5 hours will be nothing.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

The Minions Stole the Screen!

[8/10 · 4 July 2013]

What can I say about animation movies? In average, animation movies are easy-watching and awesome. Both the graphics, humor, and the story is usually so simple. Mostly about good versus evil. In this Despicable Me 2, the good versus bad is the main theme but all the aspect in this movie is good.

First, the cute minions, which I think are the number 1 attraction in this movie, really stole the screen. With their cute shape (?), hilarious voice and behavior, the Minions are really awesome and, yeah, cute.

Gru, the main character is also hilarious and don't forget his awesome accent and way of talking. I don't really care about the girls (Margo, Edith, and Agnes). But they are good additions for the movie and the love of Gru's life. And Lucy is another person of interest in this sequel. She's hilarious.

Good animation and awesome humor, especially the Minions, this movie is really recommended for everyone.

White House Down (2013)

Bad or Not, This Movie is still Worth Watching

[7/10 · 26 June 2013]

Star : 7 / 10

Note this : I don't want to compare this to another Roland Emmerich movies so it will be just my opinion about this "White House Down". And, I haven't watched "Independence Day", which is "White House Down" compared to, so I won't compare them at all.

When it comes to apocalypse-theme movie, I think we all agree that Roland Emmerich name will pop up in our minds. This amazing director once again brought us an apocalyptic movie. Not a nature disaster but a personal apocalypse for USA, a group of terrorist took control of the White House. It's an apocalyptic thing for USA itself.

About how the terrorists / invaders could come inside the White House, it's predictable. An insider is a traitor. Typical "terrorist" movie that attacks USA, one of the good guys must be the bad guy. Nothing really special about this movie. But I can say some gags during the serious situation in the movie are hilarious. Mr. President can be funny too. I think this is a 100% serious movie but, I'm wrong.

The first 30 minutes of the movie is boring, I have to say. I'm just like, "bullshit", "crap", "get me the action already", "enough of this talking", and "goddammit start the terrorism already". Then the rest of the movie is amazing, and some of the scenes are breath-taking. Not so tense, a bit of plot twist, explosion everywhere, guns, machine guns, Air Force One, Black Hawk, nuclear, yeah, put out all your weaponry, USA.

Channing Tatum is doing good with his action in this movie. Although this is not his best movie appearance. But his emotional relationship with his daughter is not so deep, uh, like not really exposed. Our Django, Jamie Foxx is perfect for the black president role (referring to Obama). Serious and tough, but also can be funny. Joey King as Emily Cale is also worth two thumbs up. Her role is also important in this movie. Although I think uploading the invaders' video to YouTube in situation like that is a dumb thing to do. But the video also helped the Pentagon to identify the invaders. And yeah, this amazing actor, James Woods stole the screen. What else do you expect from him?

To conclude all of the above, this movie is worth watching. This movie is not so special or blockbuster type of movie, but you can still enjoy this movie.

World War Z (2013)

World War Z(ombies)! Ridiculously Entertaining & Thrilling!

[8/10 · 19 June 2013]

This World War Z is not like any other zombie movies. When I saw the trailer, I think this is gonna be like Resident Evil or maybe, Zombieland? Zombie-themed movies usually don't really appeal me, but I really enjoyed this movie.

The opening scene is so common, followed by chaos caused by the zombies, then effort to escape, got shelter, then trying to fix things up. Actually the "zombie" term in this movie has a bit of twist. This is not like the zombies we know (or I know). This World War Z has different theory of zombies. The origin of the "Zombie pandemic" in this movie is not so exposed, it is described as sudden outbreak.

As the usual zombie apocalypse-themed movie, the zombies kill all the innocent citizen because the citizen's own stupidity, or I called idiocy. I don't want to type like this but yeah, the citizen in one city are idiot enough to make so much noise which make the zombies more aggressive and let them get through the giant wall (the wall which zombies trying to climb in the promotional trailer). And Gerry (Brad Pitt) is dumb enough not to stop the citizen earlier. If he told them to stop making noises, maybe the citizen will be alive till the end of the movie.

This movie is not recommended for those who doesn't want to get heart attack. So thrilling and this is what zombie movies should be! With the scary zombie's noise and score, you can jump out of your seat. Seriously. I jumped out of my seat at least 5 times. Well, people's level of scariness is different but this zombie movie is quite scary. And it's supported by "darkness" in all the scenes. The cinematography is just so good to scare the hell out of you.

The ending? Nah, I called that medium-sized cliffhanger, I mean not so cliffhanger but you can still call it cliffhanger. And I hate cliffhanger. When the movie ended, I was just like, "That's it? That's it?!" This movie is just about 116 minutes and I think it can be lengthened to.. about 150 minutes (2.5 hours) to explain all the things.

Sequel possibility is not so high. What will you do next? Deep-fried the zombies with flame-thrower? I think there will be no sequel for this. What? World War Z-2? To conclude all the things, this movie is far better than the typical zombie apocalypse movie. You won't get bored sitting for 116 minutes because it's always thrilling in the whole movie, except the first 5 minutes. So far the summer movies are amazing. This World War Z added the awesomeness of summer movies parade. Don't expect this movie to be like Resident Evil because you're dead wrong if you think like that. This movie is awesome.

Man of Steel (2013)

A Brand New Superman You've Never Seen Before

[7/10 · 13 June 2013]

This is not like all the previous Superman movies. This is not "Smallville". This is not the sequel of "Superman Returns". This is "Man of Steel"! This movie is awesome.

I am not a big fan of Superman but this is the best Superman movie I've ever seen. (Christopher Reeve's version is also good, but this Man of Steel is better. And.. the Brandon Routh's version? Naaaaah...) The plot is really structural. Not so many flashbacks, so you won't get confused. The whole storyline is just really simple. It told the very beginning of Superman and then, yeah, his adulthood.

The special effects here, I think it is as awesome as Marvel's Avengers. Yeah, alien and superheroes, what do you expect? Battle scenes are good, I can feel Zack Snyder "300" sensation in here.

Henry Cavill succeeded bringing a whole new version of Superman to the big screen. He wiped out all our knowledge of the previous Superman movies and replaced it with a darker version of Superman (Nolan's kinda "darkness") This movie is enjoyable. See? There's still hope for DC Comics' superheroes movies.

The Hangover Part III (2013)

Hilarious, but Somehow Pointless

[7/10 · 1 June 2013]

The Wolfpack is back in action! In this third and last movie of The Hangover trilogy, the Wolfpack, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and Doug (Justin Bartha) got together again and of course, you cannot forget our beloved Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong).

The storyline formula is quite the same as the two previous movies. They got in trouble again and of course Mr. Chow is the mastermind behind the trouble, as in The Hangover and The Hangover part II. A very common storyline but a little twist in there so the story didn't get so boring.

This movie's genre is mainly comedy and I must admit that some of the scenes are really hilarious and can make people laugh a lot. Although I think this is still not as hilarious as the first movie. Or we are already tired watching the same kind of joke so many times that the joke didn't make us laugh again.

The characters? Just as usual, the leader is still Phil, the assistant is still Stu, the "idiot-but-funny" on the side of the road is still Alan and the sufferer is still Doug. And of course, the crazy one is still Mr. Chow.

The whole movie is quite good. Beautiful scenery of Las Vegas, Alan's don't-give-a-damn attitude, Stu's hilarious "stupidity", Phil's leadership, and.. Mr. Chow's madness. Getting crazier in this movie. The funny part is quite hilarious, storyline is just a common one, and the character development here is quite good.

Not really disappointing, you can enjoy this kind of movie without thinking too much. I think when we see the ending, the Wolfpack will face another trouble again.

Furious 6 (2013)

They Got A Tank!

[8/10 · 22 May 2013]

No doubt that Fast & Furious franchise is the best in its genre (action, fast cars, adrenaline rush!), although Transporter franchise is also good. Justin Lin once again succeeded in bringing us a movie which is not just about fast cars and nitro packs everywhere, but he can also give character development. Like he did to Letty, who suffered from amnesia. But I must admit that it is a typical storyline of one character's memory loss.

The movie began with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Riley (Gina Carano) in Russia, awesome opening credit containing clips from 5 previous movies which drowned us in nostalgia, then Mia (Jordana Brewster) was about to give birth, Brian (Paul Walker) rushed to be on her side, then Dom (Vin Diesel) and Elena (Elsa Pataky) in their house, suddenly Hobbs showed up offering Dom a "new job", Dom called all his team, all his team were enjoying their wealth from the last Brazilian Job, the team united again and met the antagonist, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) with the help from Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and some other crews. Joe Taslim as Jah was also Shaw's crew. I'm proud of him as an Indonesian, and he got quite a lot of screen portion. He beat Han (Sung Kang) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson), too. But too bad that Rico and Tego didn't appear in this movie. They are hilarious!

This movie is good, adrenaline rush from the fast cars racing, the late night street race in London was a beautiful moment. Yeah, and don't forget the double-decker too. It's not London if there is no double-decker. Action, a (really little) bit of parkour, nitro packs, artillery, guns, fire, explosion, all the action movie lover will love this movie. You won't get sleepy at all during this movie because the sound effect is also amazing, bam in here, boom in there!

But some elements are just so predictable. Just like when Dom and Brian left Elena, Mia, and her baby, I know something gonna happen to the girls and the baby when the team were in London. It's true, Mia was abducted by Shaw and then, yeah, she was saved, but they lost Gisele (Gal Gadot). Han must have been depressed, but in the post-ending scene, Han died anyway, like in Tokyo Drift. But in this scene, Han was showed killed by Ian Shaw (Owen Shaw's brother) who was portrayed by.. Jason Statham! I know, it's about time Statham joined the cast of Fast & Furious.

And there are also many surprise elements in it; Riley was actually working for Shaw, Letty suffered from amnesia (I thought she just became evil), Gisele's death, and Dom saved Letty from falling (the best scene in the movie, made me almost screaming out loud). The most surprising is still the debut appearance of Jason Statham in the post-ending scene. The whole movie is just great, you don't have to think really much when watching this. Just enjoy the fast cars, hilarious scenes (mostly with Roman in it), sexy ladies on the night street car race, and the beautiful landscapes shot.