SODEVE

Watched the movie last night at The Cathay with throng of friends (Yasrof and his wife Dhea, Hendra Gani, Buddie, Hafiz, Pak Cik Adi and Bro Hamonangan).

Despite the disappointment of few of my colleagues who have watched the movie earlier, claiming that the movie is a really good lullaby material, I was really sure that the movie wouldn’t be a disappointing one. I mean, come on, the original story is so good. It would be really difficult to make the movie become bad.

In the end, I did enjoy the movie very much, thank you. So maybe in a way it follows that “Garbage in, Garbage out” postulate. If you already have a really good material, it would need a really major screw ups to make the output bad.

On our way out of the theatre, Hafiz shared to us his experience Harry Potter books. Bro Hamonangan also disclosed that he was discouraged by the thickness of the recent books. Then I am throwing my 2 cents, “Well.. I consider myself lazy. I would rather spent 2 hours to watch the movie than spending countless of hours reading the books.”

SPOILER ALERT
Lord Voldemort is actually Harry Potter’s alter ego!!!! Oh NO!!!

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You know that I am just kidding with you right?

Hardono Arifanto :: Jul.17.2007 :: Life, Movie :: No Comments »

I watched the movie last Friday two weeks ago (25/05/2007) together with Artha. We watched it at Golden Village, Jurong Point. The show started at 1 AM. There were around 20 people that watched the movie. I guess not many people in Jurong West area were willing to watch the movie after midnight. (T_T)

Generally, I think the movie is mediocre great. Captain Jack Sparrow is still partially drunk. Although now he starts to hallucinate. Elizabeth Swann might won Oscar for ‘Heroine with the biggest shotgun hidden in her pants‘. As for William Turner, a surprising end is waiting for him. Not going to be a spoiler post here (^_^)/

Favorite scenes:

1. Elizabeth Swann disarmed herself. That scene is hilarious
2. Jack Sparrow talked to Capt. Teageu ( Jack’s father, a cameo by Keith Richards).
3. Jack Sparrow talked to Giselle and Scarlett. Jack’s words basically sum up all the lies that most men ever committed to their partner. Classic!!!
4. The battle scene Between Black Pearl v.s. Flying Dutchman. I think this battle is the pinnacle of the movie.

A few days later, Artha mentioned that after the credits there is an easter-egg scene. And we missed it. That night I was somehow quite disappointed with the movie and rushed out of the theatre.

And last Wednesday (30/05/2007), Yoga asked me whether I have watched Pirates of Caribbean 3. I answered ‘No’ because I was thinking to repay him back his treat (He bought me the ticket for Pirates of Caribbean 2). Also, I just recently receive my first pay check from NTUC Income. So a small treat to a friend shouldn’t be a harm, right?

We watched the movie at The Cathay. To my surprise, I enjoy the movie better than the first time. No more conundrums after watching the movie. So if you think Pirates of Caribbean 3 is confusing, watch it again And make sure you are not watching the after midnight show time.

So what’s with the title of this post? Back at Square Zero? Well, only those who have watched the movie know what it means =P So go get your movie ticket! (^_^)

Hardono Arifanto :: Jun.03.2007 :: Movie :: 1 Comment »

Deus ex machina describes an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot (e.g. having the protagonist wake up and realize it was all a dream, or an angel suddenly appearing to solve problems).

So how did Deus ex Machina ruined Spider-Man 3? Well, the most obvious one is Bernard, the servant in Osborn’s penthouse. Why he finally informed Harry Osborn the story that make him forgive Peter Parker and helped Spidey to fight Venom and Sandman now? Why not in Spider-Man 2? Did you spot other deus ex machina in the movie?

The overall movie is quite a disappointment for me. The CGI offers nothing new, the plot is weaker than the first and the second instalment of the Trilogy. I am really sure Tobey Maguire will not win Oscar for his crying act (^_^)v. Pff.. enough with the disappointment, I’ll hyped up myself for Pirates of Caribbean 3. Hopefully dear old Jack will make a blast ending to the trilogy.

Heck, at least I’m not the only one thinking that Spider-Man 3 sucks.

Hardono Arifanto :: May.15.2007 :: Movie :: 8 Comments »

Have you watched the movie titled Lord of War starred by Nicholas Cage? It’s about a weapon dealer(Nicholas Cage) selling arms illegally to the warring parties in Africa. The movie chronicles his journey which started by selling guns and pistols to street-gang members, and growing to the point of purchasing machine guns, tanks, and even jet-fighters from East European countries and selling them to African Warlords.

imdb.com
Trailer

Apparently the true story-inspired movie is not far from reality, a Singaporean man pleads guilty for supplying illegal arms to Tamil Tigers. He was conspiring with two Indonesians to provide arms and ammunitions to Tamil Tigers, which is listed as a terrorist organization by US.

Since the criminal offence was committed in US soil, they are bound to the US law. The three of them are currently under US Federal Government Custody in Maryland. They are facing maximum 15 years and USD$500,000 fine sentence.

I’m not a war/suicide bombers/terrorist person. I love peace :-). I believe that resolving differences using physical/weaponry power will degenerate us back to the jungle, where the mighty rules and the weak suffers. So I hope all the guilty parties in this case will receive the punishment that they deserved. For the rest of us, let’s start small by trying to resolve any of our differences using dialogues, not fists.

From Singapore with love,
Hardono Arifanto

Sources

Yahoo News

News Archive @ ETAN

Hardono Arifanto :: Apr.06.2007 :: News :: No Comments »

Here are 10 things to help you identify whether you associated yourself to Jack Sparrow too closely.

1. A traffic police stopped you for random check. When the office asked for your name, your reply was ‘What do ye say to 3 shillings and we forget the name?‘. And you were actually thinking that the officer will take your coins and called your Mr. Smith.
2. You were caught red-handed lying in front of your girlfriend. Your action was slowly bowing out and said, “Me, I’m dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it’s the honest ones you have to watch out for…‘”
3. You were at your friend’s house when he offers you whether you want to drink coffee, tea or simply plain water. Sighing and said “Why is the rum always gone …” was your reply.
4. Instead of saying “No”, you will say “I’m disinclined to acquiescence to your interest“. (OK.. this one is actually from Captain Barbossa. But he was once Jack’s first mate, so there is possibility he learned from Jack Sparrow)
5. When someone say thanks to you, your reply is “Sticks and stones, Love. I saved your life and you’ve saved mine. We’re square”
6. When you tried to convince someone, you always ended your sentence with “Savvy?”
7. When your friend asked you about your life principle, your answer is started with, “For me, the only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do…”
8. You were at the computer exhibition. You were totally blown away by the new gadgets. Looking at the gadget, you slowly whispers, “That is interesting …. Very … interesting”
9. You saw someone on the train and you think you known him/her sometime in the past. Your opening line was “Excuse me. You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?”
10. You often advises your single friends by starting it with “You need to find yourself a girl mate …”

OK, this post was meant to be a joke for humorous purpose. Please don’t do especially item no 1, no matter how much you love Jack Sparrow. Finally, I would be delighted if you could share silly things you’ve done because of Jack Sparrow

Hardono Arifanto :: Apr.04.2007 :: Life, Humor :: 8 Comments »