hacantyapradipta Reviews

The Mummy (2017)

Don't expect much!

[7/10 · 24 July 2017]

The Mummy (2017) is by no means an excellent movie, and it's never intended to be so. It's a OK enough summer popcorn flick with plenty of explosions, actions, and Tom Cruise running. It might come as cheesy at some points, and the plot's somewhat messy, but this is what I was expecting, a dumb, fun, loud, cheesy movie. If you walk in to the cinema expecting more than that, you'll walk out being furious to the makers of this movie. Overall, I enjoyed this movie. On the other hand, the advertising clearly took a wrong direction by selling it as a franchise-starter. Studios need realize and wake up that you can't just make a movie to start a Marvel-ish dynasty.

If they want to start a universe, just let it flow, don't rush it! DCEU fell to that pit with its earlier movies (Thanks to Wonder- Woman, people might actually start to get interested in that universe). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them also barely dodged the bullet (Thankfully, the fan base of the Wizarding World was big enough already). And we all know what happened to Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man franchise....

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Definitely better than the 4th one, and the visuals are as always, stunning

[8/10 · 24 July 2017]

It's so ridiculous to see that most people still go to cinemas watching a Transformers movie expecting a decent plot and characterizations..... I've given that up since the second movie. These movies have always been about explosions and big robots beating the crap out of each other, and this movie excels at it. Since this is a Michael Bay movie, it's gonna get blasted by critics (And many people) anyway. The third act's probably the best since Dark of the Moon, and the visuals are as good as you can get (Its special effect is much much better than the overrated Fast and Furious franchise).

As always, the main problems are the humans, the plot, and the dialogues. But hey, like I said, I never went to the cinema watching a Transformers movie expecting any of those points to be good. Explosions and Robot fights are satisfying enough for me. We've had (Beauty and the Beast, GotG 2, Wonder Woman) and will have many other potentially good blockbusters with good story line and decent characters (War for the Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Despicable Me 3, Dunkirk, Star Wars, Thor 3, etc.). For now, let's enjoy the junk food Michael Bay has served us

Dunkirk (2017)

Get him and Oscar already, seriously!

[10/10 · 24 July 2017]

When talking about war movies, "Saving Private Ryan", "Apocalypse Now", "The Thin Red Line", and recently, "Inglorious Basterds" and "Hacksaw Ridge" come to mind. "Dunkirk", however, isn't that kind of war movies. This is not your average mainstream war movie. In fact, I don't remember if I could see any blood, gore, excessive profanity, or NAZI (Except for those few last seconds of the movie). "Dunkirk" is more of a survival thriller than a WWII flick, but somehow, will always be remembered as an excellent WWII film, for good reasons too.

Nolan proves once again that rating isn't strictly a restriction to produce high-quality masterpiece. Many people were skeptical about a WWII movie with anything less than R-rated. Nolan and crew had the last laugh after all... The cinematography's gorgeous beyond words, the acting feels very genuine, with very very little dialogues and each characters have some depths (traumatic pilot, brave and unwavering weekend sailors, honorable officers, resilient soldiers, naive kids, and desperate young men surrounded by enemies from behind and wild ocean in the front).

Nolan got out from his recent sci-fi, mind-bending mega-blockbusters (The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, Inception) to a documentary- like WWII movie, with equally outstanding, if not better quality. "Dunkirk" will, without doubt, be in the top 5 of my favorite war movies ever.

Oh, and should we even mention how great Nolan-Zimmer are when working together?

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

An unnecessary, hyperactive, dizzying re-imagining of a classic British tale

[4/10 · 24 July 2017]

So this is supposed to be a movie set in the middle ages, yet it doesn't feel like that. The only good performance in this latest King Arthur movie is Eric Bana's. The lead actor doesn't impress me at all. The plot had a potential, but the delivery was all over the place. And the camera work was absolutely the worst part of this movie. This was only the second time I fell asleep in a movie cinema (The other one being 2014's Godzilla). After the epic opening part, the movie just went completely on a wrong direction. Don't waste your time and watch Guardians vol. 2 instead. And hopefully, there won't be a sequel or spin-off.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

One of the best, if not the best MCU movie so far

[10/10 · 24 July 2017]

One of the best, if not the best MCU movie to date. The Russos and the writers managed to blend in the actions, mystery, emotions, and of course, the quips. "Captain America: Civil War" is an appropriate finale for the ever-improving Captain America trilogy. While it doesn't break new grounds in the genre ("The Dark Knight trilogy" and 2012's "The Avengers" have that honor), it certainly did enough to offer something new to the audience (In a much better way then the other Superhero vs Superhero flick earlier that year).

While some people think that the villain is weak and boring, I think it's one of the smartest villains in MCU. While a great many people see this is an Avengers movie, there are some (including me) would still see this as a Cap movie. The Civil War event and the other Avengers are build around the Cap/Buck story arch, a continuation of "The Winter Soldier". Yes, this is a busy movie (Also the longest in the MCU), but it doesn't feel that long and/or boring, thanks to the lighthearted moments

As far as box office go, this was the box office king of 2016 (Internationally, not just North American Box Office), and deservedly so

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Definitely not as bad as many critics said it to be (In fact, I don't consider it as 'bad' at all).

[9/10 · 24 July 2017]

Expectations is everything with these movies. While the previous Pirates of the Caribbean (PotC) movie feels more like a spin-off than a direct sequel to the original trilogy, "Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge" continues the lore of the first 3 movies. While continuity errors are somewhat blatant, you can't say this movie is the worst of the 5 PotC movies. The actions are more grounded than the previous movies, and they managed to salvage themselves after the less-than-mediocre "On Stranger Tides". The humor's there, and just enough. The amount of screen time of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley probably means that there'll be more of these movies in the future. There's also a familiar feels to the first movie in this one. Perhaps this familiarity is what makes critics hate it. But seriously, if you despised "On Stranger Tides", this one you'll probably like. I'd say this is the best PotC movie since the first one back in early 2000's.

Oh, and Javier Bardem, as always, is menacing as the latest baddie "Capitan Salazar".

Zootopia (2016)

A smart, heartwarming Disney animated flick

[10/10 · 24 July 2017]

It's smart, it's funny, it's gorgeous, it's heartwarming, and it got plenty of suspense too. No wonder it won that Oscar. Disney had a monstrous year in 2016, and its Disney Animation Studio was a big part of that (Zootopia and Moana). All of the characters in the movie are all fascinating, and the message of anti-racism and anti-stereotyping are well-told. Oh, and who doesn't love all those movie/TV shows references? Especially that hilarious Godfather-ish mobster part. In the end, it earned over a billion dollar. Those brass in Disney must be happy.

Wonder Woman (2017)

DCEU's savior has arrived

[9/10 · 24 July 2017]

At this point, it's totally understandable (And perhaps recommendable) for DC/WB to follow the formulaic superhero guidebook. Training montage, death of a close person to the protagonist, the usual "join me, humans are not equal to us", and even some actual humors (No, there was absolutely no real humor in the previous 3 DCEU movies)!

But boy did it work so well! The villain and the sidekicks might be a bit forgettable, but this movie will be the one remembered for the one that probably single-handedly changed general public's perception of DCEU. After the just OK Man of Steel and the less-than-mediocre duo of BvS and Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman is the one that we sorely needed.

Moana (I) (2016)

Another Disney gold!

[10/10 · 24 July 2017]

After a string of critical and box office hits in the past 8-9 years like Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck-it-Ralph, Frozen, and Big Hero 6, Walt Disney Animation just hit a new high this century in 2016 with Zootopia and now this Moana movie. From what I've heard, the cultural depiction is quite accurate and it's has some valuable lessons in it too.

Maui might just be my second favorite Disney animated character after the one and only Genie of the Lamp. The songs are incredibly soothing and so good to listen to. The animations are breathtaking as well. If you haven't watched it, I strongly suggest you to check it out with the whole family (Or just by yourself)!

Logan (2017)

An excellent swan song for the longest-tenured superhero.

[10/10 · 24 July 2017]

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well, it's not really a spoiler if we all know Logan's gonna be dead by the end of the movie, huh? But that's not really the only spoiler. Prof. X is dead too. And hell, this is one depressing superhero movie. A disabled 90-something man with brain disease being kept in a huge tank by another old, ailing man on Mexico-US border, with both being chased by the government. And to make it even more depressing, Logan dies holding his heart in his hand (That 2013's The Wolverine prophecy). If Deadpool brought something new to the genre with tons of swearing, blood, violence, and nudity, Logan is one of those superhero film you can call "dark" and "adult-only". It's full of amazing actions, drama, and acting. Both Jackman and Stewart deserve an Oscar nod (But unfortunately, I don't see it happening). In my opinion, this is the best superhero movie since The Dark Knight. And that says a lot, considering my unconditional love for MCU movie.

Really, a fitting final goodbye to Jackman's Logan. After 17 years and 9 movies, they should retire Wolverine for good. 17 years as a single superhero character is unprecedented.