Just Because (It's Wang Leehom)

Just because I wrote this and when the rain caught me yesterday, I ended up listening to that very same song over and over again, wishing I could transform my iPod into someone I could cuddle in the cold.

Just because I like this duet very much for it's very hummable and easy on my ears, and Mat declared it this afternoon, "This one is goooooood!!", it's our Song for the Moment.

Just because a complete review of 18 Martial Arts has been posted here ..

.. I will just jump in into 3 songs.


伯牙绝弦 Bai Ya Jue Xian (Bo Ya Cuts the Strings)
I always look for a song catchy enough to get me by its first couple of seconds. This one, is not one of them. It's an okay song. I'm quite old-fashioned in terms of song choices and most of his songs are hipped. Can just say it's out of my league. Well, this doesn't disturb me, but no way I will memorize it.

天涯海角 Tian Ya Hai Jiao (The Ends of The Earth)
Now, that's more like it. A slow song, my kinda song. But frankly speaking, I don't know why it's so difficult to stick around in my head though I've listened to it so many times. I think it's because there's actually nothing special in this piece, nor there's any breakthrough trick. Except that he's singing it longingly and his voice does sound effortless. Sure, the refrein is soooooo nice, I love it. Perhaps one day it can actually sink in. Then I'll be very happy.

Just because I need to choose my favorite song specifically in this album, and because "Luo Ye Gui Gen" or "Ling Yi Ge Tian Tang" is not in it ..

你不知道的事 Ni Bu Zhi Dao De Shi (All the Things You Never Knew)
Movie soundtracks rarely disappoint. Speaking of catchy and memorable tunes, this one certainly got it. There's a bit strain on the voice like it's in "Kiss Goodbye". But I personally don't mind when I can follow the song easily. And I'm pretty sure it will be even better and better once I've seen Love in Disguise.

Just because I don't always agree on every songs of his and can only choose very few over hundreds, doesn't mean I can't see how amazing he is as a musician.

Just because words sometimes fail me.

So let me select some of his videos, save it into my playlist and put him up onto the Idolization page.

Let's celebrate with all the fanfares .. this is my first love among the rest. Groove along!



Old-fashioned, am I?

Dawai 2 Asmara

Sebelumnya, gue mau ngaku dulu. Kalo bukan dikasih kesempatan nonton premiere gratis bareng Delon, gue bakalan berpikir tujuh kali buat nonton Dawai 2 Asmara.

Karena:
1. Gue masih ragu sama kemampuan akting Delon, setelah pengalaman nonton film yang ini.
2. Gue bukan orang yang religius. Dan kerap sinis sama hal-hal yang berbau agama kolot dan menggurui. Mengingat ada nama Rhoma Irama bertebaran di film ini .. er. Yeah. That.
3. Gue sama sekali bukan penggemar the music of my country. (Sure, I love .. I mean, LOVE "Kopi Dangdut". But then I found out it's not original. No wonder it tasted different). Gue sempet liat TV spot-nya sehari sebelum acara nonton bareng. Di sana keliatan Ridho Irama sedang berjoget dangdutan. Uh-oh. What've I got myself into?

Right. Gue warganegara Indonesia yang durhaka, ga nasionalis, tukang kritik dan pintu neraka jelas dah terbuka lebar buat gue (biarpun amit-amit, gue tetep pengen masuk surga). Jadi kalo elo ga siap baca komentar gue di bawah ini .. better skip it and find something else to do .. let's say .. nonton ulang Dawai 2 Asmara sampe elo bisa ikutan joget ala Ridho atau sekalian bertransformasi jadi Satria Bergitar??

Masih tetep mau baca? You've been warned.




Premiere di Hollywood KC 21
7 September 2010

Dawai 2 Asmara mengangkat kisah cinta segitiga antara karakter Ridho Irama, Thufa (Cathy Sharon) dan Delon. Ridho diceritakan berpendidikan di luar negeri. Dan waktu pulang kembali ke negeri tercinta ini, dia didaulat sama ayahnya - Rhoma Irama, buat mengembangkan aliran musik dangdut berbalut modernisasi yang bisa sesuai dengan ciri khas anak muda. Di sini dia bertemu kembali dengan Thufa, teman masa lalunya. Yang kebetulan Thufa juga udah punya Delon sebagai pacarnya. Jadi .. jinak-jinak merpati, acuh-acuh butuh, malu-malu mau .. you name it, you got it. Ditambah kehadiran Haura (Emily Graham), seorang bule dari Australia yang simpatisan musik dangdut yang juga tertarik sama Ridho. Dan seorang sopir taksi yang mencerminkan Fans Nomor Satu yang psikopat. Ditambah dengan persaingan antar genre musik pop dan dangdut, ajaran pencak silat, kuliahan agama, penculikan dan pembunuhan .. dan lagu-lagu dangdut lagi .. dan joget-joget juga dong. Lengkap. Komplit.

Pertama yang gue perhatiin, Cathy Sharon sebagai tokoh sentral di tengah dua asmara seperti pada judulnya, sama sekali ga adil namanya ditulis di bawah nama Rhoma Irama dan Ridho Irama. Boleh coba dihitung jumlah scene-nya dibanding Rhoma Irama. Kalo mau Rhoma Irama dikedepankan because he got the top-billed or he's the executive producer, fine. Pasang ketiganya sejajar. And you would think ada kisah cinta antara Rhoma, Cathy dan Ridho. Shit. That would be very creepy.

I like Cathy. She's sweet. Her acting is surprisingly decent and she's expressive. Interaksinya dengan Ridho lumayan menarik, terlepas dari keharusan dia ikut menari di tengah jalan. Ridho also took me off-guard, in some degrees. He's so .. westernized. Dari bahasa gado-gadonya, sampe brewoknya yang bervariasi mulai dari level tipis sampe level lebat (rasanya pengen gue cukur karena ga cocok sama baby face-nya). Ada kontradiksi yang muncul dalam karakter Ridho. Penampilan kasar, tapi suaranya halus banget. Bicara sama nyanyinya pun keliatan cuma keluar dari bibir yang tertutup. Manner-nya kadang cool, kadang malah cengeng. I couldn't read him, I hate it. Ini maunya gimana sih?

Gue punya satu kata buat menggambarkan karakter Delon di sini. "Bebal". Ga ada malunya. Seriously. Gue ga ngerti kenapa Thufa bisa menjadikan Delon sebagai pilihannya bersama Ridho. Delon itu terlalu berlebihan and very comical. Apa sih yang diliat oleh Thufa dari diri Delon? Kalo gue jadi Thufa, gue ga bakalan ragu milih Ridho dari awal dia muncul, biarpun kadang Ridho pun super menyebalkan dan belagu. Ga usah pake nangis-nangis, ga usah pake berantem. Kalo mau digambarkan Delon itu baiiiiik sekali .. seperti yang diagungkan oleh Thufa di depan Ridho .. where? I didn't see that. Apa karena Delon ngasih hadiah mulu? Itu sogokan, d'oh. Masa ga tau?? Yang parah, ga ada chemistry di antara Delon dan Cathy Sharon. Gue ga bisa liat seberapa sayangnya Delon ke ceweknya itu, selain yang keluar di mulut serupa rayuan gombal. Kalo memang tujuannya Delon itu buat dijadikan saingan Ridho, please deh, jadikan dia karakter yang sedikitnya punya ketulusan.

Waktu ketiganya berkonfrontasi di tengah hujan lebat, nah seharusnya seru nih. But something was wrong. Emosinya ga nyampe. Adegan ini berpanjang-panjang, dengan lines yang seharusnya bisa dibuat meledak-ledak. Tapi gue seperti menonton adegan bisu yang diisi oleh dubber-dubber amatir. Apa yang diucapkan ga sesuai dengan ekspresi yang ditampilkan. Gaaaaaaaah .. gue frustrasiiiii .. ampuuuuun .. gregetan sampe tinju gue sempet melayang ke depan (ga nyampe deng, layarnya jaoooohhh. masih untung kaki ga ikutan melayang, penonton di depan gue bisa ketendang). This scene had SO much potential. So much. Dan dibuang-buang gitu aja.

Padahal adegan yang dibangun tepat sebelumnya, gue dah suka banget. Keliatan dilema Thufa yang harus memilih antara Ridho dan Delon, pas di pesta ulangtahunnya. Dimana masing-masing cowok menyatakan cinta dengan lagu (note: lagu "Kucinta Kau" betul-betul sederhana dan bagus. Suara Delon bagaikan angin segar di tengah terjangan badai dangdut. Bzzzt!). Sewaktu Thufa memandang Ridho yang lagi nyanyi, dengan Delon yang memperhatikan diam-diam di belakangnya .. really. When I watch a movie, this kind of thing always attract me more. I like to observe facial expressions, especially when the actors do it in silence. Despite all the weaknesses, I love this scene. I do. For me, this is where I believe that Cathy, Ridho and Delon, in fact, have a capability of a good actor if only they fall in the good hands. Di titik ini gue kembali diyakinkan, bahwa seberapa besar kemampuan seorang aktor dalam mengeksplorasi karakternya, pengarahan dari sutradaralah yang juga menentukan apakah karakter ini akan berhasil atau gagal.

Which brought me back to the rain scene, two paragraphs above. I'm holding a grudge over here. STUPID DIRECTING!!! BLAAAAGGGHHH!!!

Gue dengan senang hati akan melupakan karakter Haura dan si sopir taksi. Clearly, mereka cuma tempelan doang buat nambah suspense dan kelengkapan cerita ala Bollywood. Ga penting banget. Malah mengurangi fokus penonton terhadap kisah Ridho-Thufa-Delon. Apalagi adegan berantem Ridho dan si sopir taksi bisa pindah ke atas bukit dengan landscape yang lumayan berwarna. Gee!! Adu jotos in style. And I have no remorse of saying this: karakter sopir taksi di sini hanyalah alat untuk mendewakan Rhoma Irama. No bad intention, but I won't take it back. IMHO, seberapa pun salehnya seseorang, hanya di dalam film ada karakter yang bisa dengan tenang menghadapi acungan senjata di hadapannya dan bahkan mempersilakan dirinya untuk ditembak. Dan cuma di dalam film, ada karakter yang bisa memaafkan seorang asing yang sudah menembak anak satu-satunya. Where's justice in all of this?? (Charles Bronson yang berani melawan musuh bersenjata pun paling tidak masih bisa punya dendam, and for sure he didn't recite any prayers whatsoever. And that's in Hollywood, not here).

STUPID WRITING!!! BAH!!!

Am I in hell already?

Having said that, I'm gonna submit my redemption now. I appreciate the music. I'm not a fan, but I do know kalo musik yang dibawakan Soneta Band (dan dari sini gue tau ada Sonet 2 Band) bukanlah dangdut biasa. Paling nggak, musiknya ga mendayu-dayu dan ga melankolis. Juga banyak yang sarat petuah. Walaupun ada beberapa track yang mengambil terlalu banyak waktu, bahkan jadi berasa kurang menyatu sama adegan-adegan pendukungnya (someone has gotta learn to be humble enough to trim those tracks in the movie and put the full version only in the soundtrack CD instead). Ada beberapa saat gue merasa diforsir ngedengernya, but hey, I survived, didn't I? But mostly I could take it, I surprised myself. Ada juga yang layak banget buat disimak, terutama track milik Ridho di end credit, "Let's Have Fun Together". It's exceptional. Very typical all-cast dancing, yet it still entertains. I would say it's also an eye-opening to see Rhoma Irama lowering down his ego and could ACTUALLY melt and join into the fun.

And I'd very much love to mention the most brilliant scene in Dawai 2 Asmara. Di dalam restoran, Ridho "mengajari" teman-temannya buat menahan lapar dengan berpuasa dan membukanya dengan doa terlebih dahulu. Hilarious! Fresh! Totally smooth. Only by this, the stupid directors and the stupid writer have redeemed themselves by 50%. See, I'm THAT generous. You go see the movie and learn how to dance. Ridho-style.


-- as posted in CineFriends --


p.s.: Special thanks to Vena and DC

Bubble Boy: The Innocent Kiss that Made Me Fall

As I mentioned in here, this is the very scene that made me fall for Jake Gyllenhaal at the first place.

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WARNING:
Major spoiler!! Basically it's everything about Bubble Boy. You watch this and you may not need to watch the rest of the movie. Play at your own risk.


"I'd rather spend one minute holding you than the rest of my life knowing I never could. "

Bubble Boy (2001)


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See .. I've told you it's MAJOR. Couldn't help it, could you? ^_^

Breaking News:
When I was re-watching the video with Mat last night, at one point he stared at the monitor .. looking at Jake's face closely. And seconds after, probably he'd already had this thought for quite sometime since the movie started, he blurted out, "Mom, why does he look like Prince Dastan?" (ed: free translation of "Ma, kok kayak Prince Dastan?).

Where did he get the idea from?



Holy cow, it's a 9-year gap! Either my little son is a really good observer, or I must have taught him right on being a good fans.

p.s. And now Mat is happy calling him "Jake Dastan".



Hey, Can We Merge Jakarta & Bandung?

Things to do in Bandung:
1. Jam the road and parking lots with your vehicles. Ride bumper to bumper, exchanging honks. The more the merrier. Fun, eh?
2. Visit the malls and factory outlets. If you don't have any shopping list, just be there and impulsively you will end up buying one or two things you might or might not regret.
3. Dine in some fancy restaurants. Buy the ambience. Eventhough it means that you have to dig your way through traffic for more than an hour to reach that place, spending another hour or so to wait for your order to be served and paying for the overpriced delicacy.

Things to do in Jakarta:
1. Traffic jamming.
2. Shopping.
3. Dining.

My proposal:
1. The distance between Jakarta and Bandung is only about 2.5-5 hours. It's more likely the same travel time inside Jakarta during heavy traffic.
2. Jakarta is crowded on weekdays, Bandung is crowded on weekends and public holidays.
3. People do business and leisure, both in Jakarta and Bandung. One day travel back and forth is easy.
4. What people like to do and get in Bandung, they can do and get the same in Jakarta. Vise versa.
5. So why make things difficult? Merge! And we will have 24/7 traffic jams, crowded malls, full-house restaurants .. 365 days a year. We can exchange travellers, spreading out evenly cause basically we live in the same city.

Viva Bandarta! Viva Jabandung! Together, we remain.