[Review] Bram Stoker's Dracula

when i was a kid, i could never really watched this movie. for an obvious reason, fright. i hate Lucy's vampire-bride look and totally frightened by it, and i hate the soundtrack, totally frightening. back then, of course, i didn't know that Annie Lennox had a beautiful song called Love Song For A Vampire in it.

and today, i still found the vampire-bride look frightening, but i don't mind watching it. and i think the soundtrack as a whole was excellent. moreover, i fell completely in love with Bram Stoker's Dracula. it's beautiful, it's tragic, it's romantic. i find it more romantic than a certain story about two teenagers who just hit their puberty and found "love" at first sight at a ball masquerade. the forbidden love between a nosferatu who was a lethal killer and an innocent woman who just married the love of her life was beautifully captured. different from the novel, yet it fits the story without any odd feeling to it.

so, when a local station aired Dracula few nights ago, i just can't say no to it.

i love the visualisation and cinematography in this movie .... Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder aside, of course. the old Victorian feel, the Gothic aura, the creepy things happened when the Count is around. wicked. Mr. Coppola brought a different kind of Dracula story compared to the novel, yet it has the same shivering horror, which was more tragic, in my point of view. since in the novel, we could hardly feel the Count's existence. it was pure terror of his that linger while reading the book.

Gary Oldman gave a superb performance as the Count. from that arse-look-alike wig on his head to the John Lennon look when the Count grew young ... brilliant. don't really fancy the hairstyle, though ... but what's in the hair when you've got a Transylvanian Lord with an Eastern-European accent? very hot. Winona Ryder puled off a flawless english accent, as opposite Keanu's. horrid. honestly, don't they supposed to have language/accent coach for that?

still my favourite scene by far was the condemned matrimony. when Dracula sort-of proposing Mina to be his wife, and later he called it off himself, by saying thisbeautiful line, "you will be cursed as i am to walk in the shadows of death for all eternity. i love you too much to condemn you."
damn, that's deep, my Lord.
back then when i first watched this movie as a whole [not only for the gorgeous white wolf], i felt a tear coming out when he said that. that was touching.

in the book, the Count's death was quick. not painless, i suppose. as in the movie, it was dramatic. he died in front of the altar where he took vow to be an undead, "watched" by his beloved Elisabeta, and later he died at the very same place his wife lied lifeless, witnessed by his present lover, Mina Harker.

then came Annie Lennox's song.
and i felt like crying.

Love Song For A Vampire.
come into these arms again
and lay your body down
the rhythm of this trembling heart
it's beating like a drum
it beats for you,it bleeds for you
it knows not how it sounds
for it is the drum of drums
it is the song of songs

once i had the rarest rose
that ever deigned to bloom
cruel winter chilled the bud
and stole my flower too soon
oh loneliness
oh hopelessness
to search the ends of time
for there is in all the world
no greater love than mine

love o love o love
o love o love o love
o love still falls the rain
o love o love
o love o love o love
o love still falls the night
love o love o love
o love o love o love
o love be mine forever (be mine forever)
love o love o love
o love o love o love
o love o love o love
o love o love o love

let me be the only one
to keep you from the cold
now the floor of heav’n is laid
with stars of brightest gold
they shine for you
they shine for you
they burn for all to see
come into these arms again
and set this spirit free

[Review] Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull

i think i just certified myself as an Indy fangirl ^_^

i would thank my beloved Mas Ditto [again] for introducing Indy to me. my first Indiana Jones movie was the third, Last Crusade, and i remember laughing my arse off thanks to the Jones boys antics. then i bought the trilogy. and ended up loving the series.

the fourth one was as grand as the previous ones. i love how it looked like as if it was made in the 80's, the jokes are so Indy, how he survived all lethal things happened to him by sheer luck and cheekiness [God, i really can't get over the "just get the rope" and "three waters falling" scenes!! they're so very hillarious!!]

what i felt while watching Crystal Skull probably the same as when i watch Ocean's 12. it's like a big summer camp reunion. everybody was having fun with what they had years ago, and this was the perfect moment to go nostalgic. even the newcomer, Shia Lebouf ... Lebuf ... Lebaouf ... LaBeouf [how to spell your name, boy?!] and Cate Blanchett were having great times of their own.

Cate Blanchett was really hot in that short dark wig and Russian accent. she reminded me a lot to Gary Oldman as the hijacker in Air Force One .... with Harrison Ford?! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

okay, i love this movie. period. i want to watch it again!!

[Review] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

yes, i finally watched it. after the long and dreadful wait, without any idea whether it will be played in our local cinema, because of the "musical yet barbaric" theme. [well, we've got SAW once, ferchrissakes!!]

as other Burton movies, this one was heaps fun to watch. the dark humour, the visuals and everything and the cinematography, as usual, was great. but, even though, i might dare to say that this one obviously not my favourite Burton work. i even found Corpse Bride was a better musical than this. and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was better in visual matter.

the songs were brilliant, funny, dark and entertaining [the duet of Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman was really superb!]. Johnny Depp was fantastic with his rocker voice! too fantastic, that he should soften a bit for this kind of movie. and as usual, the performing of Monsieur Depp was really breath-taking. the facial expression, body gestures, everything. spectacular. but, i still found that he could do more with the character Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd.

the visual somehow was not Burton-wise. perhaps it was the dvd i bought, but i found them were too shiny. watching Mr. Burton's previous movies, i've got the essence that he got the style of mixing various beautiful colours, that somehow would turned up having that monochromatic feel and matte/dove/doff. whatever it called. and when i watched Sweeney Todd, i found that the colours used were too bright and shinny.

but over all ... it was a nice movie.
probably won't be in my favourite Burton list. and probably the first one with Johnny Depp in it. but still, i admire Mr. Burton's work. and everyone involved.

[Review] The Futurist

yes, THE Robert Downey Jr. hollywood's troubled prince.then.

probably as some of my friends had known, i've got a high interest on performing actors who also could sing well. for examples, Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ewan McGregor, Viggo Mortensen, Jim Carrey, and such. even the ones who are trying. and didn't go too well. such as Gabriel Byrne. nice voice, more or less, though.

the album first released back in '05 or '06, i forgot. but i saw it first time when i was still in adelaide. it took me the second glance to make sure that it actually is the Robert Downey Jr. surprisingly, it is him. singing, writing songs and designing the cover himself. fascinating.

the man took "jazz" for the genre of his first album. and he brought it well, both singing and song-writing. too well, indeed. his voice reminded me a lot to Dave Matthews, only deeper and sexier (even Duran Duran once invited him to open for them back in 2005, said Wikipedia). the songs were dark, probably from the experiences he got from the rehab?

there were two songs that i highly familiar with, Broken and Smile. i already got Broken from last year, when i still rely on Limewire on downloading songs. the song was beautifully dark. the lyrics were good as well. and Smile apparently was the song Downey Jr. sang in his movie, Chaplin. and the song was the original one that was written by Mr. Charlie Chaplin himself.

for me, this is a good album to listen to while relaxing in the bubbly bath tub with scented candles and a good glass of wine.
too bad i don't own a bath tub. nor a good bottle of wine.

[Review] OST. August Rush

what makes a movie a favourite is when they come with fantastic soundtracks. as happened to Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean, Romeo and Juliet, Phantom of the Opera, and many more.

here's one to be added to that list of mine. August Rush.

since the movie was mostly about music, it would be a shame not to have good music and songs in it, wouldn't it? and so our ears were caressed with beautiful tracks in this album. the scores by Mark Mancina and Kaki King are simply beautiful. Mark Mancina with the calmness and the divine classical sounds, and Kaki King with the up-lifting modern day movie scores met gorgeously in this album. and the songs are simply superb. the songs that caught me the most are Moondance, sung by the lead actor himself. no, the other one, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. clearly his voice had matured since Velvet Goldmine, and to hear him singing a few line from this song, accompanied with the harmonica sound had decided me to use this on my wedding day. or wedding night. whatever. if ...

another song that fascinated me was La Bamba by Leon Thomas III. it was fan-bloody-tastic. smooth, calm and sexy.

well, i think i will listen to it some more now.

[Review] August Rush

my first acknowledgment of this movie was few months ago, when i saw the trailers and clips on the television. ever since i fell in love with it. yes, because of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Freddie Highmore factors, indeed. moreover to know that both of them would play guitars and Jonathan would provide his singing voice, once more after the fantastic Velvet Goldmine. i didn't quite catch the storyline of it at first, but the visuals (apart from the beautiful people in it) were beautiful. and Robin Williams also stars in it. this should be one good movie.

and finally, i watched it few days ago with my sister. at home. what i've got from it was more than "good". it's better, warming and beautiful.

it was a very long time ago i've got my chest warmed from a movie called Evelyn, and the very same feeling came rushing again as i watched this movie. the casts gave superb performances. the visuals were gorgeously captured, every second, every minute went perfectly well with the storyline. and the soundtrack ... the music, the songs ... spectacular.

August Rush tells a story about a young boy named Evan Taylor, who was craving to meet his parents again, by following the music his parents made and from voices he hears around him that could connected him to them. Evan was blessed with the gift to hear the "sounds" around him as "music". he was the one who could listen to the sounds made by the noisy traffic in NYC as a spirited bold orchestra. and i envied him for it.

itw as in NYC, where Evan got his name August Rush. a street artist (looked like a cowboy Bono, and portrayed amazingly by the great Robin Williams!) gave him that name when he found that Evan got a fantastic gift with music and sounds, and he would do good as a busker, or a performing artist even.

Evan's parents, Louis and Lyla, met on a beautiful full-mooned night on a rooftop of a building. they were escaping from the party downstairs, and instead found each other. serenaded by the song Moondance from a harmonica played by a local busking artist, they spend the night there. and i envied them (well, her mostly, really!).

i really love the contrast between Louis and Lyla, from musical background, as the movie was mostly about music and the life of Evan. Louis was the lead singer and guitarist of an indie rock band, as Lyla was a cello player from Jilliard music school in an orchestra. it was divine how his ruggedness and her elegance collided.

the ending was a bit predictable, but i really like how the director visualised it.

next, i would review the soundtrack. i'm so in love with it.

[Review] Godaan Termanis - The Sweetest Taboo

yes, people, gue baca chicklit *dances to YMCA*

tapi to be really honest, kalo yg nerjemahin bukan Si Mbak gue juga belom tentu baca ni buku. hihihihihi ... dan juga mungkin karna settingnya di London tea atuh PLUS! ada embmel2 "gay" nya *ga peduli siapa yg gay, tapi demennya membabi buta gini*.

bukunya fun, ga pake mikir *iyalah!* dan ceritanya ngalirnya enak banget (apa karna yg nerjemahin ya? *ahem*komisikomisi*ahem* ). dan sebagai makhluk visual sejati, gue juga gembira ria aja memvisualisasikannya di otak gue gitu.

seperti yg udah di baca di MPnya Mbak Lala, Sadie ngejer Gil ke LA. dan apa yang terjadi di LA itu bener2 bikin gregetan. dari insiden "setengah-mantan-istri", bizzare-trianglenya Sadie-Gil-Tavis (yg entah kenapa gue visualisasikan kaya Rodrigo Santoro) yg bener2 ... bizzare. wah, seru banget deh.

ada satu bagian yg gue suka BUWANGET dari ni buku, yaitu ketika Sadie digeret Tavis ikut reading Romeo & Juliet. sumpah, Mbak! cerdas banget itu translatenya!

tapi membaca ciklit terjemahan ini, gue tiba2 teringat testimonial Yokie untuk skrip novel gue: "Mo, baca novel lo kaya baca novel terjemahan."

emang bener juga kata beliau ...