Inside Out (2015)

Pixar returns to their high-concept roots with Inside Out, showing us how emotions work through the human mind in a whimsically metaphorical way. It's the kind of idea that Pixar would definitely take at some point as they have always been bringing us a variety of emotions in their films. This movie explores childhood and growing up into the perspective of a little girl's mind, how the emotions get confused by the changes in life and how they have to gain back the light. Inside Out represents this angst with a delightful, yet profound adventure; which indeed results to a totally heartwarming experience.

There are movies that need no introduction because you can tell from the trailer they are cool. Inside Out was cool out of the gate. Judging my the packed in house on a Monday night when I took my family to see it, people agree it's cool. There's something about a simple concept brought to the screen or television with a gang of hella talented people that wins the crowd every time. I compare it to Seinfeld that way. It has a simple premise: a little girl's mind going through the challenges of school and moving. Her mind is where the characters are and they produce some hilarious if not downright profound discussion material.

Fantastic Four (2015)

Over the last decade, we have seen a number of superhero movies get a much needed reboot. After the atrocious Batman & Robin, Batman was brilliantly brought back to the big screen in Batman Begins. When the Spider-Man franchise hit an embarrassing rock bottom with Spider-Man 3, it was reinvigorated with the very likable The Amazing Spider-Man.

Eight years on from the dud that was Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and it's time that Marvel's first family got a reboot. With a lot of rumours flying around about trouble on set and the studio not seeming to have total confidence in their product, could 2015's Fantastic Four do these iconic comic-book characters justice?

2015 Toronto International Film Festival Line Up (second batch)

Just when you thought the lineup for the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival couldn’t get any better, the fest has announced even more promising films being added to its slate. Today’s additions include the world premiere of I Saw the Light aka the film in which Tom Hiddleston plays Hank Williams—and sings! Also making its world debut is David Gordon Green’s political satire Our Brand Is Crisis starring Sandra Bullock, screenwriter James Vanderbilt’s directorial debut Truthstarring Robert Redford as Dan Rather, and the Johnny Depp-fronted thrillerLondon Fields.

Additionally, Drake Doremus’ sci-fi film Equals, starring Kristen Stewart andNicholas Hoult, is making its North American premiere at the festival as is Natalie Portman’s directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness, Catherine Hardwicke’s drama Miss You Already is having its world premiere, and the world premiere ofPaco Cabezas’ Mr. Right, starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell, will close out the fest.

2015 New York Film Festival Line Up

Another year, another stellar lineup for The New York Film Festival. Following announcements regarding opening, closing, and centerpiece titles, the Film Society of Lincoln Center have unveiled the main selection for its 53rd year of bringing New Yorkers a very full, representative cinematic slate — as per usual, a mix of anticipated festival titles (just the amount of ground covered therein is terrific) and the year’s best mainstream cinema. In the case of Steven Spielberg‘s Bridge of Spies, there’s even a surprise premiere.

One can peruse the full lineup below, along with (where available) links to reviews of titles that we managed to see earlier in the year:

2015 Festival Film Bandung

Festival Film Bandung (FFB) merupakan salah satu ajang bergengsi bagi para sineas Indonesia. Di tahun ini, FFB akan diselenggarakan pada 12 September mendatang di Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat, Bandung, Jawa Barat.

Belum lama ini pihak penyelenggara telah merilis daftar film nasional Indonesia yang menjadi nominasi untuk kategori Film. Seperti dilansir dari laman FFB, untuk kategori film nasional, pihak penyelenggara telah membagi 11 kategori nominasi. Film besutan sutradara Garin Nugroho, Guru Bangsa: Tjokroaminoto mendominasi berbagai kategori dengan meraih delapan nominasi.

Guru Bangsa: Tjokroaminoto meraih nominasi untuk kategori Film Terpuji, Sutradara Terpuji, Penulis Skenario Terpuji, Penata Editing Terpuji, Penata Kamera Terpuji, Penata Artistik Terpuji, Penata Musik Terpuji dan Pemeran Utama Pria Terpuji. Di kategori Pemeran Utama Pria Terpuji, Reza Rahadian yang memerankan HOS Tjokroaminoto akan bersaing dengan Chico Jerikho, Deddy Sutomo, Rio Dewanto dan Vino G Bastian.

Trainwerk (2015)

In the opening scene Amy's dad is telling a young Amy and her little sister why he is getting a divorce in a way they will understand. I was curious as to where this movie would be going after his creative way of explaining his infidelities. Cut away to 20 or so years later and Amy's many "sexcapades", this movie was so aptly named "Trainwreck. I sat through this movie I wanted to become an Amy Schumer fan but she did not make me laugh if anything I was just waiting for it to end and blaming her for a wasted evening.

"Monogamy isn't realistic," insists Gordon Townsend (Colin Quinn) to his two young daughters, as he likens relationships to playing with dolls. What child only wants to play with one doll for the rest of her life? This advice sticks with Amy (Amy Schumer) as she grows up, subconsciously coercing her to filter through dispensable men at an uncountable rate. Her worldview is as cynical and crass as her elderly father (who is now getting moved into an assisted living facility), fueling her approach toward her career and the opposite sex with sarcasm and inconsideration. She can't really take anything seriously.

Dark Places

This film tells the story of a woman whose mother and her two sisters were murdered on their farm at night. Her brother is convicted of murdering the three family members. She gets contacted by a club that is intrigued by mysterious murders, and she is forced to confront her multilayered traumatic past.

Ever since I saw the trailer I was driven towards seeing "Dark Places". Firstly, I always like Charlize Theron as an actress and a woman and I enjoy seeing her characterizations which often are full of depth and underline subtext, which divides great actors from good ones. The poster itself was quite interesting to look at. It's Charlize as the protagonist Libby Day being in the fetal position trying to find peace and serenity. The screenplay was adopted from the Gillian Flynn's novel by the same name who is also known for his contribution to very well executed movie of 2014 in "Gone Girl". "Dark Places" might not be equal to the standard and quality set by David Fincher movie but it is enjoyable enough to justify seeing it.

Mission Impossible V (2015)

So I have finally found a time to go to cinema in the middle of very busy internship schedule that drives me insane. But that's another story, so today now i have finally watched Mission Impossible 5. Having seen the previous four 'Mission Impossible' films, I have to admit that none of them impressed me to the degree that I had hoped. I guess my expectations for action thrillers centering on secret agents were set too high because I saw the 'Bourne' trilogy and Daniel Craig's James Bond films first. The first three 'MI' films all seemed a little too slow, cheesy or convoluted on my first viewing. The fourth one was pretty good, even if the story does feel a little forgettable.

The central focus of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation revolves around a mystery group called the "Syndicate" who basically work like an anti-IMF, with a sole focus of spreading terrorist attacks around the world, while working to establish a sense of new world order and overseeing the dismantling of the real IMF. Besides this group standing in their way, Ethan and his crew must also deal with Director Alan Hunley (played brilliantly by Alec Baldwin) who is bound and determined to think that Ethan is crazy and that the Syndicate is just in his imagination. Because of his doubts with Ethan, Hunley brings up his concerns to the oversight committee and it is decided that after the events of Ghost Protocol, which saw landmarks like the Russian Kremlin destroyed, that the IMF be dissolved effective immediately.

Before We Go (2015)

New York at night, a guy and a girl story. More beautiful is the script, the simple dialog and smart direction. Alice Eve is convincing. She doesn't overdo it but does it just right. Chris Evans has exceeded my expectations as an actor, as a director. Watch this with your loved one on a quiet night with a bottle of wine. You will not regret it. This is a simple story told beautifully. Do not watch this if need complex emotions that makes you wanna kill yourself. Chris makes you wanna write your own ending to his beautifully told story, letting you speculate what this might have been. That's the beauty of this film. Waiting for more such movies from this team. Adios.

Before We Go tries so hard to capture the style of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise it plays more like a script read-through than a film with any genuine warmth and emotion.  The opening premise of damsel stuck in the city is nicely handled (several scenes are oddly reminiscent of Adventures in Babysitting), but the more the film tries to create an emotional connection between Chris Evans' and Alice Eve's characters the more they seem like brother and sister.

Aloha (2015)

Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite directors. He never fails to put a smile on my face, even if it's my 15th time watching the same film of his (Jerry Maguire). But with 'Aloha', it doesn't seem like his film at all. In fact, at times the film seems as though it's 3 different projects jumbled into one. Aloha was one of my most anticipated films this year, and with a cast that includes the likes of Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, and Emma Stone, I didn't think there was any way this film would let me down. Boy, I was wrong. The trailer was fantastic. It had great music, great character drama, and a beautiful landscape, that's the makings of a great Crowe film. Unfortunately it was a bland and forgettable as a film can be. If you cant get a good film with all of the great things on your side, than there's something going on here.

I heard there was some serious behind the scene issues with Aloha. Ones that took Crowe out of the promoting of the film and even Sony's lack of marketing for the project. I mean there was only one trailer, ONE. I never bought into the Emma Stone-Bradley Cooper fling. I saw a reviewer talk about how her character thinks she's in a Will Ferrell comedy at first until toning it down later on, and that's completely true. The two seem like they are playing characters from different movies and somehow their dialogue matched up.

Suite Française (2014)

The movie tells the story of a french girl with a strict mother in law who falls in love with a Nazi officer. Well, the movie is not the cheesy love story between two people who simply cant and mustn't be together. Is way more than this. It's about the cruelty of the war and how everyone copes in the end, even if that means they have to give up on love or love the wrong people. The moral battle between the two main characters, who are stuck between their love and their loyalty to their country and people.

This is a rare thing nowadays and brings to mind the great heyday of romance in the Seventies. 'Suite Française' is set in Nazi occupied France during the start of World War II. You will therefore be crying with powerful and furious emotion. Michelle Williams is at the fore front of this film; gladly she does not fail or let the production team down in any respect. She plays a French Villager  called Lucile Angellier. I say this statement with doubt as last time I checked French people did not speak English as their first language. Her overbearing mother is played with severity by Kristin Scott Thomas. She outright leads her daughter's life for her and plays a prominent role in all of her decisions, whether they be little or large. Their village becomes ruled and dictated by German soldiers, some much more brutal than others. There are different personalities and beliefs to each of them. This is great to see, because it paints a broader and larger painting. It shows us that not everyone can be placed definitively into a category.

Hot Pursuit (2015)

Two people, one car, and what do we get? Lots of trouble! I've examined the road trip comedy before as at least two or three of these movies are released every year. We get a lot of these road trip movies all the time because this is something we have all gone through; the long stretch that never seems to end, the music that eventually becomes monotonous and the fact your going to loathe the people your riding with. Our transportation technology may have changed but the concept of a car trip has and will never go out of style. This is why we end up finding so much material for comedic possibilities.

What makes thins kind of story work is what kind of pairing that is going to be tackled upon. With movies like Vacation and We're the Millers, we've had a typical family. With The Guilt Trip and Sideways, we have groups of friends. Even with Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Smokey and the Bandit, we set with people that hate each other from the start. All of these movies were able to develop dialogue that made the situation funny. All of these would be better road trip movies to watch then the astonishingly bad Hot Pursuit.

Child 44 (2015)

I was really looking forward to Child 44, a movie starring Tom Hardy, with Gary Oldman supporting, does the content even matter? The answer yes, the content still matters. Since I'm not sure whether it was poorly adapted or somehow the idea of murder in the soviet union, at a time when murder 'wasn't possible' in a communist state, turned into a boring film.

The problem with Child 44 can be sufficed in a simple statement - It tires to capture the novel and not the essence of the novel. That's about it. Oh! Add to that the absolutely ridiculous decision of changing the most interesting plot twist of the novel and in place adding a thematically wayward orphanage gradient to it.