review: fabricated city

Hi and welcome back!

Fyi I just finished the national-based school exam (which I think was sort of.... meh) and I'll be free for two weeks until the national exam comes. But anyways, I'm going to do another review, which is a movie review!

(well I won't be really free, though I still have to study for four subjects left and study for SBMPTN - in case worse thing happens... I hope not)

In order to cool down myself this evening, I decided to watch one of the movies that I had been dying to watch ever since. It is Fabricated City, one of the new Korean movies that came out this month, appoximately in the first week of March. I first discovered this movie after I found out more about Ji Chang Wook (for you who are into K-Wave, I'm pretty sure you know him as he's quite famous, if I'm not mistaken). I also first knew him from a Korean drama titled The K2, and I was amazed by his acting since then.

(and I had never thought that I would be interested in korean movie industry, or the drama series.)

Here you are brought to the story of Kwon Yu (Ji Chang Wook), an unemployment who spends his time playing action video games, along with other online players. On a night, he received a call from a phone whom the owner is unknown. The caller tells him to return her phone to the motel she stays. He goes to the motel, returns it to the owner, and received the reward for returning the phone. 

Then in the next morning, when he is asleep in his house, the cops break in and arrest him for committing sexual abuse and murder to the girl who asks him to return her phone in the motel. All evidences prove that he is the one who does it, and he's not able to defend himself because of it. Someone put a knife with blood on it and the investigators claim that the fingerprints on the evidences belongs to him. He actually does not do it - he is framed for doing such crime. 

He does not accept the fact that he has just done a sexual abuse and murdered the victim. However, he is sent to the prison and often get beaten by other prisoners, for not obeying the seniors in the prison. Being willing to prove that he is innocent, he tries to escape from the prison by hurting himself so he can be carried out of the prison to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he successfully escapes and tries not to be recognized by the citizen. On his run, he tries to find out who frames him for committing crimes, with help from four gamers and hackers, and start to team up with them to discover it. 

I've got to say, I was very mesmerized with the plot. I think that makes this film really great. How could the author think of this kind of story? Five gamers trying to solve a crime to prove that Kwon Yu is innocent, just as how they play an action video game together - they first make plans and strategies. I thought 'oh so this is how gamers solve the crime. Quite mesmerizing tho'. The author also didn't make the storyline hard to be digested by our brain. However, it is also not light, since it has quite complex stories and confilcts. I'm 100% sure that I won't complain about the plot, because it's just really good and I enjoyed it very much as I love action, thriller and crime movies or books. 

(you'll get surprised when you know who's the one who frame him. yet i've guessed in the first 30 minutes and I was right. it should've been more shocking for the plot twist I guess)

And for the acting quality, I think Ji Chang Wook should be given two thumbs up. He brought more emotions in this movie. Not too far form The K2 where he successfully brought the same emotions. The author also successfully made Kwon Yu character really strong. But I just realized that he barely smiles in the entire movie (I even remember that he never laughs!) so it seems like it's a very serious movie. I wasn't surpised that he starred this kind of film, as he seems like he is the pro of action or crime dramas (see also Healer). My complain is to the other characters - the gamers, and other supporting characters. I'm pretty much sure that the actors and actresses have done the very good job to make this film. I think that the personalities in each character should've been more variative - except the villain and the girl who is one of the four gamers who helps Kwon Yu solve the case. The other three gamers, for example - I see that they're just the three same people who are funny and there are no more specific characters in each of them. But after all they're just really good when teaming up. The girl, one of the gamers, seems really cold and quiet, uses the same flat expression in the entire movie - except when she screams tho. One thing that makes her really cool in the team is she is the one who mostly takes charge of (you may call it) programming. 

And the villain - well the actor has successfully brought the acting as the crazy, psychotic human being. I won't tell any futher about the villain because (ehm) spoilers, ehehe. 

One thing that I've been asking, what is the villain's purpose of framing Kwon Yu? It's not explained and I don't know if the plot is done like that on purpose or not. I think it should've been explained.....

Overall, I can say that Fabricated City is very good for its plot and how it presents the action elements really well. I'm pretty sure that boys would probably enjoy watching this too. A notice for you out there, especially girls, who seeks for emotional, dramatic and romantic movies, this is not for you. I see no romance elements and I also think it doesn't need to be added to the film. For you who is also the lovers of actoin films, Fabricated City should be put in your bucket list. 

panorama - happy new year 2015!

Good afternoon folks!

Well it's exciting though dapet materi baru di semester 2. Tapi enggak cuma itu yang bikin aku excited tahun ini, karena aku bakal lebih sibuk ngerjain sesuatu yang aku suka. Nge-band, participated in choir group, bikin lagu baru, tulis novel (on the way!), bikin short movie kalau bisa, bikin desain (anything, could be clothes or drawings or any concepts) and soon i'm planning to create a new project with my mom. 

Oh iya, dan happy new year 2015! I think it's late already... karena sepertinya udah lama aku enggak update blog lagi. So when the 2nd semester started, kita udah dibanjirin banyak banget tugas. Emang awalnya agak sedikit ngeselin karena setiap pertemuan selalu ada PR, ternyata efeknya baru kurasain Februari ini. Karena guru-guru ngejar materi pas Januarinya, akhirnya bulan ini aku lebih banyak santai. Dan sebentar lagi mid semester exam, so I guess I need to prepare myself.

Anyways, hari ini aku mau bahas tentang serial thriller favoritku. Beside The Hardy Boys, aku suka banget sama serial yang satu ini.

The name of the serial is Johan Series, yang menceritakan tentang kejadian-kejadian seram yang menimpa empat remaja SMU Persada Internasional (Jenny, Hanny, Tony dan Markus). 

Started from Obsesi, awalnya Jenny dan Hanny adalah kedua sahabat yang rukun, yang kemudian semuanya jadi berubah ketika ada seorang murid di sekolah itu yang naksir berat sama Hanny. Sampai-sampai Hanny is one and only for him dan akhirnya bikin si cowok yang naksir itu jadi psycho. Enggak cuma itu, Jenny, Hanny diikuti Tony dan Markus akhirnya menyelidiki latar belakang si cowok ini. And some kind of thrilling experience happens at school seperti ada yang terluka di lab kimia dan ada yang kecelakaan. 

Kemudian berlanjut ke pengalaman Hanny di Pengurus MOS Harus Mati, yang enggak melibatkan Jenny, Tony atau Markus. Jenny sedang liburan ke luar negeri, sementara Tony dan Markus sedang berlibur di kamp judo di Pontianak, sementara Hanny dipanggil ke sekolah untuk mengurusi MOS pada tahun itu. Kemudian, pengurus-pengurus MOS tersebut mengarang enam cerita horor sekolah mereka dengan tujuan untuk menakuti adik kelas mereka. But who knows when the horror stories comes to life? Satu persatu pengurus MOS jadi korban dari cerita horor dari yang mereka buat sendiri. 

Buku ketiga adalah pengalaman Tony dan Markus di Permainan Maut. Buku ini menceritakan berlatar di Pontianak, alias waktu mereka ikut kamp judo. Seorang teman lama Tony memanggil mereka berdua karena ada sesuatu di rumahnya di Pontianak. Akhirnya, Tony dan Markus pergi ke Pontianak dan menginap di rumah teman lama Tony bersama anggota judo lainnya. As usual, anggota-anggota klub judo lainnya juga menjadi korban atas suatu kejadian yang terjadi di rumah yang penuh misteri itu. 

The last story, Teror. I won't give any spoiler about this novel, tapi Teror ini seperti menyimpulkan buku pertama sampai ketiga. 

I've read this series since 2011, waktu awalnya aku tertarik sama serial TeenLit, dan aku memang lagi nyari novel yang bukan romance (tbh dulu aku enggak suka novel romance) dan akhirnya ketemulah novel Obsesi ini. Kubaca dan ternyata novelnya seru banget! 

At first I didn't know that there was the second book, setelah muncul buku Pengurus MOS Harus Mati. Awalnya aku enggak begitu niat beli buku keduanya karena (kalau enggak salah) aku tertarik sama buku lain. Tapi lama-lama aku mulai tertarik juga, and I'm totally in love with the second book! Menurut aku, Pengurus MOS Harus Mati adalah buku paling seru di antara semua buku di Johan Series ini, karena benar-benar unpredictable dan thrilling banget. 

I've recommended this series with my fellow friends dan kebanyakan dari mereka bilang novelnya seru banget. 

I think what makes the book so exciting and thrilling karena buku ini main otak. Jadi, kita ikut menebak-tebak siapa pelakunya, dan pelakunya benar-benar unpredictable. and thrilling enough. Meski buku ketiga bukan favoritku, buku itu berhasil bikin aku enggak bisa tidur (am I the one who is too overacting or what?).

Well, I think that's enough for today. Have a nice day folks!:)

review: paris

Good afternoon readers! Maaf ya minggu kemaren aku absen update blog, karena aku habis pulang dari liburanku ke puncak bareng teman kelas (pulangnya hari Rabu sih tapi capeknya kerasa seminggu) and it was awesome! Selain menetap di villa kita juga jalan-jalan ke tempat lain, bahkan aku jalan kaki jauh banget dari villa sampai taman safari berempat dan itu nanjak wkwk-_- but I got awesome sightseeings there. Di post berikutnya (atau berikutnya lagi), aku bakal post foto-foto waktu di puncak.

Jadi hari ini aku mau review buku Paris oleh Prisca Primasari. Jarang-jarang aku baca novel romance dan karena aku lagi pengen cari bacaan yang berbahasa Indonesia dan easy to read. Paris buku kedua dari Seri Setiap Tempat Punya Cerita yang kubaca, dan mendadak buku ini jadi top 3 novel romance yang aku suka. 

Jadi buku ini menceritakan tentang gadis Indonesia, namanya Aline, yang lagi melanjutkan kuliahnya di Paris, ketemu sama orang Indonesia yang udah lama tinggal di Paris namanya Sena. Nah, cowok ini misterius banget, jarang dia cerita tentang personal lifenya ke Aline dan Sena minta ketemuan di Bastille, tempat bekas penjara tengah malem waktu Aline nemuin porselen yang pecah milik Sena. Setelah pertemuan mereka di Bastille, mereka jadi dekat dan sering jalan bareng. Tapi diam-diam Sena nyimpan rahasia, dan ada alasan dibalik kenapa dia minta ketemuan di Bastille tengah malam, kenapa dia jarang cerita tentang keluarganya, dan kenapa dia sering kabur begitu lagi jalan sama Aline. 

Menurut aku, jalan ceritanya enggak biasa. Bisa dibilang, bukan full romance. Jarang-jarang ada buku romance yang punya jalan cerita kayak novel Paris ini, which makes me fall in love with this book. Penulis bisa bikin cerita ini jadi page-turning, jadi pembaca dibikin penasaran sehingga pengen nyelesain bukunya.

Dan aku suka personality dari masing-masing karakter, karena berbanding jauh satu sama lain. Aline adalah gadis Indonesia yang agak cerewet dan sering mempermasalahkan sesuatu yang sepele banget, sementara Sena ini misterius, blak-blakan lucu, menurut aku, jadi ceritanya enggak monoton. 

Kelemahannya, apa ya? Mungkin dari latar tempatnya, yang kurang dideskripsikan, seperti bagaimana pemandangan tempat itu waktu Aline lagi jalan baik sendiri maupun sama Sena, atau sejarah atau keadaan tempat itu. Tapi kayaknya ceritana enggak begitu berpusat sama Parisnya, lebih ke problem tokoh-tokoh itu. 

Buat yang suka novel romance, kalian wajib baca ini. Buku ini seru banget, dan kayak kataku tadi, jalan ceritanya beda dari buku romance yang pernah kubaca. Misterinya dapet, romance-nya juga, meskipun kalau romance-nya enggak terlalu. By the way, thanks to a good friend of mine karena udah ngerekomendasiin dan minjemin buku ini. Dia bilang aku bakal suka buku ini, dan dia benar. 

Oh iya, kalau ada yang mau rekomendasiin novel apa aja, bisa komen atau tulis di cbox, ya. Kalau bisa, cerita tentang anak sekolah dan misteri. 

Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave your comments! See you on next post.:)

book review; song of will | resolutions

Hey guys! It's been so long... I hadn't posted anything in the last two months. Well, the junior high national exam is finally over! All I need to do is waiting for the result and do something worth during the holidays, because I have two months until the middle of July, where I start my new academic year being a high school girl... Well hope the results are great and satisfying! 

To start my holiday post, aku mau bikin review tentang buku yang aku baca kira-kira seminggu sebelum UN. Orangtuaku ngasih izin buat baca buku-buku fiksi menjelang UN, karena menurut mereka itu bisa ngurangin kebosenan aku menjelang UN, and it's terribly true, meskipun lima bulan yang lalu aku enggak banyak baca, karena (1), mood membaca aku berkurang without any reason, (2) waktu itu aku lagi baca Will Grayson, Will Grayson-nya John Green dan butuh tiga bulan buat nyelesain buku itu, dan (3) banyak banget tugas, ulangan dan persiapan buat UN, so... that's it.

Song of Will (Indonesian) bercerita tentang empat remaja SMA yang sama-sama satu sekolah dan menjadi teman dekat, yang masing-masing punya masalah dan masa lalu yang pengin mereka lepasin. 

Ada Will, yang harus rela ditinggal sahabatnya yang satu band ke Swiss, dan merasa nothing karena biasanya sahabatnya selalu ada. Dia yang dikasih kepercayaan sama sahabatnya buat mimpin band mereka merasa enggak mampu, karena di bandnya terbentuk dua kubu yang enggak mudah buat disatukan oleh Will. Ada Laura, sahabat Will yang lain, yang merasa kecantikannya adalah segalanya, alias dia bisa mendapatkan apapun hanya dengan kecantikannya, padahal orangtuanya bukan orang yang berada. Ada Nana, cewek sederhana yang broken home, lantaran sering ditinggal orangtuanya dan enggak diberi perhatian penuh dari orangtuanya, bahkan dia tahu orangtuanya berbuat sesuatu yang enggak terpuji. Dia berusaha keras untuk menyatukan kembali keluarganya. Terakhir, ada Evan, cowok SMA yang berusaha untuk melupakan masa kelamnya sewaktu masih tinggal di jalanan. 

Menurutku, kisahnya sederhana dan realistis, memungkinkan bahwa itu bisa terjadi. Romance-nya juga sedikit dan enggak berlebihan, easy to read pula. Buat kamu yang suka cerita remaja SMA yang less drama, kamu wajib baca buku ini. 

Pokoknya buku ini lebih ke family, karena buku ini lebih banyak tentang hubungan mereka dengan keluarga, bagaimana Will begitu sayang sama keluarganya, gimana Nana pengin orangtuanya seperti orangtua yang lain, yang ngasih pendidikan informal buat Nana, gimana Laura berusaha untuk jujur sama ibunya, dan gimana Evan ingin ngebanggain orangtuanya. Karakteristik tokohnya juga kuat banget. 

Pertama kali aku baca sinopsisnya, aku langsung tertarik. Untuk sebagian orang yang udah baca mungkin bakal bilang buku ini kurang drama atau sesuatu yang bikin deg-degan, tapi aku suka banget buku ini. Pertama, makna bukunya, dan kedua, jalan ceritanya yang sederhana. Aku suka buku yang ngasih plot sederhana tapi kuat, dan less romance, hehe. 

Daaan aku udah bikin resolusi buat liburan dan new academic year aku! 

I want to do something worth, so aku bikin list tentang apa aja yang pengen kulakuin menjelang liburan, supaya enggak flat dan berkesan. 

Pertama, rencananya aku mau makin aktif blogging, and add some posts that would need the readers' opinion. Intinya, yang bikin pembaca bisa berdiskusi. Plus, more teentips. Plus, video blog! I'm working on it. Setelah berkali-kali nonton vlogger-vlogger yang keren dan indovidgram, aku jadi terdorong buat bikin video project, ex. short movies, music covers, etc. 

Kedua, blog ini bakal jadi bilingual, jadi enggak semua postingan aku berbahasa inggris, atau bahasa indonesia. Serius, aku kangen banget posting pake bahasa indonesia. Dan masih jadi photo blog. Buat foto-foto random, aku bakal post di tumblr aku. 

That's all for today. Yang lagi liburan rencananya mau ngapain aja? Don't forget to comment and follow my blog. Thank you! :)