end of june

well, it’s end of june. Everyday’s going on just fine. See, these are the times when i’m grateful that there’s nothing bad happened, but it’s kinda boring too.

Bandung’s getting hotter in the day but more chilling at the night. I ate a bit more than usual to counter the multi-kilogram loss from those long walk in Photocamp. My short semester is going at breakneck speed, i will have a mid-test tomorrow. But you know me, i’m the kind of person who simply can’t live beyond daily routinity. That includes my reculturalization (blah) program for this short semester. Yes, i watched too many crappy movies and reading too many webcomics up to the point that i decide read more proper books.

Weeks ago i borrowed my dad’s Olengka and i bought Djenar Maesa Ayu’s Mereka Bilang Saya Monyet and Cerita Pendek Tentang Cerita Cinta Pendek. Just last week i bought A.A. Navis Rubuhnya Surau Kami and re-reading the ever-exhausting To Kill A Mockingbird. Yes, i also read Anton-Rorres Elementary Linear Algebra (damn it).

Anyway, when i went back home to Jakarta last Thursday, i spend my time with my usual destinations. Kinokuniya-Coffee Bean-Gramedia-Societie. There was nothing interesting though, so i went to Citos’ Aksara. The day after that i returned to the store and bought 2 new books

Finally i found it! I don’t really know whether this book has been sitting there for months, but hey, Bandung doesn’t have quite good bookstores. Ever since vivien wrote this on her blog, i’ve been searching for it everywhere. This book is beautifuly fantastic! Tim Burton is cool.

Well i bought this one out of curiosity. It turned out to be good enough to satisfy my recently growing appetite for good (and bad) indonesian movies. Oh, and now i know the english title for Sundel Bolong. Ghost With Hole. Oookay.

This one is brand new. Bought it from Bandung’s Celebrate for eight thousand rupiahs. Useful to create my own version of Boiling Point. My friends had already condemned it.

Oh yeah. Spain won. Wee-hee!

photocamp

Whew. There goes the ultimate vacation.

I’m writing the full story right now. It’s rather long and since i’m also having a pretty intense short semester for the time being just check out the photos at my flickr and my facebook album.

crappy movie nite: part one

Crappy movie night for this week! Weee-hee!
Well i just watched the first 15 minutes of D’girlz Begins.

Like all crappy movies, 15 minutes is already an overkill. That’s why i can laugh at Indosiar’s sinetron but i have to eject this VCD from my laptop at 15 minutes. I just can’t stand it.

Don’t watch it. Seriously. Even if you bought it with those 3-in-1 VCD bundle (i got it along with 9 Naga and Masih Ada Bulan for Rp. 29.500) you’ll feel cheated. No wonder the-now-abandoned sinemaindonesia.com gave it a rating of 5 kancut. Well actually it’s okay if you don’t mind a movie set in an art campus just like BBB. With a dude playing violin in the canteen. With a mysterious guy who is always accompanied with some zorro-ish music. With a really crappy fighting sequence. With a villain named Ricardo Montecarlo.

To complete the awesomeness: it’s produced by Softex.
Yes, the title really is d’girlz begins. With a “D”, a “Z”, and an aposthrope.

zero point one of five star.
zero point six if i managed to finish the second disc, but no, thanks.
zero point one just because it’s available on original VCD and it’s cheap.

the bard

One day, a peasant fell in love with a princess

A fairy tale can choose between two endings: the good or the bad ones.
Usually, if not all, they have great, heartwarming, satisfying, happy ending.
(With the exception of The Little Mermaid, Little Match Girl, and other desperate stories)

In this case, there exist two endings:

In the first one, the difference between them proves to be too big for the King to accept and he intends to separate them one and for all. The King throw the peasant into the prison, but with the help of his friends who also despise the king, the peasant escape and climb to the castle tower to meet the princess. The peasant declare his ultimate love to her. They run away to the countryside and live happily ever after.

Meanwhile in the second one, the peasant’s heart is filled with too much doubt. He doesn’t even think about the king, the prison, the escape, or the vow. He dreams too often and realize things too late. Eventually he settle on another peasant while the princess fall in love with a charming prince from the neighboring kingdom. Both of them lived happily ever after.

…okay, those aren’t endings. They’re the whole story. But the point is, how hard is it to make a fairy tale? Add the knight, add the villain, add the forest and the castle, and behold a new tale is born.

The hardest part is living through it.

review: Be Kind Rewind

First of all, unlike watching movie at theatre, i’m far pickier when it comes to buying DVD.
Second, that particular DVD has to be “reviewed” by at least 2 of my friends and had good rating on the internet.

Which is why i’m worried when i decided to buy Be Kind Rewind, a movie by one of my favorite director, Michel Gondry. The internet’s full with bad review of it. I don’t want him to make bad movies, much less watching it.

I bought it anyway and for the first third of the film i thought that i had to accept it: the movie sucks. Far from his Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind or The Science of Sleep. Miles below them. Yes, that bad. Every minutes i’m asking where the hell are you, Gondry???

zero out of two stars

Entering the second third. Ah, there you are. But you’re…different. Well there’s nothing wrong (this part of remaking classic movie is pretty hilarious) but i still didn’t quite get it. But the minutes kept ticking and the movie started to take its shape. At this point it became clear what the movie is: a drama/comedy about remaking movies. It was getting more creative and funny and cool and..and…it works. Still, not quite great.

one and a half out of four stars

Well go to hell with the reviews. I myself make movies just because i love and enjoying making them, but this movie sure remind me of one thing about movies: they have soul. They have passion. They’re not just telling stories, they also full of stories themselves. The magical story that not everyone can appreciate. Yes, the last third part of this movie really make this movie a whole.

Maybe Michel Gondry was doing some stupid things with the ideas of everyone can make and be a movie. I have to admit, he succesfully did it in a unique way.

three and a half out of five stars

….no, make it four. extra half because i actually liked it even though it’s still not that good.

****

strawberry swing

They were sitting
They were sitting in the strawberry swing
Every moment was so precious

They were sitting
They were talking in the strawberry swing
Everybody was for fighting
Wouldn’t wanna waste a thing

Cold, cold water
Bring me round
Now my feet won’t touch the ground
Cold, cold water
What ya say?
It’s such…
It’s such a perfect day
It’s such a perfect day

I remember
We were walking up to strawberry swing
I can’t wait ’til the morning
Wouldn’t wanna change a thing

People leaving all the time
Inside a perfectly straight line
Don’t you wanna curve away
It’s such…
It’s such a perfect day
It’s such a perfect day

Now the sky could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time

Could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time

Could be blue,
could be grey
without you I’m just miles away

could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time