KaramelKinema: Alphabet Movie Meme by TheDramaLlama

An amazing meme from Katy Rochelle over at thedramallama! Ended up longer than what i would expect TBQH! (better viewed in Chrome, i dunno why the formatting look weird in Firefox).

ANTICIPATING for Tom à La Ferme
There’s definitely a lot of film i anticipate in 2014: Nolan’s Interstellar, Stomberg’s Maleficient, The Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending, Wally Pfister debut Transendence, the finale of The Hobbit, X-Men and any Marvel Cinematic Universe continuation, von Trier’s Nymph()maniac, Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, and even Ribeiro’s debut Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way He Looks).
However i have to say i am most excited for Dolan’s Tom à La Ferme. I have always been fascinated by what he does so far and could not wait to see more of his future project. It already debuted at this year TIFF, but as usual i can only watch it once it is available in home media or from iTunes download.

BOOK ADAPTATION of The Song of Achilles
I have three books that directly come to mind when i read this particular question.  Benjamin Alire Sáenz’ coming of age book Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (and any of his work really). He has ways of capturing mood and feelings that would work wonders if paired with Terrence Malick type of artistry. The next is S.U. Pacat’s Captive Prince, which is an epic series that should be developed into a TV series like Game of Thrones. So my last but not least choice is Madeline Miller‘s Orange Prize for Fiction winning The Song of Achilles. Which is a moving, reimagined story of the legendary Achilles and rumoured paramour Patroclus, set against the epic Trojan War of Homer’s Illiad. It’s a fascinating character study. (and i wanna see hot men in drapes XD)

CELEBRITY to meet Tom Hiddleston
I probably gonna stutter or freeze altogether if i ever met him in person. Why? Because this guy seemed so nice, awesome, a good actor, a humanitarian, love miss piggy, adorable, looking dapper in suits, seemed like he has no evil bone in his body, have a voice that made me giddy allover. Yes about that voice, if you are a fan of his you should now he (as well as some other british actors and actresses) are featured in this iTunes app called iFPoem, where they recite various poetry from A.A. Milne to Shakespeare. I don’t know if its the most awesome thing or the dumbest thing that i do. Other than Tom Hiddleston, i would definitely loooove to meet Jennifer Lawrence (because she seemed so fun, and crazy, and awesome)!

DREAM PAIRING of Anderson/Hiddleston
After seeing the trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel i think Wes Anderson style just become more pronounced than ever (at some point i was thinking if there would be a life action of Les Aventures de Tin Tin, this dude should be the one who direct it!).

So seeing the ensemble of casts he had for the upcoming film i could net help to see Hiddles being in one of em. I saw Hiddles doing drama and theatrical work, but that guy definitely have a quirky side and a knack for comedy. I think he would mesh right in into the great world of Wes Anderson.

Plus… the dude did great impressions of  Owen Wilson (irrelevant, i know).

ESSENTIAL CLASSIC is Singin’ in The Rain
Although i have seen some great classics but the thing that made a film become an essential classic for me is because they are so re-watchable. On the top of my list is 1952 musical Singin’ In The Rain.

An effortlessly entertaining film depicting the transition between silent film era to the talkies of the 1930s. The lead, Gene Kelly was so fascinating for me, deadpaning his comedic take as well as nailing the charisma of Hollywood top actor. Donald O’Connor as the sidekick serve more of the comedic twists, and his expression alone could made you laugh out loud! Nothing compared to him performing ‘Make ’em Laugh’ on the set with his visual and physical gags!

GENRE i watch the most Coming-of-Age
(Yes, technically it is a genre by subject).

I love my bildungsroman! Transition of youths as they blossomed into adulthood is fascinating to watch. Maybe because it made me feel nostalgic or maybe just because my own coming-of-age process is still a work in progress (ha ha!).

I adore coming-of-age films and usually would watch them without caring about the premise. And i think a great coming of age films is very hard to do. That’s why classics that went through times and remain relatable ahead of its time is a rare gem.

FAVORITE FRANCHISE is Marvel
I was thinking of going with either Lord of The Rings or Harry Potter, but at the end decided to go with an ‘ongoing’ franchise.

Why is this my favorite? Because them bitches at Disney and Marvel know what they are doing. A contingency plan to expand to the future with possibility of crossovers are endless! And frankly, i love to see how ‘separate’ super heroes films can have subtle connections between them thus creating the said ‘Universe’. Although the films are not all that good, but they are enough to be entertaining and have an undeniable appeal beyond it’s demographic. I think that is just brilliant!

HIDDEN GEM is Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho
A 2011 short film from Brazillian director, Daniel Ribeiro, Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho (I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone) is a wonderful tale of first love and coming of age. It is soft and simple. Although it might not be well-known, the film had been praised and acknowledged in various festivals, most importantly it is the winner of Iris Prize awards in 2011.

A feature length adaptation of the film called Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way He Looks), will be screened at Berlinale 2014 in the Panorama Section.

IMPORTANT MOMENT for my film life is meeting N
Meeting N (from shespeaksmovies.com) is the beginning of my headlong jump into movie blogging.

She also the one responsible to broaden my horizon to asian cinema, most particularly the South Korean cinema. (eventhough i still have a lot of must-watch list from her that i have not finished yet!). She’s my personal walking IMDb who made me start to remember director, cinematographer, names. We both have undying devotion for the brilliant James Cameron (that dude is visionary, you haters!!). And KaramelKinema would not be born without her encouragement :)

JUST RIGHT FOR RAINY DAY is Andrew Haigh’s Weekend
A beautiful, heartwarming story of love and intimacy that transforms a one-night stand to an affair to remember. The languorous mood and beautiful cinematography captures the story between the two male lead.

I love this type of contemporary romance. It just a perfect movie to watch in bed under layers of blanket while the rain is pounding on my windows.

(runner up for this is: Les Amours Imaginaires by Xavier Dolan)

KIDDIE MOVIE I enjoy is Home Alone (1 & 2)
I saw it in my hometown theater when it first came out with my family. For the years after that one of the local TV station in my country aired the films annualy, usually around christmas time. So i sort of grew up with watching this every year and it sort of become a tradition for me as well as my family to watch Home Alone (as well as Richie Rich, oh the time when Macaulay Culkin still cute and adorable)

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LOCATION to visit Rivendell
I was thinking the set of Hogwarts at first and you can easily visit that in London. (and i shall do so once i have the budget for travel!)

So, i was thinking for something that does not even visit, one of the place that immediately come to mind is the ethereal looking landscape of Rivendell, from Lord of The Rings. I love the gorgeous elven architecture that look both delicate and majestic. Set against the lush greeneries and flowing rivers and waterfalls. Everything is so serene down there :)

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NATIVE MOVIE i saw is Sokola Rimba
I rarely watched local cinema. Why? Because most of them ended up disappointing me at the end.  But Riri Riza biopic tale of one Butet Manurung and her concern for the indigenous people is one of the good Indonesian film out there. It might not be a technically good films. But there are so many important point that the film delivered well.

Definitely a must see!

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MARATHONS i watched is Harry Potter
Last movie marathons i watched was Harry Potter from The Sorcerrer’s Stone to The Deathly Hallows 1&2. It was part of a habit really. I used to do a marathon of Harry Potter films and books every time a new installment is about to come out.

(But if you ask for a non film answer, my answer would be Friends complete 10-season marathon. Because i do that. At least once. Every year.)

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ONE MOVIE i saw more than once is Gravity
Okay, Gravity was the last movie that i watched more than once. The first time was in a regular theater and another time was at an IMAX theater. You really felt the difference, especially in the sound department.

To be fair, i usually watched a lot of things twice anyway. Once alone and once with my family or friends. And the film that i watched most times in theater was probably Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2 (a total of 6-7 times, i am not sure).

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PREFERED PLACE is Cinema
Nothing compare to the level of concentration and immersive experience that compare to cinema. Usually i went for the earliest screenin alone (or with very select few people). Because i hate it when i watch film with people yammering near me about the plot/actor/actress/director/source material/etc. It just ruin the movie for me.

If i could have every film that i want to watch screened in my local cinema that would be so awesome. But sometimes i settle to blu-rays, festivals or other means to watch films that have no chance of screening in Indonesia. I remember one of the theater chain was asking going to screen Linklater’s Before Midnight. But the plan was trampled by censor due to that hotel room scene. See? Isn’t that sad?

QUOTE that inspire me from Inception (2010)

“You musn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling”

It was what Eames (Tom Hardy) said to Arthur when they were firing guns at mercenaries in one of the dreamscape in Nolan’s 2010 movie, Inception. Maybe it’s Eames english-accent that made it stick to the back of my head. But maybe it inspire me not to be afraid to get tied down and limitation and instead aim a little higher and aspire a little bigger goals.

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REMAKES neither yay or nay
I really don’t mind remakes. They are just different. Sure some could be bad and unnecessary, but the other time you can find something equally good.

Fincher’s remake of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo is different from the original swedish version. The interpretation of the characters by respective actress and actors is different. The look of the film is very different. While i still prefer the original swedish version, i also appreciate the well-designed american rendition of it.

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SNACK while in the movies is Caramel Popcorn!
As my blog name would suggest I do love caramel popcorn!

But in general i don’t snack a lot during films (and i actually can’t process corn). So my movie companion is usually a bottle of water or a cup of milk tea. Even so i usually don’t drink a lot. Having to hold my bladder for the last hour of The Hobbit is not the kind of thing i want to experience.

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TWIST that blow my mind from The End of Evangelion
Hideaki Anno is insane, genius, but insane!

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of those japanese animation that contains an exuberant amount of mind-fuckery. The series is a character study: descend to madness type of psychological thriller. Imbued with religious references and masked with a premise of post-apocalyptic earth battle between man-made robots with alien monstrosity called Angel.

There’s no specific twist that i can point out. Frankly because the entirety of Evangelion is a series of twists. So there.

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UNAPOLOGETIC FAN of Tarsem Singh
I am a fan of Tarsem Singh!

There i said it. He might not be a brilliant director, his movies are either polarizing or downright dissed by critics. But the man had an eye for visuals and beauty that i just adore.

His eyes are made to build a world out of fantasy. So you know how gorgeous his films would be.

The Fall is my ultimate favorite film of his. Starring Lee Pace and his magnificent eyebrow.

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VERY EXCITED for awards season: HELL YEAH!
Sure i am very excited to see whether Gravity really gonna sweep all those technical categories! Or whether 12 Years of Slave gonna be best picture. Or whether they finally gave Leo DiCaprio a break and award him an honorary Oscar or something. (I am seriously sad for the lack of recognition of him)

But more importantly i love to see the show itself. Seeing who gonna fuck up their speech, who would say the most offensive jokes, who gonna be the surprise of the evening, whether or not the host bring it or pulled a James Franco, who would be wearing who on the red carpet, etc. Just the general fun really.

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WISH I NEVER WATCH Soekarno
I rarely regret watching films. Even if the film is bad i usually enjoy its badness or can find things that i like from it. But Soekarno is a new level of badness.

Badly scripted, badly directed, badly acted, badly post-processed coloring. They reduced one of the most iconic, charismatic man in Indonesia’s history, the first Indonesia President and the proclamator of our nation’s independence: into a ephebophilic pervert.

I shall forever hate Hanung Bramantyo.

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XXX MOVIES (NC-17 or R rated) i watched at a young age is The Blue Lagoon
According to the infos on IMDb page it is R-rated film. The original The Blue Lagoon was released in 1980 starring the adolescent Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins.

I watched it when i was really young, i think i was staying over at a friends house after watching Romeo+Juliet (Indonesia’s cinema did not care about ratings and age limits it). When we were home her sister invite us to watch this film, which i don’t exactly remember, but there’s a lot of nudity (or almost nudes at least). I hope it was not a scarring experience, but i really think it was very unsuitable for me. This is why i think parental controls and appropriateness must never be taken for granted.

(YOUR) LATEST MOVIE OBSESSION is Wes Anderson
I was watching the criterion version of The Darjeeling Limited a few weeks ago and i had a new appreciation for the crafts and style of the man.

I like how his style progressed over the year from his debut short Bottle Rocket, every feature film in between, to his latest short Castello Cavalcanti. I may still need to catch up on The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, though.

I simply can’t wait for The Grand Budapest Hotel!

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ZZZ-Catcher was The Counselor
Damn! I don’t mind slow burning films, i usually can engage to those. But this isn’t even a slow burning films per se. The dialogue just threw me off. No matter how good it looked on paper it just does not work in cinematic form. It all just ended up mind-numbingly dull.

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Check out TheDramaLlama original post and find the series of questions as well as other blogger entries here.