Monday, May 16, 2011

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Pengarah: Marc Webb
Pelakon: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL), Zooey Deschanel
Genre: Kisah cinta yang ikhlas tapi sangat kejam!
Durasi: 1 jam 35 minit

Gua baru selesai membedal pengat pisang panas buatan tangan Opah gua, now let's get into business. Sablom ni gua ulas pasal muvi yang Zooey Deschanel berlakon, entry kali ni pon gua nak ulas pasal muvi yang dia berlakon jugak. Lu tak puas hati ke apa ke gua tak peduli. Tu lu punya pasal. (Gila apa tak puas hati? Zooey hot kooottt~~~)

Gua tengok balik entry2 before this, baru 1 je genre romantic comedy (Yes Man), so gua kena start cari benih2 ngan baja buat taman dalam hati. This is one of the way.

I watched this movie back in 2009. That was during my final year in university. Gua hanya mampu usha skali je muvi ni, tak mampu nak tengok banyak2 kali walaupon my crush Zooey Deschanel was there. Well, I think it's not just me, most of the guys will never watch this movie again. Stay with me and I'll show you why.

Sinopsis muvi ni simple. A boy meets a girl. The boy loses the girl. The boy couldn't cope it positively at first. The boy meets another girl. End of story. Okay, that was simplified version. It may be sound like typical romantic movie but believe me, it ain't!!

The simplified version is not helping? I think I have to elaborate the plot a little bit. Give you the clearer picture. Orait, here we go. Somewhere in the beginning of the movie, ada sorang narrator quote ayat nih, "this is a story when a boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen, grew up believing that he never truly be happy until the day he met the one. The girl, Summer Finn did not share this belief. You should know upfront, this is not a love story".

Narrator bagi peringatan that this movie is not a love story, it is a story about love. Bukan cerita cinta typical, but a documentary about love based on these two people. Tom Hansen (JGL) merupakan seorang graduate dalam bidang architecture tapi bekerja kat sebuah kampeni kad ucapan sebagai penulis. Memang lari bidang habis la (macam gua jugak, haha). Pada suatu hari ada sorang pekerja baru masuk, nama dia Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). Summer ni cute dan hot, seorang jejaka biasa seperti Tom hanya mampu mengidam je.

Dipendekkan cerita, Tom dan Summer menjadi rapat selepas karaoke party anjuran opis tempat mereka bekerja. You guys should watch how they got closer. The party night scene, the elevator scene and the photocopy machine scene. Pretty adorable.

When they finally got closer, Summer made it very clear that she's not looking for a relationship. She did not believe in something called 'love'. Tom, however, thought that he finally met the one. He thought, after some time, Summer will eventually falls in love with him. After agreeing the terms, they got into a so called 'open relationship'. Scene2 lepas tu memang bahagia tok sah cakap la, gua tengok pon jeles. Scene kedai perabot, scene beli piring hitam, scene jerit 'penis' dalam taman, scene usha bangunan LA, scene lukis bangunan atas lengan memang terbaik! JGL has worked with my top 2 crush (Deschanel & Cotillard), he is a one lucky bastard!

Langit tak selalunya cerah. Term ni omputih pon tau. Hubungan Tom dan Summer da mula goyah. Biasa la, relationship tak dibina atas dasar yang kukuh dan padu, camni la jadinya. Tom kena dump dengan Summer di satu restoran (ada dalam trailer kat bawah ni) just like that. Itu sebab gua cakap muvi ni kejam. "I think we should stop seeing each other," imagine someone you really love suddenly says that to you with no further explanation and she fucking means it. It's like being punched in the face by Muhammad Ali for 14 rounds. Even forever-alone guy like me knows how it's feel, don't pretend that you don't.

Tom did not cope with the break-up so well (who does?). To him, it's like the end of the world. He only cares for Summer and Summer only. Nothing else matters. Now's that Summer's gone, Tom pon hilang punca. Summer quits the company. Prestasi kerja Tom turun mendadak. There's a melt-down scene in the office that you guys should take note. It's during a meeting if I'm not mistaken. It's really ironic someone who works in GREETING cards company posses a very negative attitude like Tom (after the break-up of course).

Despite all the negative things that Tom did after the break-up, I think it's pretty normal. By right Tom should not felt that way because Summer already warned him that she's not in love with him. Tapi apakan daya, Summer layan Tom macam orang bercinta. Tiba2 nak je chalo, memang culture shock la mamat tuh. Gua petik quote dari muvi Shawshank Redemption (1994), "hope is a dangerous thing, hope can drive a man insane." Situasi Tom lebih kurang macam tu lah.

Entah macam mana, selepas dibasuh oleh adiknya, Tom dapat semangat baru. Nope, he didn't move on. Tom nak tekel balik Summer. "Dia dump gua, gua tak pedulik, yang penting gua nak dia balik!" itu dia semangat Tom. Kali ni gua nak petik lagi skali quote dari muvi Shawshank Redemption (1994), "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Mungkin Tom tengok kot muvi tuh, terus dia jadi semangat.

Lagi skali gua nak tekankan, ini bukan kisah cinta yang Hollywood typically buat. Ini documentary cinta. Apa yang penonton expect memang tak akan dapat kat sini. Yup, Tom tak berjaya gak tekel Summer. Pastu apa jadi?? Tom moved on, tukar kerja baru, jadi architect pulak. Selaras dengan dia punya degree. Dia jumpak gadis bernama Autumn time nak interview kerja baru, he made a move. Dapat minum2 lepas interview pon jadi lah, hehe. And the story goes on. 500 Days of Autumn lak kot. But one thing for sure, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that.

Mesej yang nak disampaikan memang gua dapat baca. Tapi cara mesej tu disampaikan agak kejam. Walaupon Zooey Deschanel tu gua punya crush, gua sebenarnya agak bengang tengok dia dump Tom (sori, part ini gua memang emo, haha). Dan gua kesian kat Tom jadi gila sorang2. Gaya penulisan gua ni memang tak dapat menggambarkan betapa peritnya Tom, lu kena tengok sendiri muvi nih!! This kind of situation is happening all over the world as we speak.

Cukup gua cerita sinopsis (panjang gila), gua nak masuk part plot pulak. Plot diolah tak seperti muvi2 lain. Kalu typical romantic muvi, 1st half of the movie suma benda2 baik, harmony, peaceful and romantic, 2nd half baru conflicts start. Tapi muvi ni lain sket. Plot dia tak disusun secara linear. Marc Webb susun macam dalam cerita Memento (2000), Pulp Fiction (1994), dan The Prestige (2006). Agak celaru tapi sangat berkesan. Mula2 tunjuk part break-up, pastu tayang part tengah bercintan2 plak, pastu tunjuk conflict lak and it goes on like that. Experimental, that's all I can say.

Dari sudut cinematography, muvi ni memang superb. Tambah2 masa scene lepak2 tengok LA punya architecture. Gua pon dapat merasai keindahan bandar urban seperti LA (KL lagi urban, gua tak bley blah kalau terlampau urban). Lagi satu gua suka ialah color tone. Color tone dia ikut scene dan mood. Kalu mood break-up tone dia macam gelap sket. Masa scene flirting dalam opis, tone ubah jadi kaler macam mentol (fak, gua tak reti nak explain).

Pasal lakonan, gua rasa chemistry antara JGL dan Zooey adalah pada tahap tertinggi. Physically and emotionally perfect for each other. JGL tak nampak superstar sangat, sesuai dengan dia punya character. Kalu Marc Webb amik Leonardo DiCaprio jadi watak Tom, memang out la cerita nih. Terlampau hensem untuk orang biasa, haha.

Secara keseluruhannya, tidak keterlaluan untuk gua katakan yang muvi ini merupakan antara muvi romantic yang paling best for previous decade. Sebaris dengan Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) dan Once (2007). Satu cerita yang sangat ikhlas tapi kejam. Remember, world is not an ideal place to live. I strongly recommend you guys to watch the movie, but bukan semua orang buleh enjoy muvi nih.

ACHTUNG!
You do not want to see this movie if you are:
  1. recently dumped
  2. lonely
  3. single and hopeless
nukmanometer: 97% (penat gua korek balik memori, 2 tahun lps tengok)


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Yes Man (2008)


Pengarah: Peyton Reed
Pelakon: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper
Genre: Unprecedented Romantic Comedy
Durasi: 1 jam 44 minit

Sewaktu ulasan ini ditulis, sedang berlangsung satu match bola sepak yang agak besar iaitu Arsenal vs Manchester United. Sebagai fan Arsenal, gua memilih untuk memboikot perlawanan tersebut sebagai satu langkah protes terhadap form Arsenal yang jatuh teruk kebelakangan ini dan takmo kecewa bila tengok ManU menang, haha. Kalu Arsenal kalah, gua marah. Kalu gua marah, gua tak ley tido. Ya, pada saat ini gua memang pessimistic seperti watak dalam cerita yang bakal di review ini.

Selesai sudah sembang bola sket2, kita berbalik kepada topik asal iaitu muvi Yes Man (2008) ini. Gua usha muvi ni kat wayang hanya ada satu sebab saja - Jim Carrey yang belakon. Itu je satu-satunya sebab yang membuatkan gua nak layan cerita ni, AT FIRST.

Yes Man mengisahkan tentang seorang pegawai pinjaman Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) yang mempunyai pemikiran yang sangat pessimistic. Segala apa yang orang tanya/ajak, jawapan dia kalau tak "No", mesti "Nevermind" atau "I'll pass". Bukannya certain things je dia tolak, SEMUA benda dia tolak. Orang datang nak buat personal loan kat bank tempat dia kerja memang sah2 tak dapat. GTFO kata Carl (ok,ni gua tambah).

Setelah sekian lama Carl dok berperangai macam ni, dia mula start terasa yang hidup dia kosong, no fun at all. Lepas cerai ngan bini, Carl memang play safe gila babi. Tak mau cari partner baru, tak mau ada commitment. Pada satu hari Carl terserempak dengan member lama beliau. Setelah tengok Carl macam takde life je, straight away mamat tu suggest Carl pi seminar Yes!

Ntah macam mana, kali ni Carl setuju dan dia pon pi seminar tersebut. Dalam seminar tuh, Carl diajar untuk kata "yes" for everthing. Memang sah2 la Carl bangkang kaw2, but he did give a try. On the way balik rumah, Carl was tricked by a homeless man because he said yes all the times. The disastrous night turned out to be not-so-disastrous as Carl found himself making out with one-hell-of-a-girl Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Yeah, Zooey is my all time 2nd biggest crush (after Marion Cotillard of course). At that moment Carl thought about the seminar "it does make sense, ain't it?".

Cute kan dia??

Selepas peristiwa bercumbu dengan Allison, Carl cuba menjadi pessimist balik tapi setiap kali dia tolak ajakan orang, pasti nasib buruk menimpa. And he realized that he has to say 'yes' to whatever people might wanna ask. Hidup Carl berubah jadi happening since that. Carl amik lesen pilot, belajar bahasa Korea, approve loan untuk sapa saja yang mai mintak dan banyak lagi benda2 gila. And eventually Carl met with Allison, again, accidentally, when she performed her weird songs with her weird band in a weird bar (her band's name is Munchausen by Proxy).

Carl dan Allison makin rapat. Depa jadi couple, not a normal couple, but a fucking spontaneous couple. Segala apa yang couple ni buat dalam muvi ni memang menjadi impian gua. Damn, the writer is so good, I wanna live by his film. Konflik dalam plot cerita ini timbul bila Allison syak yang Carl ni sentiasa setuju dengan apa yang orang kata/ajak/tanya regardless what he feel about it. "Ntah2 time aku mintak kapel pon hang terpaksa setuju?? Ahhh sudah..." kata Allison dalam hati.

Macam biasa, ending gua malas nak cerita, pandai la lu usha sendiri. Gua jugak malas nak ulas pasal lakonan Jim Carrey mahupon Zooey Deschanel. Jalan cerita agak logik tapi macam susah je nak jadi dalam dunia sebenar. Apapun, yang penting ialah impact muvi ni terhadap gua (dan rakyat2 jelata yang lain barangkali).

Frankly speaking, I was like 'holyshit' (i think holyfuck is more suitable) during the movie credit. Terpegun sebentar, the movie, it does reflect my life, well not yet in terms of those very sweet romantic scenes. I used to be like Carl (several years back before i watched this movie), very pessimistic and negative. This movie really inspires me loosen up a bit. Don't afraid to commit, take a risk. Skang almost everything yang orang ajak gua akan on je (except MLM, hell no!!!). Mana la tau kot2 dapat awek cun macam Zooey, hahahha (fak, hilang imej mafia gua). Dalam hidup memang tak buley nak elak risk, memang kena amik gak. Saying yes is one of the ways. Bak kata John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) dalam lagu nya Iris "yeah you bleed just to know you're alive". (Hope you guys see the connection, no?)

Apa yang dapat gua simpulkan kat sini ialah Jim Carrey memang lawak macam gampang, Zooey Deschanel memang sweet habis, and to me, this movie is one of the most life-influencing movies I have ever enjoyed. So folks, a simple word of 'Yes' can really change your entire life (so, need to be careful of that word??). Roger and out..

nukmanometer: 86% (time gua habis tulis Arsenal da menang 1-0, nyesal lak tak tgk)