Looking Through My Eyes: THE RAID

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I started April by watching Indonesia's Box Office Action Movie; The Raid.

There are lots of brutal fighting scenes, gun shots, some explosions and blood; lots of blood. Lots of dead bodies  victim of the battle. Oh yes, this movie is full of violence (even a girl like me not even feeling sorry for watching so much blood spilled over many times in this movie).

The Raid offers something different like I've never feel before while watching other action movies. Watching The Raid is like riding a roller coaster for approximately 100 minutes.It started smoothly (sweet and sentimental—kind of romantic, if I may say) until then you have to hold your breath. Next thing, you will find yourself gasping in awe, clinching your fists and feels the adrenaline rushing from the first 10 minutes until the end.

The fighting choreography is superb; they use pencak silat (Indonesian martial art) almost in every fist-to-fist scene. Its special effects are awesome—the wounds and the bloods look pretty real (Indonesian usually sucks at faking blood). The dark ambiance of the scenes blended with the score really helps to build the tension.

Actually, the plot of this movie is quite simple; the police versus the bad guys, although it also have a background story of brothers rivalry. It also simply sets in a soppy apartment building. And if you like conversational-based movie, you won't find too many dialogues here. But once they say their lines—beside cursing, it's something strong and meaningful. Despite the simplicity, they packed every detail perfectly you don’t have to think too much about the story; you just watch and enjoy it flows. But still, I noted some moral value from this movie about friendship, loyalty and brotherhood.

Oh, by the way, the lead actor, Iko Uwais, is cute. And Doni Alamsyah, one of the supporting actors, is cool as always.

Iko Uwais

So, if you want to see some real action with some real blood spilling moments, The Raid should sit on the top of your “Must See” list.

Story of a Pottermore Beta Tester

So... I've been ranting about Pottermore, now that I've got my welcome e-mail I have already live my life as a Hogwarts' First Year Student.

If you asked me what Pottermore is, my answer would be: "A site where you can really experience what it feels like to be a witch/wizard who went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly". You can experience reading the Harry Potter book in a whole new way.

If you are interested, you can continue reading about my experience as Pottermore Beta User.

note: 

This post is image heavy and contains spoiler for Pottermore which will be opened to all in October.

Images are belong to Sonny Pottermore and JK. Rowling. I own nothing.

Looking Through My Eyes: Attitude 101

This is my first attempt to review a book. I hope you will enjoy it :)

Dampak dari Sikap Anda (Attitude 101 Indonesian Edition)

John C. Maxwell

I'm not a regular self-development book reader, so I don't really know what is the proper content for this kind of book :p

To me, Relationship 101 is a very practical book about how to properly act in our daily life. In this book, Maxwell briefly telling us about attitude; what shapes our attitude, changing or strengthening attitude and making a  life break-through by the proper attitude.

Some of the best part of this book is when Maxwell make us see that many events in our life can affect our attitude. By this, Maxwell asks us to see things, even the worst moment in our live as challenges which will shape our attitude. 

The other interesting part is how to lead ourself to have an appropriate attitude. The right attitude is important if you want to reach the higher level of life. Here, he give a detailed steps to be success by explaining the attitudes that barrier us from success; how to cope from failing and how to 'think success' so we can really reach the top.

Other than that, I don't find anything new from this book. But the vignette stories Maxwell put as illustration is a good way to inspire the reader. Reading this book to me is like reading a lighter version of Personality Psychology combined with some part from The Secret and Law of Attraction here and there. I think book from this kind has the same key point: keep a positive mind if you want to change your life. 

It's not a heavy book at all. Maxwell keep it simple and shipshape in explaining each steps. For those who wanted to change their life into a new level, this book is a good try.

Looking Through My Eyes: BACAKILAT

The last two days I had been joining a speed reading workshop called "BACAKILAT". BACAKILAT (freely translated as "Flash reading") is a revolutionary way to read. In conventional reading, people usually spend 3-7 days or more to finish reading a book yet sometimes hardly understand anything they have read. In BACAKILAT, a book can be finished within an hour. Yeah, that's sounds dreamy, but I have done the whole process myself and, well, it's do-able. 

If you wonder if BACAKILAT is some hypnotherapy, cult or magic trick, no it's not. BACAKILAT has a strong scientific background. The system will maximizing the power of human brain so it easily absorb every information the book given to the reader. 

There's a book I had read quite long ago without really know what was the book about. At the workshop, I read the book with BACAKILAT. After doing the whole process, I finally fully understand the book. I even feel like I have read the book many times before. The best thing is I can explain the whole book fluently with my own words. How amazing is that, huh?

At the end of the workshop, the participant were asked to write a "Letter of Commitment" to make sure that everyone would read numerous books in the next 90 days. I myself  set my goal to read 60 books in 90 days. With BACAKILAT, sure thing I'd be able to do it. The only problem is how to get 60 books to be read? The librarian in my campus might think I am nuts if I borrow a huge pile of books. Couldn't help myself laughing when I think about it :p

So, I'm going to make a list of books I wanted to read and I will put it here so I can see my reading progress. Moreover, I will review some books when I find it shareable. My blog would be richer in content as the reading progressing. I'm so excited about it!

Hopefully, my new reading skill will help me to get better scores and GPA. I will change my reading habit. I've set my goal, and I will get what I want. If I could, so could you :)

Looking Through My Eyes: A Dangerous Method

This movie hasn't been released yet but its preview on Venice Film Festival promising something big. This is the movie I won't be missed. I'd be watching this in the cinema if Indonesian cinemas played it, of course*. 

Since I'm a type of person who prefer to download the movie online, watching movie in the cinema is a big thing. Do you think I'm supporting piracy by downloading movie instead of going to cinema or buying original DVDs? You tell me. But I'm a cheap person, so yeah :/

There are some notable reason why I must watch this movie immediately in the cinema as soon as they release it:

1. Because I'm a psychology student and this movie contains the history of Psychoanalysis. The director stated here about how this movie will reveal the background of Psychoanalysis by 'resurrecting' the subjects (in this case; Freud and Jung). For so long, I only 'knew' Freud and Jung throughout their theories. It would be interesting to know the other side of this two important person. 
2. The casts are bright; Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen. Hell yeah, Viggo Mortensen (who looks like Val Kilmer in the poster) is Sigmund Freud and Michael Fassbender is his protege, Carl Jung.
3. Because I fancy Michael Fassbender.
4. The rating is totally awesome. IMDB give A Dangerous Method 9 over 10, while Rotten Tomatoes (which--I find--usually give harsh comments about films) giving it 71% positive review and 98% of their audiences agree that this movie is watchable. 

So yeah, I'm sure I'll be watching A Dangerous Method cause it fits my requirement (British actors, 20th century setting, Michael Fassbender), though the subject might be a little bit 'heavy'. Anyone interested?

*) Indonesia currently having affair with movies importer that makes some movies late to be played in the the theatres or worse couldn't be released in cinemas.

Looking Through My Eyes: Jane Eyre

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I'm not going to do a movie review here since I'm not a good at it. You can check the imdb review for this rated-7-out-of-10 movie :)

Jane Eyre is a novel written by English writer Charlotte Brontë. The novel has been adapted into movies many times. I recently watched the 2011 version which starred Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. How I stumble to this movie, I think, because I fancy Michael Fassbender. I was searching about his latest movie "Shame" when I found Jane Eyre trailer.

I always love movie sets in Medieval Era or at least the pre-modern age. So I give this movie a try. There are some points I noted after watching the film.

·         The Casts are Perfect
Mia Wasikowska portrayed Jane Eyre beautifully. She knows how to look strong, determinant, smart and sad at the same time. Fassbender also made a perfect Edward Fairfax Rochester. He plays the Byronic Hero impeccably. He really showed Edward’s twisted side. At some point, Rochester can be so miserable. Fassbender’s flawless act made me feel like hugging him so tight to make him happier xD
·         The Cinematography is Beautiful
They filmed the movie in a castle on a hill with pretty surroundings. The coloring and the lighting even made the picture whole more beautiful. Since it was medieval, candles are use for lighting at night. And it doesn’t look like they faking the light. Some movies with candle lighting still use the help from the lamp light, but Jane Eyre doesn’t.
·         It's So Romantic
Jane Eyre captures love in a different way. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of movie depicts love with physical attraction; kissing, holding hands, hugging. Many movies have to use sex scene to portray love. In Jane Eyre, the only 'sex scene' is when Jane and Rochester kissing after Rochester proposed him to be his wife.
Some lines make the romantic moment feels so sweet.
Rochester       : I offer you my hand, my heart. Jane, I ask you to pass through life at my side. You are my equal and my likeness. Will you marry me?
Jane                : Are you mocking me?
Rochester       : Do you doubt me?
Jane                : Entirely!
…
Rochester       : It's you. You rare, unearthly thing. Poor and obscure as you are, please accept me as your husband. I must have you for my own.
Jane                : You wish me to be your wife?
Rochester       : I swear it.
Jane                : You love me?
Rochester       : I do.
Jane                : Then, sir, I will marry you.
·         The Music Completes Everything
I really love the scores for the background music. I just can’t describe it, Dario Marianelli's score just make every second more momentous.

Maybe I’m being too subjective on appreciating this movie, but I really like it. The lack from this movie is that they don’t explore the minor characters deeper. I’ve never read the book but I read the review on wiki. There are many characters that don’t appear in the movie. I also saw some deleted scene in youtube. Unfortunately, the deleted scene is quite important and would be better if it wasn’t cut out from the movie.

Overall, I give 9 out of 10 for Jane Eyre.

For me Jane Eyre is a great Feminist movie. She taught me about the honour of being a woman. She taught me to be honest. Jane is only 19 but she is a lot  more mature and independent than I am now. She's a woman who stick on her principles. 

What about you, do you want to watch this movie too? Let me know if you do :)