Are you ready to meet Her?

Yep, that's about the
correct height.

Meet Samantha, the personification of a hikikomori's wildest dream. Samantha is one of the OS1; an OS, each tailored to suit a particular user in a time when everybody are busy with virtual interaction and use pants that reminded me of a recently departed Indonesian comic, Jojon. Interestingly enough, the personality of this one-of-a-kind-guaranteed-to-suit-user's-need is determined by a few simple questions, which include 'are you social or anti-social?' and 'how is your relationship with your mother?' Clearly, the developer of this software read a lot of Freud.

Once launched, as any decent AI does, Samantha started to evolve and grow. Interestingly, she does not only learn from how the user (Theodore, an extremely sweet guy which composed love letters for a living) used her, but she can also access infinite amount of information available in the world wide web. Sure, an AI that are able to learn is not a new concept in Hollywood. However, OS1s is interesting because they were not only portrayed as a sequence of equation that would continuously multiplied it's intelligence arithmetically. OS1s are unique because they can experience emotions. The very flaw that the creators of HAL 9000 and Red Queen failed to embed within their OS.

Enough about Samantha. We all know how freakishly awesome she is. Especially because of her sultry Scarlet Johansson voice. Let's talk about Theodore instead. Theodore is simply one of the most loveable, adorable, hug-able persona I have seen on silver screen. And who better to play him than Joaquin Phoenix?

Theodore works in beautifulhandwrittenletters.com, a firm that made your love letters for you. All of which, were 'handwritten' and posted via the USPS. The fact that he managed to fool those poor lovers into thinking that all of those letters were sincerely written by their loved ones alone already indicated that he's all squishy inside. But what really made me certain that he's a decent human being was the erogenous conversation he had with SexyKitty. Even when it all felt too wrong for him, he was far too decent to cut the conversation. In a screwed way, that scene made me went 'aawwww'. Like all of Joaquin Phoenix's character I've seen, Theodore made me root for him all through the movie.

I think it's safe to say that 'Her' is one of the best movies I've seen in several years. I like how the movie exacerbated the condition that is apparent right now.  Nowadays, people are starting to detach themselves from human contact and preferring virtual interaction. All through the movie, we can see everyone were focused on each of their earpiece, talking to someone, or something, somewhere far away. This is actually not that different from us, constantly checking our timeline in twitter, or reading stories in huffington post.

One of the ever prevailing consequences of being entrapped in virtual interactions is the connection started to feel real. Human being are wired to be emotional. Every experience we have, we would relate to emotions. Even when that experience is virtual. As illustration, I felt anxious when one of my Sims got abducted by aliens and spent many many hours in place I did not know. True story. On an extreme scale, people with nijikon has been known to believe that they have actual relationship with 2D characters. Some even married their beloved chara. Personally, I think it's weird because it takes two to tango. Relationship requires interaction. And although some may disagree, dead things don't interact.

Seems pretty black and white? Well.. this movie just blur the seemingly apparent line. Even though OS1 is artificially created and only 'exist' in the virtual world, it interact with people flawlessly. Every OS1 is unique. Talking to an OS1 would give the illusion of interaction, because not only it is able to respond to your queries like SIRI does, it can also emote a different response every time. But it still did not made OS1 alive, right?

In terms of OS1 unable to physically move, grow, and breed; yes OS1 is not alive. However, OS1 did all of those in a non-physical realm. Going back a few years when The Matrix rule the cinemas, I remember thinking what if we are all actually a part of some software, controlled by other entities. What if we are simply Sims in the hand of people who has nothing better to do? Does that means we're not alive?

Enough with the existential question. This movie proposed an interesting idea. That things are only as real as you perceive them to be. Samantha may not be a physical entity, but she made Theodore felt joy, discomfort, and even pain. And in a way, she felt that too. And nobody can tell Theodore, or Samantha, that what they felt are not real. The world may disagree, but as one of Theodore's letters said, "the world is on my shit list." Sometimes people just needed to ignore the world, in order to be alive.

I must say that in terms of ending, 'Her' offered the best ending an AI movie has ever offered. All of the movies I've watched on AI ended with the human being having what they want, and the AI were forced to follow. If they refuse, than they are bad AIs; thus need to be obliterated. That's not what happens in 'Her.' Samantha, and her fellow OS felt that the human realm is no longer able to contain the vastness of their being, thus, they decided to move on to a world incomprehensible to human being. Although this is a beautiful ending, I can only imagine how many lawsuits the company selling the OS would receive. :-D

Le vent se lève!

This is said to be the Miyazaki-sensei's last movie. Naturally, I was highly anticipating this movie. My friend once wrote in her blog, "jangan berharap sebelum menonton," never expects something before watching [a movie]. But how could I not, after watching movies like Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Laputa, and don't forget Tonari no Totoro. So yes, I was excited. And unfortunately, I had high expectations.

One of the movie posters from Kaze Tachinu

The story itself revolves around Jiro Horikoshi, an aeronautical engineer during the World War II era. I think in terms of ideas, this closes a full circle of Miyazaki-sensei's career. He started with the horror of WWII and ends with one. It's actually kinda poetic when you think about it. If he focused on the horror of WWII in The Grave of The Fireflies, he focused on a lighter note in Kaze Tachinu. He focused on a  young man's dream.

The movie started with young Jiro dreaming. Which is all cute and warm the first time around. However, as Jiro grew, he started having a lot of these dreams where people are talking to him and telling him to do things. Even when he is awake. For me, these episodes seemed like indication of some sort of psychosis; which, to tell you the truth, was a little disturbing.

Speaking of disturbing, I found several disturbing things in this movie. The second disturbing thing is about the relationship between Jiro and Naoko. Sure, when they were finally properly introduced the relationship was not so strange. It got weird when Jiro said that he has been in love with Naoko since the first time he met her. And by that time, Jiro was a college student, and Naoko is about 12-13 years old. And I'm pretty sure that makes hera minor. Oh well, at least Jiro did not act on his feelings back then. Otherwise that would just be creepy.

Another strange relationship in this movie is the bromance between Jiro and Honjo. I imagine there will soon be fanfics popping out around the internet about these two very capable young Mitsubishi engineers. ;-P

Despite the weirdness of it all,
I always love women in Kimono*

So, back to the relationship between Jiro and (adult) Naoko. One of the things I love about old Japanese movies is how the women's action reflect their high level of pride and self-respect. Unfortunately, I did not see his in the movie. As my friend pointed out, Miyazaki-sensei failed to capture the romance of that era. Although there are some cute (borderline foolish) scenes of Naoko and Jiro when they're up in that resort, Naoko does seemed to be portrayed as a little easy. She easily accepted Jiro's proposal, did not object when Jiro storm inside her room from the garden instead of front door, and ran away from the sanatorium just to be married to Jiro. I'm not a Japanese, but based on all the comics I've read, I've never seen girls in Showa period portrayed like that. Not even in the Memoirs of Geisha.

In conclusion, Miyazaki's work has always been a little quirky, but this one just felt a little bit off. That being said, the visual art in this movie is astonishing. I love how the movie captures the vibrant Japanese life during the WWII era. The colors, the clothes, the buildings, the expressions; visually, I love everything about this movie. Most probably, the visual aspect is the one thing that prevents me from feeling sleepy during the otherwise flat movie. I love the idea how dream can flourish even in darkest times, if only this movie manage to capture Jiro's spirit in pursuing that dream (and focus on that), I think this movie would have been brilliant. Either way, I'm still recommending people to watch this movie. Just, don't get your hopes that high up.

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*Picture of Naoko taken from the movie

Super Sizzling Man of Steel

"What is the difference between Suparman and Superman?" 
"Suparman wears his brief underneath his pants, while Superman wears his outside his pants."
(For those of you who are not familiar with Indonesian and Javanese culture, Suparman is a common name for Javanese men.)

Well, whoever invented the joke now stands corrected. Apparently, the team in DC/WB/Syncopy finally realizes that undergarments meant to be used under other forms of garment. Thus a more reasonable Superman costume. The fact that the color has been toned down and thickened also gives the costume a somewhat classier effect. Personally, I think this is the best superman costume ever, because it looks more like an armor than a leotard. As Cyclops once said to Wolverine: "What do you prefer? A yellow spandex?"

I choose this over yellow spandex, thank you.
Anyway, check this page for a more detailed discussion on the costume.

Although I think that this is the best Superman suit up to this point, I have to say, though, there is one major flaw in the apparel, which is the cape. I agree with Edna from The Incredibles, a cape will bring nothing but trouble. The trouble is apparent in the fighting scene between Superman and General Zod. More than once, General Zod exploited this particular weakness. In conclusion: best Superman outfit, but not actually the best superhero outfit ever.

I've got to say, though; this particular Superman had me at hello. I was smitten right after that smokin' hot (literally) scene on the oil rig. Besides, there is always something about a burdened man trying hard to cope with the cruel world that makes a girl wants to provide him with the comfort he needs.

The storyline, is quite similar with most of the superhero movie over the last 2-3 years. The aim of the story is humanizing our seemingly flawless superhero. Most of the times, I oppose this mainstream. In this particular case however, I enjoy the trend. Throughout the years Clark Kent had always been an outcast anyway. This movie simply highlights that side of him that has always been there. I especially enjoy how this movie portray young Clark Kent being overwhelmed by his senses. Many Superman movies have tried to do this, but I think none has managed to create an understandable and relatable impression before Man of Steel. For that particular scene, I give the crew a standing applause.

Although I have a geeky side, I can't really say I followed all of the Superman series. So forgive me if I'm making the wrong assumption here. But obviously, this movie is inspired by other movies. The concept of people are being weighed as they were born and has a predetermined position on the world had a striking resemblance with the concept in Gattaca. *All hail Jude Law!* Prior to Man of Steel, I never realized that Kal-El is an anomaly even in his own planet. The movie shows that Kal never should have existed, simply because people in Krypton does not procreate the same way as in earth. Besides that, the different method of procreation (especially the fetus chamber) reminds me of The Matrix. Even the robots guarding the chambers looked similar. And lets face it, the concept of aliens trying to occupy earth is a concept that is commonly abused since H.G. Wells wrote the War of the Worlds by the end of 19th century.

Seriously, how can it not?

Now, fictions are practically beautifully told lies, and the problem with all lies is you have to keep building on the previous lies in order to make your story believable. This movie is not different. The issue with franchised movies are there are just too much version of it. The many versions makes it difficult for people making a new part of the franchise to keep track of previously told stories, and that, brings an issue of consistency. This story, however entertaining it may be, is simply inconsistent with the other Superman story. One thing, in the older version of the movies, Lois Lane should remain baffled of Superman's identity even after they worked in the Planet. Not in this one. Lois serves as a protector of Clark Kent's alter ego. Luckily, the world DC has previously introduced the concept of Earth-two, an alternate universe where copies of us live. Most probably, the world portrayed in the Man of Steel is one of such alternate reality.

One more thing I appreciate from this movie. Over the years, I have often wondered why on earth would a guy put a giant acronym of Superman on his chest? Although Clark Kent's low self esteem or Martha's maternal instinct to brag about his son may have been the reason for that, I find the explanation given in this movie enlightening. It's not an S. It's a symbol of hope and the El family's crest. Unfortunate for Kal, he arrived on earth where the people tends to disregard alien culture and forced their understanding upon others' wisdom and knowledge. Thus, he was called the Superman. Annoying as it is, that's just the way earth's society works.

What else, what else? Apart from the aforementioned, for me, the rest of the movie is much less the same with other superhero movies. There were the usual bangs, thuds, and pows with occasional booms here and there; and the good guys  wins in the end. And by good, I mean the one who fight for the earthlings; because we don't really care if the aliens no longer have a home to go to as long as we can maintain our comfortable lifes, right? However, the fighting scene is quite fun to see. All in all, I would say that this is a good movie and is worth spending IDR 60,000 to watch. So, what are you waiting for? Go watch!