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!

Big Bang, Baby!

I hate scenes with blowing buildings and collapsing debris. I've been in one. Not fun. Other than that, I find the Iron Man 3 movie quite entertaining. The starting scene is a little bit annoying. Set in 1999, it makes me realize that I was old enough to understand the meaning of new millennium by that time. And 'that time' was 14 years ago. Thanks to that revelation, I officially realized that I no longer qualify as a teenager. Sucks.

Killer Stare!

Moving on! The image of a flamboyant millionaire is always interesting to me, and Tony Stark is undoubtedly the ultimate flamboyant millionaire in Marvel's universe. However, this movie, as a lot of others did in the last couple of years, pictured Tony Stark's more fragile human state. Interesting, but to tell you the truth, I don't enjoy PTSD Tony Stark as much as I am intrigued by the overly confident Tony Stark. Come on, Hollywood! Don't you think it's time we return our badass superheroes?


Other thing I find odd for Tony Stark to do is when he revealed his home address to the media. Tony has been a millionaire by birth, no matter how angry he was, this is just a stupid thing to do. Especially with his girlfriend also living in his house. Not only that this attracts terrorist, this also attract paparazzi. I can't really tell which one is worse.

Technologies owned by the Stark Industries and other parties in the movie are definitely one of the main attraction in the movie. Who doesn't like expanding monitors and 3D real time map of our brain? Those are just badass. Deep down inside I can't help to wonder whether these types of technology actually exist in real life. It probably does, who knows. After all, when it comes to technology, I am in the bottom of the food chain.


For the villain, there are Aldrich Killian and his ticking-time-bomb henchmen. Among every other weird mysteries of the universe, spontaneous combustion is definitely in my most-scary-and-disturbing-mysteries-of-all-time list. Being too hot to handle is one thing, exploding because of that, is another. Fortunately, this one is artificially induced, this is not actually spontaneous. Because there's a bit of rationale behind the combustion, I don't think this is that scary. On the other hand, the idea of knowingly giving up your live to achieve someone else's goal doesn't make much sense to me.

As for Mandarin, this is definitely the best part of the movie. Every evil needs a face. And although inconsistent with his name, because he is definitely of British descent, Mandarin plays this part really really well. Especially after knowing that he is a puny actor fetched from the street. Nevertheless, Trevor Slattery had me at hello.

Yes, I'm definitely talking about this one.

Second best part of the movie is Gwyneth Paltrow's abs! Pepper Potts' comeback after her 6-stories fall is just AWESOME! She is burning up! Literally! Further attempts to describe how awesome she is would just be redundant.

I can't say that I'm surprised about the fleet of Iron Men. After all, boys will be boys, especially when they have unlimited resource to buy their dream toys. I'm a little surprise with the scene where Tony blow the Iron Men, though. In my opinion that move equals a man smashing his PS3. Definitely not an easy thing to do. Well, perhaps it helps that he is filthy rich. He can easily build new ones later.

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Iron Man picture taken from this page.
Pepper Potts picture taken from this page.

My Top 10 Favorite Videos

So, I was browsing through youtube earlier today and I found a music video I really really like. So, I tought: "Hey! I should try finding out ten super awesome video clips and post a top ten list on my blog, considering it's been a while since I updated it." So, here goes!

10. Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police

First, Sting is probably the best singer alive. So, every single video clip he made will easily falls into the category of 'my favorite'. However, this particular video was chosen because here Sting poses as a young awkward teacher who decided to go topless at the end of the video. Also because it's super fun to watch. :-P


9. I'd Do Anything for Love - Meatloaf


Perhaps it's because I fell in live with Disney's Beauty and the Beast as a child. Perhaps it's because I like the Phantom of the Opera. Perhaps it's because I find Goth fashion cute. Perhaps is because the lady did a killer solo by the end of the video. Perhaps it' because I found the idea of falling in love with your stalker freaky, yet intriguing at the same time. (Okay, this started to sound weird) Anyway, I just love this video by Meatloaf.

8. Dear Jessie - Madonna


I'm a girl with active imagination and a thing with anything cute. When a video combines pink elephant, fairy, and a parade in one colorful festivities. I'm bound to fall in love. Plus, I always loved Madonna.

7. Army of Me - Bjork


Bjork is the master of thinking out of the box. We all remember her swan dress. But this video is so damn out of the box with teeth, gorilla, big truck, and a hobo in a trunk; it scared the crap out of me. I think it even gave me a nightmare once.

6. Burning Down the House - Tom Jones and The Cardigans


The Cardigans ft Tom Jones - Burning Down The House found on Pop

I still cannot believe this unlikely combination. Tom Jones and The Cardigans is probably something that only happens once in my lifetime. Other than that, the colorful video and the faceless dancing people is really interesting.

5. Sakura Drops - Utada Hikaru


One of the first Japanese Singer I know. This video is Final Fantasy meets Discovery Channel with a bit of emaki style. The vibrant color and lively scene just captivate me at first sight.

4. Come Undone - Duran Duran


Also one of my favorite band. I just love this video. Not only because of John Taylor, but also because when this video was out, we haven't had a sea world in Indonesia. The image of being inside one giant aquarium really excites me (who, by that time dreamed of becoming Ariel, the little mermaid).

3. Take on Me - A-Ha


This is a video way ahead of it's time. I don't think any videos on that era uses this kind of special effects. I love the flawless (for that era) transition between human world and sketch world in this video.

2. Ava Adore - Smashing Pumpkins


I posted this on my facebook wall a whie ago. As I said, this video has everything that makes a good video. It's qurky, creepy, and beautiful. It's lyric is unbelievable, and Billy Corgan's voice is just one of a kind.

1. I Want You - Savage Garden


I have a confession to make. I had the biggest crush on Darren Hayes as a teenage (that is before he started to abuse his falsetto). He's probably my first GILF. I had a t-shirt made based on this video. And I still love it. I wonder where's Darren now, though. I kinda misses his voice.

Jack, and Series of Fortunate Events

Fee-fi-fo-fum!

I smell the blood of an Englishman,

Be he alive, or be he dead,

I'll have his bones to grind my bread.

~Joseph Jacobs (1890). English Fairy Tales.

I have to give it to Hollywood. They have a way of adding a hint of heroism to an otherwise sad story. First, let me just say that Jack and the Beanstalk is one of the most annoying folklore for me (among many others, of course). Here you have a protagonist with heads in the clouds; which is actually fine if that means he has big dream and works hard in accomplishing it, despite people's criticism. No. Instead Jack went to the market and traded his mule for a heap of beans from a shady person. Somehow, by a miraculous turn of events, the beans allowed him to steal riches from a giant living high up in the clouds. Not only once, but three times. I can't say that I blame the giant for wanting to cook Jack. I don't know about you, but personally, I hate to teach my kids that you can just daydream all your life and trust the first suspicious person with your whole belongings. That's just stupid.

What's a Knight without a kick ass title?

Now, about the movie. Instead of Jack the Kleptomaniac, Warner Brothers thought that it would be better to turn Jack as a distant cousin of Buffy. Smart move. After all, a war hero is a better role model than a pragmatic thief. That is, unless you're a devoted pacifist. In the movie, Jack is not as stupid as the one in the folktale. This Jack, although easily distracted, is actually valiant. He did not intentionally traded his riches with some suspicious beans. In my opinion, he was mugged by that monk. He also did not intentionally (and stupidly) planted the cursed beans. Instead, he's a victim of the circumstances. This fact makes it easier for me to root for him almost throughout the movie.

So the beans somehow got wet and created magical bridge to land of the giants. Kinda reminds me of this series I watched as a little kid. One thing I consider strange is that the beanstalk somehow reached the edge of Gantua, just beside the perfectly carved sewer system that the Princess and her savior could just climb undetected. How convenient. I can't help to wonder, though, does this mean that rain on earth is actually giant's pee?

After reaching Gantua; Jack, Elmont, and Crawe immediately encountered a giant (Fee, if I'm not mistaken) that decided to turn our beloved Shaun into his afternoon snack. Unlucky for Crawe and Elmont, giants have kick ass sense of smell. They are captured and taken to the general of the giants who, despite having additional retarded head, is the cutest of the pack. General Fallon's good look and nice sounding name (compare it with Fee, Fye, Foe, and Fumm) makes me suspect that he was half human, from his mother side.

Thank God little Timmy survived.

To make a long story short, the rescue party discovered that there are a traitor amongst them that were trying to use the giants to his own advantage, thereon start a fight for the survival of mankind. Because stupidly, Roderick the traitor left the beans for the giants to use in their hunt for human flesh. After a dramatic war that is actually rather impossible, because there's no way an army of human can match an army of giants (who, surprisingly are quite eloquent in arts of war) by strength alone; Jack managed to retrieve the magical crown that binds all giants under its bearer's command and commanded the giants to return their homeland.

Now here's where I stopped rooting for Jack. Instead of presenting the crown to the king and be rewarded with heaps of gold and be knighted, as a loyal subject of a kingdom would, he decided to wear this crown himself and take the hand of the princess. Talk about guts! If I was the king I'd have him beheaded once the giants are back up in the clouds and the bridge between worlds has been severed. But, since this is a PG-13 movie, I don't think killing a person just because is not really an acceptable act of a wise king. Instead, the war was won with only minor casualties, and everybody's happy with Jack marrying Isabelle. And not to worry for future threat of giants returning to Earth. Her Majesty the Queen Elisabeth II still keeps the secret weapon that will protect us all in the tower of London. 

*Jack and the Giant Slayer Logo courtesy of Warner Brothers; Picture of little Timmy was taken from this blog.

Ugly Duckling

Ever since I'm quite young, I always feel like I'm the odd one out. I never feel like I really clicked with any group. Even when I share some interest with a particular group, there's always something that makes me different and makes me unable to completely feel at home. No matter how I enjoy my preferences, there's always voices that were (and are) questioning my preference. There are always the 'why on earth' remarks thrown at me.

I'm just going to dance my way
through life like Luthien in the
forest of Neldoreth

It takes me a while to understand that sometimes people question something because they really did not understand. It's not about being mean or not accepting the way I am. They just did not get it. Even when I have realized that, it took me even longer to understand that I don't owe anybody an explanation. That I can be comfortable with people, even when they don't understand my choices. And even when I have realized that, it still feels like a struggle sometimes; but as someone says, people who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter.

People have a right to feel whatever they feel, and up to some point convey it to other. However, I also have the right to like whatever I like and do whatever I enjoy; and most important to feel good doing it. This is me, with all my contradictions and inconsistencies (preference-wise). You can either love me or hate me, but I will continue being the way I am and progressing at my own pace. I am thankful for those of you who can accept me the way I am and make me feel accepted the way I am and all y'all haters can simply suck it.

XOXO

On Friendship

What constitutes a friend? A while ago, I chatted with a friend of mine who apparently was in a fragile state. She asked me whether there is anything at all that can make me no longer consider her as a friend. There have been times when I doubted my friendship and even decided to end some of them. However, all of that were based on specific events. I do not think that I have measurable indicators that I can use to assess my friendship. However, that question got me thinking, who actually I consider as friend?

For me, a friend is someone who will listen to my story, who I can be comfortable with even in silence. A friend is someone who I want to share my happiness and frustration with; someone who I can trust with my secret and stories.

A friend is someone that is willing to lift me up when I am down, and hold me down when I get too high. A friend is someone that will ask me what's wrong, and respect my decision to not say anything. Someone who will lend a shoulder for me to cry on, and offer hug when I feel alone.

A friend is someone who I can be myself around, and who does not try to be another person around me. A friend is someone that will fight by my side, but will be the first to slap me when I went too far. A friend is someone who is not afraid to disagree with me, and will state disagreement straightforwardly. A friend is someone who I hate sometimes, but I will defend with all my strength and might. A friend may not always be the first thing in my mind, but has to know that whenever he/she needs me I will give him/her top priority.

Hugs?

That is my selfish idea of a friend, of course a friend does not have to be ideal. In fact, the flaws are what make friendship so precious, and worth fighting for. I'm just glad that at this moment, I have such people around me.

~Cute ducky was taken from this place.