The Hateview: Alien Vs Predator Requiem

Uhh...how did i got reminded about this disastrous cocktail of messiness? I do remember getting quite excited about this movie and then getting slapped in the crotch by it at the end of the movie but what i don't remember is why did i get excited at all?

The original Alien vs Predator isn't actually a masterpiece or a good movie in any sense. It is poorly written, the movie logic is like studying quantum physic theories from a scientist who just consume an LSD, and above all it was directed by the damned Paul W.S Anderson, the guy who directed the awful Resident Evil series. To be fair, i think the first Alien vs Predator movie is rather fun if you switch your brain off, bang your head against the brick wall for 5 minutes, and finally drink 2 bottles of tequila. I think the slight of fun that i feel is what kinda makes me expect something good that didn't actually exist in the first place when i got excited for it's sequel. Despite of it slight fun, i don't see why people want to see more of it after such low receptions both from critics and fans. Even the studio who wants some cash grab should realize that there is no more potential left for this series but oh, money talks and studio listen so we got Alien vs Predator Requiem.

I think the starting concept of this sequel was just based in the fact that the first Alien vs Predator is a Pg13 movie, meaning that there is no gore, swears or anything related to the facts that both Alien and Predators is well known for it's R rated rating. People complaining that they want to see gore when the predators do their classic Sub-zero fatality impersonation or when the aliens do their metaphorical rape killing stuffs and in that regards they did listen to the fans. So "R rated movie it is" said the studio but they forgot that you cant make a movie based just on gore and blood. You need interesting characters, good plot that drive the actions and a good direction from the director. They failed so hard in this 3 parts.

AVPR, as the marketing department of this movie like to be referred to, is following the events of Alien vs. Predator, a Predator spaceship is leaving Earth carrying dead Aliens, living facehuggers, and the body of the Predator that defeated the Alien queen. A chestburster erupts from the dead Predator's body; it is a new creature that is a hybrid of Alien and Predator characteristics called the Predalien (who the hell is in charge naming this thing?) It quickly matures into an adult and begins killing Predators throughout the ship. A Predator's weapons fire punctures the hull and the ship crashes in the forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado.

With the Predators dead, the Predalien and several facehuggers escape, implanting embryos into a nearby father and son and into several homeless people living in the sewers. A distress signal from the wrecked ship reaches the Predator home world and a lone Predator responds, traveling to Earth to observe the cause of the crash and track the facehuggers. It begins to erase the evidence of the Aliens' presence by destroying the crashed ship and using a blue liquid to dissolve the bodies of the facehuggers and their victims. That Predator  have to kill all the remaining alien without leaving any traces of evidence behind while a bunch of cannon fodder is killed in gruesome ways, both by the Predator and the Aliens.

AVPR is directed by the Strauss brothers who directed...nothing before. They were just a special effect supervisor before they made this movie and the lack of experiences are spot on in the movie. AVPR is nothing but unnecessary blood and gore and its terrible in that too. When someone is dead i don't feel anything that a normal human should feel when others human died. No remorse, no sympathy, no excitement, no emotion, only apathy and that is clearly a sign that there is something wrong either with me or the movie. The writing didn't help the audience to care about the characters because they are even worse than the characters in typical slasher movies. At least in the slasher movie i want the character to die because they are written to be hated but in this movie i don't actually care at all about the characters. They are more unforgettable than a breeze of wind in my butt.

The movies try to take a more dark route with gore and blood but they took it one step farther to make darker. The lighting in this movie is so bad that i can't tell if the Aliens and the Predator is fighting or having some interspecies sex scene because the movie is way too dark to see. I know that they want this movie to be darker than it's predecessor but they don't need to go dark with the lighting too. What's the point in having a fight scenes that the audience cant see? Let the fight scene left for interpretation?

 Subtle.

Speaking of action scenes, the action scenes feels rather clunky because they went back with people in rubber suit and not animatronic anymore. It almost like watching a terrible Power Ranger episode that directed by Eli Roth. I also have to say, the Predalien looks rather silly and it is the thing that we, the audiences, need to feel scared and intimidated with?

When facehugger meets Jamaican...

I do heard of some reviewer said that AVPR is a good movie is you took it as a B movie rather than a triple A movie but i think that's the exact problem of this movie. Both the original Alien and Predator is legendary because of their achievement for turning on a B movie premise into a very influential classic that leaves an impact on everyone who watch its. Yet, this movie fell into a forgettable B movie feels which the original movie try so hard not to be at the first place, ironically. 

It is a good thing that this franchise is dead. After such a failure nobody will dare to touch this movie premise ever again. If you think twice about Alien Vs Predator premise, maybe this premise shouldn't be touched for a movie in the first place. They might be a good enough promise in comics and video games but for a box office movie its rather hard to execute. Both of the creatures might came from outer space and both of them leaves a trail of blood, intestines and brain matters wherever they went but that is the only thing they share in common. The alien is a beast who lives only to kill and procreate while predator is a civilized hunter who hunts for sports in Sunday morning. Their nature isn't all that compatible to make an engaging story and so far the best story they can milk out is the predators is breeding the aliens so they can used its as a hunting ritual while the human characters is just there as a chewing toy for them. As i said before, a good movie needs a good character and Alien vs Predator is having a hard time making a significantly good characters because they treat human characters as dispensable cardboard cutout. It is a franchise that is better left for comics and video game only.

Initial El Judgement

3.5

Free hugs from facehugger

Frozen Movie Review

Trailer and marketing is an important things in movies industry because it will set the expectation from the audiences before they watched the actual movie. It is not uncommon to find a great movie with a not so interesting trailer or marketing (It happen to me with the Gravity's trailer) and Frozen is actually the victim of this kind of trend.

Frozen is another Disney princesses animation movie which the marketing of the movie is kinda misleading the audience. The movie's marketing seems to be focused at it's silly comedic relief in the movie named Olaf The Snowman and he is not that funny in that marketing campaign too. So when i first saw a short animated campaign for the movie in Disney channel, my initial reaction is just "Meh, it doesn't seems interesting at all". It's a good thing that i watched that one video review in Youtube which said  that this movie was great because i owe that reviewer a drink or two. Frozen is an awesome animated Disney movie that i really recommend to everyone.

The movie is a loose adaption of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, which to be honest, i never heard or read (sorry, my childhood is not that pretty) so i am in blind mode for what this movie about. It tells a story about two sister from the Kingdom Of Arendelle. Eight-year old Elsa, princess of Arendelle, possesses the elemental ability to create and control ice, frost and snow. One night while playing, she accidentally freezes her five-year old younger sister, Anna, with her powers causing a small part of her hair to turn white. The king (Maurice LaMarche) and queen seek help from trolls, who heal Anna and remove her memories of her sister's magic. Their leader, Grand Pabbie (Ciarán Hinds), informs them that if Elsa had struck Anna's heart it would have been fatal. In order to protect Elsa and avoid her powers from endangering anyone else, the royal family locks themselves away in their castle. Elsa, afraid of hurting Anna again, spends most of her time hiding in her room, creating a rift between the two sisters as they grow up. Ten years later, their parents are killed at sea during a storm.

Three years after the death of the king and queen, dignitaries from all over the world flock to Arendelle to see twenty-one-year old Elsa's (Idina Menzel) summer coronation. Among them is the Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk), a neighboring royal who wants to exploit Arendelle for profit. Eighteen-year old Anna (Kristen Bell) is excited that the castle gates will open and she'll finally get to meet people. While strolling through the streets, she meets Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) of the Southern Isles, and the pair quickly fall in love. Though Elsa is terrified of revealing her powers, the coronation goes off without incident. During the reception, Hans proposes to Anna, who accepts. Elsa, however, refuses to grant her blessing, setting off an argument that culminates in her elemental abilities being exposed to everyone. Elsa run away after accidentally shows her magic and freeze the whole kingdom in permanent winter. So begins Anna's journey to save the Kingdom of Arendelle and her own sister from metaphorical puberty jails.

Because the misleading marketing campaign, i thought this movie will be the standard Disney's adventure movie with the standard Disney's love stories added with Disney's standard annoying comedic relief which is actually...not a big deal for me but it isn't something that i liked that much either. Surprisingly, The movie is far better from what the marketing is shown since the actual focus is actually the relationship between the two sister and the test of their love for each other.

The other kind of "love", that is...

Almost all of Disney princesses movie involved that cliche tropes like true love, damsel in distress and all things that make your daughter want to be a princess who let the men do everything for her. But right off the bat, the movie makes a fun of that true love cliche by Anna request to get married with a man that she literally just met which Elsa said that it is very stupid. In that scene, I knew that Disney is trying to do something new in this movie but the "whoa" moment came in a really surprising way that managed to caught me off guard. The movie used the well established trope then gives it some unexpected twist, resulting in a almost evolutionary moral message that kids will dig and adults can appreciates.

The Animation is top notch as expected from Disney's production. The way the characters moves reflect their personality and their energy flawlessly in every frames they are in. Anna and Elsa looks like your typical pretty Disney Princess at first when they are just standing still but when they moves that images changes. Elsa transformation from restricted girl to an expressionist woman is a spot on from the way he walks and moves. Anna eagerness and spirits is also greatly animated and i also need to mention that this movie also made me go "damn, i should have watched this in 3D" again. I guess 3D does have a place in modern cinema.

This movie is Disney efforts to relive their renaissance moment like what they achieved with Beauty And The Beast and The Little Mermaid which i honestly forgot if i ever watched it when i was a kid or not (I am still trying to repress my childhood memory) so Frozen is actually a musical animation movie. Musical Movies tends to irritates me since it is often unclear why the characters can suddenly singing about everything in the middle of something. For all that i know, they might sing about dysentery in the middle of something and it still makes sense in the context of the movie. There is a moment when the song in this movie kinda irritates me because how often they showed up from nowhere but that moments falls short because all the songs in this movie is great and memorable. Many peoples said that the Let It Go session in this movie is a masterpiece where the song and animations flows in a harmony that just so great to watch and listen though i still think that my favorite has to be Do You Want To Build A Snowman? session which....well, ok i have  to be honest, i became quite emotional in that session.

The comedy in Frozen is actually kinda feels like a classic Disney's movies. There is no pop culture reference which is almost like a mandatory to have in a comedic movie today because all the laugh came from a situational moment which makes this movie's comedy became timeless. Peoples in the future will still laugh in this movie as good as the peoples in nowadays laugh at it which is a great thing to have in a movie.

Kristen Bell as Anna did a terrific job portraying a naive eager girl who rarely met anyone outside her castle while Idina Menzel voice, who had an amazing track record in Broadway musical performance, is also great, especially when she sings that Let It Go song. Surprisingly, the characters that i think i will hate is actually the show stealer of  movie which is Olaf The Snowman voiced by the amazing Josh Gad. There is just something so adorable with how Josh Gad portray Olaf goofiness and clueless behavior that steal the audiences heart's.

There is a moment where i thought that this movie will walk to the unexpected dark path. Sadly, it didn't go  that way which kinda disappoint me for some reason. Maybe i just had some fetish with a kids movie going into some dark turn or maybe i am just trying too hard to became Batman.

I won't let this childhood dream go.

In conclusion, Frozen is one of the best, if not the best animated musical movie, in recent years. I love how this movie made me feels like an excited innocent child watching his first animated movie with his parents. It isn't perfect, that for sure. I wish the song could be paced a lil bit more better so it wont feel cluttered at some part and i still kinda hope they could make it with a lil bit more dark moment but that is just my self preference. This Movie is a must watch if you have kids and even if you don't have one, you will still having a good time laughing and smiling.

Initial El Review Score

9.5

Some movies are worth melting for.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

I noticed a trend in Holywood today where it seems that teenage love movies based on best selling books are tend to show quite often and surprisingly the demands for it is rather high. I think that trend starts from the success of The Twilight Saga movies like a contagious itchy rash that can't be cured and it spawns many spiritual successor (mostly better than the the Twilight Saga itself but it doesn't help much) like I am Number Four, City of Bones, The Host, etc. I guess subconsciously speaking, i tend to compare that kind of movies with Twilight because it is the movie that start this trend and it also managed to set the bar for that genre really-really low in my mind. I also happen to hate teenage. Hell, i even hate myself when i was teenage so teenage movies aren't actually in my top list of must-to-watch movies, more like must-to-avoid kind of movies. So when my friend told me that she want to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire which based on best selling books about teenage loves drama set in dystopian future my first reaction was "Can we just Watch something with more testosterone in it?" But, since she is the one who paid for my ticket i can't say no, i never say no to free movie ticket. Turns out, that free ticket she gave me was actually worth it.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a sequel to The Hunger Games and for some quick recap for the first movie, here is what i know about it: I never Watched The Hunger Games. So yeah, i came watching that movie in a blind mode, saves for some brief explanation that my friend told to me. As you might know, Reviewing a sequel without watching it's previous movie is like working as an accountant who never introduced to math before but on the bright side, i can review the movie as its own unique movie so i am going to aim for that.

After Surviving the initial 74th Hunger Games by breaking the basic rule of "only one can survive"  Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) back to their home in district 12. Katniss and Peeta are required to take the victory tour of the country. President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) visits Katniss and tells her she has inspired rebellions in the districts, when she and Peeta threatened suicide so both might survive the games. He orders Katniss to convince the entire country that her and Peeta's love was the reason for their actions, and to convince Snow himself.

Right After they finished the victory tour and return home, Katniss warns her close friend, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), of President Snow's threat to kill both their families. Snow announces Panem's third Quarter Quell, a special version of the Hunger Games held every 25 years; for this Quell, all tributes are to be selected from the existing pool of victors. Katniss immediately devotes herself to ensuring Peeta becomes the Quarter Quell's victor, should he compete in the games. At the reaping, Katniss, the district's only living female tribute, and Haymitch are reaped by chaperone Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Bank). Peeta volunteers to take Haymitch's (Woody Harrelson) place and is sent directly to the train with Katniss, without a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. They must fight a new Hunger Games with more deadly enemies and survive but again, only one of them can survive.

From the start, Catching Fires world's caught my attention with it's unique settings. I really like how they describe the state of Panem condition like how the poor live, how the rebellion grows big because of Katniss act in the previous hunger games, their technology and yes, even the over the top silly fashion conscious rich peoples who dressed like...i don't know what they dressed like.

Obvious joke reference, abandoned.
 

Speaking of the story, it surprisingly filled with interesting plot point and unexpected turn that kinda make me go "whoa" like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. It focus more in the main characters struggle and her condition as the symbol of hope for revolution which pisses the President of Panem really bad. But they can't just kill a symbol so the president with the help of the new game master  Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is trying to make Katniss look bad in TV before they finally put her in the ground for good. You really feel that the villain is evil, in a good evil way. The movie manages to pull the feeling of the character's hopelessness in the screen and delivers it to the audience very well.

The other good things that this movie have is it's line up of interesting characters with a their own distinct personality and moral complexity and that is a recipe for a great movie in my book. I found that the character that i think was the most generic narcissistic antagonist at the start becomes the most interesting character later on and they managed to make me keep guessing about that characters motives until the end. Most of it's characters feels unique with a specific role that made them feels significant and not just a cannon fodder.

In the performance department, the cast of this movies really works well in portraying the characters they played. Jeniffer Lawrence as Katniss did a good job being a no nonsense bad ass girl and most of the supporting characters is doing a good job as well. The real show stealer is  Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair who manages to show such a good portrayal of complex character who are dreamy and gorgeous.

If there is something that i don't like about this movie it is the love interest. I really don't like how they pictured the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale Hawhthorne. You know that in most teenage love drama someone have to be the damsel in distress and in this case Peeta and Gale is the damsel in distress...with penis. Both Peeta and Gale keeps whining on how they really wants Katniss love's and has to be rescued by Katniss quite often. Peeta is the one who annoy me the most since he seems so unreliable and uninteresting in the line of the unique games participant itself. They should have made Peeta a little bit more reliable and less whining.

The cliffhanger ending also bogs some people because its quite abrupt at the end of the movie. It also contains some of the most interesting part that really need to be explained more. I know that they are planning on making the next movie for sure but at least make the ending less abrupt will you.

In conclusion, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a really well made movies that surprised me. It surpass my initial expectation and really made me want to know more about this franchise. Even if i haven't watched the first movie, i still found myself immersed in the story and the world of The Hunger Games. This movie might be one of the finest movie in this year.

Initial El Review Score

8.5

Hunger For More

The Hateview: Silent Hill: Revelation

I was just checking the reviews in my blog and i notices that I rarely gave a movie a low score. The lowest score that i ever give is The Expendable 2 and its only like 6.5 which in my scoring rate is actually ok and rather fun to watch. Well it's probably because I am too cheap to spent money for a terrible movie but once in a year when the full moon came I spent some of a money to watch terrible movies. So i guess maybe I could write a review about the terrible movies that i watched, hence the title hateview. get it? Because it is a review about the movie that I hate...no? Errrm...moving on then.

There is 3 things that I love in this world and it is movie, video game and horror. So, naturally, when you combine 3 things that you really love, it should be the firework festival of your life, something that really beautiful, outstanding and the thing that you just can't forget. But then again, one of reality favorite hobby is to break someone hope and expectation for something that we love so we can finally realize that being a human is suck. Case and point: Silent Hill: Revelation.

Silent hill: revelation is based on a famous survival horror game with the same name. It is one of the scariest, if not the scariest, video game that ever created by mankind and also one of my favorite video game series. It managed to execute many of horror aspects like sounds, visual, characters, story and pacing in such an excellent way that it leaves the players with more than just a cheap scream created by jump scares. It is a horrifying and terrifying experiences and also a study of human psyche that might only be experienced in the medium of Video game. It is really popular in a survival horror genre and from such popularity someone had an idea to make a movie based on this game. Hence, the first Silent hill movies was made.

Before talking about Silent Hill: Revelation, lets talk a little about the first movie. The first silent hill movie was...well, actually its kinda ok for me. It mostly take the first main plot of the first game with some tweak and minor changes. Many praised the movie for its atmosphere and faithful visual that it takes from the game but criticizing it for bad writing and confusing story that just doesn't make sense in many way. Personally, the movie biggest flaw to me is that it doesn't understand about what makes silent hill is such a horror masterpiece in video games world, which is its subtlety and symbolism.

Christophe Gans, the director behind this movie clearly understand what makes silent hill become a visually scary looking game but i don't think he understand what lies behind the games visual and the meaning of it so the movie became more like a haunted house with monster than a horrifying psychological experience like it should have been. To see what i meant, lets see what many consider as the scariest monster/creature/the devils own nightmare in Silent Hill.

Exactly that.

That....thing is called Pyramid Head (P-head for short because I'm apparently that lazy to type its full name) which at first sounds like a reject characters from Toy Story movie. You can clearly see that, visually speaking, the scariest thing that the Silent Hill series can pull out doesn't look scary at all but what make it become such a memorable and terrifying experience in video game is the purpose of P-head, not what he looks like. P-head (in his original appearance before he turned into Silent Hill happy mascot) is actually a manifestation of guilt and sexual frustration from James Sunderland, the main Protagonist in Silent Hill 2. It act as a reminder, punisher and savior of James so it appearance is always full with symbolic meanings in the game and that is what made him as one of the scariest thing in video game world. Technically speaking, most people believes that Pyramid head could only exist in Silent Hill if James Sunderland is in it, yet he keeps popping out of nowhere in the Silent Hill movies and it made him looks more like Jason Vorhees with over sized triangular mask and knife rather than a disturbing symbolic manifestation like in the games. It also didn't rape anything in both movies.

You can't spell Rape without P from P-head.

When i first heard that there will be a sequel for this movie, i was actually hoping that they will at least learn from the first  movie and they are going to make it with more love, subtlety and symbolic psychological message inside. I wont lie, i knew that it was like hoping for every asshole in earth to be infected with zombie virus so i can kill them with no moral burden. But again, this is reality we are talking about and oh boy did it slap me in the face really-really hard

 

Lets get straight to the point. Silent Hill: Revelation is really bad. It is an obvious cash grab for the studio. You will see no love both for the video game and the movie itself and it is something that deserve damnation from anyone watching it. You might think that I'm being too hysterical and hateful with this movie since i have some affection to the video game series but even for someone who doesn't play the game it is still bad by any means.

Silent Hill: Revelation took place years after the event of the first Silent Hill movie where Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her adoptive father Harry Mason (Sean Bean) have spent the past few years moving from town to town and assuming different identities. Heather believes that they are on the run from the police because Harry killed a man in self-defense and that her adoptive mother Rose (Radha Mitchell) died in a car crash. In fact, Harry has been protecting her from the Order, a cult of Silent Hill, a town haunted by shifting dimensions. Rose was able to free Heather (then Sharon) from one of the alternate dimensions using one half of a talisman called the Seal of Metatron, but Rose remained trapped in Silent Hill. But after Harry is abducted by the Silent Hill Cult, Heather must now come back to Silent Hill and faces the Silent Hill cult who wants to used her as some kind of sacrifice for the medium of their god's rebirth.

Confused already? Good, because confusion is what this movie all about. It try to follow the plot of the third game in the series but failed to connect it with the confusing ending of the first movie and such a mess it is. They even try to shoehorn the characters from the the game just to make things more messed up. The story and the plot feels like there is nothing happens in it. Just a bunch of peoples talking and moving from point A to point B. Its just stuffs happening with seemingly no good connection or purpose whatsoever.

At some point, heather encounter this random-cool-looking-spider-mannequin monster webbing random naked girl in some random storage room for some random reason, then the scenes just randomly goes nowhere in the movie. No explanation on whats that monster is, what is it doing webbing random girls, and absolutely no satisfying conclusion with that plot point. The movie is just a random stuff glued together with a glue named Silent Hill.

And they probably use the same glue to make this monster.

The visual also lost its atmospheric feeling that the previous movie had. It feels like The director just played the games and just wanna make the movie looks like it without any proper transition from Video game to movie. The first Silent Hill movie is saved from critics damnation because of its visual and they managed to put some disturbing visual that surprised some viewers. The sequel, on the other hand looks cheap and dull and i don't care if its in 3D or in the matrix, either way it still bad.

Acting wise, i can't hate the actor too much because the dialogue given to them is terrible and no amount of acting skill can save the dialogue from the damnation it deserved. Most of the Actor is either trying too hard to be good or just 'F it! where's my paycheck!' level of acting. Adelaide Clemens as Heather and Kit Harington as vincent is in the trying too hard category while Sean Bean as harry, Malcolm McDowell as Leonard Wolf, and Carrie An Moss as Claudia are in the 'F it! where's my paycheck!' category.

To sum it up, Silent Hill: Revelation is terrible. I don't know what kind of audiences this movie marketed to. If its for general viewers, they will hate it because it was boring, not scary and confusing. If they made it for the Silent Hill fans, They will bombard the movie with hate E-mail, Trolling in youtube comment and sending an assassin to the director and producer house. It's bad by any means and you should avoid it in any cost.

Initial EL Judgement

2.0

Trapped In A Room With P-Head And Its Great Dildo.

Gravity Movie Review

Why do we go to movie? To experience what we can't experience in real life. That's why we spent money to sit in a dark room with a loud noise while the teenager in the back making out with a suspicious moan that make you feel uncomfortable. Movie is a moving picture contained in a screen that tells us a story but some peoples with a bright mind had an idea to make it more than just an experience contained in a screen. Some people made a really emotionally touching experience that leaps out from the screen and goes right to the heart of the audiences while the other had another 'bright' idea like "Why should we make a great story that made the experience came out from the screen to the audiences hearts when we can actually make the image literally leap out from the screen right to the audience face?". I'm pretty sure that is how they invent 3D and that's why i don't actually like it but I'll gladly make and exception for Gravity because this is the first time that i regret not watching a movie in 3D.

There is actually quite a lot of positive buzz around this movie despite the fact that it premise is actually really-really boring when you put in papers. The movie is about about 2 astronaut in work who suddenly got trapped...IN SPACE, obviously, and now both of them have to find a way to get back to earth. The story is pretty much just that with no surprise to offer and its absolutely predictable. But If you expected it to be a characters or story driven kind of movie you will surely be disappointed. It is not because the acting or the characters is horrible its just that the dialogue isn't all that engaging and i find it a little bit too simple for its own good. I was hoping that is actually a lil bit more, well, dramatic, witty and emotional.

Luckily, It's a good thing that both Clooney and Bullocks managed to give an entertaining performance despite the lack of  intriguing dialogues. Bullocks plays as Dr. Ryan Stone, the newbie mechanical astronaut while Clooney plays as Mike Kowalski, a badass veteran astronaut who i'm pretty sure that Clooney just act as himself for that characters.

Anyone who survived and stay cool after Batman and Robin is a badass after all.

But the star of this movie isn't Clooney or Bullocks, it is the space itself. The movie opens with a text saying simple basic facts about space like there is no sounds, oxygen or gravity. Yeah, It's kinda obvious but it really set up our expectation about the movies and it tells how dangerous space is. After that you will be blown away with how amazing the movie looks on the screen, especially when you think that space is just a massive place of nothingness and yet they still managed to make it look amazing. I didn't watched it in IMAX or 3D but yet i'm still amazed by how gorgeous and believable the movies feels. There is quite a lot of POV shot ala First person shooter game which gives a good immersion factor for the audience and the action scene is absolutely well executed with excellent score and sound design that will leaves you breathless like you just sucked into space yourself.

I understand how you feel after watching this movie, space core

.

The movie isn't all about visuals though because there is some underlying themes that i found hidden inside. It's actually really hard to spot if you are just a casual audience who just wanna spent your time listening to the moan of teenagers making out behind you while maybe watch some parts of the movie. Most of it are hidden behind the image which they showed in a subliminal way and I think it is a kind of movie that is open to interpretation for the audiences because at the end i ended up wondering about what the hell is that movie about?

For conclusion, Gravity is a masterpiece when it comes to presentation and immersion but it kinda fell short when you want something that a lil bit more heavy in story or dialogue. It might also left you feel a little bit confused about the movie messages. Despite it flaws, i really understand why peoples are really excited and praise it as a great movie but since i'm the type who prefer story and dialogue over presentation its kinda fell short for me. But even with the flaws intact, this is still a great movie that you have to watch, in 3D or you'll regret it just like me.

Initial El Review Score

8.5

SPAAAAAACE

The conjuring review

I'm not a brave man. I'm afraid of height, broccoli and also an old man in speedo but for some reason i always came back to horror in entertainment media, especially in movie and video game. Its probably because fear as one of the basic human emotional reaction is an interesting thing to look at. How the creator build the fear and the tension in a media like book, movie and video game is a high art that isn't easy to achieve and it is hard to find that in today entertainment media.

Sure, there are still horror stuffs that you can find anywhere but i found that most of that is either jump-scare-fest horror type or its the bloody-bukkake-in-your-face horror type, which is my less favorite type of horror. The best kind of horror is the one that used the mind of the audience, reader, or player to create their own worst nightmare rather than throwing blood and tits constantly to the face of the audience. Luckily, today movie review is an exception, a movie that actually managed to make me sit on the edge of the chair and it makes me leave the theater with a shaking knee. its The Conjuring.

The conjuring is a movie 'based on the true story' of Ed and Lorraine Warrane, a famous paranormal investigator, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. It is directed by James Wan, the man behind paranormal activity, Insidious, and the first Saw. The movie is about the Warren couple who investigating the usual haunted house where a newly moved family is haunted by a paranormal activity. As you guessed, the basic plot is as basic as a haunted house movie can be. Family moves in, the house is haunted, scary shits happen, someone with supernatural knowledge came to rescue the day. If you came for an interesting twist or shocking ending you will be disappointed. But if you came to this movies looking for a scare, great writing, tension and good performance from the actors, then you will spent your money in the right place. The movie did kinda remind me of a classic horror movies like the Exorcist and Poltergeist in a good way. No CG monster, no annoying teenagers that you hope will die soon and the best part is that the movie know how to make a great experience with only a simplistic premise. Seriously, when did the last time you were scared with a clapping hands?

Besides the Hulk supersonic Clap, that is

The movies gimmick is that this movie is a rated R, but not your usual R-rated movie because it doesn't contain any strong language, gore or sex like the usual R-rated movie does. This movie got that, rating just because it is scary. While at first i thought this is just another Holywood gimmick to promote a movie, i am now personally think that it deserved that R rated . The movie will make you sit on your edge even if you know that the scare will be exactly like you constructed in your mind. The movies highlight is how it build it tension where it paces really slow at the beginning that it almost make me wished that Jason Vorhees will come and rip some teenager in two, but then it pace up at the right time to steal back your attention with a superb tension building. The final act of the movies really leaves me breathless and i found my knee shaking when i leave the theater. It is that good.

The performance of the actors is equally strong with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga stealing the show as Ed and Lorraine Warren. I really like the way they played their role as paranormal investigator. They are always going skeptic at first before going to investigate the requested case and it kinda make you believe that they  really knows what they are doing rather than someone who just gibbers paranormal mumbo jumbo for no reasons. The family who lives in the haunted house also gives a great performance, especially Lily Taylor as the mom and her five kids. Yes, great kid actor does exist, peoples. The characters in this movie is unlike the usual "here to be killed" horror character because you will actually care with what will happen with them. The writing in the movie really help the characters to shine in the screen and it even manage to slip some genuine funny comedic relief somehow. Both the writing and the acting is arguably the strongest aspect of the movie accompanied with its great tension building.

The Conjuring is definitely one of the scariest movies in this year but it doesn't meant that it is free form any flaws. One of the biggest problem in this movie didn't actually came from the movie but it came from the trailers that shows too much of the movies surprises. Add it with the generic haunted house movie premise, the movie becomes kinda predictable at times and it might severely ruin the overall experience for some peoples. I also found that the design of the ghost is kinda too simple and it failed to scare me in that aspect. They only used make up and costume with no CG to create the ghost in this movie so the design of the ghost is rather too generic for my taste. Sure, At some point you could argue that it kinda suits the classic horror movie feeling that i talked about before but i just kinda hope that they actually go more creative with the design of the ghost. The only thing that actually scared me in this movie is actually the thing that didn't used make up, that goddamn doll...

Don't make eye contact! It will steal your soul!

But then, all those flaws will fall short compared to all the good things that i told. The movie achieved what it tried to achieve, to scare its audiences and gives them a great horror experience. The tension building, the acting, and the writing all works to create one unforgettable moment both for horror and non-horror fans. James Wan really deserve the credits for making one of the scariest movies this years and reminding me how good it is to be scared when you are watching a scary movie.

Initial El review score

8.0

"GYAAAAA!!" - Me screaming in the theater

Man of steel Review

Lets get it straight, i am not a big fan of Superman and no, the EL in my nick name isn't taken from Kal-El. Its not that i hate him because he is practically a God wearing a red underwear outside of his spandex but it's because he rarely shown any interesting character development. I know that Superman is the ultimate role model for any superhero ever and that's what makes him become so iconic but all that perks is what restrict him to become anything but interesting. Sure, there's some one or two great character development moment in superman history but its quite rare compared to any other superhero like Batman or Spider-man.

The superman movie franchises also had its fair share of success and fail. While the first two are considered as a good classic superhero movies, the rest is mostly considered as failure. the last superman movies, despite being technologically capable to made some kickass movies, is just super boring for me and it does nothing to make me invested in his characters or story. So i started to wonder could this new superman movie changes my opinion about the iconic god wit h the red underwear? Oh wait....this time the costume is kinda different.

Dude, that bulge! wears the underwear for godsakes!

The new Superman movie, Man of Steel, is a reboot of the classic superman movie telling the usual Superman origins story. Krypton explode, Kal-el aka superman sent to earth, Superman tried to adapts with other humans, general zod comes, Superman smashes, the ends. It might sounded like i hates its story for being simplistic and unoriginal, but i actually liked it. Despite some moment that i consider quite stupid and unnecessary, i think the story is doing a great job to make me feel invested in the movies universe and the characters around it.

To be honest, i'm quite sceptic with Henry Cavill as superman at first but after i finished watching the movies, im pretty satisfied with its performance. He looks and feels like the superman that i wanna see and i like how the movie potraits Superman moral development. It makes superman feels like a relatable good guy rather than a flawless god. Michael Shannon as general Zod is also great because he had a believable backstory that did explain his motivation to be the villain and he played it quite good. Amy Adam as Lois Lane is probably the best Lois Lane because she nailed the capable brave cynical woman which i can appreciate rather than the usual damsel in distress like any other superhero movies love interest. The rest of the cast did equally good and likable enough to be memorable like Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El and Antje Traue as Fiora.

Some of you might think that this Superman would be like the new Batman movies since Christopher Nolan is involved in this movies as the producer. But most peoples tend to forgot that the one who directs this movie is zack Snyder, a talented visual director who makes good movies like 300 and Watchmen and also made a horrible visual masturbation movies like sucker punch too.

This movies would be a masterpiece if he just made it into a triple A hentai.

Lets be honest guy, Zack Snyder is the suitable director for this kind of movies. I dont think a movies focused in superman character ala Nolan style will works. The best things that superman can do is smashing stuff and thats what Zack Snyder did well in this movies. The action scenes in this movies feels like Dragon Ball Z in steroid. Its bombastic, full of destruction and its everything that i hoped from any Superman movies.

The movies problem mostly lies around the movies pacing. While the first part of the movies paces is quite decent and managed to build a sense of a believable universe and characters, the second part of it is a non-stop CG fireworks festival which is impressive but because The audience is bombarded with non-stop action scene with a little down time to take a breath and appreciates what happened in the movies, it leaves me a little bit exhausted.

Some peoples might also thinks that the dialogue in this movies could be a lil bit stiff and lacks of humor but personally i think the movie dialogue is quite decent. It does well to establish character interaction and motivation without having to be way too complex to be interesting. I do had some problem with the romance between Superman with Lois Lane where it feels like it lack some emotional depth that made it hard for you to care about this peoples. Its kinda surprised me because both Superman and Lois is an interesting and believable characters but the romance between them is surprisingly bland and way too convenient.

Despite some problems that i mentioned, Man of Steel is a really fun movies that you have to watch, whether if you are a Superman fans or not. Don't came to this movies expecting a complex movies about human characters ala Nolan's Batman. Instead, treat this movie as summer popcorn block buster movie with a decent story and bombastic over the top action scene. After all, Its all that i hoped for a Superman Movies.

The Initial El Scores

8.0

Super Fun

Dreadout Preview; A Short Look Into The Promising Indonesian Horror Game

If you used to watched a movie in Indonesian movie theater, you might remember the time when you watched a  movie there and you saw a horrible trailer for an Indonesian horror movies before your movies start. You know, the kind of Horror movies which strangely shows more boobs and sex rather than scare as horror movie supposed to show. Personally, that kind of horror movies baffles me because if i want to see boobs and sex i will watch porn, not horror movie. It is just plain stupid and not entertaining.

It is a sad truth since Indonesia had a lot of great folklore and some ghosts that will scare you if they can execute it well but somehow they keep making shitty horror movies over shitty horror movies that nobody want to watch except horny teenager with no internet connection. But just when i'm going to give up with horror movie in Indonesia, a light of hope came through the door of video game world.

Meet Dreadout, an Indonesian indie horror game who used Indonesian local folklore and ghost to make a promising scary game that could scare the living ass out of you. The game is a third person survival horror where you play as Linda Melinda, a high school girl who trapped in a mysterious village full of supranatural events and ghost. To survive again the horror, you are armed with a smartphone, An SLR camera and handycam to exorcist them by taking their picture and post it in instagram to humiliate them by showing how they look when they are not using make up.

Eh, what is it? Did you think that i mistook fatal frame with Dreadout? No friendo, Dreadout is heavily inspired by fatal frame, as in 90% of the games so far really feels like fatal frame with Indonesian setting rather than Japanese settings. I didn't mind if they are ripping of Fatal frame because that game itself is one of the scariest game of all time and copying a good old idea with some fresh new spices is a welcome formula to me. Since they used Indonesian folklore for the ghost, you might know that some of Indonesian ghost just might look too silly or generic to scare you and using it for the game might actually hurt the experience for the global market, i meant look at how silly pocong is and how generic looking kuntilanak is.

Mostly looks like human sized weeds joints

Mostly looks like....any Asian girl who forgot to take bath in the morning.

Fortunately, the developer seems to realize this and they made some changes in the ghost design which somehow turned a generic and silly ghost into something original and frightening.

Yikes!

I cant judge too much about the game yet since its still in development stage and the game could always be better/worse than the demo the Developer show to us. But judging from the demo, This game strong point, compared to the fatal frame series, came from the ghost design, its variety and the overall control. I found that the fatal frame ghost tends to be...bland. They are mostly just a transparent human ghost. Well, yes some do crawl, had broken neck or another twisted Things that could happen to human body but they are mostly just transparent human and the control feels like an old survival horror game where it feels like the player is controlling someone who just had a terrible hangover with its fixed camera angle. Dreadout ghosts, in the other hands, tends to had more variety and the control feels more fluid where it used an over the shoulder third person camera which give us more control. The demo also shows a highly atmospheric game with genuine creeps and original looking ghost which explain why i heard a lot of girly scream came out from a man when i'm watching the Lets play video of this game demo in youtube.

Since the game is still in development stage, i do had some wishlist regarding the game that hopefully the developer team will address. you know, since i'm not making this article just so nobody can read it and it disappears into the unknown dark side of Pluto. I do really Hope that they read my article and it might somehow improve the game. So, here's my wish list for the game:

1. Pace the game well. Please don't get too excited by showing too many jump scare since it might kill the overall experience.
2. Explain the game mechanic better. One major problem in the demo that i played is the lack of information about the things that i should do in the game. Seriously, how did i suppose to know that a cockroach is vulnerable again smartphone camera?
3. Add some depth to the camera and combat mechanic. The camera and combat mechanic, so far, is a lil bit too simple where we can mash the 'take a picture' button with no restriction and limitation, almost like playing call of duty with ghost. A mechanic where the player had to manage the focus and the zoom level for the SLR camera or aiming at some specific part of the ghost to add extra damage might be nice.
4. Make sidequest feels rewarding. Nobody will do a sidequest if it doesn't had any satisfying rewards so its important to let the player know that doing sidequest will help them improve the game experience. Maybe it can be rewarded with bonus skill perks or alternative endings.
5. Explain the ghost origin story through gameplay. An old style survival horror notes or audio diary would be nice and it will add the immersion of the game.
6. And for my final wish, i really hopes this game will be a success and open the path for Indonesian game industry to shine.

Hopefully this might help the game to be better and more immersive

Digital happiness, the developer behind Dreadout, is the first Indonesian indie developer who succeeded in a global crowd funding campaign by collecting 29.000$ of its 25.000$ estimated target. From the demo and the number of money they got from the donation, we can all see that peoples love this game and the hype is rather big for an unknown Indonesian indie game which really surprise me. 

The best compliment that i could give to Dreadout so far is that the game had some good promising things about it. Great atmosphere, original looking ghost, and whats most important, its scary. Since the games crowd funding is already succeed through the indiegogo.com campaign, their next target is to hit the global market via steamgreenlight.com. If you are a horror fans, its your chance to support this game by voting yes so this game could be released globally via steam service. you are welcome to try the demo there and give it a nice thumbs up if you like it and i'm always open for discussion and opinion about the game. This game might be one of the scariest game that came up this year so do your part to support this game, friendos!

Dreadout indiegogo page: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dreadout
Dreadout steam greenlight page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114109333&searchtext=dreadout

Dead Space 3 Review

Survival Horror, why is it so hard to find it in the world of video game this day? Well, i didn't meant that there is no more survival horror game left but what I meant is its really hard to be terrified when you are playing (supposedly) survival horror game this day. Most of survival horror game just wasn't scary anymore. Well, it was at least in the mainstream market.

Resident evil, one of the most well known survival horror game, became (dare i said) a shitty action game with co op partner to ruin your single player game and now one of my favorite series, Dead Space, is following the same step like Resident Evil by adding co op to the single player campaign? What in the name of God is this? A world corporate conspiracy to wipe out survival horror from this planet?

It was so sad because The first dead space is a great blend between action and surival horror. Yes, i do realize that the horror is just a marathon of jump scare but it was executed so well that it managed to make me scream like a litle girl in the haunted house. The second instalment, even if there's more action shoved into our face, still had some good horror moment in it. Now, the third and final instalment is here, I will tell you all my opinion on this game.

Dead space 3 takes place 2 month after the Titan Sprawl necromorph outbreak in dead space 2 where Isaac is now getting romantically involved with Ellie Langford. You know, the one eyed girl who survived together with Isaac at the end of Dead Space 2. After the prologue, we see that Isaac had broke with Ellie and now she is gone missing in a mission to find a way to stop the marker. To save ellie, Isaac now must once again face the horror of necromorph attack, hostile environment, and awkwardly horrible love triangle. No, friendo, you are not reading a typo. Dead space, one of the scariest series I've ever played is now became twilight in space.

 Its a badass version of twilight...but it is still twilight!

To be fair, i knew that dead space was never been well known for its story, let alone love triangle story, but by God the story and the characters here is so painfully shallow. Isaac struggle agains his dementia and his quest to destroy the marker at dead space 2 is much more interesting than Isaac "Cullen" Clarke quest to get back with Ellie "Swan" Langford in the middle of space zombies attack. It's only two month after they first met but they are acting like they had been married for years. By the way, are you wondering about how is Isaac affected by his deceased ex-fiancée that used to haunt his mind with guilt and dementia in the previous dead space? Not a single mention came from Isaac mouth like he never even remember that he used to had a fiance. Isaac is definitely good at moving on.

If the story is awkwardly forced into the game, the gameplay is where dead space 3 delivers the fun. The core dismemberment gameplay still hasn't changed because why fix what isn't broke and with the addition of the robust weapon crafting system, you can create your own perfect tool of dead to kill the space undead the way you like it. Wanna create an acid flamethrower with cryogenic torch? You can. Or maybe you prefer an electrified rocket launcher with shotgun attachment? Be my guest. The weapon crafting system is robust and feels satisfying when you used it to blast necromorph limbs to the space. The game also delivers some memorable set pieces like the spaceship mini game and surprisingly, there's a lot of puzzle this time which i think is fine.

Sadly, even if i had a blast playing Dead Space 3 and i do really want to play it again with the new game+, the fun factor is the thing that kill the horror in this game. Survival horror isn't supposed to be fun, its supposed to be terrifying. It supposed to deliver the "i don't want to play this but i had to" experience like what i feel when i'm playing amnesia the dark descent. Survival horror should make you feel insignificant and weak not makes you feel like a badass who can solve every problem with bullet. The fear factor get even lower because supply is as easy to get as trying to find a sand in a desert. You will rarely feel in the edge of dying in this game.

What about the co op part you asked? Did it ruin the game the way Co-op in resident evil ruin everything that makes survival horror scary? Well, i gotta admit Dead Space 3 Co-op had some unique idea that manage to impress me. When you are just playing solo, there will be no AI partner to ruin your game and if you want someone to accompany you since you are to scared to play this game alone (seriously?), your partner can join anytime you want it. There's also some co-op optional mission that shows how John Carver, Isaac partner in co op, seeing some creepy illusion because he was affected by the marker but the player who plays as Isaac can't see what the other player see. It is a nice additional mission that you can enjoy with your friend.

In conclusion, Dead Space 3 have changed from a good blend of survival horror and action into a simple action game with nothing to scare you. It left me disappointed, but its not making me mad that i want to throw my Dead Space 3 disc into a deep black hole in the space, it just simply disappointing. The game is fun to play but it really lack the feeling that make Dead Space unique and memorable. If you are a horror fan, i suggest that you just skip this game but if you like action game with some minor horror element in it you might wanna give this game a try.

Initial El Score

6.5

 Just a decent survival action horror game

Less is More: menciptakan lebih dari kurang

 
Saya adalah seorang gamer yang menyukai game horror dan beberapa dari pembaca yang bukan gamer juga mungkin mengenal serial game horror seperti Resident Evil atau Silent Hill. Game- game ini terkenal karena mereka berhasil mengusik salah satu emosi manusia yang paling dalam, rasa takut. Karena saya penasaran dengan apa yang membuat game horror begitu menakutkan, saya mulai melakukan riset-riset kecil tentang rasa takut dalam video game. Dalam riset singkat saya mengenai rasa takut dalam video game, saya menemukan sebuah istilah yang menarik yaitu less is more, anggapan bahwa terkadang kurangnya hal yang menakutkan dalam video game horror justru memberikan lebih banyak rasa takut. saya penasaran dengan Apa maksud dari istilah ini? Apakah less is more Ini berlaku juga dalam kehidupan nyata? Ada baiknya juga kita membahas mengenai less is more ini.

Less is more adalah tentang bagaimana kita memberikan nilai lebih pada suatu hal meskipun kita tidak memiliki atau memberikan lebih karena kesederhanaan bisa memberikan nilai lebih dibanding kompleksitas dan membuat sesuatu lebih mudah dipahami serta diapresiasi. Istilah ini pertama kali diucapkan oleh Andrea Del Satro, seorang penulis puisi pada tahun 1885 dalam puisinya yang kemudian menjadi salah satu motto Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, seorang pioner dalam aliran arsitektur minimalisme. Jika ada yang bingung dengan konsep ini, Anggaplah ada seorang wanita yang menggunakan pakaian minim berjalan di mal, bisa dibilang kekurangan kain, apa yang terjadi di dalam pikiran kaum pria? Tentunya insting kita sebagai lelaki (yang normal) pasti akan lebih memperhatikan wanita itu dari atas ke bawah, Kurangnya kain di tubuh wanita membuat pria lebih tertarik kepada wanita tersebut.

P.s: Gambar ini hanya untuk membantu visualisasi less is more, bukan membantu visualisasi yang lain.

Tentunya saya tidak mengatakan kalau wanita hanya menarik ketika mereka tidak berkain dan menyarankan semua wanita untuk berpakaian seperti Lady Gaga di kamar mandi kalau ke mall karena jika kita kembali ke konsep less is more, maka ada juga wanita dengan pakaian yang kurang menonjolkan lekuk tubuhnya namun terlihat lebih menarik karena lebih sederhana, misterius dan elegan.

Bagaimana Less is more ini bisa membantu kita dalam kehidupan sehari-hari? Pertama, kita harus memahami salah satu sifat dasar manusia yaitu rasa tidak puas. Manusia adalah mahluk dengan kebutuhan yang tidak terbatas. Berbeda dengan hewan yang kebutuhannya terbatas pada makan dan berkembang biak, manusia memiliki kebutuhan emosional, psikologikal, spiritual dan masih banyak lagi kebutuhan lainnya. Kebutuhan yang tidak terbatas ini pada akhirnya akan menciptakan rasa tidak puas, sebuah dorongan untuk terus meminta dan mendapatkan lebih. Rasa tidak puas inilah yang membawa kita sebagai manusia ke keberadaan kita sekarang, semua hasil kebudayaan umat manusia adalah hasil dari rasa tidak puas ini. Ketika kita tidak puas dengan kegelapan, kita menciptakan lampu dan ketika kita tidak puas dengan dengan berjalan di tanah kita menciptakan pesawat terbang. Rasa tidak puas ini adalah bagian penting untuk berkembang menjadi manusia yang lebih baik namun ketika rasa tidak puas ini menjadi berlebihan dan membuat kita menginginkan lebih banyak dari yang seharusnya kita miliki atau berikan, di sinilah masalah muncul.

Rasa tidak puas seringkali menuntut kita untuk terus memberikan lebih pada apapun yang kita lakukan, miliki atau yang kita inginkan hingga akhirnya nilai dari apa yang kita miliki atau lakukan justru berkurang. Ini sering saya lihat dalam perilaku konsumtif kita yang selalu menuntut lebih meski sebenarnya kita sudah hidup lebih dari cukup. Tuntutan untuk selalu berlebihan ini tidak selalu berarti positif karena segala hal yang berlebihan akan selalu menjadi hal negatif sehingga yang akan terjadi adalah kontra-produktif, more is less. Nilai dari apa yang kita lakukan, berikan atau ciptakan menjadi berkurang akibat rasa tidak puas yang menuntut kita untuk berlebihan.

Bagaimana kita menciptakan lebih dari kurang dalam kehidupan kita? Saya punya satu analogi sederhana yang saya buat. Anggaplah ada seorang miskin yang cuma bisa makan sepiring nasi meskipun sebenarnya ia ingin sekali makan daging sapi. Jika ia menginginkan daging tersebut secara berlebihan, maka ia akan berusaha untuk mendapatkan daging tersebut tapi lupa bahwa ia harus makan nasi yang ada dulu untuk mendapatkan energi agar bisa berusaha mendapatkan nasi tersebut sehingga usahanya untuk mendapatkan daging teraebut menjadi sulit. Namun, jika ia memahami bahwa ia harus menerima kenyataan dulu, bahwa ia hanya memiliki nasi yang menurutya kurang, maka ia akan memakan nasi yang ada kemudian berusaha untuk mendapatkan daging yang ia inginkan.

Jadi pesan moral ini sederhana saja, untuk menciptakan lebih terimalah apa yang ada dulu, meskipun menurut kita apa yang kita punya sekarang itu masih kurang. Merasa kalau pesan moralnya mirip dengan sesuatu yang pernah kita pelajari di SD? Yep, salah satu bentuk less is more yang bisa kita gunakan di kehidupan sehari-hari adalah bersyukur. Masih banyak bentuk less is more yang bisa kita gunakan seperti semakin sedikit kita berbicara semakin bernilai apa yang kita katakan ke orang, rendah diri membuat diri kita terlihat tinggi di mata orang lain, kesederhanaan lebih baik daripada berboros-boros ria dan masih banyak lagi.

Less is more bisa membantu kita menciptakan hidup yang lebih seimbang dan bahagia jika kita bisa menerapkannya dengan tepat karena konsep ini adalah penyeimbang dari sifat dasar kita yang selalu ingin berlebihan. Selama kita bisa menyesuaikan kapan kita menggunakan konsep ini, dijamin hidup kita ga bakal ruwet-ruwet amet.

Semoga tulisan sok tau ini bisa membantu para pembaca untuk membuka perspektif yang lebih luas dalam hidup kita sebagai manusia yang sempit dan kecil. Be seeing you all in my next article. May the force be with you.

5 Tips and Trick Berdoa Dengan Memahami Bahasa Tuhan

Saya rasa kita semua mungkin sadar betapa tidak spesialnya kita di alam semesta ini. Sekeras apapun kita berusaha ataupun berpikir bahwa kita spesial, kita hanyalah debu kecil bagi padang sahara bernama alam semesta ini. Jika kita telah menyadari bahwa kita bukan apa-apa di alam semesta ini, seringkali akan muncul kerinduan akan sesuatu yang lebih besar yang mendorong manusia untuk bertanya dan mencari tentang makna keberadaanya. Dari sinilah konsep akan Tuhan mulai terbentuk di pikiran kita dan dari sinilah juga manusia mulai melakukan ritual-ritual spiritual seperti memberikan sesajen, melakukan ritual peribadatan dan berdoa dalam usaha kita menemukan dan berkomunikasi dengan Sang Segala untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan di hidup kita.

Salah satu dari usaha kita untuk berkomunikasi dengan Tuhan adalah melalui doa untuk mencapai apa yang kita inginkan dalam hidup dan layaknya doa, ada saatnya doa kita dijawab dan tidak dijawab. Seringkali tersirat di kepala kita bahwa pada saat itu doa kita tidak "terdengar" olehNya dan ketika doa kita terkabul maka Ia "mendengarkan" doa kita. Ketika kita menggunakan kata "mendengarkan", sebenarnya kita secara ga sadar membuat Tuhan menjadi seperti kita, seperti manusia yang kecil, berbicara, mendengarkan, berjalan, dan milih-milih apa yang mau didengarkan ataupun apa yang ga perlu didengarkan. Padahal kalo menurut pendapat pribadi sih aneh rasanya kalo kita mengatakan Tuhan yang Maha Pendengar itu tidak "medengarkan" apa yang kita doakan. Doa yang tidak dijawab ini seringkali juga membuat kita merasa jauh dari Tuhan, membuatnya sulit dijangkau di kehidupan  kita meskipun sebenarnya Dia berada lebih dekat dari urat nadi kita sendiri.

Orang yang dipercayai bisa berkomunikasi dengan Tuhan seringkali disebut sebagi  nabi, dukun, shaman atau orang suci dalam agama dan keyakinan mereka. Orang-orang ini adalah sosok manusia yang dipercaya memiliki kemampuan untuk "berbicara" dengan Tuhan atau kekuatan yang lebih besar di alam semesta ini dan mereka mengunakan kemampuan itu untuk menyampaikan pesan-pesan dari Sang Segala itu ke manusia lain yang ga bisa mendengarkan suaraNya agar manusia bisa menemukan jalan hidupnya atau membantu orang-orang di sekitar mereka agar keinginan dalam doa mereka terkabul. 

Sayangnya, Bagi manusia biasa seperti kita ini, berbicara dengan Tuhan kelihatannya adalah hal yang ga mungkin  mengingat betapa kecil dan ga berartinya kita sehingga mulai deh muncul anggapan bahwa hanya orang-orang terpilih seperti nabi saja yang bisa "berbicara" dengan Sang Segala tersebut tapi apa itu benar?

Dari pengalaman hidup dan juga beberapa pengalaman hidup orang lain, saya mulai meyakini bahwa Tuhan setiap hari berbicara dan menjawab doa kita melalui bahasa kehidupan. Apa yang terjadi, apa yang kita lihat dan apa yang kita rasakan dalam kehidupan kita itu adalah Tuhan yang sedang "Berbicara" dan memberi "petunjuk" pada kita. Bahasa ini bisa berupa kejadian tertentu yang seringkali mengusik intuisi kita, mungkin seperti sindiran sarkastik dari Tuhan kalo buat saya tapi tentunya bahasa Tuhan ini akan berbeda-beda tergantung manusianya. Mungkin ada yang mendapat petunjuk dari Tuhan ketika ia sedang melakukan ibadah agamanya, melalui ramalan horoskop, melalui saran teman, melalui quote film dan buku atau mungkin melalui status facebook dan twitter yang kita follow. kemungkinannya tidak terbatas layaknya Tuhan itu sendiri.

Ayah saya kebetulan adalah seseorang yang mempelajari mengenai bahasa Tuhan melalui kehidupan dan ia mengajarkan saya beberapa tips yang cukup berguna dalam berdoa dan memahami bahasa Tuhan ini.

1. Pray With Your Energy.

Tips yang pertama adalah Tuhan mendengarkan energi jiwa dan emosi manusia. Tuhan tidak mendengarkan bahasa verbal sehari-hari yang biasa kita gunakan seperti bahasa Indonesia, bahasa Inggris, bahasa Jepang ataupun bahasa Arab melainkan energi jiwa kita karena bahasa verbal sebenarnya hanyalah alat untuk menyampaikan makna, bukan maknanya. Ketika kita berdoa dalam mood negatif seperti kesel,sedih, marah dsb, tak peduli betapa indahnya rangkaian kata-kata dalam doa itu, maka energi negatif itulah yang akan ditangkap oleh Sang Segala sebagai doa kita dan tentunya jawaban doanya adalah semakin banyaknya hal negatif tersebut dalam kehidupan kita (law of attraction). Mulailah berdoa dengan perasaan yang lebih positif seperti rasa syukur atau senang ketika meminta sesuatu terhadap Sang Segala tersebut betapapun buruknya keadaan yang sedang dihadapi. Ini bukan hanya agar Tuhan mau mendengarkan doa kita tapi juga agar kita bisa mengasosiasikan Tuhan sebagai sebuah eksistensi positif di alam bawah sadar kita dibandingkan eksistensi negatif yang membuat kita berdoa dan berbicara dengannya ketika sedang menghadapi cobaan saja.

2. Do The Ritual

 

Tips yang kedua adalah lakukanlah ritual. Tentunya saya tidak menganjurkan pembaca buat pergi melakukan ritual gaib ke gua terpencil di hutan gelap untuk meditasi, memberikan sesajen dan membakar dupa demi mencari wangsit karena untuk manusia modern yang serba sibuk hal ini jelas akan terlalu merepotkan. Ritual yang saya maksud di sini adalah ritual sederhana namun memiliki nilai simbolik personal yang bisa dilakukan sehari-hari di tengah kesibukan kita. Ritual ini tidak harus selalu bersifat gaib, religius ataupun spiritual karena ritual pun juga bisa punya efek praktis. Misalkan pembaca ingin membeli sebuah buku tertentu namun tidak punya uang, maka lakukanlah ritual menabung. Ritual ini memang terlihat seperti pelajaran yang kita dapatkan di buku PPkn SD tapi menurut saya hal sederhana seperti menabung adalah sebuah ritual efektif karena ritual simbolik yang paling efektif adalah melalui usaha nyata. Ritual yang bersifat simbolik juga bisa memberikan energi positif seperti memasang note mengenai target pencapaian kita di kamar atau di kulkas, mengganti wallpaper desktop dengan tempat wisata impian, atau sekedar berkhayal melakukan sesuatu yang keren dan tentunya ritual doa yang bersifat religius juga merupakan sebuah pilihan yang baik. Ritual-ritual simbolik kecil ini adalah ritual sederhana yang seringkali membantu kita membentuk mindset positif dalam mencapai apa yang kita inginkan.

3. Do It With Love

 
Tips yang ketiga adalah lakukan dengan cinta. Cinta yang saya maksud di sini tentunya bukan cinta romantis ala sinetron tapi cinta dimana ada dua di dalam satu. Cinta di sini adalah ketika kita melakukan sesuatu dengan sepenuh hati dan jiwa sehingga apa yang kita ciptakan menjadi bagian dari diri kita, sebuah perpanjangan eksistensi diri, sebuah seni. Apapun yang kita lakukan dengan cinta adalah sebuah doa yang paling baik karena kita melakukannya dengan seluruh energi positif yang kita miliki. Jika Hal ini bisa kita aplikasikan pada pekerjaan kita maka kita tidak akan perlu bekerja lagi seumur hidup, aplikasikan pada kehidupan spiritual maka Tuhan akan menyatu dengan kita, dan tentunya aplikasikan ke pasangan kita maka kita tidak perlu lagi pasangan hidup karena kita telah menjadi satu dengan pasangan kita.

4. Listen to Your Life 

Tips yang keempat adalah dengarkan hidup kita berbicara. Hidup kita adalah sekumpulan sebab-akibat  yang berjalan melalui sistem hukum alam semesta. Hidup kita bukan sebuah kebetulan yang terjadi secara acak tiap hari karena semua tindakan, pikiran dan emosi yang kita ciptakan akan menjadi sebab yang akan menimbukan sebuah akibat tertentu dalam hidup, mirip dengan apa yang kita sering sebut dengan karma. Kejadian-kejadian tertentu dalam hidup seringkali menjadi sebuah petunjuk tentang apa yang kita telah lakukan dan apa yang harus kita lakukan dimana hal ini mengusik intuisi kita secara tidak sadar dan membuat kita belajar tentang apa yang harus kita lakukan. Sebagai contoh, dulu saya seringkali tidak memperdulikan perasaan orang dan secara sengaja ataupun tidak sengaja sering menyakiti perasaan orang. Namun ketika karma menampar hidup saya dengan balasan yang setara dimana seseorang yang saya hargai tidak menghargai saya, saya sadar bahwa Sang Segala memberikan arahan untuk menghargai orang dengan lebih baik. Dengan mendengarkan Sang segala dalam kehidupan kita, maka kita tidak akan perlu lagi takut tersesat dalam hidup ini dan kita akan selalu punya inspirasi untuk apa yang harus kita lakukan untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan.

5. Have Faith

 
Tips yang terakhir adalah yakin.Well yes, ini adalah tips yang paling generik, sering kita dengar di film-film keluarga, kartun pagi dan sinetron kejar tayang yang membosankan namun inillah bagian terpenting dari memahami bahasa Sang Segala tersebut ketika kita menginkan sesuatu. Seperti Tulisan saya sebelumnya yang membahas mengenai bagimana keyakinan bisa merubah realita kehidupan manusia, kemampuan dari keyakinan ini mampu membuat doa kita semakin efektif. Tak ada gunanya kita menangis-nangis penuh pinta kepada Sang Segala tersebut jika kita tidak meyakini apa yang kita inginkan untuk menjadi kenyataan. Meyakini sesuatu berarti kita telah menciptakan suatu kenyataan dalam hidup kita oleh karena itu kunci utama dari sebuah doa yang efektif adalah meyakini bahwa apa yang kita inginkan akan menjadi kenyataan dalam hidup kita.

Kurang lebih seperti inilah pelajaran yang saya tangkap tentang bagaimana kita bisa membuat keinginan dalam doa kita bisa lebih mendekati kenyataan. Apabila ada komentar, kritik, saran atau hinaan (selama itu hinaan yang bagus) jangan malu untuk berkomentar. Semoga tips and trick ini bisa membantu pembaca untuk lebih positif dalam meraih apa yang diinginkan dalam hidup. May the Force bless you all.....