PANDAMONIUM

Po is cute and sweet… Po is clumsy but adorable… Po wears tight shorts and has a big tummy… He is a fat panda who has a talent that only the wise can discover. Being a panda, Po loves to eat a lot and sleep a lot. He lived and ran a restaurant selling noodles with his dad – Although they don’t look like father and son physically, but they surely have emotional bonds toward each other. Po makes me laugh a lot with his big butt and wacky face expressions.

Po had a dream to become a master of kung fu. As we all know, all things start from a dream. One day, Po heard a news that Master Oogway the turtle was about to choose someone to become a Dragon Warrior in a competition held in the Jade Temple. So, he brought his big butt and tummy to the Jade Temple high up the hills. Po always wanted to go there so that he could see the competition and his great kung fu idols, the Furious Five (Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper, and Monkey) – All trained by the famous kung fu master named Shifu.

Shifu with his big-fluffy-furry tail believed that one of the Furious Five would be chosen to become the Dragon Warrior. But Master Oogway had another thing in his head when he saw Po fell down from the sky with a chair full of firecrackers. Everybody dropped their jaws as Oogway with his sleepy eyes pointed Po to become a Dragon Warrior instead of the Furious Five. Everybody thought Oogway was crazy. How could a big fat panda who couldn’t even see his own feet become a Dragon Warrior?

Nearly at the same time, a bad and savage kung fu master, the snow leopard named Tai Lung escaped from his prison and demanded revenge for his exile. Tai Lung was very powerful and his skills in kung fu were superior. The Dragon Warrior was the only one who could defeat Tai Lung, and that choice had been put to Po the Panda by Master Oogway. Being the wisest of all, Oogway could somehow see the hidden talent in Po that everyone else couldn’t see.

Time was running out, as Master Shifu had to give everything he got to train Po, the fat and clumsy Kung Fu Panda into a Dragon Warrior in order to defeat Tai Lung. In the middle of desperation between Shifu and Po, Oogway told them the most precious lessons ever – that they only had to believe. Shifu and Po finally managed to believe, but was it enough to defeat the mighty Tai Lung?

Sweet Po gives us lots of fun and laughter – and we should remember him as a kung fu panda who could reach his dream – simply because he believes in it. Po also tells us that there is no secret recipe to become what we want to be. There is only us and what we do…

This is the first animation movie that I write in my blog. Is this a coincidence? No, there is no coincidence – Like Master Oogway used to say with his sleepy eyes, “There is no coincidence”.







Ivan the Freelancer

LONG WINTER

Narnia is a place where the animals can speak, where the winter and summer can appear in the same time, and where dreams and magic can come true. But this world can only be seen by those who believe. As we all already aware of, that besides us humans, there’re also other living beings that walk the earth. What makes us more superior than those other living beings? In this movie, the humans as the sons of Adam’s became an important part in the survival of Narnia from its long-cold-freezing winter curse.

The story of Narnia is based on a classic novel by CS Lewis. Four kids – Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) – were sent and evacuated to another place by their mother, in order to avoid the war which took place in their homeland. Little did they knew, that they would face another war which was far more dangerous and epic in another world called Narnia. They were evacuated to a house of a mysterious professor. The house was huge but they found it dull and boring – until Lucy found a magical wardrobe that could bring them to a mystical land called the Narnia.

The world of Narnia was not able to celebrate Christmas for a hundred years and the cold winter covered it with chilling snow. The source of the curse came from a White Witch named Jadis (Tilda Swinton) who was powerful enough to freeze almost the whole part of Narnia. Yet, a small area remained at summer and the forest was still covered with green trees. The forest was dwelled by the living beings who survive from the winter – the defender of Narnia – led by a wise lion named Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson).

The prophecy said that if the four sons of Adam’s came to the world of Narnia, then the battle to defeat the evil witch would come. Apparently Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were the chosen ones in order to lead an army to defeat the army of Jadis the White Witch, and banished her for good. It seemed that the mighty Aslan and his army were powerful enough to bring Jadis’ curse to an end. But why did they need humans – the sons of Adam’s anyway? Let it remain a question for you until you see this movie.

Narnia tells us a clear message that humans are needed in order to bring peace and harmony to the world – any world that we live in. But look at what we do to the nature as humans nowadays. We create so many chaos and destruction. There’re too many “white witches” in this world today.

Nature and animals have the ability to heal or recover themselves, but they cannot save this world alone. They need us humans to help them. The nature calls for our help to restore the once prosperous and fertile land back to one piece – All for our own sake.

Ivan the Freelancer

LOVE BETWEEN TWO REALMS

They say love knows no border, distance, or limit – even beyond death. Although love can die or wither, the good news is love can also remain no matter what happen in the physical world. The proof is love will still be there although your loved ones are not. Although love can be painful, but it is actually the one that makes you feel alive. This is especially true in this movie called Ghost.

Sam (Patrick Swayze) had a great job at the local bank and his fiancée named Molly (Demi Moore) worked as an artist making ceramics. They were a happy couple who fell deeply in love. Things went fine as they walked the streets in Manhattan. But one day, when they strolled home from a movie theatre, they ran into a mugger named Willie Lopez. Sam tried to overcome the situation but got murdered. The shot from Willie’s gun instantly killed Sam on the spot.

Sam chased Willie, but Willie managed to escape. Sam ran back to check on Molly if she’s alright. But when he got to Molly, he found her crying while holding his body on the street. How come he could see his own body being held by Molly while he was standing next to her? At that time, Sam realized a horrible truth – which he was dead, and now he had become a ghost.

As a ghost, Sam couldn’t be seen, heard, and touched by the living. On the other hand, he could not travel to another place that he was supposed to be after death either. His love on Molly somehow held him in this world. Not just that, Sam realized that Molly’s life was in danger. So he decided to become her protector.

Being a ghost, Sam couldn’t communicate like any other human beings. But fate led him to a woman who happened to be a spiritualist named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopie Goldberg). Oda could somehow communicate with Sam only by hearing his voices. Sam tried his best to be with Molly and protect her from harm through Oda. But could he do it? – As time was running out for Molly.

Love is a mystery – Cannot be explained by words and can only be felt by heart – Although it can be expressed in many forms. It maybe easy to be loved, but it’s never easy to love someone else. To love means to have each other and to be with each other – no matter what the obstacles and problems are.

Ivan the Freelancer

FALLING STAR

This is a story about stars, what they do, and how to find one. People often assume stars as something they’d like to pursue. Stars can be referred as hopes, dreams, destinations, or maybe our loved ones. You see them twinkling at night and yet you wonder what they really are. Stars are mysterious – as mysterious as our destinies. We should all pursue our stars, or maybe wait until they fall upon us.

Stardust tells a story about a man named Tristan (Charlie Cox) who was asked to get a star by a girl he loved named Victoria (Sienna Miller), and brought it to her. How can a man reach a star and bring it to the woman he loves? So Tristan ventured on a journey in order to get the star that was said had fallen from the sky. The truth was Victoria didn’t love Tristan so she made what seemed to be an impossible request for him. That’s the only way Tristan could get Victoria to marry him.

It was not difficult for Tristan to find the falling star, but the real problem was to keep it. How come it’s difficult to keep a falling star? Was it too big or maybe too hot? No… It’s because the falling star surprisingly turned out to be a beautiful maiden named Yvaine (Claire Daines). Having no choice, Tristan had to bring Yvaine to Victoria as a proof that he had found the star. But Yvaine was not a “thing” – She was a living human beings. Tristan couldn’t “bring” a girl to another girl just like that.

To make matters more complicated, it’s not only Tristan who was pursuing the falling star. A cruel and powerful witch named Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) desperately searched Yvaine because she needed Yvaine’s heart to make her body became young again. On the other hand, there were also sons from a dead king who were eager to take the throne of the Stormhold Kingdom also looked for Yvaine, because she possessed the evil ruby stone required to gain the throne.

Everybody wanted to get their hands on Yvaine, the falling star. But who would make it until the end? It’s hard to reach the stars at the sky, but keeping a falling star was not easy either. As they say, it’s hard to reach your hopes and dreams, but when you do reach them, it’s even harder to keep them. All stars are able to perform their best talent, that’s to glow and shine – But their light may attract many. Would Tristan managed to “keep” Yvaine? Did he get the star that’s truly meant for him?

Every journey gives us life experiences and we will never be the same person again as before. Every life experiences change our life and hopefully to a better state. In order to reach our own stars, we all have to venture on a journey in our life. A journey that hopefully will take you to a destination you’ve wished for.

Sometimes we fight for ourselves, sometimes we fight for others. So girls, if you ever request your man to get you a star, be very sure you’re there when he returns… Otherwise he will find “another star” instead.

Ivan the Freelancer

THE RABBIT’S FOOT - Mission: Impossible III

Some people say that it’s impossible to have a normal life if you work as a secret agent in a covert organization such as IMF. But this is Mission Impossible and I say nothing is impossible. Ethan Hunt finally found a girl of his dream and planned to get married. Nobody in the family knew or realized that Hunt was working for the IMF. The upcoming family matters would require him to reduce his role as a secret agent and became a trainer for new agents instead.

One night, when having a party with the family, duty suddenly called him to accept one of the most dangerous missions throughout his career. Between the job and the family, he must save his marriage and also accomplish the mission. He finally chose to accept the mission in order to save his former student named Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell).

Lindsey was captured by an international arms dealer named Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) – one of the most cunning villains Hunt had ever faced. This time Hunt was backed up by a solid team – but the question was how long could he keep his identity as a secret? – As Davian would try anything to strike Hunt back and also hurt the people he loves most.

The situation got worse when Hunt was able to catch Davian alive, but Davian managed to escape on the way back to IMF. There’re always many surprises in Mission Impossible and it seemed that you almost couldn’t trust anyone. Hunt faced a situation he feared most where Davian managed to overcome the situation by putting Hunt on a disadvantage.

Hunt always had balls to risk his own life to the very limit – But could he do the same with his loved one Julia (Michelle Monaghan)? The more Hunt tried to defeat Davian, the more dangerous Julia’s life would become. Between Hunt, Davian, and Julia stood a mysterious thing called the Rabbit’s Foot. What’s Rabbit Foot? It was a very important thing for Hunt in order to rescue Julia from Davian.

This impossible mission is packed with great actions as usual. Could Hunt and Julia survive until the end? But the most important question is, will there be another impossible mission for Ethan Hunt?

See also Mission: Impossible & Mission: Impossible II

Ivan the Freelancer

CHIMERA VS BELLEROPHON - Mission: Impossible II

What is the deadliest weapon in the world? If your answer is biochemical, I must agree with you. Biochemical can be in the form of anything that contains living things and also chemical substances – this time, the example was a virus, which used a name of a mythology creature named Chimera.

In Greek mythology, Chimera is monster which was made of the parts of multiple animals. It’s a mixture between a lion, a snake, and a goat – very deadly creature because of its strength and fiery breath. Chimera was defeated by a hero named Bellerophon. Bellerophon managed to slay Chimera by attacking its throat from the air.

Mission: Impossible II tells a story about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) who was on a mission to retrieve a sample of the most dangerous virus called Chimera and also the antidote to neutralize Chimera’s effect called Bellerophon. In order to do this, Hunt would need help from a highly-skilled thief named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton). Hunt had little time to waive his charm and prove himself worthy in the eyes of Nyah to recruit her in this mission.

Chimera virus or substance was able to kill a person in just few hours after infection. It’s even more dangerous if it’s released in the open air as it could infect all people within a vast radius. On the other hand, Bellerophon was the cure that was able to neutralize the diseases caused by Chimera.

Retrieving the Chimera and Bellerophon would not be easy as a ruthless terrorist and criminal mastermind Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) stood in the way. Things got more complicated when the trust and love sparks between Hunt and Nyah had to be put to the test, because Nyah had to play as Ambrose’s lover in order to accomplish the mission.

Mission Impossible always reminds me the importance of teamwork. Whether how many people are involved, teamwork always make the impossible become possible. Hunt tried not to put Nyah’s life in danger, but he didn’t have any choice but to let her risk her own life. Would they finally able to maintain trust and save each other’s life?

Mission Impossible is never simple but it’s always exciting and enjoyable. Hunt said to his boss when discussing the mission, “It will be difficult”. The boss replied, “Well Hunt, this is mission impossible, not mission difficult. Difficult will be a walk in the park for you”.

See also Mission Impossible and Mission Impossible 3…

Ivan the Freelancer

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE - Mission Impossible

To do the impossible mission, you’ll need an impossible team with impossible characters. Mission Impossible is very “classic” to me as I used to watch its TV version when I was little. The most familiar scene in my memory is the one-sided-conversation between a tape and a person named Jim. It always goes like this, “Good morning Jim… bla bla blaa… as always, should you or any other IM Force is caught or killed, we will disavow all of your actions. This tape will self destruct in five seconds. Good luck Jim.” Then Poof… smoke comes out from the burned tape, followed by that one and only “Mission Impossible soundtrack”.

Every Mission Impossible movies always come with unique scenarios and dangerous-thrilling-impossible missions. This big screen series is no exception either – this time it’s directed by Brian De Palma. Unlike James Bond who always work alone, these people always work as a team – as you know, working as a team has its own art and rules. This movie surely tells us to work smart – not hard.

Although Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) played an important role in the organization, the movie focuses its attention on a character named Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as one of the IMF member. Hunt always play as a lead point in the missions – meaning he’ll be the one who face the most dangerous situations due to his excellent trainings and skills.

Trust, cooperation, and reliability are the number one traits that everyone should have in teamwork – but how about if there was no longer trust between the members? This is what happened in Mission Impossible 1, where the mission went sour and everyone had lost trust to each other.

Ethan Hunt was accused for the failure of the very important mission. Racing against time and his enemies, Hunt must find the real bastard without the help from his own organization. Few remaining IMF members still survive although in “disavowed” status, but could Hunt trust them? – And who to trust when everyone’s life was at stake?

Hunt tried to prove that although teamwork was very important, he was no less cunning and dangerous when working solo. It is Mission Impossible… But I believe nothing is impossible…

See also Mission Impossible 2 and Mission Impossible 3...

Ivan the Freelancer