Movie Marathon: Daniel Brühl

I had to open Ms Word and copy-paste the "ü" for the title -- and possibly for the rest of the post. So, every time I type the name, it goes like this: Daniel Br(ctrl+v)hl. I know there's an easier way to do this, but I'm so lazy to find out. Even so, I'm telling ya, it's worth the trouble. Most people would simply type "Bruhl" but I just can't ignore the spelling, can I? It's just like when I type "Dragić", but I just realized in my previous posts, I didn't bother to copy-paste the "ć" lol. I don't want people to spell my name wrong, so I try to spell people's names right~

Alright, enough about the diacritics. Let's just talk about this multilingual movie marathon I just did.

Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (wow, such a long name. Get out of here, Benedict Cumberbatch!), known simply as Daniel Brühl, is a half-German, half-Spanish actor. The name never rings a bell? Well, unless you're a movie buff, you probably won't know this guy until you watch one of these movies: Good Bye Lenin! (because this was his breakout role), Inglourious Basterds (because this was his second breakout role), Rush (because he was nominated for some prestigious awards and this is his best performance yet), and Captain America: Civil War (because it's a freaking Marvel movie). But, I first knew him from The Bourne Ultimatum, playing the brother of Bourne's late girlfriend. It was such a minor role that I couldn't care less about him, mostly because Matt Damon was too big of a star. That time, he was already a big German actor, having been into acting since the 90's. He's not only starring in German movies, but also Spanish ones.

What I like about Mr. Brühl is that he can speak multiple languages. I don't know how many exactly, but seeing from the movies, I take it he speaks four: English, German, Spanish, and French (maybe more? I've read that he can speak Catalan and Portuguese too). He's probably not the only actor, or person, who can speak many languages, but it's a plus point, don't you think? First, he's talented as heck. I'm amazed with his acting, especially in Rush. He has played many different characters and they are all equally good. His father, Hanno Brühl was a director, so it really helped his acting experience. He was also in a band during his younger years and has a really good singing voice. Even though he's ashamed every time someone talked about it (mostly in interviews), I hope he will sing again in a movie or anywhere else.
Second, he's a multilingual. He can star in any movies, with any languages. That's what you get from speaking many languages, you can do movies basically everywhere. And third, he is good looking, of course. He might not be muscular or have a distinctive hair, but damn he's handsome. He can also be cute and adorable at one point, and be ravishingly sexy with that deep stare at another -- it just depends on how he dresses and behaves haha. Plus, his accent(s) is just.... *swoons* *then dead*

So, what makes you decided to do Daniel Brühl movie marathon?
*got back up again* I've actually been meaning to do this since I watched Rush, but instead I did other marathons. When the news about him being cast in Civil War broke, I was like "Damn, I love that guy! And he just joined Marvel holy shit!" I just couldn't help it and started to look for his movies. Most of my friends didn't really know who he was back then, so I thought this would be the best way to introduce him. But... it got delayed again. Then, just a few days before Civil War premiered here in Indonesia, I happened to watch Burnt. After I watched Civil War, it just encouraged me more because, despite of what people said about his character, Zemo, in the movie, I still love him and his acting. That was it, the start(s) of the marathon I've been dying to do hahaha.

Thoughts on Captain America: Civil War

Yes, I just got back from my 2nd viewing of Civil War. I have already spilled my thoughts in a so-called review here, but it was only my first time watching, and that time I was too busy fangirling and having so much fun that I didn't give the movie an objective view. So, this time I'm going to share my deeper thoughts about the movie. There will be some mild spoilers, but I will try not to give away too much in order to honor those who haven't seen it or those who simply hate spoilers (like I do haha).

Please allow me to inform you that I haven't read any Marvel comic books. I only watch the movies -- which I really love -- and as a huge fan, I know that's not enough. But as of this time, I don't really have a plan to read them (I still have so many unread novels on my bookshelf). So, this opinion is purely from an MCU audience's perspective. This will be a long post, so bear with me.

Before we get started... Does anyone want to get out?

(Please tell me you get the reference above so I don't get to have all the fun by myself)

(screenrant.com)

Movie Marathon: David Tennant

Finally, I'm having another movie marathon! The last one was Luke Evans, and it was over a year ago. I'm so glad I could finally sit in front of my laptop for a long time again. This time, the actor that made me do so was... *drumroll* David Tennant!

David John McDonald, or professionally known as David Tennant is one of my favorite actors. You probably know him from the series Doctor Who where he played the Tenth Doctor, or in a more universally known Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Barty Crouch, Jr. Yeah, the last one would do, because even though Doctor Who is a very famous series, not many people outside UK know it. As an example, there is only one friend of mine who has watched the series and eventually become its big fan. That, my friend, is who you call best buddy! Life is hard when people around you don't know about your favorite thing, isn't it?

Anyway, let's get back to Mr. Tennant. Since he was a kid, he always wanted to become an actor because of Doctor Who, the series which he was a huge fan of. Look at him now, he's living the dream(s) -- he became an actor and played The Doctor! He's not only a great actor who has played many different roles in his career, but he's also a voice actor. Once you hear him speaking, you will know that it's David Tennant--with his unique voice and Scottish accent. With that, he frequently does some radio works and audiobooks. He is also a stage actor, having performed with Royal Shakespeare Company. His most notable theater works are Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and the most recent is Richard II. In early 2015, he was awarded National Television Award's Special Recognition. He's the man of many talents -- and you can't just resist that smile!

So, what makes you decided to do David Tennant movie marathon?
Kilgrave! Um, I mean, Jessica Jones. I can't lie, I think his Kilgrave is the best Marvel villain to-date (well, might be tied with Daredevil's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin). David played him really well and it made me wonder if there was someone out there like Kilgrave. I've also been following David's works for a while, but when I watched Jessica Jones, I was like "I think I should watch more of them."

Okay, so, here's the list of his movies (and TV series, and stage play), according to the time I watched them:
1. Jessica Jones (TV series) 
2. The Decoy Bride
3. Spies of Warsaw (mini-series) 
4. Learners
5. St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold
6. Einstein and Eddington
7. United
8. Casanova (mini-series) 
9. Much Ado About Nothing (stage play) 
10. Recovery
11. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
12. The Escape Artist (mini-series) 
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
14. Blackpool (mini-series) 
15. How to Train Your Dragon
16. Hamlet
17. The Politician's Husband (mini-series) 
18. Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!
19. Fright Night
20. Single Father (mini-series) 
21. Secret Smile
22. What We Did on Our Holiday

And these are the series I've watched before the marathon:
1. Doctor Who (re-watching it as of now)
2. Broadchurch (just finished the second season)
3. Gracepoint

After watching all of them, do you have any specific movies that you've been into?
Of course. Not only movies, but also the series. And for this post only, I will include the TV series in the list. Should've changed the title to 'Movie and Series Marathon: David Tennant' though haha.

The first, and probably everyone's top of the list, is definitely the long-running series Doctor Who. David played The Doctor (more specifically, the Tenth Doctor), an alien time-traveler--also known as Time Lord--from planet Gallifrey. Together with his companions, they traveled through time and space in his telephone-box-like time machine, TARDIS. Their adventure didn't stop there, as they always encountered evils and they had to battle them. David rose to fame with this role, and his performance is considered the best among the twelve actors who have played The Doctor. He got several awards for it, including National Television Awards for Outstanding Drama Performance.

Second is, please don't get bored, Jessica Jones. David had played villains before, but not as terrible, scary, and convincing as Kilgrave, the mysterious man with mind-controlling ability who had a past with the titular character, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). I really want to go on, but I already explained about this series here, and even if I want to talk about Kilgrave only, one post won't be enough :))

Third is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a.k.a the very first David Tennant movie I've ever watched. Hogwarts hosted The Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous tournament where the underaged Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) was mysteriously selected as one of the competitors. I was in 6th grade that time, and I was too in love Daniel Radcliffe to pay attention to the guy who played Barty Crouch, Jr., whose appearance was not that long. But I did realize that that guy was good looking. But well, I was only 11 that time, and I thought Daniel was the most good looking guy in the movie. As I've grown up and known more about movies, I've found villains are more compelling than the heroes themselves, so when I watched this movie again, I was intrigued. David did a good job--and that tongue flicks, though!

For the fourth, I'd have to go with another series, Broadchurch/Gracepoint. Here's the thing: Gracepoint is the US remake of Broadchurch, in which both of them have David as the lead roles, DI Alec Hardy (Broachurch) and Emmett Carver (Gracepoint). Both were the detectives who investigated the death of a young boy in respective small towns, accompanied by their detective partners Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman in Broadchurch, Anna Gunn in Gracepoint). Even though they're basically the same series, you can easily notice the difference, other than the actors. Hardy and Carver are also the same characters, but they're different. Despite all that, I recommend you to watch both series.

Fifth is Hamlet. This was originally a stage play by Royal Shakespeare Company, but then was adapted to a television film with the same actors. To be honest, I never watched Hamlet in any kind before. I only heard of the plot, but never really got it why it was so phenomenal... until I watched this. David played the titular character, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, whose father King Hamlet (Patrick Stewart) just died. Convinced that the King was murdered by his own brother, Hamlet's uncle, Claudius (also played by Stewart), Hamlet sought vengeance while struggling with his own sanity. I never thought I would sit through this kind of thing, but guess what, I did! Three hours of awesomeness. David killed it, and for a second I thought he went insane for real haha. It would be more awesome if I could see the stage play. (Quick trivia: Benedict Cumberbatch has also played Hamlet in the newest stage production.)

Sixth is The Escape Artist. Since I was hooked up with How to Get Away with Murder, I found this mini-series as intriguing. Will Burton was a talented barrister who never lost a single case. But when he agreed to defend a prime suspect in a murder trial, his brilliance bit him back with an unexpected result. It's thrilling and sometimes just makes you want to clap your hands because of its cleverness.

Seventh is Fright Night. It's basically the second movie of David's that I watched. Having known him from Goblet of Fire, I was excited to see him as Peter Vincent, a magician who claimed to be an expert on vampires. He helped Charley (Anton Yelchin) to get rid of his vampire neighbor (Colin Farrell)--but of course, it wasn't that easy. This is an enjoyable movie that has some funny moments that will crack you up, especially David's lines. They were just simple lines, but I was laughing so hard when he said them.

Eighth is Recovery, a TV movie about the life of a family after Alan Hamilton (Tennant) woke up from a deep coma that was resulted by an accident. His behavior completely changed, and it put his relationship with his wife and sons under a great pressure. I'm not gonna lie, I cried watching this. I could imagine if Alan was my father, and he was acting like that. I, too, would feel pressured, but at the same time, he was still my father. We couldn't leave him like that no matter what, could we?

Ninth is Secret Smile. Another thriller, another antagonist played by David, comes in form of Brendan Block. He met a woman named Miranda (Kate Ashfield), fell in love, and then got dumped. Only weeks later, he came back to Miranda's life as her sister's boyfriend. What was actually Brendan's intention? You won't know if you don't watch! Just a heads up though, imagine that Brendan is a younger version of Kilgrave without the mind control thingy. And, I just can't get away without saying this, he was so handsome in this! (Isn't he always? Lol)

The last is What We Did on Our Holiday. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike? Two of my favorite people in one movie! They played husband and wife Doug and Abi, who were on the verge of divorce. For the sake of Doug's father's birthday party, they traveled to Scotland with their three children. But, it all took a twisted turn as the children that they seemed to ignore all the time, did something beyond imagination. I loved how they combined the comedy and drama with some tragic and heartbreaking aspects in this. It's funny, it's sad, it's having its moment. Oh, and also, can Tennant and Pike work together again please? :')

Honorable mention:
The Politician's Husband, Much Ado About Nothing, and United (because I love Manchester United sooo much!)

That is a long post! I just can't stop talking about it because it's still fresh in my mind. I could short-review all of them, but then I have to divide this post into two--and I'm so lazy in doing that haha. There are still so many of his movies and series out there, but I could only find these ones. I also watched his gigs in The Friday Night Project on YouTube, and that made me want to see him more in comedic roles! The reviews above are just my opinions, and it doesn't necessarily mean that the others are not worth watching. In fact, you should watch all of them! :D
For us David Tennant fans, no need to worry. He has so many upcoming movies that we should patiently wait for. While you wait, why don't you vote David for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor in People's Choice Awards? Click here and cast your vote!
If you can't wait any longer, you can always do David Tennant marathon!

"When you're playing a real person, there's a balance between playing the person in the script and playing the person as he was in life. You have to be respectful and true to who that person was, but at the same time tell the story in the film."

- David Tennant

Catch you later!

Pics were taken from Google, then were made into a collage by me. I made the gif myself.

Movie Marathon: Luke Evans

Please don't be surprised that I'm doing another movie marathon. The 4th semester of college just started like a month ago (okay, maybe two), and so far, there are no deadly assignments. So it's really, really safe to do a movie marathon.

Like I explained in the previous post, I've got a huge crush on Luke Evans. Then I was thinking to myself: no assignments + crush on Luke = MOVIE MARATHON!

Luke Evans is (recently added to) one of my favorite actors of all time. Okay, I won't write so much about him because I already did in the previous post (beware of some fangirling stuff--but believe me, I'm not a cheesy fangirl).

Luke started his career by starring in many of London's West End productions. So, don't be surprised if you find a video of him singing on YouTube. Now that I mentioned it, he has a great voice. I saw him singing Delilah from one of the videos on YouTube, and I fell in love with his voice. I really want to hear him singing more often (an album maybe? :p).
He gained recognition from his role as Apollo in Clash of the Titans. After that, he was cast in several movies, including one of The Three Muskeeters; as another Greek God, Zeus, in Immortals; as the main antagonist (but very charming--couldn't resist it) Shaw in the 6th installment of Fast & Furious, and of course, as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

So, what makes you decided to do Luke Evans movie marathon?
Just like I said before, his movie No One Lives triggered it. I was like, "Man, he can be scary and charming at the same time!" and then suddenly, "I have to watch more of his movies." Yes, it's just that simple.

Here's the list of his movies, according to the time I watched them:
1. No One Lives
2. Cowards and Monsters (short film)
3. The Great Train Robbery: A Robber's Tale
4. The Great Train Robbery: A Copper's Tale
5. The Raven
6. Robin Hood
7. Clash of the Titans
8. Immortals
9. Blitz
10. Ashes
11. The Three Musketeers
12. Tamara Drewe
13. Fast & Furious 6
14. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

After watching all of them, do you have any specific movies that you've been into?
Can't I just say all of them? Even though Luke had a minor role in that movie, he wouldn't be easily forgettable because, well, he's Luke Evans. :))

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is probably my favorite, because simply, it made me know more about him. Let's just say that this movie was the first movie of his that I watched. I first heard about him in Immortals, then Fast & Furious 6, but I never really watched him until TDoS. In the second part of Bilbo Baggins' (Martin Freeman) adventure, he and Thorin's (Richard Armitage) company tried to get to the mountain. They met Bard, a bowman, who then helped them.

Second is No One Lives. I really love this kind of movie. Thriller, suspense, and action with a promising plot. Luke's character didn't really have a name, but it was listed on IMDb as Driver. So, Driver and his girlfriend were traveling when a gang of robbers kidnapped them. But, it was just a huge mistake for the robbers as they didn't know that things were not what they seemed. Well, you can find out what it is by watching the movie :))

Third is Fast & Furious 6. I didn't even get to watch this movie because that time I got so many assignments, and suddenly, the movie was no longer showed in my town's cinema. But now I already watched it, so yeah, I didn't feel left out by most of the people :p Anyway, Luke played the main antagonist, Owen Shaw, who was a former Special Air Service soldier, now was the mastermind of the international crime syndicate. He must competed with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and friends who tried to take down his gang. The movie was a fun ride and apparently would make your eyes fresh--with those amazing cars, beautiful women (for boys), and charming men (for girls)

Fourth is The Raven. Mystery-thriller drama? John Cusack and Luke Evans? Count me in! The Raven followed the story of Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack), a mystery novel writer, who assisted Detective Emmett Fields (Evans) in solving several murder cases inspired by Poe's works. So thrilling! Love it.

Fifth is Immortals. Another movie based by Greek mythology? Why not? This movie had Henry Cavill (before he became the Superman) as its main protagonist, Theseus, who was a mortal man chosen by Zeus (Evans) to fight the ruthless King Hyperion (Rourke). It was the 2nd time Luke portrayed a Greek God, having previously played as Apollo in Clash of the Titans. Also, was I the only one who screamed when Zeus appeared? :p

Honorable mention:
Clash of the Titans, The Three Musketeers, and Ashes.

Currently, Luke has 2 upcoming movies--the reboot of The Crow where he plays the main character, Eric Draven, and also playing the titular character in Dracula Untold. Okay, Luketeers, we just have to wait for those movies patiently!

"And I knew that, being an actor, you have to take the rough with the smooth and the highs with the lows. That's how it is."

- Luke Evans

See you in the next movie marathon post!
(Yeah, if I got time to do that again)


Pics were taken from Google, then were made into a collage by me.

Currently Addicted to: These Guys, These Bands, and These TV Series

This should be Midnight Random Thoughts number 5, but then I realize it's not just my random thoughts. I just want to talk about my current celebrity crushes and pleasures, and whatever. So, I decided to include it in Current Addiction post even though it's not specifically talking about one thing (usually TV series).

SO, HELLO, WE MEET AGAIN. Empty February once again. I finally finished my movie marathon post two days ago (even though I finished the marathon some time in January). I'm doing another one now, but I'm not sure the post will be done right after...

Anyway, let's go back again to the 'current crushes and pleasures and whatever'.

I recently got a crush on Luke Evans. You know him right? Let me give you a small info. He's the guy who played Bard in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Still don't recognize him? Okay. He's the guy who played Owen Shaw in Fast & Furious 6. Ha! Finally.
Oh, and NO, he's not related to Captain America a.k.a. Chris Evans.

Luke's gaze is piercing through your flesh and bones and finally hits your heart.

Yes, I don't know I'm just crazy about him lately. Guys with British accent (well, he's actually Welsh) are just perfect (Oh, hey there Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, and Jonny Lee Miller!). but yeah I just love him so much. He may be a little older than Tom, which probably made you like "Gosh what's wrong with you--you're having another crush on a man who is much older than you!" Dude, whatever. It's just a crush.

Anyway, why? Of all actors in the world, why him? Well... The Hobbit made me love him. BUT, I loved him even more after watching his movie No One Lives. I can't give much about the plot, just click the link or go to YouTube and find the trailer.
Back to Luke. Yeah, I love him in that movie--even though it's kind of gore and disgusting but there was Luke Evans damn it, so I kept going. Just so you know, every actor whom I love has ever played an annoying guy, bad guy (ha!), and those kind of characters you will probably hate in the movies. But that's what makes me love them even more! And Luke is also a singer (he was a stage actor) and he has a greaaat voice!
Lucky (unlucky?) you, Mr. Luke Evans. You just made to 'my favorite actor' list.

The second, is Joel Kinnaman. You've probably never heard of this man, so I just go straight away: he's the new RoboCop. Yeah, he's the 21st century Alex Murphy, you guys! And if you've never even heard of RoboCop, you need some serious help.

Joel is absorbing the oxygen supply in the room.

I first knew Charles Joel Nordström (it's his birth name, btw, he's Swedish-American) from TV series The Killing. I love that series so much! Joel played Detective Holder. Hold it right there! Detective. You know I love that kind of thing. Plus the title is THE KILLING--it pretty much got my attention. I'm just starting to watch its season 3, and the 4th and final season is still filmed.

Unlike Luke, I've always got a crush on Joel. Why did I include him in 'current crushes'? Well, it's because I watched RoboCop and he just deserves to be on that list lol. Okay then, move to crush #3 and #4.

Chandler Parsons and Goran Dragic.

Wait, who are they? What movies have they been on? Or which band do they belong to?
Hahaha, the answer is NO. NOPE. NONE. NAAWWWH. They're not actors, nor musicians, nor my friends (?). They are athletes.

Oh, great! Which football club?
Yes, everyone who knows me probably will ask that because apparently the only sport that I fond of is football (soccer, if you're American. I still don't understand--why soccer?). But, once again, NO. Chandler and Goran are not football players. They are basketball players.
Chandler Parsons is in Houston Rockets and Goran Dragic is in Phoenix Suns. (Little fun fact: even though they're not related, Chandler shares the same last name with the actor Jim Parsons--The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper--who is a huge fan of Rockets).

Isn't Chandler just perfect? <3

Goran is so serious. So cool <3

Yeah, I'm a girl who doesn't watch basketball before, so I fall in love with those two because... they are cool and handsome. Thanks to my brother who watches basketball games all the time (on TV, of course). To stop me from complaining, "Why are you always watching this? I want to watch HBO damnit!!!" and such, he immediately introduced me to these two ("Hey, sis. Google Goran Dragic. He's handsome. Look, he's in this match. Why don't we sit together and watch it?") There I was, the weak older sister. So, every time basketball game's on TV, I kept asking whether it had Goran or Chandler. I thought he was getting tired of me asking that, and he was starting to regret his action ("Why the heck did I tell my sister about those two?!").

And this is the collage of them that I made in black and white. Got any favorite? :))

Move on again. Since Jason Mraz is still working on his new album and has not recently released new music (other than the songs he's featured on), I find other music to listen.

I'm crazy about these 2 bands: Imagine Dragons and Bastille. My current pleasures. They're basically rock bands, but not 'too rock' (if you know what I mean), and they have easy-listening songs. From sunrise til sunrise again, I keep listening to these bands alternatively. They have almost similar music, their vocalists' names share the same first name (Dan; Reynolds for ID, Smith for Bastille), and they consist of 4 members each. We absolutely can notice the difference between the two by the voice of the Dans--Reynolds is American, Smith is British. That's easy.
I really recommend these bands to you, even though you're almost never fond of rock bands.

Imagine Dragons. Dan Reynolds is the second on the left.

 

Bastille. Dan Smith is the second on the right.

 (Oh, and can someone tell me why do I think that Dan Reynolds somehow looks like Luke Evans? I just can't find why, but every time I see Dan Reynolds I automatically think of Luke Evans hahaha)

Another pleasures: True Detective, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Elementary, Perception, Hannibal, The Killing, Arrow, Intelligence, Almost Human, and Bates Motel.
If you want a good series to watch, I recommend them :) (especially True Detective--there's a reason why I put it first, but the rest is just randomly put)

So, hmm, that's the end of this post. And I just realized that I'm basically just talking about boys. Sigh.

All the pics were taken from Google.

Movie Marathon: Jeremy Renner

(Note that this post was written right after the movie marathon was done, but I just finished it now because it's school's days off and I rarely touched my laptop. Like usual, I don't do blog on holidays)

Yeah, I know I just did a movie marathon very recently, but I just couldn't help to do another one. And yes, I did it in my exams week. Well, not exactly "exam", because it was just basically the deadline week. No particular exam, just assignments and assignments. And I did a movie marathon because I'm just that cool.

Who is the "lucky" actor?

Jeremy Lee Renner is (yeah, come on) one of my favorite actors of all time. Let me ask you: who has never heard of this man? You've got to be kidding me. Even though you're not a movie buff, you must have heard his name, at least once. Okay. Some of you might know him from the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker, but he's mostly known from his work as Hawkeye in Marvel's The Avengers - as my little 'survey' said.

Before getting involved in the big movies like I've mentioned above, Jeremy was starring in the TV series The Unusuals (too bad, the series was cancelled after 10 episodes) and smaller movies. In fact, his portrayal of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer was the reason Kathryn Bigelow chose him for the lead role in The Hurt Locker. He got his first Oscar nomination ever, and got the second one for his involvement in Ben Affleck's The Town. And after that, he got more famous by co-starring with Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Rachel Weisz (The Bourne Legacy), Gemma Arteton (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters), as well as the blockbuster movie The Avengers and the critically acclaimed American Hustle.
Wait, that's not it. Jeremy is a good singer too! He was singing in one scene in Love Comes to the Executioner. I've also heard him singing in Saturday Night Live where he was hosting for the first time.

So, what makes you decided to do Jeremy Renner movie marathon?
It started right on Jeremy's birthday, on January 7th. I watched The Hurt Locker that time, and suddenly decided to do Jeremy Renner movie marathon because he was one of the 'candidates' for my movie marathon (who did not get picked before because of my changing mood). So, happy belated birthday, Mr. Renner! And thank you for being a distraction from my goddamn tasks :p

Here's the list of his movies, according to the time I watched them:
1. Thor (cameo; and I watched this long before the movie marathon started to refresh my brain that was tired of thinking about house designs)
2. The Hurt Locker
3. North Country
4. Love Comes to the Excecutioner
5. Ingenious
6. Neo Ned
7. 12 and Holding
8. A Little Trip to Heaven
9. 28 Weeks Later
10. Dahmer
11. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
12. S.W.A.T.
13. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
14. The Town
15. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
16. The Bourne Legacy
17. Marvel's The Avengers
18. Take
19. American Hustle

After watching all of them, do you have any specific movies that you've been into?
Of course. In fact, I loved all of them--it showed us that Jeremy could play such different characters without sticking to one of them. Really cool. Here is it.

Since it's my favorite movie, Marvel's The Avengers is on the top of the list. You obviously know Avengers (and I already talked about it in RDJ movie marathon), so I won't talk much about this. Jeremy played a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton who went by the name Hawkeye when he joined The Avengers. It was the 2nd time he played Barton after being an almost-unnoticeable cameo (blame the darkness--I almost lost it too) in Thor.

Second is The Bourne Legacy. Oh, I LOVE Bourne movies! I was kind of disappointed when Matt Damon decided not to do more Bourne. And I was like, "What?! They will replace Damon as Bourne? Nooooooooo!". But, it turned out that they wouldn't make Bourne as the main character. Instead, Aaron Cross, who was played by Jeremy, took his place. Taking place around the same time as the events in The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne's action affected other ops, including Cross, whose life now at stake because the men behind those ops tried to make everyone involved disappeared. Many people didn't like this movie and said that it was like forcing itself to get a connection to previous Bourne movies (my aunt said this lol). But, no. I love Bourne movies. I love Jeremy Renner. Of course I'd watch this even though Matt Damon didn't come back.

Third is Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. In this 4th movie of the franchise, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is on an impossible mission once again, but this time he gets to team up with Benji (Simon Pegg), fellow agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton), and... Jeremy Renner! I mean, William Brandt, the IMF Secretary's chief analyst. Together, they try to track down a dangerous terrorist who has access to Russian nuclear launch codes--and apparently, plans to use it against US. It's so fun to see Jeremy kicking-ass in this (before The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy of course). This movie receives mostly positive reviews, both from audiences and critics.

Next, The Hurt Locker, which led Jeremy to get his first Oscar nomination. When the previous team leader got killed by an explosive device, SFC William James (Renner) took over a highly trained bomb disposal team in Iraq. Yep, as you guessed, James loved what he did, but sometimes he didn't think about his team's safety--even his own. The movie is 2 hours long, and you won't find music score that much. But I love this movie. Every time James got to dispose a bomb, it's so intense. My favorite scene is when James and the team was facing an Iraqi man with bombs all over his body. Damn, I got teary eyes when watching it.

Fifth is The Town. I talked about this previously on Ben Affleck movie marathon, so you just have to click it. Jeremy played James 'Jem' Coughlin, one of the robbers and Doug's (Affleck) best friend. He was a hot-headed man who didn't give a damn about anything else but to accomplish their mission. Jeremy earned another Oscar nomination (this time was Best Supporting Actor) for his portrayal of Jem. This was also the first Jeremy Renner movie I've ever watched, but that time I was focusing on Ben Affleck (yeah, another favorite actor of mine) so I just forgot about him haha.

Sixth is S.W.A.T. Seriously, when I first watched this, I didn't recognize Jeremy at all. I mean, I was too focused to Colin Farrell to recognize the unrecognized actor who played Brian Gamble. Sorry. But that's the truth ._. Then when I got to know Jeremy more, I finally could realize him in this movie (and apparently the other movies he'd been on). Gamble was first a partner and best bud of Jim Street (Farrell) in S.W.A.T. before he got kicked out and went rogue.

Seventh is Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Ok, before I continue, you should know that the only reason I put this movie in this list is because Jeremy Renner was in it. Yes, I'm biased. Care much? Lol, sorry. Anyway, Hansel is played by Jeremy, and Gretel is played by the beautiful Gemma Arteton. Of course you know the story of Hansel and Gretel. This movie is set years after the siblings killed the witch who kidnapped them. And, yes, that witch (and her even uglier witch friends) struck again!

Honorable mention: A Little Trip to Heaven

Well, that's it. This doesn't mean the movies that I don't short-review are bad. He's a great actor, you know. He knows what kind of roles that are perfect for him (almost every role I guess haha).
Anyway, in the future we can see Jeremy Renner in The Immigrant, Kill the Messenger, the fifth Bourne movie, and of course, The Avengers: Age of Ultron!
And I believe someday he'll get that golden statue :)

"I like to stay busy, I like to stay focused, and I like to stay creative. Without being creative I'd be dead."

- Jeremy Renner

See you in the next movie marathon post!

(Yep I've just finished another movie marathon. Who's the actor? Just wait and see!)

Pics were taken from Google, then were made into a collage by me.

I like to stay busy, I like to stay focused, and I like to stay creative. Without being creative I'd be dead.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jeremy_renner.html#ikv6ATLbrU81YboJ.9

I like to stay busy, I like to stay focused, and I like to stay creative. Without being creative I'd be dead.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jeremy_renner.html#ikv6ATLbrU81YboJ.99

Movie Marathon: Jonny Lee Miller

(Note that this post was written on December 23rd 2013, but I just finished it now because the busy week -- and the other tasks which apparently are as deadly as the main one)

Cheers to the (nearly) long weekend!
Cheers to the deadline that has been postponed!
Cheers to another movie marathon!

Call me crazy, but I immediately started another movie marathon right after my lecturer announced that the final assignment's deadline had been postponed to next Monday. This movie marathon was not planned, I'll tell you my reason why I chose this actor. And, my latest 3 movie marathons were all the actors who have played Sherlock Holmes, my favorite fictional character ever -- Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch, and now, Jonny Lee Miller! You can check my SH post here and here :)

Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is one of my favorite actors of all time. For all the people who don't know who he is (OH, COME ON), I suggest you check the TV series Eli Stone, or his latest series Elementary, where he portrays Sherlock Holmes.

JLM was born British, but he also can use American accent perfectly, like he did in some of his movies and in Eli Stone and Dexter. Some people who have watched Eli Stone couldn't believe that he was a British because he sounded and looked like an American. He had played various kind of roles (hacker, drug addict, journalist, pilot, killer, cyclist, detective, and many more -- I wouldn't list them all, right?!) and that's what made him got into the list of my favorite actors haha. He also appeared on broadway for After Miss Julie, and played Victor Frankenstein and The Creature alternately with Benedict Cumberbatch for the stage production of Frankenstein. Yes, they are both Sherlock Holmes!
I've heard him singing in one of his movies, Love, Honour and Obey. He is also a marathon runner. I told ya, he's good at anything. Oh, and he is a supporter of Chelsea -- I knew this because he once replied to my tweet (and it made me go GYAAAAAHHHHH). Too bad, I myself support Chelsea's rival Manchester United. Well, that doesn't mean I stop loving him. Come on, my father is also a Chelsea supporter, my brother is a Gunner (Arsenal supporter) and Barcelona supporter, and my mother doesn't even care about this football thing to support one.

So, what makes you decided to do Jonny Lee Miller movie marathon?
Like I said, I wasn't planning this at all. I just happened to have a Dexter marathon, and since JLM was a guest star in season 5, I rushed to watch it until it reached season 5. I didn't know what kind of role he would be playing; didn't even try to find it on the internet. I just had to watch it. And voila! I loved it. He played Jordan Chase, a motivational speaker who was tied to a rape and murder case. Not that I loved the character, I just loved the way JLM played Chase -- who was inspiring and intimidating (and scary!) at the same time. It was soooo great!!! I mean, I watched him on Elementary first, so I just couldn't believe it that he used to play the character like Chase. *standing ovation*
After I finished it, I got a starstruck on him, despite having known him for years. You can see all the fuss on my latest Midnight Random Thought. Yeah, I'm sorry I got crazy like that sometimes. (SOMETIMES???!!!)
At first, I watched Aeon Flux and Mindhunters only. Then, after a week without movies because of the assignments, it was announced that the deadline has been postponed. So, I got even crazier; I watched all of JLM movies that I had and the ones that I could find.

Here's the list of his movies, according to the time I watched them:
1. Aeon Flux
2. Mindhunters
3. Endgame
4. The Flying Scotsman
5. Plunkett and Macleane
6. Dracula 2000
7. Byzantium
8. Dark Shadows
9. Complicity
10. Trainspotting
11. The Escapist
12. Hackers
13. Love, Honour and Obey

After watching all of them, do you have any specific movies that you've been into?
Is it wrong to say that I LOVE all of them? There are so many movies of his, but I could only watch 13 of them. But I think it's impossible to short-review those 13, so I just picked some.

First, I really, really love Mindhunters. It's like FBI meets Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. How could I not love this movie?! Yeah, I love FBI-related movies or TV series, especially about profilers, like Criminal Minds. I could not just miss this movie. JLM here played Lucas Harper, one of the young FBI students who were sent to an island to undergo a training to be a profiler. What they didn't know was that it was more than a training as they discovered that one of them was a serial killer and was targeting the others. Quite convincing, huh? And it had amazing cast, other than JLM himself.

The second is Hackers, where JLM played a young hacker, Dade Murphy, who, along with other fellow hackers, discovered a dangerous computer virus and must use their skills to take down the man behind it, while being pursued by Secret Service. Oh, and this movie also starred Angelina Jolie (who was JLM's ex wife -- ok, don't be surprised), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy in Scooby Doo), and Jesse Bradford (Charlie in My Sassy Girl). Just so you know, this movie came out in 1995, where the internet was unfamiliar to the public. It has became a cult classic since.

The third is The Escapist. I watched this without subtitle, so excuse me if I got the movie wrong. Denis Hopkins (JLM) was a pilot. When some robbers led by Ricky (Andy Serkis) broke into his house and killed his wife, he tried to get revenge by breaking a police car so he could get arrested -- later attempting to escape purposely from the prison to get him transferred to the maximum security prison where Ricky was. It was very good and thrilling. JLM's acting as desperate and vengeful husband was sooo great. It was supported by convincing acting of Serkis, who was really scary and annoying too.

The fourth is Love, Honour and Obey. So, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson from different adaptations in one film? This is irresistible, at least for me. JLM and Jude Law! Wait, there's more. Rhys Ifans and Sean Pertwee, who played Mycroft Holmes and Lestrade respectively in Elementary (yep, with JLM), also appeared in this movie. Daaammmnnn! I was so happy that I could only laugh and clap my hands speechlessly. In this movie, almost all the characters had the same name with the actors who played them. Jude (Law), who came from a gangster family, was asked by his friend Jonny (JLM) to help him got into the North London criminal gang. As Jonny got more involved, he started making mistakes that would led him and the others to start a 'war' with South London mob.

The fifth is The Flying Scotsman, a film based on the true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree (JLM) who tried to break the world record by building his very own bicycle from washing machine parts and inventing the unlikely riding position. We also could see Obree's mental health problem which he had suffered since the world-record title was stripped from him after only a week. I'm not a cyclist though, but I love cycling with my family. Seeing this movie made me want to go home sooner, reunite with my bicycle, and then go cycling until my legs tired!

Honorable mention: Aeon Flux and Trainspotting
Aeon Flux was the first movie where I recognized JLM. Trainspotting was a good movie, but somehow I couldn't 'connect' with it--but again, JLM was soooooo great in this movie as Sick Boy!

Ah, I really want to write them all, but I'm tired already -_- And I love all his movies. He's always been perfect in every movie he's in.
Okay then, you should know Jonny Lee Miller by now hahaha.

"The whole point of being an actor is to get satisfaction out of a role -- unless you're just vain about celebrity. You're always looking for the one thing that will surprise you."

- Jonny Lee Miller

See you in the next movie marathon post!
And have a great 2014!

Pics were taken from Google, then were made into a collage by me.

Movie Marathon: Benedict Cumberbatch

Wow it's been a long time since I had my last movie marathon. Now that I'm back to the hectic days of college, I start to do another movie marathon, despite the bigger and more tasks coming up on me.

Yep, this time is Benedict Cumberbatch's turn! But before that, I want to apologize to myself because I've said in previous movie marathon post that I would either choose one of these actors: Jeremy Renner, Tom Cruise, Shia LaBeouf, Anton Yelchin -- but apparently I didn't do it. I just had the mood for the charming Cumberbatch. Let's find out why I chose him.

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch, simply known as Benedict Cumberbatch (simply?! It's like one of the longest two-words names lol) is, of course, one of my favorite actors of all time. You may or may not know him. If I wrote this post on, let's say, two or three years ago, you might not know him. But it's freaking 2013 now. Who doesn't watch -- at least know -- Sherlock, the BBC mini-series, or Star Trek Into Darkness? Oh, please.

Benny came from an entertainer family. Both of his parents (Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham) are actors. Maybe that's why he decided to become an actor -- a GOOD one! Because of his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock, he was nominated for Best Actor in BAFTA TV Award, Golden Globe Award, and Primetime Emmy Award. His performance in Parade's End also earned him a nomination in Emmy. And so many other awards that he won or just to be nominated. It was good, right? Brilliant!
Well, since he is British, his accent is just WOW! In addition, his unique and handsome face got him SO many fans, who called themselves "Cumberbitches". I love him, I love him sooooo much, but I wouldn't call myself a "bitch" though -_- And in several interviews or talk shows, he showed an objection over that name. He called his fans "Cumbercollective" instead. Ah, I don't care about the name. What matters is that we, his fans, are here supporting him forever. *tsaaahhh*

So, what makes you decided to do Benedict Cumberbatch movie marathon?
Same like RDJ's, this was my second BC movie marathon. The first one was last year, right after I saw him on Sherlock (see my blog post about it here) and I got this starstruck, so I was looking for some of his movies. I was crazy, crayzaaaaayy, about him that time (I still am though haha), because he portrayed my favorite fictional character very well, and he is so handsome! Any objection about this? Hahaha you better not. Other reason is I watched him in various talk shows (Jimmy Fallon, Graham Norton, Alan Carr: Chatty Man) and I was like "Oh, man, I need to watch all his movies again". Well, I did the movie marathon finally, but not all of them, just the ones I could find. Plus, because Benny is also a TV actor, I watched several TV series that he had appeared in.
In fact, this was the shortest movie marathon I've ever had. If we count only the movies, I finished them in only 3 days! Hahaha. It was weekend, from Saturday to Monday, non-stop watching Benedict Cumberbatch. But, the TV series marathon is still going on right now -- I currently watch Parade's End, and I will watch Sherlock some time before the premiere of series 3 hehe.

Here's the list of his movies, according to the time I watched them:
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2. Hawking
3. Small Island
4. The Whistleblower
5. Atonement
6. Van Gogh: Painted with Words
7. The Other Boleyn Girl
8. Third Star
9. War Horse
10. Starter For 10
11. Wreckers
12. Marple: Murder Is Easy
13. Stuart: A Life Backwards
14. Star Trek Into Darkness
15. Inseparable (short film)  
16. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

And this is the list of his TV/mini-series that I watched:
1. To the Ends of the Earth
2. Fortysomething (playing Hugh Laurie's son. I repeat, HUGH LAURIE!)
3. The Last Enemy
4. Parade's End
5. Sherlock

PLUS, I also watched the stage production of Frankenstein, directed by Danny Boyle, in which he played two alternating roles of Victor Frankenstein and The Creature, opposite Jonny Lee Miller, with whom he also shares the iconic role of Sherlock Holmes (Miller plays Holmes in Elementary).

After watching all of them, do you have any specific movies that you've been into?
Yes, of course. Benny is a GREAT actor, and every role he has portrayed is pretty much memorable. Well, I will only list the movies, not the TV series because hey, it's actually a movie marathon! And since I only watched 16 movies of his, I could short-review all of them (?) or maybe just a few. Let's just start.

The first, well this one is my favorite character of his after Sherlock Holmes, it's Star Trek Into Darkness! You don't need to explain much about the movie because it got me at "Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain". Plus, it's the sequel of the freaking Star Trek! It's got Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, AND Simon Pegg. Awesome, huh?! Just put Benny's name between theirs and it's million times more awesome! So, Benny's villain in this movie is known under the name of John Harrison, a renegade Starfleet officer who was apparently having his own hidden agenda after bombing a secret Section 31 installation in London. The Enterprise crews were ordered to catch and kill him, not knowing his true intention. Sounds convincing, huh? Yes! And I love the handsome villains like Loki and Sylar (hey, he's in this movie too, lol!). The movie is even better, guys. If you haven't watched it yet, well, shame on you!

The second is Third Star. Most of you guys probably don't know this movie. That's okay, I'll review it for you and make you want to check this movie hehe. Benny played James, a young man terminally ill with cancer. He knew that he wouldn't live any longer, so he set a last hiking trip to his favorite place on Earth, Barafundle Bay, with his three closest friends. Yep, it's a simple drama, but I've got to tell you guys, I couldn't stop crying when watching this. Sure this was not a truly tearjerker drama, but it hit me hard, really hard. I don't know, maybe because I have best friends, we get along really well like James and his friends, but this movie proved that even best friends could be teared apart by a simple behavior or statement. Really, this movie is very recommended. If you don't like a "quiet" drama, then don't watch this. This movie didn't use much music/score, but like I said, it still could make me cry. Also, I love movies about guys' friendship more than girls'.

The third is Stuart: A Life Backwards, a TV movie -- which you probably never heard before. Ok, for the heads up, this movie had Benedict Cumberbatch AND Tom Hardy as its lead actors. It was enough to convince me to watch it, even though I had no idea what this movie was about until I saw it. So, it was based on a biography of a writer and charity worker Alexander Masters, played by Benny in this movie, about his friend Stuart Shorter (Hardy), a homeless alcoholic. They met and struck up an unlikely friendship as Alexander learned and wrote about Stuart's complicated life, violent past, and traumatic childhood, in backwards.

The fourth is Hawking. Again, this is a TV movie based on Stephen Hawking's life when he was first diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age 21. In spite of that, Stephen Hawking (Benedict Cumberbatch) still tried to live his life as the PhD student at Cambridge University and was in the middle of his research of "beginning of time". You know, Benny is very good at portraying this kind of roles. He looked like he was really sick, and it kind of broke my heart. I wasn't sure if it caused by Benny, the good actor, or Stephen Hawking, the real-life figure who actually has this rare illness. Anyway, this was the breakout role for Benny I think. He was nominated for BAFTA TV Award. And he was only 28 at that time.

The fifth is Marple: Murder Is Easy. This one was actually an episode of a TV series, but let's just consider it as a movie because Benny only appeared for one episode. So, before Sherlock Holmes, he had portrayed another detective, Luke Fitzwilliam. In this movie, Luke was working together with Miss Marple -- yep, it's that famous character by Agatha Christie -- to investigate seemingly accidental deaths that occurred in a village of Wychwood. Since I enjoy any detective stories, I love this one, even though it didn't satisfy me. Still, Benny looked super handsome in this :p

The sixth is War Horse. Of course you know this one -- an Oscar-nominated movie by an Oscar-winning director, Steven Spielberg. He's one of my favorite directors, so I can't miss this one. War Horse told the story of Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) and his beloved horse, Joey. Well, I could say that the main character of this movie was the horse itself, as it was traveling around the England after it was sold to a young cavalry officer Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston -- yes it's THAT Hiddleston, guys!!!). Like Tom's, Benny's role in this movie was small, but important. He played Major Jamie Stewart, the commander of the cavalry. Great movie, made me cry too. Also, who can resist Irvine, Cumberbatch, AND Hiddleston (they are my favorite British guys!) in one movie?

I think that's it. Don't worry, those were just the movies that I wanted to short-review, but I will still at least tell you each of memorable characters played by Benny from his movies (sorry, can't tell you all of them).
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Peter Guillam, a partner of Gary Oldman's character, George Smiley.
Atonement - Paul Marshall, a creep (find out why I said this by watching the movie, guys...)
Van Gogh: Painted with Words - Vincent Van Gogh -- you must know him, come on.
Starter for 10 - Patrick Watts, a strict, ambitious leader of University Challenge team, which looked like he could have an exciting battle of brains with The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper.
Wreckers - David, an ordinary husband whose secrets slowly uncovered as his brother, Nick, came and ignited a sibling rivalry.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Necromancer, a mysterious figure. Benny provided a performance capture, and a voice for latter movies.

Wow, it's a long post despite a very small amount of movies that I watched haha. Anyway, what's next for our Cumberbatch? You can catch him as Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (it was already out in US, and I haven't watched it because it didn't come out in my country), critically-acclaimed 12 Years a Slave, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (only voice and performance capture), and star-studded August: Osage County. And Benny has already signed for a few movies in the future, so I guess we have to wait patiently!

"I've been very lucky at what's happened in my career to date, but playing something as far from me as possible is an ambition of mine -- anything from a mutated baddy in a comic book action thriller, to a detective."

- Benedict Cumberbatch

See you in the next movie marathon post!
(Well, this time I won't give any candidates haha. I will do any actors' movie marathon according to my mood :p)

Pics were taken from Google, then were made into a collage by me.

Elementary, My Dear Sherlock Holmes(es) - Part 2

Continuing from the previous post, I will still talk about Sherlock Holmes. But this time is more specific -- I'm gonna talk about these recent Sherlock Holmes adaptations:
1. Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, films directed by Guy Ritchie
2. Sherlock, aired by BBC
3. Elementary, aired by CBS

Seperti yang sudah saya jelaskan sebelumnya, saya nggak bermaksud untuk membandingkan adaptasi-adaptasi ini satu sama lain. Saya di sini hanya sebatas mengoceh dan mengeluarkan pendapat, juga sekalian fangirling hehe. Saya suka semua adaptasi Sherlock Holmes, mulai dari jamannya Jeremy Brett di serial Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994), Nicholas Rowe di Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), sampai sekarang yang paling baru adalah Jonny Lee Miller di Elementary (2012, ongoing). Ada yang lebih baru lagi, yaitu serial Sherlock Holmes versi Rusia (diperankan Igor Petrenko), tapi belum tayang, mungkin sekitar musim gugur tahun ini.

Yuk ah, langsung aja kita bahas :D

PERHATIAN! Bagi kalian yang belum pernah menonton salah satu dari tiga adaptasi Sherlock Holmes yang sudah disebutkan di atas dan ada keinginan untuk menontonnya nanti, saya sarankan jangan baca posting ini. SPOILER ALERT! (Kecuali kalau kalian suka spoiler...)

WARNING! For those who haven't seen one of three Sherlock Holmes adaptations that I mentioned above and planning to watch them later, I suggest you to leave this post. SPOILER ALERT! (Except if you love spoiler...)

Beuh. Gaya banget pakai bilingual.

Okay. Ready, set, go!

Elementary, My Dear Sherlock Holmes(es) - Part 1

I've been wanting to blog about this since a long time ago. So, what is this post about?
Sesuai dengan judulnya, saya akan membahas tentang detektif paling keren sejagad raya alam semesta tata surya (apasih -_-)... SHERLOCK HOLMES!
 

Ya, saya cinta mentok sama detektif yang satu ini. Sayang banget dia itu cuma tokoh fiksi karangan Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Kabarnya, dalam mendeskripsikan karakter Holmes, Opa Doyle terinspirasi oleh beberapa orang yang ia kenal, seperti Joseph Bell--seorang dosen kedokteran yang suka mengambil kesimpulan akhir dari pengamatannya terhadap hal-hal kecil--dan Henry Littlejohn--seorang dokter bedah yang pernah bekerja dalam kasus kriminal. Nah, Opa Doyle menggabungkan kedua karakteristik dari dua orang itu dan... bam! Jadilah Sherlock Holmes :D

Sherlock Holmes menyebut dirinya sebagai seorang consulting detective di London. Apa itu consulting detective? Detektif yang dikonsultasikan atau dimintai bantuan dalam suatu kasus ketika kasus itu sangat sulit dipecahkan atau sudah berada di luar batas kemampuan polisi atau detektif lain. Holmes sering memecahkan kasus dengan analisis dan deduksinya yang luar biasa keren. Dalam petualangannya, Holmes ditemani oleh partner-nya Dr. John Watson yang tinggal bersamanya di 221B Baker Street, London. Holmes punya kakak, Mycroft Holmes, seorang pejabat pemerintahan.

Nah, itu tadi cuma segelintir tentang Sherlock Holmes. Kalau mau tahu lebih banyak, mari baca novelnya (sebagian besar menggunakan sudut pandang Dr. Watson) :D
Kita bahas tentang judul posting ini sebentar ya... Sebenarnya, kalimat itu berbunyi "Elementary, my dear Watson", sebuah catchphrase terkenal yang sering banget muncul kalau kita lagi bahas Sherlock Holmes. Tapi... Ada tapinya lho. Catchphrase ini nggak pernah benar-benar diungkapkan oleh Holmes. Cari deh tuh di semua novelnya, nggak ada kata-kata seperti ini. Memang sih, Holmes pernah bilang "elementary" dan memanggil Watson dengan "my dear Watson", tapi ini cuma spekulasi dari fans-nya aja walaupun sudah melanglangbuana.

Sherlock Holmes illustration by Sidney Paget (source)

Kecintaan saya pada detektif bermula dari komik Detektif Conan. Siapa coba yang nggak tahu Conan? Conan Edogawa garis miring Shinichi Kudo loh ya, bukan Conan the Barbarian. Jadi, waktu masih kelas 1 SD dulu di Pontianak, saya nonton animenya DC. Terus pas ke toko buku ada komiknya, saya beli deh tuh (ya, saya sudah jadi pecinta komik sejak kecil, thanks to my Mom :D) tapi komik Conan pertama yang saya beli itu nomor 9 karena nggak ada yang nomor 1. Akhirnya sama Mama dibeliin deh tuh 1-8, ngeborong gitu. Dan begitulah, saya terus beli Conan, mengoleksinya, sampai sekarang udah kuliah semester dua masih belum selesai komiknya. Buat Aoyama-sensei, pokoknya ending komik ini harus mantap tap tap, biar yang long time fan kayak saya bisa terharu biru bacanya dan nggak merasa 'percuma' udah koleksi banyak. Sejak baca Conan, saya jadi suka banget sama hal-hal berbau detektif. Bahkan, saya pengen ikut-ikutan jadi detektif.

Lho katanya mau bahas Sherlock Holmes, kok jadi melenceng ke Conan?
Eits, jangan salah. Di kehidupan saya, ngomongin Sherlock Holmes tanpa menyinggung Conan itu namanya pengkhianatan. Komik Conan-lah yang mengenalkan saya pada tokoh detektif legendaris itu. Di abad modern seperti ini, saya tahu dari mana lagi coba tentang Sherlock Holmes yang terkenal banget di tahun 1800-an? Dulu saya cuma demen sama komik, mana pernah nyentuh novel, apalagi novel 'berat'. Wajarlah, namanya juga anak kecil, senengnya kan lihat gambar. Tapi tokoh Conan a.k.a Shinichi di sini sangat amat mengidolakan tokoh detektif lain bernama Sherlock Holmes. Karena nama Holmes (dan Hercule Poirot juga) lumayan sering disebut di komik itu, saya search deh di Google. Bla, bla, bla, udah dapat banyak tuh informasi tentang Holmes, tapi masih belum tergerak untuk baca novelnya. Novel pertama yang saya baca adalah Laskar Pelangi-nya Andrea Hirata, itu pun karena dibeliin Papa. Setelah Laskar Pelangi, saya malah mulai menjamah teenlit, instead of reading Sherlock Holmes stories karena saya yakin ceritanya berat banget.

Dan dua tahun kemudian, tahun pertama saya di SMA, muncul film Sherlock Holmes yang disutradarai Guy Ritchie. Saya yang sudah lama 'melupakan' Holmes, langsung super duper happy pas tahu tentang film ini. Saya langsung mikir "Tau aja nih Hollywood kalau saya males baca novelnya." Apalagi, yang jadi Sherlock Holmes itu si Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man! How could I miss this movie? Hahaha. Akhirnya cussss deh nonton sama temen-temen. Reaksi saya? "SUMPAH KEREN BANGET AAAA SHERLOCK HOLMES I LOVE YOUUU!" Ya tapi saya nggak teriak-teriak kayak gitu di bioskop, aje gile -_- itu suara hati saya yang lega karena akhirnya bisa menyaksikan seperti apa Sherlock Holmes yang diidolakan Shinichi Kudo itu tanpa harus baca novelnya, sekaligus awal mula kegilaan saya terhadap detektif yang satu ini.

The many faces of Sherlock Holmes. Jonny Lee Miller belum masuk sini karena masih baru :)

Orang-orang yang lahir tahun 1900-an mungkin jarang atau bahkan tidak pernah mendengar nama Sherlock Holmes sebelumnya, kecuali para penggila novel detektif atau misteri. Padahal banyak adaptasi Sherlock Holmes, mulai dari serial TV sampai film, tapi kemunculan film Guy Ritchie inilah yang membuat orang-orang tahu tentang Sherlock Holmes. Thank you Guy Ritchie, thank you Robert Downey, Jr., thank you cast and crew! Setelah film ini muncul, novel-novel Sherlock Holmes pun dicetak ulang dengan cover baru, dan akhirnya saya beli novelnya! Hahaha. Semakin tua ternyata saya semakin suka sama yang berat-berat begini, mulai dari novel sampai film. Yay me!

Selain itu, muncul juga berbagai adaptasi Sherlock Holmes yang lain, banyak banget deh, tapi yang paling berpengaruh ke saya (juga mungkin sebagian besar orang di dunia ini, ceileeehhh) adalah serial TV BBC berjudul Sherlock, tapi latarnya jaman modern. Sherlock Holmes di sini diperankan oleh Benedict Cumberbatch. Sekitar dua tahun setelah kemunculan Sherlock, ada juga serial TV tentang Sherlock Holmes berjudul Elementary, dibintangi Jonny Lee Miller sebagai Sherlock Holmes. Sama seperti Sherlock, Elementary berlatar jaman modern, tapi di Amerika, bukan di Inggris. Ya iyalah, yang buat kan Amerika :D

Jadi, inti posting ini apa?
Oh iya, posting ini akan dibagi ke beberapa part (mudah-mudahan cuma 2 ya). Part 1 ini cuma prolog, introducing, opening, atau apalah itu istilahnya, terhadap Sherlock Holmes. Atau lebih tepatnya, kenapa saya bisa sampai tergila-gila dengan Sherlock Holmes. Maunya biar jadi paragraf sebab-akibat gitu, tapi ini aja sudah panjang, jadi saya pisah deh.
Intinya, saya mau bahas, cerita-cerita, dan mengeluarkan pendapat saya terhadap tiga adaptasi Sherlock Holmes yang paling baru/yang saya ikuti/yang saya sudah sebut di atas -- dua film Sherlock Holmes-nya Guy Ritchie, Sherlock-nya BBC, dan Elementary-nya CBS. Tidak, saya tidak membandingkan ketiga adaptasi ini. I love all of them, how can I compare them? Saya cuma mau ngoceh aja tentang mereka. Oke? Oke.

To be continued to Part 2~

Pics were taken from Google.