July Roundup: What happened in Sinekdoks during the 31 days of July 2015—including movie mini-review of Minions (2015) and I Saw the Devil (2010) as bonus.
July is a monumental month for Sinekdoks (actually). Two years ago, I started blogging on June and July was (actually) my first active month. So, HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY, SINEKDOKS!
Check one of my review back to July 2013! And also a review from July 2014!
This July, same as last year, wasn’t a good month for movie-watching. I only watched 5 movies during July—including 2 re-watching movies (Kingsman: The Secret Service and I Saw the Devil). Reason: First degree, I just moved (from Yogyakarta, Indonesia) to Bali, Indonesia. Second degree, workloads are piling up and the fact that Bali doesn’t have as many cinemas as Yogyakarta.
Anyway, here’s movies I watched for the first time in July 2015.
Minions (2015) —
After following Gru in two Despicable Me movies, Minions finally got a stand-alone movie.
A few years before Gru, those little yellow oddballs are roaming around the universe, finding a real master to serve. That’s where all the sheer bedlams begin. Painted here and there with absurd jokes and gibberish craziness, Minions overloads their own story with “cuteness.”
Perhaps, they’re good at stealing scenes in Despicable Me, but not in their own spin-off. Yet, at least, they succeed to sometimes tickle you with their exuberant frenzy.
Ant-Man (2015) —
Pixels (2015) —
THE BEST NEWS from July is: Sinekdoks finally got the first contributor. Cheers to Eckart S a.k.a @eckartes for his first review!
A Touch of Sin (2013)
Meanwhile, Blindspot series is still going in July; and it was a month for Darren Aronofsky’s work. Check my review below.
Requiem for A Dream (2000)
A mini-review of Kim Jee-won’s I Saw the Devil I saw previously as a bonus!
I Saw the Devil (2010) —
Kim Jee-won (A Tale of Two Sisters; The Good, The Bad, The Weird) makes it intense once more. Rather than making a slow-twisted revenge bonanza, he crafts a full-paced cat-and-mouse thriller with penchant to rollercoast emotion and tons of splattered blood.
I Saw the Devil is about a police who played a hunting game with his fiancee’s murderer; but instead of serving it cold, he adds more drama, erasing the fine line between hero and monster.
The joy-riding action was intense and the gore feast was bold. Lee Byung-hun’s acting is superb and sentimental; and Choi Min-sik is maniac. Yet, deep inside, I Saw the Devil is a red-is-the-new-black comedy—with gory fun and thrill that give audiences guilty pleasure. Score: 3.5/4
Oh, and I return to Thursday Movie Picks series on last Thursday of July. Check my entry below!
Thursday Movie Picks #31: All in the Family Edition – Twins
So, that’s a wrap, July!
Welcome August!
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