Sinek-Talk Archives

Best of 2021: A Moviegoing Retrospective by Sinekdoks

8Feb

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Best of 2021: A Moviegoing Retrospective by Sinekdoks

Here's the recap of moviegoing in 2021. Cinemas were open for a while before they were closed, only to be re-opened again a few months later. In-person film festivals were back, even though online festivals were still a thing, too. Streaming services and online rentals still carried the year. All in all, cinema still prevails, and good films triumph. So, here are the highlights of the year, including the best films of 2021 curated by Sinekdoks. Check this table of content first to navigate the post easily. Table of Contents Top 10 Films of 2021 Special Shoutouts: Best Performances of 2021 Movie-by-Month Highlights Top 10 Best Films of 2021 Unlike previous editions of the 'Best of' series, I will only list the top 10 best films in 2021. From around 30 ti...

Best of 2020: Films that Help Sinekdoks Getting Through the Strange Year

5Feb

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Featured, Sinek-Talk, Top of the Year

Best of 2020: Films that Help Sinekdoks Getting Through the Strange Year

Cinemas were closed for almost a year. Films went digital. Streaming prevails. Festivals went online. Yet, here's the best of 2020. I still went to the nearby cinema until early March 2020. The last film I saw on cinema was Vin Diesel's Bloodshot. Since then, relishing the cinematic experience in 2020 was never the same. By the end of March, most cinemas had already closed their door indefinitely (only a few of them finally has finally opened again with a completely new set of protocols in December 2020). By then, it's been an excruciating time for movie aficionado. With cinemas unavailable, streaming services become the last resort. Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+ and HBO become the primary "cinema." Indonesian-bound streaming services like Mola TV, KlikFilm, and Biosko...

Sinek-Talk: Streaming Film Online, Legal & Gratis di Indonesia?

1Oct

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Featured, Sinek-Talk

Sinek-Talk: Streaming Film Online, Legal & Gratis di Indonesia?

Carilah, maka kamu akan mendapat. Begitulah kira-kira petikan yang tepat untuk menggambarkan internet. Banyak hal dapat ditemukan bagi mereka yang mencari. Pun untuk para penikmat film. Akses untuk menonton film-film, bahkan yang paling obscure sekalipun sudah sangat mudah sekali. Streaming film online secara legal dan gratis pun sangat memungkinkan, bahkan di Indonesia. Memang, bioskop masih menawarkan pengalaman menonton paling optimal dan paling segar. Namun, internet bisa menjadi alternatif, terutama bagi yang jauh dari kota atau yang ingin menonton film lama. Berbagai over-the-top (OTT) streaming service internasional (seperti Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hostar) bahkan yang dari Asia dan Indonesia (seperti Iflix, Catchplay, maupun GoPlay) hadir dengan berbagai kemudaha...

24Feb

By Paskalis Damar4 Comments

Featured, Sinek-Talk

Sinekdoks’ Best of 2010s

The Best Movies of the Decade 2010s list is more of a celebratory event for sinekdoks. The 2010s decade marks the birth-decade of this blog. From 2010 onwards, cinema—the building—has been my escape; since then, I have never spent a year without going to the cinema. It's an achievement to me—who spent half of the previous decade watching new movies via VCD and DVD rented from the neighborhood rentals. In 2011, there was a national event that almost killed the joy of watching movies at the cinema; but, we overcame it eventually. In July 2013, sinekdoks posted the first entry. In 2016, Netflix officially launched its streaming service in Indonesia followed by other streaming services, i.e., Iflix, Hooq, Viu, Catchplay, Prime Video, and others, which I immediately subscribed to. In 2018, ...

8Jan

By Paskalis Damar2 Comments

Sinek-Talk

Best of 2019

When talking about composing lists of 'Best Movies of the Year', including Best Movies of 2019 list, the problem has always been one: release year. Using the major awards' timeline is nonsensical for casual viewers with limited access to festivals and other modes. Some of the award-bait movies are not usually released until the year-end; and that only means 'delay' for international (a.k.a. non-US) viewers. Therefore, when I compose my personal lists, I tend to compromise even when that means I have to revisit the list and (occasionally) make necessary revisions. This time, I have to do such practices again under similar circumstances (despite the major developments in the movie streaming industry to compete against conventional theaters). The year is 2019. It's a monumental cinematic ...

Sinek-Talk: 8 Film untuk Ditonton before/after Midsommar

14Sep

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Sinek-Talk

Sinek-Talk: 8 Film untuk Ditonton before/after Midsommar

Midsommar hadir untuk mengkultuskan nama Ari Aster sebagai salah satu pencerita horror paling sahih dewasa ini. Dibintangi Florence Pugh dan Jack Reynor, film ini mengisahkan tentang pasangan yang hubungannya rumit ini bersama rekan-rekannya saat mereka diundang menghadiri perayaan summer solstice di Swedia. Terlihat riang ria dalam rupanya, Midsommar menyimpan kengerian yang seolah selalu minta diperhatikan (simak review-nya di sini). Pelan-pelan, film ini menggerogoti penontonnya dengan berbagai imageri yang mengerikan kalau tidak memabukkan. Yang paling mengena dari horror Aster yang satu ini adalah aftertaste-nya. Susah untuk segera move on dari film ini. Untuk itu, Sinek-Talk by sinekdoks mempersembahkan sebuah list 8 film untuk ditonton before atau after Midsommar. Silakan menikm...

17Jan

By Paskalis Damar2 Comments

Featured, Sinek-Talk

Best of 2018

Welcome back to Sinekdoks with the annual ‘Best of the Year’ series—an appreciation content to honor my most favorite movies that were released in 2018. Speaking of 2018… The year has been the toughest one for Sinekdoks since the blog first established on 2013. I’ve been going on painstaking writing hiatus—something that I haven’t ever done before—for more than once during the year. I think the major reason behind it was some kind of breakdown iI experienced n the wake of the year. There was some kind of guilty feeling emerged when I start writing. I was lucky that it was only a temporary state. However, the consequence was more dire than I thought it would be. I was having difficulty in keeping up with blogging routine; at the same time, I began to luxuriate myself in the opulence ...

28Jan

By Paskalis Damar2 Comments

Sinek-Talk, TV Series

Best of 2017: TV Series

During 2017, Sinekdoks finished up 35 titles of TV series out of 38 titles watched with 26 titles are new series premiered during the year (Check out all the titles here!). It was a massive number of titles for me since I usually only finished up 10-15 titles in a year. Netflix contributed to the increasing numbers with total 19 titles streamed via the platform. (more…)

21Jan

By Paskalis Damar13 Comments

Movie Review, Sinek-Talk

Best of 2017: Films

Unlike previous years, 2017 was actually saving us a great year of cinematic history. While the award seasons seem cool without overly strong contenders, the year actually gave us a diverse, colorful series of cinematic wonders. We saw the rise of new forces, new auteurs and recognition to minority-group filmmakers, including the whole new face of women's cinema and the answers to the #SoWhite campaign. We also saw how scandals and the massive expose that followed turned Hollywood upside down. Yet, for whatever happened in the industry, cinematic world did not cease to amuse us with the wonders, hence this list of 2017 best films. (more…)

31Jan

By Paskalis Damar12 Comments

Sinek-Talk

Best of 2016: Films

For all the flops and the bombs, and all the hypes and all the vibes, 2016 was an offbeat year for films. The year witnessed the falls of mega-franchise and sequels, but also saw the rises of smaller-scale gems. Controversy engulfed films on-screen and off-screen culminating in series of backlash to Oscars contenders; but, compassion has won over the fatigue audiences with the dormant genres awakening---say, musical, children literature and satire. Among the finest gems of the year, Sinekdoks has hand-picked the top 20 films watched between the period of January 30, 2016 to January 28, 2017. While the numbers of films Sinekdoks has declined into 150 new films by the end of period, 2016 is still a very merry year with 13 films achieving 4 stars and around 20 others achieving 3.5 stars. Here...

28Jan

By Paskalis Damar10 Comments

Sinek-Talk

Best of 2016: Biggest Misses

This is a new category on my Best of Year series. Biggest Misses of the year is an answer to some frequently asked questions asking about some films, which aren't on the list. It's the list of my biggest regret of the year for not having able to watch these films, which turns out great in 2016... and here's 20 Biggest Misses of 2016! (more…)

28Jan

By Paskalis Damar6 Comments

Sinek-Talk

Best of 2016: Performances

My most favorite list in a year is always: Best Performances. It's a list dedicated to the year's most fascinating acting performances---as usual, I made this list without classification. There's no leading or supporting category; there's no male or female category; there's no young or veteran category; there's even space for screen-stealers. Among the most vigorous performances in 2016, here's my list of 15 Best Performances of 2016! (more…)

24Jan

By Paskalis Damar8 Comments

Sinek-Talk

Best of 2016: Movie Music Moments

To start Sinekdoks’ Best of 2016 series, let’s start with Best Movie Music Moments – a new category I picked for this year. The reason is simple: I am a music fan like everyone else and, usually, my yearly Best Scene lists contained one or two music moments, hence this category. This is a list dedicated to some minutes in movies whose groove gets us into sing along and/or dance along. To the beats, to the lyrics, to the voice, and to the harmony, I root my 10 best music moments in the 2016 movies. Some moments might lead to spoiler. Read at your own risk and do not forget to comment after reading. (more…)

Announcing The Blind Spot Series 2017 Participation

15Dec

By Paskalis Damar9 Comments

Blindspot Series, Blogathon, Sinek-Talk

Announcing The Blind Spot Series 2017 Participation

After failing to complete Blind Spot Series 2015 and missing the whole challenge in 2016, Sinekdoks returns for Blind Spot Series 2017 hosted by Ryan McNeill of The Matinee. The idea is: picking 12 films to watch; one film each month for the course of a year. However, it is not merely a shame-list or to-watch list; there must be a sense of purpose to arrange the list. As for 2017, I dedicate this year's series as a homage to several Oscars' Best Pictures I missed from the beyond the 2010s, which I can get the access to watch. I am gonna watch the films in reverse-chronological order to signify the flashback (except for two titles I cannot watch in backwards). (more…)

7Dec

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Sinek-Talk

The 2016 Piala Maya Nominations

Piala Maya, also known as Maya Awards, is an annual Indonesian film awards initiated by Indonesian online film enthusiasts. As per 2016, the award hits its fifth run hinted by the picked theme '5ELEBRASI' --- a portmanteau of the word 'selebrasi' (celebration) and 5. On November 30, 2016, Piala Maya has announced the list of nominations with total 31 categories, including a new additional category. Athirah leads the race with 13 nominations, followed by the closest contenders, Surat dari Praha (Letters from Prague) and A Copy of My Mind with respectively 11 nominations. Meanwhile, three other films following with 7 nominations are Ada Apa dengan Cinta? 2, Warkop DKI Reborn: Part 1, and Aisyah: Biarkan Kami Bersaudara. Piala Maya 2016 is special for SINEKDOKS is granted a nomination under '...

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