Current updates.

This block is more relaxing than my previous block. After the ashes falling last Friday, finally today it's raining again. It feels like everything going back to like it used to be. Right before the catastrophe happened, it rained heavily everyday that I even got annoyed. After that happened, I kept praying for it to rain heavily but not even a single drop of rain fell down. Just hoping that the ashes are being swept by the rain so that everything's going to be clean again. This Sunday Im going to do some society contribution things with my organisation and Im so excited because last year I didnt get the chance to join since it happened to be on the same day of another activity in another organisation. For the Buddy Club, I still havent met up with my buddy yet. I also met another buddy from China and this makes me really happy. it's like you know you're the minority of mandarin-speaking Chinese and I meet someone who can speak chinese too yeay! Current addictive drama is Emergency Couple by Song Ji Hyo and Choi Jin Hyuk and the songs are Hikari e by Miwa and Koisuru no Fortune Cookies by AKB48. Have a nice day peeps!

This is the live accoustic version. The original version is the OST for dorama "Rich Man Poor Woman" theme song. Highly recommended!

Ashes yes.

As you might have know, Mount Kelud erupted a few days ago which was exactly on Valentine's Day and the ashes flew here even though the mount's location is in East Java. They said it may because of the wind's direction that's why in East java itself the ashes were not these much but it came here. Jogja became a dead town for the whole day and it was worse. I didnt know it'll be like this because when I woke up it's dark and I thought it was going to rain. People resumed the activities on Friday since the ashes keep falling for a few hours in the morning. It's still worse these 2 days because there's no rain at all where usually everyday it's raining heavily. Thanks God it's raining yesterday although for only about 30 minutes but at least the ashes have mixed with the rainpour. I just hope these days we get a heavy rain so that the ashes can be swept away.

Movie review: Montage (몽타주)

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I should say Im TOO active in writing reviews these 2 weeks. ignore this I've just finished watching a korean film Montage, which is ridiculously good. This is a 2013 film and I've been searching for it for a long time. The genre is thriller and stars Uhm Jung Hwa as a mother whose daughter, Seo Jin, was kidnapped 15 years ago and died while the suspect is still around. Kim Sang Kyung stars as Detective Oh who was signed for this case and it'll reach the statue of limitation (SOL) in a few days. 5 days before the SOL, somebody put a flower in the crime scene where no one knew this place except the mother, detective, and police. Detective Oh try as fast as possible to search for the suspect using the evidence that's left. At last it reached the SOL and I thought it has ended but the story actually starts here. A few days later a similar case happens where a child was kidnapped while being left alone in the playground by her grandpa. The kidnapping style is reconstructed of what have happened 15 years ago and this time, the investigation team decides to search for Detective Oh since all the information in the secret room has been burnt. At the same time, mother is also searching for the suspect by her own using the evidence they found a few days before reaching the SOL. In the beginning of the movie, we're served with a scene in a highway where the mother is inside the car with her head being wrapped with a plastic bag and the next scene is the detective having an accident in not far from her car. I was confused with this at first but as it flows, you'll finally connect to the what happened in the first scene. I enjoy this movie from the beginning till end and the satisfying ending is indeed a plus point for me. I was thrilled all the time, especially for the twist in the middle of the story which I didnt predict it at all. Uhm Jung Hwa is way too good in performing as a mother who has suffered for 15 years because of her daughter's death and her kidnapper is still not being caught. I've watched her movies before where mostly she starred in romance movies. This is my first time watching Kim Sang Kyung's acting and he's freaking good. Montage didnt disappoint me where sometimes korean movies had a great storyline but the ending ruined everything.

Score: 8/10

Synopsis:
A kidnapper disappeared 15 years ago without a trace. Five days before the case's statute of limitations expires, someone anonymously leaves a flower at the crime scene. A few days later, another kidnapping takes place using the same method on a similar target. Three people team up to solve the case before it's too late: the grandfather (Song Young-chang), who lost his granddaughter right in front of him, the mother (Uhm Jung-hwa), who has been searching for the person who abducted her daughter 15 years ago, and the detective with a guilty conscience (Kim Sang-kyung), who puts everything into this long-unsolved case. (wiki)

Oho.

It's been a week of school and yes Im still in the mood of holiday. That's why Im really active in doing reviews this week. Maybe another reason is because our faculty is the first one to start the academic activity while others might start in the next 2 weeks. Currently Im not really into kdramas; the only one Im following now is Emergency Couple. At first, Im not that attracted to this series but as it goes on, it's just entertaining. Ji Hyo and Jin Hyuk are just perfect together. Tbh, actually this is still in the CNY mood, but I cant feel the euphoria here in Jogja. Everything is just flat as though nothing happens. It freaks me for a while. Medanese is celebrating che 7 with praying and playing fireworks and here Im sleeping. Pathetic huh? I just hope next year I can stay longer in my hometown to celebrate CNY; not like this year where I only got to celebrate 3 days. Period.

Book review: Restart (Nina Ardianti)

This book has made me going back and forth a few times to bookstore because: first, I want to buy it because the cover is so attractive and second, I've never read this author's book before so it's not a guarantee that great cover makes great story too. At last I make a gamble because the book's price is in my range and yes, I dont regret. It starts with Syiana as the main lead, a banker with everything in her life is scheduled. She thinks her life is great because when something doesnt go according to her plan, she hates it. We also find out that her boyfriend for 3 years, Yudha, cheats on her when she thought that she would spend the rest of her life with him. Then comes our hero, Fedrian/Ian, Dejavu's band member slash the rising star of the year slash Indonesia's 50 most eligible bachelor. He just came right on time when she's heartbroken. I think this is a very ordinary romance story but I find it good and the author writes it perfectly. The way Ian approaches her for the first time, does sweet things for her, always by her side when she needs, his sarcasm way of talking and I-dont-care reaction are what I love the most. The most memorable part for me is when Syiana met Ian for the first time in HK but at that time Ian's friend puked at her shoes and when Ian came to help him, he thought she was the one who brought him to the bar. She got mad and threw beer in her glass to his face, not knowing that he's the hot guy on demand now. Through fate they met again and when Syiana's workplace decided to use Dejavu as their brand ambassador, she just knew them. It continues as Ian suddenly added her bbm pin and asked her for lunch, and the story goes on. He is indeed fast forward. When usually most male characters will be charming and sweet, he is different. I did love sweet and charming guys but sometimes something out of the box can make different point of view. The cover itself has been a plus point for me, especially for the red color, and another thing I like is that the characters are connected from one novel to another. I just knew that Syiana's bestfriend, Edyta, was the main character in Nina's previous novel, Fly To The Sky. This is really my style as my first one is AliaZalea's series and second is Ilana Tan's series. The conflict at the end was too little and easy to solve whereas usually others made it more intense before the leads can finally get together. We also almost didnt find any antagonist character. Anyway Restart can be your reference if you are a fan of romance story. 4 starts for this one^^

Synopsis:
"Semua orang pernah patah hati. All you have to do is move on."

Aku selalu mengira tak akan bisa hidup tanpa cintanya. Aku lupa, semua luka perlahan-lahan akan sembuh juga. Biarkan saja waktu yang menjadi obatnya.

Saat itu akan tiba, ketika aku benar-benar menerima kenyataan bahwa kini tak ada lagi 'kita'. Sekarang hanya aku, minus dirinya. Dia pergi terlalu lama dan aku terlalu bodoh terus-terusan memikirkan dirinya. Aku bisa hidup tanpa kenangan dan senyumannya. Kalau sebelum mengenal dia saja aku bisa bahagia, apa bedanya bahagia setelah tanpa dirinya?

Aku pasti akan jatuh cinta lagi. Suatu hari nanti... dan dengan yang lebih baik dari dirinya.

"Semua orang pernah patah hati. All you have to do is move on." - Restart

Movie review: The Face Reader

One of my most anticipated movies in 2013. I finished this today and it did satisfied me. Starring Song Kang Ho as the face reader, this saeguk film tells about how he can accurately read everyone's character through their face because everybody has different face line. The other main leads are Jo Jung Seok as his brother-in-law and Lee Jong Suk as his limp son. The family has been exiled because of his father who was a traitor to the king and their lives are dull. LJS once saw an injustice towards the poor so he wanted to be a government official to set for justice. At first SKH didnt agree because he didnt want his son to face those political things but his in-law supported his son and finally he agreed. The story continues as they went apart; SKH and JJS made it to the government as an unofficial official because of his face reading ability got recognised widely and his son made it through although he changed his name. The rest would be the political problem, mostly about the king's uncle who wants to dethrone the new young king. I like how they bring the face reading ability as the main theme here. The way they describe it when he was reading people's face is just awesome; I was awed for a few times. The plot is still about Joseon dynasty (if Im not mistaken) but the King is not King Sejong. Jo Jung Seok also did it very well; his character is talkative but not overacting (not like what he did in Architecture 101 where I almost didnt recognise him). As for Lee Jong Suk, his hairstyle is wooooorse yet his acting is okay. I wont make any spoiler here; I myself think the ending suits it the best. The Face Reader also became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea in 2013, with 9.1 million admissions. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang Ho. Very recommended one!

Synopsis:
Nae-gyeong, the most skillful face reader in Joseon dynasty, was living in seclusion when he was offered a lucrative partnership by Yeon-hong, a gisaeng. Nae-gyeong accepts the proposal to read the faces of Yeon-hong’s guests only to get involved in a murder case. With his face reading skills, Nae-gyeong successfully identifies the murderer and his skills are soon acknowledged by King Munjong who orders him to identify the potential traitors who threaten his reign. However after the unexpected death of Munjong, Nae-gyeong is courted by Grand Prince Suyang who yearns to become King himself by killing the young successor Danjong. Nae-gyeong decides to keep his loyalty to the late King and help Kim Jongseo protect the young King which forces him into the biggest power struggle in the history of the Joseon dynasty. (wiki)

Book review: Dirty Little Secret (AliaZalea)

The last one from Adriana dkk series. I only need 4 days to finish this book. I should say I love this one a lot. As usual, the writer describes the character not overdramatic yet just in a perfect way. This time, the main character is Jana Oetomo, one of Adriana's bffs, and Ben Barata, his ex-lover. Jana has twins and she was never married because of the painful memories caused by Ben years ago. Ben comes back from America to Indonesia to search for Jana who disappeared after he told her to abort her pregnancy. He regretted that and has been searching Jana for years but useless. He met Jana surprisingly in an event where his sister asked him to be her accompanion. One thing that he never thought is that Jana never abort her pregnancy and Ben was shocked to find out that he was father of twins. The story tells more about how Ben tries to win Jana and her twins' hearts. I find this cute since previously the Adriana series tells more about the process of a couple falling in love, not like this one where we already knew that Jana and Ben have fallen in love since the very first time and the feeling is still the same until now. DLS is also not as hot as all previous series; the intimate scenes are just kissing. I think this really suits as the last series since it's an anticlimax of all, being sweet without overrated. The ending is just the thing I hate the most; Im sure it's a happy ending but I think she doesnt describe it more detail. I'd like to see if she writes clearly what the ending will be like. The cover is also a minus for me since I prefer the style of previous series cover and Im confuse why they decide to publish those books with new covers when the old ones are already perfect. But still, I give 5 stars for this one; the storyline is just the best.

Synopsis:
MEET THE HERO

Ben Barata. Sukses dengan kariernya dan berkehidupan mapan, tapi masih merasakan kekosongan dalam hidupnya. Dan dia yakin kekosongan itu hanya bisa diisi oleh Jana, cewek yang menghilang tanpa jejak setelah hatinya dia injak-injak bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Dia bertekad untuk bertekuk lutut meminta maaf dan mendapatkan kesempatan kedua dengan Jana... Namun, bagaimana dia bisa melakukannya tanpa membuat Jana mengambil langkah seribu ketika melihatnya?

MEET THE HEROINE

Jana Oetomo. Ibu dari sepasang anak kembar yang bandelnya setengah mati dengan sebuah rahasia yang memberikan definisi baru pada ungkapan “skeletons in the closet”. Namun sepertinya rahasia itu tidak bisa tetap terkubur, terutama ketika Ben, orang terakhir yang dia inginkan mengetahui rahasia itu, tiba-tiba muncul kembali dalam kehidupannya. Dan dia lebih baik mati daripada membiarkan Ben dekat-dekat dengannya lagi. (goodreads)