Movie Review : The Last Airbender

On Thursday, August 6th 2010, I went to blitzmegaplex Mall of Indonesia with my family to watch "The Last Airbender" movie. This movie is a live adaptation version from the same-titled cartoon series, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (remember Stuart Little, guys ?). I'm a big fan of this series, I always watch them on TV and buy all the DVDs, so I know every detail of the story :)

"The Last Airbender" (or in cartoon version, the title is "Avatar : The Legend of Aang / The Last Airbender) bercerita tentang keempat negara ; Pengembara Udara, Suku Air, Kerajaan Tanah, dan Negara Api. Keempat negara sebelumnya hidup dalam damai, sampai kemudian Negara Api menyerang mereka. Yang bisa menghentikan mereka cuma Avatar, yang menguasai keempat elemen. Tetapi, tepat 100 tahun sebelum perang, si Avatar menghilang.

100 tahun kemudian, kakak beradik dari Suku Air, Sokka dan adiknya Katara, menemukan bocah 12 tahun bernama Aang tertidur dalam sebuah bola misterius, bersama bison terbangnya yang bernama Appa. Aang, yang ternyata seorang Avatar, adalah yang terakhir tersisa dari kelompok Pengembara Udara. Aang yang belum menguasai ketiga bentuk pengendalian yang lain, akhirnya bersahabat dengan Sokka dan Katara dan berpetualang mengelilingi dunia untuk belajar pengendalian dan menghentikan perang.

Sementara itu, Zuko, pangeran Negara Api, berusaha memburu Avatar ditemani oleh pamannya, Jenderal Iroh. Zuko melakukannya agar ia bisa kembali ke rumah dan diterima kembali oleh ayahnya, Raja Api Ozai. And, to shorten the verrryyy long story (hey, you guys can read the complete story on the web, okay ?), team Aang versus team Zuko, saling berpacu dengan waktu untuk menyelamatkan dunia dan mengungkap kebenaran.

The Last Airbender cartoon version (photo credit)

But honestly, in my opinion, this human version is a total fail.

I have some reasons for my statement :

* the weakest part of this movie is the cast. Aang (played by Noah Ringer) memainkan perannya dengan super kaku, kayak ngebaca dialog yang ada di layar kamera. Sokka (played by too-handsome-to-be-Sokka, Jackson Rathbone), yah, begitulah, terlalu serius untuk menjadi seorang Sokka. Jarang sekali sisi konyol Sokka ditampilkan dalam film berdurasi 102 menit ini. Peran Katara (played by Nicola Peltz) menurut gue ditampilkan dengan cukup baik. And I love her hairstyle :)
Tapi, yang paling berbeda (dan mengecewakan) dibandingkan versi kartunnya adalah pemeran Zuko dan Uncle Iroh. Zuko (played by the rising star Dev Patel), terkesan terlalu "baik" dan kurang sangar, gak seperti versi kartunnya. Begitu juga dengan Uncle Iroh (played by Shaun Toub), kurang buncit !!! Dan terlalu serius. Tapi hal ini bisa dimaklumi, mengingat ini adalah film adaptasi Shyamalan yang pertama.

* the choreography in Fire bending and Earth bending is a big mess. Menurut pengamatan gue sebagai penonton setia Avatar, mulai dari episode 1 sampe tamat, gerakan Fire bending dan Earth bending yang ditampilkan di film ini terlalu "gemulai". Seharusnya, gerakan Fire bending dan Earth bending dibawakan dengan keras dan lugas, mengingat sifat kedua elemen ini yang dominan dan agresif. Lain halnya dengan gerakan Water bending dan Air bending yang menurut gue udah tepat.

The Last Airbender movie poster (photo credit)

Tapi harus diakui, untuk urusan efek dan sound, film ini menurut gue cukup baik. Sepertinya akan ada sekuelnya (karena di film ini hanya dibahas sampai perang di Suku Air Utara), dan gue berharap sekuelnya bisa jauh lebih baik dari film ini. They should get better acting lesson (or better cast, maybe).

In My Bag

Few days ago, I saw a young lady at Kelapa Gading Mall, sightseeing with her friend. The interesting part is what was that lady carrying. She was only carrying a small black purse with her, hanging at her wrist. When she opened it, I had a chance to peep on it ;)

It was a surprise, that she just brought her cellphone and some money with her. She didn't even bring her wallet, just let her money (plus coins) and cards scattered inside her purse. I can't stop thinking of how could she left home without essential stuff in her bag.
I myself, had learned that if you would go far from home, you should have your best sidekicks in your bag. In this case, the best example is my mom, who is always bring tons of stuff in her huge handbag. It's like, you could find anything you need in her bag, hahaha :D

Just like my mom, I usually carry lot of things in my bag. You'll never know what you or other people may need, right ?

I've been carrying my huge mark-n-mag bag for a month. Simple, spacious, and very lightweight. Plus, its adorable navy color goes with most of my clothes.




And these are my daily essentials :

* Black Esprit wallet : my favorite. It holds all my cash and cards, even my pen and USB flash
drive :)
* Blue purse, which includes mini scissors, sewing kit (needle, threads, buttons), transparant
band aid, safety pins, alcohol papers, mosquito repellent, hair tie, bobby pins, hand sanitizer,
and inhaler.
* Maybelline Clear Smooth compact powder
* Nivea lip balm (rose flavor)
* Dry and wet tissue
* Paperclips in many colors, because I have a long-term relationship with papers ;)
* Earphone
* Small notebook (especially to write all my homeworks)
* Hair brush
* Some pantyliners. You know, just in case ...
* Red fold-able umbrella. Rain could always fall even in hot season.
* My Nokia 6303. I love this phone, it has tons of cute games which always save me from boredom.



I also always bring a bottle of water (not pictured above) with me. It prevents me from buying coffee or cola. And I have a plan to add pepper spray, you know, sometimes situation could be so dangerous for a girl.


That's all, my daily essentials that I always carry in my bag. Simple, but when the right time has come, they could be my superhero :)