BORDERLESS FOG (Indonesia2024) ***1/2
Directed by Edwin
The new Netflix Indonesian crime thriller is called BORDERLESS FOG as the setting is along the border in Borneo of Malaysia and Indonesia. Knowledge of the local Geography and politics would enhance the appreciation of this movie’s setting.
Firstly, the film is set in Borneo. Borneo is the third largest island in the world. Borneo, a giant, rugged island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago, is shared by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the tiny nation of Brunei. It is known for its beaches and ancient, biodiverse rainforest, home to wildlife including orangutans and clouded leopards. It is sparsely populated but contains riches in natural beauty and minerals.
The film’s setting is along the border of Malaysia and Indonesia. There had been political conflict in the past involving the communist insurgency. The Dyaks are the native people of the island as the Maoris are of New Zealand and the Aborigines are to Australia. They are often looked down upon as are all indigenous peoples. There are also fighting communist insurgents, the leaders of one of which died and his ghost was reported to be haunting the area of the story’s setting.
A detective is forced to confront the ghosts of her past while investigating a mysterious serial murder case along the Indonesia-Malaysia border. When the story of Borderless Fog begins, a body falls down from a tree into a food stall. The body has been decapitated and it turns out the head and body are from two different victims. And before long, more murders happen that affect the local Dayak community.
Sanja Arunika is a detective with the rank of Second Police Inspector (Ipda) who comes from a big city, Jakarta, on the island of Sumatra, the capital of Indonesia. When Sanja was transferred from Jakarta to Kalimantan, she was given the task of investigating a serial murder case that occurred on the border between Indonesia and Malaysia. When Santa first meets her counterparts in the place when she arrives, the chief remarks to her: “Nice glasses. Very suitable for the Borneo Fashion week, “ to which Santa replies: “I might lend them to you to use.” The interaction of a displaced but efficient cop in a different environment is not new fodder but quite good entertainment fodder, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s cop in Do Siegel’s COOGAN'S BLUFFin which Eastwood had to take matters into his own hands when not receiving any cooperation from his peers.
The chase and the use of firearms become inevitable when Sanja starts hunting for the alleged perpetrator. From his investigations, she slowly succeeded in uncovering various mysteries.
BORDERLESS FOG is a neat, efficient, and entertaining crime drama, the first I have seen from Indonesia that blends the cop caper with the rich local culture and politics. Indonesian films come with varied quality but glad to say, this one comes with high production values. BORDERLESS FOG opens for streaming this week on Netflix and deserves a look.
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KNEECAP (Ireland 2024) ***
Directed by Rich Peppiatt
A country that does not speak its own language is only half a nation. These are the important words uttered as the Northern Irish fight for the use and practice of the Irish language. Irish was banned by the British for years and only recognized as a language in the U.K. in 2022. Two films will make history in championing this course. In Colm Bairéad’s 2022 THE QUIET GIRL, most of the film’s dialogue was shot in Waterford Irish, a form of Munster Irish. That excellent film on my top 10 list of 2022 was Ireland's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and became the first Irish film in history to achieve the nomination. It also received BAFTA Award nominations for Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Adapted Screenplay. The other film is KNEECAP has already won the Sundance Audience Award. The two films are highly different. THE QUIET GIRL is quiet and pensive while KNEECAP is loud and boisterous, about an Irish rap trio. The trio reluctantly call themselves KNEECAP
The rap trio KNEECAP is made up of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí who play themselves in the film, a sort of loose biopic. They have built up a notoriety for themselves that hasn't been seen in Irish music for many years, perhaps ever. Their use of foul language and drug dealing will infuriate many. But they rap in Irish thus promoting the cause. The film, often all over the place as can be witnessed in the film’s initial 15 minutes, and not for want of energy, demonstrates for better or for worse, the frighteningly articulate rap group. Merging Irish with English, satire with socially conscious lyrics, and reality with absurdity, this voice comes screaming from the too-often deprived areas of the North of Ireland, speaking in a language that is too often ignored, and it makes for suitably electrifying stuff. There seems to be no stopping their spectacular rise, with sold-out tours in the US and UK and even bigger plans to come
The film begins with the story of Irish militant Arlo. Arlo (played by Michael Fassbender, HUNGER) is presumed dead though his body was never found. He advises his son on the importance of the Irish language saying that a word spoken in the language is like a bullet fired for Irish freedom. The son and his best friend sell drugs when they aren’t partying. But their lives change after meeting music teacher JJ who turns their notebook scribblings into songs. The film follows the formation of the group while celebrating their songs, often with rude lyrics.
Director Peppiatt appears desperate for his film to have a solid ending. But the appearance of the peelers (what they call the cops) at the end of the film chasing them backstage while Arlo appears comes across as too incredible to be true.
KNEECAP opens on August 2 across Canada, including Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal!
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SAVING BIKINI BOTTOM: THE SANDY CHEEKS MOVIE (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Liza Johnson
Bikini Bottom has been stolen. Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob watch in disbelief as everyone's favorite town is scooped out of the ocean by a sinister, mysterious company. Now, Sandy and SpongeBob must go on an epic quest to Sandy's home state of Texas and enlist her family to help save Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs and the rest of the gang before time runs out.
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg that first aired on Nickelodeon as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17, 1999. It chronicles the adventures of the title character and his aquatic friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The series received worldwide critical acclaim and gained popularity in its second season. As of 2019, the series is the fifth-longest-running American animated series
SpongeBob SquarePants? SpongeBob SquarePants is an energetic and optimistic yellow sea sponge who lives in a submerged pineapple. SpongeBob has a childlike enthusiasm for life, which carries over to his job as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab. One of his life's greatest goals is to obtain a boat-driving license from Mrs. Puff's Boating School, but he never succeeds. His favourite pastimes include "jellyfishing", which involves catching jellyfish with a net in a manner similar to butterfly catching, and blowing soap bubbles into elaborate shapes. He has a pet sea snail with a pink shell and a blue body named Gary, who meows like a cat.
Who would want to watch a SpongeBob SquarePants movie? I asked around and many I spoke to said that it was a cartoon of their time. Myself, I have watched a few and found them really silly. But not silly stupid but silly funny. There's not much to concentrate on, but just sit back and have a good laugh with the kids. Their new Netflix original animated feature is open for streaming this week and serves much of the same - silly but funny entertainment that should have you laugh aloud a couple of times, never mind you have not learned anything about life or anything else.
What is Bikini Bottom? Bikini Bottom is the main setting in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. It is an undersea city-state where SpongeBob and his friends live. Bikini Bottom is located in the Pacific Ocean, beneath Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The city is run by the mayor, and governed by the royal family, as they rule over the entire ocean.
It consists of several various different businesses, including restaurants, stores, and manufacturers. Bikini Bottom is home to almost all of the entire central cast of SpongeBob SquarePants.
In this film, Sandy Cheeks is the main star. She is an American squirrel from the surface who wears a diving suit and lives in an air-filled glass treedome to survive underwater. She is voiced by Carolyn Lawrence. Sandy is a thrill seeker who loves extreme sports, and karate. Having come from the state of Texas, she has a Southern drawl and a love for rodeos. She works as a scientist and builds both her freedom and air suit and helmet herself. She is also a member of the Gal Pals along with Karen, Mrs. Puff, and Pearl.
SAVING BIKINI BOTTOM: THE SANDY CHEEKS MOVIE is exactly what is to be expected from a SpongeBob SquarePants movie - madcap and irrelevant silly fun.
THE SHAKEDOWN (South Africa 2024) ***
Directed by Ari Kruger
THE SHAKEDOWN refers to the shakedown devised by the story’s protagonist a fitness golden boy attempting to keep his reputation after being blackmailed by his physiotherapist. He arranges for two of his brother’s hitmen to use scare tactics to effect a shakedown on her. But things go wrong. Not only is the girl killed instead of being scared, but the dead girl is the wrong person.
From South Africa comes this new amusing crime comedy. Crime comedies are not that common not to mention humour coming from South Africa. Not many, myself included can tell if someone is from South Africa from their accent. If the accent is not quite British, Australian, or New Zealand, then it must be South African. THE SHAKEDOWN, a crime comedy offers the rare chance to be entertained with South African Humour, and the film is funny, delivering mouth a high hit-and-miss ratio and many countless laugh-out laugh moments.
THE SHAKEDOWN is a Fargo-esque comedy-of-errors that follows Justin Diamond (Carl Beukes), a well-respected family man and medical aid broker who finds himself being blackmailed after his physiotherapist threatens to reveal the secret of their affair.
Desperate to maintain his golden boy reputation, Justin teams up with his 'black sheep' brother Dovi, to handle the escalating chaos. However, both their actions lead them down a path filled with dangerous criminals, mistaken identities, and comic mishaps into the clumsiness of the Cape Town underworld.
Being a touted comedy, director Kruger keeps the violence at a minimum, or rather controlled.. One violent scene occurred at the hospital where the patient was being tortured with a hammer to the legs and knees in order to get information. The violent scene adds comedy to it, as the patient is in a partial coma, impervious to pain.
Director Ari Kruger proves his talent for comedy. THE SHAKEDOWN marks Kruger’s feature directorial debut. He had previously earned three Best Comedy Director nods at the South African Film & Television Awards for his work on the “Tali’s Diary” series, while also directing award-winning short films, TV commercials and comedy specials for Nik Rabinowitz and Marc Lottering.
The film reveals the serval variations of love. Justin truly loves his family and two children as well as his fitness routines. He does not endorse his crooked brother who has been in jail and does not invite the brother to his daughter’s grand bar mitzvah. The brother shows up. The brother, apparently single, loves family putting family above all else. He is upset that he has not been invited to his brother's children's functions such as their birthday parties and now the bar mitzvah. The wife loves Justin but also regular sex. When the frequency of sex decreases, she resorts to the purchase of a celebrity sex doll to fluff her sexual, appetite on the advice of her friend. Her fantasy is Antonio, short for Antonio Banderas.
PRIME VIDEO will release its first South African original film, the Cape Town-set crime caper comedy THE SHAKEDOWN which will be available globally (Prime Video) on the streamer Aug. 8.
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