Movie Review: The Act of Killing (2012)

Legacy of Brutality

Indonesia is a an island nation with a troubled past.  In this documentary, Joshua Oppenheimer gets a rare insight into the men who were considered heroes by some yet who struck terror in the hearts of their enemies.  A group of these men decide to reenact some of the methods that they used to torture and kill their political opponents.  This crazy and bizarre true story is a one of the most powerful things that I've ever seen. 

The Act of Killing gets 5 out of 5 stars!

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous
Writer: N/A
Starring: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 89%

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Did we just walk into a video game?

A swat team enters notorious tenement to take down a local crime lord.  They learn very quickly that they have bitten off more then they can chew.  The rest of the film is pure fighting mayhem as the swat team tries to fight their way to the top, then fight desperately to escape.  Gareth Evans (Merantau) returns with a vengeance in this grimy, yet slick, action flick.  And oh yeah, this film is awesome.  I've been foaming at the mouth to see on DVD like a couple of other recent films that I've reviewed.  This film is very easily better than 90% of all Hollywood action films. Even if the story was worthless (which it definitely is not) the fight choreography alone would make this worth watching. 

The Raid: Redemption kicks its way to the top with 5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Gareth Evans
Writer: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais (Merantau), Ananda George and Ray Sahetapy
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Metacritic:73%

The Raid trailer

I mentioned Gareth Evans' new film The Raid yesterday.  Here's the trailer and a link to articles at Collider and Twitch.  If it is half as good as the trailer, it is on course to put the majority of action films to shame.

Merantau (2009)

Back to the old school future
The story has been told before - country boy goes to city, has adventures - but not with such force.  The protagonist Yuda, a student of Silat Harimau, one of Indonesia's indigenous martial arts, is on his Merantau, a kind of rite of passage for young men.  Upon reaching the big city, Yuda is propelled into the life of a girl names Astri.  After that, the action is off to the races.  With fight after great fight, the choreography and stunt work are outstanding.  This is the type of old school martial arts flick that I love - a down to earth action film in the style of Bruce Lee and early Jackie Chan.  This is a beautiful fighting style and I can't wait to see more of it in Gareth Evans' next film, The Raid. 

A butt kicking 5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Gareth Evans 
Writer: Gareth Evans, Daiwanne Ralie (translation)
Starring: Iko Uwais, Sisca Jessica, Mads Koudal, Laurent Buson
Rotten Tomatoes -  60 (audience score)
Metacritic - no rating