In Indonesia’s first stab at the storied genre, Buffalo Boys director Mike Wiluan opted for a brash, guns out thrill ride that, while its eyes are often bigger than its stomach, aims to use the brutality of its familiar backdrop as the catalyst for sheer, fast-paced popcorn entertainment. Instead of chronicling a trek down the Oregon Trail or zeroing in on a California gold rush settlement, Wiluan takes us to 19th-century Java, as two brothers, Jamar and Suwo, are on a mission to avenge their father’s death and reclaim what is rightfully theirs from the cartoonishly evil colonial governor Van Trach. Published in Daily Times, January 21st 2019.