The Grammys have changed its rulings and some of the categories have been either scrapped or combined...
10 years ago
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Review - Seru
Seru is the last horror movie of April... so far all the horror movies this month seem to be missing the mark at being horror movies... more like suspense or thriller movies, with supernatural elements to it... except for Penunggu Istana, coz I did not get to watch that one, so dunno whether it was actually horror or not...
But fret not horror fans, there are a couple of horror movies still coming our way in May...Okay, so... Seru... the title's bit simple and refers to the act of summoning things, so you know sorcery's involved...
Saw this movie at a preview in Wangsa Walk with some colleagues... a lot of stars were there... even those not in the movie like Lisa Surihani and Liyana Jasmay... I even sat one row above the directors and Khatijah Tan... hehe...
Anyway, so Seru is a movie within a movie... or like a documentary-type (mockumentary actually) footage that shows behind the scenes of the making of Jangan Bernafas, a horror movie starring Pierre Andre, Nora Danish and Awal Ashaari.
During one intense scene, one of the crew members started shaking violently and screaming and passed out. Then, another girl also did the same thing, but this one got up and wandered off into the woods. Two crew members went to follow the wandering while the others went back to their base of operations.
The stars left the location, since they could not film anymore, but the cameramen (one's off following the girl in the forest) kept on filming.
The crew started bickering amongst each other, quick to blame the other for what had happened. One of them saw another house at a distance and thought they could ask for help. The couple that lived there came to their aid. The possessed girl was taken to the hospital. But then, scary stuff started happening at the base and soon they find themselves under attack by one of their own.
Meanwhile, the other two can't seem to find the wandering girl but they encountered something else in the forest...
God, I hope I did not spoil the storylines...
Anyway... that's basically the movie... oh, did I mention that this movie is like a mockumentary? Ala The Blair Witch Project? With shaking visuals and all? Yup... if you're not a fan of vertigo and first person POVs, then this might not be the movie for you...
But if you are able to watch Cloverfield or Quarantine or The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity (or even Penunggu Istana) and not flinch or vomit, then go ahead and watch...
This movie is directed by Pierre Andre... who seems to be getting away from the typical Jangan Pandang Belakang type movies, which I guess is a good progression for his horror career. Oh and another guy also directed the movie. Ming Jin. Both of them are credited as the writers as well.
But just so everything's out in the open... Nora Danish, Awal Ashaari and Pierre Andre has cameos in the movie and they are not the stars. Good cameos though. Fooled some of us into thinking Jangan Bernafas was the actual movie. It was a rare touch of satirical humor after the director yelled 'Cut!' and you get to see the stars act diva-ish.
The cast consists mostly of unknowns... the lead of the movie is Shaarnaz and he seemed to be doing an okay job with the acting. The rest of them also not bad but when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, everything just fell apart.
Seru is the movie that has the distinction of making me vomit. Literally. But I managed to hold it down until the end of the movie. If not, I would've vomited on the Pierre Andre, his mom and the other director... yup, I was sitting above these people... I mean, I have seen The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield... to name a few and I have yet to vomit... maybe I am getting older... or maybe it was the flickering lights in the movie, plus the jerky camera movement/first person view...
Few things that bothered me about the movie... first of... the killer is just one person... yes, yes, I've gone and spoiled it... I know... but hey, the movie, like all April horror movies, lack the horror ingredients to be an actual horror... anyway, the killer is one person... there's at least five able bodies there... why can't they subdue the killer? It's not like the killer is picking them off one by one and stalking them like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer or Halloween... the killer actually came out and attacked them in a bunch... I know some people might say possessed people are stronger but there were instances where they fought the killer off and they manage to knock her out... one person knocking her out... why can't they just do that in the beginning? She still has the weapon and she still was possessed... sigh...I won't go into the nitpickings of the dubbing and the extremely shrill noises coming from the cast... I get it, you're scared for your life but if there were a crazed killer on the loose and wants to slit your throat, you really shouldn't be screaming and talking loudly and stuff... the camera's lights should not even be turned on... give away your position much?
Also, why did these people get to survive after a run-in with the evil guys? Why did they let them live and run around again? Coz they needed them all to die for the ceremony right? Why let them loose still?
One final thing that bothered me... and my colleague made me realize this... how on earth did anybody get the footage of this mockumentary? The police? Someone passing by? Jungle trekkers maybe? No way lar. The movie ends with... oh, oh, before we get to that... in the early stages of the movie, we get the handsome mugshot of Shaarnaz saying that everybody's dead and he might be next... that's really great... spoiling the entire movie at the beginning of your movie... now we know all those people are just cannon fodders...
Anyway, yes, footage... somehow or rather, I don't think this footage would ever see the light of day since no one survived... the evil guys who orchastrated the entire thing are the only ones who survived and they would soooooo not turn the footage in coz it's evidence in the crime that they have committed... so I ask again... who got the footage and who revealed it to the world? Like in The Blair Witch Project, the police found the camera while searching for the missing students... but this one? Obviously the bad guys gonna take the camera with them or have it destroyed or something...
Anyway, it's a good effort, something new in Malaysia... but the details... the details are the one thing a lot of filmmakers are totally ignoring (Raja Azmi's Dalam Botol is one shining example) and it really detracts from the movie...
Now, if only someone would go making a slasher film like Scream... maybe Pierre Andre should look into it since Seru is basically a slasher film... take out the annoying screaming and the crazy shakey jerky stroby light effect and the ghost element which did not amount to anything and it is a decent slasher... :)
AI Top 6
The Top 6 takes on Carole King... http://www.rickey.org/?p=63673
Casey Abrams - http://www.rickey.org/?p=63661
Haley Reinhart - http://www.rickey.org/?p=63665
Jacob Lusk - http://www.rickey.org/?p=63638
James Durbin - http://www.rickey.org/?p=63654
Lauren Alaina - http://www.rickey.org/?p=63641Haley/Casey - I Feel The Earth Move http://www.rickey.org/?p=63645
Lauren/Scotty - Up on the Roof http://www.rickey.org/?p=63658
Jacob/James - I'm Into Something Good http://www.rickey.org/?p=63668
Lauren/Scotty - Up on the Roof http://www.rickey.org/?p=63658
Jacob/James - I'm Into Something Good http://www.rickey.org/?p=63668
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Trailer - Super 8
Not sure what this movie's about but it was previewed during the Super Bowl... seems cool... watch this space...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Casting - Charlie's Angels
The new Charlie's Angels TV series has been cast... will it stay true to the original TV show or will it go the way of the films? Guess we'll see... Go Girl Power!http://www.avclub.com/articles/abc-picks-its-new-charlies-angels,50735/
Monday, April 25, 2011
Box Office
Rio keeps them all down... again...http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/04/box-office-tyler-perrys-madeas-big-happy-family-water-for-elephants.html
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
AI Top 7
The Top 7 take the stage... singing songs of the 21st century...http://www.rickey.org/?p=63005
Casey Abrams - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62994
Haley Reinhart - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62983
Jacob Lusk - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62988Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Review - Senjakala
As I've posted before, this month, we got a barrage of horror movies coming our way. Senjakala was the second movie after Dilarang Masuk. Penunggu Istana will be showing this week and next week, Seru. I have seen Seru, and cannot wait to write something about it next week.
Anyway, I went to KLCC to watch Senjakala with Sifu (who taught me a lot of things to do at the movies that would definitely save some money, haha). This would be my first time watching a movie with a well-regarded blogger/reviewer that was not at a media preview. And he did tell me that he would walk out if the movie sucks... (read his review here)
But he did not walk out. Not sure whether it was because the film was good, or it was okay, or because we paid good money for the tickets. Yes, I got a couple of free tickets but we can only go watch it Saturday onwards. Anybody want those tickets, just email me k? :)
So, Senjakala. This would be how many horror movies Ahmad Idham's made now? I lost count. I remember Niyang Rapik (which was not too bad, quite interesting for me... and starred Liyana Jasmay), and last year's Damping Malam, which I did not get to see, but will soon... anyway, I think Ahmad Idham has his own stamp by now, and we can see plenty of his stamp on this movie....
The movie starts with Khalisa dreaming. About running through the forest and bumping into a huge wooden house where she saw herself being possessed. Wakes up. She's in a car with her fiance. Then her fiance ran over a haggardly woman, and he was ran over by a lorry. Then she wakes up. From that moment on, she feels this strong urge to return to her grandmother's house in the kampung, which she was told not to do so by her parents. Of course, she defied them and went anyway, with a girl friend in tow.
There, she found her creepy grandmother, and even creepier kampung folks, who seemed to want her gone. Also, there's this guy who keeps saving her life but refused to interact with her. And there was a bit of a slo-mo 80's style shot when they touched... I think it was supposed to mean that there was an attraction...
So after a while, Khalisa found out the truth of what's going on and that she has an inheritance from her ancestors that she needs to accept, which was why she felt the tug to go visit the grandmother...
Story-wise, it's not bad. And the way it was layered... it was a nice touch I think...
Unfortunately, when it comes down to the actual horror part of this horror movie, it was severely lacking. For a horror-fest April, so far the two movies shown were not exactly horror movies.
And the entities that do show up on screen, especially early on... not exactly relevant to the story. Ahmad Idham did this with Niyang Rapik. All kinds of ghoulies but none of them were actually relevant to the storylines.
I heard from my colleagues and from reading other reviews that the sound mixing was done at Finas and yes, the sound was nice. But... but... why oh why did they use a rattling snake as one of the sounds? It got annoying after a while. Do we even have rattlers in Malaysia?
The actors are not too bad in this movie, but I do think there was a bit of a problem with the dubbing. Some of the actors' mouth are not in sync with the dialogue spewed out. Who's at fault when this happens? Hmmm... Also, Aida Aris and Eizlan Yusof does not look like they could've been the parents of Liyana Jasmay. But then again, Liyana looks like a young girl, what with her being cute and petite.
And the resolving of the conflict? It's always the Ustaz right? I think Malay movies should step out of the religion comfort zone and try to think of imaginative ways to resolve the issues besides just relying on religion.
By the way, Senjakala had a nice touch with the whole Khalisa and Arman romance thingy. I mean, not at first. They had to resort to a musical montage to tell us that they are hanging out and the slo-mo scene to show that there was an attraction. But I saw what the scene was meant to be. It was meant to show that Khalisa felt the attraction of the inheritance or the saka, rather than of Arman. Look at her dead fiance for goodness sake! And then, at the end of the movie, she touched him again, before he left the room and she felt nothing. Or there was no slo-mo scene, so you know that it was the saka and not Arman. Nice one! :)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Review - Scream 4
I love Scream. It was innovative and creative and witty. Brought the slasher flick to a whole new level, instead of just the slashing of the victims.
Scream 4 starts with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returning to Woodsboro for her nationwide book tour and it coincides with the anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders.
Also, in town are the other Woodsboro survivors, Dewey (who is now a sheriff) and Gale, who is now married to Dewey and struggling to accept life in a small town setting, having been a high-flying reporter before. The murders started happening as soon as Sidney puts her foot in Woodsboro, and it seems to be targeting her cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts).
Who will survive? The tagline of the movie says ‘New Decade, New Rules’…
Joining Roberts and the three original Scream stars are Hayden Panitierre who plays Kirby, Jill’s best friend and Marley Shelton as Judy Hicks, a policewoman who is crushing on Dewey.
Also, one of the Culkins. I think it’s Rory. I am not sure. Another familiar face is Adam Brody and Anthony Anderson, who was a staple in spoofs, especially in the Scary Movie series.
Anyway, what made Scream different from the other horror movies, in my opinion, was its suspenseful and intense opening scene. I read that Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell would be in the opening. Both are good actresses and I love Kristen Bell to death so I was super excited.
However, Scream 4’s opening scene lacks a bit in the suspenseful department. It was certainly original though. However, compared to Drew Barrymore’s offing in the first Scream and Cotton Weary’s murder, and even Jada Pinkett Smith’s… Scream 4’s felt a bit detached. Bit of a letdown there. But the rest of the movie was not a letdown at all. It was served up in typical Scream style. Brutal. Intense. Suspenseful. Maybe a bit gorier than the earlier movies. But nothing to get excited about.
However, the Censorship Board here went overboard with the excitement. Oh, no, not really. Most of the scenes were left intact. Unfortunately, they went a bit scissor-happy sometimes and cut up some scenes while some F-Bombs and some very graphic murders were left untouched.
Please, people of the Board… the movie’s classified as 18, so us adults should be able to watch the movie as it were… sigh…
But it did not really detract from the movie though, thank God. Sidney Prescott had never been a ‘taking it lying down’ kinda girl before and in this movie, she did not even need weapons as she can kick the killer’s ass all on her own. Good for her to have learned self defense. But I do really think that she should just carry a gun and shoot the SOB. But then again, there would not be much of a movie now would it? Huhu...
Speaking of the killer(s) of Scream 4... No, I won’t spoil, obviously. The red herrings were on point. I could not figure out who it was until closer to the third act or so… I am not sure how I felt when the killers were revealed. I think I was a bit disappointed that they went that route but now that I think about it, I guess I can digest it. But I gotta tell ya, I am gonna have to watch it again to see how plausible it was for the person(s) to be the killer(s). Some parts need discussing a bit here and there.
Oh, and don't get me started on the audiences. As per usual, there would be a few rude members of the audience. The chatting with each other ones, the talking on the cell ones, the kicking your seat ones, the narrating ones... all kinds of annoying pricks... In this movie, I got an asking questions ones and also a screaming and chatting ones... the latter ones really bug me... if ya wanna talk, go outside lar... lepak at mamak or something... sigh...
Anyway, Scream 4… all bets are off… although if you have seen the teaser or the trailer then you would already know some of the ones who gets killed off already, so their stalking/murder scenes is less effective but no less suspenseful, which is a feat right there. And yes, Scream 4 does measure up to the other Screams well. Perhaps even better than the third one and that right there is no mean feat.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Box Office
Rio is the box office champ! http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-box-office-20110418,0,5982280.story
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Casting - Man of Steel
Michael Shannon joins the cast of Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel as the villain... alongside Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Henry Cavill... Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
April Movies
This month, there will be a plethora of horror movies coming to our cinemas. Local horror movies. On the one hand, it makes me proud that a genre that I absolutely love is getting much, err, love... on the other hand, makes you wonder whether it's gonna be about quality or merely quantity...
Wonder why we're getting barraged with a slew of horror movies? I think it's because most horror movies are profitable... Most... 2Alam did not make as much as its producer touted and did not even breakeven... What? 2Alam was not a horror movie? I was completely horrified when watching it, so that doesn't count? Hehheh... anyway, my colleague just showed me a 2Alam clip which was different from the one I caught at the cinema... is there two versions out? One crappy, and one decent? Hmmm...
But I digress... if you would check out Finas' website, there is a listing of movies shown since the year 2000 and the box office receipts... check out the entries for horror... most of them are profitable... in fact, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam was the top earner of 2003 with a haul of 3.2 million. Jangan Pandang Belakang got a haul of 5.778 million in 2007, making it the year's top earner.
I think, since and after 2007, there has been a lot more horror movies showing in the cinemas...
In 2010, Ngangkung beat every other movie's receipt for a total haul of 8.18 million. Just a side note, Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah raked in 7.9 million and Adnan Sempit 7.66 million in the same year. Looks like the local movie scene's getting revitalized... Shaheizy Sam's star is shining brightly, especially since his double win at Anugerah Bintang-Bintang Popular...
So, because of the box office gold, horror movies are the go-to movies if you wanna make a nice profit for your production house... right? Not that I am complaining coz I get to watch plenty of horror movies... just hope they actually make it good and not just making it for the sake of getting millions...
Anyway, the first movie out this month was Dilarang Masuk... starring Syikin Kamal (Legenda Budak Setan) and Isma Yusoof (Setem)...
My review - http://moviewritings.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-dilarang-masuk.html
This week, it's Senjakala starring Liyana Jasmay (Khurafat) and Zahiril Adzim (Kami the Movie)
On the 21st, Penunggu Istana... starring unknown actors... ala The Blair Witch Project, which kinda worries me a bit... if the execution is good, then the movie will be good...
On the 28th, Seru will be released... starring mostly newbies... and directed by Pierre Andre...
http://www.sinemamalaysia.com.my/film/info/?id=Seru_1043
There are plenty others coming along in the months to come... like...
Momok: Jangan Panggil Aku
Karak: Laluan Puaka
Misteri Dendam Balan
CCTV
Misteri Jalan Lama
Rasuk
Gentayangan
Syirik
Eee...Hantu!!!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Review - Dilarang Masuk
"Ayu Roslan berlakon dalam movie ni ker? Dia tak cakap pun..."
The same speech was uttered when watching Legenda Budak Setan. Syikin Kamal looks exactly like Ayu, my ex colleague. Well, except maybe Syikin's face is a bit more oval. Maybe they can be sisters. :)
So this is the first horror movie to hit us in April. Dilarang Masuk. The first time I saw the title, I thought it was a movie about crossing the border illegally into a country. Did not registered at all it was a horror movie. Then I asked my colleague and he said it was horror. Great!
I got the tickets to watch it on Sunday with a friend. It's always better with a friend. So that you won't get shocked and suffer a heart attack and die alone. Hahhaha...
Went to Midvalley to watch this one. The hall was huge and it was not really a full house but it was not bare either. It's understandable because this movie came up against Hollywood giants like Rio and Source Code. I have seen both on Thursday and then Saturday so I am patriotically doing my duty in support of the local cinema on Sunday.
Dilarang Masuk tells the story of four friends who went on a hiking trip but got lost somewhere in the woods. Suddenly, they stumble upon an abandoned house where they stumbled upon two dead bodies and a loaded gun. One of them, Fatia, kept on seeing things and experiencing visions of what had happened in the house. Things took a turn for the worse when they found a stash of money in the house. Their friendship is tested between doing the right thing or taking the money for themselves. All the while, someone or something appears to be stalking them.
First of all, Dilarang Masuk is not a horror movie. It's a suspenseful movie, with horror elements incorporated into the storylines but it ain't horror for sure. Don't get me wrong. Dilarang Masuk is a fine movie. Quite enjoyable. As a thriller or a drama. But just don't clump it in the horror category.
Seriously, going in thinking it's a horror will screw up your view of the movie and you kept waiting for the ghost to pop up in the frame but none will come.
I have a few issues with the script... the dialogue is nice and all but sometimes it felt a bit stilted, like it was not real. Like no one in the real world would be speaking like that. But only in a few instances, nothing too distracting.
However, I do think that some of the dialogues are unnecessary... like for example... they have discovered the dead bodies and the gun and Fatia had been spooked by things that go bump in the evening... and yet she told them that she felt something bad had happened in the house... I know she was referring to something else, but it's kinda like a 'DUH' moment coz, dead bodies? Automatically equals Bad in my book...
The acting was not too bad here... Syikin Kamal's improved tremendously from her stint in Legenda Budak Setan where she was a bit wooden, but then again, she was required to play Lisa Surihani playing a character... which was no easy feat... and also perhaps that was her first big gig as an actress...
Isma Yusoof, who plays Ronnie, her boyfriend... had this one look permanently etched on his face the whole movie... annoyance I think it was... only softening once in a while in an attempt to display some sort of emotion... but I guess his character was written that way... not to say he was awful, but he was better in Setem...
The other two supporting characters were well done as well... Muniff Isa had nothing much to do but lust/look after Fatia... although I do think Isma Hanum's Juli was given the most layer and personality... at first she was just a meek girl, who was just Fatia's best friend, then it turned out Juli was having an affair with Ronnie... but then she was feeling guilty and tried to apologize... and then towards the end, she did a complete 180 and turned into a remorseless/guiltless person...
Hmm, speaking of which, the role reversal here do seem a bit forced... Ronnie was the jerk and he ended up a nice guy and Juli from a meek mousy girl and turning into a dominatrix... not really, but you get the point...
Somewhere towards the end, there was a scene where it seemed like everything was a dream or a hallucination... but it ended up different... which got me scratching my head till now to understand... but it would not distract from the movie... definitely a good thriller, but not a horror...
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Update - Box Office
As previously reported here --> http://moviewritings.blogspot.com/2011/04/box-office_11.html...
Russell Brand ruled the top two spot of the weekend box office... Unfortunately for him, Hanna, the movie starring Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan overtook Arthur in the final tally....
Trailer - Seru
A Malay horror movie... from Pierre Andre and Ming Jin... Pierre Andre's pedigree in horror movie is unquestionable, with his Jangan Pandang Belakang, IMO, really kicking off the horror genre back to life... and Tayangan Unggul has produced quite a number of good movies...
So pretty interesting to see what they come up with... but from the trailer itself, it's kinda clear that the movie is a cross between The Blair Witch Project and... well, guess The Blair Witch Project only then... but it's kinda creepy, especially the noise that keeps popping up in the trailer...
The trailer dicilok from http://irafazir.blogspot.com/, hehehe... more info about the movie http://www.sinemamalaysia.com.my/film/info/?id=Seru_1043
Comes out 28 April... apparently, this Thursday is its premiere showing... jom gi tengok nak? :)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Box Office
Hop defeated Arthur for the title of King of the Box Office... btw, both movies starred Russell Brand... http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/brands-hop-arthur-lead-weekend-box-office-ap Sunday, April 10, 2011
Interview - Scream 4
The newest addition to the Scream franchise speaks about the movie experience...
If you haven't already figured it out yet, I am a big fan of horror and Scream!!
Glee
The new Glee episode will feature Lady GaGa's Born This Way and will be longer than the normal one hour... http://www.tvline.com/2011/04/its-official-glees-born-this-way-episode-will-be-huge/ Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Scream 4
Billboard for Scream 4?? 15th April?? *screams*Hope it's not mutilated too much though... huhu
Top 9
The Top 9 performing tonite... the theme is Rock & Roll Hall of Fame... as per usual, the recap (http://www.rickey.org/?p=62092) and the performances for those who can't catch em live/on repeat later... 
Paul McDonald - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62086
Stefano Langone - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62083
Pia Toscano - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62080
Scotty McCreery - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62077
James Durbin - http://www.rickey.org/?p=62074
