Meet the Princesses of Shrek 3

'Shrek The Third' will be coming our way in Summer 2007, and this time he's got a bevy of beauties to help him.

When his new father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese) falls ill, Shrek (Mike Myers) is looked at as the heir to the land of Far, Far Away. Not one to give up his beloved swamp, Shrek recruits his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to recruit the rebellious Artie (Justin Timberlake) as the new king. Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), however, rallies a band of royal girlfriends to fends off a coup d'etat by the jilted Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

"Amy Poehler is Snow White, the alpha dog of the group," director Chris Miller says. "She's a real pit bull." Maya Rudolph lends what the director calls "her quiet coolness" to Rapunzel. Cheri Oteri is Sleeping Beauty, "a narcoleptic princess." And Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy) steps into the shoes of Cinderella, an obsessive-compulsive cleaner who can throw a mean high-heeled pump if need be.

Royal Rumble: (L to R) Cinderella, Snow White, Fiona, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty.

By the way, the box-office is going to rock next Summer 2007 with Shrek 3, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3 and not to mention Harry Potter 4 and Oceans 13.

'Exiled' banned in Malaysia

Release from Associated Press last Friday 20 Oct 2006:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia has banned Hong Kong director Johnnie To's new triad movie, "Exiled" citing excessive violence, a news report said Friday.

The movie, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month, was originally scheduled for release in cinemas here Thursday, but failed to get the nod from the censorship board as it was deemed to contain excessive violence, The Star newspaper said.

The report didn't give details. No one at the censorship board could be immediately reached for comment.

The movie is set in Macau -- a Chinese gambling haven near Hong Kong -- in 1998, and focuses on two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade gang member who's trying to change from a life of crime.

Movies screened in Malaysia must abide by a censorship code that forbids sex, excessive violence and provocative handling of topics such as race and religion.

Banned films have included Steven Spielberg's Holocaust film "Schindler's List" and "The Prince of Egypt," a 1998 animated epic about Moses.

The movie stars Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, Richie Jen and Francis Ng.

'City of Joy' is a joy to watch

I first saw 'City of Joy' when it was first released in 1992. Recently I bought the DVD from ebay. Watching it again, I enjoyed the movie tremendously as much as I did the first time. (By the way, don't let the name of Patrick Swayze discourage you from watching this movie....Swayze is actually pretty good here.)

Based on the bestselling book by Dominique Lapierre, the story tells of an American doctor, Max Lowe who gets disheartened after losing one of his patients on the operating table. Max travels to India in the hope of "finding himself". Not long after he arrives in Calcutta, Max is attacked loses his money and passport. However, a man named Hasari, played by Om Puri, comes to Max's rescue. Despite their poverty, Hasari and his family take Max in and bring him to a medical clinic in the City of Joy, one of the poorest slums in the city. The clinic is run by Joan Bethel (Pauline Collins), an Irish-American nun who urges Max to use his skills to help the people of Calcutta who so desperately need it. Max signs on, and he finds that the experience changes his life.

The movie is very uplifting and enlightening as it shows the strength of the human spirit, no matter how poor. The scenes in the slum area were very realistically filmed. Om Puri is excellent and memorable as the father who wants a better life for his family. The conclusion of the film is very touching and meaningful.

For those who have not seen this movie, I urge you to get hold of this. Excellent movie!!

Watch out for 'Heroes'

Following in the same vein as 'The 4400', 'Lost' and probably even 'X-Men', NBC has produced a new series which has been predicted to be this year's hit series. The premiere episode of 'Heroes' which was broadcasted on 25th Sept attracted 14.3 million viewers overall and received the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years.

The synopsis is as follows:

Heroes is a serial saga about people all over the world discovering that they have superpowers and trying to deal with how this change affects their lives. The relatable superheroes include Peter Petrelli, a 30-year-old male nurse who believes he can fly; Diego Medina, a 28-year-old junkie who has the ability to paint images of the future when he is high; Niki Sanders, a 33-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who can do incredible things with mirrors; Hiro Makamura, a 24-year-old Japanese comic-book geek who literally makes time stand still; D.L. Hawkins, a 31-year-old inmate who can transport himself through walls; Matt Parkman, a beat cop who can hears other people's thoughts; and Claire Bennet, 17-year-old cheerleader who defies death at every turn. Not only are they discovering what having superpowers means to them but also the larger picture of where their superpowers come from. Eventually their superpowers draw them together when they try to evade the series' antagonist who wants to harness their super-DNA for himself. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world.

The series will star Greg Grunberg (Alias), Leonard Roberts (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls), and Hayden Panettiere (Ally McBeal). The series is created by Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan, Chicago Hope).

It's no doubt that this is NBC trying to hit back at ABC's huge hit 'Lost'. From the reviews that I've read so far, NBC has succeeded. Some people has even said that it's better than 'Lost'. Anyway it's too soon to tell since only 3 episodes have only been aired so far.

Zombies on a Plane!!

After the success of 'Snakes on a Plane', everybody wants to do a horror movie on a plane, the latest being 'Plane Dead'. Apparently George A. Romero was asked to direct the film but he turned it down because the budget wasn't enough.

The film revolves around an international flight from LA to Paris on which a renegade scientist, on the run from the CIA, has smuggled a secret coffin containing a body infected with a genetically engineered virus. When the plane encounters two large storms, the extreme turbulence causes the flesh-eating body to escape from the plane’s hold. A life-and-death battle then ensues as the virus turns the passengers into the undead.

The terrified uninfected passengers try to survive the flight. No government will allow the 'infected' flight to land. Stranded in the air, the passengers have no place to hide from theirravenous tormentors.....

'Sinking of Japan' coming soon

Already a blockbuster in it's own country, Japan disaster pic 'The Sinking of Japan' recently opened at No. 1 in South Korea with $3.2 million in its first four days. Haul ranks as the second-highest opening for a Japanese film in Korea, trailing animated feature 'Howl's Moving Castle' which opened with $4.8 million on 233 prints in early 2005.

Made with a budget of over 2 billion yen, the movie is a disaster epic which tells of what happens to Japan when it's hit by tsunami, earthquake and volcano eruptions all at the same time, resulting in the total obliteration of the country.

UIP is distributing this movie locally in Malaysia and will open in Dcember 2006.

Hello Darth Kitty

Oh my God!!! What will the Japanese think of next?!!