ANNOUNCEMENT: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE OUT ON DVD ON 1 MAY 2009

The movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE will be officially out on DVD in all good music stores in Australia on Friday 1 May 2009. You can however buy it online from overseas distributors and also from Bollywood Quarter now.

You may also check out my review of the movie HERE and the movie's oscar wins HERE.

DVD REVIEW: THE MAID (SINGAPORE - ENGLISH)

The Maid is a 2005 Singaporean horror film telling of a maid recently arriving from the Philippines. She has to acclimate herself to the customs of the Taoist Ghost Month, during which she struggles with supernatural forces. The maid is employed by a Teochew opera family, a family with many secrets, who give her a place to stay in their dilapidated shophouse. (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

Her employers, the middle age and gentle Mr and Mrs Teo care for her well and their mentally-handicapped son Ah Soon also takes to Rosa. However unbeknown to her, she had unwittingly broken many rules on the first few days of the Ghost/Seventh Month. That’s when things begin to happen. She sees horrific images and senses that another maid who lives across her home is constantly watching her and runs when Rosa tries to get close.

Rosa soon corners the girl and finds out that Rosa had a predecessor, Ester, who disappeared mysteriously one day. Now the story takes an interesting turn. To find out what happened to Ester and her connection with Rosa and the Teos, I urge you to watch ‘The Maid’.

The film broke the box office record in Singapore for the horror genre, making S$700,000 on its opening weekend.

It won the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation (EFFFF) Asian Film Award at the 10th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan). The EFFFF Asian Film Award is a prize awarded to the best Asian film of the year by the federation, of which PiFan is a supporting member.

It stars Alessandra de Rossi, Hong Huifang, Benny Soh, Guan Zhenwei and Chen Shucheng, a veteran actor-compere. (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

FYI: The Maid is screening at 12.50 am 23 September 2008 on SBS.

DVD REVIEW: THE RED KEBAYA (MALAYSIA - ENGLISH)

Sorry …. I know I have been a bit slack with my DVD reviews (and gardening tips) so in the next coming weeks I will try to post my opinion on some of the movies I have watched in the last month or two. Hopefully I remember what they were.

Anyway, last week (I can still remember this, thank god) I watched a Malaysian production titled ‘THE RED KEBAYA’(FYI, a kebaya is a short blouse worn with a long skirt or sarong, by Malay women). It has been nearly 15 years since I have watched a new Malaysian movie (my mum bought me some P Ramlee movies last year) and I was very surprised to see it on sale at JB Hifi. Mind you, I paid $28.95 for the DVD so I was hoping that it would be good and I was not TOTALLY disappointed.

The movie is a Malaysian period drama set in the 1950s and is directed by Oliver Knott and produced by Andre Berly and Ramli Hassan. In summary, the story begins with Latiff (Ramli Hassan, who is also the producer) a famous but lonely photographer who was orphaned as a child. He decides to photograph abandoned houses around Malaysia as his latest project and on his journey, he is haunted by images and sounds that that he cannot comprehend. He comes to the island of Penang and ‘sees’ a red kebaya in an antique shop window. As he enters the shop to inquire about the dress, he has a sense of ‘déjà vu’ when he meets the shop owner and is told that there is no red dress in the window. Latiff is then mesmerised by a photograph he finds in the shop and goes to visit the house, which is now derelict on the foothill of Penang Hill (on the island of Penang).

Latiff finds himself transported to the past and witnesses a shocking event that occurred there. Through his experience, Latiff comes to understand the significance of the Red Kebaya and the tragic circumstances that led to him being orphaned.

In the flashback, Latiff is transported to the era during the British colonisation of Malaya, about 50 years ago. He sees an Englishman who is trapped in a controlled and stifling marriage with his xenophobic wife. When the wife, Davinia (Samantha Schubert), briefly leaves Malaya for England, John Reynolds (Bob Mercer), becomes involved with a beautiful joget dancer, named Azizah (Vanidah Imran) - until a tragedy occurs.

I would not say that it was an excellent movie but it has a great storyline and would have been a great movie if it was executed properly. In my opinion, Ramli Latiff was a bit stiff in his role, maybe because of the language – he tried too hard to articulate his speech; in other words, to speak the queen’s English. Vanidah played her part pretty well but I believe that her role should have been made slightly more coy when she meets Mr Reynolds (Bob Mercer) for the second time.

Bob Mercer got better in his acting as his role progressed but I think it was part of the role he played. However, Samantha Schubert stole the limelight as the detestable Davinia Reynolds, portraying a woman who obviously did not like the ‘colonies’ and found the locals to be beneath her. She played the part of a woman scorned to perfection. My main grievance was with regards to the role of Patrick Teoh, the antique shop owner. I believe the director should have introduced his role better in the movie. I could not connect to the significance of his presence in the movie.

Having said this, would I watch this movie again? For sure. And I would recommend you do too if you enjoy period films. The movie will give you a sense of nostalgia.

BOOK REVIEW: BRICK LANE BY MONICA ALI

I recently finished reading “Brick Lane”, which was short-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize. It is written by Monica Ali, a British writer of Bangladeshi origin.

Brick Lane is named after BRICK LANE, the street at the heart of London's Bangladeshi community. The novel caused controversy within the Bangladeshi community in Britain because of what they saw as the negative portrayal of people from the Sylhet region, saying that the novel made them appear uneducated and unsophisticated. Parts of the community were opposed to plans by the filmmakers to film in the Brick Lane area. (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

Brick Lane tells the story of Nazneen, who came to England from Bangladesh at young age of 17-18 for an arranged marriage to Chanu, who is over twice her age, has big plans that never eventuates and is basically a pompous and intellectual snob. He blames racism for all his misfortunes, never himself. When Nazneen arrives, she does not speak any English and her attempts to educate herself is brushed away as her husband does not see the significance of an education in her role as a house maker. Her life is one of patient submission to her fate, though she longs for her home and her sister.

Meanwhile, it also tells the story of Hasina (Nazneen’s sister) who elopes with her lover and the tragedy surrounding her life. It tells the story of other Bangladeshi migrants, and the quandary faced by first, second generation Bangladeshis and also of Nazneen’s own children.

Nazneen’s fate changes when she meets Karim. Karim is everything that Chanu is not and the two begin an affair. The affair forces Nazneen to begin the process of self discovery. In the aftermath of 9/11, and against a background of increasing racial tension, she finally makes a choice, much to the surprise of Karim, Chanu and herself!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it. I have not seen the movie so I cannot comment on it but it got good reviews from Margaret Pomeranz (3 ½ stars) and David Stratton (3 ½ stars) (for non Aussie readers of this blog, they are one of Australia’s top movie reviewers). You can see their review HERE.

DVD REVIEW: PRINCESS MONONOKE (JAPANESE ANIME) AND THE HOME SONG STORIES (ENGLISH)

I blame SBS for getting me hooked on anime. A few months ago, SBS was having an anime month featuring movies by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. The anime that caught my attention was “Howl’s Moving Castle” (see HERE). I could not believe the detail and effort that was used to make the movie. I have to admit that Japanese stories are a bit ‘out there’ but I have to say that they are quite entertaining to say the least. To reinforce how good Miyazaki’s and Studio Ghibli’s anime are, they have won academy awards. His last win was for “Spirited Away” (see HERE).

If you want to give anime a go, I’d recommend you watch “Grave of the fire flies” (see HERE) by Isao Takahata of Studio Ghibli. See if that does not bring a tear to your eye and make you a fan! This was made in the late 80’s. Studio Ghibli only gets better.

Anyway, yesterday we watched “Princess Mononoke”, another of Hayao’s offerings. Once again, the quality was superb and this time the theme was something much more comprehendible – nature and man’s intent of destroying it and how hate can consume people’s mind and thoughts and make them irrational. I don’t want to give too much away….I’d recommend Princess Mononoke. I am definitely buying it to add to my collection! Check out the cast and the synopsis HERE.

Another movie that I will be buying for my collection (I currently have nearly 400 DVDs) is the Australian movie “Home Song Stories”. My daughter and I cried when we watched this. Mr G declined to watch this because it was too sentimental!

It tells the TRUE story of Rose, a Chinese cabaret singer in Hong Kong (played by Joan Chen) and a mother of two, as narrated by her son who wrote and directed this movie (Tony Ayres). Rose and her kids migrate to Australia in the 60’s after she marries an Australian navy sailor. You are shown the ‘demons’ that are haunting Rose and how they impact her and her children’s lives. It well acted and Joan does a great job in her role. You can check this movie out HERE.

BOOK/DVD REVIEW: THE THORN BIRDS (ENGLISH) BY COLLEEN McCULLOUGH

What I did yesterday and today was watch ‘The Thorn Birds’ miniseries DVD (adapted from Colleen McCullough’s book of the same title) with my eldest daughter. I had forgotten how good the miniseries is, for I first watched it when it was released on TV3 in Malaysia in 1983. Richard Chamberlain and Bryan Brown are sooo cute in the show (although they are looking quite over the hill now). And the best thing of all, all the juicy bits are intact! There is no censorship. Both mother and daughter balled their eyes out.

Anyway the DVD went for 8 hours but it was worth it. However, I do have one complaint. Initially I was upset with the American accent as it did not seem right that an aussie book and an aussie backdrop had American actors playing the lead roles. When I first watched the show in Malaysia, I did not know any better. But watching it the second time, I felt ripped off. But I soon got over it. So, if you are interested in watching the show again, you can buy the DVD from Dick Smith’s for AUD$19.95 (I bought it last Sunday).

I am now on the quest to find another of Colleen’s stories that has been made into a movie – Tim - which I believe stars Mel Gibson in the title role. Wish me luck in my endeavour!