HAPPY NEW YEAR! Enjoy the party...

"Fearless" The Director's Cut In Blu-ray™ High Definition

Go Blu this festive season with the world’s foremost martial arts superstar Jet Li in Fearless: Director’s Cut Edition 《霍元甲》精装导演版. This epic masterpiece powerfully combines unparalleled fight sequences and masterful storytelling. The Director’s Cut Edition includes more than 30 minutes of never-before-seen footages and contains some of the most hard-hitting hand-to-hand combat ever captured on film. This Director’s Cut Edition is only available on Blu-ray disc and comes with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround Sound Mandarin/Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Sound Mandarin. The Fearless: Director’s Cut Edition is priced at S$49.90 and available at major stores. Here's our full review of Fearless Blu-ray disc.

DVD...DVD...DVD...DVD...DVD...Indie/Arthouse/Documentary Category

Get ready for some home entertainment if you intend to avoid the crowds this coming long holiday, first a batch of Indie/Arthouse/Documentary DVDs for your selection. Based on a true story, Night And Fog revolves around an older Hong Kong man, his young Mainland wife and their twin daughters in this Ann Hui's directed film. Once Upon A Time The Super Heroes brings the American super heroes back to life in a fascinating collection of interviews. A group of troubled teens are sent to a rehabilitation program where they are abused and brainwashed in Boot Camp. Meet Bill is a film about what it means to let go of your inhibitions and find the path you're destined for. Written almost eighty years ago by playwright Noel Coward, Easy Virtue is surprisingly frothy, fresh and effervescent. How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Find out in Food Inc.

Merry Christmas!

It's X'mas time and the cinemas for sure are packing in the crowds! And here's a roundup of the various movies you can catch over the long weekend. Unless you are living somewhere beyond Planet Pandora, be sure to catch Avatar in 3D. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law pairs up as Holmes and Watson in this action-packed thriller Sherlock Holmes directed by ex-Mr Madonna, Guy Ritchie. Bodyguards And Assassins, the heavy drama about revolutionary might appeal to some, just don't let that 'action-packed blockbuster of the year' catchphrase misled you. Do treat your kids or your date to Alvin And The Chipmunks 2, it's time to reward your love ones even if you prefer to slouch on the couch with a cold beer. In the mood for something exciting? You should see Chaw, a frightening cannibal boar terrorising a peaceful village. If you are in a generous giving mood, perhaps the lackluster adventure movie of the year, Jay Chou's The Treasure Hunter is another choice as it's sneaking in cinemas. Be warned the filmsy production notes tell us more than the 106 minutes movie. Lastly, arthouse fans shouldn't miss the acclaimed Taiwan drama Not Without You at the Picturehouse. With that, the team at moviexclusive.com wishes everyone a Happy Merry X'mas!

BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS PHENOMENAL BOX OFFICE OPENING

As of last weekend, Bodyguards &Assassins has raked in a box office of RMB 74.8 million, reigning as the top movie of the weekend in China. When added to the combined box office from Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, Bodyguards and Assassins has exceeded RMB 90 million in total box office. Singapore alone contributed almost SGD $800,000 to the total box office within its’ four-day release. Click for our 4 stars review of Bodyguards & Assassins and Interview with star Fan Bing Bing and Tony Leung

A Fatter Treasure Hunter

A visibly fatter Jay Chou at the "Treasure Hunter" press conference moments ago...Click on the link for the movie review.

Brittany Murphy (1977 - 2009)

Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy passed away suddenly early Sunday morning in Los Angeles. The actress went into cardiac arrest and was rushed immediately to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Murphy was first seen in Clueless as one of Alicia Silverstone's Cher's friends Tai. Other parts in movies such as Drop Dead Gorgeous, Girl Interrupted, Cherry Falls, 8 Mile, Just Married and Uptown Girls soon followed.

She gained acclaim with her role as Shellie in Robert Rodriguez's Sin City,  voiced Gloria in the 2006 animation Happy Feet and appear in the indie drama, The Dead Girl. Most recently, she was seen on Singapore screens in the movie The Ramen Girl. The actress will also be seen next year in Sylvester Stallone's action movie The Expendables.

Her ex-boyfriend and co-star of Just Married Ashon Kutcher wrote this on Twitter after discovering her death, "2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine".

Rest in peace, Brittany.

HEAR ME - Press Con, Bugis Junction & Gala Premiere

Credit: Festive Films Photographer Alex

6 Days to X'MAS.....

Have you stuff your stockings for X'mas? Gift giving is not a simple task- and it is with this in mind that the folks here at MX have decided to come up with the "X’Mas Wishlist 2009", here's the link in case you missed it. Happy shopping this weekend~ (We can't wait to open ours!)

Meet The Chipmunks @ SMRT Xchange!

As part of SMRT Xchange’s Christmas promotion, Alvin and the Chipmunks will be gracing SMRT Xchanges at these times:

18 Dec  (Fri)	12.30pm	Tanjong Pagar Xchange (Tanjong Pagar MRT Station)
19 Dec (Sat)	12.30pm	Boon Lay Xchange (Boon Lay MRT Station)
21 Dec (Mon)	5.30pm	Choa Chu Kang Xchange (Choa Chu Kang MRT Station)
23 Dec (Wed)	12.30pm	Dhoby Xchange (Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station)

    

Roy E. Disney (1930 - 2009)

Roy Edward Disney, son of Disney Studios co-founder Roy O. Disney, and nephew of Walt Disney, passed away today at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, California, following a year-long battle with stomach cancer. Disney is best known for his time as an executive for the global entertainment giant and as a powerful shareholder who twice led successful campaigns to oust company heads who he believed were leading the company in the wrong direction. Los Angeles-born Disney was a champion of classic animation and helped spark a successful revival of the drawn style in the 1980s and 1990s by supporting the animation teams behind hits such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios lauded Disney. "He put his heart and soul into preserving Disney's legendary past, while helping to move the art of animation into the modern age by embracing new technology". Company president and chief executive Bob Iger said Disney was much more than a valued 56-year company veteran. "Roy's commitment to the art of animation was unparalleled and will always remain his personal legacy and one of his greatest contributions to Disney's past, present and future," Iger said in a statement. Indeed a sad day for Mickey and his friends.

The Golden Globes Part Two

Warner Bros. Pictures received a total of 9 nominations in the film categories for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards including INVICTUS Best Director – Clint Eastwood, Best Actor (Drama) – Morgan Freeman, Best Supporting Actor – Matt Damon. THE BLIND SIDE Best Actress (Drama) – Sandra Bullock, THE INFORMANT Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) – Matt Damon Best Original Score – Marvin Hamlisch THE HANGOVER Best Picture (Comedy or Musical).  The presentation ceremony will be held on 17 January 2010.

The Golden Globes Part One

Robert Downey Jr. has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, for his role as the title character in SHERLOCK HOLMES. Robert says, “My heartfelt thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press for this wonderful nomination. I share this honour with Jude Law and all of my cast-mates, my great director Guy Ritchie and the rest of the team whose collaboration and camaraderie helped make this new incarnation of SHERLOCK HOLMES possible.” From the Oscar-nominated Director of  Chicago, Rob Marshall, NINE has been honoured with top nominations including Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Marion Cotillard, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Peńelope Cruz, Best Original Song – Motion Picture, Maury Yeston (“Cinema Italiano”). SHERLOCK HOLMES opens island-wide on 24 December 2009 and NINE opens 25 February 2009.

XMAS PARTY WITH ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS

Be the first to watch the famous chipmunk trio return in the exclusive preview of “Alvin and the Chipmunks 2”! Plus, enjoy a fun-filled evening with exciting kids’ booth activities like funky hair styling, temporary tattoos and kids’ manicure.
5 lucky kids will also get a chance to showcase his/her singing talent at the Karaoke Contest and win attractive prizes worth up to $1200! More details can be found here

Have You Catch DON'T LOOK BACK?

Two of Europe’s hottest actresses – Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci, literally combine in NE TE RETOURNE PAS (DON’T LOOK BACK). exclusively showing at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard and The Cathay.

ASIAN HEARTHROB EDDIE PENG ARRIVING IN SINGAPORE

Leading Actor, Asian Heartthrob Eddie Peng and Award Winning Director Cheng Fen Fen is set to arrive in Singapore next week as part of a 3-day trip to promote the upcoming release of the film HEAR ME. Arriving on 17th December at 12:05PM via BR 225 from Taipei, the stars will attend a press conference at K BOX, K UNION at noon on 18th December. The stars will then meet-and-greet fans at Bugis Junction at 7:30PM before gracing the Gala Premiere of Hear Me, at Cathay Cineplex, Cineleisure Orchard. Both cast and director will depart Singapore at 13:10PM, on 19th December via BR 226.

Sex and the City 2 Teaser Poster

For all your SATC fans out there, here's a first look at the sequel to the phenomenally successful SATC movie. Warner Bros. has just released the first teaser poster to SATC 2 due out in cinemas next May and never mind that Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda seem to have been left out, this glamorous shot of Carrie is enough to leave us wanting more. Plot details have been kept tightly under wraps but here's what we know- there's probably going to a gay union between Stanford Blatch and Anthony Marentino, and Carrie's got marital issues with Mr Big. The rest? We just have to wait with bated breath till next year to find out. Enjoy!

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER

Return to the magic and wonder of C.S. Lewis’ beloved world – via the fantastic Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. In this new installment of the blockbuster “The Chronicles of Narnia” motion picture franchise, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace and their royal friend King Caspian, find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to the Dawn Treader. As they embark on an incredible adventure of destiny and discovery, they confront obstacles beyond imagination. Movie opens December 9 next year. (The first look publicity image courtesy of 20th Century Fox)

Golden Village paves its way as the market leader in the 3D Digital movie experience

Golden Village, Singapore’s leading cinema chain now has the most number of fully equipped 3D Digital screens, to cater to the expected growing demand of 3D Digital movie format. The seating capacity of 3D Digital halls has been increased to more than double the current number, bringing it to a total of 2554 seats in all of its eight halls. An exciting growth to be seen amidst the current economic climate, especially with the highly-anticipated 3D film AVATAR which will be released next week.

Unveiling... Clover Films

The four-leaf clover is a symbol of vitality because of its vigorous and abundant growth, and a lucky charm representing hope, luck, happiness and wealth. Also representing the four essential elements of earth, air, fire and water, which form the basis of stability and solidarity, it is an emblem of completeness and balance.

And it is with this, a new company Clover Films is founded in Singapore and will specialise in the distribution and production of movies, with an emphasis on the Singapore and Malaysia markets. With our passion and belief in the immense potential of the industry, coupled with our personal track records in the movie and entertainment business, we hope to contribute in elevating the Singapore media scene to exciting new heights.

Watch out for films from Clover Films soon!

Studio Ghibli Film Festival (17-23 Dec)

Upcoming from 17-23 December, Encore Films is proud to present the inaugural STUDIO GHIBLI FILM FESTIVAL!

A rare chance to catch classics such as My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and unheralded gems like Only Yesterday (1991) on the big-screen, this week-long festival will take place at the Picturehouse and will feature a selection of imaginative animated treats that is full of wonder, heart and magical adventure. The Studio Ghibli Film Festival is an event that is perfect for the festive season and promises a delightful experience for the young and old.

Studio Ghibli, founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, is the premiere animation studio in Japan. Their films have become a beloved part of Japanese popular culture, in much the same way that Disney's animated works have been embraced in modern Western culture. Cultivating a creative force of many talented directors, animators and storytellers under the revered brilliance of Miyazaki and Takahata, Studio Ghibli's films are praised for their originality, dazzling animation and epic storytelling and have inspired a long line of box office successes that are truly works of art.

Tickets are priced at $10 and more information can be found at http://www.encorefilms.com/ghibli/

Don't be Blind-Sided

You would do well to take notice of Sandra Bullock's new sports drama, "The Blind Side", the true story of a woman whose family adopts homeless teen Michael Oher, now a rookie tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. The movie which trailed at No 2 behind "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" for 2 weeks has finally eclipsed its competitor to take top position at the U.S. box office- that's quite an admirable feat for the movie which was made for just US$30 mil. It has now a U.S. domestic gross of US$129 mil, far more profitable than Warner Bros could ever have forecasted, thanks to excellent word-of-mouth from audiences who have seen it.

"The Blind Side" doesn't have a release date in Singapore yet. But you can bet it's only a matter of time before some distributor picks it up for a theatrical release here.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Coming to DVD & VCD this Fall

As the most anticipated horror of 2009, Paranormal Activity had become Twitter's most popular trending topic, the movie's Facebook page had over 125,000 fans, and the website had sailed past 1m hits. The film got its wider release and took US$100m dated November 13, 2009 and soon beating The Blair Witch Project to become the most profitable movie of all time. With a staggering 433,900% return on its investment, Paranormal Activity has become the top grossing R-Rated thriller of the past decade. The latest parable of Hollywood thrift comes courtesy of San Diego software programmer Oren Peli, whose horror movie was just shot for just $15,000 at his own home. Directed, written and produced by himself, Paranormal Activity is voted as one of the scariest movie of all-time. On December 29, 2009 be prepared for one of the scariest at-home viewing experiences ever. Paranormal Activity is priced at S$26.90 RRP (DVD) & S$14.90 RRP (VCD).

Oscar Watch 2010

The National Board of Review (NBR) has named Jason Reitman's new film "Up In The Air" as best picture of 2009, kicking off the first of the awards to be given out all the way up to Oscar 2010. George Clooney was named Best Actor alongside Morgan Freeman for his role in Clint Eastwood's South African-themed drama "Invictus", with Carey Mulligan from "An Education" named Best Actress.

"Up In The Air" opens in cinemas 25 Feb 2010. Stay tuned to MX for more Oscar Watch updates!

More about The Twilight Saga

Here's a first look at the latest poster for the next instalment of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse. Filmed back to back with New Moon, Eclipse is directed by 30 Days of Night director David Slade and will arrive in cinemas 30 June 2010.

Rumour has it that Summit Entertainment has listened to the fans and cast and approached "New Moon" director Chris Weitz to direct the fourth and fifth instalment of the series. Yes, you heard me right, Summit is splitting the fourth book into two movies. Regular scribe Melissa Rosenberg is already on board to adapt the fourth movie but it's unclear who will be writing the last of the Saga.

Stay tuned to MX for more exclusive Twilight Saga news!

One's a Single Man, One's a Mother

A SINGLE MAN and MOTHER garnered four Spirit Awards nominations in Los Angeles. Festive Films and Cathay Keris Films are proud to announce that Tom Ford’s A SINGLE MAN will be contending in three major categories at the Spirit Awards, including Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Best Actor for Colin Firth (Best Actor, Venice Film Festival Sept’09).

Following his crowd-pleasing, box office record-breaking monster movie The Host, in 2006, Bong Joon-ho’s MOTHER, starring Won-Bin and Kim Hye-ja will be contending in the formidable Best Foreign Language Film category.

The awards ceremony will take place on the night of Friday March 5, in the LA Live Campus in Downtown LA.

Both titles are slated for release in Singapore early 2010.

Alliance and Innoform Warehouse Sale 2010 (27 Nov to 29 Nov)

Alliance & InnoForm's annual Movie Warehouse Sale is here again! An extensive library of Hollywood & Asian titles are up to 90% off! Get a DVD or VCD from as low as $5 or $1 respectively! There is also a sure-win instant dip with a range of exciting DVDs to be won! So come on down this weekend to: 31 Ubi Road 1, Aztech Building, Lobby A (10am to 6pm) for the biggest DVD event of 2009!

Wee Li Lin's Second Feature Film - FOREVER

Taiwanese rising star Mo Tzu Yi has joined the cast of Singapore Film Commission-funded Forever, directed by Singapore’s woman director Wee Li Lin. The romantic comedy about a seemingly talented video consultant who turns out to be a pathological stalker began principal photography today in Singapore. The script, which was in development for the past one and a half year, is a unique comedy with a strong female perspective. Mo’s latest films Snow Fall in Taipei competed recently at the Tokyo International Film Festival and A Place of One’s Own won three awards at the Taipei International Film Festival. Rounding out the cast are Singapore’s award-winning theatre actress Joanna Dong as well as newcomer Sarah Ng. The Mandarin-language picture marks their feature debut. Golden Village owns Singapore theatrical distribution rights. A release in the second half of 2010 is expected.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Sneaks This Weekend

Good news for Twilight fans in Singapore. The much anticipated movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon will be having special sneak previews islandwide this weekend, from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th November. New Moon in the meantime has wolfed down $140.7M in it's opening weekend in the U.S.

EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE AD

The legendary saga continues in fine form in Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance. Exclusively showing at Cathay Orchard Cineleisure and AMK Hub.

NINE Music Video

Directed by Rob Marshall, after the success of Broadway musical Chicago, Nine with a star-studded cast: Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Fergie opens 25 Feb 2010 in Singapore. Here's the music video featuring Cinema Italiano sang by Kate Hudson.

We Are Listed On the UK DVD Cover of THE BEAST STALKER!

See the full cover here

2012: All Time Biggest Opening Weekend for Disaster Film

2012 opened on November 12 and brought in a phenomenal S$2,338,551 gross box office for the opening weekend (4 Days – Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun). With that, 2012 is the all Time Biggest Opening Weekend for Disaster film genre and #3 Biggest Opening Weekend (Behind Transformers 2 & Harry Potter 6) in 2009.

Mulan Theme Song

The official theme song for "Mulan" by Stefanie Sun, written by Li Sisong.

THE STORM WARRIORS MOVIE MARATHON

To coincide with the release of THE STORM WARRIORS on 10th December 2009 in Singapore, Golden Village specially flew in two 11-year-old THE STORM RIDERS Mandarin prints from Golden Harvest in Hong Kong for the Storm Warriors marathon. Audiences attending the marathon will be able to enjoy both movies, THE STORM RIDERS and THE STORM WARRIORS back to back. There will be four sessions showing exclusively to Golden Village cinemas at GV Plaza Singapura and GV Bishan. Tickets are available at Golden Village box offices and Golden Village's website (www.gv.com.sg) from 19th November. Prices at $32 (General Audience) and $26 (Golden Village Movie Club members) respectively.

Kitty Jump!

Produced by Stephen Chow, the long-delayed Stephen Fung's JUMP finally has a release date of 14 January 2010. JUMP, a hip hop dance romantic comedy, features an awkward and naive farm girl (Kitty Zhang) who dreams of stardom in the big city. Our local actor Leon Jay Williams have replaced the role which was originally slated to star Edison Chen. It seems the rumour is true after all, his scenes have been cut from the movie. The trailer can be seen here

Japanese Animation Director Mamoru Hosoda to promote SUMMER WARS in Singapore

Award-winning Japanese animation director Mamoru Hosoda will be in Singapore from 19 to 22 November 2009, to participate in the AAC’09 (Animation Asia Conference 2009) as well as promote his latest animation blockbuster hit SUMMER WARS – the highly anticipated follow-up to his previous work THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME. SUMMER WARS focuses on a timid 17 year-old math genius who has been falsely implicated in the hacking of a virtual world and with the aid of a classmate's extensive family, must prevent the real and computer-simulated worlds from colliding. SUMMER WARS is co-distributed by Encore Films and Cathay-Keris Films in Singapore. The film is slated for a commercial release on 25 February 2010.

5th Asian Festival of First Films Announces Nominees and Jury

For the first-time since its inception, the 5th Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF) has a slew of multi-award winning nominees vying for the top awards and admirably, 4 Singaporeans have been nominated out of 30 nominee hopefuls from 28 countries.


First-time actress Joey Leong (Singapore) has been nominated for her role in Blood Ties while Derrick Loo (Singapore) has been nominated for Best Cinematographer. ‘Blood Ties’ deals with a favourite genre of Singaporeans – horror and the afterlife – and will screen in Mandarin. ‘Cashless’ features music by local bands The Lilac Saints and RustyNailz and focuses on yet another aspect familiar to Singaporeans – money and the pursuit of it, albeit with a twist. Actor Danny Low (Singapore) has been nominated for Best Actor.

Mohd Akbar Bin Tabare Alam (Singapore) has also been nominated for his directorial work for Best Short Film, ‘Certain Chapters’ in Tamil. It is an experimental film which unveils the unforgiving and wanton world of gangsters in Singapore, inspired by a series of true event.

Films to look out for include ‘Frontier Blues’ from the UK, filmed in Persian by Iranian Babak Jalali (UK, Best Script/Screenplay nominee) and ‘Closed For Winter’ an Australian film by Ben Grant & Kent Smith. Babak Jalali’s graduation film for his MA in Film-Making from the London Film School has screened at 60 film festivals worldwide and received a BAFTA nomination as Best Short Film in 2006. ‘Frontier Blues’ takes place on Iran’s northern frontier with Turkmenistan and is made up of 4 stories of desperate men, from a man with a pet donkey to a tailor whose clothes never seem to fit anyone and a Turkmen minstrel whose wife was stolen by a Sheppard in a green Mercedes.


‘Closed For Winter’ is based on Georgia Blain's critically acclaimed novel of the same title and tells of a sister’s grappling with her past on the discovery of her sibling’s mysterious disappearance when they were children and features a stunning performance by international star Natalie Imbruglia (Australia, Best Actress nominee) in the title role. Ana Kokkinos (Australia), Chris Lee (Hawaii) and Kabir Khan (India) will grace the AFFF as celebrated jury members.

Nominated films will be screened at Golden Village Marina and The Arts House from 28th November to 3rd December 2009. Tickets are available from the respective box offices and online (only Golden Village) at $10 each. Film synopses and schedules will be listed on the festival website http://www.asianfirstfilms.com/

DVD...DVD...DVD...DVD...DVD...

Following the footsteps of Thai action movie, Chocolate comes the China version, Coweb that stars newcomer Jiang Lu Xia, a finalist from Jackie Chan’s China-based reality TV series. Hong Kong’s unique brand of ‘nonsense’ comedy (or 'mo lei tau' as it is known in Cantonese) makes a return in Wong Jing’s latest film On His Majesty’s Secret Service starring Louis Koo and Barbie Hsu. Written By on the other hand is a kaufman-esque contemplation of the healing effect of writing directed by Wai Ka Fai and stars Lau Ching Wan. Three different genres from Hong Kong/China for your home entertainment pleasure.

First! DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL Review

We bring you perhaps the first review of the upcoming "Disney's A Christmas Carol" movie review in Singapore. "Disney's A Christmas Carol" is a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Beowulf, The Polar Express), capturing the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3-D motion picture event with Jim Carrey playing multiple characters. "Disney's A Christmas Carol" opens 19 November and available in Disney Digital 3D as well.

Disneyland Shanghai Is A Go!

The Walt Disney Company today announced that the Project Application Report (PAR) for a Disney theme park in the Pudong district of Shanghai has received approval from the relevant authorities of the central government of China. The initial resort, with a mix of shopping areas, hotels and a Magic Kingdom-style theme park will be a little bigger than Disneyland in California and on par with the parks in Paris and Tokyo. It is expected to open in five or six years. A slew of theme parks will be opening in the next few years beginning with our very own Universal Studio Singapore in early 2010, and Legoland Malaysia in 2013. Not forgetting the existing Warner Bros Movie World in Gold Coast, Australia, Universal Studio Osaka, Disneyland Tokyo, Ocean Park Hong Kong and of course, Disneyland Hong Kong which opened in 2005. Exciting times ahead...

Have A Blast With Astro Boy!

Despite not having much legs in the US box-office, "Astro Boy" is surprisingly a lively action-adventure with lots of heart. Don't underestimate this latest effort from HK animation studio, Imagi. Remember to catch Astro Boy when it opens this week. A pity it's not presented in 3D though.

Catch the Exclusive AVATAR Sneak Peek & Trailer Debut on Ch 5

Happy Halloween!

If you are not one who fancy crazy halloween parties or goes around the neighbourhood trick-or- treating, you can celebrate Halloween by going to the cinemas. Start with the Henry Selick's Coraline follow by a sneak preview of Saw VI and end the evening with Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 or the outrageous Lesbian Vampire Killers. For the home entertainment side, Friday the 13th DVD is a good choice. How about Horsemen DVD? Plenty of choices so let down your hair tonight and enjoy!

InnoForm Media expands its foray into ARTE Documentary:

InnoForm Media is proud to present the well received European documentary, ARTE on DVD. The series comprises of many documentaries released by the European culture channel that produces quality programs, especially in the areas of culture and the arts. Apart from the more conventional one-hour discovery, there are also productions, somewhat like the uncut feature-length films which can run from 80 minutes onwards. The first of the series to be launched includes: Iran- The Hundred-Year War, Cracking the Colour Code and Stranded The Andes Plane Crash Survivors. Each DVD from the ARTE documentary series will be sold from $29.90 onwards and available at all major video stores island wide.

Super Agents Kim Ha Neul & Kang Ji Hwan

Watch out for our interview with the lovely Kim Ha Neul and the dashing Kang Ji Hwan of "My Girlfriend Is An Agent" in the coming days.

Spreading the Word on Film Preservation: Celebrating UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

In Asia’s tropical climate and environment, films in both print and digital video formats can disintegrate rapidly when not kept properly. Even films in the digital format are not spared given that the longevity of the digital format is still under scrutiny. The Archive hopes to generate the realisation in filmmakers on how urgent it is to archive their works early as they become aware of the fragility of their creative works physical shelf life when stored improperly. In line with UNESCO’s message on World Day for Audiovisual Heritage to save a fading heritage, these part informational and part tongue-in-cheek videos will be released online periodically. Two videos have already been uploaded onto the Archive's YouTube channel as well as on our Facebook group. To build the Asian Film Archive Collection, filmmakers, collectors, companies and the public are invited to contribute. If there are films you feel are of importance and needs proper preservation, please contact Asian Film Archive at info@asianfilmarchive.org

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT UPDATES

When Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT makes its worldwide premiere from Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 27, viewers around the world will have a chance to join in during the live webcast of the event, which will take place at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, beginning at 4:30 p.m. PDT. (Singapore time 9:30am, October 28). The live webcast can be seen on http://www.thisisit-movie.com/ and http://www.crackle.com/. Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT to be released on October 29th, will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this past summer in London’s O2 Arena.

My Sister’s Keeper Number 1

My Sister’s Keeper is the #1 film in Singapore, raking in S$249,238 for its opening weekend (22- 25 October). This is the best opening weekend in Singapore for director Nick Casavettes as compared to his previous releases: John Q, The Notebook and Alpha Dog. My Sister's Keeper is based on the best-selling book by Jodi Picoult, currently the #2 Fiction title on the local best-seller list. My Sister's Keeper is rated PG and is showing in theatres.

It's A Wrap! - Tokyo International Film Festival 2009

A follow-up to our earlier post - Our resident reviewer, Stefan Shih went on a self-funded trip to TIFF 2009 to cover the prestigious film fest. Check out his personal movie blog: anutshellreview for all the detailed coverages such as press con, reviews and video clips. Mr Shih reporting live from Tokyo.

What to do on Halloween

If you are tired of clubs and crowds and loud music...If you want to soak up the festivities of Halloween but are not up to shelling out for a costume to get dressed up and want to get spooked out of your skin - then head on over to Golden Village Marina for the Halloween Horrorthon! For $35 per person, you will be entertained to Halloween and Halloween 2 and a free flow of popcorn and drinks! Plus, you’ll get a sneak preview of Saw VI! More details here