Rabu, 24 Julai 2013

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Batman vs Superman!

Posted:

The Caped Crusader is set to battle the Man of Steel in movie sequel.

Superman director Zack Snyder said last weekend that a sequel to last month's hit film was not only in the works, but would feature two of DC Comic's best-known caped crusaders – Superman versus Batman.

Snyder, who directed British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, surprised the audience with the news at the end of a Warner Bros film panel at San Diego's Comic-Con, an annual comics convention, and received thunderous applause from the 6,000-plus in attendance. 

The sequel to the latest Superman film, Man Of Steel, is banking on the success of recent comic-book films that have paired up heroes from the comic book universe, such as Disney's  Marvel superhero ensemble The Avengers in 2012, which made US$1.5bil (RM4.5bil) at the worldwide box office. The most recent installment of the Batman franchise, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, has made more than US$1bil (RM3bil) at the global box office. 

Superman has not always seen success at the box office and 2006's sequel starring Brandon Routh did not perform up to industry expectations. But Snyder's darker reimagining of the complex superhero in June's Man Of Steel delivered a strong performance at the worldwide box office. 

With Nolan as executive producer of the film, rumours were circulating that a pairing of Batman and Superman could come to the big screen. Cavill is expected to reprise the role of Superman but there was no word on who would play Batman. Bale has previously shot down rumours that he would play the masked hero again. 

Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, showcased a number of upcoming films on Saturday at Comic-Con, including Seventh Son, 300: Rise Of An Empire, Godzilla and The Lego Movie, which will bring together Superman and Batman in animated Lego form. – Reuters

Lizard's tale

Posted:

The Godzilla reboot due out next year from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures is going to be big – we mean, as in the size of the titular creature.

The film's teaser poster unveiled at the San Diego Comic-Con last week shows just the big fella's tail, and a freakishly huge tail it is too, from the relative size of the helicopters buzzing around Godzilla's ... uh, rear.

Gareth Edwards, who gave us Monsters – an offbeat road trip/love story set in a creature-infested land – in 2010, is directing the movie from a script written by, among others, Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), from a story by David S. Goyer (Man Of Steel, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy).

None other than Kick-Ass himself, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is heading a cast that includes Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston as well as Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche.

Godzilla is of course the famous tale of a giant, radiation-mutated lizard that wreaks havoc on various cities, mostly Tokyo.

In Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake, it ravaged New York and was defeated by Jean Reno's Elvis impression.

Well, it helped.

For Comic-Con last week, a section of downtown San Diego was "made over" to look like a demolished part of Tokyo, with a "Godzilla Encounter" attraction to thrill fans.

The reboot is set to hit theatres in May.

The jokes are getting old

Posted:

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Critics agree: 'Grown Ups 2' is this year's worst summer movie.
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The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Posted:

[unable to retrieve full-text content]
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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio


Posted:

[unable to retrieve full-text content]
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The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business


Gold eases on strong economic data

Posted:

SINGAPORE: Gold extended losses on Thursday after falling 2% the session before as robust economic data from the United States and Europe dented its safe-haven appeal.

Spot gold had dropped 0.09% to US$1,319.46 an ounce by 0008 GMT. It fell 2% on Wednesday as signs of continued economic recovery prompted funds to exit the bullion market after the metal hit a one-month high earlier in the day.

New US home sales vaulted to a five-year peak in June, while private industry in the euro zone expanded for the first time in more than a year in July.

Goldman Sachs is sticking to its average forecast of US$1,413 for an ounce of gold this year as it does not see sharp reductions in US Federal Reserve stimulus, after fears of such cuts drove bullion prices to near three-year lows recently.

Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd, the world's third biggest gold producer, is forecasting a flat year of gold output as it cuts operating costs, as gold miner Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd reported a net loss on Wednesday, hurt in part by a maintenance shutdown, and said it was "reviewing all aspects" of its business in light of the recent drop in gold prices.

Meanwhile gold traders in India braced for a fall in supply and higher premiums ahead of festivals, as the central bank's steps to restrict imports are expected to cut supplies for domestic consumption – Reuters

RHB Research maintains Trading Buy on Malaysia Airlines

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research is maintaining its Trading Buy on Malaysian Airline System's (MAS) with its fair value unchanged at 43 sen.

It said on Thursday that MAS' passenger load factor hit a new high of 84.3% in June. MAS' second quarter's (Q2FY13) overall load factor improved by 3.9% on-quarter and 4.9% on-year.

"This seems to indicate that MAS may be able to mitigate its losses in 2QFY13 amid yield pressure. Maintain Trading BUY on MAS, with our 43 sen FV unchanged," it said.

RHB Research pointed out MAS' Q2FY13 operating statistics continued to show positive growth. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) climbed 13.3% on-quarter and 29.3% on-year, while total available seat kilometers (ASK) grew 7.8% on-quarter and 18.7% on-year.

"It is worth noting that the growth of domestic passenger RPK in 2QFY13 (+22.1% on-quarter, +23.3% on-year) may indicate that the company's fleet modernization is drawing more passengers.

"Meanwhile, its participation in the oneworld alliance also helped lift MAS' international passenger RPK by 12.3% on-quarter and 30.1% on-year y-o-y. In June, the national carrier's passenger load factor hit a new high of 84.3% (up 6.9% on-year), breaking its earlier record of 81.4% in December 2012," it said.

RHB Research believed that the yields of full-service carriers (FSC) including MAS are still under pressure. Nonetheless, given the strong improvement in its operating stats, MAS may be able to mitigate its losses in 2QFY13, for which the results will be released on July 31.

"That said, we are hopeful that the improved frequency/passenger volume would help mitigate the company's costs associated with slashing airfares.

"We keep our Trading BUY recommendation on MAS, with our MYR0.43 FV based on 9x adjusted FY14F EV/EBITDAR. As highlighted previously, we advise caution on

MAS' potential losses in 2QFY13 – which is a seasonally weak quarter in the year – although we believe that the losses should narrow in the current quarter," it pointed out.

Malaysia’s KLCI opens higher, Maybank, Genting up

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's FBM KLCI opened higher on Thursday, supported by some mild buying of key stocks including Maybank, AmBank and Genting Bhd.

At 9am, the KLCI was up 0.96 of a point to 1,810.96. Turnover was 24.83 million shares valued at RM11.46mil. There were 75 gainers, 35 losers and 102 counters unchanged.

JF Apex Research said upbeat economic data in the US and Europe and news that China was taking steps to help its economy could boost sentiment.

"As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain above 1,800," it said.

Maybank rose six sen to RM10.80 and AmBank gained four sen to RM8.06 but Public Bank and CIMB shed two sen each to RM17.32 and RM8.52.

Genting rose four sen to RM10.06.

Among the plantations, United Plantations added 50 sen to RM27.34, Genting Plantations 14 sen to RM10.18 and KL Kepong 10 sen to RM21.60.

Gabungan AQRS warrants surged 15.5 sen to 47.5 sen on their first trading day while the shares added five sen to RM1.67.

Perak Corp fell three sen to RM2.76 after denying it was being privatised or that there was a reverse takeover.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies


Batman vs Superman!

Posted:

The Caped Crusader is set to battle the Man of Steel in movie sequel.

Superman director Zack Snyder said last weekend that a sequel to last month's hit film was not only in the works, but would feature two of DC Comic's best-known caped crusaders – Superman versus Batman.

Snyder, who directed British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, surprised the audience with the news at the end of a Warner Bros film panel at San Diego's Comic-Con, an annual comics convention, and received thunderous applause from the 6,000-plus in attendance. 

The sequel to the latest Superman film, Man Of Steel, is banking on the success of recent comic-book films that have paired up heroes from the comic book universe, such as Disney's  Marvel superhero ensemble The Avengers in 2012, which made US$1.5bil (RM4.5bil) at the worldwide box office. The most recent installment of the Batman franchise, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, has made more than US$1bil (RM3bil) at the global box office. 

Superman has not always seen success at the box office and 2006's sequel starring Brandon Routh did not perform up to industry expectations. But Snyder's darker reimagining of the complex superhero in June's Man Of Steel delivered a strong performance at the worldwide box office. 

With Nolan as executive producer of the film, rumours were circulating that a pairing of Batman and Superman could come to the big screen. Cavill is expected to reprise the role of Superman but there was no word on who would play Batman. Bale has previously shot down rumours that he would play the masked hero again. 

Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, showcased a number of upcoming films on Saturday at Comic-Con, including Seventh Son, 300: Rise Of An Empire, Godzilla and The Lego Movie, which will bring together Superman and Batman in animated Lego form. – Reuters

Lizard's tale

Posted:

The Godzilla reboot due out next year from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures is going to be big – we mean, as in the size of the titular creature.

The film's teaser poster unveiled at the San Diego Comic-Con last week shows just the big fella's tail, and a freakishly huge tail it is too, from the relative size of the helicopters buzzing around Godzilla's ... uh, rear.

Gareth Edwards, who gave us Monsters – an offbeat road trip/love story set in a creature-infested land – in 2010, is directing the movie from a script written by, among others, Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), from a story by David S. Goyer (Man Of Steel, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy).

None other than Kick-Ass himself, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is heading a cast that includes Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston as well as Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche.

Godzilla is of course the famous tale of a giant, radiation-mutated lizard that wreaks havoc on various cities, mostly Tokyo.

In Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake, it ravaged New York and was defeated by Jean Reno's Elvis impression.

Well, it helped.

For Comic-Con last week, a section of downtown San Diego was "made over" to look like a demolished part of Tokyo, with a "Godzilla Encounter" attraction to thrill fans.

The reboot is set to hit theatres in May.

The jokes are getting old

Posted:

Critics agree: Grown Ups 2 is this year's worst summer movie.

THE critics have spoken, and Grown Ups 2 is the winner – as the worst movie of the summer so far.

Although the Adam Sandler comedy did good business in its US debut last weekend, the sequel has attracted a blizzard of critical bashes, generating only 7% positive notices, according to the aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

That's an improvement of sorts from the initial wave of reviews for the Sandler film, where a rock-bottom 0% of the Grown Ups 2 reviews were listed as favourable.

The scoring was a little more kind at Metacritic, where Grown Ups 2 received 21 out of a possible 100 points.

Compared to even some of the summer's biggest critical busts, Grown Ups 2 has been trashed harder than Will Smith's After Earth (11% positive reviews), Bradley Cooper's The Hangover Part III (19%), Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger (26%) and Vince Vaughn's The Internship (36%).

In addition to starring in the film, Sandler produced and co-wrote Grown Ups 2. Like eager kids dropping baited hooks into an overstocked trout pond, the critics had little trouble landing colourful Grown Ups 2 slams.

Mark Olsen in the Los Angeles Times: "With the slack, lackadaisical effort of Grown Ups 2, Sandler has perhaps revealed himself not as a confrere of (Judd) Apatow, who directed him in Funny People to a performance both crude and soulful. Rather, he's the white Tyler Perry: smart enough to know better, savvy enough to do it anyway, lazy enough not to care."

Matt Patches, Time Out New York: "Put it this way: In the first five minutes, a deer walks into the star's bedroom and urinates on his face. It's all downhill from there."

Claudia Puig in USA Today: "Mystifyingly, the movie manages to emerge plot-free. Instead, it offers a succession of humourless gross-out gags, fat jokes, suggestive posturing, bullying, belches and pratfalls."

Stephanie Merry, the Washington Post: "Grown Ups 2 isn't merely mindless.

At times, it seems to actually drain IQ points from its viewers while wasting a talented cast of Saturday Night Live alums, who are all capable of being much smarter and so much funnier."

Sara Stewart, the New York Post: "Sandler sums it up himself halfway through: 'We're irrelevant! We're losers! We're old!' Age isn't the problem, buddy; nobody is more in touch with his inner obnoxious six-year-old than you. But two out of three ain't bad." – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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The Star Online: Nation

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The Star Online: Nation


Zainal Abidin Ahmad appointed Malaysia's High Commissioner to Australia

Posted:

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad has been appointed as Malaysia's High Commissioner to Australia.

Zainal is a career diplomat who has served in the Foreign Ministry since 1983.

Currently, Zainal Abidin is the Director General of Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat at Wisma Putra.

He was Malaysian ambassador to Laos from 2007 to 2010.

George Town a hive of activity for beggars during Ramadan month

Posted:

GEORGE TOWN: Hundreds of beggars from outside Penang and foreign nationals are converging here to take advantage of the generosity of Muslims during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

State Welfare Services Department (JKM) director Zulkifli Ismail said the department observed that the beggars were jostling for spots, which resulted in tiffs among them.

"These seasonal beggars are not only from Penang but also Kedah, Perak and Perlis. There are also many foreign nationals such as Myanmars and Cambodians," he said after carrying out an operation against beggars and vagrants on Tuesday night.

He said the group of beggars were focusing on the Ramadan Bazaar, Kapitan Keling Mosque and around shopping complexes in the city from 1pm to 10pm. Their respective incomes exceed RM100 a day.

He said, JKM had detained 24 people including seven children aged between two to five years.

He said the operation, from 3pm until 10pm, was carried out to find and rescue vagrants especially children to prevent social problems. Those detained would be sent to temporary shelters or JKM's homes. - Bernama

Three-month-old baby boy abandoned at mosque

Posted:

BUTTERWORTH: A three-month-old baby boy, weighing five kg, was found abandoned in a blanket by members of the public after Asar prayers in front of the Hospital Seberang Jaya (HSJ) mosque, here at 4.35pm on Wednesday.

"The baby was found with items like milk, towel and clothes," said a police spokesman.

Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) police chief ACP Azman Abd Lah, when contacted, confirmed receiving the report after a member of the public reported the case to HSJ which then made police report.

"Now, the baby is at the HSJ and in good health. Investigation is progressing to determine the individuals involved in abandoning the baby," he added.

He also urged witnesses who have information to contact any nearest police station to assist in the investigation.

The case was investigated under Section 317 of the Penal Code. - Bernama

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The Star eCentral: TV Tracks

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The Star eCentral: TV Tracks


Barely bleeding

Posted:

True Blood has been lacking bite for a while ... Here's hoping the sixth season injects new life into its veins.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Catty behaviour

Posted:

Jackson Galaxy helps viewers avert more cat-astrophes in another season of My Cat From Hell.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

No love for the undead

Posted:

The Walking Dead's zombies are beneath snobbish academy.

Plans for crossover

Posted:

For the Fall 2014 season, Fox is planning a crossover episode between its two hit animated series, reports Tvline.com.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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