Khamis, 22 Mei 2014

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Carmen Soo joins Oh My English!

Posted: 21 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

The third season of the educational series will be a star-studded one.

KRING! It's back to school for the cast of Oh My English!.

In the premiere of Season Three, which aired last Sunday, viewers learned that the students of class 3 Merah in SMK Ayer Dalam have now moved on to 4 Merah.

A new school year means new friends and new teachers. Popular Malaysian actress who's making waves in the Philippines Carmen Soo, Adam Dan Hawa's Nadiya Nisaa, veteran actress Fauziah Ahmad Daud and comedian Rahim R2 join the cast as regulars.

Meanwhile, Faizal Hussein, Hans Isaac, Rashidi Ishak, Waris and Bront Palarae will make special appearances as the series progresses.

Old and new: The third season of Oh My English! just got more interesting with a mix of existing and new characters played by (top row, from left) Juzzthin, Amyra Rosli, Shafiq Kyle, Kaameshaa Ravindran, Nadiya Nisaa, Akhmal Nazri, (bottom row, from left) Zain Saidin, Fauziah Ahmad Daud and Sherry Al-Hadad.

Besides a line-up of star-studded actors, newcomers Amyra Rosli, Shafiq Kyle, Juzzthin and Sherry Al-Hadad will join its existing cast which includes Akhmal Nazri, Roax Tan, Md Zhafir Muzani bin Mohamad, Kaameshaa Ravindran, Zain Saidin and Tiz Zaqyah.

Astro's GenNext Business vice president Putri Yasmin Megat Zaharuddin is grateful for the support from audiences, with an average viewership jump of 3.6 million in Season One to 5.2 million in Season Two.

"We hope that viewers will enjoy Season Three with all the new surprises and twists in store. As with previous seasons, this one will not only include humorous and educational elements, but also positive values for our young viewers to emulate," she said in a press statement.

The new season will see its characters going on new adventures and in doing so, learning fresh English-language lessons each time.

Look out for current event tie-ups, too, such as an episode on the growing popularity of social media sites like Instagram, a World Cup episode and a Merdeka episode where characters will travel back in time to 1957 and experience what it feels like to live in that era.

Oh My English! Season Three airs every Sunday at 9pm on Astro TVIQ (Ch 610) and Astro Maya HD (Ch 135).

New hosts for Astro’s entertainment platform hlive

Posted: 21 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

Astro amps up its entertainment news delivery with fresh faces.

IF you're a local celebrity, forget the A-list, you'll want to get on the "H-list".

Satellite television service provider Astro will be introducing hlive! ("h"for hiburan), a brand that will deliver comprehensive entertainment news coverage, across various platforms including TV, radio, digital and print.

Astro vice president of Malay Language Business Khairul Anwar Salleh announced the move, which will take effect beginning May 26, is in line with Astro's commitment to bring viewers quality local content during its launch in Kuala Lumpur recently.

"At Astro, we believe in synchonising our content through the watch, listen and read concept where entertainment news is touched upon on all angles across different platforms," Khairul said to the crowd comprising "H-list" celebrities such as Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Aaron Aziz, Awal Ashaari, Scha Alyahya, Amber Chia and Zizan Raja Lawak.

On the TV front, hlive! will air twice a day every Monday to Saturday at 1pm and 8.30pm simultaneously on Astro Ria (Ch 104) and Astro Maya HD (Ch 135).

The programme – also made available on tablets, smartphones and computers via Astro On-The-Go – will be anchored by a line-up of fresh faces including Dahlia Shazwan, 26, Nabil Mahir, 26, Shalma Ainaa, 23, and Alif Farhan, 24.

"Dahlia, Nabil, Shalma and Alif were chosen as presenters on hlive! for their down-to-earth personality and sense of individuality that will surely capture audiences," Khairul explained.

Astro has also partnered with E! News to include exclusive international content to its programming.

Meanwhile, Datuk Aznil Haji Nawawi will host hlive! Apa Kata Malaysia, a programme that invites Malaysians to give their feedback on the week's entertainment news, airing live every Sunday, 8.30pm, beginning May 25. – Kenneth Chaw

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Chinese state media says five suicide bombers carried out Xinjiang attack
Indian consulate in west Afghanistan under attack, officials say
Thai generals summon ousted PM for talks a day after coup

Chinese state media says five suicide bombers carried out Xinjiang attack

Posted: 22 May 2014 09:40 PM PDT

URUMQI - Five suicide bombers carried out the attack which killed 31 people in the capital of China's troubled Xinjiang region, state media reported a day after the deadliest terrorist attack to date in the region.

The incident, which occurred in Urumqi on Thursday morning, was the second suicide attack in the capital in just over three weeks. A bomb and knife attack at an Urumqi train station in late April killed one bystander and wounded 79.

The government blames Islamists and separatists for the worsening violence in Xinjiang, the resource-rich western region bordering central Asia. At least 180 people have been killed in attacks across China.

The attackers ploughed two vehicles into an open market in Urumqi and hurled explosives. Many of the 94 people wounded were elderly shoppers, according to witnesses.

"Five suspects who participated in the violent terrorist attack blew themselves up," the Global Times, a tabloid run by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, reported on Friday.

The newspaper said authorities "are investigating whether there were other accomplices".

Exiles and many rights groups say the real cause of the unrest in Xinjiang is China's heavy-handed policies, including curbs on Islam and the culture and language of ethnic Uighurs, a Turkic speaking Muslim people.

The Uighurs have long complained of official discrimination in favour of the Han people, China's majority ethnic group.

Residents said the morning market, where the attack occurred, was predominantly frequented by Han Chinese customers, though many of the vendors are Uighurs.

A Han Chinese man, surnamed Zheng, said he had left the market just 20 minutes before the attack occurred. He said after he heard the blast, he rushed back to see plumes of black smoke rising into the sky and people running away.

"How are people supposed to live life when you can't even go to buy vegetables? It's so terrible," he told Reuters. "That is what the terrorists are after. They want to have a political impact, so they target large groups."

"I just got here, but if I had the means, I'd consider leaving Urumqi for someplace safer," Zheng said, adding that other morning markets were also closed.

China has been grappling with a rise in suicide attacks. A car burst into flames at the edge of Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October, killing five people.

"It looks like (the Chinese authorities) have a metastasizing domestic terrorism problem," Kenneth Lieberthal, a China expert with the Brookings Institution, told Reuters.

"I think the evidence suggests to date that if anything, the rethink (on Xinjiang policy) will be to get tougher."

Pan Zhiping, a retired expert on Central Asia at Xinjiang's Academy of Social Science, said Thursday's attack was the deadliest ever in the region.

He said that the government needs to step up its efforts on intelligence gathering. He said the "terrorists" received training overseas from groups like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and gained combat experience in Syria.

"They are now definitely organised and these small organisations are very tight," Pan said. "If it's not possible to crack a small organisation, then I think this kind of thing will continue to happen."

Chinese police blamed the ETIM for the Urumqi train station attack last month, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, the first time the separatists have been directly linked to the assault.

The ETIM has been accused by the United States and China of having ties to al Qaeda, but there is disagreement among security experts over the nature of the group and whether ties with al Qaeda and other militant organisations really exist.

No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack.

The top official in Xinjiang, Zhang Chunxian, has called for all forces to be mobilised to find the perpetrators, vowing to "crush the swollen arrogance of terrorists", the Xinjiang government said on its official news website.

(Additional reporting by Li Hui and Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING and James Pomfret in HONG KONG, Writing by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Indian consulate in west Afghanistan under attack, officials say

Posted: 22 May 2014 09:25 PM PDT

HERAT Afghanistan (Reuters) - Four heavily armed insurgents attacked the Indian consulate in western Afghanistan's main city near the border with Iran on Friday, wounding at least two policemen, officials said.

The attack underscored a worrying security picture as Afghanistan prepares to take over from foreign combat troops after 12 years of war and prepares for a presidential election run-off next month.

Herat police chief General Samihullah Qatra told Reuters at least one suicide bomber was shot by police and three were still fighting.

"Four Taliban have entered residential houses close to the consulate, shooting towards the Indian consulate compound," Qatra said. "Police have already evacuated civilians from houses and now fighting is ongoing," he said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack and no claims of responsibility have been made so far, although the Taliban often carry out such attacks on Afghan and international targets around the country.

The attack began before dawn and was still going several hours later, officials said.

(Reporting by Jalil Ahmad; Writing by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Paul Tait)

Thai generals summon ousted PM for talks a day after coup

Posted: 22 May 2014 09:00 PM PDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's military leaders summoned ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to a meeting on Friday, a day after army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in a bloodless coup and said he wanted to restore order following months of turmoil.

General Prayuth launched his coup after the various factions refused to give ground in a struggle for power between the royalist establishment and a populist government that had raised fears of serious violence and damaged Thailand's economy.

Soldiers detained politicians from both sides when Prayuth announced the military takeover, which drew swift international condemnation, after talks he was presiding over broke down.

Leaders of pro- and anti-government protest groups were still believed to be in detention on Friday, an opposition lawmaker said, declining to be named.

The military censored the media, dispersed rival protesters in Bangkok and imposed a nationwide 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.

It has summoned Yingluck and 22 associates, including powerful relatives and ministers in her government, to a meeting at an army facility at 10 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday.

Yingluck is the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon turned politician who won huge support among the poor but the loathing of the royalist establishment, largely over accusations of corruption and nepotism. He was ousted as premier in a military coup in 2006.

Aides to Yingluck had arrived at the army facility by mid-morning and she was expected to follow.

Prayuth himself may not be present. He was expected to meet King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Friday at the royal palace in Hua Hin, in the south of the country, to explain the army's move.

Yingluck was forced to step down as prime minister by a court on May 7 but her caretaker government, buffeted by more than six months of protests, had remained nominally in power, even after the army declared martial law on Tuesday.

Any meeting could set the tone for army rule as Prayuth tries to steer the country out of crisis and fend off international criticism of the latest lurch into military rule.

STREETS CALM

Bangkok has remained calm and activity appeared to be relatively normal on Friday, although the military has ordered all schools and universities to stay closed.

Public transport was running after the curfew ended and early traffic was light, but cars were moving slowly on some roads into the capital because of army checkpoints.

Regular television schedules were suspended with all stations running the same news programme, featuring content from Channel 5, the army's own channel.

It showed pictures of the areas, now cleared, that had been taken over in and around Bangkok by various political groups since anti-government protests flared up last November.

Other footage showed people going about their business normally in cities around the country. Some were interviewed, saying they welcomed the coup.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was no justification for the coup, which would have "negative implications" for ties with its ally, especially military ones.

"The path forward for Thailand must include early elections that reflect the will of the people," Kerry said in a statement.

He also called for the release of detained politicians.

There was also condemnation from France, the European Union and the United Nations human rights office. Japan said the coup was regrettable and Australia said it was "gravely concerned."

Prayuth is a member of the royalist establishment generally seen as hostile to the Shinawatras, although he has tried for months to keep the army out of the political strife and to appear even-handed.

He enjoyed cordial relations with Yingluck after she took office following a landslide election victory in mid-2011 but is regarded warily by some Thaksin supporters.

The army chief, who is 60 and due to retire later this year, has taken over the powers of prime minister but it was not clear if he intended to stay in the position.

MARKET REACTION MUTED

The anti-Thaksin protesters had demanded electoral changes that would end the Shinawatras' success at the ballot box. Thaksin or his parties have won every election since 2001.

Thaksin's "red shirt" supporters were dismayed and angry but said they had no immediate plans for protests that they had threatened in response to any army takeover. Those who had been protesting in Bangkok dispersed peacefully after the coup.

Protests would be a major test for Prayuth, who commands an army known to contain some Thaksin sympathisers.

In 2010, more than 90 people were killed in clashes, most when the army broke up protests against a pro-establishment government that had taken office after a pro-Thaksin administration was removed by the courts in 2008.

Weary investors have generally taken Thailand's upheavals in their stride and the baht was slightly firmer in early trade at around 32.50 per dollar. It had weakened to 32.70 in offshore trade after the coup.

The stock market fell 2 percent in early trade after ending 0.2 percent higher on Thursday before the coup news. Local investors had taken the view that the martial law imposed on Tuesday might bring some stability to the country.

Thailand's economy contracted 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 from the previous three months, largely because of the prolonged unrest, which has frightened off tourists and dented confidence, bringing fears of recession.

(Additional reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat and Bangkok bureau; Writing by Robert Birsel and Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Documentary to tell story of world's loneliest whale
Hugh Jackman enjoys playing Wolverine more than ever
Nicole Kidman is one drama queen

Documentary to tell story of world's loneliest whale

Posted: 21 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

Subject has never been seen; identified only by its call.

52, a documentary on the whale known as the world's loneliest due to its highly unusual 52-hertz call, has found a production company and financial backing.

Joshua Zeman, the director of 52, had his work cut out for him when attempting to convince producers to get behind the project. The documentary certainly poses a challenge, as its subject is a whale that has never been seen and is identified only by its call. Even the species of the animal in question is unknown; it could be a fin whale, a blue whale, or a cross between two different species.

In Cannes, Worldview Entertainment recently came on board to finance and produce the feature, which will enter production this fall with a seven-week Pacific Ocean expedition in search of the mysterious beast.

Although the lonely whale has never been seen, the NOAA has followed its migrations since the Navy first identified its unique signal over two decades ago. At 52 hertz, the whale's call is much higher than those of any other known whale species, according to the site Futura-Sciences. As a result, the animal's calls go unanswered, making it unusually solitary.

The feature will be Worldview Entertainment's second documentary after The Square, which was nominated for an Oscar this year. The studio recently produced The Search, Michel Hazanavicius's latest film, which is currently in competition at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.

The species of the so-called "world's loneliest whale" has never been identified, although its migration patterns most resemble those of the blue whale or a fin whale. – AFP Relaxnews

The migration patterns of the unidentified 'world's loneliest whale' resembles those of blue whale pictured here. – AFP

Hugh Jackman enjoys playing Wolverine more than ever

Posted: 21 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

It's the seventh time the actor is wearing Wolverine's claws.

IT was 14 years ago when the relatively unknown Hugh Jackman got the part of Wolverine in the X-Men movie. This year, Jackman wears Wolverine's claws for the seventh time in X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

In an interview with the affable Australian actor – who is sporting a full beard for his next role as Blackbeard in the film Pan – he confessed with a twinkle in his eye that he is getting old and just can't fight the same.

"I haven't done stunts in 10 years. Come on!" the 45-year-old said in jest.

The truth is he pushes himself harder to get into Wolverine-shape, which he has documented on his Instagram (@thehughjackman).

"Physically, you get tired," he said when asked if it gets easier to play the role he is most famous for. "The physicality is not only on how he looks. I think it's important to show his ferocity and the animal side to him, be lean and veiny.

"So I put high standards I suppose each time. But to actually get into the character, that is getting easier. And yet, I sort of don't want it to be easy, I don't think anything about Wolverine is easy. Even if he appears to be easy on the outside, his interior shouldn't be at ease. That's just who he is – a warrior really, a very complex and tortured hero."

Although there is no word on how long Jackman would continue to play the role – it all depends on the scripts he gets – he said: "Right now I am enjoying him more than ever. I love playing the character and the movies are getting better. I got goosebumps at the end of this because all I could see are the possibilities not only for Wolverine but the entire X-Men universe."

But if there was a reboot, who does he think can play Wolverine? "Have you heard the joke of four stages of being an actor in Hollywood?

"There are four stages of being an actor – 'Who is Hugh Jackman? Get me Hugh Jackman. Get me the younger Hugh Jackman. And who is Hugh Jackman?' I am rapidly approaching 'Get me the younger Hugh Jackman.'

"I am not going to make it easier for them. At least I am going to make them work for it, alright. So I am not going to answer that question." – Mumtaj Begum

Peter Dinklage is inerested in characters with shades of grey

Fan Bingbing excited to be part of the X-Men movies

Showbiz shakedown

Nicole Kidman is one drama queen

Posted: 21 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

The Aussie actress gets to the very soul of adventure.

It's too easy to start with the face or what she wears, how she sits. The colour of her earrings. The essence is in the vowels, the way she holds and releases them. The voice drops a register, as if in a conspiracy, and a morning conversation drifts across art, ambition, age and riding camels in the desert.

Many roles come to mind when Nicole Kidman speaks: inconsolable mother, suicidal writer, dangerous weather girl, nuclear scientist, gangster lover, top-hatted cabaret singer and Southern femme fatale with an unorthodox remedy for jellyfish stings. They are all there, unapologetic, in tones of tenacity and risk that have defined her career. One senses she is the kind who would either win big or lose it all at the track.

"I'm going to make choices. I'm going to live and die on them. I'll take the flak. I'll take the hits. I'll take the accolades," said Kidman, who won the Academy Award for lead actress for her rendering of Virginia Woolf in The Hours.

"I'll take whatever comes with it, but ultimately I'm on an exploration. I want to excite myself."

Her latest role – as the dutiful wife of a psychologically scarred former prisoner of war – is not adorned in eccentricities; it is more steady flame than fireworks. It does not flaunt the diamonds and intrigue in her upcoming portrayals of Princess Grace Kelly and Gertrude Bell, a spy and explorer who trekked the deserts of the Middle East.

Her depiction of Patti Lomax in The Railway Man is a quiet portrait of a woman fighting for her husband's sanity. "I'm usually larger than life and this is real life," said Kidman.

"I think Baz (Luhrmann) said once, 'You're never going to be cast as the girl next door,' and I'm, like, sometimes I'd love to be cast as the girl next door. I really see Patti as the girl next door."

The film is based on the autobiography of Eric Lomax, a Scot in the British army who was tortured by the Japanese during World War II. It is a tale of atrocity, memory and how two broken men – Lomax and his tormentor – are healed decades later in an unanticipated act of forgiveness. Kidman's part is small, poignant and distinctive.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, the film is one of a number in recent years, including the upcoming Unbroken, the story of American G.I. Louis Zamperini, to examine World War II and Japanese prison camps.

Kidman said many old veterans "are carrying around huge burdens" and young soldiers returning today from Iraq and Afghanistan are "deeply traumatised ... it's devastating."

Kidman is a busy actress and a prodigious researcher, sifting through the layers of characters, such as Martha Gellhorn, the war correspondent in the HBO movie Hemingway & Gellhorn, and Grace Kelly, movie star and royalty in Grace Of Monaco.

She is discriminating, and when she speaks of larger-than-life roles her Australian vowels flatten and harden with intensity. She equates Australians with Texans – independent, spirited, inured to harsh terrains and vast expanses.

"I try to be right in there, and that allows me the emotional well with an enormous amount of experience now," said Kidman, 46.

"I don't have to struggle to find things, which is a great place to be as an actress. It's just I then have to be careful what I choose, where I choose to place it and whose hands I put it in. At this stage, I don't want to waste my time because it's so precious. I want to work with people who want to delve deeply. I'm not interested in lightweight stuff."

Kidman sat recently in a small ballroom in a Beverly Hills hotel. She was happy to promote her film but professed a sharp distaste for marketing research: "C'mon," she said, "how are you going to break new ground or find new things if you're being ruled ... by opinions and surveys."

Studios, directors and producers who back her are promised: "I'll always be on time and I won't waste your money."

Such sentiment sent her to Morocco and along the Algeria border, where she recently camped and rode camels while filming Queen Of The Desert, Werner Herzog's biopic about Gertrude Bell, a British archaeologist and explorer instrumental in mapping modern-day Jordan and Iraq.

"It was thrilling to play a woman in 1915 heading off into the desert. She did what Lawrence of Arabia did, in a different way," said Kidman, who is expected to have at least four films out this year.

"To be in her skin has given me incredible desire and boldness right now ... and nobody knows about her, which infuriates me."

She leaned back. It appeared she needed another adventurous role – quickly – before the mystique of Gertrude Bell faded.

"Keep finding the stories and telling them," said Kidman, who lives in Nashville with her two daughters and husband Keith Urban. "I still don't think the great War And Peace (movie) has been made."

Footsteps echoed down a hall past a scent of cut flowers.

She spoke of Woolf's genius and the psychological interiors of her novels. They were insistent to find something new. Kidman said, "I love in the most dangerous way I can" and that life, as we go on, gets tougher; parents age, friends are lost, unforeseen accumulations reveal frailties. "All those things swirling around you." Hemingway – Gellhorn was his third wife – once said people grew stronger at the broken places.

"We discover our strengths then," she said. "When those things hit you, and they can hit you hard in whatever form they come, that's when you discover your fortitude. ... I'm the most openly emotional in my family. My mum calls me the changeling."

Her parents are academics –her father a biochemist, her mother a nursing teacher – and Kidman said they tease her that "the fairies left you in the yard and we don't quite know where you came from".

She was asked what was the grist of her creativity. She answered with a story about traveling with Urban through the Australian outback.

"We were driving in the car and (lying) on the side of the road was a kangaroo," she said.

"I said, 'Oh, my gosh we have to stop.' I wanted to look. And he's like, 'No, no we'll just keep driving.' I said, 'But it's so upsetting.' And he said, 'Just don't look.' I said, 'That is so interesting, there's a metaphor for our relationship, 'cause you're, like, just keep going ... and I've go to look at it.' I've got to look it right in the eye. I've got to see it. I've got to feel and understand it." – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Documentary to tell story of world's loneliest whale
Hugh Jackman enjoys playing Wolverine more than ever
Nicole Kidman is one drama queen