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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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• DreamWorks celebrates 20th anniversary
• Palm Dog prize: Movie star dog has its day at Cannes
• 'KL Gangster' franchise hits the mark again

DreamWorks celebrates 20th anniversary Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Animated movie hit maker looking to the future with changing formats and lucrative new markets. DreamWorks Animation, one of the biggest successes of recent Hollywood history, is celebrating its 20th birthday with eyes firmly on the future, both in terms of changing formats and lucrative new markets like China. Jeffrey Katzenberg's studio, a Croisette regular which chose Cannes to premiere the first two movies about lovable ogre Shrek, presented the spectacular How To Train Your Dragon 2 out of competition at the Palais des Festivals a fortnight ago. It also took the opportunity to fete its 20 years of animated hits. Born in 1994 with the creation of DreamWorks SKG – founded by Steven Spielberg, Katzenberg and David Geffen – DreamWorks Animation separated from its parent company in 2004 to become an autonomous studio focused exclusively on animated films. In two decades it has produced 28 features including the blockbuster Shrek and Madagascar franchises as well as one-offs like 1998's Prince Of Egypt and Chicken Run (2000), which have in all made over US$11bil at the global box office. The studio also landed the first animated feature film Oscar in 2002 with the first Shrek movie, and repeated the trick in 2006 with Wallace And Gromit. But the studio, like its competitors, is not immune to missteps – like last year's Turbo, which failed to take off as expected at the box office. And that is why Katzenberg, a former Disney executive, stresses the need for his company to keep diversifying, notably by investing in animated TV series and the Internet. "Movies are not a growth business," he told a recent conference in Beverly Hills, adding that in 10 years' time films will only spend about three weeks in cinemas, before transferring to other formats. The other major challenge for Katzenberg is the Chinese market, which all the major Hollywood studios are trying to conquer. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation created Oriental DreamWorks, a studio based in Shanghai, with the aim of releasing films from 2016 with "Chinese DNA". In an interview with AFP, Katzenberg said at the time that "what is unique (about China) is that in five to seven years they will be the number one market in the whole world. "They are going actually to have a marketplace that, if you could succeed at creating a great family brand, the value of that would be tremendous," he added. – AFP

Palm Dog prize: Movie star dog has its day at Cannes Posted: 23 May 2014 06:15 PM PDT Feher Isten's Body wins outstanding performance by a pooch at film festival. A gentle Labrador mix named Body won the "Palm Dog" award on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Friday (May 23), a pat on the head from canine-lovers and film critics for the outstanding movie performance by a pooch. Body starred in Feher Isten (White God) by Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo, which features more than 250 dogs. The lead character is "Hagen" – a role shared by Body and a second hound named Luc – who is abandoned by his family and picked up by a man who trains him to be fighting dog. At the film's festival premiere earlier in the festival, Body attended a photocall, walked the red carpet and was invited onstage – wearing a bowtie. The Palm Dog award is a play on the Palme d'Or, the Cannes festival's top prize. "What an honour, what a historical hound!" said Palm Dog organiser Toby Rose, who called the film a cross between "Inglorious Barksterds" and "Ben Fur". It had been a golden year for dogs on film, Rose said. "This Cannes has seen a raging outbreak of dog-risma," Rose said, citing Jean-Luc Godard's real-life dog, Roxy Mieville, who stars in his film Adieu au Langage (Goodbye to Language) and Yves Saint Laurent's French Bulldog Moujik in Saint Laurent by director Bertrand Bonello. The supporting role of Moujik takes a tragic turn as the dog consumes the party drugs intended for his master and dies. In another canine cameo, a fuzzy English sheepdog appears in David Cronenberg's critique of Hollywood, Maps to the Stars and is accidentally shot by a teenage movie star. "It was the biggest and best range of dog performances I think I've ever known," Rose told Reuters TV. But in terms of the number of canines on screen at any one time, Feher Isten takes the biscuit. In its opening scene, a pack of 250 barking dogs, none of them created by computer simulation, chase after the protagonist, barking and snarling. Most of the dogs used in the film were rescued in real life from an animal shelter, then adopted by cast members and friends after the shoot. Although Body was not on hand to accept the award, director Mundruczo accepted the stuffed bone prize on his behalf, saying it was an "uplifting" experience working with his canine stars. "They live in Los Angeles," he said of Body and Luc, promising to send the bone to their trainer. – Reuters

'KL Gangster' franchise hits the mark again Posted: 23 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Syafiq Yusof proves his mettle once more as the KL Gangster franchise spreads its wings to Stephen Chow-like comic heights. IN 2012 the whole country was abuzz with the release of SAM, the debut film from director Syafiq Yusof, who was all of 18 at the time and was officially named Malaysia's youngest feature film director in the Malaysia Book Of Records. SAM did not exactly set the box office alight but it made many people sit up and take notice of Syafiq's natural directing talents. The son of Datuk Yusof Haslam and younger brother of Syamsul Yusof, who set box-office records with their films Sembilu II and KL Gangster respectively, Syafiq did not stop at just writing and directing the film. He also handled the editing, sound design and even some of the CGI and visual effects himself. From a debut that saw him venture into the difficult psychological thriller genre, observers thought he would follow it up with something just as adventurous. Imagine the surprise, then, when his second film turned out to be a spinoff from his brother's successful KL Gangster franchise – the action spoof Abang Long Fadil. Starring comedian Zizan Razak, continuing his role as the comic sidekick Fadil from the KL Gangster movies, the movie takes place after the events of KL Gangster 2 (which was technically a prequel to KL Gangster) and tells the story of Fadil's life after his best friend Malik (Aaron Aziz) is sent to prison. Director Syafiq Yusof (with camera) setting up a shot for the movie.   Wanting to quit the gang, he is told to conquer the unconquerable Kampung Berani and deliver it to lead gangster Shark (Syamsul Yusof) before he will be allowed to leave. Fans of Stephen Chow's comic masterpiece Kung Fu Hustle will, of course, see a kind of resemblance between the kung fu masters of that movie's Pigsty Alley and the silat warriors of Kampung Berani. A quick look at Abang Long Fadil's brilliantly hilarious opening scene will confirm Syafiq's debt to Chow's brand of Looney Tunes-inspired comic lunacy. Syafiq confirms that he did watch many Stephen Chow films for reference, but he also watched movies with Indian superstar Rajnikanth to get just the right mix of over-the-top action and comedy. "It's a privilege and also a big responsibility to be trusted with a franchise as big and successful as my brother Syamsul's KL Gangster, especially when I'm taking it into a totally different genre altogether. So I hope I did Syamsul proud with this film," Syafiq said after the premiere of the film earlier this week. To this, Syamsul replied: "Every filmmaker has his own style of shooting and cutting, so of course I had a different Abang Long Fadil playing in my head when I first thought of how the film would turn out. But I love what Syafiq has come out with, especially how he turned it into something really comic." Even his dad was beaming with pride at the final result. The journey was quite a tough one, though. Costing RM3.2 million and taking 53 days to shoot – a long time compared to the average Malaysian film's 20- to 30-day shoot – the film also boasts plenty of CGI and visual effects to boost its many neatly choreographed fight scenes to even greater heights of humour. With a keen interest in visual effects ever since his days of making short films, Syafiq has now taken it a step further by forming his own visual effects company, Viper Studios, which handles all the CGI in the film. Effects aside, the big question is still whether or not the film is entertaining and funny. Syafiq is savvy enough to recognise this fact by explicitly stating that unlike SAM, this movie was not made to challenge the audience with anything heavy. His intention was to entertain the audience with something light and funny. Judging from the film's many inspired scenes of comic mayhem and the copious amounts of laughter heard throughout the premiere screening, it is indeed "mission accomplished" for the young filmmaker.

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The Star Online: World Updates

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• Thai coup leader to get royal endorsement, address nation
• Wives of jailed opposition mayors win Venezuela ballots
• China busts 23 'terror, religious extremism' groups - Xinhua

Thai coup leader to get royal endorsement, address nation Posted: 25 May 2014 10:10 PM PDT BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha will receive the endorsement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Monday as head of a ruling military council, and the general will then give his first address to the nation since seizing power last week. The royal command ceremony, a significant formality in a country where the monarchy is the most important institution, was due begin at 10:49 a.m. (0349 GMT), the army said. It gave no reason for that time, but it is likely it was deemed auspicious. Prayuth's address is likely to be viewed with conflicting attitudes in a country polarised by nearly a decade of rivalry between the royalist establishment, of which Prayuth is a member, and a populist politician who broke the political mould. Prayuth will outline steps he intends to take, including the proclamation of an interim constitution and the setting up of a legislative council, the military said. It did not elaborate. The military said it seized power last Thursday to end six months of sometimes violent protests against the populist government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. But it has taken over with a heavy hand, detaining perhaps scores of people, most allied with Yingluck's government, throwing out the constitution, dissolving the Senate and censoring media. Anyone who insults the monarchy or violates the military's orders will be tried in a military court. Despite warnings, small crowds of people voicing opposition to the May 22 coup have been gathering in Bangkok as well as in the north and northeast, strongholds of the ousted government. About 1,000 people thronged around Victory Monument, a central Bangkok hub, on Sunday, occasionally confronting lines of soldiers with riot shields, but there have been no clashes. The military has relaxed restrictions on Yingluck, allowing her to go home although she is under military supervision. "She is free to come and go as she pleases but will have to inform us as a sign of mutual respect and we will have soldiers guarding her home," a senior military official, who declined to be identified, said on Sunday. Suthep Thaugsuban, who led the Bangkok protests that undermined Yingluck's government from last November, was released from army custody on Monday but taken with 12 associates to the Attorney General's office. Suthep faces a charge of insurrection relating to the protests but was granted bail, said a member of his legal team. 'MEANINGLESS' The easing of restrictions on Yingluck will do little to dispel concern among her supporters that the military is intent on a crackdown for reasons other than restoring order and ending antagonism between protesters backed by the establishment and the real power behind her government, her brother and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup after big-spending policies had won him the passionate support, and votes, of the poor but the animosity of the establishment, who saw him as a corrupt, authoritarian opportunist and a threat to the old order. Thaksin was also accused of being disrespectful to the monarchy and even a closet republican, which he denied. The former leader has said on Twitter he was saddened by the latest events, and called on the army to treat everyone fairly. Thaksin has lived in self-exile since a 2008 graft conviction. The crisis between the establishment and Thaksin comes amid anxiety over the issue of royal succession. The king, the world's longest-reigning monarch, is 86 and spent the years from 2009 to 2013 in hospital. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn does not command the same devotion as his father, but some Thaksin supporters have recently been making a point of showing their loyalty to the prince. Meanwhile, one Thaksin ally, ousted Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, said he expected the military to implement steps aimed at sidelining once and for all Thaksin, his family and his allies, and blocking forever his formidable political machine, which has won every election since 2001. "Any election after that would be meaningless," Chaturon told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location on Sunday, referring to changes he expects the military to implement. "The system will be designed so no matter which party people vote for, it won't be able to form a government." For now, the military is focusing on getting the economy back on track and ending dissent. Shares in building contractors jumped more than 3 percent on Monday on expectations the new military government would speed up disbursements for infrastructure projects that were put on hold during the months of political unrest. Among them, Italian-Thai Development Pcl , the country's largest construction firm, rose 0.5 percent even though the army has summoned its president, Premchai Karnasuta, to appear before it on Monday. In its latest such order, it told 38 people to come in, including political associates of Thaksin and several big business allies of the former telecommunications tycoon. (Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Khettiya Jittapong and Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Alan Raybould and Alex Richardson)

Wives of jailed opposition mayors win Venezuela ballots Posted: 25 May 2014 10:05 PM PDT CARACAS (Reuters) - The wives of two opposition mayors jailed over protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won landslide victories in elections on Sunday for their spouses' vacant posts. Though the women's victories were widely expected in cities that are hotbeds of opposition to Madura, they still brought some cheer to a movement divided over the strategy of protests and smarting from repeated defeats in national elections. Patricia Ceballos, whose husband Daniel Ceballos was sacked in March and received a 12-month sentence for failing to remove protester' barricades in the streets of San Cristobal, took the mayorship there with 74 percent of votes. The western city near the border of Colombia was the birthplace of demonstrations that began in early February and quickly spread across Venezuela, causing the OPEC nation's worst unrest in a decade and leading to 42 deaths. Rosa Scarano, whose husband Vicencio Scarano also lost his job and received a 10-month jail sentence in March for the same offence in central San Diego city, won an even larger 88 percent of votes to take the vacant mayorship there. Both women represented the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition against ruling Socialist Party candidates. "The result of these elections has shown that power and abuse have received a big lesson," the MUD said in a statement. The socialists still control about 70 percent of Venezuela's 335 local mayorships, however. Maduro, who seems to have weathered the worst of the protests, said he would recognise the new mayors, but warned he would not tolerate more unrest in their cities. "If they go crazy and start burning the municipality again, the authorities will act ... and elections will be called every three months until there is peace," he said. Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver who replaced the late Hugo Chavez last year, says this year's wave of protests are a cover for a U.S.-promoted coup attempt against him. Opponents say that is nonsense, and protests are borne out of Venezuelans' frustration with a repressive government and economic hardships including scarcities of basic products and the highest inflation in the Americas. At the height of the protests, masked youths faced off daily with security forces. But numbers have dwindled in recent weeks. Though hardline student activists vow to stay on the streets, the MUD's more moderate leaders believe their best strategy now is to focus on a possible recall referendum to try and oust Maduro constitutionally in 2016. He won a six-year term last year, which would take him to 2019. The opposition would need nearly 4 million signatures to trigger a recall referendum in two years' time. (Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

China busts 23 'terror, religious extremism' groups - Xinhua Posted: 25 May 2014 10:00 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police in the far western region of Xinjiang have taken down 23 "terror and religious extremism groups" and caught more than 200 suspects in May, state media said, days after the region's deadliest attack in years. China has announced year-long "anti-terrorism" operations in restive Xinjiang, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority, as well as nationwide, following a series of bloody incidents that Beijing blames on Islamists and separatists from the region. Police busted the groups in the southern Xinjiang prefectures of Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu and seized more than 200 explosive devices in raids, the official Xinhua news agency said late on Sunday. Many of those captured were in their 20s and 30s, and had learned how to make explosives by watching online videos, Xinhua said. "They exchanged their experiences of making explosives and propagating jihad through chatting tools, text messages and illegal preaching sites," the news agency said, citing the regional public security department. China has said five suicide bombers carried out an attack at a morning vegetable market in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi on Thursday, which killed 31 people and injured 94. It was the second attack in Urumqi in just over three weeks, after a bomb went off at a train station in late April, killing a bystander and wounding 79. "[We] must truly turn violent terrorists into rats scurrying across the street, with everyone shouting to beat them down," state media cited Zhang Chunxian, the ruling Communist Party chief in Xinjiang, as saying at a Sunday meeting on the latest Urumqi attack. At least 180 people have been killed in attacks across China over the past year. Beijing warns that separatist groups in Xinjiang are seeking to form their own state called East Turkestan. But exiles and rights groups say the real cause of the unrest in the resource-rich region bordering central Asia is China's repressive policies that put curbs on Islam and the culture of Uighurs, Muslims who speak a Turkic language. Uighurs have long complained of official discrimination in favour of the Han, China's majority ethnic group. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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Another shot: Disney XD's 'Mighty Med' gets a second season Posted: 26 May 2014 02:35 AM PDT The teen sitcom has been getting high ratings since its debut in October last year. Disney XD has ordered a second season of superhero comedy series, Mighty Med, TheWrap has learned. As the current freshman season continues, the series will go back into production in Los Angeles in July for a fall 2014 second season return. When it comes to ratings, the series has been leaping above the competition. Its October 2013 launch ranked as the No. 1 programme in its time period among the network's target boy demographics. And currently, Mighty Med holds the network's highest total viewers and ratings across all key demos. "The show's clever take on the popular superhero genre has made this show a hit with Disney XD viewers," Disney Channels Worldwide executive vice president of original programming told TheWrap in a statement. He continued, "Our fans have embraced the show and its talented cast, and we look forward to delivering more action-packed and comical adventures in Season Two." From It's A Laugh Productions, Inc, Mighty Med was created by executive producer Jim Bernstein (Phineas And Ferb) and co-executive producer Andy Schwartz (Scrubs). Stephen Engel (The Big Bang Theory) also serves as an executive producer. It stars Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short, Paris Berelc, Devan Leos and Augie Isaac. — Reuters

Martin Lawrence, Kelsey Grammer are friends in new FX comedy Posted: 24 May 2014 09:15 PM PDT The two will play Chicago lawyers from different backgrounds. Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer will lend their comedic talents to Partners, a new comedy slated to premiere on Aug 4 on FX. The actors will play Marcus Jackson and Allen Braddock, two Chicago lawyers from extremely different backgrounds. As each man is working through a personal crisis of his own, the two meet in court and develop a friendship and a partnership. Headlined by two of the most popular comedic actors in the US, the series is expected to be a hit with audiences. Lawrence is best known for his long-running TV show Martin and for his involvement in the Bad Boys and Big Momma franchises, while Grammer is still associated with the role he played on Cheers and its spin-off Frasier. More recently, Grammer shifted gears to take the lead role of the Starz political drama Boss. FX has ordered 10 episodes of Partners for the first season. If this initial run lives up to the network's expectations, the show will sign up to produce an additional 90 episodes. FX employed a similar development model for Anger Management, the comedy starring Charlie Sheen. – AFP Relaxnews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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• DreamWorks celebrates 20th anniversary
• Palm Dog prize: Movie star dog has its day at Cannes
• 'KL Gangster' franchise hits the mark again

DreamWorks celebrates 20th anniversary Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Animated movie hit maker looking to the future with changing formats and lucrative new markets. DreamWorks Animation, one of the biggest successes of recent Hollywood history, is celebrating its 20th birthday with eyes firmly on the future, both in terms of changing formats and lucrative new markets like China. Jeffrey Katzenberg's studio, a Croisette regular which chose Cannes to premiere the first two movies about lovable ogre Shrek, presented the spectacular How To Train Your Dragon 2 out of competition at the Palais des Festivals a fortnight ago. It also took the opportunity to fete its 20 years of animated hits. Born in 1994 with the creation of DreamWorks SKG – founded by Steven Spielberg, Katzenberg and David Geffen – DreamWorks Animation separated from its parent company in 2004 to become an autonomous studio focused exclusively on animated films. In two decades it has produced 28 features including the blockbuster Shrek and Madagascar franchises as well as one-offs like 1998's Prince Of Egypt and Chicken Run (2000), which have in all made over US$11bil at the global box office. The studio also landed the first animated feature film Oscar in 2002 with the first Shrek movie, and repeated the trick in 2006 with Wallace And Gromit. But the studio, like its competitors, is not immune to missteps – like last year's Turbo, which failed to take off as expected at the box office. And that is why Katzenberg, a former Disney executive, stresses the need for his company to keep diversifying, notably by investing in animated TV series and the Internet. "Movies are not a growth business," he told a recent conference in Beverly Hills, adding that in 10 years' time films will only spend about three weeks in cinemas, before transferring to other formats. The other major challenge for Katzenberg is the Chinese market, which all the major Hollywood studios are trying to conquer. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation created Oriental DreamWorks, a studio based in Shanghai, with the aim of releasing films from 2016 with "Chinese DNA". In an interview with AFP, Katzenberg said at the time that "what is unique (about China) is that in five to seven years they will be the number one market in the whole world. "They are going actually to have a marketplace that, if you could succeed at creating a great family brand, the value of that would be tremendous," he added. – AFP

Palm Dog prize: Movie star dog has its day at Cannes Posted: 23 May 2014 06:15 PM PDT Feher Isten's Body wins outstanding performance by a pooch at film festival. A gentle Labrador mix named Body won the "Palm Dog" award on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Friday (May 23), a pat on the head from canine-lovers and film critics for the outstanding movie performance by a pooch. Body starred in Feher Isten (White God) by Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo, which features more than 250 dogs. The lead character is "Hagen" – a role shared by Body and a second hound named Luc – who is abandoned by his family and picked up by a man who trains him to be fighting dog. At the film's festival premiere earlier in the festival, Body attended a photocall, walked the red carpet and was invited onstage – wearing a bowtie. The Palm Dog award is a play on the Palme d'Or, the Cannes festival's top prize. "What an honour, what a historical hound!" said Palm Dog organiser Toby Rose, who called the film a cross between "Inglorious Barksterds" and "Ben Fur". It had been a golden year for dogs on film, Rose said. "This Cannes has seen a raging outbreak of dog-risma," Rose said, citing Jean-Luc Godard's real-life dog, Roxy Mieville, who stars in his film Adieu au Langage (Goodbye to Language) and Yves Saint Laurent's French Bulldog Moujik in Saint Laurent by director Bertrand Bonello. The supporting role of Moujik takes a tragic turn as the dog consumes the party drugs intended for his master and dies. In another canine cameo, a fuzzy English sheepdog appears in David Cronenberg's critique of Hollywood, Maps to the Stars and is accidentally shot by a teenage movie star. "It was the biggest and best range of dog performances I think I've ever known," Rose told Reuters TV. But in terms of the number of canines on screen at any one time, Feher Isten takes the biscuit. In its opening scene, a pack of 250 barking dogs, none of them created by computer simulation, chase after the protagonist, barking and snarling. Most of the dogs used in the film were rescued in real life from an animal shelter, then adopted by cast members and friends after the shoot. Although Body was not on hand to accept the award, director Mundruczo accepted the stuffed bone prize on his behalf, saying it was an "uplifting" experience working with his canine stars. "They live in Los Angeles," he said of Body and Luc, promising to send the bone to their trainer. – Reuters

'KL Gangster' franchise hits the mark again Posted: 23 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Syafiq Yusof proves his mettle once more as the KL Gangster franchise spreads its wings to Stephen Chow-like comic heights. IN 2012 the whole country was abuzz with the release of SAM, the debut film from director Syafiq Yusof, who was all of 18 at the time and was officially named Malaysia's youngest feature film director in the Malaysia Book Of Records. SAM did not exactly set the box office alight but it made many people sit up and take notice of Syafiq's natural directing talents. The son of Datuk Yusof Haslam and younger brother of Syamsul Yusof, who set box-office records with their films Sembilu II and KL Gangster respectively, Syafiq did not stop at just writing and directing the film. He also handled the editing, sound design and even some of the CGI and visual effects himself. From a debut that saw him venture into the difficult psychological thriller genre, observers thought he would follow it up with something just as adventurous. Imagine the surprise, then, when his second film turned out to be a spinoff from his brother's successful KL Gangster franchise – the action spoof Abang Long Fadil. Starring comedian Zizan Razak, continuing his role as the comic sidekick Fadil from the KL Gangster movies, the movie takes place after the events of KL Gangster 2 (which was technically a prequel to KL Gangster) and tells the story of Fadil's life after his best friend Malik (Aaron Aziz) is sent to prison. Director Syafiq Yusof (with camera) setting up a shot for the movie.   Wanting to quit the gang, he is told to conquer the unconquerable Kampung Berani and deliver it to lead gangster Shark (Syamsul Yusof) before he will be allowed to leave. Fans of Stephen Chow's comic masterpiece Kung Fu Hustle will, of course, see a kind of resemblance between the kung fu masters of that movie's Pigsty Alley and the silat warriors of Kampung Berani. A quick look at Abang Long Fadil's brilliantly hilarious opening scene will confirm Syafiq's debt to Chow's brand of Looney Tunes-inspired comic lunacy. Syafiq confirms that he did watch many Stephen Chow films for reference, but he also watched movies with Indian superstar Rajnikanth to get just the right mix of over-the-top action and comedy. "It's a privilege and also a big responsibility to be trusted with a franchise as big and successful as my brother Syamsul's KL Gangster, especially when I'm taking it into a totally different genre altogether. So I hope I did Syamsul proud with this film," Syafiq said after the premiere of the film earlier this week. To this, Syamsul replied: "Every filmmaker has his own style of shooting and cutting, so of course I had a different Abang Long Fadil playing in my head when I first thought of how the film would turn out. But I love what Syafiq has come out with, especially how he turned it into something really comic." Even his dad was beaming with pride at the final result. The journey was quite a tough one, though. Costing RM3.2 million and taking 53 days to shoot – a long time compared to the average Malaysian film's 20- to 30-day shoot – the film also boasts plenty of CGI and visual effects to boost its many neatly choreographed fight scenes to even greater heights of humour. With a keen interest in visual effects ever since his days of making short films, Syafiq has now taken it a step further by forming his own visual effects company, Viper Studios, which handles all the CGI in the film. Effects aside, the big question is still whether or not the film is entertaining and funny. Syafiq is savvy enough to recognise this fact by explicitly stating that unlike SAM, this movie was not made to challenge the audience with anything heavy. His intention was to entertain the audience with something light and funny. Judging from the film's many inspired scenes of comic mayhem and the copious amounts of laughter heard throughout the premiere screening, it is indeed "mission accomplished" for the young filmmaker.

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The Star Online: Business

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• Bumi Armada falls to lowest since February 2013
• Asian shares hit one-year high on Wall Street rally, Ukraine vote
• Asia shares mostly higher after Wall St record

Bumi Armada falls to lowest since February 2013 Posted: 25 May 2014 07:44 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Bumi Armada fell to a low of RM3.69 on Monday, the lowest since February 2013 as investors reacted to its weaker earnings and proposed rights issue to raise RM2.2bil. At 10.34am, it was down 20 sen to RM3.70. There were 1.75 million shares traded at prices ranging from RM3.69 to RM3.85. The FBM KLCI fell 1.15 points to 1,868.07. Turnover was 311.50 million shares valued at RM270.80mil. There were 251 gainers, 246 losers and 254 counters unchanged. Last Friday, Bumi Armada proposed a massive cash-call that could raise RM2.2bil and double its share base, as the offshore services firm prepares to spend RM6bil in capital expenditure over the next 12 to 18 months. The group also posted a 41% drop in first-quarter net profit to RM64.78mil from RM109.67mil a year earlier. Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research) said Bumi Armada's earnings fell 41% on-year and 27% on-quarter, making up 10% and 11% of its and consensus full-year estimates, respectively. It attributed it mainly due to change in earning recognition from operating leasing to finance leasing for its Kraken and C7 vessels coupled with lower activities in its T&I segment. "After the RM9.5bil contract award for Angola project, the total order book has increased to RM31.6bil. We understand the company has submitted 4 bids for FPSOs in Ghana, Nambia, Mexico and Indonesia with capex worth US$3bil. "In addition, the company is working on 6 more bids with a combined capex of more than US$10bil," it said. HLIB Research said given the robust outlook and number of projects to tender, Bumi Armada proposed one-for-two rights and one-for-two bonus issue exercises which are expected to raise about RM2.2bil and to be completed by the third quarter of 2014. "Gearing ratio will fall from 1.0 times to 0.7 times. Assuming right price of RM1.52 per share (35% discount to the theoretical ex-right price of RM2.33) FY15 EPS will be diluted by 33%. However, we believe the new FPSO projects will help to offset the dilution from the cash call," it said. The research house said it continued to like the company's prudent approach in tendering projects and outstanding execution capability. "Hence, we maintain our Buy call with target price reduced from RM4.87 to RM4.70 based on sum-of-parts valuation method (versus price-to-earnings method previously) following the earnings revision," it said. Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research) said Bumi Armada's earnings fell 41% on-year and 27% on-quarter, making up 10% and 11% of its and consensus full-year estimates, respectively. It attributed it mainly due to change in earning recognition from operating leasing to finance leasing for its Kraken and C7 vessels coupled with lower activities in its T&I segment. "After the RM9.5bil contract award for Angola project, the total order book has increased to RM31.6bil. We understand the company has submitted 4 bids for FPSOs in Ghana, Nambia, Mexico and Indonesia with capex worth US$3bil. "In addition, the company is working on 6 more bids with a combined capex of more than US$10bil," it said. HLIB Research said given the robust outlook and number of projects to tender, Bumi Armada proposed one-for-two rights and one-for-two bonus issue exercises which are expected to raise about RM2.2bil and to be completed by the third quarter of 2014. "Gearing ratio will fall from 1.0 times to 0.7 times. Assuming right price of RM1.52 per share (35% discount to the theoretical ex-right price of RM2.33) FY15 EPS will be diluted by 33%. However, we believe the new FPSO projects will help to offset the dilution from the cash call," it said. The research house said it continued to like the company's prudent approach in tendering projects and outstanding execution capability. "Hence, we maintain our Buy call with target price reduced from RM4.87 to RM4.70 based on sum-of-parts valuation method (versus price-to-earnings method previously) following the earnings revision," it said.

Asian shares hit one-year high on Wall Street rally, Ukraine vote Posted: 25 May 2014 07:43 PM PDT TOKYO: Asian shares hit one-year high on Monday thanks to a strong session on Wall Street and a decisive win for billionaire Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine's presidential election. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.15 percent while Japan's Nikkei share average gained 0.7 percent to hit one-month high. Investors took their cue from upbeat U.S. hosing data on Friday, with sales of new single-family homes rising more than expected in April and the number of houses on the market hitting a 3-1/2 year-high. The figures were good enough to boost Wall Street shares after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen said earlier this month that a slumping housing market, as well as geopolitical tensions, risked undermining the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed at a record high of 1900.53 on Friday, just below a record intraday high of 1,902.17 set on May 13, buoyed by a rally in housing stocks. "Looking at housing shares, you could say markets had already lowered expectations on the housing markets sharply," said Tohru Yamamoto, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities. "Last month, investors were expecting a sharp rebound after a bad weather. But if you think housing is a downside risk, the figures look pretty good," he said. Investors were also hoping for easing geopolitical risks after exit polls in Ukraine gave Poroshenko, a confectionery magnate with long experience in government, more than 55 percent of the vote in the presidential election. Results will not be announced until later on Monday but runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko, on 13 percent, made clear she would concede, sparing the country a tense three weeks until a runoff round would have been held. "Poroshenko's victory in the first round of vote is positive for political stability, even though there remains a huge uncertainty and we need to keep an eye on further developments," said Junya Tanase, chief currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Tokyo. Market holidays in London and New York on Monday may curb activity in Asia. The improved mood put pressure on the safe-haven yen, which fetched 101.97 yen to the dollar in early trade, near its lowest level in more than a week. The euro faced pressures of its own, holding near a three-month low of $1.3615, not helped by a rise in votes for anti-establishment parties in the European Parliament elections, especially in France and Greece. In France, the far right National Front scored a stunning victory, forcing French Prime Minister Manuel Valls to call the breakthrough by the anti-immigration, anti-euro party "an earthquake" for France and Europe. Greece's radical leftist Syriza also rode a wave of anti-austerity anger to win the country's EU election, though it failed to deliver a knockout blow against Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government, the official projection showed on Sunday. "We have to pay attention to how periphery euro bonds will react to the election results. Because their spreads have been tightening sharply over the past year, there could be some correction, in which case the euro could face further pressure," said JPMorgan's Tanase. The common currency has fallen 1.7 percent so far this month, pressured by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's suggestion earlier this month that the bank will adopt stimulus at its next policy meeting in June. Disappointing German business sentiment data on Friday reinforced expectations of an imminent ECB policy easing.- Reuters

Asia shares mostly higher after Wall St record Posted: 25 May 2014 07:39 PM PDT HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly rose Monday following a record close on Wall Street that was fuelled by upbeat US data, while Tokyo was boosted by a weaker yen. Tokyo rose 0.67%, Hong Kong gained 0.39%, Sydney added 0.26%, Shanghai was 0.37% higher while Seoul slipped 0.18%. The gains added to last week's broad advances that came after a sharp improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity and positive comments about interest rates from the US Federal Reserve. US shares rallied on Friday after the Commerce Department said new single-family homes were sold at an annual rate of 433,000 units in April, well above analysts' forecast of 415,000. The news added to a growing sense that the world's biggest economy is well on the recovery track. The S&P 500 advanced 0.42% to 1,900.53, ending above the 1,900 barrier for the first time. The Dow rose 0.38% and the Nasdaq gained 0.76% in quiet trade as investors wound down for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Market-watchers will be keeping an eye on the release later in the week of key US data, including gross domestic product growth and housing figures. On currency markets the dollar benefited from rising confidence in the global economy, making fresh inroads against the yen. The greenback bought 101.98 yen in the morning, against 101.92 yen in New York and well up from 101.72 yen earlier Friday in Tokyo. The euro stood at US$1.3617 and 138.85 yen, from US$1.3632 and 138.91 in New York on Friday. Oil prices edged lower after Ukraine's presidential election passed off without major incident and saw a victory for the pro-Western candidate. Chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko won outright and immediately vowed to end a bloody pro-Russian uprising that has tipped the country towards civil war. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would respect the outcome of the election. On oil markets, the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July, fell 26 cents to US$104.09 per barrel in early Asian trading. Brent North Sea crude for July delivery dropped 24 cents to US$110.30. Crude prices have been rising in tandem with the events in Ukraine as the country is a major conduit for Russian oil and gas exports to Europe, and any escalation of the conflict could disrupt supplies and send prices soaring. Gold fetched US$1,293.88 an ounce at 0210 GMT compared with US$1,291.65 late Friday. – AFP

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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• The Enchanted
• When Mr Dog Bites
• Frog Music

The Enchanted Posted: 24 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Reading frees a man who is locked up physically and emotionally. SOMETIMES, you've just got to judge a book by its cover. And a cover that features golden horses racing out from behind steel bars is not something you'd want to miss. The title gives everything and nothing away. What could it be? Some magical place where elves and fairies reside? Or is it just another story book with a typical happily-ever-after ending? Turns out it is a magical place, after all. A place where molten horses race, where little men with hammers reside within stone walls, where flibber-gibbets wait for their next warm meal from the oven. Sounds like a fantasy – only this story is set in a maximum security prison. In a place of Stygian darkness, a nameless inmate is awaiting his end on death row. We do not know what his crime was, only that he is mute, or perhaps chooses to be so. Only in reading books from the prison library does he find the freedom his reality denies him. It is beautiful, fascinating even, how, in his four by nine windowless cell, his imagination takes him, and us, on an enchanted voyage that draws us fully into his world. The inmate believes the prison is a shelter, an escape from the sinister world beyond the prison walls. But while the prison may be a sanctuary to him, it is a living hell to The Priest. He is a fallen angel with clipped wings, his hollow eyes reflecting his belief that he is beyond all redemption. We come to understand why he decided to serve as a death row priest – not a job most would willingly undertake. The warden of the prison has the gargantuan task of policing 3,000 prisoners. A fair and just man within a cruel system, he believes in the death row – rapists who kill, serial killers and baby killers should be sentenced to death, he feels. Which is why he cannot come to terms with what The Lady does. A mitigation officer, she plumbs the background of her clients to get them off death row and serving a life sentence instead. Her dysfunctional upbringing makes her connect with the damaged men she works for, and she knows that the person behind bars could easily have been her is she had ever stopped pretending that everything will be peachy at the end. As she digs deeper into the case of an inmate who wants to die, York, she recalls her sordid past, one that is similar to his. York, unlike all the other inmates on death row, wants to die. He wants to be free, of the prison, of life, and all the shackles that are anchoring him down, physically and metaphorically. Rene Denfeld takes us on an electrifying ride filled with wonder and enchantment, yet the ugly truth is still noticeable behind the beautifully-woven gossamer gown. We pick up bits and pieces abut what goes on behind prison bars – sodomy, rape, murder, corruption. We take in the Machiavellian operations, where hierarchy plays a bold part. And yet, between takes on heinous crimes and unnerving behaviours, Denfeld bestows us with a flicker of hope. We traverse from a place where walls sigh with sadness to a place where emerald lakes and soft fluffy clouds are so spellbinding we cannot help but long to be there for real. Words cannot describe how alarmingly beautiful The Enchanted is. The characters, especially, are given a life so unlike any others I have come across. In a murky world, we are offered the soliloquy of the inmate who sees and hears all, with the beauty of words accessible only in his head (and ours, of course). We trail in the footsteps of the Lady, weeping for her harrowing past, and then salute her for her strength. We despair at the prison system, yet even in the darkest of places, love is not lost. One of the best books I've come across in years, The Enchanted is not to be missed by anyone.

When Mr Dog Bites Posted: 24 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT A teenager afflicted with a neurological disorder who doesn't let it get in the way. AFTER reading Mark Haddon's (2003 Man Booker-longlisted book) The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, I took a liking to novels featuring protagonists with special needs such as autism. So I was quickly onboard with When Mr Dog Bites, which is not only told from the point of view of a special needs teenager but also has a canine in the title. Brian Conaghan's teen, Dylan Mint, has Tourette syndrome; it manifests as barks and growls when he's very stressed, so he aptly dubs his condition Mr Dog. I felt a lot of sympathy as I read Conaghan's descriptions of Dylan struggling to deal with uncontrollable body and facial tics and episodes of swearing and barking and growling – and most of all, the embarrassment of having it all happen in public, beyond his control. Can you imagine this? You finally get up the nerve to ask your crush out and what comes out – because you're as stressed as you've ever been – is "Would you like to come to the Halloween disco with me? F****** b****!" It's so cringe-worthy, you can't help but feel the urge to hug Dylan. The author takes a front seat in making this novel a quick read, one that is sparsely witty and loaded with profanity. Then again, the swearing is truly a part of Tourette's, and Dylan has little to no control over it. What I found more amusing is Dylan's naive banter with his best bud, Amir, and his charming inner monologue. Though his habit of using mangled slang and the repetitive phrases "No Way Jose" and "Friar Tuck" does require some patience. Where When Mr Dog Bites offers especially good insight is in describing how people with Tourette's think, and how the condition is expressed. In Dylan's case, he lets Mr Dog out. If you discount his condition, though, Dylan comes across as your typical, uncivilised teen at first (he refers to his crush, Michelle Mallory, as "sex on legs", something that any 16-year-old male might do!). But one of his regular visits to the doctor changes everything: Dylan thinks he's going to die. And so he decides to create a bucket list; or as he charmingly puts it: "Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It". I have to say, though, after his first reaction to overhearing that he might die, Dylan comes across as rather unperturbed by his circumstances, which seems unnatural to me, as does his enthusiasm for creating a bucket list. When Dylan searches online for bucket lists, he's so disappointed by the ridiculous things people want to accomplish that he decides to make his own list. It isn't a long list, having just three things on it: No.1 is to have sex with Mallory (he's an adolescent boy, after all!); No.2 is to find his best friend Amir a new best bud; and No.3 is to get his father back from the war. To me, these three acts are just the sweetest things a 16-year-old could wish for. Thus begins Dylan's awkward and amusing journey. While this list guides us through his transition towards adulthood, it's a letter to his father, who he once adored, that Dylan writes at the end of the book that shows his maturity as well as a newfound respect for women. It is, in fact, this last bit of the book that helped gel this entire novel together and make Dylan's story so much more impactful than what came before in the plot.

Frog Music Posted: 24 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT This story is based on a true unsolved murder of a cross-dressing frog catcher. EMMA Donoghue's latest novel has many facets, all of them fascinating. Like her short-story collection Astray and her novel Slammerkin, Frog Music is a detailed slice of historical drama, this time set in the festering boomtown of San Francisco in 1876. Like her hair-raising bestseller (and 2010 Booker Prize shortlisted) Room, it incorporates the elements of a thriller; in fact, there's enough of a puzzle here for it to qualify as a full-blooded mystery (Donoghue herself refers to Frog Music as a crime novel in an author's note). Best of all, there's Donoghue's familiar and intricate examination of women in impossible circumstances, bound to repugnant men for survival but never broken by them. Like the works in Astray, Frog Music is based on a true story, this time about the unsolved murder of a cross-dressing frog catcher named Jeanne Bonnet, here called Jenny. (If you can resist the phrase "cross-dressing frog catcher", you really need to examine your lack of curiosity.) In the book, as in life, Jenny is shot through the window of a boarding house in the novel's opening pages, in the company of Blanche Beunon, a burlesque dancer and prostitute. Inspired by an account of this crime she read years ago in a museum gift shop book, Donoghue takes this event and puts her formidable, eloquent mark on it. In her version, Blanche's survival seems random chance: She's only spared because she bent down to untangle her gaiters. She has known Jenny for only a few weeks when she dies – they met when Jenny ran her down on a bicycle – and their friendship has hit a difficult spot. Still, Blanche grieves, and her sorrow gives way to outrage. She spends the next several days trying to track down Jenny's killer, sure she was the intended victim. Her main suspects are her estranged, dandified lover Arthur and his sidekick Ernest, freeloaders and former acrobats who gamble away Blanche's earnings. Furious at her refusal to work so she can care for her infant son, they spirit the child away, leaving a frantic Blanche to search for him, too. Blanche acts as a guide through the seamy, steamy city by the bay, which is undergoing a brutal, uncharacteristic heat wave and a massive smallpox outbreak. Both plagues have set the citizens on edge, as have long-simmering tensions against Chinese workers filling the city's tenements. Cultural disgust is universal, though, in this overheated melting pot. Blanche, a French immigrant, is disgusted by a family of Irish saloonkeepers. "You Frog whore, that's what Ellen would have liked to call Blanche, no doubt, except that the woman probably couldn't pronounce such a word because the Irish are the prudes of Europe. (Always have more children than they can feed, then go round crossing themselves as if they don't know what f****** is.)" Donoghue revisits an older and in some ways more horrifying version of the shed where a small boy grows up captive in Room, exposing the shocking practice of baby farming, in which unsavory individuals are paid to take in unwanted infants – and then treacherously neglect them. "How many will she find stacked in each crib, alive in name only, sucking on what – milk watered down to cloudy water? Glazed-eyed and crone-faced, tiny bones showing through translucent skin?" But Blanche learns rescuing her child from this hell is no easier than leaving him to wither and die. Donoghue isn't blind to the demands of motherhood, and some of the book's best sequences involve the impatient, inexperienced Blanche, used to catering to the dark tastes of men, trying to decipher the whims of a baby. Colourful French slang and period songs – both of which have their own glossaries in the book – flow through the novel lyrically, making the era as vital as the plot. Donoghue paints the stinking city vividly as "a roulette wheel that spins its human chips at random. Blanche has been driven around by cabbies who claim to be gentlemen temporarily down on their luck, and spent high-paid nights with michetons who boast that they began as coal miners." Gradually, a second question emerges. The mystery isn't merely about who shot Jenny; there's also the question of the person Blanche will become. Will she stay a prostitute? Or will she break free from the men controlling her? "She is different these days, one way or another; she knows that," Donoghue writes. "(H)as this older, harder Blanche been hidden inside her all along?" Early on, Jenny had told her, "If you meet an obstacle you can jump free." She's talking about riding the bicycle on crowded city streets, but by the novel's end, Blanche sees another, more important lesson. "(N)ot always," Blanche thinks. "You have to allow for some damage." Damaged or not, she has a choice, one that will keep you riveted as you make your way through this vibrant and remarkable novel. – The Miami Herald/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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The Star Online: Nation

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• Hunt is on for more Tamil Tigers at large
• Errant developers face jail and RM500,000 fine
• Shopping mall hit by blackout

Hunt is on for more Tamil Tigers at large Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT PETALING JAYA: The Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division is hunting down more suspected members of the Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) believed to be hiding in the country. The operation comes in the wake of the arrests of three Sri Lankan men on May 15. The men, believed to be members of the terrorist group also known as Tamil Tigers, were held after raids conducted here and in Klang. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said they were believed to have been in the country since 2004. "They were using Malaysia as a base to secure funds, spread their propaganda and were attempting to revive the defunct terrorist group," he said in a statement yesterday. Among the items seized were LTTE propaganda materials, media equipment and foreign currency notes valued at RM20,176.53. "We managed to track them down using the identities given on their United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards," he said, adding that all three had been detained under the Immigration Act. Khalid said Bukit Aman would work closely with UNHCR to prevent terrorists from exploiting the refugee card to enter and remain in the country. "We will not allow Malaysia to be used as a place for them to hide or conduct terror activities here or on foreign soil," he said. It was learnt that the Sri Lankans had assimilated themselves well in Malaysia, including holding regular jobs. According to a source, one of them worked for an IT company while another owned a business supplying tents for weddings. "One of the suspects was previously jailed in Singapore for theft. "He served his sentence and fled to Malaysia," he said, adding that members of the LTTE had been mingling among the 4,300 Sri Lankan nationals in the country. The source said police had detained eight LTTE members since 2009, including a man believed to be the second in command of the group. All have since been deported to Sri Lanka, where they face prosecution for terrorist acts. The source said some of the Tamil Tigers had obtained their UNHCR cards through legal channels while the cards of others were sourced illegally. Police believe that Malaysians, who are sympathisers to the cause, have been harbouring them.

Errant developers face jail and RM500,000 fine Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT PETALING JAYA: Errant housing developers can now be hit with hefty fines and jail terms if they abandon their projects. Under the amendments to the National Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966, which would take effect from June, developers of abandoned projects may be fined RM500,000 and jailed for up to three years. The changes also enable house buyers to terminate sale and purchase agreements with developers if there was no progress for six consecutive months or more and seek a refund of deposits within 30 days. House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said the changes offered house buyers more legal safeguards against errant housing developers. He said it was a reflection of the Government's concern for house buyers' rights and a move to ensure that developers kept to their obligation of completing projects. He commended former Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung for helping to pave the way for the amendments in 2010. "The pertinent changes include making errant developers criminally liable by meting out jail sentences upon conviction. "The new laws also enforces liquidators, as de-facto developers, to abide by the Act," he said. However, Chan said changes should also be made to other laws to further streamline the construction industry. He said among the laws being reviewed where those pertaining to housing developers regulations and sale and purchase agreements under Schedule (G,H,I,J) together with the Strata Management Act, Strata Title Act and Strata Tribunal Act. "Since all these laws relate to the welfare of house buyers and cross-reference each other, they should be launched simultaneously to avoid potential conflicting legal views," he said. Chan said the drafting process involving the amendments were nearing completion and that the changes were expected to be announced by the ministry. On April 3, Deputy Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique announced to the Dewan Rakyat that the amendments to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) would come into effect on June 1. From 2009 to Feb 28 this year, the ministry had classified 206 housing projects as abandoned. Out of these, 149 had since been revived with 22,868 homes built.

Shopping mall hit by blackout Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT PETALING JAYA: Shoppers and movie-goers at the 1 Utama Shopping Complex had their outing cut short when a sudden blackout hit the mall. Disgruntled netizens posted photographs of the shopping mall shrouded in darkness. Engineer Kensim, 29, said he only managed to watch the first five minutes of the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past when the screen suddenly went blank. "We waited for about 15 minutes in the cinema before someone came in and told us that the shopping mall was experiencing a blackout. "Many people demanded refunds for the movie but we decided to leave," he said. During the incident at 3.15pm, many roads near the mall were congested as shoppers scrambled to exit the mall. Student Lim Xu Fern, 16, said she felt it was best to head home as "a lot can happen in the dark". "I was worried that the security here might be compromised due to the blackout," she said. Her friend, Naomi Kung, also 16, said she was watching a movie with Lim and another friend when the blackout happened. Restaurant manager Elaine Chia said she was upset that business was interrupted. "Since it is a Sunday, there were many patrons but most of them decided to leave immediately. It became very hot and humid as air-conditioning was cut off," she said. A spokesman for the complex said the incident was not caused by the mall's internal electrical system. "Some other parts of Bandar Utama also experienced the power disruption," he said. The power was gradually restored at about 4.55pm using a generator. When contacted, Tenaga Nasional Bhd said they had received many complaints from residents in surrounding residential areas which have also been affected by the blackout. As of 5.30pm, it said the cause of the power failure had not been determined yet.

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Here's your chance to be in the new 'Star Wars' Posted: 22 May 2014 01:30 AM PDT J.J. Abrams invites everyone to be part of Star Wars: Episode VII — and support a Unicef initiative at the same time — in a special video message. Filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who is currently on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII in Abu Dhabi, has recorded a special message inviting everyone to be a part of the movie, and make a necessary change in the world at the same time. Abrams announced the launch of Star Wars: Force For Change, a Star Wars initiative from Disney and Lucasfilm that is dedicated to finding creative solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. The first Star Wars: Force for Change campaign, which is also in collaboration with Abrams' production company Bad Robot, will raise funds and awareness for Unicef's Innovation Labs and its innovative projects benefitting children in need. Disney has committed US$1mil (RM3.2mil) to the project, but for the rest of us who don't have as much extra cash to spare, we can also pledge for as little as US$10 (RM32). The best part about donating (apart from that warm, fuzzy feeling you get from knowing that you've helped) is that you automatically get the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be in Star Wars: Episode VII! This campaign, which kicked off earlier today, will run until July 18 (11.59pm PST). You now have 57 more days left to take part. The grand prize includes an air ticket to London (where the film will shoot at Pinewood Studios) for the winner and a guest, as well as accommodations. The winner will be considered Abrams' "VIP guest", thus garnering him/her behind-the-scenes access to the movie as well as the opportunity to meet members of the cast. Last of all, the winner will be transformed into a Star Wars character and then filmed for a scene in the movie. The more money you pledge, the more chances you get to win the 'contest'. Some of the rules and regulations are posted on the YouTube page of the video message: Firstly, you need to be 18 years old to participate. Another important note is that Belgium, Italy, Malta, Singapore and Thailand residents are not eligible for entry (!). Malaysia is not mentioned anywhere in the statement, but you may need to get clarification from the organisers (or Abrams himself, if he's not too busy) on eligibility. Star Wars: Episode VII is set for a December 2015 release and features some of the original actors from the first three films – Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Anthony Daniels – as well as Domhnall Gleeson and John Boyega. Head over to StarWars.com/ForceForChange for details of the rules and regulations, or visit omaze.com/starwars for more information on how to make a donation.

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