HOW did the nouveau riche show off their wealth in the Roaring Twenties in the US? They would have put on rip-roaring parties that would have been filled with decadence and a non-stop flow of liquor.
Australian director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge and Australia) seems like the right man to display this desire of the new rich to impress others. His style is at once garish and magnetic.
THERE are just too many things going in religious romantic film 99 Kali Rindu, and they don’t add up to much. While the messages about love and God are well crafted, the romantic angle is seriously unbelievable.
Director Azhari Zain’s film also suffers from the same fate as Metrowealth’s last religious themed film, Dua Kalimah. There’s an accident and the victims don’t report it to the authorities or their family. Continue reading
UNITED STATES
| Rank | Title | Weekend | Gross | Weeks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Iron Man 3 (2013) | $72.5M | $285M | 2 |
| 2 |  |
The Great Gatsby (2013) | $50.1M | $50.1M | 1 |
| 3 |  |
Pain & Gain (2013) | $5M | $41.6M | 3 |
| 4 |  |
Peeples (2013) | $4.61M | $4.61M | 1 |
| 5 |  |
42 (2013) | $4.59M | $84.7M | 5 |
| 6 |  |
Oblivion (2013) | $4.11M | $81.9M | 4 |
| 7 |  |
The Croods (2013) | $3.61M | $173M | 8 |
| 8 |  |
Mud (2012) | $2.54M | $8.56M | 3 |
| 9 |  |
The Big Wedding (2013) | $2.49M | $18.3M | 3 |
| 10 |  |
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) | $1.08M | $230M | 10 |
THE action is nothing to shout about, the dialogue is normal and the themes of friendship, immortality and sacrifice, while fascinating, are not new. But what makes director J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness captivating to watch is also what made Skyfall a hit: a great film villain.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s piercing blue eyes, cold stare and deeply resonating voice will make a great impression on viewers. Cumberbatch is so enthralling to watch that it’s hard for viewers to take their eyes off him. He’s much more effective than Chris Pine, who reprises his role as Capt James T. Kirk.
THE Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker, he of the piercing blue eyes and blond hair, decides to go with another car-centred thriller in director Mukunda Michael Dewil’s Vehicle 19, filmed in South Africa.
Walker plays Michael Woods, an American who has broken his parole conditions to come visit his ex-wife, Angelica, in Johannesburg. He spends the entire film in a car.
There may be a reason for this, but it makes the film dependent on Walker to keep us engrossed in it.
MANDARIN film Drug War is a pretty evenhanded film about a team of Chinese cops led by a charismatic captain.
Capt Zhang (Sun Honglei) is in practically every scene and it seems that his subordinates exist only to serve him. Viewers will be ensconced comfortably in their seats but the violence in the final 10 minutes will shake them up. It’s totally not in keeping with the character of the film.
UNITED STATES
| Rank | Title | Weekend | Gross | Weeks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Iron Man 3 (2013) | $174M | $174M | 1 |
| 2 | |
Pain & Gain (2013) | $7.51M | $33.8M | 2 |
| 3 | |
42 (2013) | $6.06M | $78.2M | 4 |
| 4 | |
Oblivion (2013) | $5.64M | $75.8M | 3 |
| 5 | |
The Croods (2013) | $4.2M | $169M | 7 |
| 6 | |
The Big Wedding (2013) | $3.88M | $14.2M | 2 |
| 7 | |
Mud (2012) | $2.16M | $5.17M | 2 |
| 8 | |
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) | $2.11M | $229M | 9 |
| 9 |  |
Scary MoVie (2013) | $1.44M | $29.6M | 4 |
| 10 |  |
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) | $1.28M | $18.7M | 6 |
AFTER watching director Shirin Khuzaimi’s melodramatic romance, Mencari Cinta (Looking For Love), you will know why it needed the controversy arising from Nora Danish supposedly going nude for this film.
Controversy boosts interest in films and this sappy film about a rich city slicker falling in love with a herdsman needs all the help it can get.
This is the third Nora film that I’ve seen and while she acquits herself well, she isn’t one who inspires confidence in viewers. I compare her to another Metrowealth actress, Yana Samsudin.
MELISSA McCarthy reminds me of Rebel Wilson, both of whom appeared in Bridesmaids (2011). They’re big, loud and full of raucous humour.
McCarthy is the star of this middling road trip film directed by Seth Gordon, who also directed Horrible Bosses. Gordon teams up again with Jason Bateman, whose working-stiff character is so bland that viewers are left wondering how he appeared in this comedy, until they realise that he’s also one of the film’s producers.
UNITED STATES
| Rank | Title | Weekend | Gross | Weeks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Pain & Gain (2013) | $20.2M | $20.2M | 1 |
| 2 | |
Oblivion (2013) | $17.8M | $65.1M | 2 |
| 3 | |
42 (2013) | $10.7M | $69M | 3 |
| 4 | |
The Big Wedding (2013) | $7.59M | $7.59M | 1 |
| 5 | |
The Croods (2013) | $6.73M | $163M | 6 |
| 6 |  |
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) | $3.7M | $116M | 5 |
| 7 | |
Scary MoVie (2013) | $3.43M | $27.5M | 3 |
| 8 |  |
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) | $2.86M | $93.2M | 6 |
| 9 | |
The Place Beyond the Pines(2012) | $2.7M | $16.2M | 5 |
| 10 |  |
Jurassic Park (1993) | $2.37M | $399M | 4 |
