WEEKEND PIC Dec 29 - Jan 1

A guide for your weekend at the Malaysian cinemas

1. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (fantasy adventure with Ben Stiller, Robin Williams and Carla Gugino) Rated: * * * (out of 4): It is all chaos and mayhem when the exhibits come alive at this museum and scare the hell out of security guard Stiller. However, it is all visual and little in the realm of an engaging storyline.

2. CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (Zhang Yimou's period drama with Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li and Jay Chou) Rated: * * * (3 stars): WIth such lavish sets and eye-popping costumes, Zhang's record big-budget movie threatens to become a 'Parade of Bouncing Boobs' in this story about a dysfunctional and even homicidal imperial family.

3. LOVEWRECKED (romantic cimedy with Amanda Bynes, Chris Carmack and Jamie Lynn Sigler) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Run-of-the-mill teen comedy about Bynes being 'shipwrecked' on an island with her rock idol. Usual date movie fare.

4. SEED OF DARKNESS (Local horror with Amber Chia, Alvin Wong and Wong Sze Zen) Rated * * (2 stars): After the debacle that is "Possessed", we have another local horror that is also unintentionally funny rather than scary. About an in-vitro birth that spawned a series of ghostly and ghastly consequences.

5. LOVE CONQUERS ALL (Local movie by Tan Chui Mui with Carol Ong and Steven Chua) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A refreshing look at a love affair between a lonely girl and an uncouth predatory guy told in a lackadaisical pace. Promising effort by Malaysia's youngest female writer-director.