RAYA HOLIDAY PIC: Oct 12 - 15 2007

Your Guide To The Raya Weekend Viewing:

1. BOURNE ULTIMATUM (action sequel with Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen and David Strathairn) Rated * * * 1/2 (out of 4): It's non-stop action all the way in this closing instalment of Robert Ludlum's 'Bourne Trilogy'. The camera shake may give you a headache but the stunts will keep you on the edge of your seats. (Reviewed below)

2. LUST, CAUTION (with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen and Wang LeeHom) Rated: * * * (3 stars): With almost all the steamy bits taken out, this Ang Lee effort is more Caution than Lust. Still, it is a compelling watch if only to get the tone and flavour of his controversial epic. (Reviewed below)

3. SHANGHAI DREAMS (drama in Mandarin with Gaio Yuanyuan, Li Bin, Tang Yang, Wang Xueyang and Yao Anlian) Rated: * * * (3 stars): Set in Guizhou province in 1983, this drama explores the effects of the Cultural Revolution on a teenage girl and her father who only dreams of going back to Shanghai. With interesting insights into rural China. (Reviewed below)

4. RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION (action sequel with Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps and Ali Larter ): Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): An 'Alice In Zombieland' flick that's strictly for action fans and Jovovich admirers. This third instalment gives us more of the same kick-ass action as Alice (Jovovich) confronts her nemesis at the Umbrella Corp HQ. (Reviewed below)

5. THE MAGIC GOURD (fantasy filck with Zhu Qilong & Gigi Leung) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This Disney effort in Mandarin (the first joint-venture with China) is about the value of hard work. Strictly for young children. (Reviewed below)

6. BUDAK LAPOK (local animated biopic with voices of Datuk Aziz Sattar, S. Shamsudin, Nasir P. Ramlee and Dian P Ramlee) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A cartoon take about P. Ramlee's adventures in a kampung with his pals Ajis and Sudin. The graphics looks rudimentary but the idyllic tone and mood are intact. (Reviewed in September, see Archives)

7. NEVERWAS (drama with Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, Brittany Murphy, William Hurt and Nick Nolte) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Made in 2005, this movie went straight to DVD in the US. However, the story about a psychiatrist uncovering his father's secrets combines issues of fantasy and stark reality. (Reviewed below)

8. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY (comedy with Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel): Rating * * (2 stars): This story about two heterosexual firefighters getting into a 'gay' marriage of convenience is too over-the-top and cringe-inducing to be funny. Only for those who like crude and crass humour.