The numbers for the first film of the season are soaring to the skies, with Iron Man taking the No. 1 spots and smashing box-offices around the world. (To think that two weeks ago, some movie-goers were asking "Iron who?... and "Robert down where?...!)

This week, however, two big movies are threatening to dethrone the flying tinman. The first is the star-driven comedy What Happens In Vegas, starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, as two strangers who met in Vegas and, in a bout of drunkenness, gets married. They wake up the next morning with a huge hangover — but not huge enough to regret what they've done.

The second is the CGI extravaganza Speed Racer produced and directed by the Wachowski brothers of The Matrix fame. It stars Emile Hirsch as a race-car driver who must beat the evil automotive magnate (Roger Allam) and his team of mean drivers. It's the most cartoonish thing we've seen in years — and we don't always mean that in a good way!

Typically, when the cinemas are showing huge blockbusters like these, smaller films tend to stay away. So don't expect to see many gay films in the next four months while commercially-driven juggernauts like The Hulk, Indiana Jones, WALLE, The Dark Knight and Narnia are battling it out.

Those crazy enough to go head-to-head with the monsters this week are Verses of Love (Ayat-Ayat Cinta) from Indonesia and the re-released Singapore classic Money No Enough starring Jack Neo.

Till we meet again next week, enjoy the blockbuster season!

HIGH DEF HOME AUDIO + VIDEO
Sony STR-DA1200ES A/V receiver
in Fridae Lifestyle Tech Review

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING DECRIMINALIISED
oscar wilde -
the most celebrated victim of an anti-gay law
in Fridae Commentary

The life story of playwright and poet Oscar Wilde, who is today widely celebrated as an artist persecuted for his homosexuality, is being told in the film Wilde. Sentenced in 1895 to two years' imprisonment with hard labour for "gross indecency", Oscar Wilde's most productive period was cut short by this turn of events; he never wrote a play again. more>>

READ ALSO:

Fridae columnist Oyoung discusses the tragedy that shook up Oscar Wilde's blazing literary career and the century-long dilemma faced by gay celebrities who struggle to manage their sexuality in public. (in Chinese) more>>

BETTER 11-YEARS LATE THAN NEVER
wilde fundraiser on may 13 to benefit singapore gay pride festival
in Fridae News

Banned a decade ago in Singapore, Wilde, which depicts the rise and fall of the widely known gay Irish-born playwright, Oscar Wilde, will be shown at a gala fundraiser on May 13 to benefit Indignation, Singapore's gay pride season. more>>

Sony's STR-DA1200ES is one of a rare breed of A/V products that has managed to stand the test of time and, despite the company recently releasing a new similarly priced model, there are still no plans to take it off the shelves in selected Asian markets till August. more>>

Fridae, Shaw Organization and Crocodile present

Banned in Singapore for 11 years, audience in Singapore will see the award-winning performances of two of Britain's best actors in Wilde for the first time. The film has been passed with R21 (some homosexual content) rating.

GUEST-OF-HONOUR: NMP SIEW KUM HONG
Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Mr Siew Kum Hong will be the Guest-of-Honour at the gala premiere at Lido Theatre on 13 May.

In October 2007, NMP Siew gave a speech in Parliament to make an appeal for the law against homosexual acts (Section 377A) to be repealed. However, that courageous attempt to remove one of Singapore's last written code of prejudice against one of it's own communities was unsuccessful.

Today, Singapore remains one of a few developed countries in the world to continue to criminalise consensuous sexual behaviour between men — a law similar to the one that destroyed the great talent that Oscar Wilde was.

:: READ Turn our backs on prejudice, discrimination, intolerance and hatred
by Siew Kum Hong

FUNDRAISING FOR SINGAPORE'S PRIDE SEASON

Date: 13 May 2008 (Tuesday)
Time: 8.45 pm (Reception for VIP and guests from 8 pm)
Venue: Shaw Lido 2 (Shaw Centre, Scotts Road)
Rating: R21 (some homosexual content)
More : http://www.fridae.com/wilde/
Booking: http://www.fridae.com/shop/
Film Official Website: http://www.oscarwilde.com/

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Fridae Shop Online Sale (best available seat allocation)
US$38 for VIP Ticket
US$15 for Standard Ticket
US$20 for Cash Donation to Indignation 2008

Shaw Lido Box Office/Shaw Online (with seat selection option)
S$20 for Standard Ticket

Door Sale
S$50 for VIP Ticket
S$20 for Standard Ticket
Cash donation to Indignation 2008 accepted at the event

VIP Tickets include pre-show reception (from 8 pm), goodies bags and premium seats.

Net proceeds from this event will be used to support the events in Indignation 2008 — an annual festival consisting of talks, art exhibitions, readings of plays and poetry, together with some social events, scheduled for August 2008. All Indignation events are open to the public and are traditionally free of charge, in order to be accessible to everyone. Your generosity and kind support will be greatly appreciated.

THE FILM AND CAST
Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle,
Gemma Jones, Michael Sheen, Tom Wilkinson

Stephen Fry (Peter's Friends) received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Oscar Wilde in this film, and was the winner of the Best Actor Golden Space Needle Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Jude Law (Sleuth, Closer, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Bent) was named Most Promising Newcomer and the film was recognised for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement in the Evening Standard British Film Awards in 1998.

Directed by Brian Gilbert (Tom & Viv) and with a brilliant cast which includes Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle, Gemma Jones, Michael Sheen and Tom Wilkinson, the film also received numerous nominations, among them the Human Rights PFS award from the Political Film Society USA, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Award Outstanding Film, Golden Hitchcock award at the Dinard British Film Festival, and the Golden Satellite Award and Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor.

ABOUT INDIGNATION

Indignation serves to keep the issue of gay (in)equality on the agenda. Without a concentrated gay pride season, it is very easy for the gay cause to disappear beneath other news events. At the same time, Indignation addresses the issue in people-friendly ways — through forums, exhibitions and very accessible social events, the aim being to raise awareness and to build a sense of community. I hope people see this as something worth supporting.
Alex Au, gay activist and Indignation spokeman

:: VISIT Wilde movie official website
:: WATCH Wilde movie trailer
:: READ about Oscar Wilde's life and love
:: VISIT Indignation website
:: READ oscar wilde - the most celebrated victim of an anti-gay law
:: READ oyoung reflects on Oscar Wilde's trial which took place over a hundred years ago
:: READ wilde fundraiser on may 13 to benefit singapore gay pride festival
:: READ singapore's indignation launch a milestone, say organisers
:: VISIT event website
:: BOOK tickets or make donation

Are you a fan of computer games, especially the race-car variety? Do you enjoy manoeuvring the twists and turns of the road, zipping by obstacles and occasionally flipping in mid-air when your car crashes into another?

Or do they just give you a headache? Your answer would determine whether you'd like Speed Racer, an aggressively cartoonish movie by the Wachowski brothers (of The Matrix fame) that seems to be aimed at the very, very young.

Based on a 1960s Japanese cartoon TV show that was itself adapted from a Japanese manga, the film tells a very simplistic story of racecar-driver Speed (Emile Hirsch) who comes from a family of car lovers that include Mom (Susan Sarandon), Dad (John Goodman) and kid brother Spritle (Paulie Litt). Speed's elder brother Rex had died in a racing accident, and the evil automotive magnate (Roger Allam) and his team of mean drivers may be behind it.

The plot, as you will see, is deliberately simplistic — perhaps as a tribute to the original children's cartoon. Still, gamers and anime lovers are getting wildly excited about is the look of the film. It features cartoonish designs, candy-coloured backgrounds and comic strip-like panels which all add to give you the feeling that you're actually in a video game.

Forget the laws of physics. Abandon any hope for a human drama. And try to put yourself in the shoes of a 6-year-old. That's probably the only way anyone reading this could enjoy Speed Racer.

Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz are starting to become the most annoying actor and actress in Hollywood. Both of them think they're hilarious, but their childish antics and ham-fisted performances are starting to grate on audiences.

So when you put both of them in a movie together, what do you get? That's right: a headache.

What Happens in Vegas follows the old screwball comedy formula of boy meets girl, boy quarrels with girl, but eventually, boy and girl fall in love. Ashton and Cameron meet as strangers in Vegas, get very drunk and wake up the next morning with a hangover and wedding rings. They realise they don't love each other and are going to part ways when — whaddayano? — they win US$3 million on the machine jackpot!

They go to court to annul the marriage and fight over the money, but the judge decides to sentence them to six months of living together, where movie logic would follow that they'd fall in love instead. But listen to the judge's rationale for the sentence: "It's not gays destroying the sanctity of marriage — it's you people!... "

With that brilliant stroke of anti-gay sentiment, we suggest you don't waste time and money on this totally predictable and contrived comedy.

Indonesia's biggest blockbuster in recent years is an epic romance that centres on a young Indonesian man named Fahri (charismatic Fedi Nurul) who goes to Egypt to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University. Subsequently he meets four very different women who fall for his gentle demeanor and upstanding character.

Fahri chooses one of them to be his wife, but unusual circumstances compel him to take on a second one, which is permitted in Islam. The three live contentedly with this polygamous arrangement, presumably even after the credits roll.

The film's director Hanung Bramantyo says that he wanted Verses of Love to counter the Western media's negative portraits of Islam and their lack of understanding about the its practices. The movie certainly shows polygamy in a positive, sympathetic light — a sharp contrast to last year's more critical Indonesian film about polygamy, Love For Share (Berbagi Suami).

Verses of Love is well-executed and fairly entertaining, though truly on the long side. But you leave the cinema thinking that every race and culture should be entitled to their own ways of life and their own standards and values. To expect everyone to live according to Western-prescribed ethics is inherently unfair and hypocritical.

Released in 1998, this side-splitting, socially-astute comedy written by and starring Jack Neo made a whopping $5.8 million at the box-office and revived the then-moribund Singapore film industry.

With its generous use of dialects and frank examination of topical Singaporean issues, Money No Enough was a watershed in Singapore cinema. It revealed Jack as a writer-actor-director who, among other things, really did have his fingers on the pulse of the Chinese community.

Ten years after its surprising success, Golden Village is re-releasing the film at select GV theatres, giving moviegoers a hearty dose of nostalgia for a time when Jack Neo's jokes were actually fresh and funny.

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Golden Space Needle Award Best Actor, Seattle International Film Festival
Most Promising Newcomer and Best Technical/Artistic Achievement, Evening Standard British Film Awards
more>>

Fridae, Shaw Organization and Crocodile present
[The Wilde-Indignation Fundraising Gala Premiere]
on 12 May at Lido 2
event details>> book tickets>>

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Date: 17, 18, 25 May, 1 Jun
Venue: Sinema Old School
Presented by Sinema Old School

Returns after 5 sold-out screenings at 21st Singapore International Film Festival
READ Fridae interviews filmmakers>>
more>>

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