#16 (May 2011)

It’s always nice to have something to look forward to.

And it’s always fun to see the process too. From a mere idea, to scripting, getting a director, casting the right people, shooting, post-production, marketing to finally getting the anticipated product up at our favourite cinema. And mind you, all these takes a hell lot of time, effort and of course, monetary investment. The key word being “investment”, cos the intention is clear – to reap profits, from us.

Yes, get ready to spend as the summer blockbuster season is finally here. Of course there are movies all year round, but the summer promises most of the big blockbuster-type movies, often known as tent-pole movies among the movie people. And our job here is to ensure you spend those hard-earned cash wisely. The two movies featured on our covers this month are safe bets.

In an unprecedented spur of generosity, we have decided to lavish almost 30 pages to a movie about mutants – our biggest so far. Many would have heard or seen the previous three X-Men movies and even the spin-off which is Wolverine. X-Men: First Class’s premise goes back to the beginning, in 1962, when they were all just sweet young things, erm, mutants. Well, you can also say it marks the start of a new franchise of a money tree. Go familiarize yourselves with the characters and read the director’s and some of the cast’s interviews (Ed- there’s too many interviews to fit into this issue, watch out for part 2 next month) starting from page 56.

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Another movie character many will fondly remember is that of Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Well, he’s back. And what better way to mark the fourth movie than to look back at the last three from their eight years of cinematic existence. Check out the enigmatic captain and the rest of his crew, which also include some sweet young things, erm, mermaids by flipping this mag around.

Of course there are many other movies that are of great interest in this issue: Priest, about man’s war against vampires, page 42; The Hangover 2, the follow-up to the hilarious Las Vegas one, page 46; and the fifth installment of street racing flick, Fast & Furious 5 which we hear might soon add “heist” to their future sequels, on page 52; among many others.

While no one goes about the intention of producing a bad movie, it’s better to be prudent with your expectations – remember the movie is as good as how high you set your expectations to be. Do try to find beauty in flaws, nothing is perfect, and remember the amount of work put into each movie.

Take care and see you at the movies.

Royston Loh
Editor-in-Chief