Syawal Screenings

Well, not screenings per se. More like watching past movies on free-to-air and cable TV. I don't often watch local Malay movies but somehow whenever Raya comes around, I just feel like watching local movies.
Azura

I kind of stumbled on this movie during third day of Raya when I balik kampung to Parit, Perak to visit relatives on my mom's side. At the first house we visited, the classic movie starring Jamal Abdillah and Ogy was on. The movie has its own merits but I was attracted to it because it showcased the life and style of the 80s. The hair, the clothes, the music! It was also refreshing to watch on screen a Malaysia that is way more liberal than it is now. I truly miss the good old days. Of course, I didn't get to watch the movie until the end since we had other houses to go to, but I would definitely watch it again to find out what happens in the end.
Magika

I came across this movie as I was channel surfing. I don't remember ever watching it but I definitely knew what it was about. It's basically Labyrinth with local Malay folklore injected into it. The heroine, Ayu, looks for her lost brother and they both end up in the magical world called Magika. I love any fantasy story that incorporates local Malay folklore but they are far and few in between. Magika is okay for a first attempt, I understood what the director was trying to achieve. A lot of the folklore characters have been given a twist so that viewers wouldn't know what to expect. In Magika, Ayu and her brother meet characters such as Nenek Kebayan, Hang Tuah, Mahsuri, an ageing Puteri Gunung Ledang, Bawang Puteh & Bawang Merah and so on.
Making a Malay fantasy movie is already a handful in my opinion, yet the producers of this film decided to take it a step further my making it into a musical! It's not surprising considering it was directed by Edry KRU. A brave attempt but one that may not have paid off. There were one or two good songs but the others were not so memorable. With the exception of Ziana Zain who played the Nenek Kebayan, it would've been better if the cast could sing well. The acting is decent but I found the heroine's younger brother whiny and annoying. The movie does show the reason for him being that way but that didn't make him any less annoying. There is some romance injected into the movie but unfortunately I didn't feel any chemistry between Ayu and the guy who helps her in Magika (forgot his name). Funnily enough, I did feel the chemistry at the end of the movie (spoiler alert!) when the two were singing about yearning to see each other (probably since they weren't together). The use of special effects was decent but felt underwhelming when the dragon of Lake Chini made its appearance. I can empathise though; it was probably due to the lack of budget. Creating realistic looking dragons is terribly expensive. Even HBO, which has a much bigger budget, had fans complaining how the dragons didn't look realistic enough in Game of Thrones. All in all, Magika had many flaws but like I said earlier, it was a good attempt. It's kinda making me want to continue writing my own fantasy novel.
CEO

The title of this movie was enough to make me take a longer look. If you watch enough Malay movies/dramas, you would know that 99% of them are love stories (typical boy-meets-girl/star-crossed lovers/forced marriages, etc). So a movie with the title of CEO seemed promising. It's basically about two characters who somehow had their roles switched. One is a CEO of a company and the other one is a pizza delivery guy. What made me watch was the pizza delivery guy. His boss (a lady boss, yay!) was asking him what were his future plans. Typical of a young graduate, he said he had no plans. His boss went on to say that he needs to plan his future. He shouldn't let his talent go to waste by not planning to further his career. This simple line had me mindblown. Wow, a Malay movie where the characters are talking about something other than love/marriage/forbidden love. Also impressed that there is a woman in the movie who isn't talking about a guy. I'm also a sucker for movies where you get to see the main character improve himself. What I liked about this movie was its focus and that it was well-paced. My only minor gripe was that at the end of the movie, it didn't show the characters career progression a few years down the road. I know that would be a predictable ending but I would have still like it :)