Brit_in_Malaysia

Whatever the historical exaggerations, this remains a hugely romantic film with wonderful music.

I only have one wo this movie: lush

This is a movie where you just need to switch off the critical side of the brain.

Enjoy it for what it is.

One of my favourites. Blends the thriller, supernatural elements skilfully in layers starting from a picture of apparently successful domesticity.

Script is excellent and supported by a seamless production and all the actors on top form.

Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer hold the spine of the story. A masterclass. Must watch.

Many refer to this film as a unique metaphor and a sort of balance in the universe.

Philosophy aside, the masterful story shape is met with actors, and production at the height of their craft. Bill Murray, Andie McDowell...and Harold Ramis- and an overgrown rat telling the weather.

This is one of several films from the 1990s that counterbalanced the cynicism of that decade with a reminder that there were some important things in life and that we need to review our priorities.

For me this is a classic film, especially for the holidays, which balanced drama and comedy and yes even some practical philosophy and made for a perfect story. As polished as clockwork, a film with a heart that speaks across the generations.

And it's great fun and you even feel good at the end of it while at the same time gives you pause for thought.

Not to be missed. Don't wait for the holidays.

Much of this film does not bear scrutiny.

There a few fun moments but you have to watch this with low - better yet, no - expectations. Six stars as the production quality is rather high plus always fun to see John Cleese, Al Pacino and a few other familiar faces.

Steve Martin has fun and interesting to see Ashwarya Rai in a guest role: but, best to see this as a bit of a background movie when you have no other choice.

It is rare that both the book and the movie version hit the right notes in terms of pace, engaging storytelling, sympathetic acting and superb production values.

This is a favourite film and faithful to the recurring themes of human nature - prejudice (us and them), wartime tensions reaching into a remote island, and how a large turn of fate can pivot personal desires into challenges.

Each of the main characters faces a choice in how behave.

This is a must watch. Let yourself adjust to the different pace and depth of narrative. Then go with the riches.

A graceful, and at times, beautiful film. I tag it as a personal classic.

Set in the 1950s, a widow's quest to set up a bookshop in a quiet coastal village forms the spine of this story.

Penelope Mortimer holds the film together and you may find the eccentric characters charming.

Give it a chance: it tells of the joys of books. Can't be all bad.

During a wave of the sudden "discovery " of Britasian writers in the mid-1980s, My Beautiful Laundrette was touted by Channel 4 as a milestone of British cinema.

It was cool to suggest this film epitomised Thatcher's Britain. While it unveiled some insights of first and second generation Britasians, much of this film seems like a taxi ride: a series of vignettes, many placed purely for shock value. It was a decade when script editors picked up writers who failed to grasp the importance of structure and craft and this film is now more of a showcase for that era of storytelling.

Nice in spots. A bumpy ride with disconnected threads. Unfortunately, Thatcher's Britain was far more organised than this movie's subtext suggests

High marks for effort. Especially from the lead actors. They carried the move from one bemused stop to another.

This movie came during a nostalgia craze in the late 1970s.

Now, the flow, the music, the exuberance and humour encapsulate what we then thought the 1950s may have been like to an earlier generation- but seen through the haze of happy nostalgia.

On watching it again recently - it remains a gem. Everything clicks. A time capsule of fun.

Worth a watch and see if clicks with you.

The format has proved to be a winning combination of an tropical island setting, colourful locales and cosy mysteries.

This has been a pleasant undemanding that has survived some changes of the main detective character; we are about to move to a fourth as DI Mooney departs In season 9.

In summary, the word "nice" seems oddly appropriate here.

A favourite into a land I have yet to visit even though my roots stem from there.

Usually books are richer than their movie versions. This is an exception.

David Lean brings terrific insight to the old "East meets West" conundrum (probably splintering in this digital age) through this adaptation.

From the first rainy scene in London to the final sequence of the coming of the monsoon, this is grand yet intimate storytelling.

Come to it with an open mind. Pace your attention to the narrative pace and you will find much to enjoy.

For me, it's a classic and probably my favourite David Lean movie. Better than E M Forster's book ...for me anyway.

When I first visited Malaysia, people suggested I watch the old P Ramlee moves - especially the comedies - to get w sense of the people at their best.

Social commentary aside, this is my favourite P Ramlee movie among a crop of evergreen comedy favourites from him.

Trying to explain why P Ramlee comedies are so compelling, charming, fun and inclusive of the best of people...is like trying to explain Nasi Lemak...impossible!

P Ramlee's talent and genius is still alive in his movies...and I keep watching for Malaysians to pick up this baton...especially in this age of Netflix: a global stage awaits!

The long and the short of it was that I was a little apprehensive about Roman Atkinson behind able to provide the dramatic centre for this detective series.

No longer.

Everything works. Maigret. The production values. The intense yet lightly balanced storytelling.

I had the purchase everything available on iTunes so that I could watch this again.

Another favourite. I hope there are many more films.

This series around the viewpoints of a team of forensic specialists has retained the power or engaging storytelling through many years.

Leveraging off a long track record of compelling British TV drama writing, fed by theatrical traditions of subtle dialogue, combined with acting that plays an equally strong role in moving the story forward, each two-part story is underlined by social and psychological themes.

However, the key is always in the lead characters and how they react (with a great deal of poetic license!) with a different set of detectives in a wide array of crime narratives.

The short version: If you get a chance to watch from the beginning - some two plus decades worth of the stuff - you will become addicted. Good luck !

A good start, which degenerates rapidly into a stream of vapid, third rate storytelling, missed dramatic opportunities, incoherent writing, waste of actors, and unconvincing production values. What a waste of a terrific opportunity to dive into the riches of this thread of Malaysia's past.

Two stars for effort such as selecting Chong Fatt Tze Mansion (up in Penang; I wonder what happened to locations in Melaka?) - and valiant efforts from some of the acting leads.

Hopefully, Netflix wakes up out of a Singapore-led content driven stupor and starts to tap the rich potential of pure Malaysian productions and talent.

Hoping for better things in the future.

No spoilers. The show does enough of that!

A must watch:

• Compelling viewing.
• Let down by lack of subtitles throughout.

This sort of thick accent (and I am of Indian origin) was near impossible to understand. Producers (Netflix) should have insisted on subtitles for the Hindi as well as the "English" dialogue!