PUT three women past their middle ages together, and what do you get? Mammia Mia! of course. I thought it might be another uninteresting outing at the cinema for me when someone in the family persuaded me to see the show.

Since, I couldn't attend the Sarah Palin-Joe Biden debate I thought it was worth at least 120 minutes of my time.

Abba songs are infectious, contagious and downright entertaining if you are not a born cynic or a diehard music pessimist.

Five minutes into Mammia Mia, and the tunes started to come out, hard, fast and well, catchy. If you are an Abba fan, you will be baited, and be caught hook, line and sinker.

Initially, I had some misgivings about seeing Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth singing! Who can imagine those guys singing? I mean Brosnan, for heaven's sake!

I was telling someone, why didn't the director pull in Hugh Jackman. That guy can really sing, and on top of that, he had broadway experience.

After seeing the trio of ladies parading in outrageous costumes and three layers of makeup, I saw the wisdom of not including Jackman in the lineup.

He was simply too young for Meryl Streep, who by the way could really pull together a tune or two with some finesse. That's the wonderful thing about Streep.

When she acts, she usually outdoes anybody. Yes, she's not such a terrific singer like Liza Minnelli or Charlotte Church or even Katharine McPhee but her acting is non-pareil. That's Meryl Streep for you.

My better half who was seated next to me said aloud: "How about watching it a second time?" She really liked it. I could understand her feeling. It was a very entertaining film.

 Plenty of Abba songs to keep even the most sceptical among us happy.

It's all feet-tapping, heart-poundingly good. Who can fault any of Abba's major hits over the years? Even if you are a child of the 90s, you would still enjoy the catchy Abba tunes.

When Abba was around, they were the biggest thing to hit the music industry in decades.

Who could imagine after all these years, Abba would become a very successful broadway musical and now a movie musical. Almost nothing could go wrong with this film.

 It has all the right songs, it has Oscar actress Meryl Streep, it has an ex-James Bond in the form of Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth of the Bridget Jones fame.

Amanda Seyfried who plays Sophie Sheridan (Streep's daughter in the movie) is a real cutie. For obvious reasons, she simply cannot be too stunningly beautiful.

 It is not that kind of a movie but Seyfried performed well enough for us to appreciate her acting skills.

Firth was a passerby of sorts in Mammia Mia and the other guy Stellan Skarsgard who plays Sam Carmichael almost stole the limelight from the other two guys when he briefly walked around exposing his derriere.

The other actress who gave Streep a run for her money was Julie Walters who is Rosie in the show. It is my opinion as well as a dozen others that she's immensely talented and gave us all our money's worth inside the cinema hall.

What a woman! Even if she couldn't sing like a world class crooner, her exuberance and contagious enthusiastic had everybody almost falling off their seats with mirth.

It would be a crime not to mention Christine Baranski's contribution to the success of Mammia Mia. Baranski, as vivacious Tanya, added a certain fire to the film and went on to stand firmly on the stage when the Dynamos went all out to bring the house down.

The scenery was stupendous. It was only later that some of us found out that the location was Greece. No wonder a close friend of mine has made it almost a pilgrimage to visit Greece as often as possible.

On the whole, Mammia Mia which was released this year is a fun movie. Don't expect too much. If you love Abba songs, you won't be disappointed.

If you are a fan of Meryl Streep, your heart would be gladdened. And if you are a child of the 70s, and you grew up with Abba, then it is almost a must for you to see the movie as soon as possible. Twice, if you so prefer.

I HAVE TO make a public confession: I actually enjoyed watching My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Actually, I have seen it more than once, thanks to Astro re-runs.

I don't know why it tickles me so. Perhaps it's because like all closet members of the chauvinistic club, we all think we need a girlfriend like G-Girl even though she only exists in our mind.

Uma Thurman has, for a long time, been one of my favourite actresses. I like her in Gattaca but she won me over completely with her performance in Kill Bill I & II.

It was in Kill Bill that the ordinary Uma we used to know, became Hollywood's newest lean, mean, killing machine. Standing at 1.83m (or 6ft), Uma is of German-Swedish stock.

Her father was a professor at Columbia University who later became a Tibetan Buddhist monk. The Dalai Lama is a family friend.

In My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Uma is Jenny Johnson, an insecure and insanely jealous woman who also doubles up as a superwoman when the situation demands it.

All these factors add up to one major headache for Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) who develops an aversion to Jenny's unreasonable ways.

The only problem is how to break off from her without the G-Girl breaking his neck, house and car. She did two out of three, and left him alive to suffer and tremble.

This is a great after-dinner movie when you are channel-surfing with your remote, hoping that there's something on other than the massive coverage on the US presidential elections.

Luke Wilson is not exactly my idea of a strong and silent type of guy but he's talented enough to carry his role to its successful conclusion.

 Hannah Lewis (Anna Faris) who plays Matt's other love interest was a nice touch to this romantic comedy.

This movie is ridiculously funny. It doesn't even try to hide the fact that it's more zany than some of the craziest shows on TV.

There are no limits to its incredibility but most viewers would probably enjoy it.

There's nothing real about the plot. The characters are out of this world, at least one of them is, and when you have accounted for all the flaws in the film, it still gives you a good tickle and makes you laugh out loud.

I have seen my fair share of romantic comedies but My Super Ex-Girlfriend comes out smelling like roses all the time it appears on the TV screen.

 Uma made a name for herself in Pulp Fiction (1994) and Gattaca (1998), and then she sort of kept a low profile, perhaps it wasn't of her own accord.

But as recent movies of hers indicate, Uma Thurman simply cannot be taken lightly. In the first place, she's taller than most Asian men.

 Second, she has got that kind of Scandanavian looks that will turn more than a few heads when she walks.

This movie is almost a laugh-a-minute.

 It doesn't just settle on one simple plane of mirth but moves rapidly from one level of comic relief to a higher one when you have barely settled down after a bout of uncontrollable laughter.

The show that I watched on Astro has quite a number of sound parts blipped out.

I think it's all for our own good but if you think you can stand the original film without the strange and untimely cuts, you have to buy a original copy and enjoy all the crude jokes and tiny bits of sexuality.

This movie reminds me of the other one which starred Kim Basinger called My Stepmom Is An Alien (1988). That one was pretty funny, too. But you will enjoy this one. Take my word for it.

Uma Thurman has a towering presence in most of her movies and she leaves a lingering sense of cinematic excellence in whichever movie she stars in.

So one of these evenings when you accidentally bump into this movie on the telly, don't be in a hurry to switch it off. Who knows,you may just become another Uma Thurman fan.

BY the time, I caught up with Paul Newman, he was already way past middle-age. In fact, I lumped him together with Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. That was unfair, of course. Newman was much younger than those two.

I hadn't thought of writing anymore about Mr Newman until I heard over the TV networks that one of Hollywood's all-time greats has passed away at the age of 83. From a brief excerpt of his life, Newman had left a tough act to follow.

Most actors his age, by the time the newspapers carry their obituary, they would have been forgotten for decades prior to their passing.

Not so for Newman because his charitable deeds have received ample publicity, though not of his choosing.

Newman is one of those "strange" member of the Hollywood acting fraternity who had stayed married to one woman for half a century. His first marriage lasted from 1949-1958.

Actress Joanne Woodward whom he married in 1958 was his second spouse.

Frankly, I hardly knew Newman. He was just someone whom a lot of the older women used to talk about. They called him "Blue Eyes". At my age then, that description could well be Frank Sinatra who was also nicknamed like so.

As fate would have it, I got to know Paul Newman a little better when a local TV station screened Cool Hand Luke. Prior to that, I have heard of Cool Hand Luke.

 I thought it was a cowboy movie. It turned out to be a prison tale. Newman was pretty cool in that one.

Newman entered the acting industry at a time when being handsome was one of the mandatory prerequisites. Decades later, good looks went out of style with the likes of Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.

You could say that people like Rock Hudson, Rory Calhoun, Robert Taylor and Tyrone Power were senior members of Hollywood's Handsome Men's Club.

 Surely, Newman must have been a member although I can imagine him being embarrassed by the accolade because he was simply not that kind of a guy.

Newman's first movie was The Silver Chalice in 1954. CNN reported yesterday that Newman was so embarrassed by his level of performance in that film that he actually apologised to the people. Well, he improved by leaps and bounds later on.

One of his more notable shows was Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor. Critics have made allusions to the claims that Cat On A Hot Tin Roof were Newman's and Taylor's finest performances.

This is the kind of movie that has bucketfuls of implied sexuality but never blatant.

Newman was from that tinseltown era when sexiness in a film was indicated by speech and little acts that insinuated sexual tension or frustration. Nothing so scary like Basic Instinct or total nudity in modern movies that sort of insults the viewer's imagination.

I last saw Newman in Road to Perdition when he acted opposite Tom Hanks. I thought Newman was good in that one but one could see that physically, he was a tired old soul who still could act up a storm but his heyday was over a long time ago.

Honestly though, I am not a diehard fan of Paul Newman. I confess I have seen him only in a few movies, namely The Towering Inferno (1974), Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969), Cool Hand Luke (1967) and The Sting (1973).

Movie goers in general tend to equate Newman with the likes of Robert Redford, the other handsome guy. But today's generations will remember, if at all, those two as old Hollywood foggies.

But Newman's life outside the studios was one of excitement and generosity. He was a diehard racer as well as someone who lent his name to that food chain, Newman's Own, the proceeds of which were all directed to charity.

If anyone cares to know, Newman donated US$250,000 to the Kosovo refugees fund.

Then last year, Kenyon College announced that the actor made a massive donation of US$10 million to its scholarship fund.

One could say that Newman was destined for screen greatness as far back as the Second World War. Back in the dying months of the war, Newman found himself involved in the Battle of Okinawa.

 He was supposed to be a member of the bombing mission. As luck would have it, the pilot fell ill, and Newman was a no-show in that fateful bombing run. Those who went on that mission didn't return.

Life would have been a bit different for the rest of us on the other side of the Pacific Ocean if Newman had perished with the others over Okinawa.

From the floodlit studios of Hollywood to the tracks of Daytona, Newman had led a meaningful existence, filled with excitement, charity, generosity and wisdom. If only we have more people like him in Hollywood.

May his soul rest in peace. He really earned it. A long and deep salute to one of Hollywood's good boys.

Back in 1973, there was this movie which not many people remember now that was famously entitled The Way We Were.

Since I was at the footsteps of a long threshold to adulthood, I didn't fully appreciate the nuances in the story. Now 30 years have past, and much water has past under the bridge, I begin to understand the phrase "the way we were".

Even though, one may tend to overdramatise and simplify The Way We Were, it is by far one of the most memorable feel-good, romantic movies of the Seventies.

Barbra Streisand was at her peak. Robert Redford was the golden boy of Hollywood. Together, they were expected to shake up the emotions of all viewers who went to see them in this movie.

The theme song of the movie won an Oscar for the Best Original Song and the music scored another Oscar. All in all, not a bad outing for Streisand and Redford.

The story is not complicated. Shades of Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby but not about the decadence of society. The similarity is on the grounds of a great love that didn't last.

Redford is Hubbell Gardner and Streisand plays Katie Morosky. They met, fell in love early in their lives and got married. It was a time when romance was clearly in the air for both young people.

One was a potentially great singer (Streisand) and also a social activist whereas the other was a literary talent (Redford).

As life sometimes is, both sought common ground for marital harmony. But somehows realities get in the way and despite their best efforts, the marriage crumpled.

Hubbell didn't fulfil his literary potential and Katie after giving up her ideals returned to her old passions, politics.

Twenty years later, they bumped into each other in New York. Memories are revived and resurrected. That's when the movie begins. There are flashbacks. The best thing about The Way We Were is the music and the song.

I rather prefer Evergreen to the titled song. According to sources, Streisand wrote the lyrics for Evergreen. She sang it magnificently and clearly, not for once, surpassed herself.

 Now, decades later when the refrain of Evergreen touches my ears, I still get that light tingle down my spine. It is that good.

The theme song of the movie tends to jolt one's memory of things past. As I was saying, when the movie and I crossed paths back in 1973, I didn't quite comprehend the entire meaning of the movie title.

Now that I have the wisdom of experiences that made up three decades, the day, as they say, has become rather clear and I can see "almost forever".

Middle-aged people tend to appreciate The Way We Were more than anybody else younger than them. The reason is simple.

 When you are in your teenage years, life hasn't really caught up with you. If you are in your mid-twenties, the "engine is just starting to warm up", so you haven't really got into the groove yet.

So, if you will pardon me, youngsters and young adults may find it strange why some "oldies" are raving about The Way We Were. Try seeing this movie 20 years from now.

Perhaps you may begin to understand why The Way We Were touches a part in most of us that will forever remain pristine.

It is that thing called love. It would be great if you fall deeply in love too, and cruel as it may sound, you should "lose the girl" as well. Otherwise, there won't be those poignant memories to clutch at your heart forevermore.

The gist of The Way We Were is about two people who could have had a very happy life together but through circumstances which may or may not within their control, drifted apart.

 In this case, Hubbell was the one who had "let it go". He knew it was his fault, 20 years down memory lane. But it was too late.

If you can read it in his eyes, maybe he was telling himself, "in the next life, should I meet her again, I won't make the same mistake." If you believe love is eternal, then hold on to that idea because it will work for you.

Meanwhile, enjoy the movie if you come across it. It's really worth about 2 hours of your leisure time. Director Sdyney Pollack did a good job on this one.

 The two main songs of the movie still touch that part of me that I have preserved for decades. When your hair is greying and friends have come and gone, you will find that there are some things that can never grow old or out of fashion.

I am talking about love. Someone once said: "Do not be cynical about love. In times of adversity, it is as perennial as the grass." How true.

I WOULD like to confess that I am a hardcore John McClane fan. I have been a born-again Diehard fan after watch Diehard 2 and 3.

 And last year, when Hollywood released Diehard 4.0 or Live Free or Die Hard, I had somehow forgotten, lost my memory or was caught up in another covet operation in my god-forsaken place, thus was unable to make my way surrepticiously to the cineplex.

Anyway, fate is kind and I caught Diehard 4.0 in several reruns on Astro. What will we the minnions ever do without Astro? Anyway, the 4th edition of Diehard is full of unbelievable and incredible stunts.

 We the normal humans know in our sanest moments that all these action-packed scenes are just for our own personal viewing pleasure and not to be taken seriously or to be carried out in our own free time.

Nevertheless, Diehard 4.0 returns with Bruce Willis as ordinary cop John McClane who once again finds himself in an incredible and unforgettable circumstance where he has to shoot, blast and punch his way out of a death-defying situation.

 This time however, or was it the last time, he makes a comeback minus all his hair.

Willis has been suffering from a deeply reclining hairline since he starred in the TV series Moonlighting with Cybill Shepherd (1985-1989).

 By the time, he became one of Hollywood's more popular icons, he had a clean and shining crown, without the fecund glory.

As in his previous outings as McClane, there's always a bumbling side-kick who helps to create the necessary laughs.

Justin Long is that computer geek who accompanies McClane on another riotous run of car crashes, fighter jet F35 incident and some kung-fu fights that involved no less than Maggie Q.

Justin Long if you TV viewers remember is Warren Cheswick of that TV series Ed. He was nerdy in that TV role, just as he is in Diehard 4.0.

Neverthelss, he acquitted himself quite well in his portrayal as Matt Farrell, an unlikely hero who assists McClane in putting the brakes of a computer genuis who has some of his mental wires crossed.

The famous battle cry of McClane "Yippee Kai Yeh!" is still the sound to cheer for in the latest shoot-'em-all-and-forget-about-the-collateral-damage flick that has more stunts and explosive scenes than the previous three Diehards.

A Diehard movie is specially designed to leave all your senses on a hyperdrive and when you leave the cinema, you are so hyped up that you developed this almost uncontrollable urge to punch a tree.

That's not advisable, of course but feel free to do so if you think you need the MC for a sudden day-off due to a self-inflicted injury due to stupidity.

Maggie Q fresh from her role in Mission Impossible III (2006) must have impressed director Len Wiseman so much that he hired her for this movie. Admittedly, Maggie makes a fine femme fatale as Mai.

She gave McClane a run for his knuckles and almost knocked him senseless several times, until director Wiseman wised up to the fact that you can't do that to the hero of the show.

With her pan-Asian looks and fetching figure in tights, Maggie cuts a sinister figure who would probably make quite a formidable nemesis for James Bond as well.

 So it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Maggie Q shows up in the next Bond movie after Quantum of Solace which is due to be released.

If that happens, she can kick Daniel Craig's ass, for all I care. Go for it, Miss Q!

The only minor flaw in Diehard 4.0 is the arch-villain Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) who didn't really come across as a guy who you really love to hate.

 I know he tried his best to give us all his "baddest look" but tried as he did, he still looked like a forgettable character from the TV series Dark Angel.

My favourite Diehard villain is still Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in the one and only original Diehard (1988). Rickman simply exudes wickedness in that movie.

 But if you were to compare action scene for action scene, Diehard 4.0 takes the cake for having the most outrageously incredible stunts ever produced outside the Hollywood studios.

For those stunts alone, the price of the cinema ticket was worth paying for.

Ah schucks, too bad they don't have something like that Christmas song at the end of the first Diehard in this 4th edition.

 A great song is always the icing on the cake for a movie of this genre. Somehow, it will stick to the viewer's mind like superglue.

This 130-minute long movie deserves a DVD9 copy in your shelves packed alongside with other action movies that will keep you busy during those evenings when you have nothing better to do.