Upcoming Malay comedies

I'm quite excited about the coming two remaining months of 2014. I stumbled upon two trailers for two comedies that are going to come out in November and December, respectively. They look rather irreverent and feature quite a few stars in the local movie scene.

The first is Lelaki Harapan Dunia (English title: Men Who Save the World) which tells the story of a group of villagers who encounter an abandoned house in the village which is occupied by an illegal African immigrant. Of course they think he's a ghost, orang minyak (literally 'fuel man') to be exact.

Now if you're not familiar with the supernatural element in the region, orang minyak is a man who practices black magic in order to rape or molest maidens (or the other way around, I'm not sure, this is the 21st century), and applies oil all over his body while he's out on the prowl. So all the men in the village band together to try to move the house, and hilarity ensues (including cross-dressing).

According to its Facebook page which I've linked above, the movie has Harun Salim Bachik and Jalil Hamid, two renowned comedic actors in this country, and it is written and directed by Liew Seng Tat. According to page, it has international support, so that is rather impressive, I guess? And from the trailer below, it looks quite promising. I wonder if they're gonna come out with two cuts; one for the more conservative local market, and another, more raunchier cut for international viewing and the festival circuit.

Also from the trailer, it has something which to me is one trademark of Malay movies which I enjoy, the portrayal of community life among Malays, which is employed frequently by comedy film maker Mamat Khalid (whose Zombi Kampung Pisang (2007) I consider the best modern Malay comedy), and U-Wei Shaari (when is he going to release Hanyut?).

***********************

The second trailer I came upon was Terbaik Dari Langit. The literal English title is 'the best from the sky' or something like that, but the formal English (international?) title is Nova. This one is slated for a 25 Dec 2014 release. The official promotional Facebook page bills itself as a road trip movie, and the trailer provides the following synopsis for the plot: 

"Convinced with what he saw 15 years ago was a UFO, Berg sets on a journey with his 4 friends to capture it on film. They begin to realize that the trip is more than what it seems."

From the trailer, it looks like the movie will have one element I enjoy in movies; meta-references to the process of making a movie (or stage production), usually showing an ambitious yet clueless person at the helm. For example like Get Shorty, Adaptation, Tropic Thunder and Topsy Turvy.

It also has Bront Palarae, my favourite local actor whose movies I've never actually watched, and Sharifah Amani (nice to not see her out of a cheesy tv role for a change). It's directed by Nik Amir Mustapha who previously directed KIL.

So I'm very excited to have something to look forward to in the local film scene, for a change. I think the last movie I enjoyed was Songlap (which I enjoyed immensely and have raved about)

That reminds me, I have Bunohan and I STILL haven't watched it. Shame on me.