Mortal Instruments Movie Giveaway

See strange things? Hear unusual bumps in the night? Dream of angels & demons? Then you might be a Shadowhunter initiate. Join the Institute to hone your powers and defend mankind from hellspawn of the Downworld.

Based on the 2007 first book of "The Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare, after Clary Fray (Lily Collins) a seemingly ordinary teenager, witnesses a murder at a club, she finds out that her mother, Jocelyn, is attacked in their home in New York City and kidnapped by Valentine in his search of the Mortal Cup. She calls on a Shadowhunter named Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, to help her on her quest to rescue her mother and along the way finds out truths about her past and bloodline and becomes the person her mother feared she would become. Clary learns that Shadowhunters are half-angel warriors and that she too has the powers of one. Clary then finds herself caught in a battle between forces she barely understands. Mortal Instruments will be in Malaysian cinemas 22 August 2013, distributed by GSC Movies.

Learn more about the world of Mortal Instruments at The Institute.

The Outpost is giving away movie passes for Mortal Instruments: City of Bones screening at GSC Setia City Mall, Shah Alam on Saturday 24 August, 10.30am. Just use the PunchTab App below for a chance to win a pair of movie passes before this Sunday 18 August, 11.59pm. Click on all entry modes to increase your chances of being randomly selected by PunchTab! Selected winners will be notified to collect their movie passes by Friday 23 August.

Disclaimer: Mortal Instruments and its trademarks are copyright to their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Happy Raya with The Smurfs!

With The Smurfs being a surprise box office hit in 2011, studio executives of Columbia Pictures had good reason to bring Peyo's happy blue creatures back to the cinema. Now in 2013, The Smurfs 2 will be returning to Malaysian cinemas on 8 August together with Raya festive spirits!

In this sequel, the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette (Katy Perry) and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa (Jonathan Winters), Clumsy (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and Grace (Jayma May), and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties, Vexy (Christina Ricci) and Hackus, or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

The Smurfs 2 has also been dubbed in Bahasa Malaysia with the voice talents of Datuk Aznil Nawawi as Gargamel, Hafizuddin Fazil  as Papa Smurf, Lisa Surihani as Smurfette, Zizan Razak as Vanity, Elfira Loy as Vexy and Era FM radio announcer Ray as Grouchy. Here's how the Smurfs sound in BM:

Local voice talents for The Smurfs 2 dubbed in Bahasa Malaysia.

Check-out The Smurfs 2 review by Cinemaonline.

Smurfs fever in Malaysia kicked off with Smurfs Global Day on 22 June 2013 where Smurfette, Papa Smurf and Clumsy Smurf met up with fans at cinema roadshows. Read-up more about this from The New Straits Times or watch the video below:

Lots more are happening for The Smurfs over this month, starting with a delighful gallery of customised Smurfs at Plaza Gurney Penang plus meet & greet sessions with Clumsy Smurf, Smurfette and Papa Smurf, all dressed to celebrate Raya!

More photos of the Smurfs figurines exhibition available at Plaza Gurney's Facebook Page.

Don't fret much if you've missed their live appearance this weekend, The Smurfs will be on GSC's Hari Raya Road Tour this coming week.

Also get a FREE movie pass for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” when you are amongst the first 50 customers who presents four (4) GSC “The Smurfs 2” ticket stubs / self-print tickets at these locations. Lucky customers also stand a chance to walk away with a Limited Edition “The Smurfs 2” movie premium by simply posing and snapping a photo with the characters and upload it via Facebook. Smurfs Raya packets are given away with purchase of combo popcorn and drinks combos: 

More Smurfs merchandise to won from GSC's website contest:

Want to catch the Smurfs in your own private cinema hall screening with family & friends? Not just any hall but a Beanieplex? Quickly join TGV's Smurfs 2 contest by answering a few questions online by 4 August 2013. The lucky winner's Beanieplex screening will be held at TGV Setiawalk on 10 August.

TGV also has The Smurfs 2 tumblers available as part of their popcorn combo sets for RM14.90:

Tumblers seem to be in fashion for kids, as MBO Cinemas and Cathay Cineplexes also have combo deals available for different tumbler designs. MBO's combo is priced at 13.90 while Cathay's is RM16.50 which includes a RM30 Crocs cash voucher:

UPDATE: 12 August 2013

The Outpost Movie Recon Team (MRT) has identified more Smurfy goodies for Smurf fans to bring home! Cathay Cineplexes is now selling Smurf 3D glasses for RM15, which can be used for all 3D movies at their cineplex without needing to rent glasses as typically charged by other cinemas.

Then stand a chance to win official Smurfs 2 merchandise from Cathay's Facebook Page App Contest.

Increase your chances of scoring these Smurfs 2 merchandise by joining MBO's Facebook Page Contest by creating your own lyrics for the classic Smurfs theme song.

Also meet Clumsy Smurf, Smurfette & Papa Smurf bringing some Raya festive joy to MBO Subang Parade on Monday 13 August 2013 at 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.

Further our earlier recon at toy stores, the Outpost MRT has now identified more Smurfs toys from Toys R Us, Parkson, Robinsons and Times Bookstores:

Smurf hand puppets.

Smurf plush dolls.

Smurfs figurines.

Meet the Smurfs LIVE at Robinsons Gardens Midvalley on Friday 16 August 2013, 12pm noon and at the AEON Fair in Midvalley Exhibition Centre on Friday 23 August 2013, 2pm.

For kids into building toys, Smurfs MegaBloks is also available from Toys R Us to build their very own Smurfs Village:

Young readers may wish to purchase Smurfs tie-in books from Borders and receive a free activity book.

Want to smell like a Smurf? Our MRT has found Smurfs fragrances from Hello Kitty perfume stores (Bangsar Village) and Muse by Watsons (Sunway Pyramid):

There's also a contest to win a Smurfette plush doll. Find out more from ToyLeTree on Facebook.

Smurfs merchandise has just released with McDonald's Happy Meals in Malaysia. Hopefully the toys will be more readily available for kids to be happy unlike the unfortunate recent minion mania. Gotta catch them all!

Also take the opportunity to meet the Smurfs LIVE at the following McDonald's restaurants in Johor Bahru and Klang Valley:

Wrapping up with a Britney Spear's version of The Smurfs 2 theme song "Ooo La La":

Or if you rather take a trip down memory lane with the classic Happy Smurf Song (updated for 2011 movie):

Wishing everyone a Smurfy Raya!

Disclaimer: The Smurfs and its trademarks are copyright to Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Peyo & their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Gargantuan Battle for the Pacific Rim

The Outpost Movie Recon Team (MRT) has just returned from an exploratory mission into the deep ocean and discovered...

Ops, looks like new recruits of the MRT ventured into the wrong ocean... the real monsters are coming from the Pacific instead! Check out monster / Kaiju sightings on this Crisis Map.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenceless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Helmed by acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro (Blade 2, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam as veteran Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket teaming up with new recruit Mako Mori played by Rinko Kikuchi. Leading the Pan Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) is Stacker Pentecost portrayed by Idris Elba, whilst Ron Perlman is cast as Hannibal Chow, an opportunistic black marketeer of Kaiju organs. With award winning special effects from ILM, Pacific Rim is highly anticipated as THE Monster vs. Robot sci-fi movie of the era. The apocalypse begins in Malaysia cinemas nationwide on 11 July 2013.

If you're caught in Kaiju attack, best study this PPDC Survival Guide.

Check-out spoiler free reviews from CinemaOnline plus not-a-review by blogger eyeris. For more in-depth analysis, read-up badassdigest.com has to say.

When watching this epic sci-fi movie, the Outpost MRT highly recommends to “Go Big or Go Extinct”, namely to catch Pacific Rim in IMAX 3D! Watch this movie in TGV cinemas and also receive a Limited Edition Pacific Rim Trading Card.

The trading card is also offers a chance to win a brand new Samsung Galaxy MEGA smartphone plus Pacific Rim memorabilia and IMAX tickets. Further details here:

More chances to win the Samsung Galaxy MEGA smartphone from Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia Facebook Page. The hunt down the Kaiju, Outpost MRT designed our own customised hunter robots with the Jaeger Designer. Upload your Jaeger design to the WB Jeager Digital Contest then share to your Facebook friends to Like to increase your chances to win. Artwork of your customised Jaeger in various dramatic action poses can also be downloaded to your desktop, phone and backgrounds.

“In order to fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. We needed a new weapon. The Jaeger program was born.”

Stand a chance to win more official Pacific Rim goodies from Cathay Cineplexes Facebook Page contest with just a few clicks.

Increase your chances of scoring some of these Pacific Rim merchance by also joining AXN's online contest.  

Doing our bit to save the world, the Outpost MRT signed up to join the PPDC at www.panpacificdefense.com. After receiving our duty assignments, we also experienced fighting Kaiju in the Jaeger Combat Simulator.

The simulator may require some serious loading time but fortunately once activated it runs rather smoothly. Pilot your Jaeger with keyboard and mouse similar to 1st-person shooter games. The briefing room will probide some weapon choices that will equip your Jaeger with special attacks in battle with the Kaiju. Hint: press “ESC” to pause and show menu of function keys, i.e. navigate using “w” and “s” for moving front and back respectively while “a” and “d” is to sidestep left or right .

Meet key members of the PPDC and find out more details of the Jaegers at the Shatterdome.

The Outpost MRT was hard pressed to find any Pacific Rim geek collectibles in Malaysia. So we will have to be content with drooling at these goodies:

NECA's first set of 3 Pacific Rim 6-8in action figures include 2 Jaegers Gipsy Danger and Crimson Typhoon plus 1 Kaiju Knifehead. More detailed photos available at GNN GeekNews Network.

Although we don't find miniatures of Jaegers and Kaiju quite suited to the GIANT robots vs. monsters theme, the Heroclix Pacific Rim Figures does provide rather good 3-D visuals of these epic characters.

Collectors of premium limited edition memorabilia can pre-order statues of a series of Jaegers and Kaiju from Sideshow Collectibles, starting with Knifehead 17in tall model. However, it will be almost 1 year before the actual products are delivered.

Since there seems to be none of the above movie memorabilia out yet locally, the Outpost MRT will instead by trying out hand combating monsters with a cheesy boardgame called “Monsters Menace America!”

Oh, and if you trust Hannibal Chow, get harvested Kaiju organs to remedy a whole variety of ailments like cancer, insomnia, stroke, balding, erectile dysfunction, etc. We wouldn't wager our $$$ on Hannibal's company stocks though!

“Today at the edge of our hope, at the end of our time. We have chosen to believe in each other! Today we face the monsters that are at our door, today we are cancelling the apocalypse!”

Disclaimer: Pacific and its trademarks are copyright to Warner Bros. & their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.