Leonardo DiCaprio latest flick, "The Beach" was released here a week before the States. This is probably to beat the pirate CDs entrepreneurs at their enterprising 'venture'.

Ol' Leo here stars as Richard, an adventurous backpacker set to see the exotic Thailand. Upon arrival, he is greeted by a myriad of colours and culture, but is this what he came for? There are just too many tourists around, the beach is crowded and noisy, the streets are plied with imitation designer wares, all to cater to the valued tourist dollars. And there are tourists at every nook and corner. This isn't a discovery of an exotic country, it is just a front to milk the tourists' money.

While in Bangkok, Richard meets with Daffy, a going-off-bonkers fella in the strangest of ways. He tells Richard of a legendary island that is so beautiful, it is paradise, an Eden. He gave Richard a map showing the location of this paradise and well, since Richard has nothing better to do, why not try to locate it? That's what he's supposed to be doing, to look for adventure, not take the safe, boring and predictable tourist track. Going with him is a French girl whom Richard fancies, and her boyfriend. On the island paradise, he meets the other backpackers living on the island, and adventures ensue.

From the outset, this movie has been very controversial. It has been widely criticised for damaging the environment in Thailand where it was filmed. However, I find that this is a pretty food film. The script, based on British writer Alex Garland's novel is intriguing. However, some may find it rather confusing and not be able to follow it well. This is not the normal favoured-by-Malaysians kind of movie..in the sense that there won't be any ka ka boom explosions or car chase scenes.

Leo puts in a typically good performance here and it's easy to forget about how good an actor Leo is with all the hype that's been around him since "Titanic" (though I find him unfitting the role in "The Man in the Iron Mask"), and all the girls cooing him. So if you can forget the environmental controversy and your pre-conceived notion of Leo , you should definitely go out and see this movie.