Funnyman Petthai "Mum Jokmok" Wongkumlao teams up with veteran comedian Thep Po-ngam (สุเทพ โพธิ์งาม) in Po Taek (โป๊ะแตก), a satiric mockumentary-style behind-the-scenes look at the Thai film industry.
Watch the trailer, and check out Mum coaching his old mentor Thep on how best to act like a lizard.
There's shenanigans on the craft-service line and more wackiness during the traditional prayer ceremony to mark the start of production. You have thick-headed actors who can't take direction and stuntmen raising their amputated limbs to volunteer for a dangerous scene.
A host of other familiar comedians turn up, including Mum's Ching Roi Ching Lan TV castmates Choosak "Nong Cha Cha Cha" Iamsuk and Theng Terdterng, as well as Note Chern-yim, Kom Chuanchuen, "Tukky" Sudarat Butrprom and Apaporn Nakonsawan.
It's a busy time for Thep, who last year declared bankruptcy and put on a pair star-studded live benefit concerts to put him back on good financial footing.
During the red-shirt political protests there was talk of a boycott of Thep after the bald-headed comic appeared at "multi-color shirts" counter-protest rallies. Box-office results for Po Taek, in cinemas this Thursday, will show whether they were serious.
The Killer Tattoo star also leads the upcoming drama Friday Killers (or is it Friday Killer?), premiering as the closer of the Phuket Film Festival. It's part of the trio of hitman movies directed by Yuthlert Sippapak for Phranakorn.
And he's also supposed to do the documentary The Cult Maker with Yuthlert for Film R Us.
Produced by Workpoint, Baa-Ram-Ewe and Sahamongkolfilm International, Po Taek is covering similar ground to another film from Film R Us, Sam Yan, which opened on May 20. That trio of comedy stories has comedian Kohtee Aramboy as a director having behind-the-scenes troubles with his lead actor. Rated 15+.
The Ghost Writer
Completed by director Roman Polanski while he was under house arrest in Switzerland, fighting extradition on 34-year-old sexual-assault charges back to the U.S., The Ghost Writer is an adaptation of The Ghost, a thriller by novelist Robert Harris.
Ewan McGregor stars as a writer hired to polish up the autobiography of a disgraced former British prime minister, menacingly portrayed here with Blair-like flair by ex-007 Pierce Brosnan. The deeper the writer digs in searching for the truth, the more his life becomes in danger.
Olivia Williams also stars, playing the Cherie Blair-like wife of the ex-PM.
And Kim Cattrall plays the ex-PM's personal assistant. It's a two-fer week for Cattrall in Bangkok cinemas; the British actress also stars in Sex and the City 2.
Having premiered earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, critical reception is strongly favorable, with praise for Polanski's stylish direction, a tense screenplay (adapted by Harris), and a strong central performance from McGregor. Rated 18+.
Also opening
Sparrow – Hong Kong director Johnnie To's lyrical thriller/romantic drama stars Simon Yam as the leader of a team of slick pickpockets, or "sparrows" in Hong Kong street slang. When he's not artfully lifting wallets, he's roaming the streets with his vintage camera, snapping photos. His life takes a turn when he glimpses a young woman (Kelly Lin) in his viewfinder. The other members of his gang also encounter the mysterious girl. A nominee for the Berlin Golden Bear in 2008, critical reception is highly favorable. At House. Rated 18+.
Sex and the City 2 – In the second big-screen outing for the 1998-2004 HBO series, two years have passed and Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three friends have lives that are more stressful than ever. All are married except for Samantha (Kim Cattrall), who is 52 and trying to keep her libido alive while dealing with menopause. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has a handful with two children and a husband whose eyes are roving to their nanny. Carrie's marriage to Mr. Big (Chris Noth) has settled down and Carrie worries whether she can ever truly be happy. Samantha then gets a PR job for a sheik in Abu Dhabi and invites Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) to visit, so the four friends get out of the city and visit the desert. Critical reception has been overwhelmingly negative, with the movie blasted for its thin plot, bloated running time and stereotyped, negative portrayal of the Middle East. Rated 15+.
Killers – Katherine Heigl is a hapless woman who meets and falls in love with a stranger and rushes into marriage only to discover her perfect man (Ashton Kutcher) is a contract killer for the CIA and she's now a target alongside him by rival assassins. Critical reception is nonexistent because studio Lionsgate has declined to screen it for critics – a move that usually means the movie stinks. Lionsgate says: "We want to capitalize on the revolution in social media by letting audiences and critics define this film concurrently... In today's socially connected marketplace blah blah blah blah." Rated 15+.
14 Blades – Switching from the contemporary martial-arts drama of Ip Man 2, Donnie Yen stars in this martial-arts fantasy. Set in ancient China, the tale has to do with 14 elite fighters, members of the emperor's secret Brocade Guard, trained in the use of 14 blades, eight being for torture, five for killing and the last one for suicide if their mission fails. As the leader of the Brocade Guards, Donnie is betrayed when he discovers a plot by eunuchs to usurp the emperor, something to do with a prince played by Sammo Hung and the Imperial Seal. He escapes and spends the rest of the film in fast-paced action sequences trying to get to the truth. Zhao Wei also stars, providing a romantic interest for Donnie. Critical reception is mostly positive. Thai-dubbed only. Rated 15+.
Also showing
Remembering the Siam – Four Japanese movies that screened back in the day at the Siam Theatre are playing to benefit the merchants who lost their shops in the Siam Theatre fire: Nana at 12.15, Nobody Knows at 2.30, Always: Sunset on Third Street at 5 and Be With You at 7.30 daily until next Wednesday except Saturday at the Lido. Tickets are 100 baht, with half the proceeds going to help out the burned-out tenants.
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