Bangkok Cinema Scene special: House 10-Year Anniversary, July 3-30, 2014

Dogged by an inconvenient location and periodic rumors of its demise, House, the twin-screen "boutique" cinema on Royal City Avenue, has nonetheless survived and attracted a cult following with its eclectic selection of award-winning foreign dramas, erotica, documentaries, animation and Thai independent films.

Celebrating 10 years this month, House has a series of special screenings. Many of the films were big hits at House in past years and will show under the "House Phenomenon" banner. Also, several of the screenings are free. Here's the line-up via Facebook:

• July 3: The Rover – Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce are earning rave reviews for this gritty Australian crime drama. It'll get a sneak preview before a general release later this month. Free.
• July 4: Surprise film. Free.
• July 5: Surprise film from the Japan Foundation. Free.
• July 6: Two films courtesy of the Alliance Française, the Jacques Tati classic Playtime and the Oscar-nominated animated feature The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville), which is based on an unproduced screenplay by Tati. Free.
• July 7: Surprise film. Free.
• July 8: Mary and Max – This darkly comic clay-animated feature is about an Australian teen girl who becomes a penpal with a lonely middle-aged man in New York. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette star.
• July 9: Mother – Vorakorn Ruetaivanichkul directs this hybrid documentary drama about the mental breakdown of his mother. This is another sneak preview ahead of a planned general release.
• July 10: The Fault in Our Stars – Shailene Woodley stars in this coming-of-age drama as a teenage cancer patient who is sent to a support group. This a sneak preview ahead of the planned July 24 release. Free.
• July 11: Last Life in the Universe – Pen-ek Ratanruang's 2003 quirky comedy-drama had a suicidal Japanese fugitive (Tadanobo Asano) pairing up with a lonely Thai woman (Sinitta Boonyasak). Featuring cinematography by Christopher Doyle, it's not just one of Pen-ek's best but one of the best films ever. Free.
• July 12: Mosquito Film Project – This is a line-up of offerings from Mosquito Films Distribution, a new outfit formed by several well-known Thai independent filmmakers, including Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Aditya Assarat, Pimpaka Towira and Anocha Suwichakornpong.
• July 13: A pair of documentaries from the Alliance Française – Nostalgia for the Light, which examines relatives of of Chileans who "disappeared" during the Pinochet regime, and All Is Forgiven, about a daughter coming to terms with her father's drug addiction. Free.
• July 14: Surprise film. Free.
• July 15: A Separation – This Oscar-winning Iranian family legal drama was a big hit when it screened at House a couple years ago.
• July 16: City of God – Brazilian youngsters look for a way out of the slums in this gripping crime drama.
• July 17: The Grand Budapest Hotel – For reasons beyond my comprehension, Wes Anderson's much-anticipated new film isn't getting a theatrical release in Thailand. It's going straight to DVD, which is so damn disappointing. So, sadly, this will likely be the only chance for Bangkok cinema-goers to see it on the big screen. Free.
• July 18: Lust, Caution – Rated 20- for its explicit sex scenes, Ang Lee's Chinese spy thriller, set in World War II Shanghai, got pulses racing when it screened for several weeks at House in 2007. Free.
• July 19: Surprise film from the Japan Foundation. Free admission.
• July 20: Food Festival – The program includes the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi and a talk by twin-sister filmmakers Wanweaw and Weawwan Hongvivatana.
• July 21: Tokyo Sonata – Kiyoshi Kurosawa's drama looks at a dysfunctional family of four in Tokyo.
• July 22: Blue is the Warmest Color – Another "House phenomenon" movie, this sexually explicit French romance follows a young woman's exploration of her sexuality.
• July 23: The Song of Sparrows – This 2008 Iranian drama follows a young man who loses his job at an ostrich farm and then heads to Teheran to find another job.
• July 24: Boyhood – Twelve years in the making, Richard Linklater looks at one kid's life has he grows into a teenager. This is termed a "sneak preview" though the general theatrical release isn't yet scheduled. Free.
• July 25: Surprise film. Free.
• July 26: Ter Day – Phenomenal young director Nawapol "Ter" Thamrongrattanarit ran a viral social-networking campaign to pack House for screenings of his two indie films, 36 and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy. They'll both get encore screenings.
• July 27: Two classic more French films from the Alliance Française – To Our Loves by Maurice Pialat and La Cérémonie by Claude Chabrol. Free.
• July 28: Surprise film. Free admission.
• July 29: Once – This musical romance about street musicians in Dublin was a surprise sleeper hit.
• July 30: Love of Siam – This 2007 epic gay teen romance become even more epic when House released the three-hour director's cut by Chookiat Sakveerakul and had fans lined up out the door.

For details about showtimes and subtitles, check House's Facebook page.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening September 15-21, 2011

Camellia


Three Asian directors take part in Camellia, a.k.a. The Busan Project, a trilogy of romance shorts filmed in the city of Busan, South Korea. It premiered at last year's Pusan International Film Festival.

The segments are divided into the "past", "present" and "future".

Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears of the Black Tiger, Citizen Dog, The Red Eagle) directs the "past" with Iron Pussy, a.k.a. A Kimchi Affair. Performance artist Michael Shaowanasai stars as the transvestite secret agent Iron Pussy, who he's portrayed in a series of shorts and a 2005 feature that he co-directed with Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Capturing the colorful spirit of the 1960s Thai romance movies, it has Iron Pussy travelling to Korea on a mission and falling in love with a local man (Kim Min-Jun).

Kamome by Isao Yukisada is set in the present and is about a director (Sol Kyung-Gu) making a movie in Busan and falling in love. Yuriko Yoshitaka also stars.

And Love for Sale, directed by Joon-hwan Jang, is set in a future when the buying and selling memories is common. Gang Dong-Won plays a guy wanting to retrieve his memories of a lost love (Song Hye-Kyo).

It's Thai-dubbed, unfortunately, though that's okay for the Iron Pussy segment, because all her lines are dubbed anyway.

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Also opening


Women Without Men – The destinies of four women come together against the tumultuous backdrop of the CIA-backed coup d’etat in Iraq in 1953. It's directed by artist-turned-filmmaker Shirin Neshat, who won the Silver Lion for best director at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Critical reception is generally positive. At House.


Johnny English Reborn – Rowan Atkinson is back in action as the bumbling British spy. He's spent the past few years in reclusion, honing his unique skills in remotest Asia. However, when his superiors at MI-7 learn there will be an attempt on the life of the Chinese premier, they believe that Johnny English is the man for the job. This movie doesn't open in the rest of the world until next month, so Thailand is among the first to see it. Consequently, there isn't yet any critical consensus. Rated 13+.


I Don’t Know How She Does It – Sarah Jessica Parker is a mother struggling to balance her demanding career with the stress of raising two children, maintaining a healthy marriage and dealing with a flirtatious business associate (Pierce Brosnan). Greg Kinnear, Olivia Munn, Christina Hendricks and Kelsey Grammer also star. Critical consensus is mixed, leaning to positive. Rated G.


Shark Night 3D – A summer weekend on an island in a Louisiana lake becomes a nightmare for a group of bikini-clad vacationers when the place becomes surrounded by blood-thirsty sharks. It's the latest effort by David R. Ellis, director of such films as Final Destination 2, Cellular and Snakes on a Plane. This has the potential for mindless fun, but critical reception is mostly negative, with the consensus that it's "a joyless excursion ... that doesn't even produce good gore or nudity thanks to the neutered PG-13 rating." Rated 15+.


Luer Lae (เหลือแหล่ ) – It's a clash of musical cultures when a ska band led by Luer Lae (Nattawat "Ton AF7" Deeduangkaew) and Cello (Chalermphol Thikampornteerawong) stray into a village that's home to two masters of traditional Thai folk music. Comedians Yong and Note Chernyim direct and also star in this comedy from Phranakorn Film. Rated G.

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Also showing


All That I Love – This acclaimed Polish drama follows the lives and loves of four young guys as they struggle to form a punk band against the backdrop of 1980s Poland and its political turmoils stemming from communism and the Solidarity movement. Directed by Jacek Borcuch, it was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival last year, and has won praise from other festivals, including Busan, Rotterdam, Brussels, New York and Los Angeles. It was also Poland's official entry to the Oscars. The screening is at 8 tonight (Thursday, September 15) at the Foreign Correspondents Club. Entry for non-members is 150 baht and 100 baht for anyone wanting to sample the vodka and zhurek from the Polish Embassy.


Mere Brother Ki Dulhan – A young man sets out to arrange a marriage for his brother but finds himself falling for his future sister-in-law. Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar star in this love-triangle romantic comedy. In Hindi with English subtitles at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai) on Saturday night at 8 and at Major Rama III on Sunday at 4. Call (089) 488 2620 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

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Sneak preview


Friends With Benefits – Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are long-time friends who decide that they can simply add sex and still just be friends, without emotional or romantic attachment. Of course, this being a Hollywood romantic-comedy, it's not as easy as that. Woody Harrelson also stars, stealing scenes as the couple's gay friend. Will Gluck (Easy A) directs. Critical reception is mostly favorable, with the consensus being it "adds nothing new to its well-worn rom-com formula, but the chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is almost enough to carry the movie by itself." Friends With Benefits opens wide next week but is in nightly sneak previews this week, with showtimes starting around 8 at most multiplexes. Rated 18+.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening June 23-29, 2011

Arrietty


Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli adapts Mary Norton's 1950s fantasy novel The Borrowers for Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti, a.k.a. Arietty the Borrower).

It's the tale of a teenage girl who lives with her family of “tiny people” under the floorboards of a house. Her life changes when she’s discovered by a human boy.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi directs, with the screenplay by the master himself, Hayao Miyazaki.

Named Animation of the Year by the Japan Academy last year, critical reception, so far, is mostly positive. More opinions will emerge when the film is released in the U.S. and U.K., in August and next February respectively. That version will feature the likes of Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett as voice talent.

Here, it's in Japanese with English and Thai subtitles at the Lido in Siam Square.

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Also opening


The Conspirator – Robin Wright portrays Mary Surratt, the owner of the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others hatched the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. She was charged as a co-conspirator in the crime, and, with the whole country calling for her blood, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer (James McAvoy) to uncover the truth and save her life. Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Justin Long, Danny Huston, Colm Meaney and Toby Kebbel also star. Robert Redford directs. Critical reception is mixed. At the Scala in Siam Square.


Dylan Dog: Dead of Night – A detective who deals with the paranormal takes a case that puts him in the middle of a battle among vampires, werewolves, zombies and a guardian of Hell. This monster-movie fantasy is adapted from a 1980s Italian comic series. Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) stars along with Anita Briem and Sam Huntington. Critical reception is mostly negative. Rated 15+


Mai Ka Mum Don Ka Don (หนัง ใหม่กะหม่ำ และ โดนกะโดน) – Actor-director-comedian Petchtai “Mum Jokmok” Wongkumlao teams up with veteran singer-actress Mai Charoenpura for this romantic comedy about a man whose relationship with his best friend upsets his heavyset wife Kapro, who's played by Mum's cross-dressing TV comedy cohort Choosak “Nong” Iamsuk. Things get complicated when Mai gets pregnant and Kapro falls for another man (Pongsak “Teng” Pongsuwan). Rated 15+.


Double Dhamaal – Four good-for-nothing jokers, Riteish Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaafery, Arshad Warsi and Ashish Chowdhry, are dreaming of the high life, where they have everything by doing nothing. A chance encounter with their old archenemy, a corrupt ex-cop (Sanjay Dutt), gives them the idea to hatch a blackmail plot. Kangna Ranaut also stars, as does Mallika Sherawat, who had a bikini scene that was chopped. This is a sequel to Dhamaal, a hit 2007 comedy that was inspired partly by 1963's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Indra Kumar directs. It's at SFX the Emporium on Friday at 8, Major Cineplex Rama III on Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4 and at Major Sukhumvit on Sunday at 7.30pm. Call 0894882620 or 022257500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

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Take note


This blog has resumed weekly operations after a two-week break. Movies that opened in Bangkok over the past couple weeks include:

• Super 8 – Boys making a monster movie with their home-movie camera capture a train crash and begin noticing strange happenings in their small town. J.J. Abrams directs and Steven Spielberg produces. Also at IMAX Digital. Rated 13+.
• Killing Bono – A pair of Irish rock musicians (Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan) look on in jealousy as their old school chums become the biggest band in Ireland. At Major Cineplex, EGV, Esplanade, Paragon. Rated 18+.
• Green Lantern – Ryan Reynolds plays the earthling who is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers and membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. Rated G.
• Sex and Zen – The ’80s Hong Kong erotic movie franchise is relaunched for the new 3D era, with a story about a pleasure-seeking couple in ancient China. In 3D and Thai-dubbed only at most cinemas; in 2D in Cantonese with English subtitles at House. Rated 20-.
• Small Ru Ku Naew – A rock band takes over a family’s bakery so they can use it as their practice space. Poj Anon directs. Rated 15+.
• Mr. and Mrs. Incredible – Husband-and-wife retired superheroes contend with the high cost of living, infertility and other contemporary life issues. Directed by Vincent Kok, it stars Louis Koo, Sandra Ng and Chapman To. Rated 15+.

Update: Screenings of Nader and Simin: A Separation at House RCA have been cancelled because of technical problems.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening January 27-February 2, 2011

The Fighter


Directed by David O. Russell, The Fighter is one of the top nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards, pulling down seven nods, including best picture, director, supporting actor for Christian Bale and supporting actress for Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. The movie already won two Golden Globes for Bale and Leo.

It's a fact-based biographical drama, with Mark Wahlberg in the lead as "Irish" Micky Ward, a boxer who rose out of working-class Lowell, Massachusetts, to become a world champion welterweight. But his success in the ring comes at the price of overshadowing his half-brother and sparring partner, played by Bale. He's a great boxer in his own right, but struggles with drugs and crime.

The Boston-born Wahlberg trained for years in preparation for his role, getting help from the likes of Manny Pacquiao. Adams portrays his character's love interest, while Leo is the domineering mother of the Ward brothers.

Critical reception is mostly positive, with the consensus being that it's a "solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre". Rated 15+.

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Also opening


Solitary Man – Recently declaring himself cancer-free, Michael Douglas was among the Oscar hopefuls who went overlooked this year. He's a flawed protagonist here, a car dealer whose personal and professional life has hit the skids because of bad business deals and romantic indiscretions. Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg and Olivia Thirlby also star. Critical reception is mostly positive, with the consensus being that Douglas delivers "a flawless central performance". At Paragon and CentralWorld. Rated 18+.


Shaolin – One of the big Chinese New Year releases, Shaolin revisits the ancient Buddhist temple that's been the setting for dozens of martial-arts dramas over the years. But this is only the second one to be officially authorized by the 1,500-year-old temple. It's an update of 1982's The Shaolin Temple, which was the debut for Jet Li. For this new movie, set during the early 20th-century warlord period, Andy Lau shaved his head to play the starring role, an arrogant general who takes refuge at the temple and learns peace of mind from a wise kung-fu-fighting monk (Jackie Chan). Nicholas Tse, Jackie Wu and Fan Bingbing also star. Benny Chan directs with martial-arts choreography by Corey Yuen. Thai-dubbed soundtrack only. Rated 15+.


Little Fockers – Along with Oscar nominees, there's also a nominee for the Golden Raspberry Awards, which recognizes the worst movies from Hollywood. This third installment in the high-grossing comedy franchise is nominated for three Razzies – worst screenplay and worst supporting actress for Jessica Alba and Barbra Streisand. Robert DeNiro returns as the stern and overbearing father-in-law of Ben Stiller. The ex-CIA-agent family patriarch believes his health is failing and is seeking to name a successor, but he doesn't feel Ben's Greg Focker is up to the task because he thinks that Focker is having an affair. Which is where Jessica Alba fits in. Teri Polo, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson also star. Critical reception is overwhelmingly negative, with the consensus being it's "heartbreakingly lazy" and takes the Meet the Parents franchise to "embarrassing new lows." Rated 13+.


Permanent Residence – This Hong Kong gay romantic drama is directed by a man named Scud, the stage moniker of filmmaker Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung, who gained acclaim for 2008's City Without Baseball. Permanent Residence is said to be based on Scud's life story. Sean Li stars as a handsome IT worker who befriends a straight guy (Osman Hung) and attempts to romance him. There's a review at Love HK Film. In Mandarin with English and Thai subtitles at House.

Bang Khon Care ... Care Bang Khon (บางคนแคร์ แคร์บางคน) – "Woonsen" Wirithipha Phakdeeprasong is a young woman is searching for a guy (Kelly Thanaphat) she fell in love with at first sight. She's got a younger colleague (Howard Wong) helping her. He's in love with her. When she finally catches up to her lost love, she wonders if he's really Mr. Right. The usual comedians add comic relief in this Thai romance. Rated 15+.

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Also showing


Mo & Me - This 2006 BBC documentary will screen at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand tonight a 8. It's the story of renowned photojournalist Mohamed "Mo" Amin, born to an immigrant family in a poor neighborhood in Nairobi, he founded the Camerapix agency and covered political and tribal conflicts across Africa, including the first shocking pictures of the Ethiopian famine of the mid-1980s that spurred rock stars into action with the Live Aid concerts. Admission for non-members is 150 baht.


Chulalongkorn University International Film Festival 2011 – The annual DVD-screening series of highly acclaimed award-winning foreign films continues on Friday with Women Without Men, a drama set during Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état. "The destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship." On Monday it's the Argentine thriller The Secret in the Their Eyes, in which a retired legal counselor is hoping for closure of one of his unresolved homicide cases. And next Wednesday has the Chilean drama The Maid, in which a woman who's worked for a family for years tries to hold on to her position. The show times are at 5 in the Mahachakrisirindhorn Building, ninth Floor. Admission is free. All movies are screened on DVD with English subtitles. Call (02) 218 4802 or visit ChulaFilmFest.multiply.com.


No One Killed Jessica – Raj Kumar Gupta directs this fact-based crime drama about a reporter (Rani Mukerji) teaming up with the sister (Vidya Balan) of a murdered model in order to bring the case to justice. Screens at 8pm on Saturday at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai) and at 4pm on Sunday at Major Cineplex Rama III. Bollywood Thai also brings back the Punjabi comedy Yamla Pagla Deewana at 8 on Saturday and at 4 Sunday at Major Rama III (yes, two Bollywood movies at Major Rama III!) and at 7.30 on Sunday at Major Ekamai. Call (089) 488 2620.


The Woman with the 5 Elephants – Part of the annual open-air film series at the Goethe-Institut Bangkok until February 22, next Tuesday's show is a 2009 documentary, the epic tale of Svetlana Geier, a Ukrainian woman who survived the Stalinist purges and the German invasion during World War II. A renowned translator, the "5 elephants" of the title refers to the works of Dostoevsky she's translated. The film chronicles her return to Kiev together with her granddaughter. The show time is at 7.30. Call (02) 287 0942-4 or check the Goethe-Institut website.


Bamako – The troubled relationship of a bar singer and her out-of-work husband is set against the backdrop of a trial set up in the courtyard of an African village, where representatives of African society have brought a civil suit against the World Bank and the IMF, which they hold responsible for all of Africa's woes. Danny Glover and Palestinian director Elia Suleiman have interesting cameos as "cowboys". With English subtitles at 7.30 on Wednesday, February 2 at the Alliance Française.

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Sneak preview


In addition to The Fighter opening this week, Biutiful, which opened last week, and The Social Network, which is still playing, many Academy Award-nominated movies will be opening in Bangkok in the coming weeks. They include The King's Speech, which opens this weekend in nightly sneak previews at around 8pm at the Lido in Siam Square. It's the lead nominee, with 12 nods including best picture, director, actor for Colin Firth and supporting actor and actress for Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham-Carter. The British royal biopic opens in a wider release on February 3.

Others tentatively scheduled include:

• True Grit, the Coen Brothers' western with 10 nominations, including best actor for Jeff Bridges and supporting actress for star Hailee Stanfield. It was initially slated to open on February 17 but now the posters have a sticker on them saying February 24.
• Blue Valentine, a romantic drama that went through a controversial battle with the ratings board in the U.S., is nominated for best actress for Michelle Williams. Mongkol Major is distributing and they showed a trailer for the film at the recent press preview for Lud 4 Lud. It might open on February 10.
  
• Rabbit Hole, a romance thriller with a best-actress nomination for Nicole Kidman, might open on February 24.
• Black Swan, with five nominations including best actress for Natalie Portman and best director for Darren Aronofsky, the ballet psycho-thriller might also open on February 24.
• 127 Hours, the mountain-climbing drama starring James Franco, nominated for six awards including best picture, best actor and best adapted screenplay by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, might open on March 10.

An Oscar nominee that has surprisingly passed Bangkok by is Ben Affleck's heist thriller The Town, which scored a supporting-actor nomination for Jeremy Renner. It opened in the States in September and played in Singapore and the Philippines in October and in Hong Kong last month. Why didn't it get picked up for Thai cinemas? Perhaps it will go straight to DVD? Or, perhaps it will open. Apex Siam Square has listed as "coming soon" on their website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: Chulalongkorn University International Film Festival 2011

The Department of Dramatic Arts, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, will screen nine award-winning films, none of which have been commercially released in Thailand.

Screenings are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5pm from January 24 to February 11 in the Mahachakrisirindhorn Building, ninth Floor.

Here's the schedule:

• Monday, January 24: Eyes Wide Open (Israel)
• Wednesday, January 26: The Time That Remains (Palestine)
• Friday, January 28: Women Without Men (Iran)
• Monday, January 31: The Secret in their Eyes (Argentina)
• Wednesday, February 2: The Maid (La Nana) (Chile)
• Friday, February 4: The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
• Monday, February 7: White Material (France)
• Wednesday, February 9: Room and a Half (Russia)
• Friday, February 11: I Am Love (Italy)

Admission is free. All movies are screened in DVD format and have English subtitles.
Stay on after the film and share your opinions with film critics Kittisak Suvannapokhin, Nopamat Veohong and Kong Rithdee.

Free parking is next to Chulalongkorn University Auditorium or next to the Mahachakrisirindhorn Building (10 baht per hour).

Call (02) 218 4802 or visit ChulaFilmFest.multiply.com.