Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 16-22, 2010

B.K.O.: Bangkok Knockout


With B.K.O.: Bangkok Knockout (โคตรสู้ โคตรโส, Koht Soo Koht Soh), veteran stunt guru Panna Rittikrai, the mentor of Tony Jaa, is seeking to outdo all the insanely dangerous-looking action he displayed in his 2004 directorial effort Born to Fight.

Among the notable setpieces in B.K.O. is a truck stunt that Panna has said is way more complicated than the truck stunt from Born to Fight, which was painstakingly rehearsed only to have a stuntman almost have his head crushed under a truck's wheel in the final take!

Bangkok Knockout is the story of a college "fight club" whose members are together for a reunion when one of their number is kidnapped. So they have to combine all their mad skilz – Muay Thai, kung fu, capoeira and other forms of badassery – to rescue their friend.

The cast of fighters are mainly guys who've been playing stunt doubles in movies choreographed by Panna and his crew at Prachya Pinkaew's Baa-Ram-Ewe studio. But among the names fans might recognize is Kazu Patrick Tang, the French-Vietnamese martial artist who co-starred with Jija Yanin in Raging Phoenix. Other marquee draws for Thai fans include comedian Kiatisak "Sena Hoi" Udomnak, actress "Kratae" Supaksorn Chiamongkol and veteran action star Sorapong Chatree.

In addition to the English-language trailer, there's also a Thai trailer. Rated 15+.

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Also opening


Easy A – Emma Stone stars in this teen comedy, playing a brainy high schooler who fibs about losing her virginity. Soon the news is spread all over school, but instead of being ashamed, the girl embraces it, reveling in her newfound popularity and dressing provocatively. It's a mix of The Scarlet Letter and the John Hughes' teen comedies of the 1980s. Critical reception is mostly positive. At Paragon.


Yes or No, Yak Rak Kor Rak Loei (Yes or No อยากรัก ก็รักเลย) – A college girl named Pie (Sucharat Manaying) at first mistakes her new roommate for a guy and has a hissy fit. She calms down a bit when she realizes the tomboy with the Korean boyband haircut is a girl named Kim (Supanat Jittaleela). They still have their differences, dividing their room in half with a line that shall not be crossed. But they eventually become friends. And perhaps it will be more than friendship? There's a trailer at YouTube. Rated 15+.


Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer (Gekijouban Kidou senshi Gandamu 00) – The mobile-suit warriors of this popular anime series face a new threat – extraterrestrial living-metal shapeshifters. There's a review at JapanCinema.net. In Japanese with Thai subtitles only at the Lido.


Saw VII – The seventh in the series of "torture porn" movies makes a surprise opening at the Lido this week. The Saw movies have been frowned on by Thailand's censors, and the culture watchdogs banned the previous Saw release. Saw 7 is primarily known as Saw 3D, but since the Lido doesn't yet have 3D equipment, the 2D version is showing. Critics also generally dislike the movie. Rated 20+.

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Also showing


Movies at the Beach – Thai films will be screened in the classic nang klang plang (open-air) style nightly – including live dubbing – until December 26 at the Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok Hotel on Charoenkrung Road.

Filmmaker Pantham Thongsang curates the program, mixing classics with contemporary Thai movies.

The program starts on Friday with a double bill of Khoo Kam, a classic tale of star-crossed lovers during World War II. Many versions of this story have been filmed, and they'll show two of the best remembered – the 1973 version starring Nat Phoowanai and Duangnapha Attapornwisan and 1996's with Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre in the role of a Japanese officer and Apasiri Nitibhon as the Thai woman he's in love with.

Saturday's show will have dueling historical dramas, starting with 1966's Suek Bang Rajan, starring Sombat Metanee in a performance that won him a Tukata Tong (Golden Doll) award, which was handed to him personally by His Majesty the King. Phitsamai Wilaisak also stars. It's in a double-feature bill with Thanit Jitnukul’s blood-soaked battle epic Bang Rajan, which became an international cult hit after its release in 2000.

Sunday will feature the martial-arts exploits of legendary actor Mitr Chaibancha and his leading lady Petchara Chaowarat in the high-flying Hong Kong wire-fu swordfighting fantasy Atsawin Daap Gaaiyasit (อัศวินดาบกายสิทธิ์). According to Thai Worldview, another actor named Chat Chayaphum from Chayaphum province was brought in to complete the film after Mitr died.

During the week, there will be the films by Pantham and Somkiet Vituranich: the talking-dog drama Ma Mha (Mid-Road Gang) on Monday, and 2004's social drama Ai Fak (The Judgement) on Tuesday.

Nonzee Nimibutr's 1997 debut feature Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters about teenage hoodlums in the 1950s (screenplay by Wisit Sasanatieng) shows on Wednesday.

And there's the smash-hit 1970 musical Monrak Luk Thung (Magical Love in the Countryside), starring Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat.

Christmas Eve has more Mitr action in 1970's Insee Tong (Golden Eagle), which features the fateful helicopter stunt that killed Mitr on October 8, 1970. It'll be in a double bill with this year's Insee Dang (The Red Eagle), an action-packed reboot of Mitr's long-running franchise by director Wisit Sasanatieng, featuring Ananda Everingham in the lead role of the masked vigilante crimefighter.

Christmas night will offer spirituality and laughs in the Buddhist monk movies Luang Ta 3: Seeka Khang Wat from 1991 and Luang Phee Theng (The Holy Man).

The program closes with the 2001 romantic drama Khang Lang Phab (Behind the Painting), the final film by the late director Cherd Songsri, starring "Ken" Theeradej Wongpuapan and Cara Pholasit.

Tickets are Bt350 for one screening and Bt450 for two movies on Friday and Saturday. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Thai Film Foundation. Call (02) 688 1000.

Clip Kino – The Reading Room, in collaboration with Clip Kino and Thai Netizen Network, present a self-organized screening event in which each participant brings video clips they've found online with them to share and discuss. There will be a panel discussion topics related to online media – accessibility and distribution, the question of public/private nature of these media, censorship/self-censorship, etc. The event also includes curated clip programs (10-15 minutes each) on subjects relevant to the contemporary social and cultural context in Thailand. The schedule is as follows:

• 4-5:30pm – Panel Discussion: Condition and Freedom of Online Media in Thailand w5th Prab Boonpan (Matichon Online), Mana Treerayapiwat (Communication Arts, University of Thai Chamber of Commerce) and Wanrak Suwanwattana (Liberal Arts, Thammasat University).
• 6-7pm – Screening of short curated clip programs
• 7-8pm – Participants share their selected online clips and discuss issues related to them.

The program is at the Reading Room at 2 Silom Soi 19.


À nos amours (To Our Loves) – Sandrine Bonnaire plays Suzanne, a 16-year-old Parisian who embarks on a sexual rampage in an effort to separate herself from her overbearing, beloved father (played by the director, Maurice Pialat, himself), ineffectual mother and brutish brother. It's a tender character study that can erupt in startling violence. It's showing with English subtitles at 7.30 on Wednesday, December 22 at the at the Alliance Française.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 9-15, 2010

Monsters


A cult hit that's attracting acclaim like last year's thematically similar District 9, director Gareth Edwards' low-budget indie sci-fi thriller Monsters takes place six years after a NASA probe carrying alien biological samples crashed upon re-entry over Central America.

Giant alien life forms have taken over the jungles, and in an effort to contain the aliens, half of Mexico has been quarantined as an "infected zone" and the American and Mexican militaries are mobilized to repel them.

Into this situation ventures a photojournalist (Scoot McNairy), who's tasked by his wealthy employer with rescuing his daughter (Whitney Able), and escorting her through the infected zone.

Monsters has been nominated for six British Independent Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Achievement in Production.

Critical reception is mostly positive, with the consensus that though "it doesn't quite live up to its intriguing premise ... [it's] a surprising blend of alien-invasion tropes, political themes and relationship drama."

It's playing at House, Paragon and SFW CentralWorld. Rated 15+.

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Also opening


The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie and their annoying cousin Eustace Scrubb are whisked away to the fantasy land of Narnia for this third adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book series. This time they are sucked into a painting of a sailing ship, and they join King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and the crew of the Dawn Treader on a voyage to find seven lords who were banished by Caspian's evil uncle. Simon Pegg is featured as the voice Reepicheep, the swashbuckling mouse. Tilda Swinton makes a cameo as Jadis. Michael Apted directs, taking over from Andrew Adamson, who helmed the first two Narnia movies. With the movie just coming out worldwide this week, critical consensus so far is mixed. Rated G.


Takers – This heist drama is basically Heat reheated with a younger cast – Matt Dillon in the Al Pacino role of a determined cop and Idris Elba (Stringer Bell from The Wire) in the Robert DeNiro role as the leader of a group of high-stakes thieves and Paul Walker playing Val Kilmer's right-hand man. They're joined by Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy and Chris Brown. They are put onto a armored-car hold-up by a former member of the gang (rapper T.I), who's out of prison and looking for payback. Zoe Saldana also stars as the ex-con's former girlfriend who's since taken up with another member of the gang. I actually saw this in Singapore a few months back, and it's okay even if its highly derivative. Critical reception is mostly negative. Rated 15+.


Bruce Lee, My Brother – This biographical drama covers the martial-arts legend's early years in Hong Kong, when he was a It's a down-to-earth portrait, covering Bruce Lee's life as a rebellious adolescent and street fighter. A portrait of the movie star as a son, student, brother and loyal friend, it's seen through the eyes of Robert Lee, who produced this biopic. Aarif Lee plays Bruce, with Tony Leung Ka-fai and Christy Chung also starring. Raymond Yip directs. Critical reception so far is mixed, with highly favorable review at Singapore's Nutshell Reviews. At the Lido and House.


Lunla Man (Phoochai Lunla Soot 3G Sa Sa Ha Kik, ผู้ชายลัลล้า สูตร 3G ซ่าส์ ซ่าส์หากิ๊ก) – Three actors from the "Pentor” sitcom – Shahkrit Yamnarm, Jeab Chernyim and Kitti Chiawongkul – portray three philandering married guys whose wives team up to teach them a lesson. Tanya “Ped Chernyim” Phovijit directs. There's a trailer at YouTube. Rated 15+.

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Also showing


Strange Birds in Paradise – Move Media Communications in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, will launch the DVD of the Move Media Rights Festival. Parinya Boonridrerthaikul, director of Amnesty International (Thailand), will inaugurate the DVD, which will be followed by a screening of Strange Birds in Paradise, a documentary about political resistance in West Papua, Indonesia, by Charlie Hill-Smith. There will a post-screening panel discussion with Phil Robertson, deputy director, Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, and Wensislaus Fatubun, a West Papuan human rights activist. Refreshments will feature West Papuan cuisine. Admission is free. The show time is at 7 tonight (Thursday, December 9) at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.


Insects in the Backyard – Veteran indie filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit directs and stars in this family drama, portraying a transvestite father of a teenage daughter and son. The movie has strong depictions of sexual acts as the two youngsters address their confused sexuality and rebel against their cross-dressing dad by entering the prostitution trade. The controversial drama premiered in the Dragons and Tigers competition at the Vancouver International Film Festival and also screened at the recent World Film Festival of Bangkok. However, attempts to get a local commercial screening for Insects in the Backyard have been met with bureaucratic resistance, with Culture Ministry authorities saying it is "contrary to morality". The banning of Insects has reignited the debate about Thailand's film laws, which are vague, confusing and often contradictory. The film will be screened on Friday – Constitution Day – at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, followed by panel discussions with filmmakers, film experts, media activists like Supinya Klangnarong and authorities. Registration is at 12.30, with the screening at 1. Panel discussions in Thai will take place during the rest of the afternoon. You must pre-register for this event by e-mailing thaishortfilmfestival [at] gmail [dot] com. Also no one under 18 years of age will be admitted, and IDs will be checked.


Les bureaux de Dieu (God's Offices) – Claire Simon directs this 2007 comedy drama starring Nathalie Baye, Nicole Garcia and Isabelle Carré about workers and clients at a family planning center. It's showing with English subtitles at 7.30 on Wednesday, December 15 at the at the Alliance Française.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 2-8, 2010

The Social Network


Already being tipped as one of the year's best movies, with pundits predicting Oscar nominations, with The Social Network director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin have crafted a breezy but brutal look at the start-up of Facebook and its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who became the youngest billionaire in history at the cost of alienating his friends and would-be business partners and having his reputation dragged through the mud.

Adapted from The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, the movie features the rapid-fire dialog that's a trademark of Sorkin and his TV drama The West Wing. So much needs to be said, that everyone has to speak 10,000 words a minute. English subtitles on the Thai theatrical release would be helpful.

None of the characters in this movie are particular;y likable. As portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted, selfish SOB – quite the opposite of the sunny portrait that is his profile pic on Facebook.

"You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd," Erica Albright, the girl who inspired Zuckerberg's fit of drunken website coding, tells him. "And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole."

Andrew Garfield, who'll be starring in the Spider-Man reboot, plays Facebook's founding CFO Eduardo Saverin, who garners the most sympathy as Zuckerberg takes his money and runs the website how he sees fit.

Justin Timberlake, as Napster founder and web entrepreneur Sean Parker, is another reprehensible character. And even he gets dumped on, as do the athletically and socially privileged Winklevoss twins (both played in typical Fincher sleight-of-hand technique by one actor, Armie Hammer.)

Critical reception is mostly positive. Rated 13+.

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Also opening


Cool Gel Attacks (Kradueb, กระดึ๊บ) – Loosely based on a story a few years ago of strange blue debris that fell from the sky, comedian-director Jaturong "Mokjok" Ornnorm comes up with this sci-fi/horror comedy about nasty alien slugs attacking a rural village. Feuding neighbors Jaturong and Jim Chuanchuen have to team up to survive. Nuttapong Chatpong and Patarasaya Kreusuwansiri also star. Rated G.


Kapi Ling Jor Mai Lork Jao (กะปิ ลิงจ๋อไม่หลอกจ้าว ) – The tradition of coconut growers and their trained monkey coconut pickers is mined for comedy in this family friendly comedy. Tong (Richard Ghaini) lives with his uncle (Thep Pho-ngam) and mischievous pet monkey on an idyllic coconut plantation by the sea. They put up a fight against a rich developer who wants to build wind turbines. Nitivat Cholvanichsir directs. And as if a cheeky macaque and a kid aren't enough laughs, Mum Jokmok, Kom Chuanchuen and "Tukky" Sudarat Butrprom supply more comic relief. Rated G.


Yamada the Samurai of Ayothaya (ซามูไรอโยธยา) – This bare-chested fact-based action drama takes place during the early 15th century in Siam, when a samurai warrior named Yamada Nagamasa acquitted himself well in his service to the King and became a part of the Ayutthaya court. He was eventually given a lordship and appointed governor of a territory that today is Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand. Thailand-based Japanese actor Seki Oseki is in the lead role, with Kanokkorn Jaicheun and Sorapong Chatree among the cast. Nopporn Watin directs. Rated G.


The Next Three Days – Paul Haggis (Crash) directs this thriller starring Russell Crowe as a husband who'll stop at nothing to free his wife (Elizabeth Banks) after she's accused of murder. Liam Neeson also stars, playing a twisted sort-of Jedi master to Crowe's character, offering advice on how to plan the big jail break. Critical reception is mixed. At Apex Siam Square.

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Also showing


Film Festival in Commemoration of the Celebration on the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 83rd Birthday Anniversary – Short films and features are showing for free at SF World CentralWorld until Friday in this festival organized by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture of the Culture Ministry.

Four of the shorts are screening under the title of Hearth Weaving for Our King. Three of them are by recent honorees of the OCAC's Silpathorn Award for contemporary art, Nonzee Nimibutr, Pimpaka Towira and Aditya Assarat. The shorts are:

• Six to Six, (เพลงชาติไทย, Pleng Chat Thai) by Aditya Assarat – Workers at an apartment building clean their master's top-floor room and idle about until 6pm and the National Anthem, thus marking the passage of another day in the Kingdom.
• Terribly Happy (สุดสะแนน, Sudsanan), directed by Pimpaka Towira – A soldier on leave from duty in the Deep South returns to Udon Thani to find his girlfriend has taken up with a Westerner. Can the soldier learn forgiveness?
• Superstitious (เกษตร ...ตะกอน, Kaset Ta Korn), directed by Nonzee Nimibutr – Adapted from Thanthawan Dok Nueng, a story by Senee Saowapong, about a farmer who plants a fast-growing genetically modified sunflower seed that villagers believe has magical powers. Their gathering of worship causes a disturbance on the farmer's land and eventually the police arrive to put a stop to it, on the grounds that the worshipers are terrorists.
• The Greatest Love, (รักที่ยิ่งใหญ่) by Sirisak Koshpasharin and Pranpaporn Srisumanant – Childhood friends grow up in a rural farming village with an appreciation for the "sufficiency economy" theory. One of the young men enters politics, becomes corrupt and tries to convince the villagers to sell their land to a factory owner.

There are also two features:

• The Ultimate Dream (ปิดทองหลังพระ ตอน ความฝันอันสูงสุด, Pid Thong Lung Phra), directed by Punyos Chinbuasuwan and Rames Leeraksithi – Veteran filmmaker Manop Udomdej produces this feature-length biographical drama about two heroes, a soldier, Captain "Khan" Thornit Srisuk, and a policeman, Captain "Tee" Krittikul Bunlue. Maj-Colonel Wannasak Sawasdi (Naresuan) and Sornram Theppitak star. The title refers to the act of placing gold leaf on the back of a Buddha statue – doing a good deed without expecting recognition.
• 9 Mahasan Ong Rachan Palang Pan Din (๙ มหัศจรรย์ องค์ราชัน พลังแผ่นดิน), directed by Pam Rungsri – A compilation of short segments that celebrate the "nine miracles", including concepts about unity, music, art, sufficiency and the environment.

A 3D version of The Greatest Love, which combines live action and motion-graphic animation, screens by itself at 10.30 daily. The 2D version is screened with the other three shorts.

Tickets are at a table in the lobby of SFW CentralWorld. Check this spreadsheet for the schedule or visit the cinema website.


Break Ke Baad – Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone star in this nostalgic romance. They are childhood sweethearts, but then Deepika heads off to Australia. Will the lovers get back together? Critical reception is mixed. It's showing at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai) tonight and Friday at 8 and at Major Cineplex Rama III on Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4. Bollywood Thai is also showing the comedy Golmal 3 at Major Rama III at 4pm on Monday and the right-to-death melodrama Guzaarish at Major Sukhumvit on Monday at 7.30pm. Call (083) 488 2620.