Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 30, 2009-January 6, 2010

32 Thunwa



Singer Dan Worrawech continues building on his acting career with a new romantic comedy, 32 Thunwa. He's reteaming with director Rerkchai Paungpetch, who directed Dan's hit 2006 comedy Noodle Boxer (Sab Sanit Sit Sai Nar.

Opened today, it's the first production from M39 Pictures, a new company formed by former crew from RS Film's Avant marque, which has undergone restructuring.

Dan, formerly a singer with the boyband trio D2B and then the duo Dan+Beam, is continuing his solo singing career but is also acting in more films. He appeared in the segment Ward in Phobia 2 earlier this year. He made his film debut in 2003's Pang Bros.-produced Omen (Sung horn) with D2B bandmates "Beam" Kavee Tanjararak and "Big" Panrawat Kittikorncharoen (who died in 2007 after four years in a coma caused by a car wreck).

In 32 Thunwa (32 ธันวา, 32 December Love Error), Dan has amnesia and has forgotten which of his three girlfriends he truly loves. He gets help in figuring things out from a fellow clinic patient, played by "Nong" Choosak Eamsuk. Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Ramida Mahapreukpong and "Pai" Sitang Punnapob also star. It's rated 15+.

There's a trailer at YouTube and it's embedded below.

---

Also opening


Did You Hear About the Morgans? -- Hugh Grant returns after a couple-years absence with yet another romantic comedy. He's teamed up with Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker for a story about a Manhattan couple on the verge of divorce because of his infidelity, but they are forced to stay together after they witness a murder. Put into the federal witness-protection program, the Morgans are shipped to a small town in Wyoming, where cattle and horses outnumber the people and rodeos are more a way of life than Broadway shows and shopping. The local sheriff is played by Sam Elliot and his gun-obsessed, Sarah Palin-like wife is portrayed by Mary Steenburgen. Wilford Brimley also stars. Critical reception has been overwhelmingly negative. Rated 13+.


The Treasure Hunter -- Taiwanese singer-actor Jay Chou gets a chance to do some of his own stunts in this desert adventure that looks like a cross between Road Warrior, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Mummy. He's the hero who rescues a damsel (Lin Chiling) and in the process loses a map to a sacred treasure. He then must recover the map from the outlaws and protect the cache of ancient artifacts. Eric Tsang also stars. Unfortunately, only the Thai-dubbed version is playing. Rated 13+.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 23-30, 2009

October Sonata




October Sonata, which opened on Wednesday this week, is a weepy romantic drama that is set in the 1970s.

The star is "Koy" Ratchawin Wongviriya, the short-haired actress who gained notice from 2008's love-triangle drama Rak/Sam/Sao (The Last Moment), in which she co-starred with "Pe" Arak Amornsupasiri. The two became an item, but have hit a rocky patch of late, and last week while promoting October Sonata, Koy broke down in tears in front of the press when she was questioned about the relationship.

Lyn's Lakorns has more about the "break", which seems to be due to the busy schedules kept by both stars.

Pe, a guitarist with the alternative rock band Slur, starred in two movies this year -- Yongyoot Thongkongtoon's romantic dramedy The Best Times and Kongkiat Komesiri's harrowing crime thriller Slice. He's also a pitchman for Mazda cars. And there was the gaffe a few months ago when Pe was set to star in the Laotian-Thai co-production of Sabaidee Luang Prabang 2 until he made a disaparging remark about the physical attractiveness of Laotian women.

Koy has kept busy too, starring in Bhandit Rittakol's A-Nueng Kidthueng Pen Yang Ying.

October Sonata (รักที่รอคอย, Rak Nee Thee Rorkoy) is directed by veteran screenwriter Somkiet Vithuranitch and is set in the 1970s, with a couple meeting at the October 8, 1970, funeral of actor Mitr Chaibancha. They set a date to meet again three years later, but tumultuous historical events and a love triangle intercede. Thanawat Wattanaphuti and Phisanu Nimsakul also star. It's rated G at most cinemas (Major Cineplex), but there's a 13+ version list on the SF cinemas site.

---

Also opening


The Storm Warriors -- Danny and Oxide Pang direct this sequel to The Storm Riders, a 1998 flying-swordsmen fantasy that re-energized the Hong Kong movie industry. The first film was directed by Andrew Lau, who later went on to make the hit thriller Infernal Affairs. Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok return as the mystical warriors Wind and Cloud for The Storm Riders II, also called The Storm Warriors. This time they face Lord Godless. Played by Simon Yam, he's a ruthless Japanese warlord bent on invading China. Meanwhile, Wind has a battle of his own, as he allows dark forces to take over his soul so he can gain more power. The Pang Brothers, twin-brother directors best known for their Thailand-based The Eye films and Bangkok Dangerous (both the 1999 original and the recent remake with Nicolas Cage), filmed Storm Warriors in a Bangkok riverfront warehouse and have spent about a year or so adding the virtual backdrops and computer-graphic special effects. Charlene Choi, Nicholas Tse, Tang Yan and Lam Suet also star. Rated 13+.


Sherlock Holmes -- Director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) makes his first period film, going back to 19th century London for this action-comedy romp with Robert Downey Jr. portraying Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth. Here, the deductive detective is also known for his brawn, as well as his brains. Jude Law is Holmes' sidekick Dr. Watson. Their adversary is Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), a Satanic cult leader who comes back from the dead. Rachel McAdams also stars. Critical response has been mixed, but Downey is already up for a Golden Globe for his performance. Rated 13+.


I Give My First Love to You -- A girl and boy meet in the hospital. She is the daughter of a doctor and he is a patient with a terminal illness. He won't live past 20. They make a promise for an uncertain future. At House and the Lido.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening December 17-22, 2009

Avatar


James Cameron has been wanting to do Avatar since before he did Titanic. Finally, technology progressed to a point to where his vision could be realized.

This special-effects-driven hybrid animation and live action epic is set in the future on a far-away moon called Pandora. There, a valuable and rare mineral called unobtainium is being mined to solve Earth's energy woes. The biggest deposit of the rock is right under a village populated by a fearsome race of nine-foot-tall blue-skinned warriors called the Na'vi -- hunter-gatherers who live in harmony with nature, much like the Native Americans.

Into the mix comes Jake Scully (Sam Worthington), a Marine veteran who's lost the use of his legs. He gets the chance to fight again by putting his brain to work in an avatar -- a lab-grown body of a Na'vi warrior. Sent to infiltrate the tribe, he of course falls in love with the tribe's princess, played by Zoe Saldana.

Sigourney Weaver, Cameron's Aliens star, plays a scientist who heads up the avatar research. Stephen Lang, who's previously played American Civil War generals Pickett and Stonewall Jackson in Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, is a colonel here, intent on wiping out the Na'vi. The cast also includes Giovanni Ribisi as the head of the mining corporation, plus Michelle Rodriguez and Joel Moore.

As much as $400 million is said to have been spent on making this movie and marketing it. Will 20th Century Fox make back that money? They are hoping for a Titanic-like miracle.

Critical reception has so far been mostly positive, though there have been grumblings that while the effects are wow-worthy, the story isn't all that great. It's playing in 3D in some cinemas, including the Krungsri Imax. Rated G.

---

Also opening


Paa -- The roles are reversed. Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan portrays a 13-year-old boy with a genetic disorder that causes him to age rapidly. His father is played by Big B's son, Abishek Bachchan. In Hindi with English subtitles at Major Cineplex Central Rama III at 8 on Saturday and 4.30 on Sunday and at SFX the Emporium on Monday at 8. Also, the colorful comedy Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, starring the likable Ranbir Kapoor, is showing on Sunday at 4 at Grand EGV Siam Discovery. Call (089)488 2620, (02) 225 7500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

---

Also showing


House on RCA is playing the Icelandic teen drama Noi Albinoi at 5.30 daily until December 23. It's the story of a weird outcast young man who makes various clumsy attempts to break free of life in a tiny snowbound Icelandic fishing village. Admission is 80 baht.