Now playing in Pattaya
Jackass
3D: US, Documentary/ Action/ Comedy – The “Jackass” phenomenon started out
as a long series on MTV. Then came the first film Jackass: the Movie in
2002, essentially an extended TV episode, shot on crummy-looking digital video.
In 2006 came Jackass Number Two, and now finally the definitive 3D
version. This group of nuts has had a long 10-year-run with their brand of
performance art, and I missed it all, having left the US before they started
doing their what-ever-it-is performances. It consists of gross compilations of
gags and guffaws, likely to make you sick. But they say it’s also rather funny,
it you’re into frat house humor. Rated R in the US for male nudity, extremely
crude and dangerous stunts throughout, and for language. Or as the New York
Times says: “Clothed, semi-naked, and naked adult men, all apparently stuck
in what Freud termed the anal, oral, and phallic stages of development.” Mixed
or average reviews.
Fan Mai: Thai, Action/ Thriller – Really lots of rain and blood. A girl
calls it off with her boyfriend when she finds he’s been seeing someone else –
who’s dead. Looks kind of intriguing as well as spooky.
RED: US, Action/ Comedy – A delight! I had more fun at this one than any
movie in some time. It even made you muse over a few things as you sped along,
but not too much and not too deeply. Mostly it’s just glorious nonsense, with
actors that you have come to love to watch, doing their stuff. Just terrific
fun. “RED” stands for “Retired, Extremely Dangerous.” Starring Bruce Willis,
Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, and Mary-Louise Parker
– a great cast! They used to be the CIA’s top agents - but the secrets they knew
now make them the Agency’s top targets for assassination. They must use all of
their collective cunning, experience, and teamwork to stay one step ahead of
their deadly pursuers and stay alive. Rated 18+ in Thailand. Mixed or average
reviews, but I loved it! Thai-dubbed at Big C.
My Best Bodyguard: Thai, Action/ Thriller – Starring HRH Princess
Ubolratana as a dedicated reporter fighting a villainous pharmacy organization
that secretly runs an experiment involving a deadly virus which can kill a whole
city.
Red Eagle / Insee Dang: Thai, Action/ Thriller – Ananda Everingham is
really terrific as the red-masked crusader in this re-launch of an action
franchise from the 1950s and ’60s that starred the legendary Thai leading man
Mitr Chaibancha. This one is set in 2016, and shows Bangkok as a city threatened
by not only the usual crime and corruption, but also now in danger from a deadly
nuclear plant about to be built. In the midst of the dismay, a mysterious hero
called Red Eagle steps forward to do battle with the evildoers. However, he has
to face his dangerous enemy Dark Devil, the elite killer hired to hunt him down.
Rated 18+ in Thailand. At Pattaya Beach, it’s in Thai only; English subtitles at
Major; not at Big C.
It’s quite an enjoyable Thai action movie. There are flashes of director Wisit
Sasanatieng’s trademark wild use of color and wild imagination, all here in the
service of a comic book masked crusader much along the lines of Batman. In fact
his icon, the spread eagle, looks much like the spread bat-wings of Batman’s
symbol. The film, really, is a sort of Thai Dark Knight. Be warned, the
film is horrifically bloody, too much so for my taste.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (3D): US/ Australia,
Animation/ Fantasy – The animation is superb: the textures of the feathers, the
motions of the owls, and particularly the expressiveness of the faces and the
life in the eyes. Quite marvelous, and with beautifully done voice work by
excellent actors. It’s a dark and dense and highly detailed world these owls
live in, and it fairly captured me. Some very scary parts, so young children
take note!
The use of 3D is superb, and the scenes of flight are giddy with exuberance and
excitement. Perhaps still in 3D for some showings at Pattaya Beach, and if so
please note: the 3D is real 3D, and is a true step forward in the art. If
you at all appreciate animation, don’t miss it! Probably no longer showing
elsewhere. Mixed or average reviews by others.
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps: US, Drama – Oliver Stone directs this
follow-up to the acclaimed 1987 film – 23 years later. There are some really
good turns by a number of people: Michael Douglas, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella,
Josh Brolin. Some of their scenes are well done with a lot of intensity in the
execution. But without much point or purpose, for me, and it should have been
angrier. Mixed or average reviews. Not at Big C.
Reign of Assassins / Jianyu: China, Action/ Drama – A martial arts film
co-directed by John Woo. Set in ancient China during the Ming Dynasty, Michelle
Yeoh plays a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical
Buddhist monk’s remains. Assassins had its premier in September at the
Venice Film Festival where it met with general acclaim from the critics. Shown
in a Thai-dubbed version only, and at Pattaya Beach and Big C only – but may
have left town already.
E Hed Sod Pa Ded Suek: Thai, Comedy – Outrageous Thai comedy routines
involving a bride who happens to have a penis, and is shown in the trailers
raping her bridegroom by riding roughshod over his sensibilities with her
inflamed member. Just the usual Thai hijinks. He is later challenged to lead a
team to defeat a band of ladyboy terrorists, and they must disguise themselves
as ladyboys in order to do the job. It’s noisy trash, to be blunt, but it’s
served up with English subtitles for your pleasure at all three locales. Rated
18+ in Thailand.
Grown Ups: US, Comedy – This film, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James,
Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade, is a comedy, or so it wishes, about
five friends and former teammates who reunite years later to honor the passing
of their childhood basketball coach. I can’t imagine why anyone would
deliberately want to see this picture. It’s pretty ugly, full of pretty ugly
Americans, living ugly lives, tearing each other down in typically American
ways. Looks sort of like home movies of the people involved. I find no real
humor in it at all. However, it seems there are some people who actually like
the humor of Adam Sandler. Not at Big C. Generally unfavorable reviews.
Yai Sang Ma Yai / I Am Grandmother: Thai, Comedy – Two brothers have been
separated since childhood. One is brought up in a slum and gambles to live, and
the other stays home to care for their grandmother. When an accident causes her
to lapse into a coma, and much more money is needed for her treatment, the
brothers join up to try to raise the money in a gambling house. In Thai only,
and not at Pattaya Beach.
Devil: US, Horror/ Thriller – A group of people trapped in an elevator
realize that the devil is among them. Produced by M. Night Shyamalan, which the
directors and crew are desperately trying to live down, being that his name,
post-Airbender, is as welcome as the devil himself. Mixed or average
reviews. At Major only, but may be gone by time you read this.
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (3D): US/ Australia, Action/
Comedy/ Family – The age-old battle between cats and dogs, in live-action with
animated mouths that spout talk that’s meant to be cute. It offers little more
than the spectacle of digitally rendered talking animals with celebrity voices,
all in 3D – at Pattaya Beach, of course. In 2D elsewhere, and the Big C version
is Thai-dubbed. Generally unfavorable reviews.
