What's On starting December 31

A gentle Adam Sandler comedy!

Chiang Mai movies beginning Wednesday, December 31

by Thomas Ohlson

Best Bets: Australia. Super Hap.

This is my report on the movies playing at Major Cineplex at Airport Plaza and at Vista at Kadsuankaew for the week beginning Wednesday, December 31, 2008. There is also information on film programs at the Alliance Française and CMU’s Film Space for the next three weeks.

This is Issue Number 10 of Volume 4 of these listings – in our fourth year!

Now playing in Chiang Mai * = new this week

* Bedtime Stories: US Comedy/ Family/ Fantasy – 100 mins – Starring Adam Sandler in a surprisingly pleasant and amusing family comedy about a hotel handyman whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn his life upside down. The director is Adam Shankman, the one who gave the sparkle to Hairspray. Generally negative reviews: 34/41 out of 100. But those that did like it seemed to like it very much.

Variety: Sandler has delivered on his promise to make a movie his kids can enjoy. What's more, he's managed to do so without alienating his core audience. While the comedy -- about a hotel handyman whose outlandish tales spring to life -- clearly skews to a younger demographic, there's enough sophomoric humor here to reassure the Sandler faithful.

Rotten Tomatoes: Though it may earn some chuckles from pre-teens, this kid-friendly Adam Sandler comedy is uneven, poorly paced, and lacks the requisite whimsy to truly work.

* Deep in the Jungle / ปาฏิหาริย์ รักต่างพันธุ์: Thai Horror/ Action/ Fantasy/ Romance – 90 mins – A soldier falls in love with a woman who is actually a snake. Pretty incomprehensible, too jumpy, too murky, too much gratuitous bone-crunching violence. Consists of a lot of people brutally killing one another and jabbing each other in the neck with hypodermic needles. Seems to be a retelling of “The Snake King's Child”, an old and still popular Cambodian legend that was last depicted in the Cambodian film of that name in 2001. The moral seems to be, don’t mess with a snake in human form – its relatives may not be amused.

Australia: Australia Drama/ Adventure – 165 mins – Baz Luhrmann returns to the screen to direct his first feature film since 2001’s Moulin Rouge, and I think he does so in grand style. Set against the backdrop of World War II, it’s the epic, sweeping tale of an English woman (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a sizable cattle ranch “down under.” When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man (Hugh Jackman) to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

The child who narrates the film and whose story forms the spine of the plot, is a delight to watch. His name is Brandon Walters and he is a half-caste Aborigine, and he is everything a child actor should be. In true epic style, however, the film clocks in at 165 minutes, so make yourselves comfortable for the ride.

Mixed or average reviews: 53/57 out of 100. Vista is showing it in a Thai-dubbed version only, with no English subtitles.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: US Animation/ Family – 89 mins – A delightful animated picture, with the animals of the original Madagascar in new adventures and breath-taking exploits. I had a lot of fun with it, but then I like cartoons. I think Chris Rock is great as the zebra. Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice, and the penguins and the chimps, find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. The New Yorkers have hatched a plan: the penguins repair an old crashed plane, and the unlikely crew is able to keep it airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all – the vast plains of Africa, where the members of the Central Park Zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Generally favorable reviews: 61/59 out of 100.

Super Hap / Super แหบ-แสบ-สะบัด: Thai Comedy/ Musical – 90 mins – I found this a quite enjoyable Thai teen-oriented musical comedy, in which two guys try to break into the music industry by forming a Korean-style boy band, since Korean fever has hit Thailand in a big way. But the one who looks cute and can dance can’t sing, and the other can sing but doesn’t look the part and can’t dance. The answer lies in lip-syncing on stage. But they have to keep it a secret, which isn’t easy. There are some quite entertaining bits – the dog barking when the two guys argue really cracked me up – and though it seemed to lose its way in sentimentality toward the end, that’s all right. Overall, one of the better Thai comedies I’ve seen.

4 Romances / Fan Waan Aai Joop / fhun-waan-aye-joob / ฝัน-หวาน-อาย-จูบ: Thai Romance/ Drama – 90 mins – Four love stories directed by four leading Thai filmmakers, with each story offering a different angle on Thai love and in a different storytelling style: comedy, drama, action, and musical. Directors: Chukiat Sakweerakul (of Love of Siam fame), Prachya Pinkaew, Bhandit Thongdee, and Rachen Limtrakul. Among the large cast are two of the stars of Love of Siam, Mario Maurer and "Pitch" Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, in different segments. I found it pretty much of a bore and not nearly as entertaining as Super Hap, but the Thais in the audience seemed to like it well enough. The most enjoyable section was the last one, featuring the band “August” (also from Love of Siam) and singer “Pitch” – that part had a few nice surprises, and the kids are great.

Happy Birthday / แฮปปี้ เบิร์ดเดย์: Thai Drama/ Romance – 90 mins – Starring Ananda Everingham. A weepy love story, and almost incomprehensible to anyone without a deep understanding of and empathy with Thai customs and social behavior. For most of us the courting behavior as depicted in the first half of the movie is an unfathomable mystery, and quite foreign. Ananda is a travel photographer who travels around Thailand with his guide/girlfriend, until she has a car accident and ends up in a hospital in a coma, while Ananda waits endlessly at her bedside for her to wake up. Maddeningly tedious to most farangs, I’m afraid, though the Thais I was with seemed to enjoy the first half a good deal. Beautiful location photography.

Transporter 3: France Action/ Crime – 100 mins – This is certainly an action movie – meaning that there’s a lot of explosions, car crashes, and men being violent and assertive. And it’s all quite well done, and seasoned with just the slightest bit of plot and humor. If that’s what you like, this is for you.

Jason Statham returns for a third time now as Frank Martin, a former British Special Forces soldier turned mercenary, whose specialty is delivering risky items in a timely fashion. In this third installment, Frank who has just relocated to Paris, awakes to find himself with a bomb strapped to his wrist which threatens to blow up should he try to remove it. Mixed or average reviews: 51/50 out of 100.

Roger Ebert: A perfectly acceptable brainless action thriller.

Scheduled for Chiang Mai cineplexes on Thursday, January 8

Yes Man: US Comedy – 104 mins – Jim Carrey stars as Carl Allen, a man who signs up for a self-help program based on one simple principle: say “yes” to everything...and anything for an entire year. At first, unleashing the power of “yes” transforms Carl’s life in amazing and unexpected ways, but he soon discovers that opening up his life to endless possibilities can have its drawbacks. Mixed or average reviews: 45/52 out of 100.

Quarantine: US Horror/ Mystery/ Thriller – 89 mins – A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the US government after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers. It has the single hand-held camera style of such recent movies as Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project, and George Romero's Diary of the Dead. Sort of a “diegetic camera.” Some people find the faux “one actual camera” trick leads to heightened reality; others find that the constant jiggling of the picture and rough-shod editing gives them a headache – some are actually made physically sick. I myself find it simply irritating, unnecessarily, and I wish they wouldn’t do it. If you think you can put up with the camera style, you will find this to be a quite frightening movie, as I did, once the introductory first 20 boring minutes are over. Quarantine is an English-language remake of the 2007 Spanish horror film [Rec]. (Do you get the reference? “[Rec]” is what you see in an upper corner of a viewfinder when you’re recording.) A number of reviewers consider [Rec] one of the best horror films of recent years, and superior to this remake. A [Rec] 2 is now filming. Rated R in the US for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror, and language. Mixed or average reviews: 53/57 out of 100.

The Happiness of Kati: Thai Family/ Drama – 100 mins – “The Happiness of Kati” is a novel written by Ngarmpun "Jane" Jejjajiva. It was the winner of 2006 S.E.A Write Award and a bestseller with more than two hundred thousand copies sold. Besides being one of the most beloved and well-known contemporary children’s book in Thailand, "The Happiness of Kati" is also celebrated internationally. Its translated version has been licensed in nine countries - United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, and France.

“Kati is a nine-year-old girl whose mother is suffering from an incurable illness. Kati must go through steps of happiness and sorrow, bonding and separation, having her hopes fulfilled and losing something she loves. Nevertheless, Kati has learned through these steps that the sorrow from her losses cannot take away the happiness she has received from her mother's love and bonding. This experience allows the little girl to grow up with confidence and the courage to live on. She knows who loves her, and who her loved ones are.”

And looking further afield . . .

Jan 22: High School Musical 3: Senior Year – A continuation of the hit musical series.

Jan 22: Red Cliff Part 2 – A continuation of the Chinese martial arts epic.

Jan 29: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton. The extraordinary tale of one man, born elderly in 1918, who ages backwards through the 21st century. Based loosely on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Feb 5: Gran Torino – Clint Eastwood stars and directs, about an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices.

Feb 5: Milk – The assassination of Harvey Milk, with Sean Penn.

Feb 19: Valkyrie – The near-miss assassination of Adolf Hitler by a ring of rebel German army officers on July 20, 1944, starring Tom Cruise as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg.

Alliance Française schedule

At Alliance Française on Fridays at 8 pm

At Alliance Française on Friday, January 2: No film shown. Holiday!

At Alliance Française on Friday, January 9: Arsène Lupin (2004) by Jean-Paul Salomé – 131 mins – France/ Italy/ Spain/ UK Action/ Adventure/ Crime/ Mystery/ Romance. English subtitles. Generally favorable reviews: 80 out of 100.

With Romain Duris, Kristin Scott Thomas, Marie Bunel, Francoise Lépine, Guillaume Huet, Gerard Chaillou, Eva Green, Pascal Greggory, Robin Renucci.

Based on the early years of the French classy hero, this movie provides all the fun you can expect from a classical adventure movie. Fights, stunts, exotic places, wicked villains, and characters you will love to hate or chill for...

– Alliance description

Variety: A thoroughly entertaining period romp bursting with intrigue, Arsene Lupin is a keenly crafted take on the gentleman burglar whose adventures in fin de siecle Paris are immortalized in 18 popular novels by Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941). Elaborate treasure hunt has visual sweep and a terrific cast of scheming characters who range from merely craven to genuinely evil. [There is] much to enjoy. In 1882, future nimble-fingered master of disguise Arsene Lupin is a boy (Guillaume Huet) living in Normandy with his mother (Marie Bunel) and father Jean (Aurelien Wilk) -- a rumored thief. Jean is teaching his son to box when government officials arrive to arrest him. Dad's advice prior to making a daring escape will serve the lad well: "Distract your prey -- that's the key. Remember that and you'll never get caught."

european-films.net: For those who do not know him, Monsieur Lupin is a gentleman burglar. He is a son of a criminal and has been educated by his father, though he differs in one respect: he has vowed not to kill anyone, however dire the circumstances. Arsène’s universe is much akin to anything written by Alexandre Dumas, with the difference that Arsène lives in the fin-de-siècle, though the problems he faces remain the same: the royalists trying to re-establish the French Monarchy while rich aristocrats scheming to relieve people of their treasures. Arsène also has the problem -- or pleasure depending on your point of view -- much like James Bond, of falling in love with every lovely lady that passes within ten miles of his sight. Thus romance and intrigue, hidden treasures and multiple identities (Arsène is obviously also a master of disguise) are at the heart of any Lupin story.

The 2004 film adaptation from director and co-screenwriter Jean-Paul Salomé is simply titled Arsène Lupin, and is based on the 1924 novel “The Countess of Cagliostro.” It is high on atmosphere and production values (the reported budget being 23 million Euros), though it treats its narrative only as a necessity to get the audience from one skirmish to the other, from one lady’s bed to the other and from one flaming explosion to the next.

At Alliance Française on Friday, January 16: Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot / Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953) by Jacques Tati – 114 mins – France Comedy. In Black and White. No English subtitles, but you don’t really need them. Reviews: Universal acclaim: 90 out of 100.

With Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Michèle Rolla, Valentine Camax, Louis Perrault.

Mr. Hulot goes on a holiday to a seaside resort, but accidents and misunderstandings follow him wherever he goes. The peace and quiet of the hotel guests don't last very long with Hulot around, because although his intentions are good, they always turn out catastrophically...

– Alliance description

Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc.

Variety: Tati is the semi-articulate, blundering, but well-meaning clown, reminiscent of the early Mack Sennett types. Whether he is being chased by dogs, setting off a cabin full of fireworks, or blundering into a staid funeral, he is a very funny man.

Roger Ebert: The first time I saw Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday, I didn't laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to. But I didn't forget the film, and I saw it again in a film class, and then bought the laserdisc and saw it a third and fourth time, and by then it had become part of my treasure. But I still didn't laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to, and now I think I understand why.

It is not a comedy of hilarity but a comedy of memory, nostalgia, fondness, and good cheer. There are some real laughs in it, but Mr. Hulot's Holiday gives us something rarer, an amused affection for human nature--so odd, so valuable, so particular.

The movie was released in 1953, and played for months, even years, in art cinemas. It was a small film that people recommend to each other. There was a time when any art theater could do a week's good business just by booking Hulot. Jacques Tati (1908-1982) made only four more features in the next 20 years, much labored over, much admired, but this is the film for which he'll be remembered.

Film Space schedule

At Film Space: on Saturdays at 7 pm

Film Space in January is presenting a series of films by some directors they like.

Film Space is to the right and in the back of the CMU Art Museum, in the Media Arts and Design building across from the ballet school. Now that the weather is cool, they are resuming their rooftop showings, weather permitting. You might want to bring something to sit on or lie on. A contribution is requested in the donation box at the entrance. Well worth supporting.

Saturday, January 3: Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008) by Morgan Spurlock – 93 mins – France/ US Documentary. In English. Mixed or average reviews: 45 out of 100.

A Nutshell Review: Of course it will be silly to presume that this film can find the answers to the multi-million dollar question, or even come close to it, so just what was the intention?

Director Morgan Spurlock isn't new to controversy, having burst onto the documentary scene with his real life gorging on MacDonald's for every meal in order to drive home the point that junk food really does junk your well being. So for this new film of his, it stems from his desire to seek out the world's #1 wanted man, and ask him just what floats his boat. He may be putting on his jester cap with his somewhat hilarious introduction, but looking at the preparation with vaccination and even attending some terrorism survival course, he's quite dead set in his mission to find that elusive man.

Until of course you realize that he's hitting all the relative safe havens for the most part, before venturing into the more likely places in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But what he seeks to unearth is the Middle East's attitudes towards Americans, and it seems that the common consensus is that while they have nothing against the people, almost everyone that Spurlock chose to showcase, has issues with the foreign policies. And from interviews with the average Joes, they sure have issues with politics at home more than those that are from abroad. Spurlock also takes opportunity to slam the US foreign policy, and does so through a hilarious animated sequence involving Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty herself, in what would be a realistic case of sleeping with the wrong bedfellows.

Bringing the camera from Morocco to Saudi Arabia, and interview people from the state of Palestine and Israel, what he had presented were compelling arguments for and against, as well as plenty of moderate views that seek to debunk the bulk of western media who find delight in demonizing those in the Middle East. Through the looking glass peering at their everyday lives, the film comes to present the basic need for survival and providing for one's family, no matter one's geography, country, religion, and culture. Naturally there were some feathers ruffled, especially when dealing with closed cultures who clam up, or intolerant folks who have no qualms in using violence, but in general, this documentary serves to be rather tame.

Yes it's gimmicky in its title, and half the time you're not sure whether Spurlock will take that plunge and really head to where he will likely find some inkling of positive leads, but what it has presented instead is something more powerful: that this world really needs to reach out and have everyone take a more tolerant attitude, and to understand one another a lot more, to avoid conflict. This should be a world without strangers, and this documentary manages to show just a glimmer of that hope.

Saturday, January 10: Sayonara Color (2005) by Naoto Takenaka – 119 mins – Japan Romance. In Japanese, English subtitles.

Sayonara Color is the fifth film by Takenaka Naoto, one of Japan’s most respected character actors and the director of Muno no Hlto - Nowhere Man and Tokyo Bivori. Shohei (Takenaka Naoto) works as a doctor in a sea-side hospital. One day a new patient is admitted to the hospital with ovarian cancer. Shohei is surprised to recognize Michiko, his first love from high school. Shohei has been leading a dissolute bachelor life, paying for the company of high school girls and dating an older woman who works in a local bar, but in reality for the last twenty years he has not forgotten Michiko. Unfortunately, though Michiko doesn’t remember him at all.

Shohei becomes more and more and more persistent in his attempts to get her to recall their past. At first she is annoyed by his overtures, but gradually warms to the doctor. Under Shohei’s kind and patient care Michiko’s condition improves and her cancer becomes operable. The operation is a success, but now Shohei himself learns that he has terminal cancer.

Both starring and directing, Takenaka Naoto gives a characteristically eccentric performance as a quirky doctor in love with his patient in this moving drama that affects with both offbeat humor and terminal disease pathos.

Saturday, January 17: The Bridges of Madison County (1995) by Clint Eastwood – 135 mins – US Drama/ Romance. In English. Generally favorable reviews: 66/71 out of 100.

The film adaptation of Robert James Waller's wildly popular, bestselling novel. The story takes place in 1965, in the farmlands of Iowa, where bored, middle-aged Italian housewife Francesca has just sent her two kids and husband away to the state fair. Shortly thereafter she encounters Robert Kincaid, a mysterious, rugged, "National Geographic" photographer, on assignment taking pictures of Iowa's covered bridges. The two are immediately attracted to each other, and when Francesca invites Robert back to her home, they begin a romantic, sensual, illicit affair that lasts over the next few days. For Francesca, this is the first time in years that she's experienced passion in her life, and she realizes that maybe she's found her true love. Robert feels the same way, and shortly before her family returns home, asks Francesca to run off with him. Francesca now must make an important decision -- one that will affect the rest of her life and could leave her with many regrets...

Roger Ebert: Almost everybody knows the story by now. Robert James Waller's novel has been a huge best-seller. Its prose is not distinguished, but its story is compelling: He provides the fantasy of total eroticism within perfect virtue, elevating to a spiritual level the common fantasy in which a virile stranger materializes in the kitchen of a quiet housewife and takes her into his arms.

Waller's gift is to make the housewife feel virtuous afterward.

It is easy to analyze the mechanism, but more difficult to explain why this film is so deeply moving -- why Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep have made it into a wonderful movie love story, playing Robert and Francesca. We know, of course, that they will meet, fall in love and part forever. It is necessary that they part. If the story had ended "happily" with them running away together, no one would have read Waller's book and no movie would exist. The emotional peak of the movie is the renunciation, when Francesca does not open the door of her husband's truck and run to Robert. This moment, and not the moment when the characters first kiss, or make love, is the film's passionate climax.

When Eastwood announced that he had bought the novel and planned to direct and star in the movie, eyebrows were raised.

Readers had already cast it in their minds, and not with Eastwood -- or with Meryl Streep, for that matter. There is still a tendency to identify Eastwood with his cowboy and cop roles, and to forget that in recent years he has grown into one of the most creative forces in Hollywood, both as an actor and a director. He was taking a chance by casting himself as Robert Kincaid, but it pays off in a performance that is quiet, gentle and yet very masculine.

What's On starting December 25

Australia survives Australia!

Chiang Mai movies beginning Thursday, December 25

by Thomas Ohlson

Best Bets: Australia. Super Hap. Ong-Bak 2. The Double Life of Veronique.

Here are my comments on the movies playing at Major Cineplex at Airport Plaza and at Vista at Kadsuankaew for the week beginning Thursday, December 25, 2008. There is also information on film programs at the Alliance Française and CMU’s Film Space for the next three weeks.

This is Issue Number 9 of Volume 4 of these listings – in our fourth year!

Movies change on Wednesday next week.

Now playing in Chiang Mai * = new this week

*Australia: Australia Drama/ Adventure – 165 mins – Baz Luhrmann returns to the screen to direct his first feature film since 2001’s Moulin Rouge, and I think he does so in grand style. Set against the backdrop of World War II, it’s the epic, sweeping tale of an English woman (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a sizable cattle ranch “down under.” When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man (Hugh Jackman) to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

The child [see picture] who narrates the film and whose story forms the spine of the plot, is a delight to watch. His name is Brandon Walters and he is a half-caste Aborigine, and he is everything a child actor should be, unlike the one we talked about last week.

In true epic style, the film clocks in at 165 minutes, so make yourselves comfortable for the ride.

Mixed or average reviews: 53/57 out of 100. Vista is showing it in a Thai-dubbed version only, with no English subtitles.

It's as silly as an epic needs to be; nevertheless it’s truly an old-fashioned grand epic. There are caveats to be made about the history it portrays – in some ways I think it’s an insult to Australian and its Aborigines and their history. But caveats next week, enjoy it now.

* Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: US Animation/ Family – 89 mins – A delightful animated picture, with the animals of the original Madagascar in new adventures and breath-taking exploits. I had a lot of fun with it, but then I like cartoons. I think Chris Rock is great as the zebra [see picture]. Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice, and the penguins and the chimps, find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. The New Yorkers have hatched a plan: the penguins repair an old crashed plane, and the unlikely crew is able to keep it airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all – the vast plains of Africa, where the members of the Central Park Zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Generally favorable reviews: 61/59 out of 100.

* Super Hap / Super แหบ-แสบ-สะบัด: Thai Comedy/ Musical – 90 mins – I found this a quite enjoyable Thai teen-oriented musical comedy, in which two guys try to break into the music industry by forming a Korean-style boy band, since Korean fever has hit Thailand in a big way. But the one who looks cute and can dance can’t sing, and the other can sing but doesn’t look the part and can’t dance. The answer lies in lip-syncing on stage. But they have to keep it a secret, which isn’t easy. There are some quite entertaining bits – the dog barking when the two guys argue really cracked me up – and though it seemed to lose its way in sentimentality toward the end, that’s all right. Overall, one of the better Thai comedies I’ve seen.

* 4 Romance / Fan Waan Aai Joop / fhun-waan-aye-joob / ฝัน-หวาน-อาย-จูบ: Thai Romance/ Drama – 90 mins – 4 Romance puts together four love stories directed by four leading Thai filmmakers, with each story offering a different angle on Thai love from a different perspectives and in a different storytelling style: comedy, drama, action, and musical. Directors: Chukiat Sakweerakul (of Love of Siam fame), Prachya Pinkaew, Bhandit Thongdee, and Rachen Limtrakul. Among the large cast are two of the stars of Love of Siam, Mario Maurer and "Pitch" Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, in different segments. I found it pretty much of a bore and not nearly as entertaining as Super Hap, but the Thais in the audience seemed to like it well enough. The most enjoyable section was the last one, featuring the band “August” and singer “Pitch” – that part had a few nice surprises, and the kids are great.

Happy Birthday / แฮปปี้ เบิร์ดเดย์: Thai Drama/ Romance – 90 mins – Starring Ananda Everingham. A weepy love story, and almost incomprehensible to anyone without a deep intuitive understanding of Thai customs and social behavior. For most of us the courting behavior is an unfathomable mystery, and quite foreign. Ananda is a travel photographer who travels around Thailand with his guide/girlfriend, until she has a car accident and ends up in a hospital in a coma, while Ananda waits endlessly at her bedside for her to wake up. Maddeningly tedious to most farangs, I’m afraid, though the Thais I was with seemed to enjoy the first half a good deal. Beautiful location photography.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: US Sci-Fi/ Drama/ Thriller – 103 mins – With Keanu Reeves. I enjoyed this! (Except for the kid, who is hateful!) If you like sci-fi thrillers, you should like this too, when the kid isn’t on screen. You have to be willing to accept a lot of the “aliens invade Earth” conventions. I did, and found it a lot of fun, except for the kid. In this remake of the landmark film of 1951 with Michael Rennie, Keanu Reeves now plays the alien who travels to Earth with a simple mission: to save the planet. He lands his space ship in Central Park and tries without success to announce his plans to the world via a speech at the United Nations. He’s shot and taken into custody instead. So he goes to his backup plan: destroy everything on earth, and then re-populate the planet with clones of the current species. Generally negative reviews: 39/40 out of 100.

I thought the script was terrific of this kind, except for the kid, which leads me to believe his father rewrote his lines and didn’t do it too well. I liked the bit about the US President nowhere to be seen, in fact hiding out, when Earth is invaded, leaving the running of things to others, much like George Bush on 9/11.

Transporter 3: France Action/ Crime – 100 mins – I’ve seen it, and I can attest that it’s an action movie – meaning that there’s a lot of explosions, car crashes, and men being violent and assertive. And it’s all quite well done, and seasoned with just the slightest bit of plot and humor. If that’s what you like, this is for you.

Jason Statham returns for a third time now as Frank Martin, a former British Special Forces soldier turned mercenary, whose specialty is delivering risky items in a timely fashion. In this third installment, Frank who has just relocated to Paris, awakes to find himself with a bomb strapped to his wrist which threatens to blow up should he try to remove it. Mixed or average reviews: 51/50 out of 100.

Roger Ebert: A perfectly acceptable brainless action thriller.

Ong-Bak 2: Thai Action/ Adventure – 100 mins – With Tony Jaa, who also directed. I’m not sure what your reaction will be to this film, for it’s rather difficult and really not too much fun to watch. It’s quite dark, and exceptionally violent. Not for children! But it’s extraordinary in many respects, and approaches almost every aspect of an action film in a new way. And it seems a terribly personal film for Tony Jaa, in which he apparently is trying to exorcise some inner demons. I think it’s a fascinating attempt.

Scheduled for Chiang Mai cineplexes on Wednesday, December 31

Bedtime Stories: US Comedy/ Fantasy – 100 mins – Starring Adam Sandler. It's a family-friendly flick about Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman, whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter's life upside down. The director is Adam Shankman (Hairspray).

Alliance Française schedule

At Alliance Française on Fridays at 8 pm

At Alliance Française on Friday, December 26: No film shown. Holiday!

At Alliance Française on Friday, January 2: No film shown. Holiday!

At Alliance Française on Friday, January 9: Arsène Lupin (2004) by Jean-Paul Salomé – 131 mins – France/ Italy/ Spain/ UK Action/ Adventure/ Crime/ Mystery/ Romance. English subtitles. Generally favorable reviews: 80 out of 100.

With Romain Duris, Kristin Scott Thomas, Marie Bunel, Francoise Lépine, Guillaume Huet, Gerard Chaillou, Eva Green, Pascal Greggory, Robin Renucci.

Based on the early years of the French classy hero, this movie provides all the fun you can expect from a classical adventure movie. Fights, stunts, exotic places, wicked villains, and characters you will love to hate or chill for...

– Alliance description

Variety: A thoroughly entertaining period romp bursting with intrigue, Arsene Lupin is a keenly crafted take on the gentleman burglar whose adventures in fin de siecle Paris are immortalized in 18 popular novels by Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941). Elaborate treasure hunt has visual sweep and a terrific cast of scheming characters who range from merely craven to genuinely evil. [There is] much to enjoy. In 1882, future nimble-fingered master of disguise Arsene Lupin is a boy (Guillaume Huet) living in Normandy with his mother (Marie Bunel) and father Jean (Aurelien Wilk) -- a rumored thief. Jean is teaching his son to box when government officials arrive to arrest him. Dad's advice prior to making a daring escape will serve the lad well: "Distract your prey -- that's the key. Remember that and you'll never get caught."

european-films.net: For those who do not know him, Monsieur Lupin is a gentleman burglar. He is a son of a criminal and has been educated by his father, though he differs in one respect: he has vowed not to kill anyone, however dire the circumstances. Arsène’s universe is much akin to anything written by Alexandre Dumas, with the difference that Arsène lives in the fin-de-siècle, though the problems he faces remain the same: the royalists trying to re-establish the French Monarchy while rich aristocrats scheming to relieve people of their treasures. Arsène also has the problem -- or pleasure depending on your point of view -- much like James Bond, of falling in love with every lovely lady that passes within ten miles of his sight. Thus romance and intrigue, hidden treasures and multiple identities (Arsène is obviously also a master of disguise) are at the heart of any Lupin story.

The 2004 film adaptation from director and co-screenwriter Jean-Paul Salomé is simply titled Arsène Lupin, and is based on the 1924 novel “The Countess of Cagliostro.” It is high on atmosphere and production values (the reported budget being 23 million Euros), though it treats its narrative only as a necessity to get the audience from one skirmish to the other, from one lady’s bed to the other and from one flaming explosion to the next.

Film Space schedule

At Film Space: on Saturdays at 7 pm

Film Space in December has been presenting “A Month of Krzysztof Kieslowski” featuring the Three Colors Trilogy, films of which I am very fond, plus, as the final offering, his The Double Life of Veronique. In January they present simply a series of films by some directors they like.

Film Space is to the right and in the back of the CMU Art Museum, in the Media Arts and Design building across from the ballet school. Now that the weather is cool, they are resuming their rooftop showings, weather permitting. You might want to bring something to sit on or lie on. A contribution is requested in the donation box at the entrance. Well worth supporting.

Saturday, December 27: La Double vie de Véronique / The Double Life of Veronique (1991) by Krzysztof Kieslowski – 98 mins – France/ Poland, Drama/ Fantasy/ Romance. In French and Polish, with English subtitles. Generally favorable reviews: 77 out of 100.

With Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Sandrine Dumas, Guillaume de Tonquedec, Aleksander Bardini.

I truly and deeply appreciate the mastery of its filmmaking, and I am endlessly fascinated by it, but I think this film is a mess – a very flawed masterpiece. Nevertheless, it was Krzysztof Kieslowski’s international breakthrough, and it remains one of his most beloved films, and is to be sure a ravishing, mysterious rumination on identity, love, and human intuition. Irène Jacob is incandescent as both Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Véronique, a French music teacher. Though unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, purely emotional bond, which Kieslowski details in gorgeous reflections, colors, and movements, aided by Slawomir Idziak’s shimmering cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner’s haunting, operatic score.

More than in most of his films, Kieslowski didn’t seem to know what he wanted to do in this film, and constantly fiddled with it. It started out to be 50% about Weronika in Poland, and 50% about Vèronique in France, but it ended up being one-third for Weronika and the rest for Vèronique. Originally, according to the star Irène Jacob, he wanted to intertwine the two stories, but he ended up keeping them separate except for the brief encounter at the tour bus. Irène Jacob said that he made fifteen different versions of the film. “It was tough, because each one told a different story.” She goes on to say, “He had versions where the movie seemed even more open-ended, and others where he explained things more. . . . I was amazed when I saw the finished film – when I saw how many scenes were missing, I was very surprised. He’d cut so many scenes that I was a bit lost!”

Irène Jacob also said that Kieslowski contemplated several different endings. His cinematographer Slawomir Idziak says that they eventually worked on three different endings which they were hoping to distribute in a random way so that some audiences in Paris would see one ending, and others one of the others. This idea was abandoned due to the cost involved, but the cinematographer states that the present ending incorporates elements of all three endings. And to my mind the result is more of a muddle than it should be.

Despite all this, the result is a fascinating film.

Reel.com: Just before he began work on his stunning film trilogy Blue, Red, and White, Polish writer/director Krzysztof Kieslowski made a film that could easily have been part of the same series, and probably should have been called Yellow, but was titled The Double Life of Veronique instead. Like the three color films, Veronique is a meditation on the interconnectedness of people, told in poetic style with a visual language that repeats itself with the comforting cadence of a nursery rhyme. It's a film experience, in other words, in which the sensuous nature of the medium takes over, and the plot matters less and less as the film goes on.

The Double Life of Veronique is propelled by an idea, and by the excellent performance of Irène Jacob in dual lead roles—as Weronika, a young woman in Poland, and Vèronique, her identical counterpart in France. Weronika receives the shocking news first: She learns about her double when she spies Vèronique in a busload of picture-snapping French tourists on a plaza in Krakow. Vèronique finds out later, when she develops her snapshots from the trip, and is equally devastated. A doppelganger, in this case, is not a pal who knows what you're going to say before you say it; it means that feelings of loneliness and isolation are passed back and forth between the characters, doubling their despair.

Saturday, January 3: Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008) by Morgan Spurlock – 93 mins – France/ US Documentary. In English. Mixed or average reviews: 45 out of 100.

A Nutshell Review: Of course it will be silly to presume that this film can find the answers to the multi-million dollar question, or even come close to it, so just what was the intention?

Director Morgan Spurlock isn't new to controversy, having burst onto the documentary scene with his real life gorging on MacDonald's for every meal in order to drive home the point that junk food really does junk your well being. So for this new film of his, it stems from his desire to seek out the world's #1 wanted man, and ask him just what floats his boat. He may be putting on his jester cap with his somewhat hilarious introduction, but looking at the preparation with vaccination and even attending some terrorism survival course, he's quite dead set in his mission to find that elusive man.

Until of course you realize that he's hitting all the relative safe havens for the most part, before venturing into the more likely places in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But what he seeks to unearth is the Middle East's attitudes towards Americans, and it seems that the common consensus is that while they have nothing against the people, almost everyone that Spurlock chose to showcase, has issues with the foreign policies. And from interviews with the average Joes, they sure have issues with politics at home more than those that are from abroad. Spurlock also takes opportunity to slam the US foreign policy, and does so through a hilarious animated sequence involving Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty herself, in what would be a realistic case of sleeping with the wrong bedfellows.

Bringing the camera from Morocco to Saudi Arabia, and interview people from the state of Palestine and Israel, what he had presented were compelling arguments for and against, as well as plenty of moderate views that seek to debunk the bulk of western media who find delight in demonizing those in the Middle East. Through the looking glass peering at their everyday lives, the film comes to present the basic need for survival and providing for one's family, no matter one's geography, country, religion, and culture. Naturally there were some feathers ruffled, especially when dealing with closed cultures who clam up, or intolerant folks who have no qualms in using violence, but in general, this documentary serves to be rather tame.

Yes it's gimmicky in its title, and half the time you're not sure whether Spurlock will take that plunge and really head to where he will likely find some inkling of positive leads, but what it has presented instead is something more powerful: that this world really needs to reach out and have everyone take a more tolerant attitude, and to understand one another a lot more, to avoid conflict. This should be a world without strangers, and this documentary manages to show just a glimmer of that hope.

Saturday, January 10: Sayonara Color (2005) by Naoto Takenaka – 119 mins – Japan Romance. In Japanese, English subtitles.

Sayonara Color is the fifth film by Takenaka Naoto, one of Japan’s most respected character actors and the director of Muno no Hlto - Nowhere Man and Tokyo Bivori. Shohei (Takenaka Naoto) works as a doctor in a sea-side hospital. One day a new patient is admitted to the hospital with ovarian cancer. Shohei is surprised to recognize Michiko, his first love from high school. Shohei has been leading a dissolute bachelor life, paying for the company of high school girls and dating an older woman who works in a local bar, but in reality for the last twenty years he has not forgotten Michiko. Unfortunately, though Michiko doesn’t remember him at all.

Shohei becomes more and more and more persistent in his attempts to get her to recall their past. At first she is annoyed by his overtures, but gradually warms to the doctor. Under Shohei’s kind and patient care Michiko’s condition improves and her cancer becomes operable. The operation is a success, but now Shohei himself learns that he has terminal cancer.

Both starring and directing, Takenaka Naoto gives a characteristically eccentric performance as a quirky doctor in love with his patient in this moving drama that affects with both offbeat humor and terminal disease pathos.

What's On starting December 18

The Day the Earth stillborn at boxoffice!

Chiang Mai movies beginning Thursday, December 18

by Thomas Ohlson

Best Bets: Traitor. Twilight. Ong-Bak 2. EU Film Festival.

Here are my comments on the films playing at Major Cineplex at Airport Plaza and at Vista at Kadsuankaew for the week beginning Thursday, December 18, 2008. There is also information on film programs at the Alliance Française and CMU’s Film Space for the next three weeks. And you will find the remaining schedule for the European Union Film Festival which started its public showings last Friday at Vista in Kadsuankaew, and runs through this coming Sunday, December 21.

This is Issue Number 8 of Volume 4 of these listings – in our fourth year!

The Day the Earth Stood Still didn’t fare too well at the US boxoffice on its opening weekend; it did better overseas, but created only a tepid boxoffice response here in Thailand. Seldom have I seen such rants against an actor as there were for the boy in the movie, who most reviewers call an atrocious actor in a badly written part that was even more badly directed. I think he skewered the film way off the track and filled viewers with irrelevant hate toward the child as a person and as an actor, and brought into the film irrelevant issues of race. And all because he was given the part through the power and influence of his father, Will Smith, who seems determined to turn him into a star whether we like it or not.

Now playing in Chiang Mai * = new this week

* Happy Birthday / แฮปปี้ เบิร์ดเดย์: Thai Drama/ Romance – 90 mins – Starring Ananda Everingham. Looks like a real weepy love story. This time Ananda is a travel photographer who travels around Thailand with his guide/girlfriend, until the girl is involved in a terrible car accident and ends up in a hospital in a coma, while Ananda waits at her bedside for her to wake up. It’s a follow up to the 2007 well-received film Me ... Myself, also starring Ananda, which I enjoyed. From the previews, I have to say this one looks perfectly tedious, despite the fact that I’m a fan of Ananda. We’ll hope for the best.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: US Sci-Fi/ Drama/ Thriller – 103 mins – Other than the child, I enjoyed this! If you like sci-fi thrillers, you should too, except for the child. Of course, you have to be willing to accept a lot of the “aliens invade Earth” conventions. I did, and found it a lot of fun. Except for the child, who simply spoils every scene he’s in – and he’s in it a lot. Seems to me he’s a sterling example of why you shouldn’t adopt stray kids. However, the bright side of it is he’s apparently a thoroughly spoiled brat of an actor who very likely will take to drugs and self-destruct soon, saving us from having to see him again. (But none too soon – would you believe, he’s now been given the role of the Karate Kid in the upcoming sequel? May the Saints preserve us!)

Never have I seen such hate-filled reviews and internet reaction to an actor and his performance! Some samples:

IMDb viewer deconspiratoromania: i hate him i hate him i hate him i hate him

Another: I spent the whole movie waiting for his character to die.

Another: This has to be one of the most unnecessary characters in a movie EVER! I kept hoping the aliens would finish off the planet just so we could be free from that annoying little BRAT! No such luck!

Another: i wanted him to get eaten by those bugs.

He suffers from the same problem as his dad, he thinks just because he stars in a movie that he can also serve as the screenwriter (or take over as screenwriter). His character in this film didn't seem far removed from who he seems to be in real life, an egomaniac like his dad, and a bossy one at that.

I was almost physically pained when this kid was onscreen.

No casting director, producer, executive producer, director, etc. would give that kid a second look if he came in for an audition. The fact that he can't act is bad enough but to have such a ludicrous, outlandish 'fro like that where he looks more like a Muppet than a 10 yr. old boy is completely insane. It’s painfully obvious that his old man used his pull with industry execs to get his kid the part.

What kind of parents allow their kid walking around with hair like that? Are they scared to take him to the barber? They think he's grown enough to say no? Will and Jada....CUT THE BOY'S HAIR!

That rat's nest is a disgrace and clearly his parents are to blame. I can only imagine the cooties that this kid has. It’s not just gross, it’s DISGUSTINGLY gross.

Looks like the bush I have in my garden that needs to be pruned. He looks like a damn Muppet and he totally ruined "The Day the Earth Stood Still" for me. He has no acting talent and obviously his father used his muscle to get his kid the part. No casting director in their right mind would hire him looking like that and not being able to bring any sense of conviction to the role. Every scene with him made me cringe and I just couldn't take the movie seriously.

I can honestly say that this kid is atrocious in the film and clearly got the part because of his Father's prominence in Hollywood. There are literally thousands of other kids that could have done a much better job with the role...its painfully obvious that nepotism speaks louder than talent and merit these days. And what director/producer/casting director in their right mind would pick a kid with such a hideous hairstyle???? I found this kid's appearance so ludicrous that it actually gave the movie a comical feel to it. The movie would have been moderately enjoyable with a seasoned child actor in such a pivotal role. The kid absolutely ruined this movie for me.

(On a more restrained note!):

Jordan Hoffman, Ugo Movieblog: I may be allowing some bizarre and irrational emotions to take over here, but I think I hate this kid. The fundamental reason is this: I’m gonna’ be stuck with this kid for the rest of my life. You see, I intend to continue watching and being enthused by the cinema until I am no longer drawing breath. Young Mr. Smith, being just the age of 10, it stands to reason that I have now been condemned to spending a goodly part of my life with this tyke. He’ll be cast as The Kid in at least one major motion picture a year until he gets a little older. Then he’ll no doubt take a shocking star turn in the 2015 remake of Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. He’ll be dubbed a hero for taking such chancy roles and then there’ll be no stopping him from there.

I was not consulted on this!

I know I sound ridiculous, but I have a little bit of a point. There is a little bit of a pact between we, the movie going audience, and Hollywood when they anoint new stars. We have to at least be given a chance to discover them ourselves. Jaden Smith is just straight-up nepotism, and I think we all can’t stand that. We get enough nepotism and favoritism in life.

Jaden Smith isn’t the world’s worst kid actor – but he’s certainly no better than the 500 other ones currently in the Screen Actor’s Guild who could have played the part. Yet there he is, with his cool floppy hair and smug attitude. . . . So, in conclusion, Eff You, Jaden Smith.

And again:

Brad Brevet, Rope of Silicon: . . . critiquing the performance of a child actor is not something I typically like to lower myself to doing, but Smith is downright terrible in this flick. It wouldn’t have mattered, as it often doesn’t with child actors, had so much of the third act not depended on his storyline.

But as for Keanu Reeves, he’s perfect for the part of the alien! Absolutely perfect, because he really is an alien himself! We have always known that. Think about it – think about him in any movie he’s ever been in. He is not human! He is truly an alien himself, a little spooky, but accessible, and I love him just the way he is!

This is a remake of the landmark film of 1951 with Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Sam Jaffe, directed by Robert Wise. This time Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu, a mysterious alien who travels to Earth with a simple mission: to save the planet. He lands his vast space ship in Central Park, New York, and tries without success to announce his plans to the world via a speech at the United Nations. He’s shot and taken into custody instead. Thus rebuffed, to goes to the backup plan: He will destroy everything, then re-populate our planet with clones of the current species. All, that is, except humans who he feels are responsible for Earth's destruction and must be permanently destroyed. He unleashes swarms of dust size robots who sweep through New York and the surrounding area dissolving everything in their path. As mankind fights to survive, one female scientist, with her horrid son tagging along, tries to convince Klaatu to stop the earth’s destruction and give us a second chance.

Mixed or average reviews: 40/41 out of 100.

Transporter 3: France Action/ Crime – 100 mins – I’ve seen it, and I can attest that it’s an action movie – meaning that there’s a lot of explosions, car crashes, and men being violent and assertive. And it’s all quite well done, and seasoned with just the slightest bit of plot and humor. If that’s what you like, this is for you.

Jason Statham returns for a third time now as Frank Martin, a former British Special Forces soldier turned mercenary, whose specialty is delivering risky items in a timely fashion. In this third installment, Frank who has just relocated to Paris, awakes to find himself with a bomb strapped to his wrist which threatens to blow up should he try to remove it. Mixed or average reviews: 51/50 out of 100.

Roger Ebert: A perfectly acceptable brainless action thriller.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua: US Comedy/ Adventure/ Family – 91 mins – With the voices of almost every Spanish-accented voice in Hollywood, including Plácido Domingo! In this Disney comedy, a pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua named Chloe (voice of Drew Barrymore) finds herself accidentally lost in the mean streets of Mexico. Now alone for the first time in her spoiled life, she must rely on some new friends to help her to find her way back home. It’s a pretty ordinary talking animal picture, but well done of its kind, so if this is your cup of tea, you should enjoy it well enough. Especially if you like dogs, because they really are terrific! Critical reaction seems to be very mixed, with people either loving it or hating it. Overall, it comes out as mixed or average reviews: 41/50 out of 100.

Ong-Bak 2: Thai Action/ Adventure – 100 mins – With Tony Jaa, who also directed. I’m not sure what your reaction will be to this film, for it’s rather difficult and really not too much fun to watch. It’s quite dark, and exceptionally violent. Not for children! But it’s extraordinary in many respects, and approaches almost every aspect of an action film in a new way. And it seems a terribly personal film for Tony Jaa, in which he apparently is trying to exorcise some inner demons. I think it’s a fascinating attempt.

Here is the official synopsis: “Set in the regal times of King Naresuan, Tony Jaa plays Tien, a man who was born into nobility but had it stripped from him after his parents were brutally murdered. During his childhood Tien learned Khon, a form of dance which is usually reserved for royalty. Although he didn't know it yet, Khon would later prove to be an invaluable aide to him. After seeing his parents murdered when he was at the tender age of 10, Tien is forced to live on the streets where he is eventually captured by a group of thieves who take him in and teach him how to steal and fight. Tien’s expertise as a thief and fighter grows, and it isn't long before he is made head thief. Then Tien sees something that makes his stomach churn. A competition is being held to find the best knights to serve under the very man who had killed Tien's parents all those years ago. Tien passes the tests easily and is made Lord Rachasana's 2nd Knight. Now, he has his opportunity to strike but he will have to use all his skill and ingenuity if he is going to get his revenge on the man who killed his parents, and stay alive.”

Twilight: US Vampire love – 121 mins – It’s quite well done overall, and I rather enjoyed it. Robert Pattinson is indeed a handsome, smoldering devil as the vampire.

In the story of Twilight, you have your against-the-odds teen love, your woman in peril, your vampires, and your cult following. It’s a complex story, in three volumes so far and more to come. Mixed or average reviews: 56/53 out of 100.

Vista has a Thai-dubbed version only, with no English subtitles. Airport Plaza has it in the original English, with Thai subtitles.

Traitor: US Drama/Thriller – 114 mins – With Don Cheadle. Probably in its last days. See it while you can. Another serious look at the world of moral uncertainty amid the war on terror. I am very fond of this movie; I think Don Cheadle gives another outstanding performance in this film – really a great person to watch. And I found the story (by Steve Martin) very engrossing.

James Berardinelli, Reel Views: Traitor is an uncommonly intelligent espionage thriller that explores the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by agents who go deep undercover in the service of their country. For movies that revolve around terrorist organizations and acts, there are typically two approaches: a gung-ho, "John Wayne" style and a story that seeks to humanize the terrorists. Traitor takes a different, less straightforward trajectory that exhibits the complex motivations of the terrorists as well as those who oppose them without resorting to caricatures on either side. The film's villains are not cookie-cutter bad guys and the FBI agents are neither bumbling nor infallible. Caught in the middle of everything is a man trying to save innocent lives but whose actions end up taking them as well.

. . . As a thriller for adults who don't require manic chases, frenetic shoot-outs, and ten cuts per second, Traitor is smart, effective, and at times suspenseful. It's one of a very few terrorist-themed movies that presents its situation without resorting to exploitation or oversimplification.

The story: Straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, and all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Cheadle). A mysterious figure with a web of connections to terrorist organizations, Horn has a knack for emerging on the scene just as a major operation goes down. The inter-agency task force looking into the case links Horn to a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice, and a raid in London, but a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his quarry is a disaffected former military operative – or something far more complicated. Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue. Only mixed or average reviews: 60/60 out of 100. Nevertheless, despite the lukewarm reviews, I suggest you go. At Vista only, sharing a cinema with the EU Film Festival.